Twenty-Ninth World Health Assembly Geneva, 3-21 May 1976 II. [antikvár]

VERBATIM RECORDS OF THE PLENARY MEETINGS FIRST PLENARY MEETING Monday, 3 May 1976, at 3 p.m. President: Professor S. HALTER (Belgium) 1. OPENING OF THE SESSION The PRESIDENT (translation from the French): As President of the Twenty-eighth World Health Assembly I have the honour to declare open the Twenty-ninth World Health Assembly. In the first place it is my privilege, a privilege the exercise of which gives me great pleasure, to welcome among us on behalf of this Assembly Mr Jean Babel, President of the Conseil d'Etat of the Republic and Canton of Geneva, Miss Aliette Aubert, Vice-President of the Grand Conseil, Mrs Lise Girardin, Mayor of the City of Geneva, Mr Edouard Givel, President of the Municipal Council of the City of Geneva, Mr Bernard Ducret, Secretary-General of the University of Geneva, and Professor Marcel Jenny, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. It is also my privilege to welcome here on the rostrum beside me Mr Winspeare Guicciardi, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, representing the Secretary-General of the United Nations. I welcome the Directors-General of the specialized agencies, their representatives, and the representatives of the various United Nations bodies. I should also like to welcome the delegates of Member States and the representatives of Associate Members, and most particularly the delegates of Tonga, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam, the Comoros, Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe, Surinam, and Papua New Guinea - States which, having accepted the Constitution since the last Assembly, have thereby become Members of the World Health Organization. I also welcome the observers for non-Member States who have been invited to attend; the observers for Angola are welcome here, Angola having applied for admission to membership of the World Health Organization. Observers for national liberation movements invited in accordance with resolution WHA27.37 of the Twenty-seventh World Health Assembly, representatives of intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations maintaining official relations with the World Health Organization, and members of the Executive Board - welcome! Welcome, most sincerely and cordially, to you all! I give the floor to Mr Winspeare Guicciardi, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, representing the Secretary-General of the United Nations. 2. ADDRESS BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICE AT GENEVA Mr WINSPEARE GUICCIARDI (Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva): Mr President, as the Director-General of the United Nations Office in Geneva, it gives me special pleasure to welcome again this distinguished gathering to the Palais des Nations. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Kurt Waldheim, has asked me personally to convey to you his very warm wishes for the success of this Twenty-ninth World Health Assembly. Last year, at the opening of the Twenty-eighth World Health Assembly, I had the privilege of mentioning the New Economic Order and you will understand if, in the light of the Seventh Special Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations last September, I revert to this subject again. The consensus of the Assembly expresses, I know, the concern we all share for the health of the corporate body of States, of the nations which make up the membership of the United Nations and of your Organization. There can be no question but that a serious economic imbalance between Member States disturbs the equilibrium so necessary to the wellbeing of all. It is the General Assembly's decision to redress this imbalance wherever and whenever possible. - 37 -