GENERAL COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS ITEMS ON WOMEN'S CONFERENCE, HUMAN RIGHTS
Press Release
GA/8960
GENERAL COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS ITEMS ON WOMEN'S CONFERENCE, HUMAN RIGHTS
19951020 The General Committee this morning recommended that the General Assembly include in its current agenda an item on the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and an additional sub-item on human rights questions.The Committee further recommended that the item on the Women's Conference be allocated to the plenary for endorsement of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, with substantive discussions allocated to the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) and the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural). The item on human rights questions was also allocated to the Third Committee.
Introducing the item on the Women's Conference, the representative of the Philippines said that the request on the follow-up to the Beijing Conference envisioned at least one plenary meeting of the General Assembly to take up procedural matters. All substantive issues would be discussed in the Second and Third Committees and the plenary meeting should take place before the Third Committee began its discussion.
Introducing the item on human rights questions, the representative of Ecuador said that when the General Assembly established the post of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in 1993, Member States gave unprecedented political and moral authority to it and his report should be considered by the Assembly.
An explanatory memorandum was attached to the request for inclusion of the item entitled "Implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace" (document A/50/232). It noted that the Beijing Platform for Action states that responsibility for ensuring its implementation into all policies and programmes of the United Nations system must rest at the highest levels. The Platform also calls on the General Assembly to integrate gender issues throughout its work and to include the follow-up to the Conference as part of its continuing work on the advancement of women.
General Committee - 2 - Press Release GA/8960 3rd Meeting (AM) 20 October 1995
The request for the inclusion of the additional sub-item entitled "Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights" would have the Assembly include it under item 112 on human rights questions.
The request was submitted by the representatives of Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
An explanatory memorandum annexed to the request (document A/50/233) states that it was necessary to include the sub-item in the Assembly's agenda to facilitate consideration of the Report.
The Committee's recommendation concerning the proposed items will be considered by the General Assembly on Thursday, 26 October.
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