GA 54th regular session - Organization/adoption of agenda/allocation of items - SecGen memo

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Organization of the fifty-fourth regular session of the General Assembly,

adoption of the agenda and allocation of items

Memorandum by the Secretary-General

Contents

	Paragraphs	Page

I. Introduction	1-4	2

II. Organization of the session	5-41	2

III. Observations on the organization of future sessions of the General Assembly	42-44	11

IV. Adoption of the agenda	45-47	12

V. Allocation of items	48-62	23

I. Introduction

1. The Secretary-General has the honour to place before the General Committee, for its consideration, the following observations and proposals in connection with the report to be made to the General Assembly by the General Committee regarding the organization of the fifty-fourth regular session and future sessions of the Assembly, the adoption of the agenda and the allocation of items.

2. Over the years, the General Assembly has adopted a number of provisions aimed at rationalizing the procedures and organization of the Assembly. These provisions are reproduced in the annexes to the rules of procedure of the General Assembly (A/520/Rev.15 and Amend.1 and 2, annexes I, II and IV-VIII).

3. The General Committee may wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to the provisions in annexes V, VI, VII and VIII to its rules of procedure, in particular to those provisions reproduced below under the relevant headings.

4. The Secretary-General wishes to draw the attention of the General Committee to the following resolutions of the General Assembly, the provisions of which are reflected in the present document under the relevant sections:

(a) Annex I (Guidelines on the Rationalization of the Agenda of the General Assembly) to resolution 48/264 of 29 July 1994, entitled "Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly";

(b) The annex to resolution 51/241 of 31 July 1997, entitled "Strengthening of the United Nations system";

(c) Paragraph 1 of resolution 52/163 of 15 December 1997, entitled "Amendment to rule 103 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly".

In this connection, the Committee may wish to draw the attention of the Assembly to the reports of the Secretary-General on the implementation of General Assembly resolution 48/264 (A/52/856) and resolution 51/241 (A/52/855).

II. Organization of the session

A. General Committee

5. The Secretary-General wishes to draw to the attention of the General Committee rule 40 of the rules of procedure, as well as General Assembly decision 34/401 (A/520/Rev.15, annex VI, paras. 1 and 2), Assembly resolutions 39/88 B (ibid., annex VII, para. 4), the annex to resolution 45/45 (A/520/Rev.15 and Amend.1, annex VIII, para. 3) and the annex to resolution 51/241 (paras. 17, 18 and 33-35) pertaining to the functions of the Committee.

B. Rationalization of work

6. The Secretary-General wishes to draw the attention of the General Committee to General Assembly resolution 41/213 of 19 December 1986, whereby the Assembly decided that the recommendations as agreed upon and as contained in the report of the Group of High-level Intergovernmental Experts to Review the Efficiency of the Administrative and Financial Functioning of the United Nations 1/ should be implemented by the Secretary-General and the relevant organs and bodies of the United Nations.

7. In this connection, the Secretary-General wishes to draw the attention of the General Committee to the measures undertaken in pursuance of the goal of renewal and reform, in particular to recommendations 2, 3 and 7 of the Group of High-level Intergovernmental Experts, 1/ as reflected in the progress reports of the Secretary-General on the implementation of General Assembly resolution 41/213, entitled "Review of the efficiency of the administrative and financial functioning of the United Nations". The Secretary-General also wishes to draw the Committee's attention to Assembly resolution 48/264 entitled "Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly" and annex I thereto and resolution 52/12 B of 19 December 1997, entitled "Renewing the United Nations: a programme for reform".

8. The General Committee may wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to paragraph 5 of the annex to resolution 45/45 (A/520/Rev.15 and Amend.1, annex VIII), which reads as follows:

"5. The General Committee should consider, at the beginning of each session of the General Assembly, recommending that certain Main Committees should meet in sequential order, taking into account such matters as the number of meetings required for the consideration of the questions with which they are charged at that session, the organization of the work of the whole session and the problem of participation of smaller delegations."

In this connection, the Committee may also wish to draw the attention of the Assembly to paragraphs 30, 31 and 36 of the annex to resolution 51/241, which read as follows:

"30. All Main Committees shall hold brief organizational sessions once the General Assembly has taken decisions on the agenda, before the commencement of the general debate. Bureaux of the Main Committees shall meet earlier to draw up recommendations on the organization and programme of work.

"31. The Main Committees shall meet in substantive session only after the end of the general debate.

…

"36. The First Committee and the Fourth Committee shall not meet simultaneously and may consider meeting in a sequential manner during the regular session of the General Assembly. This arrangement shall not apply if it affects their respective identities, programmes of work and effective consideration of their agendas."

9. The Secretary-General also wishes to draw the attention of the General Committee to paragraph 1 of General Assembly resolution 52/163, which reads as follows:

"1. Decides to amend the first sentence of rule 103 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly to read: 'Each Main Committee shall elect a Chairman, three Vice-Chairmen and a Rapporteur';".

10. Furthermore, the Secretary-General wishes to draw the attention of the General Committee to the fact that measures introduced to reduce costs relating to overtime will be strictly enforced.

C. Closing date of the session

11. In accordance with the provisions of rule 2 of the rules of procedure, the General Assembly should fix a closing date for the fifty-fourth session. By its resolution 53/239 of 8 June 1999, the General Assembly decided that the fifty-fourth session would close on Tuesday, 5 September 2000. The General Committee may wish to recommend to the Assembly that the fifty-fourth session should recess not later than Tuesday, 14 December 1999. The Committee may also wish to recommend to the Assembly that the First, Special Political and Decolonization (Fourth Committee) and Sixth Committees should complete their work by Friday, 19 November, the Third Committee by Monday, 22 November, the Second Committee by Friday, 26 November and the Fifth Committee by Friday, 10 December 1999.

D. Schedule of meetings

12. The General Committee may wish to recommend to the General Assembly that, in accordance with established practice, morning meetings should start at 10 a.m. promptly for all plenary meetings and meetings of the Main Committees during the fifty-fourth session. The Committee may also wish to recommend to the Assembly that, as a cost-saving measure, plenary meetings and meetings of the Main Committees, including informals, be adjourned by 6 p.m., and that no meetings should be held on weekends, with the exception of the general debate (see para. 20 (e) of General Assembly resolution 51/241, A/53/PV.97 and para. 15 below). The Committee may also wish to recommend to the Assembly that this cost-saving measure should also apply, for the remainder of 1999, to meetings on the calendar of conferences and meetings.

13. The General Committee may further wish to recommend that, in order to avoid the late start of meetings, the General Assembly should waive, in view of the practice at recent sessions, the requirement of the presence of at least one third of the members to declare a plenary meeting open and permit the debate to proceed and one quarter of the members to declare a meeting of a Main Committee open and permit the debate to proceed. This recommendation would be made on the understanding that such a waiver would not imply any permanent change in the provisions of rules 67 and 108 of the rules of procedure and that the requirement of the presence of a majority of the members for any decision to be taken would be maintained.

14. Furthermore, the General Committee may wish to recommend to the General Assembly that delegations should be reminded of the utmost importance of punctuality in the interest of ensuring an effective and orderly organization of work and achieving economies for the United Nations.

E. General debate

15. The general debate will be held from Monday, 20 September to Saturday, 25 September , and from Wednesday, 29 September to Saturday, 2 October 1999, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the annex to resolution 51/241 (paras. 19 and 20 (a) and (e)), which read as follows:

"19. There shall continue to be only one general debate each year, beginning in the third week of September.

"20. The preparation of the list of speakers for the general debate shall be based on the following principles:

"(a) The general debate shall be organized over a period of two weeks so as to maximize possibilities for interministerial contacts;

…

"(e) The list of speakers for each day shall be completed and no speakers will be rolled over to the next day, notwithstanding the implications for hours of work."

16. The General Committee may wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to paragraph 21 of the annex to resolution 51/241, which reads as follows:

"21. There shall be no time limits or specified themes for the general debate but the General Assembly will indicate a voluntary guideline of up to twenty minutes for each statement."

17. The Secretary-General suggests that the list of speakers in the general debate should be closed on Wednesday, 22 September, at 6 p.m., in accordance with the recommendation of the Special Committee on the Rationalization of the Procedures and Organization of the General Assembly (A/520/Rev.15, annex V, para. 46).

18. The General Committee may also wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to the decision taken by the Assembly at previous sessions, namely, that the practice of expressing congratulations inside the General Assembly Hall after a speech has been delivered is strongly discouraged. In this connection, the Committee may wish to recommend to the Assembly that speakers in the general debate, after delivering their statements, should leave the General Assembly Hall through room GA-200, located behind the podium, before returning to their seats.

F. Explanations of vote, right of reply, points of order and length of statements

19. The General Committee may wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to paragraphs 6, 7 and 8 of its decision 34/401 (A/520/Rev.15, annex VI), which read as follows:

"6. Explanations of vote should be limited to ten minutes.

"7. When the same draft resolution is considered in a Main Committee and in plenary meeting, a delegation should, as far as possible, explain its vote only once, i.e., either in the Committee or in plenary meeting, unless that delegation's vote in plenary meeting is different from its vote in the Committee.

"8. Delegations should exercise their right of reply at the end of the day whenever two meetings have been scheduled for that day and whenever such meetings are devoted to the consideration of the same item."

20. The Secretary-General wishes to suggest that, in line with time limits for explanations of vote and the right of reply, the General Committee recommend to the General Assembly that points of order be limited to five minutes.

21. With a view to streamlining the procedures of the General Assembly, and as another cost-saving measure, the General Committee, in connection with the length of statements, may wish to draw the attention of the Assembly to paragraph 22 of the annex to resolution 51/241, which reads as follows:

"22. Outside the general debate there shall be a fifteen-minute time limit in plenary meetings and in the Main Committees."

In this connection, the Committee may also wish to draw the attention of the Assembly to the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of resolution 51/241 (A/52/855), in particular to paragraph 23, which reads as follows:

"23. Paragraph 22. Since in plenary meetings the length of statements in debates other than the general debate averages eight minutes, the General Assembly may wish to review the recommendation contained in paragraph 22."

The Committee may further wish to draw the attention of the Assembly, as it did at recent sessions, to rules 72 and 114 of the rules of procedure and paragraph 22 of annex VI thereto for appropriate action in plenary meeting and the Main Committees.

G. Records of meetings

22. As at past sessions, verbatim records will continue to be provided, during the fifty-fourth session, for the plenary meetings of the General Assembly and meetings of the First Committee and summary records will be provided to the General Committee and the other Main Committees of the Assembly. In accordance with the recommendation of the Special Committee on the Rationalization of the Procedures and Organization of the General Assembly (A/520/Rev.15, annex V, para. 108 (b)), the General Committee may wish to recommend that the Assembly should maintain for the fifty-fourth session the practice whereby the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) may obtain, on specific request, transcriptions of the debates of some of its meetings, or portions thereof. These transcriptions, which would not be part of the official records of the Committee, would be provided as the required services became available. Furthermore, the General Committee may wish to draw the General Assembly's attention to paragraphs 8 and 9 of its resolution 38/32 E of 25 November 1983, which read as follows:

"8. Decides that the practice of reproducing statements in extenso as separate documents shall be discontinued for all its subsidiary organs that are entitled to summary records;

"9. Decides further that any exceptions to this rule may be made by the body concerned only if the statements are to serve as bases for discussion and if, after hearing a statement of the relevant financial implications, the body decides that one or more statements in extenso may be included in the summary record, or reproduced as separate documents or as annexes to authorized documents".

In this connection, the General Committee may also wish to recommend to the Assembly that the practice not to reproduce in extenso statements made in a Main Committee should be maintained for the fifty-fourth session.

H. Seating arrangements

23. In accordance with established practice, the Secretary-General has drawn lots for the purpose of choosing the Member State to occupy the first desk on the General Assembly floor from which the alphabetical seating order will begin. The name drawn was South Africa. Consequently, the delegation of that country will sit at the first desk at the right of the President and the other countries will follow in the English alphabetical order. The same order will be observed in the Main Committees.

I. Concluding statements

24. The General Committee may wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to paragraph 17 of its decision 34/401 (ibid., annex VI), which reads as follows:

"17. To save time at the end of the session, the practice of making concluding statements in the General Assembly and its Main Committees should be dispensed with except for statements by the presiding officers."

J. Resolutions

25. The General Committee may wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to paragraph 32 of its decision 34/401 (ibid.), which reads as follows:

"32. Whenever possible, resolutions requesting the discussion of a question at a subsequent session should not call for the inclusion of a separate new item and such discussion should be held under the item under which the resolution was adopted."

26. The General Committee may also wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to recommendation 3 (f) of the Group of High-level Intergovernmental Experts,1 which reads as follows:

"(f) Efforts should be made to reduce the number of resolutions adopted by the General Assembly. Resolutions should request reports of the Secretary-General only in cases where that would be indispensable for facilitating the implementation of these resolutions or the continued examination of the question."

27. In this connection, the General Committee may wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to paragraph 5 of its resolution 48/264, which reads as follows:

"5. Encourages Member States to exercise restraint in making proposals requesting new reports of the Secretary-General, bearing in mind the desirability of reducing the number of such reports".

28. The General Committee may further wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to paragraphs 1 and 10 of the annex to resolution 45/45 (A/520/Rev.15/Amend.1, annex VIII).

K. Documentation

29. The General Committee may wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to paragraph 28 of its decision 34/401 (A/520/Rev.15, annex VI), which reads as follows:

"28. The General Assembly, including its Main Committees, should merely take note of those reports of the Secretary-General or subsidiary organs which do not require a decision by the Assembly and should neither debate nor adopt resolutions on them, unless specifically requested to do so by the Secretary-General or the organ concerned."

30. The General Committee may wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to paragraph 6 of its resolution 48/264, which reads as follows:

"6. Emphasizes that reports requested of the Secretary-General should be made available in all official languages in a timely manner in accordance with the rules of procedure of the General Assembly and the annexes thereto with a view to enabling delegations to consider the substance of such reports more thoroughly in advance of meetings".

The Committee may also wish to draw the attention of the Assembly to paragraph 3 of resolution 53/208 B of 18 December 1998, in which the Assembly once again requested the Secretary-General Ato ensure that documentation is available in accordance with the six-week rule for the distribution of documents simultaneously in each of the six official languages of the General Assembly".

31. The General Committee may further wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to paragraph 32 of resolution 51/241, which reads as follows:

"32. The number of reports requested shall be rationalized where possible so as to permit more focused consideration of issues. All bodies shall exercise restraint in making proposals containing requests for new reports and should consider integrating, biennializing or triennializing the presentation of reports, bearing in mind paragraphs 6 and 7 of General Assembly resolution 50/206 C of 23 December 1995."

L. Questions related to the programme budget

32. The Secretary-General would like to draw the attention of the General Committee to rule 153 of the rules of procedure, which reads as follows:

"No resolution involving expenditure shall be recommended by a committee for approval by the General Assembly unless it is accompanied by an estimate of expenditures prepared by the Secretary-General. No resolution in respect of which expenditures are anticipated by the Secretary-General shall be voted by the General Assembly until the Administrative and Budgetary Committee (Fifth Committee) has had an opportunity of stating the effect of the proposal upon the budget estimates of the United Nations."

In this connection, the General Committee may wish to draw the Assembly's attention to paragraph 12 of its decision 34/401 (ibid.), which reads as follows:

"12. It is imperative that Main Committees should allow sufficient time for the preparation of the estimate of expenditures by the Secretariat and for its consideration by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions and the Fifth Committee and that they should take this requirement into account when they adopt their programme of work."

Furthermore, the General Committee may wish to draw the attention of the Assembly to paragraph 6 of its resolution 35/10 A of 3 November 1980, which reads as follows:

"6. Decides that all proposals affecting the schedule of conferences and meetings made at sessions of the General Assembly shall be reviewed by the Committee on Conferences when administrative implications are being considered under the requirements of rule 153 of the rules of procedure of the Assembly".

The General Committee may also wish to draw the Assembly's attention to regulation 5.9 of the Regulations Governing Programme Planning, the Programme Aspects of the Budget, the Monitoring of Implementation and the Methods of Evaluation (resolution 37/234, annex; most recently amended by the General Assembly in section III of resolution 53/207), which reads as follows:

"Regulation 5.9. No Council, Commission or other competent body shall take a decision involving either a change in the programme budget approved by the General Assembly or the possible requirement of expenditure unless it has received and taken account of a report from the Secretary-General on the programme budget implications of the proposal."

33. The General Committee may also wish to recall paragraph 13 of decision 34/401 (A/520/Rev.15, annex VI), which reads as follows:

A13. Furthermore:

"(a) A mandatory deadline, not later than 1 December, should be established for the submission to the Fifth Committee of all draft resolutions with financial implications;

"(b) The Fifth Committee should, as a general practice, consider accepting without debate the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions on the financial implications of draft resolutions up to a prescribed limit, namely, $25,000 on any one item;

"(c) Firm deadlines should be set for the early submission of the reports of subsidiary bodies which require consideration by the Fifth Committee;

"(d) A minimum period of forty-eight hours should be allowed between the submission and the voting of a proposal involving expenditure in order to allow the Secretary-General to prepare and present the related statement of administrative and financial implications."

In this connection, see also paragraph 44.

34. In connection with subparagraph 13 (d) of decision 34/401 quoted above, experience has shown that, depending on the type and complexity of the proposals involving changes in the work programme and additional expenditures, the preparation of a statement of programme budget implications by the Secretary-General may take a few days. In addition, the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions and the Fifth Committee need adequate time to review the programme budget implications of a draft resolution before the latter can be acted on by the Assembly.

35. It is thus desirable that Member States submit proposals involving statements of programme budget implications sufficiently in advance to avoid the cancellation of meetings and the postponement of consideration of items.

36. The attention of the Assembly is also drawn to section VI of its resolution 45/248 B of 21 December 1990 on procedures for administrative and budgetary matters, which states:

"1. Reaffirms that the Fifth Committee is the appropriate Main Committee of the General Assembly entrusted with responsibilities for administrative and budgetary matters;

"2. Reaffirms also the role of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions;

"3. Expresses its concern at the tendency of its substantive Committees and other intergovernmental bodies to involve themselves in administrative and budgetary matters;

"4. Invites the Secretary-General to provide all intergovernmental bodies with the required information regarding procedures for administrative and budgetary matters."

The General Assembly , in resolution 52/220 of 22 December 1997, recalled the provisions of the aforementioned resolution.

M. Observances and commemorative meetings

37. Observances and commemorative meetings held in plenary meeting have for the most part followed a well-defined pattern. Considering past practice, the General Committee may wish to recommend that, with the exception of the anniversary of the United Nations, the General Assembly should adopt the following format for commemorative meetings: statements by the President of the General Assembly and the Secretary-General, statements by the chairmen of the five regional groups and by the representative of the host country. The Committee may also wish to recommend to the Assembly that, according to established practice, each statement should be limited to fifteen minutes.

38. It is further suggested that observances and commemorative meetings take place, as far as possible, immediately following the general debate. The advantage of such a procedure is that it may facilitate the participation of dignitaries attending the general debate. This procedure would also allow advance planning of the work of the General Assembly.

N. Special conferences

39. The General Committee may wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to recommendation 6 of the Committee on Conferences, adopted by the Assembly in paragraph (b) of its decision 34/405, which reads as follows:

"(b) The Committee, taking into account difficulties encountered in ensuring adequate preparation of meetings, including timely distribution of documentation, as well as the ability of Member States to participate fully, recommends that the General Assembly should instruct the Main Committees to review the number of special conferences of the United Nations already proposed and scheduled in their respective fields of activity prior to deciding upon the scheduling of new and additional special conferences, thus bearing in mind the relevant portions of General Assembly resolution 33/55."

The General Committee may also wish to draw the Assembly's attention to recommendation 2 (d) of the Group of High-level Intergovernmental Experts,1 which reads as follows:

"(d) Until 1978, a number of resolutions had requested that only one major conference be scheduled annually. The decision of the General Assembly that no more than five special conferences should take place in a given year and that no more than one special conference should be convened at the same time should be strictly implemented."

40. In this connection, the General Committee may further wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to the relevant provisions of recommendation 4 of the Group of High-level Intergovernmental Experts, 1/ which reads as follows:

"The existing principle that United Nations bodies should meet at their respective established headquarters, as provided for in General Assembly resolution 40/243 of 18 December 1985, should be strictly enforced. Whenever the Assembly accepts an invitation from the Government of a Member State to hold a conference or meeting away from established headquarters, the additional cost should be borne in full by that Government. The methods of budgeting these costs should be improved so as to ensure that all additional costs are accounted for."

O. Meetings of subsidiary organs

41. Pursuant to section 1, paragraph 7, of General Assembly resolution 40/243 of 18 December 1985, no subsidiary organ of the Assembly should be permitted to meet at United Nations Headquarters during the main part of a regular session of the Assembly, unless explicitly authorized by the Assembly. In this connection, the Secretary-General wishes to draw the attention of the General Committee to a letter dated 2 September 1999 (A/54/313) in which the Chairman of the Committee on Conferences informed the President of the General Assembly that the Committee had recommended, on the strict understanding that meetings would have to be accommodated within available facilities and services, that the following subsidiary organs should be authorized to meet during the main part of the fifty-fourth session:

(a) Committee on Relations with the Host Country;

(b) Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People;

(d) United Nations Population Fund;

(e) Working Group on the Financing of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

III. Observations on the organization of future sessions of the General Assembly

42. The Secretary-General wishes to draw the attention of the General Committee to paragraph 17 of the annex to resolution 51/241 which states, inter alia, that the "plenary meetings of the General Assembly shall be formally opened every year on the first Tuesday following 1 September". In this connection, the Committee may wish to draw the attention of the Assembly to the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of resolution 51/241 (A/52/855), in particular to paragraphs 16 and 17 thereof, which read:

"16. Rule 1 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly states that the General Assembly shall meet every year in regular session commencing on the third Tuesday in September. Paragraph 17 of the annex to the resolution calls, inter alia, for the regular sessions of the General Assembly to now commence on the first Tuesday following 1 September. Rule 1 of the rules of procedure would need to be amended.

"17. In addition, in accordance with rule 2 of the rules of procedure, the General Assembly has, at the beginning of each session, fixed a closing date for the session. In recent years, the closing date has been the Monday before the opening of the next session. Were the General Assembly to retain this practice, the closing date would consistently fall on an official holiday of the Organization, for which financial and other implications may need to be considered. The General Assembly may wish to decide on a closing date … for future sessions, that will fall on a working day …".

43. As a consequence of the provision contained in paragraph 17 of its resolution 51/241, the General Assembly has taken ad hoc decisions concerning the opening and/or closing dates of its fifty-second, fifty-third, fifty-fourth and fifty-fifth sessions:

(a) In paragraph 1 of resolution 52/232 of 4 June 1998, the Assembly decided "that the fifty-second session of the General Assembly shall close on Tuesday, 8 September 1998, and that the fifty-third session of the General Assembly shall open on Wednesday, 9 September 1998";

(b) In paragraph 1 of resolution 53/224 of 7 April 1999, the Assembly decided "that the fifty-third session of the General Assembly shall close on Monday, 13 September 1999, and that the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly shall open on Tuesday, 14 September 1999";

(c) In paragraph 1 of resolution 53/239 of 8 June 1999, the Assembly decided "that the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly shall close on Tuesday, 5 September 2000, in the morning, and that the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly shall open on Tuesday, 5 September 2000, in the afternoon".

The General Committee may wish to recommend that the Assembly address, during its fifty-fourth session, the question of the opening and closing dates of future regular sessions with a view to deciding on a formula to determine the opening and closing dates of future regular sessions.

44. Taking into account the opening date of the regular sessions, the Committee may also wish to recommend to the Assembly a review of the question of the mandatory deadline for the submission to the Fifth Committee of all draft resolutions with programme budget implications.

IV. Adoption of the agenda

45. All proposals for the inclusion of items in the agenda of the fifty-fourth session have been communicated to Member States in the following documents:

(a) Provisional agenda of the fifty-fourth session (A/54/150);

(b) Supplementary list (A/54/200);

The items proposed for inclusion are listed in the draft agenda, which appears in paragraph 47 below.

46. Bearing in mind the need to rationalize the General Assembly's procedures, and in view of the large number of items on the draft agenda, the Secretary-General wishes to recall the recommendation of the Special Committee on the Rationalization of the Procedures and Organization of the General Assembly that Member States should examine the agenda with a view to eliminating items that have lost their urgency or relevance, are not ripe for consideration or could be dealt with and even disposed of equally well by subsidiary organs of the General Assembly, and to referring specific items to other United Nations organs or to specialized agencies, taking into account the nature of the question (A/520/Rev.15, annex V, paras. 19 and 22; see also ibid., annex VII, paras. 1 and 2). The Secretary-General wishes also to recall paragraphs 4 and 5 (a) and (c) of annex I to resolution 48/264, which read as follows:

"4. There shall be periodic reviews of the agenda, taking into account the views of concerned Member States, in order to ascertain whether it is possible to delete any item on which no resolution or decision has been adopted for a period of time.

"5. The Main Committees should be encouraged to continue with the review of their respective agendas, taking into account, inter alia, the following:

"(a) Agenda items concerning issues of closely related substance could be merged within a single agenda title or be incorporated as sub-items where this is possible without loss of focus on the items/sub-items concerned;

…

"(c) Biennialization and triennialization of items on the agenda of the Main Committees could be considered in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly".

In this connection, the General Committee may wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to paragraphs 23 to 26 of the annex to resolution 51/241. In addition, bearing in mind the extremely heavy workload of the Assembly and the need to make the most effective use of scarce resources, the Committee may wish to consider deferring to a later session items for which decisions or action are not required at the present session.

47. Subject to the recommendations of the General Committee regarding paragraphs 45 and 46 above, the draft agenda of the fifty-fourth session would consist of the following items: 2/

1. Opening of the session by the Chairman of the delegation of Uruguay (P.1).

2. Minute of silent prayer or meditation (P.2).

3. Credentials of representatives to the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly (P.3):

(a) Appointment of the members of the Credentials Committee;

(b) Report of the Credentials Committee.

4. Election of the President of the General Assembly (P.4).

5. Election of the officers of the Main Committees (P.5).

6. Election of the Vice-Presidents of the General Assembly (P.6).

7. Notification by the Secretary-General under Article 12, paragraph 2, of the Charter of the United Nations (P.7).

8. Adoption of the agenda and organization of work: reports of the General Committee (P.8).

9. General debate (P.9).

10. Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization (P.10).

11. Report of the Security Council (P.11).

12. Report of the Economic and Social Council (P.12).

13. Report of the International Court of Justice (P.13).

14. Report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (P.14).

15. Elections to fill vacancies in principal organs (P.15):

(a) Election of five non-permanent members of the Security Council;

(b) Election of eighteen members of the Economic and Social Council;

16. Elections to fill vacancies in subsidiary organs and other elections (P.16):

(a) Election of twenty members of the Committee for Programme and Coordination;

(b) Election of twenty-nine members of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme.

17. Appointments to fill vacancies in subsidiary organs and other appointments (P.17):

(a) Appointment of members of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions;

(b) Appointment of members of the Committee on Contributions;

(d) Confirmation of the appointment of members of the Investments Committee;

(e) Appointment of members of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal;

(f) Appointment of a member of the United Nations Staff Pension Committee;

(g) Appointment of members of the Committee on Conferences;

(h) Appointment of members of the Joint Inspection Unit.

18. Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (P.18).

19. Admission of new Members to the United Nations (P.19).

20. Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the United Nations, including special economic assistance (P.20):

(a) Strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations;

(b) Special economic assistance to individual countries or regions;

(c) Strengthening of international cooperation and coordination of efforts to study, mitigate and minimize the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster;

(d) Participation of volunteers, "White Helmets", in activities of the United Nations in the field of humanitarian relief, rehabilitation and technical cooperation for development;

(e) Assistance to the Palestinian people;

(f) Emergency international assistance for peace, normalcy and reconstruction of war-stricken Afghanistan.

21. University for Peace (P.21).

22. Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal (P.22).

23. Multilingualism (P.23).

24. Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin (P.24).

25. Cooperation between the United Nations and the International Organization of la Francophonie (P.25).

26. Cooperation between the United Nations and the League of Arab States (P.26).

27. Cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (P.27).

28. Cooperation between the United Nations and the Economic Cooperation Organization (P.28).

29. Cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (P.29).

30. Cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (P.30).

31. Cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity (P.31).

32. Cooperation between the United Nations and the Latin American Economic System (P.32).

33. Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba (P.33).

34. Dialogue among civilizations (P.34).

35. Assistance in mine action (P.35).

36. Bethlehem 2000 (P.36).

37. Implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development (P.37).

38. Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and related matters (P.38).

39. Support by the United Nations system of the efforts of Governments to promote and consolidate new or restored democracies (P.39).

40. Oceans and the law of the sea (P.40):

(a) Law of the sea;

(b) Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks;

41. Zone of peace and cooperation of the South Atlantic (P.41).

42. The situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (P.42).

43. The situation in the Middle East (P.43).

44. Question of Palestine (P.44).

45. Global implications of the year 2000 date conversion problem of computers (P.45).

46. Causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa (P.46).

47. The situation in Central America: procedures for the establishment of a firm and lasting peace and progress in fashioning a region of peace, freedom, democracy and development (P.47).

48. The situation of democracy and human rights in Haiti (P.48).

49. United Nations reform: measures and proposals (P.49):

(a) United Nations reform: measures and proposals;

(b) The Millennium Assembly of the United Nations.

50. The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security (P.50).

51. Report of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Genocide and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of Rwanda and Rwandan Citizens Responsible for Genocide and Other Such Violations Committed in the Territory of Neighbouring States between 1 January and 31 December 1994 (P.51).

52. Question of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) (P.52).

53. Report of the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 (P.53).

54. Declaration of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity on the aerial and naval military attack against the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya by the present United States Administration in April 1986 (P.54).

55. Armed Israeli aggression against the Iraqi nuclear installations and its grave consequences for the established international system concerning the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and international peace and security (P.55).

56. Consequences of the Iraqi occupation of and aggression against Kuwait (P.56).

57. Implementation of the resolutions of the United Nations (P.57).

58. Launching of global negotiations on international economic cooperation for development (P.58).

59. Strengthening of the United Nations system (P.59).

60. Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly (P.60).

61. Restructuring and revitalization of the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields (P.61).

62. Question of the Comorian island of Mayotte (P.62).

63. Question of Cyprus (P.63).

64. Reduction of military budgets (P.64):

(a) Reduction of military budgets;

(b) Objective information on military matters, including transparency of military expenditures.

65. Prohibition of the development and manufacture of new types of weapons of mass destruction and new systems of such weapons: report of the Conference on Disarmament (P.65).

66. Question of Antarctica (P.66).

67. Compliance with arms limitation and disarmament and non-proliferation agreements (P.67).

68. Verification in all its aspects, including the role of the United Nations in the field of verification (P.68).

69. Implementation of the Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace (P.69).

70. African Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone Treaty (P.70).

71. Developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security (P.71).

72. Role of science and technology in the context of international security and disarmament (P.72).

73. Establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the region of the Middle East (P.73).

74. Conclusion of effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons (P.74).

75. Prevention of an arms race in outer space (P.75).

76. General and complete disarmament (P.76):

(a) Notification of nuclear tests;

(b) Transparency in armaments;

(d) Assistance to States for curbing the illicit traffic in small arms and collecting them;

(e) Prohibition of the dumping of radioactive wastes;

(f) Small arms;

(g) Reducing nuclear danger;

(h) Observance of environmental norms in the drafting and implementation of agreements on disarmament and arms control;

(i) Relationship between disarmament and development;

(j) Consolidation of peace through practical disarmament measures;

(k) Regional disarmament;

(l) Conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels;

(m) Nuclear-weapon-free southern hemisphere and adjacent areas;

(n) Implementation of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction;

(o) Illicit traffic in small arms;

(p) Follow-up to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons;

(q) Nuclear disarmament;

(r) Towards a nuclear-weapon-free world: the need for a new agenda;

(s) Convening of the fourth special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament.

77. Review and implementation of the Concluding Document of the Twelfth Special Session of the General Assembly (P.77):

(a) Regional confidence-building measures: activities of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa;

(b) United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific;

(d) Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Nuclear Weapons;

(e) United Nations regional centres for peace and disarmament.

78. Review of the implementation of the recommendations and decisions adopted by the General Assembly at its tenth special session (P.78):

(a) Report of the Disarmament Commission;

(b) Report of the Conference on Disarmament;

(d) United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research.

79. The risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East (P.79).

80. Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects (P.80).

81. Strengthening of security and cooperation in the Mediterranean region (P.81).

82. Consolidation of the regime established by the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco) (P.82).

83. Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (P.83).

84. Review of the implementation of the Declaration on the Strengthening of International Security (P.84).

85. Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (P.85).

86. Effects of atomic radiation (P.86).

87. International cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space (P.87).

88. United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (P.88).

89. Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories (P.89).

90. Comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects (P.90).

91. Questions relating to information (P.91).

92. Information from Non-Self-Governing Territories transmitted under Article 73 e of the Charter of the United Nations (P.92).

93. Economic and other activities which affect the interests of the peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories (P.93).

94. Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples by the specialized agencies and the international institutions associated with the United Nations (P.94).

95. Offers by Member States of study and training facilities for inhabitants of Non-Self-Governing Territories (P.95).

96. Question of the Malagasy islands of Glorieuses, Juan de Nova, Europa and Bassas da India (P.96).

97. Question of East Timor (P.97).

98. Macroeconomic policy questions (P.98):

(a) High-level international intergovernmental consideration of financing for development;

(b) Financing of development, including net transfer of resources between developing and developed countries;

(d) Science and technology for development;

(e) External debt crisis and development.

99. Sectoral policy questions (P.99):

(a) Industrial development cooperation;

(b) Business and development.

100. Sustainable development and international economic cooperation (P.100):

(a) Implementation of the commitments and policies agreed upon in the Declaration on International Economic Cooperation, in particular the Revitalization of Economic Growth and Development of the Developing Countries, and implementation of the International Development Strategy for the Fourth United Nations Development Decade;

(b) Implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II);

(d) Human resources development;

(e) International migration and development, including the question of the convening of a United Nations conference on international migration and development to address migration issues;

(f) Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the 1990s;

(g) Renewal of the dialogue on strengthening international economic cooperation for development through partnership;

(h) Implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development.

101. Environment and sustainable development (P.101):

(a) Implementation of Agenda 21 and the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21;

(b) International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction;

(d) Protection of global climate for present and future generations of mankind;

(e) Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, particularly in Africa;

(f) Implementation of the outcome of the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States.

102. Operational activities for development (P.102):

(a) Operational activities for development of the United Nations system;

(b) Economic and technical cooperation among developing countries.

103. Training and research (P.103).

104. Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources (P.104).

105. Globalization and interdependence (P.105).

106. Implementation of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997B2006) (P.106).

107. Social development, including questions relating to the world social situation and to youth, ageing, disabled persons and the family (P.107).

108. Crime prevention and criminal justice (P.108).

109. International drug control (P.109).

110. Advancement of women (P.110).

111. Implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women (P.111).

112. Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, questions relating to refugees, returnees and displaced persons and humanitarian questions (P.112).

113. Promotion and protection of the rights of children (P.113).

114. Programme of activities of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (P.114).

115. Elimination of racism and racial discrimination (P.115).

116. Right of peoples to self-determination (P.116).

117. Human rights questions (P.117):

(a) Implementation of human rights instruments;

(b) Human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms;

(d) Comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action;

(e) Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

118. Financial reports and audited financial statements, and reports of the Board of Auditors (P.118):

(a) United Nations peacekeeping operations;

(b) United Nations Institute for Training and Research;

119. Review of the efficiency of the administrative and financial functioning of the United Nations (P.119).

120. Programme budget for the biennium 1998B1999 (P.120).

121. Programme planning (P.121).

122. Proposed programme budget for the biennium 2000B2001 (P.122).

123. Improving the financial situation of the United Nations (P.123).

124. Joint Inspection Unit (P.124).

125. Pattern of conferences (P.125).

126. Scale of assessments for the apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations (P.126).

127. United Nations common system (P.127).

128. Report of the Secretary-General on the activities of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (P.128).

129. Financing of the United Nations peacekeeping forces in the Middle East (P.129):

(a) United Nations Disengagement Observer Force;

(b) United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

130. Financing of the United Nations Angola Verification Mission and the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (P.130).

131. Financing of the activities arising from Security Council resolution 687 (1991) (P.131):

(a) United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission;

(b) Other activities.

132. Financing of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (P.132).

133. Financing and liquidation of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (P.133).

134. Financing of the United Nations Protection Force, the United Nations Confidence Restoration Operation in Croatia, the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force and the United Nations Peace Forces headquarters (P.134).

135. Financing of the United Nations Operation in Somalia II (P.135).

136. Financing of the United Nations Operation in Mozambique (P.136).

137. Financing of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (P.137).

138. Financing of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (P.138).

139. Financing of the United Nations Mission in Haiti (P.139).

140. Financing of the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (P.140).

141. Financing of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (P.141).

142. Financing of the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (P.142).

143. Financing of the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 (P.143).

144. Financing of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Genocide and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of Rwanda and Rwandan Citizens Responsible for Genocide and Other Such Violations Committed in the Territory of Neighbouring States between 1 January and 31 December 1994 (P.144).

145. Financing of the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (P.145).

146. Financing of the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium and the Civilian Police Support Group (P.146).

147. Financing of the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (P.147).

148. Financing of the United Nations Support Mission in Haiti, the United Nations Transition Mission in Haiti and the United Nations Civilian Police Mission in Haiti (P.148).

149. Financing of the Military Observer Group of the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala (P.149).

150. Financing of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (P.150).

151. Financing of the United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (P.151).

152. Administrative and budgetary aspects of the financing of the United Nations peacekeeping operations (P.152):

(a) Financing of the United Nations peacekeeping operations;

(b) Relocation of Ukraine to the group of Member States set out in paragraph 3 (c) of General Assembly resolution 43/232.

153. Convention on jurisdictional immunities of States and their property (P.153).

154. United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law (P.154).

155. United Nations Decade of International Law (P.155):

(a) United Nations Decade of International Law;

(b) Outcome of the action dedicated to the 1999 centennial of the first International Peace Conference.

156. Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its fifty-first session (P.156).

157. Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its thirty-second session (P.157).

158. Report of the Committee on Relations with the Host Country (P.158).

159. Establishment of an international criminal court (P.159).

160. Report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization (P.160).

161. Measures to eliminate international terrorism (P.161).

162. Review of the Statute of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal (P.162).

163. Observer status for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in the General Assembly (P.163).

164. Review of the implementation of General Assembly resolution 48/218 B (P.164).

165. Human resources management (P.165).

166. Commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child [item proposed by Canada, Egypt, Mali, Mexico, Pakistan and Sweden (A/54/141)] (P.166).

167. Financing of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (S.1).

168. Cooperation between the United Nations and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (S.2).

169. Granting of observer status in the General Assembly for the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (S.3).

170. Observer status for the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance in the General Assembly (S.4).

171. Need to examine the exceptional international situation pertaining to the Republic of China on Taiwan, to ensure that the fundamental right of its twenty-two million people to participate in the work and activities of the United Nations is fully respected (S.5).

172. Financing of the United Nations Mission in East Timor (A.1).

V. Allocation of items

48. The allocation of items described in paragraph 62 below is based on the pattern adopted by the General Assembly for those items in previous years. The Secretary-General trusts that delegations will consider allotting items in a manner which will best enhance the effectiveness and the impact of the Assembly's work. In this connection, the General Committee may wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to paragraph 4 of its decision 34/401 (A/520/Rev.15, annex VI), which reads as follows:

"4. Substantive items should normally be discussed initially in a Main Committee and, therefore, items previously allocated to plenary meetings should henceforth be referred to a Main Committee unless there are compelling circumstances requiring their continued consideration in plenary meeting."

The General Committee may also wish to draw the Assembly's attention to paragraph 3 of annex I to resolution 48/264. The Secretary-General wishes to draw the attention of the General Committee to the relevant paragraphs of resolution 39/88 B and resolution 45/45 (A/520/Rev.15 and Amend.1, annexes VII and VIII). Paragraph 5 of the annex to resolution 39/88 B reads as follows:

"5. The Chairmen of the Main Committees should take the initiative, in the light of past experience, to propose the grouping of similar or related items and the holding of a single general debate on them."

Paragraph 6 of the annex to resolution 45/45 reads as follows:

"6. In making recommendations as to how agenda items should be allocated to the Main Committees and the plenary of the General Assembly, the General Committee should ensure the best use of the expertise of the Committees."

In this connection, the Secretary-General also wishes to draw the attention of the General Committee to paragraphs 2 and 5 (b) and (d) of annex I to resolution 48/264, which read as follows:

A2. Agenda items which are of a nature that relates to more than one Main Committee or which do not come within the purview of any Main Committee should be considered by the General Assembly in plenary meeting, taking into account the recommendations of the General Committee.

…

"5. The Main Committees should be encouraged to continue with the review of their respective agendas, taking into account, inter alia, the following:

…

"(b) Items that cover related matters or issues could be considered in agreed clusters;

…

"(d) The existing broad division of work among the Main Committees should be maintained."

The Secretary-General also wishes to draw the attention of the General Committee to paragraph 24 of the annex to resolution 51/241, which reads as follows:

"24. The General Assembly shall take further steps to rationalize and streamline the agenda … and in particular shall make greater use of clustering, biennialization or triennialization of agenda items. Items that could be considered at a later session shall be identified, taking into account the priorities set by the medium-term plan."

49. The following items of the draft agenda have not been considered previously by the General Assembly:

163. Observer status for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in the General Assembly (P.163).

166. Commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (P.166).

168. Cooperation between the United Nations and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (S.2).

169. Granting of observer status in the General Assembly for the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (S.3).

170. Observer status for the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance in the General Assembly (S.4).

172. Financing of the United Nations Mission in East Timor (A.1).

The sponsors of the requests for the inclusion of the following items have suggested that they should be allocated as follows:

Item 166 Plenary meetings

Item 168 Plenary meetings

Item 169 Plenary meetings

Item 170 Plenary meetings

Item 171 Plenary meetings

Item 172 Fifth Committee

50. With regard to item 163 of the draft agenda (Observer status for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in the General Assembly), the Secretary-General wishes to recall Assembly decision 53/402 of 7 December 1998, whereby the General Assembly decided to include the item in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session, without reference to its allocation.

51. With regard to item 10 of the draft agenda (Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization), as at previous sessions, the Secretary-General wishes to make a brief presentation of his annual report (A/54/1) as the first item in the morning prior to the opening of the general debate on Monday, 20 September.

52. In connection with item 12 of the draft agenda (Report of the Economic and Social Council), the Secretary-General proposes that, as in previous years, the various parts of the report should be assigned to the Main Committees in accordance with their respective fields of competence or to plenary meetings, on the understanding that the administrative, programme and budgetary aspects should be dealt with by the Fifth Committee. Bearing that consideration in mind, the Secretary-General recommends the following allocation for the various parts of the report: 3/

Chapter I	Matters calling for action by the General Assembly or brought to its attention	Plenary meetings, Second, Third and Fifth Committees

Chapter II	Special high-level meeting of the Council with the Bretton Woods institutions	Plenary meetings and Second Committee

Chapter III	High-level segment	Plenary meetings and Second and Third Committees

Chapter IV	Operational activities segment

Plenary meetings and Second and Third Committees Chapter V	Coordination segment	Plenary meetings and Second and Third Committees

Chapter VI	Humanitarian affairs segment	Plenary meetings

Chapter VII	General segment

Section A	Integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits	Plenary meetings, Second and Third Committees

Section B	Coordination, programme and other questions	Plenary meetings, Second, Third and Fifth Committees

Section C	Implementation of General Assembly resolutions 50/227 and 52/12 B	Plenary meetings, Second, Third and Fifth Committees

Section D	Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples by the specialized agencies and the international institutions associated with the United Nations	Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee)

Section E	Regional cooperation	Second Committee

Section F	Economic and social repercussions of the Israeli occupation on the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan	Second Committee

Section G	Non-governmental organizations	Second Committee

Section H	Economic and environmental questions	Second Committee

Section I	Social and human rights questions	Third Committee

Chapter VIII	Elections, appointments, nominations and confirmations	Plenary meetings

Chapter IX	Organizational matters	Plenary meetings, Second, Third and Fifth Committees

53. With regard to item 18 of the draft agenda (Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples), the General Committee may wish to consider referring to the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) chapters of the report of the Special Committee (A/54/23) relating to specific Territories; this would again enable the General Assembly to deal in plenary meeting with the question of the implementation of the Declaration as a whole.

54. With regard to item 52 of the draft agenda (Question of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas)), the Secretary-General wishes to remind the General Committee that at previous sessions the General Assembly decided to consider this item directly in plenary meeting, on the understanding that bodies and individuals having an interest in the question would be heard in the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) in conjunction with the consideration of the item in plenary meeting.

55. With regard to item 63 of the draft agenda (Question of Cyprus), the General Committee will recall that at its forty-second session 4/ the General Assembly decided to consider this item directly in plenary meeting, on the understanding that it would, when considering the item, invite the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) to meet for the purpose of affording representatives of the Cypriot communities an opportunity to take the floor in the Committee in order to express their views, and that the Assembly would then resume its consideration of the item, taking into account the report of the Committee.

56. In connection with item 76 of the draft agenda (General and complete disarmament), the Secretary-General wishes to draw the attention of the General Committee to the fact that some portions of the annual report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (A/54/215), which is to be considered directly in plenary meeting under item 14, deal with the subject matter of this item. The General Committee may therefore wish to recommend that the relevant paragraphs of the report should be drawn to the attention of the First Committee in connection with its consideration of item 76.

57. With regard to item 100 (h) of the draft agenda (Sustainable development and international economic cooperation: implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development), the Secretary-General wishes to recall General Assembly decision 53/443 of 15 December 1998, in which the Assembly decided to allocate a plenary meeting at its fifty-fourth session to the commemoration of the thirtieth anniversary of the operation of the United Nations Population Fund. The General Committee may wish to recommend to the Assembly that the commemorative meeting be held on Wednesday, 27 October 1999 in the morning.

58. In connection with item 107 of the draft agenda (Social development, including questions relating to the world social situation and to youth, ageing, disabled persons and the family), the Secretary-General wishes to recall paragraph 23 of resolution 52/80 of 12 December 1997, in which the Assembly decided to devote four plenary meetings at its fifty-fourth session to the follow-up to the International Year for Older Persons. The General Committee may wish to recommend to the Assembly that the commemorative meetings be held on Monday and Tuesday, 4 and 5 October 1999.

59. In connection with item 110 of the draft agenda (Advancement of women), the Secretary-General wishes to recall paragraph 16 of the annex to resolution 39/125 of 14 December 1984 concerning the United Nations Development Fund for Women, which reads as follows:

"16. Taking into account the advice of the Consultative Committee, the Administrator shall submit to the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme an annual report on the operations, management and budget of the Fund. He shall submit a similar report to the General Assembly, to be referred to the Second Committee for consideration of its technical cooperation aspects and also to the Third Committee."

The General Committee may therefore wish to recommend that the report be referred to the Second Committee for consideration under item 102 of the draft agenda (Operational activities for development).

60. Also in connection with item 110 of the draft agenda (Advancement of women), the Secretary-General wishes to draw the attention of the General Committee to a letter from Austria (A/54/300), in which it is requested that the item also be considered directly in the plenary for the sole purpose of taking action on the draft resolution entitled, "Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women" recommended to the General Assembly for its adoption by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 1999/13 of 28 July 1999.

61. With regard to item 155 (a) of the draft agenda (United Nations Decade of International Law), the Secretary-General wishes to recall paragraph 19 of resolution 53/100 of 8 December 1998, whereby the General Assembly decided to convene a one-day plenary meeting on 17 November 1999 to mark the end of the Decade.

62. Subject to changes that may be made by the General Committee in the light of paragraphs 48 to 61 above, the allocation of the items of the draft agenda, as based on previous practice, would be the following:2

Plenary meetings