ASSEMBLY ADOPTS RESOLUTION SETTING OUT MEASURES TO REVITALIZE UNITED NATIONS IN ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND RELATED FIELDS

24 May 1996

Press Release
GA/9074

ASSEMBLY ADOPTS RESOLUTION SETTING OUT MEASURES TO REVITALIZE UNITED NATIONS IN ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND RELATED FIELDS

19960524 They Reconfirm Role of UN in Operational Activities, Strengthen ECOSOC, Reinforce Cooperation with Bretton Woods Institution, Secretary-General Says

The United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions should jointly review their programmes and relationships in the field and at other levels, seek areas to improve their cooperation and recommend ways of complementing each other's efforts in implementing the results of United Nations conferences, according to a resolution adopted without a vote by the General Assembly this morning.

After such a review, the text adds, the Assembly and the institutions' governing bodies should consider how and where to collaborate concretely in development-related activities. Further, the Economic and Social Council, whose substantive session would be held over a period of four weeks instead of five, should schedule periodically a high-level special meeting close to the institutions' semi-annual meetings in order to improve its cooperation with them at the intergovernmental level. The Secretary-General should consult with the heads of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to ensure the success of the special meetings.

Those are some of the measures suggested in the first of three annexes of the resolution on restructuring and revitalizing the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields. The other two annexes contain agendas of the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) and the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural). Sponsored by Venezuela, the resolution asks the Secretary-General to implement the measures and report to the Assembly at its regular session next year.

In a statement issued following the adoption of the resolution, the Secretary-General said it was first to have emerged from a number of General Assembly working groups examining a wide range of issues relating to the reform and renewal of the Organization. Welcoming the resolution, he said Member States had reached agreement on measures which reconfirmed the validity of the role of the United Nations in operational activities for development, fostered greater harmonization of the work of the Second and Third Committees, strengthened the capacity of the Economic and Social Council to fulfil its

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Charter responsibilities and aimed to further reinforce cooperation between the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions. Furthermore, the resolution launched an important series of reviews to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the subsidiary bodies of the Council.

The nine-part annex I deals with a broad range of issues such as the funding of United Nations operational activities for development; the roles of the Assembly and the Economic and Social Council; the functional and regional commissions; and the relationship between the United Nations and international finance and trade institutions.

On the United Nations system's operational activities, the resolution states that they should be carried out to help developing countries at their request, and in allocating scarce resources priority should be accorded to low-income countries, particularly the least developed. Under its terms, the World Food Council would be abolished and its functions absorbed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP). The governing bodies of programmes and funds coordinated by the Economic and Social Council should set realistic targets for core resources, based on their priorities and decide their own funding arrangements.

The resolution asks the Secretary-General to present innovative ideas for generating funds for operational activities for the Assembly's consideration at its next regular session. His report should consider national, international and private sources.

The issue of establishing a post of deputy secretary-general for international cooperation and development should be considered in the working groups on the strengthening of the United Nations system and on an agenda for development.

Terms ranging from "a significant breakthrough" to "a step forward" in efforts to reform the Organization and make it more effective in the economic, social and related fields were used to describe the text's adoption. Introducing the draft, Venezuela's representative described it as the result of consultations in the last six months and the successful conclusion of arduous work completed after 36 days of meetings, consultations and a great deal of intensive activity.

Statements after the adoption of the resolution were made by the representatives of Costa Rica (also speaking for the "Group of 77" developing countries and China), United States, Italy (also speaking for the European Union), Russian Federation, Mexico, Canada, Argentina, Japan and Brazil.

The Director of the General Assembly Affairs Division, Badim Perfiliev, informed the Assembly of the resolution's implications on the Secretariat's workload in terms of quality and timeliness in the production of documents, given the cuts mandated by the Assembly.

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Earlier, the Assembly approved the appointment of Evgueni Deineko (Russian Federation) to the Committee on Contributions. Replacing his compatriot, Yuri Chulkov, who resigned, he will serve until the end of the year.

Also this morning, the representative of Bangladesh thanked Member States and the Secretary-General for promptly offering assistance following the devastation of a tornado which struck his country on Monday, 13 May. The tornado had taken 1,000 lives and adversely affected over 80,000 people. About 10,000 others were being treated for serious injuries. His Government had controlled the overall situation, he said.

On behalf of the Assembly, its President, Diogo Freitas do Amaral, extended condolences to Bangladesh and asked the international community to assist that Government.

Assembly Work Programme

The General Assembly met this morning to consider an appointment to fill a vacancy in the Committee on Contributions and to consider further measures to restructure and revitalize the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields.

It had before it a report of its Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) on appointment of members of the Committee on Contributions (document A/50/775/Add.1), which recommends that Evgueni Deineko (Russian Federation) be named to that Committee for a term of office from [24 May] to 31 December. Recommended by acclamation by the Fifth Committee, he will fill out the term of Yuri Chulkov (Russian Federation), who had resigned.

Also before the Assembly was a draft resolution, sponsored by Venezuela, on further measures to restructure and revitalize the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields (document A/50/L.73), which asks the Secretary-General to implement the further measures set out in the draft's annex I and to report to the Assembly's fifty-second session on its implementation. He is to report through a 1997 substantive session of the Economic and Social Council.

By the terms of the draft, the Assembly would invite the specialized agencies, organizations and other United Nations bodies to implement those measures which are within their competence.

Attached to the draft text are three annexes. Annex I lists measures to revitalize the United Nations economic and social activities. Annexes II and III list the proposed agenda for the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) and the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), respectively.

The nine-part annex I deals with a broad range of issues such as the funding of United Nations operational activities for development; the roles of the Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, the functional and regional commissions; and the relationship between the United Nations and international finance and trade institutions.

Part I of this annex, on funding, states that the United Nations system's operation activities should be carried out to help developing countries at their request. In allocating resources, priority should be given to programmes in low-income countries, particularly the least developed. The specific needs of countries with economies in transition should also be considered.

To provide operational activities with resources, particularly core resources, on predictable and assured bases, all aspects of funding and options presented by the Secretary-General should be examined by the Assembly

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and the Council, the text continues. Overall policy issues on modalities of funding should be considered by the Assembly in the context of a triennial policy review. The Council should consider annually the overall financial picture of the funds and programmes, the availability of resources, the priorities agreed upon and make recommendations to the Assembly and the funds and programmes.

The governing bodies of programmes and funds coordinated by the Council should adopt realistic targets for core resources, based on their needs, priorities and mandates. They shall decide on their own funding arrangements. All organizations of the United Nations development system should focus field efforts on priorities set by recipient countries and their mandates in order to avoid duplication and enhance the complementarity of their work.

The Assembly should, by the fifty-second session, review the funding modalities, the text continues. A decision on the future of the United Nations Pledging Conference for Development Activities will be postponed until then. If the review is not completed by then, a decision on whether to reschedule the Conference for the fifty-second session will be made. The Secretary-General is asked to prepare a report on innovative ideas for generating funds, to be considered by the Assembly no later than the fifty- first session. It should include national, international and private sources.

The Assembly, according to Part II, should exert greater leadership on development issues. The Secretary-General should provide information on the total cost of reports submitted annually to the Assembly under current mandates to enable it to review and act on them. The General Committee should ensure better coordination of the Second and Third Committees' agendas.

Greater use should be made of relevant background documents in the Second Committee and efforts should continue to have them in electronic form, particularly on the Internet, in a timely manner and within existing resources, according to Part III of the annex.

The Economic and Social Council, states Part IV, should guide the United Nations development system and promote a coordinated follow-up to the major international conferences. It should take final decisions on the work of its subsidiary bodies, on system-wide coordination and overall guidance in the economic and social fields. In following up on United Nations conferences, the Council shall promote a clearer division of labour among functional commissions and give them clear policy guidance to ensure that their work is harmonized. It should hold a shorter, focused substantive session for four weeks in July but may convene special sessions on urgent developments. The outcome of the high-level, coordination and operational segments of the Council should be made more action-oriented. Resolutions, decisions and agreed conclusions should be implemented and followed up fully by relevant

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parts of the United Nations system. The process should be monitored by the Council and the Assembly regularly.

Dealing with functional and regional commissions and expert groups, Part V proposes that the Council review their mandates, composition, functions and working methods to ensure more effective and coordinated outcomes of their work. The review should be completed by the fifty-second Assembly session. It is recommended that the World Food Council be discontinued and its functions absorbed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP).

Part VI, on governing bodies of United Nations development programmes and funds, states that efforts should continue to cut the proliferation and overlap of meetings of the same bodies throughout the year, according to Part VI. In the context of the discussions on an agenda for development, the relationship of the Council with the specialized agencies should be reviewed according to Part VII. The Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) should enhance its inter-agency coordination of the United Nations system.

Part VIII, on the ties between the United Nations and international financial and trade institutions, proposes greater interaction and cooperation between the Bretton Woods bodies and other parts of the United Nations system and their secretariats. As a first step, the Bretton Woods institutions could be asked to furnish special reports and studies to the Council and the Assembly on issues in their competence. The United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions should review programmes and relationships at the field, headquarters and intergovernmental levels to identify areas where communication, cooperation and coordination could be improved. That should lead to recommendations on how the institutions can improve their own and complement each other's efforts in implementing the results of United Nations conferences, in using existing resources in the transition from emergency relief to rehabilitation and development, and in providing technical assistance in the field. After the review, the Assembly and the institutions' governing bodies should consider how and where to collaborate concretely in development-related activities.

To improve cooperation at the intergovernmental level between the Economic and Social Council and the international financial and trade institutions, the Council should schedule periodically a high-level special meeting close to the Bretton Woods institutions' semi-annual meetings. That would enable the Council to gain from the participation of ministers and heads of financial, trade and other organizations. The Secretary-General should consult with the heads of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank on the possibilities for such meetings, in order to ensure effective outcomes.

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According to the Part IX of the annex, the present structure and functioning of the Secretariat, including the economic and social departments and the question of establishing a post of Deputy Secretary-General for International Cooperation Development, should be considered in the high-level open-ended working group on the strengthening of the United Nations system and in the open-ended working group on an agenda for development. Uniform and maximum terms of service for heads of programmes and other bodies of the Council and the Assembly should be considered.

Statements

OSCAR R. DE ROJAS (Venezuela), coordinator of the consultations on further measures for the restructuring and revitalization of the economic, social and related fields, introducing the draft resolution, said it represented the successful conclusion of arduous work over 36 days of meetings and numerous informal consultations. Member States had displayed firm commitment to making progress on the issues. Stressing the difficulty of some aspects of the consultations, which at times verged on collapsing, he expressed gratitude for the assistance provided by the President of the Assembly and Secretariat officials.

Highlighting some aspects of the draft, he said it covered such issues as funding of operational activities for development; the appeal for considerable increases in resources and for the political will to provide such funding; and the requests to the Secretary-General to seek innovative means of funding operational activities. Proposals included those on the reorganization of the work of the Second and Third Committees of the Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, the reporting process, cooperation between the United Nations and the international financial and trade institutions, regional commissions, discontinuation of the World Food Council; the review of working methods of all bodies in the economic, social and related fields.

The draft should contribute to the work of the working groups on an agenda for development and on the strengthening of the United Nations system, he continued. The central issue was to make the Organization the central forum for development issues. The Organization remained unique because of the extent of its representation; it could provide an integrated perspective on all economic and social issues. However, there was need to update the Organization's vision and to modernize it. It was also important to revitalize the relationship between the United Nations and other international organizations.

There was need for a global concept of development, he said, adding that it should be an ethical one. Coordination of all development activities and leadership by the United Nations were important. Member States also needed to consider the recommendations made in recent years for the conversion of the

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Economic and Social Council into an economic security council and review in cooperation with other international institutions. They should not be afraid to discuss those delicate issues.

He added that attempts had been made to include the opinions of all countries in the draft resolution. The emphasis should not be to change the system. A necessary prerequisite for an effective and efficient organization was a final resolution of the "payment crisis", continued political will and mutual trust.

BADIM PERFILIEV, Director of General Assembly Affairs Division, said that the resolution's adoption would affect the Organization's work programme. He cited the reduction of the duration of the substantive session of the Economic and Social Council, the discontinuation of the joint meetings of the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) and the Committee on Programme Coordination (CPC), and of the World Food Council. Such action would lead to a reduction in expenditures which would be reflected in the Organization's performance report. Regarding the reports requested from the Secretary- General, he said efforts would be made to absorb those additional responsibilities. However, the Secretary-General was obliged to state the implications of the decisions on the Secretariat's workload in terms of quality and timeliness in the production of documentation, given the budget reductions mandated by the Assembly for the current biennium.

Action on Draft Resolution

The draft resolution on further measures for the restructuring and revitalization of the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields was adopted without a vote.

Speaking after the adoption, FERNANDO BERROCAL-SOTO (Costa Rica), also speaking for the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said that the process of reform was under way and the first step had been taken. The resolution had been the result of consensus following difficult negotiations. The Group and China had stated that the United Nations should respond to the changes in the international environment. Reform should be undertaken in an integrated and coordinated fashion.

On the funding of operational activities for development, he said there was concern that no new framework had emerged even after two years of negotiations. The governing bodies of development organizations should set specific targets for resources as stated in the text. The Group and China were concern over the uncertainty of resources for development. The Pledging Conference was a useful forum for, among other things, building support for development programmes. The status quo should be maintained without dismantling the Conference until the expected review was completed.

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The role of the CPC was very important as it dealt with all programmes in the United Nations, he said. Discussions on the matter should be referred to the appropriate working group. On the participation of observers and expert groups, the United Nations system should continue to make use of a diversity of views. On the sessions of the executive boards, the Group and China would have liked them to have been reduced.

On the ties between the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions, the Group supported the efforts to strengthen them. However, the role of the United Nations should not be diminished in that process. The Group could not understand why its partners could not understand the concept of geographical representation and rotation in relation to some bodies. Such provisions would only help democratize the bodies. The strengthening of the United Nations should also enhance cooperation in development. The agreements reached at conferences and summits should be seen as guidelines for the work of the United Nations.

MADELEINE ALBRIGHT (United States) said that the resolution was a significant breakthrough in efforts to reform the United Nations system. It complemented the achievements made at the ninth United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD IX) earlier this month and the progress being made at the meetings of the various United Nations regional commissions. Taken together, the actions would give momentum to the trend towards reform in the United Nations system.

The text included some satisfactory provisions, she continued. It promoted accountability, including budgetary oversight and evaluation, and encouraged the participation in Economic and Social Council by outside experts and organizations. The text would improve coordination among heads of agencies and departments and among subsidiary bodies, and direct the Assembly and the Economic and Social Council to place more emphasis and resources on doing rather than talking and to eliminate unnecessary reports. It would call for a review by the Economic and Social Council of the functional and regional commissions to make them more efficient, eliminate some bodies such as the World Food Council, stop duplicative meetings and initiate steps to end the annual pledging conference.

She said the resolution was a step on a long road and more should have been done. The expanded Bureau of the Economic and Social Council should have been given more formal recognition and Council's coordinating role enhanced by requiring that body to assume the related functions of the CPC. The rotation of the venue of the Council's substantive sessions should have been ended, and the pledging conference should have been discontinued. But the United States had joined the consensus on the understanding that the pledging conference at the fifty-first Session of the Assembly would be the last one, pending the outcome of a review called for in the resolution. The United States would continue to press for more reforms.

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FRANCESCO PAOLO FULCI (Italy), speaking also for the European Union, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Norway, said that the resolution was a step forward towards promoting effectiveness and efficiency of the United Nations in the economic and social fields. He expressed satisfaction with the fact that an agreement had been reached on the funding of operational activities for development. The Union had a positive assessment of the decisions on promoting greater coherence and complementarity between the work of the Second and Third Committees and the need for a more coordinated consideration of issues related to the follow-up of the major United Nations conferences. Also positive was the enhancement of the activities of the Economic and Social Council regarding the preparation and the outcome of its segments.

The Union was pleased with the decision to review the functional and regional commissions and expert groups, he said. The decision to abolish the World Food Council, the reduction in the duration of the substantive session of the Economic and Social Council from five to four weeks, the abolition of some meetings and the possible abolition of the pledging Conference attest to the Assembly's readiness to rationalize the use of resources.

The Union, he added, felt that resolution should have called for the use of innovative mechanisms in the work of the Second and Third Committees and for more decisive measures to foster cooperation between them. There should also have been a more unequivocal decision in favour of joint meetings in some cases. The review processes envisaged in the resolution should be carried forward.

NICOLAY CHOULKOV (Russian Federation), welcoming the resolution, said the text was important to guide reform in the Organization. Its adoption should give further impetus to other negotiations on reform. He expressed the hope that it would be adequately interpreted by the Secretariat and be speedily implemented, particularly in such areas as strengthening the Economic and Social Council and ensuring its more active role. The studies called for in the resolution should provide practical results, particularly for the functioning of various representative bodies.

GERARDO LOZANO (Mexico) said that by adopting the resolution, Member States had taken an important step to reinvigorate important sections of the United Nations which had mandates for development. He called on the Secretary-General to examine existing arrangements for sessions of the Economic and Social Council. He expressed the hope that the report would be completed in the near future and would include the financial aspects as well as the current practice of rotation of the sessions between Geneva and New York.

Many acute economic problems continued to affect the world's population, he continued. The international community should give proper attention to

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developing countries' needs. The text was a positive step in that direction. The resolution might serve as a stimulus to an early conclusion of the consideration of an agenda for development.

CLAUDE BAILLARGEON (Canada) said he had mixed feelings about the results. He was uncertain if the world would find any hallmarks of real change or understand the number of hours and energy poured into the process to achieve the result. The wish to revitalize the system was not always apparent when there was a text which was confined to the status quo. Beyond the symbolic gesture of the agreement, the true achievement was the strengthening and the clarification of the role of the Economic and Social Council. All the elements of a more dynamic Economic and Social Council were in the text. Other sections were less glorious and included quasi and imprecise decisions and delayed action, such as the decision regarding the pledging conference.

Acknowledging that much remained to be done, he said the true test for the resolution was Member States' conviction to implement it. The reviews called for in the text, such as that of the Bretton Woods institutions, must be carried out. The difference between real success and simply another document depended on two factors. The first was the Secretariat's ability to contribute more dynamically. The second factor was the necessary political will to allow the Economic and Social Council to discharge fully its role without automatic recourse to the General Assembly.

He said the "strong wave of reform cannot be turned back". The Secretary-General and the two working groups on an agenda for development and on the strengthening of the United Nations system would pick up where the resolution left off. The word reform meant "a strengthening and affirmation of the United Nation system in the economic and social fields".

OSCAR AVALLE (Argentina) said his delegation attached great importance to the financial arrangements in the resolution. That should provide a more predictable flow of resources for operational activities for development. He thanked some countries for their contributions to funds to help development efforts.

AKIO TANAKA (Japan) said that despite the resolution's adoption, reform in the United Nations in the economic and social fields remained difficult. Member States should make greater efforts to achieve truly concrete and significant progress. The key to reform was in strengthening the Organization's functions, and reforms in the area of development should be considered from that standpoint. In that regard, he recalled that the Conference on Development Strategy, held in Tokyo last March, had achieved consensus on the need to formulate a new development strategy in response to the changing international environment. It was also felt that, in order to formulate and implement such a strategy, the United Nations should be reformed in the economic and social fields. That was why Japan proposed the

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strengthening of the functions of the Economic and Social Council. He expressed hope that the discussions going on the in the working groups on an agenda for development, and on the strengthening of the United Nations and in the Assembly would help strengthen the Council.

SERGIO AUGUSTO DE ABREU E LIMA FLORENCIO (Brazil) said that his delegation attached great importance to the role of the CPC, which dealt not only with economics and development but all other programmes on the agenda of the United Nations. Discussions on the matter should be continued in the appropriate working group. The resolution's call for the strengthening of cooperation between the United Nations system and the Bretton Woods institutions was also very important and should be accorded priority.

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