Provisional Agenda for the 44th Session of the CSW Acting as the Prepcom

Economic and Social Council

Distr.: General
December 1999
Original: English

ADVANCE UNEDITED VERSION

E/CN.6/2000/PC/1
Commission on the Status of Women acting as the
preparatory committee for the special session of the
General Assembly entitled "Women 2000: gender equality,
development and peace for the twenty-first century"

Third session
3 - 17 March 2000
Item 1 of the provisional agenda

Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters

Provisional agenda

1. Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters.

2. Preparations for the special session of the General Assembly entitled "Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century".

3. Adoption of the report of the Commission acting as the preparatory committee for the special session of the General Assembly.

Annotations

1. Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters

In its resolution 52/231, the General Assembly decided that the preparatory work for its special session to be held from 5 to 9 June 2000, would be carried out by the Commission on the Status of Women at its forty-third and forty-fourth sessions and that those sessions would be extended by five days each to complete the preparations.

In its resolution 54/..., the General Assembly recommended that the major share of the three-week forty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women in March 2000 be allocated to the Commission acting as preparatory committee for the special session. It also invited the Bureau of the Commission acting as preparatory committee to convene informal open-ended consultations, as appropriate, to consider preparations for the special session. The Economic and Social Council, in its decision 1999/278, approved the provisional agenda and documentation for the third session of the preparatory committee.

The Bureau of the Commission acting as preparatory committee held several meetings to consider the organization and method of work for the session, and the allocation of time between the Commission on the Status of Women and the Commission acting as preparatory committee. It also met with the Bureau of the Commission. A joint briefing was convened by the Chairpersons of the two Bureaux on 14 October 1999 in order to consider the organization of work of the Commission, as well as of the preparatory committee, and the allocation of time between them.

The proposed organization of work for the third session of the Commission acting as preparatory committee, as contained in the annex below, reflects the proposals made during the consultations in October. It is proposed that the forty-fourth session of the Commission be held from Monday, 28 February to Thursday, 2 March 2000, and that the remainder of the three-week session, i.e. from 3 to 17 March 2000, be allocated to the Commission acting as preparatory committee for the special session. The proposed allocation of time, together with the allocation of tasks between the Commission and the Commission acting as preparatory committee aims at ensuring an optimal division of time and labour, as well as to achieve a coherent work flow between the two bodies so that the Commission acting as preparatory committee can build on the work accomplished by the Commission.

Accordingly, a general debate is scheduled for the first day of the preparatory committee’s session, with a focus on agenda item 2, preparations for the special session. A general debate on review and appraisal, together with follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women, will have taken place on 28 and 29 February in the Commission itself, and a factual summary of the general debate, prepared by the Secretariat, following last year’s practice (see E/1999/60, Chapter II, para.6), will be made available to the preparatory committee.

To ensure wide participation, it is recommended that individual interventions by Governments, intergovernmental organizations, United Nations entities and non-governmental organizations be limited to 5 minutes, and interventions on behalf of groups be limited to 10 minutes.

A panel discussion and dialogue on an "Outlook on gender equality, development and peace beyond the year 2000" is proposed to take place on 6 March 2000. Together with the panel discussion on "emerging issues, trends and new approaches to issues affecting the situation of women or equality between women and men", scheduled to take place on 1 March in the Commission, this panel is expected to assist the preparatory committee in gathering additional material on further actions and initiatives for the preparation of the outcome of the special session. The panel will be prepared in accordance with the Commission’s established practice as set out in its agreed conclusions 1996/1. Following the general debate and the panel and dialogue, informal consultations would be held for the purpose of negotiation and finalization of any text(s) which the preparatory committeee wishes to submit to the special session of the General Assembly.

The Commission acting as preparatory committee will be informed orally by the Secretariat of any changes to the proposed organization of work that may emerge from further consultations. Thursday, 16 March 2000, is an official holiday - Idh al Adha - and no meetings are scheduled for that day. Consequently, the Bureau has proposed that the preparatory committee should meet on Saturday, 11 March. The annotated provisional agenda and proposed organization of work of the Commission is contained in document E/CN.6/2000/1.

2. Preparations for the special session of the General Assembly entitled "Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century"

The General Assembly, in resolution 52/100, decided to convene, in the year 2000, a high-level plenary review to appraise and assess the progress achieved in the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and the Beijing Platform for Action, five years after its adoption, and to consider further actions and initiatives. It designated the Commission on the Status of Women as the preparatory committee for the high-level review, open to the participation of all States Members of the United Nations, members of the specialized agencies and observers, in accordance with the established practice of the General Assembly.

In its resolution 52/231, the General Assembly decided that the high-level plenary review should be held as a special session of the Assembly for five days, from 5 to 9 June 2000. In resolution 53/120, the General Assembly decided that the special session should be entitled "Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century".

The General Assembly, in resolution 54/..., decided that the special session will have a plenary and an ad hoc committee of the whole. It decided that the provisional agenda for the special session will include the following items:

(a) Review and appraisal of progress made in the implementation of the twelve critical areas of concern in the Beijing Platform for Action;

(b) Further actions and initiatives for overcoming obstacles to the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action.

In the same resolution, the Assembly decided that non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, as well as non-governmental organizations that were accredited to the Fourth World Conference on Women, may participate in the special session without creating a precedent for future sessions of the General Asssembly. The Assembly also decided to defer consideration of all modalities for participation of non-governmental organizations in the special session until the next session of the preparatory committee.

The Economic and Social Council, at its resumed substantive session of 1998, decided, as an interim measure, to invite those non-governmental organizations that were accredited to the Fourth World Conference on Women to attend the forty-third and forty-fourth sessions of the Commission, including those parts of the sessions in which the Commission acts as the preparatory committee for the special session of the General Assembly, provided that they had started the process of applying for consultative status in accordance with Council decisions 1996/315 and 1997/298. The Council requested the Secretary-General to draw the attention of the non-governmental organizations accredited to the Fourth World Conference on Women to the provisions of its decision and to the process established under Council resolution 1996/31.

Documentation

Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action on the basis of national reports, taking into account the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women (E/CN.6/2000/PC/2)

Comparative report of the Secretary-General on how different categories of projects and programmes of United Nations organizations are including women’s interests and gender mainstreaming issues and on resources allocated in this regard (E/CN.6/2000/PC/3)

Report of the Secretary-General on emerging issues containing additional material on further actions and initiatives for the preparation of the outlook beyond the year 2000 (E/CN.6/200/PC/4)

Note by the Secretary-General containing a summary of the online working groups on the twelve critical areas of concern of the Beijing Platform for Action (E/CN.6/2000/PC/CRP.1)

Documentation for information

Report of the Secretary-General assessing the implementation of the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women, 1996-2001 (E/CN.6/2000/3)

3. Adoption of the report of the Commission acting as the preparatory committee for the special session of the General Assembly

The Commission acting as the preparatory committee shall adopt a report on the work of its session.

Annex

Proposed organization of work

3 March, and week of 6-11 March

Friday, 3 March

a.m. Item 1 Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters

General discussion:

Item 2 Preparations for the special session of the General Assembly entitled "Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century"

p.m. Item 2 Conclusion of general discussion

Monday, 6 March

a.m. Item 2 Preparations for the special session of the General Assembly entitled "Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century"

Panel discussion and dialogue on:

Outlook on gender equality, development and peace beyond the year 2000

p.m. Item 2 Continuation of dialogue

Tuesday, 7 March

a.m. Item 2 Informal consultations