Documents originating in the Secretariat for submission to the General Assembly would, except in special cases, be limited to 16 pages or less by the terms of a draft resolution the United States introduced to the Assembly this morning. The Assembly today began its consideration of the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization.

Under the provisions of the draft, the Secretary-General would be requested to present oral, rather than written, reports where appropriate and to provide an oral estimate of the cost of any document or report requested by Member States when an intergovernmental body adopted a resolution containing such a request.

In introducing the draft resolution, the representative of the United States said his country was seeking to reverse the tide of documents that was flooding the Organization. Recognizing that the Fifth Committee had special competence in the matters addressed by the resolution, the United States would propose to refer the draft resolution to that Committee.

Regarding the report of the Secretary-General on the Organization's work, the representative of Iraq quoted several paragraphs to the effect that because of the shortage of essential drugs and medical supplies, among other things, increasingly Iraqi children were dying of ailments linked to malnutrition and lack of adequate medical care, and that hunger threatened the lives of more than one million Iraqi civilians. "We hope that these paragraphs bring to the attention of the international community the fact that the human tragedy of the Iraqi population is caused by the Security Council resolution, and the continuation of such tragedy has no reason whatsoever to exist", he said.

The representative of Pakistan said that the fast-deteriorating situation in Jammu and Kashmir showed the urgency of intensifying the Secretary-General's efforts at mediation. Pakistan would propose that the Secretary-General consider appointing a special representative to collect correct information concerning that situation.

The representative of Austria said the Assembly and all other deliberative bodies should work with the Department of Public Information to improve the public image of the United Nations both in the United States and in each of the Member States. As the Organization relied on the high quality and dedication of its staff, it should strengthen the idea of an international civil service, protect the staff against undeserved criticism and find a way to pay special tribute to the staff on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary.

Other statements related to the Secretary-General's report were made by the representatives of Malaysia, Cuba, Sri Lanka, Australia, Germany, Slovenia, Belgium, Estonia, Brazil and Yemen.

The General Assembly will meet again at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 18 October, to hear any remaining speakers and rights of reply on this agenda item. It is also scheduled to take up the first report of the Credentials Committee and to discuss the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

For further details please see source:
MEETINGS COVERAGE

For further details please see official record:
A/50/PV.32

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