Internet conection
Site of the Conference
The United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for
Equality, Development and Peace will be held at the Beijing International
Convention Centre (BICC). The address is as follows:
United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women
c/o Beijing International Convention Centre
No. 8 Beichen East Road, Chaoyang District Beijing 100101
Telephone:(86-10) 493.8247, 493.8244
Fax: (86-10) 491.0256, 499.3993
The time distance between the Convention Centre and the centre
of Beijing is approximately 25 minutes in non-peak hour traffic;
between the Convention Centre and Beijing Capital Airport it is
20 minutes.
Pre-Conference Consultations
Pre-Conference consultations to consider organizational and procedural
matters, and to consider the report of the contact group on gender
as well as the non-paper of the open-ended informal consultations
conducted by the Chairperson of the Commission on the Status of
Women from 31 July - 4 August will be held at the BICC on Saturday,
2 September, and Sunday, 3 September. They will begin at 10 a.m.
on 2 September.
Opening meeting of the Conference
The formal opening of the Conference will be held at 3 p.m. on
Monday, 4 September, in the Plenary Hall (Hall 1) of the BICC.
A welcoming ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, 4 September,
in the Great Hall of the People in the centre of Beijing. Further
information about the welcoming ceremony and the opening meeting
will be given at the pre-Conference consultations to be open to
all States participating in the Conference. In order that the
opening meeting of the conference may begin punctually, participants
are requested to be seated in the Plenary Hall by 2:30 p.m.
Registration of participants and identification cards
A centre for registration of participants and issuance of access/identification
passes will be open at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, 25 August, at the
Tennis Hall of the Beijing Recreation Centre. The Hall is located
at 600 meters from the BICC. From 1 to 6 September, the registration/pass
office will be open for longer hours to ensure the smooth issuance
of passes. Registration of accredited intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations will begin on 28 August at the Tennis Hall.
It will also be possible for participants to pre-register at United
Nations Headquarters starting August 1. Such pre-registration
is most strongly advised in order to avoid long lines during registration
at the Tennis Hall. The UN Protocol Office will distribute the
passes to those who pre-registered in New York at the Tennis Hall
starting on 26 August.
Admission to the BICC will require, at all times, the presentation
of identification cards. All participants in the Conference -
government delegates, United Nations Secretariat staff, representatives
of United Nations programmes and specialized agencies and of accredited
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, members
of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against
Women and special guests - are therefore requested to register
at the Tennis Hall mentioned in paragraph 8 above.
Following registration, each participant will be issued an identification card or grounds
pass. In addition to these individual grounds passes, each government
delegation will be issued four access cards for the Plenary Hall.
At the opening session of the Conference and at other designated
times, access to the Plenary Hall will be regulated by the use
of such cards. Plenary Hall passes will also be issued to other
participants, in addition to government delegations, in relation
to the allotment of seats assigned to them in the Plenary Hall.
The process of registration will be greatly facilitated if Conference
credentials containing lists of the names of participants are
transmitted by each delegation prior to actual registration in
person. It is suggested that delegations submit this information
to the United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service, room S-201B,
well before the opening of the Conference, preferably not later
than 15 August. Thereafter, such information should be conveyed
directly to the United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service at
the Conference site.
Delegations of States participating in the Conference are reminded
that credentials of representatives to the Conference must be
signed either by the Head of State or Government or by the Minister
for Foreign Affairs. All other communications in this respect
shall be considered as provisional credentials until such time
as formal credentials are received by the Secretary-General of
the Conference or the Office of Legal Affairs.
The registration of accredited intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations and press/media representatives will also take place
at the Tennis Hall.
The loss of an identification card must be reported immediately
to United Nations Security Personnel.
Programme of meetings
The programme of meetings will be printed in the Conference Journal,
to be issued on a daily basis, giving the Conference rooms and
times of meetings. Morning meetings are scheduled to take place
from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and afternoon meetings from 3 p.m. to 6
p.m. When evening sessions are required, they will generally begin
at 6 p.m.
Seating arrangements
At the opening of the Conference and at subsequent meetings of
the Plenary in Hall 1, each government delegation will be assigned
four seats, two at table and two seats behind.
In Conference Halls 15 and 16, located on the second and third
floor resepctively of the East Annex of the BICC, where meetings
of the Main Committees will be held, each government delegation
will have two seats, one seat at table and one seat behind.
Specifically identified seating facilities will be available for
other participants at the Conference.
Languages of the Conference and Interpretation services
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish are the
offical languages of the Conference. Official documents of the
Conference will be made available in the languages of the Conference.
Statements made in any of the six offical languages will be interpreted
into the other official languages. Any representative may, in
accordance with rule 53 of the provisional rules of procedure,
make a statement in a language other that a language of the Conference.
In such cases, the delegation in question should provide either
an interpretation or a written text of the statement in one of
the official languages. This interpretation or written text will
be considered by the Secretariat to represent the official text
of the statement and will be used by United Nations interpreters
as the basis for interpretation into the other official languages.
It may be recalled that there will be interpretation services
for a total of three simultaneous meetings in the morning and
three in the afternoon. The servicing of all official meetings,
extensions of official meetings beyond their normal duration,
or the provision of interpretation services to regional or other
group meetings should therefore be arranged within that framework.
Meetings other than meetings of United Nations bodies, such as
regional or interest groups, will be accomodated according to
the availability of meeting rooms and services. Requests for meeting
services should be directed to Mr. William Bunch, Secretariat
Services Coordinator.
Circulation of prepared statements
A minimum of 30 copies and, if possible, a copy on diskette of
the text of speeches to be delivered in plenary meetings and other
meetings should be given in advance to the conference officer
in order to enable the Secretariat to provide the best possible
service. Delegations wishing to circulate their speeches to all
participants are requested to provide 350 copies to the conference
officer who will be located in each conference room. All texts
should be delivered before the speaker takes the floor, preferably
at the start of the meeting. Conference participants are reminded
that the Secretariat will not be in a position to offer reproduction
services for such texts.
If written texts are provided in more than one official language,
delegations should indicate clearly which of those texts is to
be accepted as the official text. Furthermore, in order to avoid
confusion, delegations should also specify whether this official
text is to be "checked against delivery" or read out
as written.
If participants wish their speeches to be included in the Internet
system (see below), they are required to provide a diskette containing
the text of the speech.
Distribution of official documents
The main documents distribution counter will be located on the
ground floor near the main entrance of the BICC.
Each delegation will be assigned an individual box at the documents
distribution counter in which copies of all official documents
issued during the Conference will be placed. Delegations are reminded
that those document boxes, or pidgeon holes, are exclusively for
the distribution of official Conference documentation and may
not be used for the circulation of any other papers or documents.
To determine the exact requirements, each delegation is requested
to advise the documents distribution counter of its daily requirements
in terms of the number of copies of each document it wishes to
receive during the Conference. The quantity requested should be
sufficient to cover all requirements since it will not be possible
to provide complete sets of documents after the end of the Conference.
Accredited NGOs and representatives of the press/media will be
able to obtain official Conference documents at designated documents
distribution desks. These will be located on the third floor of
the BICC (for NGOs), and on the ground floor, adjacent to entrance
number 17 (for press/media) respectively.
Receipt and circulation of other documents
In regard to other documents that Governments and organizations
may wish to make available to Conference participants, they are
to be provided by those Governments and organizations in the languages
and quantities available. The Secretariat will undertake neither
reproduction nor translation of such documents. It is suggested
that Governments and organizations make approximately 500 copies
available in English, with lesser numbers of the other official
languages if those are provided.
It would be greatly appreciated if two copies of each such document
could be forwarded to Mr. William Bunch, Secretariat Services
Coordinator. They will be listed in an information note to be
circulated at the Conference.
The Secretariat cannot undertake official distribution of such
documents. However, separate pidgeonholes for government delegations
for such documents will be set up on the second floor of the BICC.
Media facilities
Facilities for media coverage will be available on-site on the
ground floor of the East Annex of the BICC. It will have 360 journalist
work stations which will be available on an as needed/as available
basis. A telecommunication centre (available at commercial rates)
and a press lounge are located in the same area. An additional
media working area with 200 work stations will be set up at the
CATIC Hotel adjacent to the BICC. Facilities will be similar to
those in the BICC press working area and include a photo processing
room. There will be 200 rooms for rent to overseas media organizations,
as well as 60-80 larger spaces of variable size.
Television coverage of the plenary sessions, press conferences
and other official meetings and events will be carried out by
UNTV through China Central Television (CCTV). Closed-circuit television
monitors located throughout the press working area and the Conference
site will carry the coverage. Facilities for radio and TV production
will be available at the China Central Television Headquarters.
A journalists' encounter will be held on 2 and 3 September. Details
concerning press facilities and media accreditation are contained
in a separate information note issued by the United Nations Department
for Public Information.
Press conferences
Daily press briefings by the Spokeswoman of the Conference will
be held at 12:00 (in English) and 12:30 (in French) in the Press
Briefing Room (Hall 2). This Hall will also be used for press
conferences by delegations and UN agencies. Requests for press
conferences should be directed to the Office of the Spokeswoman
for the Conference.
Non-governmental organizations
An orientation session for representatives of accredited non-governmental
organizations will be held on Sunday, 3 September, from 1 - 3
pm at the BICC. Identification cards will be required.
Special events
A programme of seminars, panels and workshops on issues relating
to the Conference is being organized by entities of the United
Nations system for Conference participants. These events will
be held at the Securities and Exchange Building across from the
BICC. Events will begin on 5 September and continue through 14
September. The calendar for these events will be available at
the Conference site.
Other useful information for participants
Reception on arrival at the Beijing Airport
Beginning on 20 August, participants will be welcomed in the restricted
area of the Airport and directed to special information desks
where they will be informed about arrangements for immigration,
customs, baggage handling and transportation to hotels. Currency
exchange will be available. Heads of State or Government will
be greeted upon arrival by a senior official of the Government
of the People's Republic of China.
Visas
Participants from countries that have not concluded a bilateral
agreement with the People's Republic of China providing a visa-free
entry into the People's Republic of China will need a visa, which
will be issued by Chinese embassies and consulates at rates established
bilaterally.
Inoculation
Under the WHO International Health Regulations, the following
immunizations are required/recommended:
Required: Yellow fever immunization is required from travellers
coming from infected areas, i.e. some countries in Africa and
South America.
Recommended: Typhoid; Tetanus Toxoid; Poliomyelitis; and Hepatitis
A vaccination.
Malaria prophylaxis: There is no malaria in Beijing. Malaria exists
from May to December in rural areas only below 1,500 meters and
in the Valley of Yili River and Xizang. Falciparum malaria occurs
in three provinces, primarily in Hainan, Yunan and Guangsi.
Transportation between hotels, the BICC, the Great Hall of
the People and the site of the NGO Forum on Women '95
During the Conference, shuttle buses will operate between major
hotels and the Conference site. The host country will provide
transportation to the welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of
the People. Delegations requiring a vehicle should request it
from the China Organizing Committee through completion of a vehicle-use
form. Conference delegates, as well as participants in the NGO
Forum on Women '95, may buy a special public transport card for
US$10 after registration procedures are completed. During the
Conference, this card can be used by delegates to take shuttle
buses from the airport to hotels, from hotels to the meeting places,
as well as to sightseeing spots. It is also valid for unlimited
travel on public buses and trolley buses. Taxis are also available.
Conference newspapers and related reporting
During the Conference, in addition to the daily Journal, it is
expected that a number of independent newspapers will cover the
Conference and the NGO Forum events. Press releases in English
