Economic and Social Council |
Distr.: General 22 December 1998 Original: English |
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Commission on the Status of Women acting as the Second session 1. Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters. 2. Preparations for the special session of the General Assembly entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century” . 3. Provisional agenda for the third session of the Commission acting as the preparatory committee for the special session of the General Assembly. 4. Adoption of the report of the Commission acting as the preparatory committee for the
special session of the General Assembly. 1. Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters In its resolution 52/231, the General Assembly decided that the preparatory work for its special session to be held from 5 to 9 June 2000, would be carried out by the Commission on the Status of Women at its forty-third and forty-fourth sessions and that those sessions would be extended by five days each to complete the preparations. Under this item, the Commission on the Status of Women acting as the preparatory committee for the special session of the General Assembly may wish to adopt its provisional agenda and proposed organization of work (see annex) and to consider any other organizational matters pertaining to its work. 2. Preparations for the special session of the General Assembly entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century” The General Assembly, in resolution 52/100, decided to convene, in the year 2000, a high-level plenary review to appraise and assess the progress achieved in the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and the Beijing Platform for Action, five years after its adoption, and to consider further actions and initiatives. It designated the Commission on the Status of Women as the preparatory committee for the high-level review, open to the participation of all States Members of the United Nations, members of the specialized agencies and observers, in accordance with the established practice of the General Assembly. In its resolution 52/231, the General Assembly decided that the high-level plenary review should be held as a special session of the Assembly for five days, from 5 to 9 June 2000. In the same resolution, the Assembly invited the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to provide information in 1999 on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, based on its review of reports of States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The Commission will have before it the report of the Committee on the implementation of the Platform for Action. The General Assembly, in resolution 53/120, decided that the special session of the General Assembly should be entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”. It also invited the Commission acting as the preparatory committee for the special session to propose the agenda (structure and themes) and documentation for the special session and to focus in particular on the report requested from the Secretary-General containing suggestions on further actions and initiatives that might be considered during the review in order to achieve gender equality, with attention to mainstreaming a gender perspective and to common trends and themes across the twelve critical areas of concern. The requested report will be before the Commission. The Economic and Social Council, at its resumed substantive session of 1998, decided, as an interim measure, to invite those non-governmental organizations that were accredited to the Fourth World Conference on Women to attend the forty-third and forty-fourth sessions of the Commission, including those parts of the sessions in which the Commission acts as the preparatory committee for the special session of the General Assembly, provided that they had started the process of applying for consultative status in accordance with Council decisions 1996/315 and 1997/298. The Council requested the Secretary-General to draw the attention of the non-governmental organizations accredited to the Fourth World Conference on Women to the provisions of its decision and to the process established under Council resolution 1996/31. To stimulate discussion on preparations for the special session of the General
Assembly, in particular the question of further actions and initiatives, it was agreed to
convene two panels of experts on further actions and initiatives. A deadline of
15 November 1998 was set for Governments wishing to propose experts for the
panels. The names of those proposed were to be provided to the Secretariat together with
biographical information on each expert. Report of the Secretary-General containing suggestions on further actions and initiatives that might be considered during the special session of the General Assembly entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century” (E/CN.6/1999/PC/2) Report of the Secretary-General on the initiation of the comprehensive review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and preparations for the special session of the General Assembly entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”(E/CN.6/1999/PC/3) Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (E/CN.6/1999/PC/4) 3. Provisional agenda for the third session of the Commission acting as the preparatory committee for the special session of the General Assembly The Commission acting as the preparatory committee will have before it the draft provisional agenda for its third session, with an indication of the documents to be submitted under each agenda item and the legislative authority for their preparation. 4. Adoption of the report of the Commission acting as the preparatory committee for the special session of the General Assembly The Commission acting as the preparatory committee shall adopt a report on the work of its session for submission to the General Assembly through the Economic and Social Council. Annex Proposed organization of work Week of 15-19 March Monday, 15 March Tuesday, 16 March Wednesday, 17 March Thursday, 18 March Friday, 19 March Closure of the session |
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