UN General Assembly
1997

should, however, be clearly defined in the larger interests of the Organization. The question of refocusing the work of the General Assembly itself is an interesting proposal which we fully support. The long debates in the Assembly, as well as in numerous Committees, and the large number of issues and resolutions, are well beyond the capacity of many of the smaller Member countries to handle. We support the 4 idea of dealing with thematic issues, both within the plenary and the Committees, during the annual sessions. We also support the view that the follow-up to all global conferences should be properly tied to the work of the General Assembly. The resolutions and other decisions adopted during the General Assembly must be organized in such a manner that they will have a direct bearing on the work of the Secretariat, providing both guidance and direction. The proposed Development Group that has been constituted, bringing greater coordination of the three key United Nations development agencies — namely, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United