Jul 15, 1987

UNCTAD-VII: ELECTS BUREAU, COMMITTEES TO BEGIN TUESDAY.

GENEVA, JULY 13 (IFDA) – The plenary of UNCTAD-VII Monday elected a Rapporteur-general and 29 Vice-Presidents for the Conference, and the chairmen of four Committees, thus opening the way for the four sessional Committees to begin work from Tuesday.

The election, on the recommendation of the senior officials ended procedural controversies that were holding up the substantial work of the conference.

The procedural deadlock related to the issue whether the Committees would begin to consider policies and measures, or whether their work would be help for a prior agreed assessment.

Ultimately, the differences were resolved on the basis of an assurance of the spokesman of the Group B to other regional coordinators to the effect that the discussion in the Committees on policies and measures would not be impeded by any call for prior agreed assessment.

This assurance by the spokesman of the Group B countries, provided to the President of the Board, Saad Alfarargi, other regional coordinators, and the President of the Conference, was taken note of by all the regional groups, who cleared the way for the completion of the work of the officials groups.

Alfarargi at the same time transmitted to the President of the Conference his own summing up of the outcome of the assessment exercise undertaken at the informal mechanism organised by him.

After these and other decisions, incorporated in a report of the senior officials meeting, were read out to the Conference Monday evening by Alfarargi, the Conference elected its office-bearers.

The permanent representative of the Ukrainian SSR, Amb. Andrei Ozadovski was elected rapporteur-general of the conference.

Also elected were 29 Vice-Presidents – seven from the group B countries, six from Africa, six from Asia, six from Latin America and Caribbean, three form east European socialists, and China.

The four chairmen of Committees were also named: Amb. Makoto Taniguchi of Japan as chairman of the Committee on Resources, Carlos Perez del Castillo of Uruguay as chairman of the Committee on Commodities, Amb. Chak Num See of Singapore as chairman of the Committee on Trade, and Amb. Martin Huslid of Norway as chairman of the Committee on Least Developed countries.

The President, the Rapporteur-General, 29 Vice-Presidents, and the chairmen of the four Committees constitute the Bureau of the Conference.