General Conference Twenty-seventh Session Information document Paris 1993 Confkrence ghtkale Conferencia General Vingt-septikme session 27.a reunih. Document d information Documentos de informacib inf 0 27 UINF. 1 2 July 1993 Original: French INFORMATION ON ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE TWENTY-SEVENTH SESSION OF THE GENERAL CONFERENCE CONTENTS Paragraphs 1. GENERAL INFORMATION Place and dates... Credentials... Privileges and immunities... Organization of work... Agenda... Rules of Procedure... Working languages... Seating arrangements... l-3 4-5 6 7-8 9 10 11-13 14-15 2. DOCUMENTATION Working documents... Information documents... Documents submitted by delegations... Journal of the General Conference... Official records... 16-19 20 21-22 23 24-26 3. CONFERENCE SERVICES Registration of delegates and observers... Secretarial assistance... Mail... Special facilities... Press and information... 27-28 29 30-32 33-34 35-36
27 CANF.l - page 2 4. VISA AND CURRENCY REGULATIONS Passports and visas... 37-W Currency regulations and banking facilities... 41-45 5. TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATION, TRANSPORT Travel reservations... 46 Hotels... 47-49 Car hire... 50 cost of living... 51 Climate... 52 ANNEX - REQUEST FOR HOTEL RESERVATION
27 CIINF.l - page 3 1. GENERAL INFORMATION 1.1 Place and dates (1) As decided by the General Conference at its twenty-sixth session (resolution 36), the twenty-seventh session will be held at the Organization s permanent Headquarters in Paris. (2) The session is due to open on Monday, 25 October, and is expected to last until Tuesday, 16 November 1993 (141 EX/Decision 6.2). Since the session is shorter than usual, 11 November will, unusually, be considered a working day of the General Conference. (3) The opening meeting will take place on Monday, 25 October, at 10 a.m., in Room I. The head of the delegation of Kenya will preside over the discussions until the President of the twenty-seventh session has been elected. 1.2 Credentials (4) In accordance with Rule 22 of the Rules of Procedure, Member States and Associate Members are asked to send to the Director-General, no later than one week before the opening of the session, the names and the credentials of the members of their delegations. The envelope containing these credentials should be marked CREDENTIALS so as to expedite its delivery to the services concerned. (5) Any delegation whose credentials have not been sent to the Director-General before the opening of the session should hand them direct to the Secretary of the Credentials Committee. 1.3 Privileges and immunities 65) The privileges and immunities enjoyed by the Organization, by representatives of Member States and by other persons attending the General Conference are set forth in the United Nations Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the Specialized Agencies adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1947 and in the Agreement between the Government of the French Republic and UNESCO regarding the Headquarters and the privileges and immunities of the Organization on French territory which came into force on 23 November 1955. The relevant texts wiil be found in the Basic Texts, Manual of the General Conference and the Executive Board Manual (1992 edition). 1.4 Organization of work (7) The arrangements proposed by the Executive Board for the conduct of business during the twenty-seventh session are set forth in document 27 C/2, prepared on the basis of the recommendations adopted in this connection by the 141st session of the Executive Board. (8) The daily schedule of meetings will be posted in the hall of the Conference Building and on the closed-circuit television screens located in various places. It will also be published in the Journal of the General Conference, together with a forecast of meetings for the coming three or four days.
27 CANF.l - page 4 1.5 Agenda (9) The provisional agenda of the twenty-seventh session (27 C/l (prov.)), drawn up by the Executive Board as provided in Rules 15 and 16 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference, has been transmitted to Member States and to Associate Members as well as to other States and organizations invited to the session, together with the letter of convocation. 1.6 Rules of Procedure (10) The Rules of Procedure of the General Conference are reproduced in the Basic Texts, Manual of the General Conference and the Executive Board Manual (1992 edition), which will be distributed to delegates at the Conference, 1.7 Working languages (11) The working languages of the Conference are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. (12) Conference documents will be issued in these six languages except for the Journal of the General Conference and certain information documents available in English and French only. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in each of the six working languages. (13) At plenary meetings, in most cases, delegates will speak from the rostrum; at meetings of commissions and other bodies of the Conference, from their seats. 1.8 Seating arrangements (14) In all bodies of the General Conference, Member States will be seated in the alphabetical order of their names in French, starting with Burkina Faso whose name has been drawn by lot. (15) The seating arrangements for the twenty-seventh session will be as follows: Room I (plenary) Two desk seats and two seats behind for each delegation; to the extent possible, one desk seat and one seat behind for Associate Members, non-member States, liberation movements recognized by the Organization of African Unity, Palestine and the Sovereign Order of Malta. Other members of delegations will sit in the side seats on the upper level. Organizations of the United Nations system, other intergovernmental organizations and international non-governmental organizations having relations with UNESCO will be seated in the two central sections on the upper level. Rooms II and XII (commissions) One desk seat and one seat behind for each delegation. Desk seats will also be available for representatives and observers.
27 CLlNF.1 - page 5 Room XI (commissions) One desk seat for each delegation. Desk seats will also be available for the other members of the delegations, representatives and observers. Room IV (committees) One desk seat for each delegation. Desk seats and other seats will also be available for the other members of the delegations, representatives and observers. 2. DOCUMENTATION 2.1 Working documents (16) The working documents relating to the items on the provisional agenda will, as far as possible, be distributed to Member States before the session. (17) The number of copies of each document printed having been restricted to the minimum for reasons of economy, delegates are asked to bring with them the documents they have received. A maximum of one further copy per delegate will be available to those delegates who request them. (18) In each meeting room each delegation will find, at its place, a complete set of the documents required for the business of the body meeting in that room. This set should be left there so that it can be kept up to date by the assistant responsible for that room. Documents will be distributed as and when each item comes up for discussion by the body concerned. (19) Documents produced during the session will be distributed to delegations in the languages and quantities indicated by the delegation on a form (GC/Form 18) which it will be requested to fill in at the beginning of the session. It is recommended that the secretary or one member of the delegation should be made responsible for completing this form and collecting daily the documents for the whole delegation. Documents issued during the session are distributed only to delegations at the Conference and cannot be mailed to them or their governments. 2.2 Information documents (20) The information documents (series 27 CXNF.) include this document (27 C/INF. l), the documents entitled Invitations to the twenty-seventh session of the General Conference (27 C/INF.2), Provisional list of documents for the twenty-seventh session of the General Conference (27 C/INF.3), Provisional list of delegates, representatives and observers attending the twenty-seventh session of the General Conference (27 C/INF.4), and, usually, a number of other documents of general interest. The General Conference Guide containing practical information, plans of the buildings, the timetable of meetings and the provisional agenda will be distributed to participants; the General Conference telephone directory is provided with the Guide.
27 CLINF.1 - page 6 2.3 Documents submitted by delegations (21) During the session, a single typewritten copy of the text of any draft resolutions or other documents, should be handed to the Secretariat of the Conference. Special forms (GC/Form 15) for this purpose will be available. (22) Rule 78, paragraph 2, of the Rules of Procedure provides that no draft resolution shall be discussed or put to the vote unless copies of it have been circulated in the working languages to all delegations at least 24 hours before the opening of the meeting. Delegations are therefore requested to hand in the texts of draft resolutions or other documents they wish to submit sufficiently in advance to allow reasonable time for translation and reproduction in the working languages, and for distribution to all delegations (see subsection 2.6 of document 27 C/2). 2.4 Journal of the General Conference (23) The Journal of the General Conference will be published every morning except Sundays. Copies will be distributed to delegates at the documents counter from 9 a.m. onwards. The Journal, issued in English and French, will contain the following: (a) timetable and agenda of meetings for the day; (b) a forecast of meetings scheduled for the following three or four days, with their agenda; (c) short summaries of the meetings of the previous days; (d) off&l Conference notices; and (e) general information. 2.5 Official records (24) Provisional verbatim records of the plenary meetings will be issued, in which each speech will be in the working language used by the speaker. Corrections to these provisional records should be submitted to the Secretariat within 48 hours of the distribution of the provisional record, after which time it will be considered as definitive (Rule 59.1 of the Rules of Procedure). (25) As regards meetings of commissions and committees of the General Conference, sound recordings only are made; such recordings are kept in the archives of the Organization where they are available for consultation. (26) Delegates, representatives and observers are reminded that the Records of the General Conference are published in three volumes: Volume 1 Resolutions of the twenty-seventh session of the General Conference, which will be distributed no later than 60 days after the close of the session (Rule 63 of the Rules of Procedure). Volume 2 Reports of the commissions and committees (which will be distributed as soon as possible after the close of the session).
27 CYlNF.1 - page 7 Volume 3 Verbatim records of the plenary meetings, list of delegates, representatives and observers and list of documents (which will be distributed as soon as possible after the close of the session). The verbatim records of the plenary meetings contain the definitive text of each speech, which will be reproduced in its original language, speeches made in Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish being followed by a. translation into English or French. I 3. CONFERENCE SERVICES 3.1 Registration of delegates and observers (27) Registration of delegates of Member States and Associate Members, of observers from non-member States, liberation movements recognized by the Organization of African Unity, Palestine and the Sovereign Order of Malta, of representatives of organizations of the United Nations system and of observers from intergovernmental organizations, international non-governmental organizations having relations with UNESCO and foundations will take place on arrival at the Delegates Reception Office in the Conference Foyer. The Reception Service will issue passes, distribute participants mail, including invitations and messages, assist in arrangements for receptions, and look after lost property. The Reception Service will be open from Wednesday, 20 October 1993. (28) A provisional list of participants will be published and distributed at the opening of the session (27 C/INFA (prov.)). Participants are requested to hand in any corrections and additions at their earliest convenience to the Secretariat of the General Conference. Revised lists will be issued as necessary, as well as a final list. 3.2 Secretarial assistance 3.3 Mail (29) Delegations wishing to engage typists or other secretarial help may apply direct to the Bureau of Personnel (Building IV, Room H. 117), which will endeavour to recruit such staff at the delegates expense. UNESCO Secretariat staff are not available for this purpose. (30) Mail and other communications concerning the Conference should be forwarded to the following address: Mail address: UNESCO, 7 place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07-SP, France Telephone: 45 68 10 00 Telegrams: Telex: UNESCO PARIS 204461 PARIS Fax: 45 67 16 90
27 CYINF.1 - page 8 (31) Incoming mail: delegates may have mail addressed to them at UNESCO, 7 place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07-SP. Telegrams may be addressed to UNESCO PARIS TWENTY-SEVENTH SESSION. The name of the delegation should be clearly mentioned in the address. (32) Mail and cables, telegrams, telexes and faxes for delegations having permanent offices at the Organization s Headquarters will normally be distributed to those offices. Delegations not having permanent offices will be able to collect their mail and cables at the Reception Office in the Conference Foyer. 3.4 Special facilities (33) Delegates will be entitled to a special cigarette and tobacco ration as well as to a special petrol allowance for their official cars; details will be published in the Conference Guide concerning these allocations of duty-free products as part of the diplomatic allowance. For of&&l receptions given at Headquarters, heads of delegation may obtain a limited quantity of liquor on diplomatic account; applications should be made to the Purchase and Stores Division (Building I, Room 1028). Applications for the special petrol allowance should be made to the Buildings Division (Building I, Room 1009) in the morning. (34) Delegates may use the UNESCO Staff Commissary (Bonvin Building, basement) upon presentation of their Conference passes. A branch of the Commissary will also be open in the Mall, in the first basement of the Conference Building. The UNESCO Restaurant Services offer delegations all kinds of special facilities for meals, banquets, cocktail parties, receptions, etc. For information, estimates and bookings, apply to the Director of the Restaurant Services (Building N, Room G.052). 3.5 Press and information (35) Accredited representatives of press, radio, film, television and photo agencies will be able to cover the work of the General Conference. Accreditation cards and passes will be issued upon presentation of an official national press card or of a letter signed by the editor or director of the newspaper, press or photo agency, periodical, radio or television organization concerned. Applications for accreditation cards and passes should be made to the Press Relations Officer (Press Room, ground floor of Building III and, as from 20 October 1993, Room V, ground floor of the Conference Building). (36) Conference documents, background papers, press releases and photos will be available to all accredited corespondents. Special briefings and press conferences will be organized at regular intervals. Individual interviews with delegates and members of the Secretariat may be arranged on request. 4. VISA AND CURRENCY REGULATIONS 4.1 Passports and visas (37) Generally speaking, travellers entering France must be in possession of a valid passport and a visa valid for the entire length of their projected stay.
27 C/INF.l - page 9 (38) Nationals of the following countries do not require visas: Andorra, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Holy See, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, San Marino, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States of America. They must be in possession of a passport. (39) Holders of official travel papers issued by the European Economic Community and the Council of Europe likewise do not require a visa. Holders of the United Nations laissez-passer require a visa. (40) Delegates requiring visas for their return journey may apply to the Visa Service (Building IV, Room E. 170). 4.2 Currency regulations and banking facilities (41) The SociCd GCnCraIe operates a branch at UNESCO Headquarters where delegates may transact all ordinary banking business in accordance with French currency regulations. The branch has offices on the first floor of the Fontenoy Building and in the Hall of the Miollis Building. These offices will open as usual throughout the Conference at the following times: Fontenoy Mioliis Monday to Friday Franc transactions 9.30 a.m.-4.15 p.m. 9.30 a.m.- 11.30 a.m. 1 p.m.-4.15 p.m. Foreign currency 10 a.m.-3.45 p.m. 9.30 a.m.-l 1.30 a.m. 1 p.m.-4.15 p.m. Saturday Franc transactions 10 a.m.- 12 noon (Fontenoy only) (42) Bank notes in current circulation from the following countries are accepted in France: Australia Belgium Canada Denmark Finland Germany Greece Ireland IdY Japan Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland United States of America (43) Travellers cheques from the following countries, issued in the local currency, are accepted in France:
27 CYINF.1 - page 10 Australia Austria Canada Germany Ireland ItiY Japan Netherlands Nordic countries Portugal Spain Switzerland United Kingdom. of Great Britain and Northern Ireland United States of America (44) Eurocheques issued in French francs only and accompanied by a bank card may be cashed up to a sum of 1,400 FF per cheque. (45) Non-resident travellers may import into and export from France at the time of this notice (subject to possible changes in French currency regulations): all means of payment in the form of travellers cheques, French bank notes or foreign currency without any restriction on the amount. They must declare to the Customs Office any amount in excess of 50,000 francs or the equivalent in foreign currency. 5. TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATION, TRANSPORT 5.1 Travel reservations (46) Participants may book their return journeys through the office of UNESCO s accredited travel agent, Wagons-Lits Tourisme, on the first floor of the Fontenoy Building or in the Hall of the Miollis Building which will open as usual from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) on all Conference working days. 5.2 Hotels (47) Hotel accommodation in Paris is scarce at any time of the year and particularly so during the period of the General Conference when many other important events are taking place in the city. Hotel reservations should, therefore, be made at the earliest possible date, either direct, or where possible, through embassies or permanent delegations. :.. (48) UNESCO s travel agency will be glad to reserve hotel accommodation for participants upon request; please complete and return the attached form at the earliest possible date to the following address: Wagons-Lits Tourisme, UNESCO, 7 place de Fontenoy, 75700 Paris, France. (49) Approximate hotel rates at mid-june 1993 are as follows: With bath Single Double De.&txe 1,700-4,000 and + 2,000-5,000 and + **** A. $uperior 1st class l,loo-1,500 and + 1,300-1,600 and + *** B. Ordinary 1st class 600-900 700-1,200 ** C. Superior 2ndclass 350-500 400-600 These rates include breakfast (coffee/tea and rolls), service and taxes.
27 UINF.l -page 11 5.3 Car hire (50) Delegations wishing to hire cars during the Conference can make arrangements through any of the several car hire firms operating in Paris. Infomation may be obtained from the UNESCO office of Wagons-L& Tot&me, which will also make the necessary bookings, upon request. 5.4 Cost of li?ng (5 i) The following is an approximate estimate of the daily cost of living in Paris (at mid- June 1993): De luxe A B C Frs. Frs. Frs. Frs. Room with bath and breakfast 1,800 1,200 and+ and+ 680 and+ 430 and+ Two meals (lunch and dinner) 1,300 900 500 400 Total 3,100 and+ 2,100 and+ 1,180 and+ 830 and+ Taxis: minimum fare: 12 francs. 5.5 Climate (52) Weather in Paris tends to be cool and misty during late autumn. Average temperatures in Paris for this period range from 4 (mean daily minimum) to 7 Celsius (mean daily maximum) (39 to 44 Fahrenheit).
ANNEX 27 C/IN-F. 1 Annex GENERAL CONFERENCE - TWENTY-SEVENTH SESSION Paris, 25 October-16 November 1993 REQUEST FOR HOTEL RESERVATION This form should be completed and returned by airmail, as soon as possible, to: Wagons-L& Tourisme UNESCO 7 place de Fontenoy 75700 Paris Fax: 45 68 03 86 Telegraphic address: UNESCOTRAVEL PARIS (Please use block capitals) Accommodation required for: Surname(s) and first name(s): Address: Telex No. Fax No. I/We require the following accommodation from for nights (Please fill in a separate form for each person if the dates of the accommodation required are not the same) Category of hotel De luxe Single room Double room **** *** ** * A. Superior 1st class B. Ordinary 1st class C. Superior 2nd class D. Ordinary 2nd class If a particular hotel is preferred, please give details. Every effort will be made to satisfy preferences but it is not possible to offer any guarantee in this respect. Note Hotels are authorized to charge guests one night s accommodation for every room reserved but not used or cancelled in time, i.e. at least one full day before the first day of the reservation. Signature of this form signifies acceptance of this possible liability and discharges any responsibility on the part of UNESCO or its accredited travel agents. Your reservation will be confirmed by our services. In the event, however, of your not arriving before 6 p.m., your room may be let to someone else. If you expect to arrive after that time, you must therefore pay a deposit equivalent to the cost of at least one night s accommodation. Please indicate the type and number of credit card for the deposit Otherwise, please send with your request a cheque made out in French francs for the cost of the first night..** Signature Date