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PRE-CONFERENCE CONSULTATIONS

Pre-Conference consultations were held on Saturday and Sunday, 3-4 September 1994, to reach agreement on several procedural and organizational matters. Mohamed Adel El Safty, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, was elected as Chair of the Pre- Conference Consultations.

Delegates recommended to the Conference the adoption of the provisional rules of procedure, as contained in document A/CONF.171/2. With respect to the election of officers, the recommendations concerning the composition of the General Committee, and the distribution of the posts therein, were endorsed. The proposal to recommend to the Conference the election of His Excellency Mohamed Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt, for the post of President of the Conference was accepted. With respect to the election of the members of the Bureau, the Chairs of the Asian Group and the Eastern European Group indicated that negotiations were still ongoing and that the Vice- Chairs had not yet been designated. The Latin American Group nominated Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Suriname and Venezuela. The Vice-Chairs designated by the Western European and Others Group were Malta, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Canada and Greece. The African Group nominated Zambia, Tunisia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Senegal and the Central African Republic. Negotiations were still in progress regarding the designation of the Rapporteur-General. There was no objection to the recommendation that the agenda be adopted and the participants also agreed that the general debate should be extended in Plenary until the afternoon of Monday,12 September.

Delegates agreed that the following States would comprise the Credentials Committee of the Conference: Austria, the Bahamas, China, CÀ=Àte d'Ivoire, Ecuador, Mauritius, the Russian Federation, Thailand and the US, and also recommended the accreditation of the intergovernmental organizations listed in A/CONF.171/8. In addition, it was noted that the ICPD PrepCom had accredited over 900 NGOs at its three sessions, and the accreditation of the NGOs listed in A/CONF.171/7 and Add.1 was recommended.

The delegates agreed that participants in the Main Committee would designate three Vice-Chairs and a rapporteur and the Chair expressed hope that agreement would be reached before the opening of the Conference so that their election could be carried out by acclamation. The Secretariat suggested a possible time-frame for discussion on the various chapters of the programme. Algeria, on behalf of the G-77 and China, and Germany, on behalf on the EU, noted that delegations would have to be given the time and opportunity to hold further consultations. The Chair asked delegates for their comments on the possibility of adopting a final declaration. Austria said that this practice is neither customary nor infrequent and added that a more succinct version of the Programme of Action could be useful. Argentina said that the developing countries wished to discuss this issue within the context of G-77 consultations and The Gambia asked if the ICPD Secretariat had prepared a draft declaration or if the Conference itself would have to do it. The Chair said that there was no draft at this point and that it was still unclear who would draft it. The Pre-Conference Consultations adopted paragraph 20 of document A/CONF.171/3, which recommends that friends of the Rapporteur-General be designated by each regional group to help him with the preparation of the final report. The Pre-Conference recommendations were forwarded to the Conference in document A/CONF.171/L.2.

Regarding the election of the Chair of the Main Committee, Gabon, on behalf of the African Group, nominated Dr. Fred Sai (Ghana) as Chair of the Main Committee. Algeria, on behalf of the G-77 and China, also supported the nomination of Dr. Sai.

The Chair then asked for comments on the non-paper issued by the Secretariat on Saturday on the organization of work in the Main Committee. Canada suggested a reorganization of the order in which the Main Committee will review the chapters of the Programme of Action. After a further amendment suggested by the Russian Federation, the following schedule was recommended:

  • Monday: Chapters 1 and 2;
  • Tuesday: Chapters 8 and 7;
  • Wednesday: Chapters 9 and 10 (morning); Chapters 11, 13, 14 and 16 (afternoon);
  • Thursday: Chapters 3, 4, 5, 6, 12 and 15.
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