UNITED NATIONS

GENERAL ASSEMBLY
News and Highlights from the President

President met with the President of Malta, H. E. Mr. Guido de Marco; chaired the meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters related to the Security Council; hosted a working luncheon with the Facilitators for the Revitalization of the General Assembly
13 May 2002
 

In the morning, Dr. Han met with the President of Malta, H. E. Mr. Guido de Marco who was the 45th General Assembly President. Then exchanged opinions on the work of the General Assembly and other issues.

Dr. Han chaired the meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters related to the Security Council.

Then Dr. Han hosted a working luncheon with the Facilitators for the Revitalization of the General Assembly. H. E. Mr. J. Gabriel Valdes, Permanent Representative at Permanent Mission of Chile to the United Nations, H. E. Mr. Hynek Kmonicek, Permanent Representative at Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic of the United Nations, H. E. Mr. Jean-David Levitte, Permanent Representative at Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations, H. E. Mr. Kishore Mahbubani, Permanent Representative at Permanent Mission of the Republic of Singapore to the United Nations, Mr. Henri Stephan Raubenheimer, Counsellor at Permanent Mission of the Republic of South Africa to the United Nations, Mr. Chen Jian Under-Secretary-General from Department of General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services, Mr. Vadim Perfiliev, Deputy Director at General Assembly and ECOSOC Affairs Division, H. E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Chef de Cabinet at Office of the President of the General Assembly, Mr. Oh Joon, Minister Counsellor at Office of the President of the General Assembly and Mr. Lee Baek-soon, First Secretary at Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations attended the luncheon.

Friday at midnight, the Special Session on Children adopted by consensus the outcome document, "A World Fit for Children". The adoption was followed by a number of speakers explaining their understanding of the document. In his concluding remarks, the President of the General Assembly, Dr. Han Seung-soo, asked,

"And what have we agreed? To build a world fit for children. To make it a better place for them to grow up in, a place where their basic needs will be met, where their rights will be respected and promoted. This sounds ambitious, but we have adopted a Declaration that describes, very clearly, the steps we must take to build a new world fit for children. It does so in a clear, concise and robust manner. It is a practical and achievable checklist, not only for a better future, but also for immediate action that will improve child well-being today."

He also emphasized that chronic poverty was the biggest obstacle to promoting the welfare of children in many developing countries.

The negotiations on the outcome document continued throughout the day on Friday and some updates on agreed text were made available. They came out as documents A/S-27/AC.1/L.1 Add. 1, 2 and 3, but a consolidated text is not expected till Wednesday. The special session heard statements from 187 of the 189 Member States.
 

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