SEMINAR ON RESTORING GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATIVE MACHINERY IN CONFLICT SITUATIONS TO BE HELD IN ROME, 13 - 15 MARCH
Press Release
DEV/2095
SEMINAR ON RESTORING GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATIVE MACHINERY IN CONFLICT SITUATIONS TO BE HELD IN ROME, 13 - 15 MARCH
19960312 The United Nations and the Directorate General for Development Cooperation of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will convene a three- day seminar on restoring government administrative machinery in situations of conflict, beginning tomorrow, 13 March, in Rome.The seminar is expected to make a series of recommendations for consideration at a special resumed session of the General Assembly on public administration and development next month.
Funded by the Italian Government and organized by the United Nations Department for Development Support and Management Services, the seminar will bring together experts and/or government officials, including those from Azerbaijan, Burundi, Liberia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Angola, Somalia, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Lebanon, Namibia, Haiti, Slovenia, Uganda and the Palestinian Authority. Other United Nations offices participating will be the Department for Political Affairs, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank and the International Labour Organisation. The European Union will also contribute to the deliberations.
The opening ceremony will be hosted by the Department of Public Administration of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of Italy. Keynote speakers will include the Minister for Public Administration, Franco Frattini; Director-General of the United Nations Office in Geneva, Vladimir Petrovsky; Director-General for Development Co-operation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Paolo Bruni; and Special Envoy of the European Union, Aldo Ajello.
Rebuilding administrative systems in a war-torn society represents an important factor in the long-term impact for peace-making efforts and aid programmes. The seminar will seek to examine the role of governments in coordinating reconstruction programmes and in formulating strategies for reconciliation. Special attention will be given to local government structures as well as to improving the utilization of available administrative resources.
The United Nations has increasingly been called upon to rehabilitate social, political and judicial institutions in and after conflict situations. However, international efforts, such as the provision of emergency relief,
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demilitarization or electoral assistance, have proven effective only if the respective administrative sectors supported them. As a result, the United Nations has developed special programmes to strengthen public institutions, thus building peace and security by encouraging good governance. For example, the Department has provided assistance in rebuilding public administration to such countries as Angola, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Cambodia, Haiti and Somalia.
The seminar in Rome is part of a series of regional and international United Nations conferences, meetings and seminars in advance of the resumed General Assembly session, to be held from 15 to 19 April. A Stockholm conference, held from 16 to 18 October 1995, addressed the question of public administration and social development; a Berlin conference, from 24 to 26 January, examined the role of public administration in countries with economies in transition; and a Rio seminar, from 6 to 8 March, focused on the role of public administration in infrastructure development and environment protection. Meetings to be held before the Assembly include one in Manila, to discuss the role of public administration in economic development in Asia (18- 20 March); an African meeting in Windhoek, to examine how States can evolve from structural adjustment to improved efficiency in government (25 to 27 March); and a conference of African ministers for public administration early next month in Ouagadougou.
The resumed General Assembly session, as mandated in resolution 49/136, will examine the question of public administration and development, exchange experiences, review the activities of the United Nations in this field and make recommendations.
It will mark the first time that the 185 Member States of the United Nations will address the relationship between good governance, public administration and development. Pre-Assembly events on 11 and 12 April and parallel meetings will bring together national and regional institutes of public administration and management, senior government representatives, and representatives from the private sector.
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