NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS MEDIA ARRANGEMENTS FOR GENERAL DEBATE SEGMENT OF FIFTY-SECOND SESSION OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Press Release

NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS MEDIA ARRANGEMENTS FOR GENERAL DEBATE SEGMENT OF FIFTY-SECOND SESSION OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The general debate of the fifty-second session of the General Assembly will begin on Monday, 22 September, and continue until Friday, 10 October, in the General Assembly Hall at United Nations Headquarters.

The United Nations building will be closed to the public on Monday, 22 September. Access for accredited media, with a valid United Nations pass, will be through the Visitors Entrance, located on 46th Street and First Avenue. Members of the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) may also use the 42nd Street entrance.

On Thursday, 25 September, there will be a Ministerial Meeting of the Security Council regarding Africa.

On Friday, 26 September, the first Permanent Joint Council meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Russian Federation, at the Foreign Minister level, will take place from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The meeting will be open to the media for the three opening speeches and then go into closed session. Immediately following the meeting, a "class photo" of all participants will be taken. Following that photo opportunity, a press conference will be held in Conference Room 4.

Media Accreditation

The Accreditation Centre is located in the Visitors Lobby, on the left-hand side of the Information Desk. Office hours will be: Saturday, 20 September, 12 noon to 6 p.m.; Sunday, 21 September, 12 noon to 9 p.m.; and Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m to 5:30 p.m. Correspondents already possessing a valid United Nations grounds pass will not require additional accreditation for the General Assembly.

All members of the press corps accompanying a Head of State or Head of Government or Head of Delegation must have their name, function and organization included in their government's official comprehensive list. The list should be submitted directly to the Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit, Room S-250 (fax: 212/963-4642 or 963-3508). Media representatives coming

independently to cover the Assembly should have a letter of assignment from their bureau chief or assignment editor in the organization they represent.

After arrival in New York, all members of the press corps accompanying the Head of State, Head of Government or Head of Delegation must present themselves to the Accreditation Centre, where they will have their photographs taken and be issued United Nations grounds passes. For security reasons, all members of the press corps will be required to wear both their United Nations passes and a national ID at all times.

Security Checks

All media carrying equipment must go through the Visitors Entrance and walk through the magnetometer. Permanently accredited journalists without bags and equipment may use the 42nd Street entrance. The Visitors Entrance will open at 8 a.m. on Monday, 22 September. For the remainder of the general debate period, it will open at 9 a.m.

Ground Restrictions

Media representatives will be permitted to do stand-ups and/or interviews in the General Assembly public lobby only. The following areas will be off limits to the media, except for the predetermined pools:

-- Secretariat Entrance (and grounds outside);

-- Delegates Entrance (grounds outside);

-- Second floor and any floor over the fifth floor without a confirmed appointment.

Remote Live Coverage, In-House Television

Media representatives will be able to see live or taped television coverage on the two in-house television channels.

Coverage of the General Assembly will be on channel 6, as well as on channel 38 on televisions with a cable box.

Coverage of other meetings and events will be on channels 3 and 31. This includes meetings of the Security Council, Security Council stake-out coverage, arrivals and photo opportunities, and the NATO/Russia Permanent Council meeting. When there is not a conflict with other coverage already on channels 3 and 31, it also includes news conferences and the daily United Nations press briefing.

For those interested, CNN can be seen on channel 8 (channel 10 on televisions with a cable box); CNN International on channels 55 and 57; and

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Headline News on channels 10 and 27. On televisions equipped with a cable box, MSNBC can be seen on channel 54, Fox News Channel on channel 72, New York 1 News (local news) on channel 1, and the Weather Channel on channel 36.

United Nations Audio-Visual Materials

Photographs, videotapes and audio tapes are available from the United Nations. Each day during the General Assembly period, the offices which provide these services will be open from 9:30 a.m.

-- Photographs will be available to delegations for a nominal fee and to accredited correspondents free of charge. Please direct inquiries and requests to: United Nations Photo Library, Room S-805L (fax: 212/963-1658; tel.: 212/963-6927).

-- Videotapes of speeches are available for a fee on NTSC only, in VHS, U-matic (3/4") and Betacam SP formats. Tapes ordered in advance will be available for pick-up immediately following the speech. Tapes ordered afterwards will be available by the next day. To request a videotape of a speech, contact: UNTV, Room CB-58 (fax: 212/963-3860; tel.: 212/963-7652).

-- Live feeds are available through commercial carriers (for information, call 212/963-7650).

Please note that most unilateral television production services will not be available from United Nations Television during this period.

-- Audio cassettes of the speeches are available, free of charge, from the United Nations Audio Library. It is located on the first basement concourse level (1B), Room GA-27 (fax: 212/963-3860; tel.: 212/963-9272 or 963-4186).

Speeches are normally available in the original (floor) language in which they were delivered. Special requests for the recording of the interpreter's version in one of the six official languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) should be made in advance and are subject to the limitations of the recording facilities.

Accredited correspondents are provided with audio cassettes of news items free of charge. Delegates may request one cassette of each speech free of charge. Additional copies, back orders and other special requests are subject to charge and are handled by the Sound Recording Unit, Room GA-13C (tel.: 212/963-7658).

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Pool coverage

Owing to logistics and space considerations, nearly all visual media coverage will be done by selected media pools. These pools are reserved exclusively for United Nations Television, United Nations photographers, international wire services and photo agencies. With respect to print media, UNCA will notify the Department of Public Information (DPI) of its representative.

The official press corps accompanying a Head of State, Head of Government or Head of Delegation, including the official photographer, will not be permitted to participate in these pools. The one exception will be the luncheon in which their Head of State, Head of Government or Head of Delegation participates, where the official photographer will be allowed to join the pool. In all instances, these pools will be accompanied by liaison staff from the Department of Public Information.

Visual Coverage in General Assembly Hall

Official photographers and official television crews will have an opportunity to cover the speech of their Head of State, Head of Government or Head of Delegation on a rotating basis from the press booths surrounding the General Assembly Hall. Owing to space limitations, they may not remain to cover the other speeches. A limited number of still photographers, escorted by DPI liaison staff, will also be allowed to take photographs from the "bridge" at the back of the General Assembly Hall during the speech. These operations will be coordinated from the third floor liaison desk.

Press Gallery in General Assembly Hall

There are 53 seats available for media representatives in the press gallery of the General Assembly Hall. Tickets will be distributed at the liaison desk half an hour prior to the meeting, on a first-come, first-served basis.

Copies of Speeches for Press

Delegations wishing to make the speech of their Head of State, Head of Government or Head of Delegation available to the press should bring a minimum of 150 copies to the press documents distribution counter at the third floor press area.

United Nations Press Releases

The Department of Public Information will provide press release coverage of open meetings. They may be obtained at the third floor documents counter. Further queries should be directed to the News Coverage and Accreditation Service (tel.: 212/963-7211 or 963-2360).

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Coverage of Bilateral Meetings

Delegations wishing coverage by their official media and/or international press of bilateral meetings involving their Head of State, Head of Government or Head of Delegation are urged to obtain the prior agreement of both delegations for such coverage. They should provide the Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit with details of scheduled bilateral meetings.

Since most of the bilateral meetings will be held in booths specially prepared for the occasion in the Chinese Lounge and other locations, photo opportunities will take place there. Media representatives covering those meetings will be asked to assemble at the third floor liaison desk, from where they will be escorted by a liaison officer of the Department of Public Information.

Press Conferences, Interviews

Room 226 has been identified as the venue for press conferences during this period. Missions wishing to schedule a press conference should contact the office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General (tel.: 212/963-7162).

Special UNCA Arrangements

All current UNCA arrangements will remain in effect.

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