Sixty-first General Assembly

Plenary

57^th Meeting (PM)

GENERAL ASSEMBLY ADDS TWO MORE ITEMS TO CALENDAR –- HUMAN RIGHTS QUESTIONS,

 

INCLUDING ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES; SUPPORT FOR NEW OR RESTORED DEMOCRACIES

 

Acting on the recommendations of its General Committee, the General Assembly today added an agenda item on “Human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms”, so that it could take action on the draft convention on the rights of persons with disabilities, during the main part of the current session.

Following that decision, Assembly President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa (Bahrain) told the world body that the Ad Hoc Committee on Disabilities, which was tasked with drawing up a comprehensive and integral international convention on the protection and promotion of the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities, and had approved the instrument in late August, was expected to complete its fine-tuning of the text in early December.

The request for inclusion of the item, previously allocated to the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), was contained in a letter addressed to the Assembly President, from the Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee (document A/61/552).  According to that letter, the draft convention was now undergoing scrutiny by a drafting group.  The Ad Hoc Committee is aiming to finalize its work this month, when it adopts the group’s report, after which the Assembly could take action.

In other business, the Assembly, acting on a further recommendation of its organizational committee, decided to include an additional item on its agenda, “Support by the United Nations system of the efforts of Governments to promote and consolidate new or restored democracies”.  Included under the heading of “Promotion of sustained economic growth and sustainable development”, the item would be considered directly in plenary during the current session.

The Assembly will meet again at a date and time to be announced.

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For information media • not an official record