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FORMAL SESSION OF THE MAIN COMMITTEE

The Committee met formally Friday morning to adopt ad referendum Chapters XI (Population, development and education), IX (Population distribution, urbanization and internal migration) and XVI (Follow-up to the Conference) of the Draft Programme of Action. Some delegates said that it would be difficult to accept the revised chapters as contained in non-papers, since they were available only in English. To facilitate the process, the Secretariat read out the changes so they could be translated simultaneously.

The Chair, Dr. Fred Sai, said that several delegations had sought to amend unbracketed text on the basis that it was unclear, poorly translated or open to misinterpretation. He noted that the Bureau agreed on the following recommendations: when it is a matter of translation, the text should be revised in the language concerned; factual errors should be rectified; in some cases, the problem can be solved by adding a definitional footnote; delegates should wait for agreement on the Preamble and Principles; and adjustment may be needed in the unbracketed text so that it is consistent. The Chair invited any delegations who had concerns with unbracketed text to meet at 3:00 pm.