NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR ACCIDENT TO BE COMMEMORATED AT HEADQUARTERS

Press Release

NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR ACCIDENT TO BE COMMEMORATED AT HEADQUARTERS

To mark the tenth anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, one of the worst technological disasters in human history, a two- day programme of activities will be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York, on 25 and 26 April 1996. The programme is being organized by the Permanent Missions of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, in cooperation with the United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs and Department of Public Information.

In observance of the tragedy, the General Assembly has declared 26 April 1996 an international day commemorating the tenth anniversary of the catastrophe, stressing the need to enhance public awareness of the consequences of such disasters for human health and environment throughout the world.

The explosion on 26 April 1986, at the Fourth Reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, tore at the social fabric of the countries most directly affected and had a devastating impact on the subregion's economy and environment. The accident continues to haunt the economies of the three countries most affected by the accident -- Belarus, Russian Federation and Ukraine -- obliging them to allocate crippling portions of their budgetary resources to address the most acute of its consequences.

Health risks, both physical and mental, continue to affect great numbers of people. Thyroid cancers have increased markedly in the three countries, and their incidence can be unequivocally attributed to radiation from the Chernobyl catastrophe. An area the size of England, Wales and Northern Ireland combined has been contaminated, and some 400,000 people were forced to abandon their homes after the explosion. Those who lived within a 20-mile radius of the plant will never be permitted to return. It is estimated that 9 million people have been affected, directly or indirectly, by the accident.

- 2 - Note No. 5333 25 April 1996

Following is the schedule of commemorative events:

25 April -- 12 p.m.: Official launch of three commemorative exhibitions in the General Assembly Visitors Lobby. Opening remarks will be made by the Permanent Representative of Ukraine, Anatoli Zlenko. Photography and art exhibits will be on display at the General Assembly Visitors Lobby; an exhibit of children's drawings can be viewed at the South Secretariat Lobby.

-- 12:45 p.m.: Solo recital by a young Belarusian pianist at the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium.

-- 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.: "Chernobyl Tragedy through the Camera Lens", a screening of documentary films at the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium, will feature excerpts from several award-winning documentaries on the tragedy. The screening will be introduced by the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation, Sergei Lavrov.

-- 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.: Open expanded meeting of the ministerial-level Quadripartite Committee for Coordination on Chernobyl (Conference Room 5). The meeting will review progress in international efforts over the past decade aimed at mitigating the consequences of the accident and will discuss plans for future action. The meeting is open to the press.

-- 7 p.m.: Concert by Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra (Ukraine) in the General Assembly Visitors Lobby.

26 April -- 10 a.m.: Special Commemorative Meeting (Conference Room 2). A central event of the anniversary programme, the Commemorative Meeting will be chaired by Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and United Nations Coordinator of International Cooperation on Chernobyl, Yasushi Akashi, and will feature an address by Diogo Freitas do Amaral, President of the fiftieth session of the General Assembly. The Permanent Representatives of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine and senior officials of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will also speak at the gathering. The meeting is open to the press.

-- 10:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.: International Chernobyl Charity Bazaar (South Secretariat Lobby).

-- 11:15 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.: Press conference by representatives of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine (Room S-226).

For further information, please contact Alex Taukatch at 212-963-7158; for media accreditation, Sonia Lecca at 212-963-6934; and for United Nations television coverage, Jim Ludlam at 212-963-7650.

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