FIFTH COMMITTEE TAKES UP PROPOSED PROGRAMME BUDGET FOR 2000-2001 BIENNIUM

Press Release
GA/AB/3322/

FIFTH COMMITTEE TAKES UP PROPOSED PROGRAMME BUDGET FOR 2000-2001 BIENNIUM

CORRECTION

On page 18 of Press Release GA/AB/3322 of 27 October, the summary of the statement of the representative of Cyprus, which should have appeared between the summarized statements of the representatives of Burkina Faso and China, was inadvertently omitted.

The text of the summary reads as follows:

“DEMETRIOS A. THEOPHYLACTOU (Cyprus) said he endorsed the full implementation of programme 28 of the medium-term plan and looked forward to the special session of the Assembly on the Social Summit due in June 2000. Cyprus trusted that sufficient resources would be mobilized to support developing countries in technical cooperation to follow up and implement the Programme of Action adopted at the Summit. The United Nations system and the Secretariat were responsible for ensuring successful follow-up. The Committee's support and constant encouragement on the matter were indispensable, and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs deserved appreciation for its efforts to date.

“Having experienced at first hand, through the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), the benefits of peacekeeping, he said, he could not emphasize enough the importance of adequately resourcing them. Issues often became the subject of mass media reports, he added, citing a recent editorial in The New York Times which stated that it was inexcusable that Member States sent United Nations staff into danger when it was unwilling to pay for training or security. The ever-rising demand for missions and the modest financial resources available to them constituted a serious issue.

“His country was fully committed to United Nations peacekeeping, he said, and it highly valued the humanitarian activities of UNFICYP and its contribution to international peace and security. Cyprus voluntarily contributed a substantial portion of UNFICYP’s budget, amounting to one third of the total, and an additional one third over and above its assessed contribution for all United Nations peacekeeping operations. He hoped that the debate in the Committee and the decisions it would take would ameliorate the financial situation of peacekeeping and special political missions.”

Fifth Committee - 2 - Press Release GA/AB/3322/Corr.1 17th Meeting (PM) 28 October 1998

The last paragraph of page 1a (which continues on page 1b) of the same press release should therefore read:

“The representatives of Finland (on behalf of the European Union and associated States), Norway, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Philippines (on behalf of the Association of South-East Asian Nations), Pakistan, Burkina Faso, Cyprus, China and Cameroon also spoke. The Chairmen of the ACABQ, C.S.M. Mselle, and the Committee for Programme and Coordination, Tommo Monthe, introduced their respective reports.”

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