A/37/PV.90 General Assembly

Statements will be limited to explanations of vote. The positions of delegations regarding the various r~commendatior) of the Third Committee have been made clear in the Committee and are reflected in the relevant summary records. I would remind members that., in paragraph 7 of its decision 34/401, the General Assembly decided ~hat, when the same draft resolution is considered in a Main Committee and in plenary meeting, a delegation should, as far as possible, explain its vote only once, i.e., either in the Committee or in plenary meeting, unless that delegation's vote in plenary meeting is, different from its vote in the Committee. I also remind mem- bers that, in accordance with decision 34/401, explana- tions of vote are limited to 10 minutes and should be made by delegations from their seats. 15. We shall first take up the report of the Third Committee on agenda item 75 [A/37/579]. 16. I ca,1I on the representative of the Dominican Republic, who wishes to explain he' vote before the voting. 17. Mrs. TAVARES de ALVAREZ (Dominican Republic)(intelpretationfrom Spanish}:.,My delegation wm vote in favour of this draft resolution because we have always condemned arid deplored the situa- tion prevailing in southern Africa relating to the prac- tice of apartheid, which is a ijagran(i violation of

I shall now put to the vote draft resolution I, contained in paragraph 13 of the report of the Third Committee [A/37/595]. A recorded vote has been requested.

We now come to draft resolu- tion 11, which relates to the Second World Conference to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination. In this connection, the Assembly has before it a draft decision recommended by the Fifth Committee in paragraph 11 of its report [A/37/685], which deals exclusively with the administrative and financial aspects of the Con- ference. The Fifth Committee adopted the draft deci- sion without objection. May I take it that the General Assembly wishes to do the same? "Decides to convene the Conference at Geneva from 1 to 12 August 1983;". 30. These are the revisions that we would suggest in operative paragraphs 2 and 3 of draft resolution 11. The delegation of Ghana has no wish to delay the proceedings of the General Assembly by a long explanation. It is sufficient to say that the revisions we have suggested are a direct result of the decision ofthe Fifth Committee which the Assembly has already adopted. We therefore commend tlie suggested changes to the Assembly.

I call on the representative of Canada on a point of order.

I believe that for the sake of consistency operative paragraph 4 would have to be deleted. 33. The PRESIDENT: I call on the representative of Ghana on a point of order.

That is correct. I was going to make the same point but I thought that as a result ofthe decision taken to accept the recommenda- tion of the Fifth Committee the consequential change in operative paragraph 4 no longer stood, and to save time I did not mention it. 35. The PRESIDENT: It is my understanding that with these amendments and adjustments there will be no need to take a vote on draft resolution 11 recom- mended by the Third Committee in its report on item 76 [A/37/595]. May I take it that it is the wish

The Assembly will now con- sider the report of the Third Committee on agenda item 89 [AI371632] and take a decision on the two draft resolutions recommended in paragraph 14 of that report. 53. Draft resolution I is entitled "World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons". The report of the Fifth Committee on the administrative and financial implications of this draft resolution appears in document A/37/688. Draft resolution I was adopted by the Third Committee without a vote. May I consider that the General Assembly wishes to do likewise?

Draft resolution 11, entitled "Implementation of the Wor.ld Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons", was also adopted by the Third Committee without a vote. May'I take it that the General Assembly wishes to do the same?

I call on the representative of the United States to explain his delegation's position on the draft resalutions.

Thanks to the General Assembly, fully half a billion disabled people ofthe world can now look forward to a brighter future. By proclaiming 1981 International Year of Disabled Persons, the United Nations aroused the hopes and aspirations of this significant segment of humanity. The continuing vision and leadership of the Member States, the Secretary-General, the agencies of the United Nations system and the Secretariat, in particular~ the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs, will have a radiating impact reaching people everywhere. 57. The resolutions that the General Assembly has adopted today on the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons and its implementation, including the proclamation of the United Nations 62. The continuing world-wide response to the chal- lenge of the Year has been significant. More than 130 nations formed national commissions. The sec- retariat for the International Year ofDisabled Persons, at Vienna, under the able direction of Assistant Sec- retary-General Mrs. Leticia Shahani, is spearheading efforts to continue that momentum and has estab- lished the United Nations Trust Fund for the Inter- national Year of Disabled Persons. It offers great potential, especially for disabled persons in the developing world. An international organization made up entirely of disabled members, Disabled Persons International, has had its first meeting in Singapore. It serves as a conscience for the disabled throughout the world. 68. And let us no longer question the value of focal year and decade observances. They demonstrate that the United Nations can, through those ob- servances, unleash tremendous human and organiza- tional potential. As we look ahead to another signal year-the bimillennium in the year 2000-the con- tinuing response which the United Nations has aroused will be a beacon of hope. The bimillennium will inspire the setting and pursuit of high goals for improving the human condition for all mankind. 69. I urge representatives of Member States and the world community to intensify their efforts to improve the lives of the half a billion people with disabilities. They can lead major disability-prevention efforts having enormous humanitarian and economic implica- tions. By challenging the world and by taking on that responsibility, the United Nations has become the

My delegation wishes to explain the posit~on of the Ht member States of the European Community on draft resolu- tion 'V, which we have just adopted, concerning preparations for th~ World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women, 98. The 10 member States of the European Com- munity welcome the adoption without a vote of this draft resolution, which will be the basis of the future preparatory work concerning this important Con- ference. The member States have noted the provision in operative paragraph 5 concerning the appointment of a Secretary-General of the World Conf~r~nce and wish in this regard to express their full confidence that the Secretary~Gelleralof the United Nat~ons will ta~.:; all relevant factors into consideration when making that appointment.

My delegation joined in the consensus on all the draft resolutions, including draft resolution IV, entitled "Improvement of the situation of women in rural areas". We fully agree with the spirit and aims of that resolution, since we believe it contains very valuable elements that will help to improve the situation of women in rural areas. 100. However, some of its paragraphs seem in- complete to us. For exampfe, the sixth preambular paragraph even in its final wording does not ret1ec~ the situation as clearly as it should. That paragraph reads: "Bearing in mind that a majority of women, particularly in deVf;ioping countries, live and work in rural areas and suffer most from the exploitation of agricultural labour, in particular by transnational corporations,". My delegation would have Iiked-·~and this is not a proposal, merely the expression of a wish-to see the addition, after that paragraph, of a paragraph reading as follows: •'Colll'inced that the participation of women from rural areas in free labour associations for the pro- tection of their rights on an equal footing with men NOTES t The deiegations of Afghanistan and the Gambia subsequently informed the Secretariat that they had intended to vote in favour of the draft resolution. The delegation of Malawi subsequently informed the Secretariat that it had intended to abstain. 2 The delegations of Afghanistan, Austria, Belize and the Gambia subsequently informed the Secretariat that they had intended to vote in favour of the draft resolution. 3 The delegations of Afghanistan and the Gambia subsequently informed the Secretariat that they had intended to vote in favour of the draft resolution. 4 The delegations of the Gambia, Guatemala and Lebanon sub- sequently informed the Secretariat that they had intended to vote in favour of the draft resolution.