SECRETARIAT'S DEVELOPMENT-RELATED DEPARTMENTS SHOULD BE MERGED, ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL COMMITTEE TOLD
Press Release
GA/EF/2745
SECRETARIAT'S DEVELOPMENT-RELATED DEPARTMENTS SHOULD BE MERGED, ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL COMMITTEE TOLD
19961106 Takes up Economic and Social Council Report; Concludes Discussion of Population and Development; Two Texts IntroducedThe three development-related departments of the Secretariat should be merged under the authority of a single Under-Secretary-General, the representative of the United States told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) this morning.
Speaking as the Committee began consideration of the report of the Economic and Social Council, she said the responsibilities of the Under- Secretary-General so appointed would include serving as the Council's executive secretary. The departments in question are the Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, the Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis, and the Department for Development Support and Management Services.
The representative also called for an improvement in the working methods of the Council and said everyone could benefit from a more disciplined environment with a mixture of informal briefings and genuine, focused debate. Moreover, the Council subsidiaries with overlapping mandates should be consolidated, she added.
Any review of the Council's agenda and its subsequent arrangements should ensure that all the items relating to the development of developing countries were placed high on the agenda, the representative of China said. Moreover, in discussions on improving the Council's efficiency, it was necessary to consider how the development of developing countries through international development cooperation could be promoted, he added.
In an introductory statement, the Director of the Division for Policy Coordination and Economic and Social Council Affairs, Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, Miles Stoby, said the Council's report before the Committee was quite a different document from previous years. An attempt had been made to include all salient material pertaining to
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the activities of the Council during 1996. Material previously included in two or more documents was now contained in one report. In particular, the resolutions and decisions, while continuing to appear in a separate documentation series, were integrated into the report for the first time.
Also making statements on the matter were the representatives of the Russian Federation and Ireland, on behalf of the European Union.
In connection with the Committee's consideration of the Council's report, the Chief of the New York Office of the United Nations Regional Commissions, Sulafa Al-Bassam, introduced a report on the economic and social repercussions of the Israeli settlements on the Palestinian people in the Palestinian territory.
Speaking on the subject, the observer from Palestine said Israel continued to deny Palestinians the right to exploit their land and water resources. Moreover, it continued to expropriate land, expand illegal colonial settlements and divert water resources for its needs, at the expense of the Palestinian and Arab population of the Syrian Golan. The agreements signed between the Government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) had not produced the expected benefits, he added.
In Israel's agreements with the PLO, it had been decided that the question of settlements would be resolved in direct negotiations in the final stage, namely in the permanent stage of negotiations, the representative of Israel said. Consequently, no attempt should be made to prejudge the outcome of those negotiations, he stated, adding that any such attempt was contradictory to the spirit and letter of the agreements.
The representatives of Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and the Sudan also spoke on the repercussions of Israeli settlements on the Palestinian territory.
Also, the Director, Division of Control of Tropical Disease of the World Health Organization (WHO), Karem Behbehani, introduced the report on preventive action and intensification of the struggle against malaria in developing countries, particularly Africa.
He said malaria was the most serious tropical disease in the world today. Last year there had been up to 280 million cases among children under five years old in more than 90 countries. The reasons for increase in malaria included poor accessibility to appropriate health care, changing agricultural practices, population movements, military conflicts, shortage of well-trained human resources and low investment in malaria control. He called for those investments to be increased for the continuous development of new drugs and the search for affordable vaccines.
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Concluding its discussion of population and development issues this morning, the Committee heard statements from the representatives of India, Peru, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Tunisia.
In addition, it heard the introduction of two draft resolutions, by which the Assembly would:
-- Urge developed countries to reverse the present trend of declining official development assistance (ODA) to enable developing countries to augment and supplement domestic resources for the expansion, diversification and modernization of their industrial productive capacity; and
-- Emphasize the need to identify agreed development commitments that are not fully implemented and the constraints to their implementation, and recognize the need to address, as a matter of priority, the issues of flow of resources, debt, trade and market access for developing countries.
The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its deliberations.
Committee Work Programme
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this morning to continue consideration of population and development and to begin consideration of the report of the Economic and Social Council. (For background information on population and development, see Press Release GA/EF/2744 of 5 November.)
It was also scheduled to hear the introduction of two draft resolutions -- on industrial development policy and on implementation and follow-up to major consensus agreements on development.
Drafts for Introduction
A draft resolution on industrial development cooperation (document A/C.2/51/L.12) is sponsored by Costa Rica, on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, and by Colombia, on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Under its provisions, the Assembly would emphasize the importance of a favourable international and national environment for the industrialization of developing countries and would urge all governments to adopt and implement development policies and strategies that promote enterprise development, productive investments, technological adaptation and innovation, and expanded access to developing country markets in the context of an open, equitable, non-discriminatory, transparent and multilateral rule-based international trading system.
In addition, developed countries would be urged to reverse the present trend of declining official development assistance (ODA) to enable developing countries to augment and supplement domestic resources for the expansion, diversification and modernization of their industrial productive capacity. The Assembly would recommend the increasing use of ODA, as well as of new and innovative funding modalities, including co-financing schemes and trust funds, debt-equity swaps and other debt relief measures, industrial joint venture schemes, enterprise-to-enterprise cooperation and venture capital funds for industrial development, particularly in the developing countries.
Also by the draft, the Assembly would request the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), in cooperation with the relevant organizations in the United Nations system, to undertake, in the context of supporting South-South cooperation, an in-depth assessment and analysis of best practices and lessons learned in the field of industrial development, and to submit a report on the matter to the Assembly's fifty-third session.
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In addition, UNIDO would be further requested to expand and enhance its interaction with the business community, including the private sector, in assisting the development of the industrial sector in the developing countries, particularly in the field of small and medium-sized enterprise development. Member States and the United Nations system would be invited to extend support to the successful implementation of the Alliance for Africa's Industrialization, launched on 23 October at Abidjan by governments of African countries and the private sector, which aims at accelerating the pace of Africa's industrialization. The importance of cooperation and coordination within the United Nations system in providing effective support to the industrial development of the developing countries would be reiterated, and UNIDO would be called upon to continue carrying out its central coordinating role in that.
Sponsored by Costa Rica, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, a draft resolution on the implementation and follow-up to major consensus agreements on development (document A/C.2/51/L.13) would have the Assembly recognize the need to strengthen the implementation of the Declaration on International Economic Cooperation and the International Development Strategy for the Fourth United Nations Development Decade in the remaining years of the 1990s to ensure that the decade will indeed be one of accelerated development in the developing countries and strengthened international economic cooperation.
In addition, it would emphasize the need to identify those commitments and agreements that are not fully implemented and the constraints to implementation, and recognize the need to address, as a matter of priority, the issues of flow of resources, debt, trade and market access for developing countries, and their effective participation in international economic decision-making.
The need to provide particular support to those least developed countries suffering a deteriorating economic situation would be recognized. Member States that have not yet submitted their reports on the implementation of the commitments and policies agreed upon in the Declaration and the Strategy would be requested to do so. The Secretary-General would be requested to submit to the Assembly at its fifty-third session a progress report on the implementation of the Declaration and the Strategy, with particular emphasis on the relationship of the Declaration and the Strategy and their impact on development trends, and emerging experiences with and consensus on development strategies. The Assembly would call for the review and appraisal of the Declaration and the Strategy to be coordinated with the follow-up work of the major United Nations conferences, as well as the agenda for development.
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Report of Economic and Social Council
The report of the Economic and Social Council (document A/51/2) includes a summary of, as well as action taken by, its substantive session held in New York in July. Matters requiring action by the Committee pertain mainly to the general and operational activities for development segments. Those calling for its attention include texts relating to economic and environmental questions and the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Council Texts Calling for Assembly Action
-- By decision 1996/226, the Council endorsed decision 1996/18 of the Executive Board of UNICEF, in which the Board had recommended to the Assembly that it allocate a plenary meeting during its fifty-first session to the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Fund. It also recommended that the Assembly approve the decision.
-- By resolution 1996/1, the Council recommended to the Assembly the adoption of a draft resolution on institutional arrangements for the implementation of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of Marine Environment from Land-based Activities, which is submitted to the Committee in document A/C.2/51/L.2.
Under the text's provisions, the Assembly would endorse the Washington Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by an intergovernmental conference held in Washington, D.C. last year. It would stress the need for States and organizations to implement the Programme of Action. It would call upon bilateral donors and international financial institutions and mechanisms, including the Global Environment Facility (GEF), to ensure, among other measures, that their programmes give priority to the Global Programme's implementation. Non-governmental organizations would be invited to implement the Programme of Action.
In addition, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) would be requested to prepare, for the consideration of the Governing Council's nineteenth session, proposals on the role of UNEP's implementation of the Global Programme of Action. The Assembly would call upon UNEP to establish the clearing-house mechanism referred to in the Global Programme, and submit proposals on, among others, the outline of a pilot project on the development of the clearing-house's source category component on sewage, to be implemented in partnership with the WHO.
Further by the draft, States would be called upon to ensure that intergovernmental organizations and programmes take the lead in coordinating the development of the clearing-house mechanism with respect to several categories, including sewage, to be led by the WHO, and radioactive
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substances, to be led by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The Assembly would decide to determine at its 1997 special session to review the implementation of Agenda 21, arrangements for integrating the outcomes of periodic intergovernmental reviews of the Global Programme of Action in the Commission's work.
In connection with the consideration of the Council's report, the Committee also has before it a note by the Secretary-General on the economic and social repercussions of the Israeli settlements on the Palestinian people in the Palestinian territory (document A/51/135-E/1996/51), annexed to which is a report prepared by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) which covers the period April 1995 to March 1996.
The report states that, according to the Palestinian Land and Water Agency, Israeli authorities had confiscated 230,000 dunums of land between the signing of the Declaration of Principles in September 1993 and the end of 1995. (One dunum equals 1,000 square metres.) Those confiscations took place under various pretexts relating to the establishment of natural reserves, the construction of Israeli bypass roads, the expansion of settlements and the construction of a "security wall" surrounding an area 360 kilometres long by 2 kilometres wide.
Those expropriations had led to thousands of Palestinian families being deprived of their only livelihood, since most of the lands involved had been planted with crops and olive and fruit trees, the report states. Archaeological and religious sites and Palestinian homes had also been destroyed. The Palestinian Authority had protested those expropriations, stating that confiscations were going beyond their supposed security objectives and now were aimed at destroying cultivations, dissolving the geographic uniformity of Palestinian villages, towns and cities, and at halting urban and demographic expansion. The construction of the bypass roads tended to indicate that Israeli settlements would remain in the occupied territories indefinitely, with Israeli authorities in permanent control, according to the Palestinian Authority.
The report of ESCWA states that most Israeli settlement activity in 1995 and in early 1996 had been concentrated in Jerusalem. Israeli measures targeting Arabs in the city had included harassment and closure of Palestinian institutions; withdrawal of Israeli identification cards from Palestinians registered in Jerusalem and living outside the city; interference in the election of the Palestinian Legislative Council through harassment of candidates and the obstruction of voter access to the polls; intensification of Israeli settlement activity in the city; and additional expropriation of Palestinian land. In response to the expropriations, non-aligned countries had submitted a draft resolution to the Security Council requesting the cancellation of expropriation decrees. That draft was vetoed by the United States.
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Citing Israeli press sources, the report states that 11,000 Jewish housing units were being constructed in Jerusalem as at the beginning of 1996. The Planning Department of the Municipality of Jerusalem had indicated that plans were being drawn up for 33,458 housing units for Jews, and 15,120 for Arabs, with the objective of increasing the Jewish population of Jerusalem by 123,000.
Water utilization in the occupied territories also adversely affected the lives of Palestinians and their economic and social conditions, according to the ESCWA report. In July 1995, Israel and the Palestinian Authority had agreed that water rights in the West Bank would be determined in the final- stage negotiations. Israeli press sources had indicated that aquifers under the hills of the West Bank, which supplied 30 per cent of Israeli water consumption, produced 600 million cubic metres of water per year, from which Israel drew 490 million, and the Palestinians 110 million. Palestinians' quota of water had been fixed since 1967, despite a growing population.
Statements on Population and Development
KAMALUDDIN AHMED (India) said his country's population had nearly trebled in 45 years. Population projections indicated that India would have more than a billion inhabitants by the year 2001. In addition to existing population programmes, his country had implemented new initiatives to fulfil the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development. Programmes now focused on disease prevention and immunization, family planning, and infant and maternal safety.
In terms of reproduction and child health, he said, India's activities now focused on quality of care; developing a client-centred approach; community involvement and increased sensitization to relevant issues; outreach and strengthening infrastructure. Efforts had also been made to increase participation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). India's Family Welfare Programme had been reshaped to ensure widespread dissemination of information on safe motherhood and child survival, the voluntary adoption of the small family norm, and gender equality. Counselling was an important recent addition to the Programme's services. India's programme required wide geographic coverage and a broad range of services, supplies and information. He said valuable infrastructure already existed in India, which had the potential to ensure comprehensive development. While the Family Welfare Programme held priority status in India's national planning process, external resources were needed for its successful implementation. To this end, he called upon the international community to extend assistance.
ITALO ACHA (Peru) said his country affirmed the rights of the poorest families to be informed of safe and effective methods of birth control. The manner in which population matters were viewed was closely intertwined with the gender question. He expressed agreement with the European Union statement
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made yesterday that advancing the empowerment of women and their participation in decision-making was essential for success of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) commitments.
At the major United Nations conferences, the importance of steps towards gender equity, reproductive health and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases had been recognized, he said. Peru was focusing on reducing maternal and child mortality. It had to be recognized that poverty was linked to maternal and child mortality and the lower level of women's participation in the labour force. Larger families also led to generational poverty. Peru had taken steps to provide for its people information, education and timely access to services. Its goals were to substantially reduce maternal and child mortality by the year 2000 and to achieve a decline in fertility to 2.5 children per woman.
KYUL HO KWAK (Republic of Korea) said his Government had increased its contribution to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) from $300,000 in 1995 to $500,000 this year. It would continue to increase its support and strengthen its participation in the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action. While agreeing with the usefulness of indicators, he advised against the theoretical exercise of "measuring immeasurable concepts and definitions". The trend towards funding core activities which directly influenced population growth rates rather than support activities should be continued. Priority should be given to delivery of basic services to people. His Government supported the "20/20 concept" adopted at the Copenhagen World Social Summit, and believed further mobilization of financial resources could be undertaken through that initiative. He commended the effort of the "Partners in Population and Development" for sharing their experience and expertise, as well as the centres of excellence for South-South cooperation.
Despite the diversity of United Nations entities working on population control, he said the UNFPA should remain the key player at the operational level as an adviser and as a source of technical and financial support on population programmes.
RI KWANG NAM (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) said the functions and role of the United Nations system should be further enhanced in the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action. The central role of the Commission on Population and Development in promoting the Programme's implementation should be ensured. He also called for strengthening the UNFPA's role to enable it to fully discharge its mandate. The question of financial resources should be addressed, as it was one of the obstacles to implementation of the Programme of Action by developing countries. Also, developed countries should honour their commitments. There should be a discussion of the proposal to have the Secretary-General annually present to the General Assembly information on financial contributions.
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THAMEUR SAAD (Tunisia) said coordinated action was important for human- centred development. He emphasized the relationship between population, development and sustainable growth and said governments had been asked to take an integrated approach to the implementation of the Cairo Programme of Action at the national level. To that end, the Tunisian National Plan had favoured an approach that took into account issues related to women's health and the interests of children. It had improved its programmes on basic education and health care, which was consistent with its belief that the protection of children was dependant on consistent development efforts on behalf of women.
Steps to make women equal agents of development had been taken, he said, and such an approach would enable sustainable and integrated development. Moreover, a National Solidarity Fund had been set up to ensure that the benefits of development reached the low-income population. A dynamic and consistent plan for poverty eradication had been established in Tunisia, and it was willing to share information on that plan with other States that might be interested. He believed that South-South cooperation should become a reality and appreciated the contribution of the UNFPA in that area. However, financial difficulties remained one of the main obstacles to development. To that end, the international community should try to achieve ODA of 0.7 per cent of the gross national product (GNP).
Introduction of Drafts
ANA TERESA DENGO (Costa Rica), speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, and for Colombia (on behalf of the countries of the Non-Aligned Movement) introduced a draft resolution on industrial development cooperation. Speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, she introduced a draft resolution on the implementation of the commitments and policies agreed upon in the Declaration on International Economic Cooperation, in particular the revitalization of growth and development in developing countries, and implementation of the International Development Strategy for the Fourth United Nations Development Decade.
Economic and Social Council Report
MILES STOBY, Director of the Division for Policy Coordination and Economic and Social Council Affairs, Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, said the Council's report before the Committee was quite a different document from previous years. An attempt had been made to include all salient material pertaining to the activities of the Council during 1996. Material previously included in two or more documents was now contained in one report. In particular, the resolutions and decisions, while continuing to appear in a separate documentation series, were integrated into the report for the first time. A large number of essentially procedural references previously included had been removed. As a result, the new Council
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report contained the following elements: a Foreword by the President reviewing the work of the Council for the year; full texts of all actions taken by the Council; relevant procedural information to provide the reader with background to the genesis of legislation; data on the vital subject of elections; and complete information on the membership of each subsidiary body of the Council.
He said that next year the Council was committed to having, for the first time, the outcome of the "high-level" segment emerge in the form of agreed conclusions. Ministers might proceed to the high-level segment next year, ready to adopt conclusions previously negotiated and agreed. The expected theme of next year's high-level segment -- "Fostering an Enabling Environment for Development" -- was such that the most strenuous efforts should be devoted to securing a worthwhile outcome.
On the "operational activities" segment, he said more thought should be given to ensuring that it performed its designated role of effectively overseeing the activities of the United Nations funds and programmes, providing them with broad policy guidance and identifying areas susceptible to integrated and joint action. It was also important for reports on priority and programme issues to reach the Council for it to be able to fulfil its foreseen role in that area.
On the "general" segment portion, he said the Secretariat had made proposals to the Council designed to ensure harmonization and coordination of the agendas and multi-year programmes of work of the Council's functioning commissions. Those proposals remained on the table. In addition, thought might be given to a number of procedures to improve the situation. The practice of having reports submitted to the Assembly through the Council should cease, except for a limited number of designated exceptions. He said experience indicated that there was little, if any, value added as a result of that dual review. The Secretariat could be encouraged to prepare an action document containing all matters to be found in the reports of the Council's subsidiary bodies which were specifically addressed to the Council for action.
There were now some 30 reports of subsidiary bodies submitted to the Council every year. Under the proposed new arrangement, one compendium report, suitably organized in agreed sections, would take their place. The result would be fewer documents for delegations to handle, and an accelerated consideration of the same proposals the Council would have been addressing anyway under various agenda items. The Council could then devote the main part of its general segment to considering the report it had commissioned from the Secretary-General and heads of specialized agencies.
He also said that the Council might identify annually one or two topics in its general segment on which to focus, to better prioritize its work and to allow for a more meaningful review of issues. Agreement now seemed to be
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emerging that the Council's agenda could bear further rationalizing and that consideration should be given to reducing the demand for documentation. From the Secretariat's perspective, it was enough to note that total staff resources had been reduced by some 25 per cent since 1988 while, in the same period, the number of meetings had increased by some 30 per cent and the documentation load by some 15 per cent.
The Council would have 70-odd documents to consider in 20 working days next year. It should be noted, he said, that although the Assembly resolution 50/227 marked an important step in reforming and restructuring the work of the Council, it also managed to ask for a number of new documents without eliminating any. The Council would have to examine those issues if it wished to make progress in rationalizing its agenda and reducing documentation.
On possible issues for further examination, he said it was curious that the Council had not yet given focused consideration to the phenomenon of globalization and its extensive implications -- economically, financially and culturally. Similarly, he said, the Council had not yet sought to consider the information technology revolution and its implications for developing countries. The Council should not overlook that matter, while continuing to look at the question of on-line access of Member States to United Nations documentation and other materials.
In another area, he said the Council had paid little or no attention to the issue of providing support, within its area of competence, to the Security Council in relation to dealing with the complex political-cum-humanitarian crises. At the time of the Rwanda crisis in 1994, the Secretariat had inquired informally as to whether the Economic and Social Council did not feel it had a role to review, at its level, the question of coordinated support. He recalled that at the end of the 1994 substantive session, the President of the Council, in his concluding remarks, had referred to the tragic events that had taken place in Rwanda. He had emphasized the need to investigate the establishment of a continuing mechanism, and proposed holding informal consultations on the subject. Continuation of humanitarian crises of the sort experienced in recent years would seem to warrant further consideration by the Council of the issue, he added.
The Council should also give thought to developing arrangements to attract the involvement of civil society in its sessions, he stated.
KAREM BEHBEHANI, Director, Division of Control of Tropical Disease of the World Health Organization (WHO), introduced the report on preventive action and intensification of the struggle against malaria in developing countries, particularly Africa (document A/51/379). He said the WHO was vigorously pursuing the implementation of global malaria-control strategy which had been endorsed in Amsterdam in 1992 by Ministers of Health, health institutions and agencies concerned with health development. The review of
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the malaria situation, initiated in 1993 by the Economic and Social Council, had led to the endorsement of the Global Strategy by the forty-ninth session of the General Assembly in December 1994. In 1995, the Council had endorsed the Action Plan for Malaria Control, which served as the basic document guiding international cooperation in malaria control for 1995-2000.
Malaria was the most serious tropical disease in the world today, he said. It affected populations in, and business and tourist travel to, endemic areas. Last year there had been up to 280 million cases among children under five years old in more than 90 countries. Malaria was increased by land degradation and deforestation. Its consequences included a reduction in work capacity, the undermining of local efforts to live off land in a sustainable manner, and the impairment of physical and mental development of children. It was estimated to be responsible for 2.7 million deaths and 500 million clinical episodes each year. There was a growing number of epidemics, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, which bore 90 per cent of the malaria burden.
The reasons for increase in malaria, he went on, included poor accessibility to appropriate health care, changing agricultural practices, population movements, military conflicts, shortage of well-trained human resources and low investment in malaria control. Those investments must be increased for the continuous development of new drugs and the search for affordable vaccines. Based on national plans of action, the WHO had helped prepare the project proposals of 14 African countries for submission to different donors, and had provided technical support to 16 countries in Africa. A task force on malaria control had been established in Africa in 1995.
Malaria control was vastly underfunded, he said. Gaps remained between actual resources and what was needed. If current funding shortfalls continued, there was a danger that the momentum generated by the 1992 ministerial conference would be lost.
MS. SULAFA AL-BASSAM, Chief of the New York Office of the United Nations Regional Commissions, introduced the report on the economic and social repercussions of the Israeli settlements on the Palestinian people in the Palestinian territory (document E/1996/51 - A/51/135).
Statements
CONOR MURPHY (Ireland), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said the Union endorsed the suggestion of the President of the Economic and Social Council that the current bureau of the Council should safeguard and pass on to the 1997 substantive session the overall experience which it acquired during the year. It stressed that a higher degree of preparation and planning by the bureau, aided by the Secretariat, was essential if the Council was to perform
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effectively and credibly, particularly as the Council's substantive session would be briefer next year. It stated that the implementation of General Assembly resolution 50/227, which remained one of its priorities, would result in a more effective and efficient Economic and Social Council.
LESLIE LEBL (United States) said the Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/41 adopted in July mandated specific actions to implement General Assembly resolution 50/227 on further revitalizing United Nations economic and social affairs. This fall the Council would consider how to shorten its summer session. The United States believed that the Commission on Sustainable Development could assume a useful role as a main commission for the Council in overseeing the integrated implementation of the results of recent conferences on sustainable development. That process could yield concrete improvements in the way the United Nations worked.
As the United States had noted earlier, Member States had been less successful in improving the work methods of the Council itself, she said. She hoped that some of the improvements that had been introduced in the Second and Third Committees could be successfully adopted by the Council. Everyone could benefit from a more disciplined environment with a mixture of informal briefings and genuine, focused debate. Improvements in Council sessions would be essential if initiatives to improve collaboration between the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions were to bear fruit.
The United States believed other changes would be necessary if the Council was to play a meaningful role in the United Nations system, she said. Its bureau should be strengthened to enable it to handle routine business. Also, the Council's policy formulation role for operational development programmes should be strengthened; its subsidiaries with overlapping mandates should be consolidated and, where appropriate, their mandates adjusted. In addition, the United States strongly urged the merging of the three departments of the Secretariat related to development under the authority of a single Under-Secretary-General, whose responsibilities would include serving as Executive Secretary to the Economic and Social Council. If substantial savings resulted, some resources could be reprogrammed into areas that supported United Nations development assistance.
YU QINGTA (China) said the high-level segment was important and that its theme should truly reflect issues of concern to the international community, particularly to the developing countries. It should come up with recommendations on the enhancement of global macro-policy coordination. It was imperative that the policy dialogue was focused and closely linked with the theme of the segment. High-level participation should be ensured to enhance the effectiveness of the policy dialogue. The general segment had a direct bearing on the efficiency and functioning of the Council. While considering improvements in the Council's efficiency, it was even more necessary to consider how the development of developing countries through
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international cooperation could be promoted. Any review of the Council's agenda and its subsequent arrangements should ensure that all the items relating to the development of the developing countries were placed high on the agenda.
He also called for improvements in the quality of work of the Council's bureau and secretariat. He hoped the bureau would work on organizational arrangements and improve the transparency of its activities.
VASSILY NEBENZYA (Russian Federation) said he regretted the lack of progress in the implementation of a number of provisions of resolution 50/227 which were of particular interest to his country, and which were key to promoting the coordinating role of the Economic and Social Council. Russia called upon its partners to strengthen the revitalization process. It had no hidden agenda. Its goal was only to raise the effectiveness of the United Nations in the economic and social fields, not savings for the sake of savings.
There was a need to study how to shorten the substantive session to four weeks, keeping in mind the growing list of demands on what the Council should be doing. It was evident that preparations for the substantive session required much more preparation from Member States in the framework of consultations in the inter-sessional period. He said functions which distracted the Council from fulfilling its main goals should not be added to it. The Council was the main United Nations coordinating body in the socio- economic field, a link in the system of relations between subsidiary bodies and specialized agencies, with the General Assembly, which was the political guidance mechanism of United Nations activities in those fields.
He regretted that crucial issues, such as reports of coordinating bodies such as the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) and the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) and the harmonization of programmes of work of subsidiary bodies, had not been discussed in July. He stressed the need for energetic efforts to agree on an agenda for the substantive session and the contents of its segments, and to review the agenda of the general segment.
MARWAN JILANI, observer for Palestine, said Israel continued to deny the Palestinian people the right to exploit and make full use of their land and water resources. It continued to expropriate land, expand illegal colonial settlements and divert water resources for its needs, at the expense of the Palestinian people and the Arab population of the Syrian Golan. The Israeli policies and practices of confiscation of Palestinian land had resulted in an extremely difficult and dangerous situation. The shortage of water was worsening as a result of the continuing salinization of springs, the tapping of hill streams by the Israeli occupation authorities and the diversion of water for use by Israeli colonial settlements.
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The Palestinian people had also lost a great deal of agricultural land resulting in falling GNP and employment in the agricultural sector, he said. The situation had been further hampered by the Israeli imposition of a siege on the Palestinian territory and by the unjustified restrictions and controls set against Palestinian exports. He said the agreements signed between the Government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) had not produced the benefits and real changes expected. The situation on the ground remained difficult and quite dangerous. However, the Palestinian side remained committed to the peace process and the agreements signed, and believed that they should be respected and implemented in good faith, on time and without violations.
EVIATAR MANOR (Israel) said he wanted to restate his country's strong commitment to the peace process and the historic reconciliation in the Middle East. Israel hoped and expected to receive the support of the international community in its endeavour. Support meant the advocacy of the principle of direct negotiations, which formed the basis of the peace process begun in Madrid. Support entailed the creation of an atmosphere conducive to achieving progress in negotiations, not one of political confrontation. Support meant adopting resolutions that reflected positive developments in the process.
The new realities needed to be reflected in the work of the Second Committee and the resolutions that it adopted concerning the Middle East, he said. The issue of Israeli settlements had been dealt with in Israel's agreements with the PLO. The parties had decided that certain issues, including settlements, would be resolved in direct negotiations in the final stage of the process, namely in the permanent stage of negotiations. Consequently, no attempt should be made to prejudge the outcome of those future negotiations and any attempt to do so was contradictory to the spirit and letter of the agreements.
Israel had grievances towards the Palestinian side, but it chose to air them where they belonged, namely in the various bodies established following agreements between Israel and the PLO, he said. The current Government in Israel was committed to the peace process and further negotiations were taking place at the present moment.
ADEL ABDELLATIF (Egypt) referred to Israeli violations of its agreements with Palestine on the future of the occupied territories. There had been no change in Israeli settlement policies. More settlements continued to be built. The 1995 agreement between Palestine and Israel had spelt out details regarding Palestinian autonomy and a timetable for Israeli withdrawal from Hebron. Israel had not lived up to the agreement because of its settlers there. The obvious Israeli intransigence would not further the cause of peace. The Madrid peace formula had been rejected by Israel, which had started to abrogate the agreement. Israel should abide by it, he said.
Second Committee - 15 - Press Release GA/EF/2745 27th Meeting (AM) 6 November 1996
KHEIREDDINE RAMOUL (Algeria) said that during the first week of the opening of the current Assembly session, the international community had witnessed the bloody events in the occupied Palestinian territory after Israel had opened a tunnel along the western wall of the Holy Mosque of Al-Aqsa. That had been done in violation of the sacredness of the site, as well as of the Assembly and Security Council resolutions and the recent agreements between the PLO and Israel.
The practice of establishment of settlements and the attempts by Israelis to modify the architectural parameters of the Holy City of Al-Quds were a clear violation of international law, he said. The sad events of last September, in which the Palestinian people had to again pay a high price in the loss of tens of lives, attested to the seriousness of the situation in the Palestinian and other occupied territories. He called for an end to the suffering of the Palestinian population linked to the practice by Israel of collective punishment and confiscation of land.
ABDERRAZAK AZAIEZ (Tunisia) said the Secretary-General's report proved that Israel still continued its expansionist policy. It was a matter of concern that it did not respect commitments made in its accord with the PLO. The Israeli authorities wanted to surround Jerusalem and make it Jewish once and for all. He referred to Security Council resolutions which had stated that the Israeli practice of establishing settlements had no validity under law and was a hindrance to lasting peace.
He stressed that the Arab peoples had the right to control their own natural resources. In 1995, Israel had again confiscated hundreds of acres of Arab territory. Such confiscations deprived Palestinians of scarce resources and had adverse effects on their lives. The adoption of such policies by Israel was a matter of concern. He also expressed concern at the "stubbornness of Israeli authorities" who were rejecting the foundation of what had been determined in Madrid. There could be no peace without respect for the real owners of the land and without peaceful cohabitation. The United Nations should force the Israelis to work on the basis of land for peace and abandon the policy of establishing settlements.
HAMID A. MOHAMED ELTINAY (Sudan) said that the Israeli policy of expansionism amounted to defiance of United Nations and other resolutions of the international community. His Government was astonished at the Israeli pursuit of that policy. He recalled a statement by the Israeli minister responsible for settlements that the policy would be continued. He also referred to the double standard applied in one country getting away with such defiance of international will while others were punished. Respect for human rights demanded concerted approach by the international community and not double standard, he added.
International aid should be applied in the right way, with a distinction drawn between humanitarian assistance and aid for development, he said. Sudan had devoted huge sums to fighting malaria, but had not received assistance from the WHO. He deplored the fact that donor countries were not providing enough assistance in the fight against the scourge of malaria and said more aid should be provided.
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Second Committee - 16 - Press Release GA/EF/2745 27th Meeting (AM) 6 November 1996