ASSEMBLY ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON UNIVERSITY FOR PEACE, CONTINUES DEBATE ON FOLLOW-UP TO SOCIAL SUMMIT

Press Release
GA/9029

ASSEMBLY ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON UNIVERSITY FOR PEACE, CONTINUES DEBATE ON FOLLOW-UP TO SOCIAL SUMMIT

The Secretary-General was requested to consider ways of strengthening cooperation between the United Nations and the University for Peace by the terms of a resolution adopted this morning by the General Assembly without a vote.

Also by that resolution, interested members of the international community were invited to contribute to the Trust Fund for Peace and to the University's budget. Following the adoption of the resolution, the representative of Costa Rica made a statement.

In the Assembly's continued discussion of implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development, Norway's representative recalled the Summit's adoption of the 20/20 principle, which called for interested developed and developing country partners to allocate, on average, 20 per cent of official development assistance (ODA) and 20 per cent of national budgets, respectively, to basic social programmes. In order to speed up the process of making the 20/20 concept operational, Norway would host a meeting next year aimed at defining "basic social programmes"; identifying methods for implementing the 20/20 approach; and reaching consensus on ways of monitoring implementation.

Several participants endorsed the recommendation that a special session be convened in the year 2000 to examine implementation of the Summit's outcome, including the representatives of Bangladesh, Tunisia and Jamaica. Said the latter, "We would not want the very ambitious recommendations of Copenhagen to come to nothing, due to lack of follow-up and lack of proper management of the implementation process".

The representative of Botswana told the Assembly that the importance of social development for his country was reflected in some statistics, including that 50 per cent of its social spending went to education; improved health services had increased life expectancy from 46 to 63 years of age; 80 per cent of school-aged children had access to education; 80 per cent received immunization and 90 per cent of the population had access to safe water. Those accomplishments had benefitted from the generous assistance of the international community.

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The representative of the United States reported on progress achieved in initiatives announced at the Summit by his country's First Lady and Vice- President. Among them had been a 10-year, $100 million women and girls initiative.

Other statements were made by the representatives of Panama, United Arab Emirates, Slovenia, Malta, Turkey, Pakistan and Egypt.

The General Assembly will meet again at 3 p.m. today to consider implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace.

Assembly Work Programme

The General Assembly met this morning to continue its consideration of implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development and to take up implementation of the World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace. (For background on that report, see Press Releases GA/SHC/3319, issued 14 November, and GA/9028, issued yesterday.)

Also before the Assembly is a draft resolution on the Fourth World Conference on Women (document A/50/L.46). Under its terms, the Assembly would endorse the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted at the Conference on 15 September. The Assembly would also call upon all States and all bodies of the United Nations system and other international organizations, as well as non-governmental organizations, to take action for the effective implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action.

The Assembly also had before it the revised draft resolution on the University for Peace (document A/50/L.42/Rev.1) which would request the Secretary-General to consider ways of strengthening cooperation between the United Nations and the University for Peace and to submit a report thereon to the Assembly at its fifty-second session.

The draft would also invite Member States, non-governmental organizations and intergovernmental bodies, as well as interested individuals and organizations, to contribute directly to the Trust Fund for Peace and to the budget of the University. And it would invite Member States to accede to the International Agreement for the Establishment of the University for Peace, thus demonstrating their support of a global institution for peace studies. The question would be taken up again at the Assembly's fifty-second session.

The draft resolution was sponsored by Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Israel, Ivory Coast, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Suriname, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey and Uruguay.

Action on University for Peace Draft Resolution

The Assembly began by taking up the revised draft resolution on the University for Peace.

The following joined in co-sponsoring the text: Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, India, Jamaica, Senegal, Venezuela and the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

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The revised draft resolution on the University for Peace was adopted without a vote.

EMILIA CASTRO DE BARISH (Costa Rica), speaking in explanation of position after the vote, expressed gratitude to the Assembly for adopting the resolution. "We regard this as a splendid birthday present to the University for Peace." The University was now fifteen years old. It was appropriate that the resolution had been adopted at a time when the Assembly was considering the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development, as the University was contributing to its implementation.

Implementation of Outcome of World Social Summit

GABOSELE MASUSU (Botswana) said his country had always attached importance to social development, as reflected in its national goals of economic growth and independence, social justice and sustained development. On average, 50 per cent of social spending goes to education. The emphasis on improved health services had resulted in a rise in life expectancy from 46 to 63 years of age, 80 per cent of school-aged children having access to education, 80 per cent of children receiving immunization and 90 per cent of the population having access to safe water. The generous assistance of the international community contributed to those achievements.

In accordance with the recommendations of the Social Summit, he said his country had taken initiatives to ensure full participation of people in the decision-making on matters affecting their future. A national committee was at work on a national plan of action to be presented to the June 1996 United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in Istanbul. It would specify priority areas that would require international assistance. Botswana is also currently examining 11 pieces of legislation which may have inadvertently contributed to discrimination against certain groups, including women, with the intention of ensuring that all people enjoy equal rights regardless of sex, religion, colour or ethnic origin.

VICTOR MARRERO (United States) said his country believed that the cooperative effort to integrate the conference commitments of the Rio Summit and subsequent global conferences would require at least a decade of work. The Summit highlighted how investments in people's education and health were critical to their productivity and the positive role of multilateral banks, structural adjustment programmes and the power of the free market. Poverty is only substantially alleviated by job creation. "And workers who enjoy the protection of core labour standards are more likely to fulfil their human potential", he said.

He said the United States had committed to accelerated development activities in Africa and the less developed countries through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). During the Summit, the

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First Lady and Vice-President each announced initiatives designed to support the aims of the Summit. Eight months after the Summit, progress could be reported. The Women and Girls Education initiative pledged $100 million over 10 years. Programs had been funded in less developed countries. The New Partnership Initiative emphasized work at the local level to build sustainable institutional capacity in non-government organizations, small business and democratic local governance. USAID had continued to make gains in its micro- enterprise funding in less developed countries. In response to Copenhagen and the Beijing Women's Conference, programmes supporting women's political participation and women's legal rights were under way. These programmes demonstrated the United States' commitment to the development of the individual programmes designed at the local level and working through a broad array of non-government actors.

JORGE E. ILLUECA (Panama) said the Summit had led to the realization that social problems could not be solved while vulnerable individuals and disadvantaged groups festered in a morass of need. Actions must be taken to free all people from want. Solid and lasting social safeguards must be set up. "All of us, men and women, children, young people and the elderly, the sick, the healthy and the disabled must have their place in the arc of social progress." Social change must be effected at the grass-roots level with the full participation of civil actors. The United Nations had responsibility for fostering international cooperation. It must take an integrated approach to the outcomes of United Nations conferences. At least a decade was needed to implement those outcomes, and the undertaking should be budgeted by all countries.

He went on to stress the importance of gathering accurate statistics, expressing appreciation to the various United Nations departments charged with that task. Cooperation between the United Nations, the specialized agencies and the Bretton Woods institutions should be strengthened. Countries of the Central American region were working towards social integration there, and a secretariat had been set up for that purpose which would be headquartered in Panama. The driving force of social development was economic growth, and it was hoped that international development institutions would increase the level of funding for projects in Central America. The principles of universality and neutrality must be preserved when carrying out operational activities for development.

MOHAMMAD J. SAMHAN (United Arab Emirates) said the Secretary-General's report clearly reflected the desire of all States to overcome such problems as poverty and underdevelopment. An international collective approach was required. The customs of all countries should be respected. Development programmes should take into account the aspirations of the future, as well as respect for religions and customs. The United Arab Emirates had made the development of the individual the focus and the end of its programmes. Education, culture and free health care programmes had been established. The

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country had also worked to make employment opportunities available to all men and women and had created programmes to promote women.

He said his country's economic and social policies as well as its legislation were based on the principles of equality and justice and the Islamic Sharia. It had also developed new institutions in scientific training and studies. Externally, this included cooperation with regional and international institutions on such issues as the environment and housing. Those efforts stemmed from an awareness of the need to mobilize resources to improve the conditions of human beings worldwide.

DANILO TURK (Slovenia) said there were two basic requirements for implementing the Social Summit's outcome: an ethical commitment and careful policy-making. The former involved difficult choices in pursuit of the objectives of the Programme of Action despite the various obstacles. The aspect of policy-making was equally important, requiring leaders to act with determination, persistence and imagination. The question of how to involve non-State actors in the process of implementing the Summit's outcome was of critical importance. National governments had primary responsibility for implementing the Summit's recommendations, while international support was an often essential supplement to their efforts.

The Commission for Social Development should be strengthened in order to meet its responsibilities as the central intergovernmental body for the Summit's follow-up, he said. The Secretariat should provide support to the Commission and furnish it with statistics requested by the Summit and other conferences. Given the broad scope of the Summit's Declaration and Programme of Action, the entire United Nations system should contribute to the implementation process. The Commission should adopt a multi-year thematic work programme based on the Summit's main themes of poverty, unemployment and social disintegration.

SAMIYA WAHEED JUNJEJO (Pakistan) said combatting poverty would require sustained and diversified investment in food and nutrition, health, education, human development, infrastructure and, above all else, economic growth. Responsibility to implement the Social Summit rested with national governments. The United Nations could contribute through the work of the Economic and Social Council, the General Assembly and specialized agencies. The developed countries must meet their commitment to allocate 0.7 per cent for official development assistance. "Fulfilment of this commitment alone can be a big stride towards solving problems related to social and economic development in the developing countries", she said. She appreciated Ireland's announcement that it would meet that target. The announcements of Denmark and Austria for debt cancellation in Copenhagen should set a trend for other developed countries.

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She said that Pakistan had launched a comprehensive $8 billion social action programme to address the urgent needs for basic education, primary health care, nutrition, water supply and sanitation. It sought to eradicate poverty, redress gender inequality, and achieve rural development and environmental protection. Goals also included universal access to primary education, reduction of population growth from 3.1 per cent to 2.5 per cent by the year 2000 and provision of potable water to 100 per cent of the urban population and 90 per cent of the rural population. The most vulnerable groups targeted for social welfare and rehabilitation programmes were women, children, widows, orphans, the elderly, ex-convicts, migrants and refugees.

PATRICIA DURRANT (Jamaica) said her country had established a monitoring committee to oversee the country's plan of action for implementing the Summit's recommendations. In addition, Jamaica was enhancing its national poverty alleviation programme. Human resource development was the foundation of Jamaica's poverty eradication efforts. Any strategy to combat poverty demanded investment in education and training so that the individual could have access to opportunities for self-help through their own initiative. To generate employment in Jamaica, efforts were being made to provide additional credit and technical assistance to strengthen the participation of the poor in the micro-enterprise sector, which had experienced some growth in recent years. Family centres providing counselling had been set up in recognition of the integral role of the family in social stability.

Jamaica was pleased that the United Nations system had been very responsive to its initiatives, she went on. United Nations development agencies had made financial and human resources available to the Government, and had collaborated with multilateral financial institutions in mobilizing support for Jamaica's poverty alleviation initiatives. Jamaica supported the proposal to hold a special session in the year 2000 to review and appraise the Summit's outcome. "We would not want the very ambitious recommendations of Copenhagen to come to nothing, due to lack of follow-up and lack of proper management of the implementation process."

JOSEPH CASSAR (Malta) said in Copenhagen, heads of State and government had recommended measures aimed at eliminating inequalities within and among nations. Those inequalities bred resentment and unrest among people, threatening the security of nations, hampering development and impeding lasting peace. "Measures to foster social development that have been agreed upon must now be transformed into practical modalities and acted upon at the national, international and United Nations levels." The family, as the basic unit of society, had an enormous role to play in facilitating a stable and secure social environment not only for its immediate members but for society as a whole. The social ills facing the world today would not be cured by a quick fix. In striving to consolidate social development, nations must invest in people.

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He went on to reiterate Malta's standing offer to host global or regional training centres to cover areas such as the design and implementation of the Programme of Action. Governments must work on behalf of societies. Though technology had advanced, people still died for lack of water. Misery continued to make the marginalized its primary victims. "These ills can only be remedied by one decisive factor: our common political will."

HUSEYIN E. CELEM (Turkey) said the time had come to translate the objectives set out in Copenhagen into action. Success would depend on the determination of national governments. Global wealth had increased considerably, but had not been equitably distributed, therefore there was a need for formulation of national strategies. But national economic and social plans could not be achieved by governments alone.

He said the Turkish Parliament had recently adopted the seventh five- year plan which emphasized development of human resources, eradicating poverty, bridging the gaps between regions, and developing adequate rural and social infrastructures. In that context, Turkey was ready to contribute to eradicating poverty on the international level.

RAEZ RAHMAN (Bangladesh) said the Summit itself had identified actions to be taken to ensure implementation of its outcome, and they must be pursued. Among them had been the recommendation that closer links be forged between the Bretton Woods institutions and the United Nations system. It had also been recommended that a special session be convened in the year 2000 to examine overall implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme for Action. At the Summit, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Begum Khaleda Zia, had made a number of points that were worth recalling, including her proposal that representatives of the least developed countries meet with those of the Group of Seven Industrialized countries. It had been a matter of some satisfaction that at the Halifax Group of Seven Summit, attention had been accorded to the evolving agenda for development.

Another initiative put forward at the Summit by Prime Minister Zia concerned the formation of a high-level task force by the Secretary-General in consultation with the heads of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization aimed at fostering a more responsive and more coordinated approach to the war against poverty. The Secretary-General had taken a number of welcome steps towards the establishment of inter-agency task forces. The Prime Minister had also proposed that the Prime Minister of Denmark form an independent commission to submit recommendations on crucial issues concerning social development. The Danish Prime Minister had recently stated that the establishment of an independent commission had not been possible due to lack of financial and political backing. "We fully agree with him in his conclusion that we must not let ourselves be limited by what seems possible." Alternative approaches were needed to attain the goals of the proposed commission.

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SVEIN AASS (Norway) said one of the most concrete outcomes of the Social Summit had been the adoption of the 20/20 principle, which called for interested developed and developing country partners to allocate, on average, 20 per cent of official development assistance (ODA) and 20 per cent of national budgets, respectively, to basic social programmes. In order to speed up the process of making the 20/20 concept operational, Norway had proposed hosting a meeting among interested countries next year. A small preparatory group, consisting of three developed and three developing countries, had begun work on the meeting in cooperation with the relevant United Nations organizations. The preparatory group had recommended that the meeting work towards a common definition of basic social programmes; define modalities for implementing the 20/20 approach; and agree on ways of monitoring implementation. It was hoped that the Oslo meeting would be an important step towards implementing the Summit goal of securing universal access to basic social services.

He went on to say that the Summit agenda could not and should not be the prerogative of any one entity within the United Nations system. Some organs would have a greater role to play than others, particularly in the area of coordination. The establishment of inter-agency task forces had been welcome, as they may constitute an important step towards a more effective and coordinated United Nations response to the challenge of eradicating poverty.

SLAHEDDINE ABDELLAH (Tunisia) said all countries were affected by the globalization of the economy. The new situation had eroded the links of solidarity among individuals and had served to widen the gap between rich and poor both within and among countries. An enabling political and economic environment was needed to bring all actors together. Tunisia had established a national solidarity fund in order to reduce social marginalization. The country aimed to reconcile economic growth and environmental protection, guaranteeing benefits to all in a society at peace with itself. Particular attention had been paid to providing goods, services and infrastructure to those in rural areas. The impact of Tunisia's development strategy had been positive, notably the quick implementation of projects.

He went on to praise the efforts of the Secretary-General aimed at translating the recommendations of the Summit and other world conferences into action. Tunisia would support the convening in the year 2000 of a special session to review the implementation of the Summit's outcome. A decade for the eradication of poverty should be designated this year. Generosity was imperative to ensuring respect for the dignity of individuals. All countries, particularly the richest countries, must work towards that end. Social progress required more than a mere play of market forces. Firm political will at the national and international level to invest in the well-being of all was essential.

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ABDEL-GAFFAR ELDEEB (Egypt) said the stage of implementation of international programmes stemming from Copenhagen had already begun. To truly implement the strategy and programmes of work for social development, the nations must take primary responsibility. Yet international cooperation was indispensable. It was also necessary that all subsidiary bodies of the United Nations play their role, especially the Commission for Social Development. The eradication of poverty was the first stage of a strategy for social development. Social integration and full employment could not be done in isolation from such problems as poverty. Economics and social development were complementary. One could not speak of creating social harmony without paying attention to poverty, which created instability.

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