Fifty-seventh General Assembly

Fourth Committee

1st Meeting (AM)

FOURTH COMMITTEE ELECTS THREE VICE-CHAIRPERSONS

AND RAPPORTEUR AS IT HOLDS FIRST MEETING

Work Programme for Fifty-seventh General Assembly Session Approved

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) elected three Vice-Chairpersons and a Rapporteur this morning as it held its first meeting of the fifty-seventh General Assembly session.  It also approved its programme of work and adopted its agenda for the session.

Elected by acclamation were:  Margaret Hughes Ferrari of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, representing the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States; Debra Price (Canada) from the Group of Western European and Other States; and Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi (Kuwait) representing the Group of Asian States.  Andrej Droba (Slovakia), from the Group of Eastern European States, was elected Rapporteur, also by acclamation.

Committee Chairman Graham Maitland (South Africa) congratulated his predecessor, Hasmy Agam (Malaysia), and other outgoing Bureau members for their work during the fifty-sixth session.

According to the work programme approved this morning (contained in document A/C.4/57/L.1), the Committee will consider issues relating to implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (item 19) from 30 September to 4 October.

Those issues include information from Non-Self-Governing Territories transmitted under Article 73 e of the United Nations Charter (item 80); and economic and other activities affecting the interests of the peoples of those Territories (item 81).  Others are implementation of the decolonization Declaration by United Nations specialized agencies and associated international institutions (item 82); report of the Economic and Social Council (item 12); and offers by Member States of study and training facilities for inhabitants of Non-Self-Governing Territories (item 83).

The Committee is expected to examine international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space (item 75) from 7 to 9 October and the effects of atomic radiation (item 74) from 11 to 15 October.  From 18 to 22 October, it will

take up the comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects (item 78).  From 29 to 31 October, the Committee will begin considering questions relating to information (item 79). 

On 4 to 5 November, the Committee will take up the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) (item 76).  On

6 to 7 November, it will examine the report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories (item 77). 

The Fourth Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. on Monday, 30 September, to take up issues relating to the implementation of the decolonization Declaration.

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