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PREPARATIONS FOR THE SUMMIT
The Plenary, chaired by Amb. Wlosowicz (Poland), met on Friday, 27 January 1995, to finalize the organization of work for Copenhagen. The Summit will consist of three parts: a Plenary from 6-10 March for statements of high-level representatives; a Main Committee from 6-9 March for final negotiations; and the Summit of Heads of State or Government on 11 and 12 March. The provisional agenda and organization of work for the Summit (A/CONF.166/PC/L.26) was adopted after some debate regarding the scheduled "themes" for each day of the Plenary and whether representatives of Heads of State or Government could speak during the Summit.
Delegates agreed at PrepCom II to focus on gender issues in Plenary speeches on 8 March, International Women"s Day. Suggested "themes" for statements on other days during the Plenary follow the Programme of Action chapter titles: "enabling environment" on 6 March; "eradication of poverty" on 7 March; "gender and participation of women" on 8 March; "employment and problems of unemployment" on 9 March; and "social integration" on 10 March. Delegates also added "implementation and follow-up" for 10 March. The recommended time limit for all statements is seven minutes. Delegates also adopted the recommendation to elect 27 vice-presidents.
On the question of representatives of Heads of State or Government speaking during the Summit portion, delegates agreed to the guidelines as presented in Annex II of A/CONF.166/PC/L.26: "On 11 and 12 March, statements will normally be presented by Heads of State or Government on the basis of a speaker"s list to be drawn up by the Secretariat in accordance with established procedure." The Secretariat will open the list for speakers on 1 February.
Amb. Somav¡a then gave the floor to several NGO representatives. Bella Abzug (WEDO) challenged the Heads of State or Government to make headlines at the Summit by announcing initiatives to implement the Programme of Action. Roberto Bissio (Development Caucus) stated that the Summit draft text contains many important seeds, and expressed hope that the Summit process will nourish these seeds. Bawa Jain (Values Caucus) noted NGO efforts to integrate fundamental shared values into the texts. Dirk Jarr‚ (International Council on Social Welfare) welcomed the use of target dates. Susan Parker (Rehabilitation International) noted the work of the Disability Caucus and stated that changed attitudes are critical for effective action. Andre Varchaver (Inter-Parliamentary Union) encouraged States to develop timetables to eradicate poverty.