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General Assembly

Distr. GENERAL A/RES/54/261 16 May 2000

Fifty-fourth session
Agenda item 49 (b)
 

 RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
 [without reference to a Main Committee (A/54/L.83/Rev.1)]
 

54/261. Establishment of the list of speakers and organization of  the round tables for the Millennium Summit of the United Nations

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 53/202 of 17 December 1998,  in which it decided, inter alia, to designate the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly "The Millennium Assembly of the United Nations" and to convene, as an integral part of the Millennium Assembly, a Millennium Summit of the United Nations,

Recalling also its resolution 54/254 of 15 March 2000,  in which it:

(a) Decided that the Millennium Summit should be held from 6 to 8 September 2000 in New York under the overall theme "The role of the United Nations in the twenty-first century",

(b) Decided that the Millennium Summit  would be composed of plenary meetings and four interactive round-table sessions, with each interactive session to be held in concurrence with a plenary meeting,

(c) Decided that, owing to the unique symbolic moment of the Millennium Summit, the country of the President of the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly and the country of the President of the fifty-fifth session of the Assembly would jointly preside over the Summit,

(d) Requested the President of the General Assembly to hold consultations with all Member States in an open-ended process with a view to taking decisions on all outstanding issues relating to the Millennium Summit, including its outcome,

Reiterating that a Millennium Summit would provide an opportunity to strengthen the role of the United Nations in meeting the challenges of the twenty-first century,

 
Having considered the report of the Secretary-General entitled "The Millennium Assembly of the United Nations: thematic framework for the Millennium Summit",

Bearing in mind the presentation by the Secretary-General of his report entitled "We the peoples: the role of the United Nations in the twenty-first century",

1. Decides that the Millennium Summit shall consist of a total of six meetings, on the basis of two meetings a day, as follows:

Wednesday, 6 September 2000, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.;
Thursday, 7 September 2000, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.;
Friday, 8 September 2000, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.;

2. Decides also that the Millennium Summit shall hold four interactive round-table sessions, as follows:

Wednesday, 6 September 2000, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.;
Thursday, 7 September 2000, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.;
Friday, 8 September 2000, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.;

3. Decides further that the list of speakers for the Millennium Summit and the modalities for the round tables shall be established in accordance with the procedure set forth in the annex to the present resolution.

 96th plenary meeting
 10 May 2000
 
 ANNEX

 Establishment of the list of speakers and organization of the round tables
 for the Millennium Summit of the United Nations

A

1. The list of speakers for the Millennium Summit will be established on the basis of six meetings. At the opening meeting, on Wednesday, 6 September 2000, the first speakers will be the two Co-Chairpersons of the Millennium Summit, the Secretary-General and the head of State or head of the delegation of the host country of the Organization. Therefore, the opening meeting will have 32 speaking slots. The morning meetings of Thursday, 7 September 2000, and Friday, 8 September 2000, will have 40 speaking slots. The  Wednesday and Thursday afternoon meetings will have 30 speaking slots. The Friday afternoon meeting will have 20 speaking slots since the last hour will be devoted to the closing of the Millennium Summit.

2. The list of speakers for the Millennium Summit will be established initially as follows:

(a) The representative of the Secretary-General will draw one name from a box containing the names of all Member States, the Holy See and Switzerland, in their capacity as observer States, and Palestine, in its capacity as observer. This procedure will be repeated until all names have been drawn from the box,  thus establishing the order in which participants will be invited to choose their meetings and select their speaking slots;

(b) Consultations will continue regarding the possible participation of one or more representatives of intergovernmental organizations, parliaments and civil society;

(c) Six boxes will be prepared, each one representing a meeting and each one containing numbers corresponding to speaking slots at that meeting;

(d) Once the name of a Member State, observer State, or Palestine, in its capacity as observer, has been drawn by the representative of the Secretary-General, that Member State, observer State, or Palestine, in its capacity as observer, will be invited first to choose a meeting and then to draw from the appropriate box the number indicating the speaking slot in the meeting.

3. The establishment of the initial list of speakers for the Millennium Summit as outlined in paragraph 2  above will take place at a meeting to be scheduled as soon as possible during the month of May 2000.

4. Subsequently, the list of speakers for each meeting will be rearranged in accordance with the established practice of the General Assembly when organizing each category of speakers, following the order resulting from the selection process outlined in paragraph 2 above:

(a) Heads of State will thus be accorded first priority, followed by heads of Government; vice-presidents, crown princes/princesses; the highest-ranking official of the Holy See and Switzerland, in their capacity as observer States, and Palestine, in its capacity as observer; ministers; and permanent representatives;

(b) In the event that the level at which a statement is to be made is subsequently changed, the speaker will be moved to the next available speaking slot in the appropriate category at the same meeting;

(c) Participants may arrange to exchange their speaking slots in accordance with the established practice of the General Assembly;

(d) Speakers who are not present when their speaking turn comes will be automatically moved to the next available speaking slot within their category.

5. In order to accommodate all speakers at the Millennium Summit, statements should be limited to five minutes, on the understanding that this will not preclude the distribution of more extensive texts.
   
B

6. The four round tables will have at least 40 seats each and will be chaired by a head of State or Government.

7. The chairpersons of three of the round tables will be from the three regions not represented by the two Co-Chairpersons of the Millennium Summit. Those three chairpersons will be selected by their respective regional groups in consultation with the President of the General Assembly. The choice of chairperson of the fourth round table will be subject to further consultations.

8. Following the selection of the chairpersons of the round tables, each regional group will determine  which of its members will participate in each round table, ensuring that equitable geographical distribution will be maintained,  allowing for some flexibility. The chairpersons of the regional groups will communicate to the President of the General Assembly the list of countries from their respective regions that will participate in each round table. Member States are encouraged to be represented at the round tables at the level of heads of State or Government.

9. All four round tables will cover the same overarching theme and sub-themes.