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UNICEF Executive Board SessionFriday, 26 May 2000: Yesterday, the Executive Board concluded its annual session for 2000. The first order of business was a discussion of proposed modifications to the UNICEF budget process. Delegations then heard reports of two field visits taken by Board members, one to Ghana and Namibia and the other to China. Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF, announced the adoption in the General Assembly that morning of two optional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child -- on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury, President of the Executive Board, commented on how fitting it was that the protocols were adopted while the UNICEF Board was meeting. Andre Roberfroid, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, reported on the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal, 26-28 April, and on actions that UNICEF would initiate in order to implement the Forum's plan of action. The representative of UNESCO stressed that close cooperation would continue to take place between his organization and UNICEF, especially in the follow-up to the Dakar meeting. Marta Santos-Pais, Director of the Division of Evaluation, Policy and Planning, made a presentation on the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (General Assembly resolution 53/25). This was followed by a statement by Debra Baruch Smith, Chairperson of the UNICEF Global Staff Association. The Board then approved the Maurice Pate Award, which is conferred annually for extraordinary and exemplary leadership in, and contribution to, the advancement of the survival, protection and development of children. This year's award was presented to the Rural Family Support Organization, a Jamaican non-governmental organization. The Executive Board approved the following six decisions:
The Executive Director and President of the Board then made their closing statements. Thursday, 25 May 2000: At yesterday's meeting, the Executive Board examined actions and strategies related to follow-up to the World Summit for Children. The annual progress report to the Board, the ninth such report, was introduced by Ms. Marta Santos-Pais, Director of the Division of Evaluation, Policy and Planning. The Board then addressed emerging issues for children in the twenty-first century. Comments of Board members on this topic will be summarized and submitted next week at the Substantive Session of the Preparatory Committee of the General Assembly Special Session on Children in 2001. As UNICEF is the substantive secretariat for the Special Session, the Executive Director made an oral report on activities planned for the preparatory process that will take place between now and September 2001. The Board then approved a budget to cover these activities. At today's meeting, the Board will look at proposed modifications to the UNICEF budget process. Delegations will then turn to approval of the Maurice Pate Award, which is conferred annually for extraordinary and exemplary leadership in, and contribution to, the advancement of the survival, protection and development of children. Delegations will continue deliberations of pending draft decisions. The Board will also hear presentations on two field visits -one to Ghana and Namibia and the other to China --conducted by a number of delegations. Wednesday, 24 May 2000: Yesterday at the UNICEF Executive Board meeting, delegations completed their discussion of summaries of mid-term reviews and major evaluations of country programmes, examining the following regions:
Urban Jonsson, Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, gave a presentation on the crisis of HIV/AIDS in his region, entitled "No Second Chance". In addition, Stephen Woodhouse, Regional Director for Europe, provided an overview of developments in that region. The Board then deliberated UNICEF core commitments in emergencies. Today’s meeting will begin with an examination of actions and strategies related to follow-up to the World Summit for Children. The Board will then address emerging issues for children in the 21st century. Comments of Board members on this topic will be summarized and submitted next week at the Substantive Session of the Preparatory Committee of the General Assembly Special Session on Children. Tuesday, 23 May 2000: Yesterday, at the first day of the UNICEF Executive Board annual session, opening statements were made by Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury of Bangladesh, President of the Executive Board, and Carol Bellamy, UNICEF Executive Director. Following adoption of the agenda, delegations began their deliberations by commenting on the report of the Executive Director, the first ever to use a results-based format. The Board then turned to discussion of mid-term reviews and evaluations of country programmes. The Director of Programme Division and Director of the Division for Evaluation, Policy and Planning gave global overviews of the reports, which were then introduced on a region-by-region basis by the regional directors, starting with the West and Central Africa region and the Americas and the Caribbean region. At today's meeting, the Board will continue its discussion of mid-term reviews and major evaluations. Deliberations will begin with the Americas and the Caribbean region, followed by East Asia and the Pacific; South Asia; Middle East and North Africa; Central and Eastern Europe, Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic States; and Eastern and Southern Africa. Time permitting, the next item on the agenda, UNICEF commitments in emergencies, will be discussed. Monday, 22 May 2000: Today, the UNICEF Executive Board, the organization's 36-member governing body, begins its annual session for the year 2000. Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury of Bangladesh, President of the Board, will open the week-long deliberations, which take place at United Nations headquarters in New York. The Executive Board will have before it, inter alia, two important sets of issues. The first deals with programmatic matters (the first-ever results-oriented annual report of the Executive Director, UNICEF commitments in emergencies, and regional summaries of reviews and evaluations of country programmes); the second covers activities related to follow-up to the World Summit for Children and preparations for the General Assembly Special Session on Children, to be held in September 2001. During the first day of the annual session, Ambassador Chowdhury and Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF, will address delegations. This will be followed by a discussion of the annual report of the Executive Director. The Executive Board meets three times a year. In addition to President Chowdhury, who represents the Asia Group, UNICEF Executive Board officers for the year 2000 include four vice-presidents: Ambassador Mubarak Hussein Rahmtalla of the Republic of the Sudan (representing Africa), Ms. Lala Ibrahimova of Azerbaijan (Eastern Europe), Ambassador Alberto Salamanca of Bolivia (Latin America and the Caribbean) and Mr. Luc Shillings of the Netherlands (Western Europe and others). Also see: |
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