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Presidency of the General Assembly 1993-1994

 

H.E. Dr. S. R. Insanally CCH

 In 1993, H. E. Mr. Samuel R. Insanally, Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations, had the distinction of being the first Caricom representative to be elected to the Presidency of the General Assembly. During the period 1993-1994, Ambassador Insanally presided over the forty-eighth session of the General Assembly.

The World Hearings on Development conducted by Ambassador Insanally was a signal feature of the 48th session. The Hearings brought together high-level personalities and development practitioners to deliberate on the key requirements for the promotion of development worldwide. The report of the President of the Assembly, contained in document A/49/320, represented one of the major inputs to the development discourse at the United Nations, and is embodied in a significant way in the Agenda for Development adopted in June 1997.

The 48th session was also the occasion for the launching of the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council. By resolution 48/26 of 3 December 1993, the General Assembly decided to establish an open-ended working group to consider all aspects of the question of increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Council. The Open-ended Working Group began its deliberations in January 1994 and has continued to grapple with this difficult question ever since.

Other signal achievements of the session included the adoption of resolution 48/1 on the lifting of sanctions on South Africa following the end of Apartheid and the transition to democracy, and resolution 48/141 by which the Assembly decided to create the post of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
 

 

Following is a selection of statements made by Ambassador Insanally during his Presidency as well as his report on the World Hearings on Development.