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World Health Organization
Organisation mondiale de la Santé
G
uide for delegates to the
World Health Assembly
DATE AND PLACE OF THE HEALTH ASSEMBLY The Fifty-third World Health Assembly will open in Geneva on Monday, 15 May 2000, at 10h00; it will close on Saturday, 20 May. The Health Assembly will be held in the Palais des Nations, located near Place des Nations and Avenue de la Paix, and most easily reached by the entrance gate on Route de Pregny. ARRIVAL IN GENEVA Delegates, representatives or other participants travelling by air will arrive at Cointrin Airport near Geneva, and those travelling by train at Cornavin Station in Geneva. Hotel reservations and other arrangements should be made well in advance. Taxis are available directly outside the airport. The Travel Officer, Ms S. Stoler, can be reached on her portable phone (41) 079 2134308 and from Monday, 15 May at her office in the Palais des Nations (tel. 907 65 00). Attention is drawn to the strict provisions in force regarding entry into Switzerland, which refuses entry to those not having the required visa. Participants requiring an entry visa must obtain this from the Swiss consulate or diplomatic mission responsible for the necessary arrangements in their country of residence. In exceptional cases, a visa may be obtained upon arrival at Geneva Airport provided that the WHO Visas Section at headquarters, Geneva, has been advised, by e-mail (ruhmalys@who.int) or facsimile (4122 791 48 20), two weeks prior to the date of arrival, giving the following details: full name, date and place of birth, nationality, national passport number (date of issue and expiry), date of arrival and flight number. French entry (not transit) visas are required for certain nationalities when transiting a French airport en route to Geneva. Those participants wishing, upon arrival in Geneva, to cross the border into France, must obtain visas in the country of residence before departure, as they are not obtainable in Geneva.
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ACCESS TO THE PALAIS DES NATIONS FOR THE HEALTH ASSEMBLY The Health Assembly will meet in the Assembly block of the Palais des Nations (see map at back of booklet). The Assembly block is conveniently reached by Door 13 or 15. The plenary meetings will be held in the Assembly Hall (Salle des Assemblées) which can be reached by stairway or elevator from Door 13 or 15. The two main committees of the Health Assembly will meet in separate conference rooms, Committee A in Conference Room XVIII and Committee B in Conference Room XVII. Both rooms are located on the first floor of E Building (Bâtiment E). Smoking is not allowed at the Health Assembly. INQUIRY OFFICE The Inquiry Office is located in the hall between Doors 13 and 15 (ext. 74217). It deals with the registration of participants, provides guidance on a range of matters of interest to participants, and will direct them to other services, such as travel, mail, finance and communications. Personal mail can be collected here as well. Lost property may be turned in or claimed at this office. CREDENTIALS AND REGISTRATION The credentials of delegates, alternates and advisers should be communicated to WHO in Geneva by 28 April 2000. Such credentials shall be issued by the Head of State, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister of Health, or any other appropriate authority. Member States shall be represented at the Assembly by not more than three delegates, and alternates and advisers may accompany delegates. Before the opening of the Assembly delegates, representatives and other participants will be able to register at the Inquiry Office on Saturday, 13 May between 9h00 and 14h00, on Sunday, 14 May between 12h30 and 17h00 and on Monday, 15 May from 7h00. Delegations whose credentials have not been communicated to WHO prior to the opening should deposit them here. The Inquiry Office will issue badges to delegates, representatives and other participants. Access to meeting rooms will be restricted to persons wearing badges. Members of diplomatic missions will be provided with a badge upon presentation of their diplomatic card, but will not figure in the list of participants.
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FIFTY-THIRD LIST OF DELEGATES
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A provisional list of delegates and other participants (document A53/DIV/1) will be distributed at the beginning of the Health Assembly. This list will be issued on the basis of the credentials received by the Secretariat up to 14h00 on Saturday, 13 May. A revised list will be issued later as part of the normal document distribution. In the event of any official change in delegation membership, delegations are kindly requested to notify the Inquiry Office in writing on the form attached to the list. The form should be signed by the chief delegate. ARRANGEMENTS FOR CONDUCT OF DISCUSSION IN PLENARY MEETINGS In 1997, the Health Assembly approved the arrangements for the conduct of the general discussion in plenary meetings on the Director-Generals report, as follows: l
delegates are requested to limit to five minutes their statements in such discussions; delegates wishing to do so may submit prepared statements of not more than 600 words for inclusion in the verbatim records of the plenary meetings; the statements should focus on the theme of The world health report.
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Delegates wishing to have their name placed on the list of speakers for the general discussion should notify the Governing Bodies Department (fax +41 22 791 41 73). Delegates may opt for group or regional statements, in lieu of individual statements. Copies of statements to be made in the general discussion should be submitted to the Office of the Assistant to the Secretary of the Assembly (Room A.656) by the morning of Monday, 15 May 2000. u Recording
Sound: Delegates wishing to have a recording of statements made during the Health Assembly should request copies, in advance of deliver y if possible, at the Radio Studio, Room A.266 (behind the Delegates Bar), telephone 73250/76553. Sound tapes are provided free of charge. Video: Delegates wishing to have video coverage of their speeches in plenary may request this in advance at office A.561, telephone 76819/76890. The cost of this service is 100 Swiss francs per cassette.
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INTERVENTIONS OF DELEGATES IN COMMITTEE A AND COMMITTEE B Delegates wishing to have their name placed on the list of speakers in Committee A or Committee B, or to have draft resolutions distributed, should contact the Secretary or Assistant Secretaries of the Committee concerned (as shown below). Committee A: Secretary: Dr S. Holck Assistant Secretaries: Mrs M.K. Kindhauser Dr Q.M. Islam Committee B: Secretary: Assistant Secretary: Dr M. Karam Dr P.M.P. Desjeux - office E.1066, tel. 77155/77160 - office E.1066, tel. 77156/77152 - office E.1066, tel. 77158/77153 - office E.3016, tel. 77356/77350 - office E.3016, tel. 77357/77349
CONTACT WITH WHO SECRETARIAT A list of programmes and responsible officers at WHO headquarters, with their telephone numbers and reference symbols, is available at the documents desk. It also contains the structure of the Secretariat at headquarters.
NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS: LIAISON OFFICE During the World Health Assembly staff will be available to respond to inquiries from nongovernmental organizations at the NGO liaison office, Room A.267 (close to Door 15), telephone 76515/76516/76517. A word processing machine and printer will be available for the use of NGOs in official relations with WHO. Assistance may also be requested for photocopying NGO statements. The office will be open from 8h30 to 12h30 and from 13h30 to 17h30. NGOs in official relations with WHO may participate, without right of vote, in the Health Assembly. To that end, seating in the plenary has been reserved in the galleries on the third and fifth floors, which may be reached by using the lifts close to Doors 13 and 15 respectively. For Committees A and B seating for NGOs has been reserved in the wings of the rooms. A small number of seats are available in the committee rooms themselves; however, priority will be given to those NGOs which have given notice of their intention to speak, and then to those NGOs collaborating with the WHO programmes whose activities are related to the agenda item under discussion.
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LOCAL TRANSPORT AND TAXIS From Monday to Friday WHO can be reached by bus 8 which runs from Veyrier to Avenue Appia, passing through Rive (town centre), Place Cornavin (railway station) and Place des Nations (Palais des Nations); at weekends this bus runs only as far as Place des Nations. WHO can also be reached by bus F which runs daily from Place Cornavin to Ferney-Voltaire, France, with stops at Place des Nations and Route des Morillons, next to the headquarters building. In addition, bus 5 runs daily from Place Neuve to Grand-Saconnex, with stops at Place Cornavin and Place des Nations, and bus 18 runs from Place des Nations to Lignon, with stops at Route des Morillons and the Airport. Tickets must be purchased and validated before entering buses. Individual tickets are available from vending machines at main bus stops, and cards for multiple trips at reduced price from the Naville kiosks in the headquarters building and the Palais des Nations, and from newsagents in town bearing the TPG sign. Geneva taxi drivers know the headquarters building as OMS (Avenue Appia). There are taxi ranks in almost all main squares in Geneva and outside the Palais des Nations. Taxis can be called by telephone by dialling the following numbers: 320 20 20, 320 22 02 and 33 141 33. Taxis can also be ordered through the usher on duty at the nearest door in the Assembly block.
CAR PARKS Delegates cars bearing WHA stickers are allowed to park in areas reserved for the Health Assembly. Delegates may therefore use car parks P3 (lower and upper levels) and P5 (lower level), near Doors 13 and 15, which are reached through the Route de Pregny entrance. Car stickers can be obtained from the car parking sticker desk at the Inquiry Office.
DELEGATES LOUNGE Hall 14 near the Assembly Hall is available for the convenience of delegates.
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RESTAURANT, CAFETERIA AND BAR The restaurant on the eighth floor of the Assembly block is open from 12h00 to 14h30 from Monday to Friday (ext. 73588 for reservations). The restaurant can organize private receptions (cocktail parties), luncheons, or dinners for a minimum of 25 participants. These services can also be provided on Saturdays or Sundays. The cafeteria, which is on the ground floor of the Assembly block, and to which there is direct access by Lift 29, is open from 8h15 to 16h45 from Monday to Friday, hot meals being served from 11h30 to 14h00 or 14h30 (grill only). The snack bar in the hall between Doors 13 and 15 is open from 7h30 to 19h00 or until the close of meetings, and on Saturday mornings. It should be noted that this area has been reserved for non-smokers. The delegates bar, adjacent to Conference Room VII on the third floor, is open from 8h30 to 17h00 from Monday to Friday, and also serves snacks. The Bar du Serpent, located on the first floor of E Building next to Conference Room XVIII (where Committee A will meet) and Conference Room XVII (where Committee B will meet), is open from 9h00 to 17h00 from Monday to Friday and on Saturday until 12h30 or until the close of meetings; it also serves sandwiches. Delegates and other participants in the Assembly are, of course, welcome to use the restaurant and cafeteria at WHO. RESERVATION OF ROOMS FOR PRIVATE MEETINGS Requests by delegates for reservation of conference rooms at the Palais des Nations for private meetings may be addressed to the Conference Services at WHO (Room 8167, ext. 4007/4004) before the opening of the Health Assembly or to the Interpretation Service, Room A.637, sixth floor, Palais des Nations (Lift 15), from 12 May onward. ARRANGEMENTS FOR RECEPTIONS The WHO restaurant can organize receptions (cocktail parties) and luncheons; arrangements can be made by contacting Head, Accommodation, Office Supplies and Concessions, at WHO (Room 8148, ext. 4013/4017). In order to avoid overlapping, delegations intending to arrange receptions are urged to consult the Office of the Director-General.
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Newspapers, magazines, books, postcards, etc., are on sale at the news stand in the hall between Doors 13 and 15. It is open Monday to Friday from 8h00 to 13h00 and from 14h00 to 17h30 and on Saturday from 8h00 to 12h00. (The main kiosk is in the hall near Door 6.) POST OFFICE 2000
A post office is set up by the Swiss postal authorities for the duration of the Assembly in the hall between Doors 13 and 15. It is open from 8h45 to 13h00 and from 14h00 to 17h45 from Monday to Friday, and from 8h45 to 12h45 on Saturday. For telegrams, faxes and telexes, the telegraph office is open near Door 6 from 8h30 to 17h00 from Monday to Friday. Mail can be sent from the post office situated in the hall between Doors 13 and 15. This office does not engage in monetary operations (giro payments, postal or money orders); these should be transacted at the Geneva 10 Post Office in the Palais des Nations (Door 6) or the Geneva 27 Post Office in the WHO building. WHO stamps and Swiss stamps can be purchased at the post office in the hall between Doors 13 and 15. Such stamps (WHO only or Swiss only, as mail bearing both is not accepted) on mail handed in, or posted in the letter-box, at that office will be automatically cancelled with the special postmark 1211 Genève, Assemblée mondiale de la Santé.
Delegates who wish to stamp their mail with United Nations Postal Administration stamps should apply to the office of that Administration, which is in the entrance hall near Door 6. DELEGATES MAIL Correspondence addressed to delegates c/o WHO, 1211 Geneva 27, can be collected from the Inquiry Office.
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FIFTY-THIRD TELEPHONES 1. (a) (b) (c) (d) 2.
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Calls inside the Palais des Nations Lift the receiver and wait for the dialling tone; Dial the required number; A succession of long slow buzzes indicates that the number is ringing; A succession of short rapid buzzes indicates that the number is engaged. Calls from the Palais des Nations to WHO the dialling tone; (b) Dial 62; (c) Dial the extension required (see WHO telephone directory). OR (a) Lift the receiver and wait for the dialling tone; (b) Dial 0 and wait for the second dialling tone; (c) Dial 791 followed immediately by the extension required in WHO.
EITHER (a) Lift the receiver and wait for
If the extension is not known, dial the WHO switchboard number (62 - 1111 or 0 - 791 21 11). 3. (a) (b) (c) 4. Local calls within the Geneva area Lift the receiver and wait for the inside dialling tone; Dial 0 and wait for the outside dialling tone; Dial the required number within the Geneva area. Interurban and international calls
Interurban and international calls can be made at all times from the Taxcard- and coin-operated telephone booths located as follows: Assembly block: near Door 15 - two telephone booths E Building: near Lifts 42A, 42B, 43A and 43B - one telephone booth on each of the 3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th floors, near Door 41, 2nd floor - one telephone booth, Press Office 3 - two telephone booths, Roneo E.60 - one telephone booth Codes and rates for automatic dialling of international calls are given on the pale green pages of the Geneva telephone directory. Codes not shown can be obtained by dialling 191.
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Interurban and international calls can also be requested at: E Building: Telegraph office at Door 41 (9h30-17h00 from Monday to Friday) United Nations Secretariat building: Telegraph office at Door 6 (8h30-17h30 from Monday to Friday) All charges for interurban and international calls requested by delegations will be borne by the delegations concerned. When these offices are closed, interurban and international calls can be made from the telephone booth at the Conciergerie (main reception desk at Door 2 of the United Nations Secretariat building - Place des Nations entrance).
REIMBURSEMENT OF AIR TICKETS AND RESERVATIONS FOR RETURN JOURNEY Delegates of least developed countries entitled to reimbursement of their air tickets are requested to apply to the Travel Office, near Door 13, with their tickets so that reimbursement may be effected. There is a branch of the Carlson Wagonlit Travel Service near Door 13 where delegates may reconfirm their return flights. It is open from 9h00 to 17h00 from Monday to Friday and from 9h00 to 12h00 on Saturday.
BANK
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The branch of the UBS near Door 6 is open from 8h30 to 16h30 from Monday to Friday. A cash desk is located near Door 41 which is open from 8h30 to 12h30 and 13h30 to 16h30 from Monday to Friday. The branch of the UBS at the airport is open 7 days a week from 6h30 to 20h30.
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FIFTY-THIRD MEDICAL SERVICE
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A nurse will be on duty in the Assembly infirmary near Door 11, where injections and simple treatment can be given. If necessary, the nurse will refer delegates to the Medical Service at the Palais des Nations (Room 016, ext. 72807/72520). Delegates requiring information about medical advice or treatment may arrange for an appointment with the Director of the Medical Service (Room 014) at the Palais des Nations, by dialling the infirmary (ext. 72520/72807). In case of medical emergency while in the conference buildings, from 8h30 to 19h00, dial 15; outside these hours contact the Conciergerie (Door 2, ext. 72902/ 72900). Delegates requiring urgent medical attention when they are not in the conference buildings are advised to contact the Service durgence de lAssociation des Médecins de Genève (tel. 320 25 11). There is also a Medical Service in the second basement of the WHO building (Room 282, ext. 3040).
MARKETING AND DISSEMINATION OF WHO PUBLICATIONS Coordinator, Marketing and Dissemination at WHO (Room 4155, ext. 2476) is available for consultation by delegates, who may wish to know the addresses in their country to which WHO publications are being sent free of charge, or to discuss distribution questions. Publications can be purchased at the publications sales counter located across from the registration desk, between Doors 13 and 15, at the Palais des Nations.
LIBRARY The Library at WHO is situated near the Executive Board Room and will be open from 8h30 to 17h00 from Monday to Friday, and from 8h30 to 13h00 on Saturday. For requests by telephone, call ext. 2062. An information sheet describing services and procedures is available at the library reference desk.
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WHO ON INTERNET: THE CYBERCAFE Delegates are invited to visit the WHO cybercafé, located at the Serpent Bar. Microcomputers will be available, giving full access to the Internet and in particular to the WHO World Wide Web pages (http://www.who.int). The cybercafé will also provide online and immediate access to the Journal, documents of relevance to the agenda of the Fifty-third World Health Assembly and to the WHO policy system. The WHO policy document retrieval system allows users to navigate and search infobases such as WHO Basic Documents, documents presented in sessions of the Executive Board and Health Assembly, resolutions and decisions, official records of the Board and the Assembly, and the programme budget. Other WHO Web pages available include WHO press releases and publications, health topics, WHO reports and general information about WHO. For any additional information regarding the cybercafé, you may dial 77198/77199.
DUTY FREE SHOP AND PETROL CARDS
FRE E
A duty free shop has been opened by the Swiss authorities for the convenience of delegates, alternates and advisers as well as representatives of intergovernmental organizations duly accredited to the World Health Assembly. It is situated at 27 Avenue de France - Centre Commercial Montbrillant, in the block surrounding the new HCR building on the other side of the Place des Nations. (Opening hours: Monday, 13h00 to 18h30, Tuesday to Friday, 9h30 to 12h30/13h00 to 18h30, Saturday, 9h30 to 13h30.) Accredited delegates who wish to use the shop must fill in form 14.65 available at the Inquiry Office. This form must be stamped and signed by the Director IIS. Right of access is personal to each delegate. It is not possible to be represented by a driver or a colleague. Delegates who have come to Geneva by car may obtain a temporary duty free petrol card. To do so they should fill in form 15.55 also available at the Inquiry Office and have it stamped and signed by the Director IIS. Further instructions on the procedure are available at the Inquiry Office.
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