A/57/PV.81 General Assembly

Before we proceed to the item on our agenda, allow me to make a short statement. I would like to express my deep shock and sadness upon learning of the assassination of His Excellency Zoran Djindjic, Prime Minister of Serbia. I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to the Government and people of Serbia and to Mr. Djindjic’s family in their loss. I personally feel very strongly about this and share the pain caused by this cruel act, as Zoran was a friend of mine and a former fellow human rights dissident. I worked with him when we were both dissidents, as well as when he continued in his opposition to the Milosevic regime and I was Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, and lastly when we were both in top Government positions and endeavoured to work for a democratic Central Europe as our contribution to better conditions in Europe and the world. A violent act, deplorable as it is in itself, is particularly so when perpetrated against a democratically elected head of Government. I firmly believe that this act of political violence should in no way stop the progress that Serbia has made in the process of democratization, of reform and of international cooperation. I perceive it also as a challenge to us all and as a reminder that we have to continue to help to consolidate democratic forces throughout the world.

Before proceeding to the item on the agenda. I should like to draw the attention of the General Assembly to documents A/57/705/Addenda 7 and 8, by which the Secretary-General informs the President of the General Assembly that, since the issuance of his communications contained in documents A/57/705 and Addenda 1 to 6, Belarus and Mauritania 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 duly takes note of the information contained in those documents?

Draft resolution A/57/L.75, now before the Assembly, is the result of extensive consultations, and it is a consensus text. The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft resolution, which is entitled, “Amendment to rule 1 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly and opening date and duration of the general debate”. May I take it that the Assembly decides to adopt draft resolution A/57/L.75?

By adopting this resolution, the General Assembly has decided, inter alia, that the fifty- seventh regular session of the General Assembly will close on Monday, 15 September 2003; that the fifty- eighth regular session will open on Tuesday, 16 September 2003; and that the general debate of the fifty-eighth session will be held from Tuesday, 23 September to Friday, 3 October 2003. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the facilitators on revitalization of the work of the General Assembly — the Permanent Representatives of Ecuador, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia — for their invaluable assistance in negotiating the resolution just adopted. Of course, I would also like to thank Member States for their cooperation. As representatives are aware, it is my intention to continue our discussions on the revitalization of the General Assembly during this session. The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 53.