A/42/PV.114 General Assembly

I declare the forty-second session of the General Assembly resumed for the purpose of considering the request of the Secretary-General, contained in document A/42/244, for the inclusion of an additional item on the agenda of the forty-second session, entitled "Financing of the United Nations Iran-Iraq Military Observer Group". I should also inform the General Assembly that the question whether, in the present urgent circumstances, a special session of the General Assembly should be convened or, alternatively, whether a resumed session of the General Assembly should be convened, was considered. After careful consideration and consultations it was concluded that a resumed session would be the most effective and expeditious manner for considering the request of the Secretary-General. May I take it that this is acceptable to the Assembly? It was so decided.

Before turning to the item on our agenda for this morning, I should like, in keeping with the established practice, to invite the attention of the General Assembly to document A/42/925/Add.3, which contains a letter addressed to me by the Secretary-General in which he informs me that since the publication of his note dated 18 March 1988, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Romania and Sao Tome and Principe have made the necessary payments to reduce their arrears below the amount specified in Article 19 of the Charter. May I take it that the General Assembly takes due note of that information? It was so decided. ADO PI' ION OF THE AGENDA AND ORGANIZATION OF WORK: REQUEST FOR THE INCLUSION OF AN ADDITIONAL ITEM IN THE AGENDA OF THE FORTY-SEmND SESSION (a) Note by the Secretary-General (A/42/244) (b) Report of the Secretary-General (A/42/244/Add.l and Add.l/Corr.1)

In connection wi th this item a note by and a report of the Secretary-General have been circulated in documents A/42/244/Add.1 and Add.1/Corr.L In his note the Secretary-General, pursuant to rule 15 of the rules of procedure, requests that an additiona1 item of an impor tant and urgent character be placed on the agenda enti tled, "Financ ing of the United Nations Iran-Iraq Military Observer Group". Owing to the nature of the item, he also requests that the item be allocated to the Fifth Committee for consider a tion. Under the circumstances of the present case, may I take it that the Gener al Assembly agrees that the provis ion of rule 40 of the rules of procedure, which would require a meeting of the General Committee on the question of the inclusion of an addi tional item on the agenda, could be wa ived? It was so decided.

May I also take it that the Assembly wishes to include an addi tional i tern to read as follows: "145. Financing of the United Nations Iran-Iraq Military Observer Group" and to allocate that item to the Fifth Committee for consideration? It: was so decided. STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

It was with relief and satisfaction that the cease-fire in the Iran-Iraq conflict announced by the Secretary-General, Jav ier Perez de Cuellar, and the unanimous adoption of the pertinent resolution 619 (1988) by the Security Council were noted world wide. I welcome and support these accords. They represent a significant step forward towards a comprehensive, just and honourable settlement of the conflict, as called for earlier in security Council resolution 598 (1987). Now there exists a real chance to settle the eight-year long conflict, which has caused immense human suffering and enormous material damage, by political means. This is - and on this point the reactions of States concur - an essential contribution towards strengthening security in the region and peace in the world at large. It has again become evident that given good will, a readiness for compromise, and due regard for each other's interests, it is possible to find rational solutions even to difficult disputes. It is a hopeful sign that the emerging change for the better in international relations is yielding positive effects for the exclusively political settlement of regional conflicts. Special credit and appreciation are due to the Secretary-General for his untiring efforts in peacefully resolving conflicts. The accords reached furnish fresh proof of the great possibilities and potential of the United Nations in the peaceful settlement of international conflicts. I am convinced that the present session will take decisions which, serve the practical implementation of peace efforts. The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Russian) ~ I now call on the ;ecre tary-Gen er al.

Mr. President, allow me, first of all, to thank IOU for your very kind words. The General Assembly has before it, in document A/42/244/Add.l and Corr.l, a :eport con ta in ing my recommenda tions for the financing of the newly-established Inited Nations Iran-Iraq Military Observer Group (UNIIMOG). A decision on the :inancing of this new peace-keeping operation is urgently required. The cease-fire between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq is due to become :ffective at 0300 hours GMT on 20 August. That is less than four days away. It is :ssential that by that time United Nations military observers should be on the ground to perform the functions entrusted to them in operative paragraph 2 of Security Council resolution 598 (1987), namely to verify, confirm and supervise the cease-fire and withdrawal. That is why I hope that the Assembly will be able to take a very quick decision to approve the recommendations in my report. Ever since Secur ity Council resolution 598 (1987) was adopted, contingency planning has been under way in the Secretariat for the deployment of an observer ~roup to Iran and Iraq. Towards the end of last month, when there seemed to be a marked improvement in the prospects for implementation of resolution 598 (1987), I decided to send to Iran and Iraq a technical team, led by the Chief of staff of the United Nations Truce Supervision organization (UNTSO), Lt. General Martin Vadset, to work out on an urgent basis, with the authorities of the two countries, the Ilbdalities for the despatch of the team of united Nations observers required under operative paragraph 2 of resolution 598 (1987). General Vadset's report, which I undertaken in the Secretariat and to present to the Security Council on 7 August a report containing my recommendations for the establishment of the Observer Group. The next day I was able to announce that the cease-fire would take place on 20 August. On the following day, 9 August, the Security Council adopted its resolution 619 (1988), in which it approved my report and decided to set up the Observer Group on that basis. Within hours of the adoption of the resolution, two advance parties were on their way to Baghdad and Tehran to establish liaison with the authorities of Iran and Iraq and to organize the reception of the main body of military observers. Since then there has been a steady build-up of the advance parties, and most of the main body, both of observers and of signals personnel, are due to reach the mission area today or tomorrow. The set ting up of th is Observer Group comes at a time when there is a most welcome renewal of interest in the peace-making and peace-keeping functions of the Uni ted Na tions and at a time when several other new peace-keeping opera tions are under active discussion. It is thus of the greatest importance that this new opera tion should be a success. There has also, however, been increased concern in recent years about the financial arrangements for peace-keeping and about the unfair burden which, for various reasons, has sometimes fallen on those Member States which so generously con tr ibu te troops and th us make th ese operations poss ible. Th is is why I sa id in my report of 7 August to the Security Council that one of the essential conditions for UNIIMOG to be effective is that adequate financing arrangements be made to Cover its costs. The decision which the General Assembly is now asked to take is th us 0 f very great impor tance, not only for peace between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq, which is so ardently des ired by the Members of this Organization, but also for the wider standing of the United Nations itsel f. It is in this spir i t that I express the strong hope that the recommenda tions contained in my report will be favour ably received and that they will be approved by an early resolu tion of the General Assembly.

Given the urgency of the matter before us, which has just been stressed so forcefully by the Secretary-General, I shall now adjour n th is meeting and reconvene tomor row afternoon at 3 p.m. to consider the report of the Fifth Committee wi th a view to approving it as expeditiously as poss ible. I am confident that the Fi fth Committee will similarly complete its work as speedily as possible in view of the overriding urgency of the situation that we face with the cease-fire between Iran and Iraq scheduled to come into effect at 0300 GtT on 20 August: less than four days from now. ~he meeting rose at 10.55 a.m.