THIRD COMMITTEE ELECTS VICE-CHAIRMEN, RAPPORTEUR, ADOPTS AGENDA

Press Release
GA/SHC/3516

THIRD COMMITTEE ELECTS VICE-CHAIRMEN, RAPPORTEUR, ADOPTS AGENDA

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) this afternoon elected Amina Mesdoua (Algeria), Monica Martinez (Ecuador) and Kirsten Geelan (Denmark) as Vice-Chairmen. It also elected Naif Bin Bandar Al-Sudairy (Saudi Arabia) as Rapporteur. In addition, the Committee adopted its programme of work for the current session, scheduled to conclude 19 November.

Addressing the Committee prior to consideration of the work programme for the session, Chairman Vladimir Galuska (Czech Republic) said the world community expected the Third Committee to address “the pressing issues of humankind without relying on additional inspiration”.

The tenth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child would be directly considered by the General Assembly, the Chairman said. Furthermore, the General Assembly would devote four plenary meetings to the follow-up to the 1999 International Year of Older Persons. “We have an ambitious and exhausting agenda sent forward to us by General Assembly resolutions, the Economic and Social Council and various United Nations Commissions”, he added.

In addition, the Assembly’s General Committee had recommended that the report of the Administrator of the United Nations Development Fund for Women be considered by the Second Committee, as well as the Third. The Chairman pointed out that the General Committee had recommended that the resolution on the Optional Protocol to the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women would be considered directly in the General Assembly. In addition, the Assembly would undertake the debate on the “Implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development” during the week of 4 October at which time the Third Committee would not schedule meetings.

The Committee will consider, among other agenda items: social development; the advancement of women; crime prevention and drug control; questions relating to refugees and displaced persons; elimination of racism and racial discrimination, as well as the right of peoples to self-determination; and the rights of children.

The Committee will also consider the programme of activities of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People. It will hear reports of special rapporteurs and representatives on aspects of human rights situations, holding dialogues with a number of presenters, including with senior United Nations Secretariat officials, and with the United Nations High Commissioners both for Human Rights and for Refugees.

The Committee will begin its substantive work at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 6 October, when it will take up social development, including questions relating to the world social situation and to youth, ageing, disabled persons and the family.

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