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DR. NAFIS SADIK'S OPENING STATEMENT

In her opening statement to the Second Committee, ICPD Secretary-General Dr. Nafis Sadik asked delegates to examine and comment on the annotated outline. She also touched briefly on several other aspects of the preparatory process. She mentioned that they have been able to assist 92 developing countries (at a total outlay of over US$760,000) in the preparation of national population reports and in activities aimed at raising public awareness on population and development issues. With regard to national population reports, 50 countries have already submitted their reports and she encouraged delegates to both submit their reports and make them widely available in their countries, at PrepCom III and in Cairo. In addition to asking delegates to endorse ECOSOC resolution 1993/76 (which recommends extending the third session of the PrepCom by one week, convening two days of pre-Conference consultations, and raising the level of the Preparatory Committee to a subsidiary body of the General Assembly), Dr. Sadik asked governments for permission to conduct informal briefings during the first three months of 1994.