A/40/PV.123 General Assembly

I declare the fortieth session of the General Assembly resumed in accordance with decision 40/470 of 18 December 1985. As members are aware, the Assembly is being reconvened on an urgent basis at the r~~est of the Secretary-General to deal with the current financial crisis of the United Nations. TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF HIS EXCELLENCY MR. OLOF PALME, PRIME MINISTER OF THE KINGDOM OF SWEDEN

Before we proceed to the consideration of the questions before this resumed session, it is my sad duty to recall to the General Assembly the tragic death of His Excellency Mr. Olof Palme, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sweden, which occurred since the suspension of the fortieth session of the General Assembly. I should like to extend once again my heartfelt sympathy and condolences to his family al'l~ to the Government and the people of Sweden. Sweden has lost a great leader and the international community an eminent and outstanding citizen. Mr. Palme's support of the United Nations and his commitment to the causes of peace and disarmament have been an inspiration to us all. I invite representatives to stand and observe a minute of silence in tribute to his memory. The members of the General Assemblv observed a minute of silence. s

I call on the representative of Sweden. ~.. FERM (~weden): On this occasiun I recall another moment during the commemorative session of the General Assembly six months ago. My Prime Minister was addressing the General Assembly from the rostrum where I now stand. He started by "~':'aj'ing that he had a message to convey to all assembled here from the people of Sweden and their elected representatives. WWe believe in this Organization and we are committed to it. • •• we look at our world tod~y and remain convinced that the United Nations is only at the beginning of its history. WLet us not make the united Nations the scapegoat for problems that reflect our own shortcomings. It is not the United Natione that has not lived up to uSJ it is we who have not lived up to the ideals of the United Nations." (A/40/PV.43, p. 64) The United Nations for Olof Palme was a place where he liked to be. It was for him an arena for ideas and different political convictions, and as such it was also a place of hope for mankind. The United Nations was a challenge and a source of inspiration to him. Now he is gone. Over the last few weeks Sweden has gone through a time of shock, sorrow ~nd agony. Nothing can change what has happened. Nothing can give us Olof Pa~e back. But the words of sympathy that have been expressed by all delegations during this time and what you, Mr. President, have said today have given us strength 'and courage to go on. The Swedish delegation is deeply moved, and we thank you for the sympathy and-warmth that you have all showed us during this difficult time. I shall not fail to convey this to my Government and to the family of Mr. Palme. I can also assure you, Mr. President, and representatives that the Swedish delegation will continue to work in the spirit that Olof Palme expressed in his last speech from this rostrum. Today we are assembled to address a crisis that is threatening our Organ~zation. We can pay no greater tribute to 010£ Palme than to address this crisis in a spirit of gooJ will and co-operation and to show that, above and beyond our national i~terp.sts, there exists a true commitment to the only truly global instrument for mtJltilateral co-operation we have, the United Nations. AGENDA ITBM 122 (continued) SCALE OF ASSESSMENTS FOR THE APPORTIONMENT OF THE EXPENSES OF THE UNITED NATIONS (A/40/11D8)

I should like to invite the attention of the General Assembly to document A/4D/l108, which contains a letter addressed to me by the Secretary-General informing the Assembly that eight Member States are in arrears in the payment of their financial contributions to the United Nations within the terms of Article 19 of the Charter. I should like to remind delegations that, under Article 19 of the Charter, "A Member of the United Nations which is in arrears in the payment of its financial contributions to the Organization shall have no vote in the General Assembly if the amount of its arrears equals or e~ceeds the amount of the contributions due from it for the preceding two full years. w May I take it that the General Assembly duly takes note of this information? It was so decided.

Before taking up the question of the current financial crisis of the United Nations, I should like to propose that we consider first three items of a routine administrative nature. The Assembly will first proceed to the election of two members of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme under sub-item 16 (a) of the agenda. As representatives will recall, the Assembly elected, at its 120th plenary meeting on 17 December 1985, the following 17 members to the Council for a three-year term beginning on 1 January 1986: Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Chile, China, the Congo, Denmark, France, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Swaziland, the Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Uganda and Zambia. Two vac:~ lies still remain to be filled from the Eastern European Group. I should like to remind members that after 1 January 1986 the following States from that Group will still be members of the Governing Council and are therefore not eligible for election: BUlgaria, Poland, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Under rule 92 of the rules of procedure, all elections must be held by secret ballot and there shall be no nominations. May I, however, recall paragraph 16 of General Assembly decision 34/401, whereby the practice of dispensing with the secret ballot for elections to SUbsidiary organs when the number of candidates corresponds to the number of seats to be filled should become standard, unless a delegation specifically requests a vote on a given election. In the absence of such a request, may I take it that the Assembly decides to proceed to the election on that basis? It was so decided. (The President)

I should like to announce that the Chairman of the Eastern European Group has informed me of the candidatures of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. Since the number of candidates from the Eastern European Group corresponds to the number of seats to be filled from that Group, I declare Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia elected members of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme for a term ending on 31 December lHSS. That concludes our consideration of agenda item 16 (a).

The Assembly will now turn its attention to agenda item 17 (h), concerning the appointment of two members of the Consultative Committee on the United Nations Development Fund for Women, previously known as the Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women. As representatives will recall, the Assembly took note at its 122nd plenary meeting on 18 December 1985 of the appointment of India, Kenya and Norway as members of the Consultative Committee of the United Nations Development Fund for Women for a three-year term beginning on 1 January 1986. Further consultations were needed within the Group of Eastern European States and the Group of Latin American States for the two vacancies which remained. Following those consultations, I have appointed Colombia and the German Democratic Republic as members of the Consultative Committee for a term of office ending on 31 December 1988. May I consider that the General Assembly takes note of these appointments? It was so decided.

That concludes our consideration of agenda item 17 (h). CONFIR4ATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME: NOTE BY THE SECRETARY-GENERAL (A/40/246)

! now invite the Assembly to turn its attention to the note by the Secretary-General contained in document A/40/246 relating to the confirmation of the apPOintment of the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme. In paragraph 22 of its resolution 1240 (XIII) B of 14 October 1958 on the establishment of the Special Fund, the General Assembly provided that the Secretary-General, after consulting the Governing Council of the Special Fund, would apPOint the Managing Director, subject to confirmation by the ~ssembly. This procedure has been construed as applying also to the apPOintment of the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme. By its decision 38/314 of 15 December 1983, the General Assembly confirmed the apPOintment by the Secretary-General of Mr. Bradford Morse as Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme for a further four-year term beginning on 1 January 1984. Mr. Bradford Morse has informed the Secretary-General of his intention to retire as from 30 April 1986, and the Secretary-General has agreed, with much regret, to respect his wishes. Following consultations with members of the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme, the Secretary-Genera1 now proposes to appoint Mr. William H. Draper 111 as Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 1 May 1986 to 31 December 1989. (The President) In order to enable the General Assembly to take the required action, it will be necessary to include in the agenda of its fortieth session, under agenda item 17, the following additional sub-item: -(m) Confirmation of the appointment of the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme-. May I take it that it is the wish of "e Assembly to include that additional sub-item on the agenda of its fortieth session? It was so decided.

May I now take it that the General Assembly wishes to confirm the appointment of William H. Draper III as Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, from 1 May 1986 to 31 December 1989? It was so decided.

On behalf of the General Assembly, I should like to express sincere appreciation to Mr. Morse for the effective and dedicated manner in which he has performed his functions during his career at the United Nations. ~r. McDOWELL (New Zealand): The members of the Group of western European and Other States were pleased to support the consensus confirmation of Mr. William H. D~aper III as Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). We are confident that he will give firm and positive guidance to an organization in which we all place considerable importance. We look forward to working closely with him. On behalf of the Members af the Group, I wish also to express our deep appreciation for the tireless efforts of the outgoing Administrator, (The President) Bradford MOrse. He is leaving with a record of substantial achievement, both as Administrator and in his associated role as Director of the Office for Emergency Operations in Africa." We wish him well in his future work. We shall miss his dynamic presence. Mr. KOBAYASBI (Japan): On behalf of my Government, 1 wish to express, first, my deep and heartfelt appreciation to Mr. Bradford Morse for the dedication and effectiveness with which he has led the work of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) over the years. My Government attach~s the greatest importance to the oPerational activities for development of the United Nations, in which UNDP plays a central role, and our Government is grateful to Mr. Morse for the excellent manner in which he has discharged his responsibilities. Our appreciation of UNDP activities stems in large part from his unflagging efforts and steadfast commitment. I also wish to extend a warm welcome to Mr. William B. Draper 111 as he assumes his new post as Administrator of the United Nations Development Programma. We are confident that with his amply demonstrated abilities and broad experience he will make a distinguished contribution in further developing UNDP's activities in favour of developing countries. We should like through you, Mr. President, to assure Mr. Dr~per of our delegation's full co-operation in all UNDP activities. (Mr. McDowell, New Zealand) Mr. GOLOB (Yugoslavia): Speaking on behalf of the countries of the Group of 77, 1 should like to express our de9p appreciation for the long, tireless, dedicated and vigorous service of Mr. Bradford Morse in his capacity as Administrator of the united Nations Development Programme. We are going to miss him at the helm of that agency and in these halls. we wish him all the best. Allow me to say a word of welcome to William H. Draper Ill. we welcome his appointment, and we look forward to co-operating with him in order to consolidate and to further develop and expand the valuable activities of the agency, which plays such an important and essential role in the process of the development of the developing countries. We believe that his vast experience in the field is going to be used to the full in his new post. Mr. SARRE (Senegal) (interpretation from French): For us in Africa Mr. Bradford Morse is one of our own. He was able to be African with Africans. By this I mean that in the years that he headed the United Nations Development Programme, with all his heart, with generosity, competence and devotion, he understood the problems of Africa without ever being complacent about them. In particular we very much appreciate the tact with which he resolved certain problems, and particularly his last act, the gigantic effort he undertook following the General Assembly's adoption of its resolution 39/29, on the critical economic situation in Africa. Following the instructions of the Secretary-General, and thanks to the generosity of the international community, Mr. Bradford Morse saved millions upon millions of Africans from starvation and even death. Therefore Africa is very far from forgetting the work done by Mr. Bradford Morse as he headed, with such tact and devotion, the United Nations Development Programme. At the same time as we pay tribute to Bradford Morse today we also pay tribute to the United Nations, and particularly to its credo, which consists so much in solidarity and independence. we should like to assure his successor, Mr. W!lliam Draper Ill, of our whole-hearted co-operation. Knowing his background and his constant efforts to establish an American-African import-export bank - an institution to which we Afr icans would resort more than any other - we know that Mr. Draper will continue in the footsteps of Mr. Morse and we assure him of our whole-hearted co-operation. Through that co-operation we hope to enhance the image of the United Nations. Mr. BARNETT (Jamaica): on the eve of the departure of Kr. Bradford Morse, present Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, it is incumbent upon me, as President of the Governing Council of the PrograIll11e, to record on behalf of all of us the dedicated and dynamic service that Brad, as he is known to us, has rendered to the developing countries of the world. He has devoted energy, intellect and service that will be long remembered and difficult to duplicate. His is a service that places great importance on the role of persons and individuals in the life of development. His is a service that recalls what dedication and service can do for the international community. We welcome the new Administrator, but in so doing we recall how Brad Morse has served us well. He will always remain in our memory. Mr. SIDDIKY (Bangladesh): On behalf of rrrj delegation and my Government I welcome Mr. Draper as the head of the United Nations Development Programme. In doing so I assure him of the fullest co-operation of rrrj delegation and my Government in the discharge of the onerous duties he will perform. I believe he will in no way lag behind the wonderful work his predecessor, Mr. Morse, has done for so long, for which we have the greatest appreciation. We offer him most heartfelt thanks on behalf of both rrrj delegation and my country. (Mr. Sarre, Senegal) I would assure Mr. Draper that in his work we shall always be co-operative and helpful to him. With these words I should like again to welco11le Mr. Draper as head of the United Nations Development Programme.

We have thus now concluded our consideration of agenda item 17. (Mr. Siddiky, Bangladesh) REQUEST FOR THE lNeLySION OF AN ADDITIONAL ITEM IN THE AGENDA OF THE FORTIETH SESSION (A/40/247)

We now turn to additional problems before the General Assembly. I believe by now all members have seen the report of the Secretary-General in document A/40/1102 and Corr.l and 2 and A/40/1102 and Add.l and 2, entitled ·Current financial crisis of the united Nations·. It is my understanding that there has been some concern about which agenda item is most appropriate for the Assembly to utilize in discussing this report. In order to expedite the Assembly's consideration of this item, in the hope of avoiding controversy and facilitating an early consensus in support of the Secretary-General's proposals, the Secretary-General is requesting in a note to be distributed shortly the inclusion of an additional item in the agenda of the fortieth session entitled ·Current financial crisis of the United Nations·. I shall therefore adjourn this meetihg now in order to allow the General Committee to meet immediately in Conference Room 4 to consider this request which is contained in document A/40/247. The next plenary meeting will be held at 3 p.m. The meeting rose at 12 noon. I