ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL ADOPTS AGREED CONCLUSIONS ON FRESHWATER; DEBATES COORDINATION, FUNDING OF UN PROGRAMMES
Press Release
ECOSOC/5732
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL ADOPTS AGREED CONCLUSIONS ON FRESHWATER; DEBATES COORDINATION, FUNDING OF UN PROGRAMMES
19970722 (Reissued as received.)GENEVA, 21 July (UN Information Service) -- The Economic and Social Council approved this morning a set of agreed conclusions on freshwater issues. The Council also held an extended debate on whether coordination and reform within the United Nations were realizing enough savings to make up for cuts in resources for the carrying out the Organization's mandated programmes. Further discussion centred on reports presented to the group on the topics of refugees, trafficking in narcotics, and training and advancement of women The agreed conclusions on freshwater noted that more than one-fifth of the world's population did not have access to safe drinking water and more than one half of humanity lacked adequate sanitation. Among other things, the conclusions called for technical assistance to developing countries, said there was a need for an update and reassessment of the water resources of the world, and remarked that close attention must be given to the issues of disposal of toxic substances and of persistent organic pollutants affecting water sources. On the subject of efficiency measures and resources, the representative of Ghana, citing a report of the Committee for Programme and Coordination on budget provisions, stressed that savings should enhance effectiveness of United Nations programmes, not undermine them. And a delegate of Bangladesh said that given proposed cuts in requested resources, it would be interesting to know how the mandated activities would be fully implemented, and on time, even if some savings and increases in efficiency were expected from the reform process. On the subject of drug trafficking, a representative of Colombia contended that countries had a great responsibility in the area of preventing consumption of drugs and that the responsibility for preventing trafficking should not fall only on the shoulders of the producer countries. Among those delivering formal statements were representatives of Luxembourg (on behalf of the European Union); Ghana; Bangladesh; Russian Federation; Canada; Tunisia; and Colombia. The Council will reconvene at 3 p.m.
Agreed Conclusions
The Council approved a set of agreed conclusions on coordination of the policies and activities of the specialized agencies and other bodies of the United Nations system related to freshwater, including clean and safe water supply and sanitation (document E/1997/L.40). The Council noted with great concern that more than one-fifth of the world's population did not have access to safe drinking water and more than one half of humanity lacked adequate sanitation; took note of existing arrangements for cooperation and coordination in the field and recommended that further steps be taken to streamline programmes and activities; stressed the seriousness of the capacity-building problem in developing countries and urged the organizations of the Unites Nations system to assign high priority to programmes and activities geared to the provision of support in this respect; took note of the comprehensive assessment of the freshwater resources of the world, submitted to the Commission on Sustainable Development, to the effect that the capability of providing accurate water quantity and quality data was sorely lacking in the majority of countries. It called for technical assistance to developing countries and said there was a need for an update and reassessment of the water resources of the world; and said close attention must be given to the issues of disposal of toxic substances and of persistent organic pollutants affecting water sources.
BEATRICE KIRSCH (Luxembourg), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said that with more than one fifth of the world with no access to fresh water, it was necessary that the United Nations strengthened its system to provide it; a preparatory process was needed to ensure that the sixth session of the Commission of Sustainable Development addressed the issue. The European Union would have liked to recognize that the work of the United Nations on water was not taking place in a vacuum: note should be taken of the work of other international bodies. The United Nations should also strengthen its work with the private sector on fresh water; the European Union regretted that there was no consensus on that aspect of the question.
Coordination and Programme Questions
As it continued to consider draft measures related to coordination and programme questions, the Council took up the annual overview report of the Administration Committee on Coordination (ACC) for 1996 (document E/1997/54) which provided an overview of the work undertaken by the ACC and its subsidiary bodies in 1996. The ACC kept under review the ongoing reform process in the United Nations system and adopted a Joint Statement on reform and strengthening of the United Nations system. African economic recovery and development also continued to be a main focus, as evidenced by the launching by the ACC, of the United Nations System-wide Special Initiative on Africa. As part of its overall effort to promote effective and integrated implementation of the outcomes of and commitments made at recent major international conferences, ACC monitored and provided guidance to the work of three thematic task forces (see Press Release
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ECOSOC/97/26). The ACC, through its Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable Development, also continued to monitor and implement Agenda 21, agreed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
The report provides updated information on developments regarding the assistance provided by the organizations of the United Nations system. It also includes developments related to administrative questions and financial and budgetary issues .
Statements
WOLFGANG STOCKL, Chairman of the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC), introducing the Committee's report, said the Committee would hold a resumed session in September on the basis of revised budget proposals submitted by the Secretary-General following the reform package recently submitted. The Committee had made recommendations on most of the sections of the budget forwarded to it, he said, and had received assurance from the Secretary-General that all approved programmes would receive sufficient resources for their implementation; consideration of a few sections of the budget had not resulted in recommendations from the Committee for various reasons, including lack of information or forthcoming reforms. There had not been a recommendation on the human-rights section of the budget, however, for lack of consensus.
SARBULAND KHAN, Officer-in-Charge, Division for Policy Coordination and ECOSOC Affairs, introduced the annual overview report of the Administrative Committee on Coordination for 1996 (document E/1997/54). He said the report focused on a limited number of policy issues which the Council had paid specific attention to at the present session, including the integrated and coordinated follow-up to conferences; the recovery and development of African economies, and reform.
BEATRICE KIRSCH (Luxembourg), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said the Union supported the decision by the ACC to make greater use of existing capacities to improve inter-agency coordination of programmes in the United Nations system. It was to be hoped that those efforts would lead to tangible results in the near future. The work of the ACC was particularly important for the Council -- the first was the framework for agency coordination, and the second the framework for Governmental coordination. Last year the European had suggested that the ACC report include specific suggestions on coordination for consideration by the Council, and regretted that this suggestion had not been approved.
A.Y. AGGREY-ORLEANS (Ghana) said he noted the importance of the work of the (CPC), the Council's main subsidiary organ for planning, programming and coordination. That report highlighted the issue of the impact of approved saving measures; Ghana stressed that savings should enhance effectiveness of United Nations programmes, not undermine them. Concerning the issue of gratis
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personnel, Ghana believed the practice was incompatible with the provisions of the United Nations Charter; and shared the CPC's concern about the increasing dependence of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on extrabudgetary resources.
SYED RAFIGUL ALAM (Bangladesh) said the CPC had noted that the total amount of resources promised by the Secretary-General for carrying out the mandated programme of activities was considerably less than that requested for the activities; it would be interesting to know how the mandated activities would be fully implemented, and on time, even if some savings and increases in efficiency were expected from the reform process. Perhaps, meanwhile, a mechanism should be developed for participation of member States could participate in the work of the ACC.
V.A. NEBENZIA (Russian Federation) said the ACC should be an action-oriented instrument geared to launching and monitoring concrete joint initiatives to accomplish common policy objectives. There was a need for a new system-wide culture, based on systematic policy consultations, effective decentralization, full respect for each other's mandates and competencies and a common appreciation of the challenges ahead. The ACC had a special responsibility in defining the system-wide problems that required action by intergovernmental bodies as well as in improving division of labour and competencies of various United Nations bodies. Russia had continuously stressed the need for a full-fledged discussion of the report of the Committee on Programme and Coordination at its substantive sessions. It supported the provisional calendar of conferences and meetings for 1998 and 1999 in the economic, social and related fields, but felt there was a need to establish an intergovernmental forum on forests. As for the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Informatics, Russia viewed its activities positively and was willing to extend its mandate.
ROSS HYNES (Canada) said his country regretted that again the section of the programme budget on human rights had been the subject of contentious debate and the CPC had not been able to reach agreement on that section. It seemed to be becoming a pattern, and Canada regretted that the process of the budget for human rights had become so politicized. There needed to be improvement of coordination between the ACC and the Council.
GERALD WALZER, Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, introducing the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said the total population of concern to UNHCR at the beginning the year stood at some 21.8 million persons, of whom 13.2 million were refugees, 3.3 million were returnees in the early stages of reintegration, 3.9 million were internally displaced, and 1.4 million were others of humanitarian concern, for the most part victims of conflict. The total represented a welcome decrease, but nonetheless, violative situations in a number of regions required constant vigilance.
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There was growing awareness that large-scale refugee flows required comprehensive approaches, Mr. WALZER said; burden-sharing and international cooperation among States were vital elements of such approaches, which needed to address root causes strengthen emergency preparedness and response, provide effective protection and achieve durable solutions. UNHCR remained deeply concerned about restrictive asylum trends in many parts of the world, he said.
Mr. WALZER went on to review refugee situations in several regions of Africa and Central Asia and to discuss efforts at preventing refugee crises and "building partnerships".
HAMID GHODSE, President of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), submitted the report of the INCB (document E/1997/56), which, among other things, calls for stronger action in the field of criminal justice and judicial cooperation. The report, he said, referred to differences in sanctions applied to traffickers of drugs and those applied to traffickers in chemicals used in the clandestine manufacture of drugs. There were also differences in sanctions applied by various governments to offences related to those chemicals. At the national level, sanctions imposed for the diversion of chemicals used in the illicit manufacture of drugs should act as an effective deterrent to criminal activity. At the international level, legislation should be harmonized to ensure that countries with less severe sanctions were not exploited by traffickers.
The Board had a problem with a number of countries which did not cooperate with it in a satisfactory manner, he said. When confronted, those governments expressed their deep commitment to address the problem of drug abuse and illicit trafficking. Should unsatisfactory conditions persist, the Board would have to mention the names of the countries concerned in its annual report.
Mr. GHODSE added that the reduction of illicit demand for drugs had to be an important element of a national drug control strategy. However, there was a re-emergence of a cannabis culture, particularly in some European countries. This undermined the international drug control system.
VICTOR ADAMETS, of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), introducing the Organization's report on "education for all" objectives (document E/1997/74), said that between 1990 and 1995, enrolment in primary education in developing countries had expanded by 50 million, double the pace of the 1980s; net enrolment ratios had risen in all developing regions, ranging from 66 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa to almost 99 per cent in Latin America and East Asia. The share of girls in primary education enrolment in developing regions advanced slightly to reach an average of 45.8 per cent., as against 43.4 per cent five years earlier. Not all achievements or shortfalls could be documented but still deserved mention, he said, such as that there was a growing emphasis on quality of education and that more attention was being given to children at risk: street children, refugees, and war victims, many of whom had been reached through programmes combining education, health, and
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nutrition. In all, much still remained to be done meet the basic learning needs of people in all countries, including continued reduction of gender disparities, improvement of working conditions and status of teachers, and increases in educational expenditures.
FADHEL KHELIL (Tunisia), Chairman of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, introduced the report of the sixth session of the Commission, held in April and May in Vienna. He said the Commission had concentrated on the promotion and maintenance of the rule of law and good governance; on fighting corruption; on criminal justice reform; on the strengthening of legal institutions; on international cooperation in combatting transnational crime, and on strategies for crime prevention. Among other things, participants in the sixth session had invited the Commission to study the possibility of preparing a draft convention against transnational crime. Other constructive initiatives were included in the 15 draft resolutions and one draft decision recommended by the Commission to the Council. But the Commission had stressed that adequate means were needed to implement specific technical programmes for developing countries and countries in transition.
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