Bethlehem 2000 – GA debate – Press release (excerpts)

Fifty-fifth General Assembly

Plenary

53rd Meeting (AM)

ASSEMBLY IS TOLD SHARED OBJECTIVE OF POVERTY ERADICATION

SHOULD MOTIVATE STRONGER LINKS BETWEEN UN AND OAU

African Speakers, Noting Some Success in Joint Efforts,

Seek Intensified Cooperation; Debate Ends on IAEA Report

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The General Assembly meets again at 3 p.m. today to take up its agenda items on cooperation between the United Nations and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and on “Bethlehem 2000”.

Assembly Work Programme

Bethlehem 2000

At its last session, the Assembly adopted a resolution (A/54/22) expressing support for the "Bethlehem 2000" project, a multifaceted commemorative event scheduled to last from Christmas 1999 to Easter 2001.  The resolution called for accelerated assistance and engagement by the international community, including the private sector, to ensure the project's success.

Before the Assembly today was a draft resolution on Bethlehem 2000 (document A/55/L.3), sponsored by Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Comoros, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Egypt, Madagascar, Malaysia, Malta, Namibia, Senegal, United Arab Emirates and Palestine.  By its terms, the Assembly would welcome the “global and historic celebration in Bethlehem and the onset of the third millennium as a symbol of the shared hope for peace among all peoples of the world”.   Recalling that “the Palestinian city of Bethlehem is the birthplace of Jesus Christ and one of the most historic and significant sites on earth”, the Assembly would express support for efforts of the Palestinian Authority on the Bethlehem 2000 project, and ask the Secretary-General to continue to mobilize pertinent United Nations agencies in their efforts to ensure a successful conclusion to the project.

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