UNITED
NATIONS
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
News and Highlights from the President
President
participated in ICT Task Force launching ceremony; luncheon with the Chairmen
of the Main Committees; met with the Secretary-General of the World Tourism
Organization; met with the Executive Director of KEDO
20 November 2001
Dr. Han participated in the ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Task Force launching ceremony. In his speech, he said that information and communication technology had an enormous potential to promote sustainable development, build capacities and reduce poverty by focusing on the potential contribution of ICT to the empowerment of women, reducing gender inequalities, and facilitating the full participation of disabled and elderly persons in the socio-economic life and development. He also expressed his belief that the international community should coordinate its overall efforts in order to narrow the ever-widening digital divide. As president of the General Assembly, he pledged to give the ICT Task Force his wholehearted support and to do his utmost to facilitate its work.
Yesterday, the Sixth Committee adopted all the draft resolutions before it except for one on the Inter-Parliamentary Union which will be taken up tomorrow morning. The Chairman of the Working Group on international terrorism introduced its report, and the Coordinator outlined the many consultations he had held with member states and stated that these consultations would continue. The Chairman of the Sixth Committee said that considerable progress had been made on the draft comprehensive convention on terrorism and that the Committee would take action on the draft resolution on measures to eliminate international terrorism at the Committee’s next meeting scheduled for tomorrow morning.
Dr. Han had a luncheon with the Chairmen of the Main Committees. Each Chairmen briefed Dr. Han on the progress of work.
Later in the afternoon,
Dr. Han met with Mr. Francisco Frangialli, Secretary-General of the World
Tourism Organization. Mr. Frangialli appreciated the support of the Korean
people and government at the 2001 annual meeting of the World Tourism
Organization which were held in Seoul, Korea and Osaka, Japan last September.
They shared concerns about the depression of the tourism industry seriously
affected by the terrorist attack in September and discussed how
to promote the tourism in these times of difficulties.Mr. Frangialli also
explained the purpose of global code of ethics on tourism and asked for
Dr. Han's support for the endorsement of the code of ethics at the current
session of General Assembly. Dr. Han met with the Executive Director of
KEDO (Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization), H. E. Mr. Charles
Kartman.