UNITED
NATIONS
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
News and Highlights from the President
President
presided over the plenary session today ;attended the Press Conference;
delivered a statement at the close of the main part of the 56th session
21 December 2001
This morning, Dr. Han presided over the plenary session. The Assembly took up the reports of the Second Committee and adopted some 40 resolutions, all but one or two without a vote. It then went on to the item on Multilingualism, for which there were ten speakers and quite a few explanations of vote.
In the morning, Dr. Han attended the Press Conference and delivered an introductory remark for the press briefing. Dr. Han mentioned that this had been one of the most eventful and extraordinary sessions in the history of the United Nations. Dr. Han, on the morning of September 11, was attending a prayer breakfast in the Delegates Dining Room when tragedy struck just a few miles away and thus set the tenor for this session. Dr. Han pointed out that the session was not just about terrorism, a highlight of the session was the “Dialogue among Civilizations.” About the situation in Afghanistan, he said, “I would like to express my deep appreciation to the Secretary-General, Special Representative Mr. Brahimi, President of the Security Council and its members. He said that the joint award of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize to the United Nations and its Secretary-General, Mr. Koki Annan lifted our spirits considerably. In closing his remarks, he would never forget the tragedy and triumph of the past one hundred days of his presidency. But he said that he had no doubt that the UN would emerge from this period as a more effective and self-confident organization than ever before.
In the afternoon, Dr. Han presided the plenary session. The General Assembly dealt with a very wide range of items, including the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina and some reports of the Fifth Committee. Most items have already been debated, so the Assembly will mainly adopt the draft resolutions. There are also a number of items, which will be deferred to the 57th session.
At the end of the plenary session, Dr. Han delievered a statement at the close of the main part of the 56th session of the General Assembly. Dr. Han started his remark by saying that the General Assembly was coming to the close of the main part of its 56th session and as it was the last meeting over which he would preside this year, with the understanding that one more meeting would be chaired by an acting President, he liked to share some of his observations and thoughts on what we achieved so far through our work and deliberations. In his remark, Dr. Han said that we held our general debate in only seven days with the participation of 187 delegations, including 41 Heads of state and Government, 9 Deputy Prime Ministers, and 96 Foreign Ministers, which required extraordinary arrangement such as extended meeting hours and limited speech time. In his remark, he mentioned the Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization that was to be held in Doha in November. Regarding the field of humanitarian assistance, he said that the Assembly reaffirmed the crucial importance of continuing to strengthen humanitarian coordination. Regarding the situation in Afghanistan, Dr. Han stated that the General Assembly and the Security Council had taken coordinated measures to restore peace and security and reconstruct the war-ravaged nation. He also mentioned the preparations for the upcoming second World Assembly on ageing, the role of the global women's movement, the Assembly's contribution to bridging the digital divide and the award of the Nobel Peace Prize. In conclusion, Dr. Han showed his very best wishes for the holiday season and for the coming New Year.