UN DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES MUST NOT INFRINGE ON GOVERNMENTS' ROLE, COSTA RICA TELLS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

Press Release
ECOSOC/5659

UN DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES MUST NOT INFRINGE ON GOVERNMENTS' ROLE, COSTA RICA TELLS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

United Nations operational activities for development must not arrogate to themselves an increasingly normative role, as that could only be the domain of national governments accountable to their own people, the representative of Costa Rica told the Economic and Social Council this morning.

Speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, Costa Rica's representative said that national governments had primary responsibility for the coordination of activities, and emphasized that the United Nations development system must maintain its neutral character and not resort to conditionalities.

That statement was made as the Council continued its operational activities segment, which this year is devoted to a review of the implementation of General Assembly resolution 50/120 on the triennial policy review of United Nations operational activities for development. Among the text's provisions, the Assembly strongly reaffirmed that the efficiency, effectiveness and impact of those activities should be enhanced by a substantial increase in their funding on a predictable, continuous and assured basis, commensurate with the needs of developing countries.

Several speakers called attention to those provisions of resolution 50/120 directly addressing the funding issue. The representative of the Philippines said it was disturbing that while demands were increasing for development assistance, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) found itself with less resources with which to respond.

The representative of Bangladesh agreed that resource levels were not sufficient to tackle the serious problems facing the developing world. The comprehensive statistical data on operational activities showed that the most important prerequisite for undertaking a solid programme was a predictable and stable resource base, he said, emphasizing that improving the institutional aspect without an adequate resource commitment could prove fruitless.

Ways and means had to be found to address the persistent insufficiency of resources for operational activities, especially in the context of ever- rising needs of recipient countries, the representative of South Africa said. Stating that funding was one of the building blocks to redress inequalities inherited from the apartheid era, he called for aid increases in real terms to benefit Africa and the least developed countries.

The representative of Belarus agreed that stable financing should be provided for operational activities for development, adding that while the needs of developing countries were increasing, special needs of countries in transition were also emerging. Jamaica's representative said that any new funding for development must be viewed as additional, not as a replacement for existing funding.

Several speakers also addressed the need to simplify reporting procedures. The representative of the Republic of Korea said the essential problem in that area was that undue government time and effort was taken up by the complex and diverse requirements. Indonesia's representative suggested that the Council initiate general integrated guidelines to achieve harmonization.

Canada's representative said compromise was required to improve the rate of progress in the process of simplifying and harmonizing regulations and procedures. She praised the Joint and Co-sponsored United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS -- with its 95 theme groups in 112 countries -- as a remarkable example of field coordination.

The observer for Switzerland said harmonization and simplification remained a problem, even though "the Economic and Social Council keeps addressing it from triennial review to triennial review". Perhaps in the interest of the recipient countries, the Council should request that the funds and programmes increase their simplification efforts and report on progress achieved in one year, he said.

Addressing the general issue of coordination, the representative of India said aid coordination should not be undertaken by external agencies as it was the responsibility of national governments. She also emphasized that the specificity of individual funds and programmes should not be lost in the process of coordination.

The UNDP's Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau for Resources and External Affairs, Norman Lauzon, said the Council should encourage the efforts of agencies to streamline activities and should provide them with concrete recommendations on how to achieve further progress. He stressed UNDP's commitment to implementing the mandates set by the Assembly. Despite the progress achieved in recent years, much remained to be done, he added.

Economic and Social Council - 3 - Press Release ECOSOC/5659 25th Meeting (PM) 8 July 1996

Responding to queries raised previously, Alfred Haemmerli, of the Department of Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, said the European Union had asked a question regarding the lack of flexibility at the field level. To address the problem, consideration was being given to an approach involving identification of the best case scenarios and then leaving choice of selecting the most appropriate to the field level. Such an approach would not be too controlling or too directive, he said.

When it meets again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 9 July, the Council will continue its consideration of operational activities for development by holding an informal dialogue with members of country teams.

* *** *