ASSEMBLY WOULD SUPPORT COOPERATION BETWEEN LAND-LOCKED COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL ASIA AND NEIGHBOURS, BY SECOND COMMITTEE DRAFT

25 November 1996

Press Release
GA/EF/2754

ASSEMBLY WOULD SUPPORT COOPERATION BETWEEN LAND-LOCKED COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL ASIA AND NEIGHBOURS, BY SECOND COMMITTEE DRAFT

19961125 Committee Also Approves Texts on Protecting Environment, Declaration on International Economic Cooperation

The General Assembly would call upon the United Nations system to continue to study possible ways of promoting more effective cooperative arrangements between land-locked States in Central Asia and their transit neighbours, by the terms of one of three draft resolutions approved this morning without a vote by the Second Committee (Economic and Financial).

The Assembly would also encourage a more supportive role by the donor community, under other terms of the text, which was approved as orally amended. It would invite donor countries and multilateral financial and development institutions to provide newly independent and land-locked developing States in that region, and their transit neighbours, with appropriate financial and technical assistance to improve the transit environment.

Speaking after the draft's approval, the representative of the United States expressed misgivings about the text's request that the Secretary- General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) prepare a report on implementation of the present resolution. Such a report would require time and resources which could be better used for implementation. The draft was introduced by Committee Vice-Chairman Kheireddine Ramoul (Algeria).

By another draft resolution approved this morning, the Assembly would endorse the Washington Declaration on Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities, adopted by an intergovernmental conference held last year, as well as its Global Programme of Action. It would stress the need for States to implement the Global Programme. In addition, it would call on bilateral donors and international, regional and subregional financial institutions and mechanisms, to ensure that their programmes gave appropriate priority to implementation of the Global Programme.

Prior to approval of the draft, the representative of Ireland, speaking for the European Union, said the Union would assume that the text had no financial implications unless the Secretariat stated otherwise. Speaking after the approval of the text, the representative of the United States welcomed it. The draft was introduced by Mr. Ramoul (Algeria).

By the third draft resolution, the Assembly would recognize the need to strengthen, in the remaining years of the 1990s, implementation of the Declaration on International Economic Cooperation and of the International Development Strategy for the Fourth United Nations Development Decade. Moreover, it would call upon Member States to take follow-up actions on commitments that had been agreed upon but not fully implemented. It would also recognize the need to provide particular support to those least developed countries suffering from a deteriorating economic situation.

Speaking after the draft's approval, the representative of the United States said his delegation had been pleased to support the text. However, the best intentions of the international community would be futile without appropriate policies at the national level. There must be sound economic policies, transparency and a removal of subsidies, he said.

The draft was introduced by Committee Vice-Chairman Mohammad Reza Hadji Karim Djabbary (Iran). As the current text had resulted from informal consultations on an earlier version, the prior text was withdrawn by its sponsors.

Also this morning the Committee heard the introduction of a draft resolution on food and sustainable agricultural development. By its terms, the Assembly would urge the international community and relevant United Nations bodies -- including international and regional financial institutions -- to cooperate actively in implementing the Plan of Action adopted by the World Food Summit in November.

By other terms of the text, the Assembly would invite the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) to decide on the inter-agency mechanism for implementing the Action Plan and on incorporating that mechanism into existing arrangements. The draft resolution was introduced by the representative of Costa Rica, on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China.

The Committee will meet again at a date to be announced in the Journal.

Second Committee - 3 - Press Release GA/EF/2754 36th Meeting (AM) 25 November 1996

Draft Resolutions Approved

Recommended by the Economic and Social Council, 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 (document A/C.2/51/L.2), would have the Assembly endorse the Washington Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by an intergovernmental conference held in Washington, D.C. last year.

By the draft, the Assembly 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 World Health Organization (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 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 work of the Commission on Sustainable Development.

An 11-Power draft on transit environment in the land-locked States in central Asia and their transit developing neighbours (document A/C.2/51/L.25) would have the Assembly call upon the United Nations system to continue to study possible ways of promoting more effective cooperative arrangements between those States and their neighbours. It would also encourage a more active supportive role by the donor community.

The Assembly would invite the Secretary-General of UNCTAD, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Economic

Second Committee - 4 - Press Release GA/EF/2754 36th Meeting (AM) 25 November 1996

Commission for Europe (ECE) and relevant regional and international organizations to continue to elaborate a programme for improving the efficiency of the current transit environment in the newly independent and developing land-locked States in central Asia and their transit developing neighbours. Donor countries and multilateral financial and development institutions would be invited to provide those States and their transit neighbours with appropriate financial and technical assistance to improve their transit environment.

The text is sponsored by Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Iran, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan.

A draft resolution on the implementation of the commitments agreed upon in the Declaration on International Economic Cooperation and the International Development Strategy for the Fourth United Nations Development Decade (document A/C.2/51/L.32) is submitted by a Committee Vice-Chairman, Mohammad Reza Hadji Karim Djabbary (Iran) on the basis of informal consultations on a previously introduced document on the same topic (document A/C.2/51/L.13).

By the draft's provisions, the Assembly would recognize the need to strengthen the implementation of the Declaration and the Strategy in the remaining years of the 1990s so as to ensure that the Decade will indeed be one of accelerated development, in particular in the developing countries, and strengthened international economic cooperation. It would call upon Member States to identify and take follow-up actions on those commitments and agreements that are not fully implemented and on the constraints to their implementation.

The Assembly would recognize the need to provide particular support to least developed countries suffering from a deteriorating economic situation. Further, it would request the Secretary-General to submit to it at its fifty- third session a progress report on the implementation of the Declaration and the Strategy. It would encourage Member States to provide, as and when available, reports and papers relevant to the implementation of the commitments and policies agreed upon in the Declaration and the Strategy in order to assist the Secretary-General in preparing the report called for above.

In addition, the Assembly would call for the review and appraisal of the Declaration and the Strategy to be coordinated with the follow-up work on major United Nations conferences and the ongoing discussion on the agenda for development.

Second Committee - 5 - Press Release GA/EF/2754 36th Meeting (AM) 25 November 1996

Draft Resolution Introduced

A draft on food and sustainable agricultural development (document A/C.2/51/L.38) would have the General Assembly urge the international community and relevant United Nations bodies -- including international and regional financial institutions -- to cooperate actively in implementing the Plan of Action adopted by the World Food Summit in November.

The draft would have the Assembly give due attention to follow-up to the Plan of Action at its forthcoming special session on the implementation of Agenda 21 of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. The ACC would be invited to decide on the inter-agency mechanism for implementing the Plan of Action and on incorporating that mechanism into existing arrangements.

By other terms of the draft, the Secretary-General would be asked to report annually to the General Assembly, through the Council, on implementation of the Universal Declaration on the Eradication of Hunger and of and the World Food Summit Plan of Action. The Assembly would repeat its invitation to the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to submit to the Assembly's next session, through the Council, a report on the outcome of the Summit, including follow-up actions to be taken.

The draft resolution is sponsored by Costa Rick (for the Group of 77 and China) and Colombia (for the Non-Aligned Movement).

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