ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL, STRUGGLING TO COMPLETE AGENDA, ADOPTS CONCLUSIONS ON 'ENABLING ENVIRONMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT'

Press Release
ECOSOC/5739

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL, STRUGGLING TO COMPLETE AGENDA, ADOPTS CONCLUSIONS ON 'ENABLING ENVIRONMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT'

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 25 July (UN Information Service) -- The Economic and Social Council approved this morning a set of agreed conclusions on the topic of its high-level discussion for this year's session: "fostering an enabling environment for development".

It also passed, on roll-call votes, resolutions on "permanent sovereignty over national resources in the occupied Palestinian and other Arab territories" and "implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples by the specialized agencies and the international institutions associated with the United Nations".

The first, adopted by a vote of 43 in favour, 1 opposed, with 2 abstaining, demanded that the Israeli occupation force cease measures of collective punishment against the Palestinian people, in particular the closure of the occupied Palestinian territory. The Council also requested the Secretary-General to submit a report on the implementation of the resolution.

The second, adopted by a roll-call vote of 28 in favour, 0 opposed, with 18 abstaining, recommended, among other things, that all governments intensify their efforts in the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system to accord priority to the question of providing assistance to the peoples of non-self-governing territories.

In another measure, the Council approved establishment of an ad hoc open-ended intergovernmental forum on forests, decided that its first organizational session should be held in New York from 1 to 3 October 1997; and decided that it should hold three substantive sessions and report to the Commission on Sustainable Development in 2000.

The agreed conclusions on "fostering an enabling environment for development" remarked, among other things, that democracy, respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development, transparent and accountable governance and administration in all sectors of

society, and effective participation by civil society were essential to the necessary foundations for the realization of social and people-centred sustainable development.

The Council had intended to conclude its work at the morning meeting, but following lengthy debate and discussion of proposed amendments to a draft resolution on participation of non-governmental organizations in the General Assembly, it adjourned for informal consultations. It will reconvene at 3 p.m.

Speaking at the morning meeting were representatives of the United Republic of Tanzania (on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China), Cuba, United States, Russian Federation, Canada, Argentina, Uganda, Australia, Norway, Mexico, Luxembourg (on behalf of the European Union), Brazil, Kenya, Israel and Palestine.

Action on Resolutions and Decisions

The Council adopted agreed conclusions on fostering an enabling environment for development: financial flows, including capital flows; investment; trade (document E/1997/L.56), submitted by the President of the Council, which noted that while the current global economic environment was favourable, growth was not spread widely enough and the gap between developed and developing countries remained unacceptably wide. Each country had the primary responsibility for its own development, according to the conclusions, which added, however, that international cooperation and partnership had a vital role in creating a favourable climate in which capital flows, investment and trade could flourish. An international enabling environment also required coordination of macroeconomic policies by the international community which fostered conditions of stability, predictability and growth in the world economy, stable exchange rates, low interest rates and low fiscal deficits, as well as trade liberalization and other conditions. International cooperation efforts should also be intensified and strengthened towards the developing countries endogenous capacity-building in science and technology.

The conclusions noted that democracy, respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development, transparent and accountable governance and administration in all sectors of society, and effective participation by civil society were an essential part of the necessary foundations for the realization of social and people-centred sustainable development. The United Nations also had a specific role to play in promoting an enabling environment for development. There was a need for an international dialogue on issues of policy coherence, and one of the Council's high-level meetings with the Bretton Woods institutions and the World Trade Organization should be devoted to this topic.

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The conclusions stressed that official development assistance (ODA) remained an essential source of external funding and that its overall decline was a cause for serious concern. Moreover, a significant proportion of ODA was funding emergency relief, affecting its availability for long-term development needs. It was important to reverse the overall decline in ODA flows and achieve internationally agreed targets as soon as possible. On the external debt situation, there was an urgent need for effective, equitable, development-oriented and durable solutions to the debt and debt servicing problems of developing countries. Another challenge for the international community was to encourage capital and investment flows in the form of foreign direct investment to a broader range of developing countries. Trade liberalization should also eliminate discriminatory and protectionist practices in international trade relations. The strengthening of the supply capacity of exportable goods and services in the least developed countries, as well as market access, was also called for.

The Council also adopted a resolution on the eradication of poverty which decided to carry out in 1999 an overall review of the theme of poverty eradication in order to contribute to the special session of the General Assembly in the year 2000 (E/1997/L.54).

Through another resolution, on the session of the Economic and Social Council in 1998 on integrated and coordinated implementation and follow-up of the major United Nations conferences and summits (document E/1997/L.55), the Council which decided to convene a session immediately after its organizational session of 1998, of two or three days duration, to further consider the theme of integrated and coordinated implementation and follow-up of the major United Nations conferences and summits.

By a resolution on the integrated and coordinated implementation and follow-up of the major United Nations conferences and summits (document E/1997/L.57), the Council decided to include in the agenda of its substantive session on an annual basis an item on that topic.

In a resolution on science and technology for development, the Council, among other things, recommended that each developing country and country in transition establish a national strategy for information and communication technologies; recommended that action be taken by national Government to establish a task force or commission, or to ensure that an existing entity be charged with the design for the national strategy for information and communication technologies; invited industrialized countries to engage in technical cooperation activities with their counterparts in developing and transition countries in the field of communication technologies; decided that the Commission on Science and Technology for Development should organize a workshop comparing experience in science, technology, and innovation policy or similar activities in developing countries and countries in transition to stimulate a learning process, subject to extrabudgetary resources; recommended

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that the Commission, in the form of expert group meetings, carry out a programme of preparation on the subject of a "common vision of the future of science and technology for development"; decided that the substantive theme for the period 1997-1999 would be "science and technology partnerships and networking for national capacity-building"; decided to hold a panel meeting on biotechnology and its impact on development; recommended that at future sessions of the Commission, the report on the budget and inter-sessional activities of the Commission be considered under a separate agenda item; decided that the secretariat of the Commission should be requested to study setting up, in collaboration with other United Nations bodies, an electronic network on their activities in science and technology for development, making it widely accessible to institutes around the world; and recommended that a workshop be convened by the Commission to provide a forum for coalition of resources, particularly in relation to information and communication technologies.

Through a resolution on the programme of work of the Commission on Sustainable Development for the period 1998-2002 and future methods of work of the Commission (document E/1997/L.50), the Council approved the provisional agenda for the sixth session of the Commission. It also decided that during that period, the Commission should continue the practice of establishing up to two ad hoc open-ended inter-sessional working groups in a given year to assist the Commission in the preparation for its regular session.

In resolution on the working languages of the Subcommission on Illicit Drug Traffic and Related Matters in the Near and Middle East, recommended by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the Council decided that the panel would use Arabic, English, and Russian as its working languages for future sessions; and requested the Secretary-General to adopt the necessary measures and provide financial resources required for that to occur.

A President's statement was circulated and read out for the record stating that the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (ISAR) and the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on Restrictive Business Practices (RAPS) should continue to meet in accordance with their agreed-upon mandates and composition, but within the overall limit of 10 expert meetings per annum. A review of the functioning of the two bodies would be part of the special high-level review meeting envisaged in the Midrand Declaration. A resolution on the topic was thus deferred.

In a resolution on establishment of an ad hoc open-ended intergovernmental forum on forests (document E/1997/L.49), the Council decided to establish such a forum; that its first organizational session should be held in New York from 1 to 3 October 1997; decided that it should hold three substantive sessions and report to the Commission on Sustainable Development in 2000; and decided that the forum should be serviced by a small secretariat

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within the secretariat of the Commission on Sustainable Development, supported by voluntary extrabudgetary contributions from Governments and international organizations.

The Council adopted, by a roll-call vote of 28 in favour with 18 abstaining, a resolution on implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples by the specialized agencies and the international institutions associated with the United Nations (document E/1997/L.48) which recommended that all governments should intensify their efforts in the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system to accord priority to the question of providing assistance to the peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories; drew the attention of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples to the present resolution; and requested the President of the Economic and Social Council to continue to maintain close contact on these matters with the Chairman of the Special Committee and to report thereon to the Council.

The vote was as follows:

In favour: Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, China, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, El Salvador, India, Jamaica, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Philippines, Republic of Korea, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda.

Abstaining: Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States.

By a roll-call vote of 43 in favour, 1 opposed, with 2 abstaining, the Council passed a resolution on permanent sovereignty over national resources in the occupied Palestinian and other Arab territories (document E/1997/L.52, as revised), which demanded that the Israeli occupation force cease its measures of collective punishment against the Palestinian people, in particular, the closure of the occupied Palestinian territory. The Council requested the Secretary-General to submit a report on the implementation of the present resolution and decided to include in the agenda of its substantive session of 1998, an item entitled "Repercussions of the Israeli occupation on the economic and social rights and the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan."

The vote was as follows:

In favour: Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Czech Republic, Djibouti, El Salvador, Finland,

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France, Germany, Iceland, India, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Latvia, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Mozambique, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Philippines, Poland, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom.

Opposed: United States.

Abstaining: Australia, Romania.

And through a resolution on the review of subsidiary bodies of the Economic and Social Council (document E/1997/L.58), the Council decided to continue, at its resumed substantive session of 1997, consideration of its review in accordance with General Assembly resolution 50/227, annex I, paragraphs 70 and 71, and Council resolution 1996/41.

Statements

ALI S. MCHUMO (United Republic of Tanzania), on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, said paragraph 6 of the draft agreed conclusions of the high-level segment held earlier in the session had been the subject of long negotiations related to the argument as to whether democratization in international relations constituted an important element of an enabling environment for development. Democratization was indeed important in fostering interaction among States and in broadening and strengthening their effective and equitable participation. However, the qualifier introduced by some delegations to the effect that democratization should be carried out in accordance with the United Nations Charter and international law gave the impression that the implementation of the Charter and international law were static phenomena. In reality, they were evolving daily. Although it was a historic document, the Charter was not a paragon of democracy in international relations. Similarly, no one could argue that international law had reached the final stage in establishing democracy in international relations. The Group of 77 and China emphasized that they linked democratization to the Charter and international law as they evolved.

PEDRO LUIS PEDROSO (Cuba) said the delegation felt great disappointment that a motion on democratization of international relations that had appeared to be shared by all delegations with the exception of one -- and all knew who that was -- had been weakened.

DEBORAH LINDE (United States) said that the United States was not one of the countries that had agreed to the Agenda 21 target of 0.7 per cent for ODA, as it felt that such targets detracted from the important issues of quality and type of aid provided, and from the recognition that developing countries themselves were most responsible for their own development. The country would continue to offer extensive development aid.

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V.A. NEBENZIA (Russian Federation) said it should be reflected that Russia also had similar comments on the qualifying phrase in paragraph 6.

ROSS HYNES (Canada) said the delegation had serious reservations about both the content of the final document and the process that had led to agreement. Canada did not feel the agreed conclusions were a true reflection of the debate that had occurred during the high-level segment.

MANUEL BENITEZ (Argentina) said Argentina shared the ideas expressed over the complex concept of democratization of international relations. Argentina shared reservations expressed by the Group of 77 and China. If the text had been prepared for before the high-level segment, perhaps more significant agreements and consensus could have been reached.

NATHAN IRUMBA (Uganda) said an aspect of democratization of international relations highlighted during discussions was the process of marginalization of least-developed countries; that aspect was indeed reflected in the relevant agreed conclusions. But it should be pointed out that the upcoming meeting referred to in paragraph 42 of the draft was critical; there should be concrete results coming from this meeting, which would be a test of whether or not the international community would truly act to help such least-developed countries.

BERNARDETTE SIELY (Australia) said his delegation fully supported Canada's comments. The useful debate of the high-level segment had been lost in protracted discussion on the conclusions. Australia hoped for a better session next year.

ARMAN AARDAL (Norway) said it wished to register strong support for the statements of Australia and Canada, and to mention its disappointment that the Secretary-General's comments on the topic were not sufficiently reflected in the agreed conclusions.

GERARDO LOZANO (Mexico) said Mexico joined the consensus on the agreed conclusions. The text as a whole was a significant effort by the members of the Council to create an enabling environment for development. However, Mexico had reservations about the definition of the concept of democratization of international relations. In its view, democratization was a universal value and could not be qualified or limited as done in paragraph 6 of the text.

Mr. AARDAL (Norway) said the issue of financing for sustainable development had been discussed extensively at the recently concluded special session of the General Assembly. The question had been transferred to the Council, as reflected in the letter of from the President of the General Assembly to the President of the Council (document E/1997/95). Concrete action was needed to take this issue forward. After consultations, Norway had

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concluded that the proposal to establish an intergovernmental process did not find broad support. Norway continued to believed that such a process, with an appropriate mandate, could provide an important contribution in furthering the promotion of finance for sustainable development. AMANDA HAWKINS (Australia) said the delegation felt regret that the review of progress made in the five years since Rio could not find agreement on an expression to reflect the important role played by major groups in the area of trade and environment. It was a pity and a shame that the General Assembly document did not contain a reference to the topic, and that the Council had been unable to come up with a reference.

SETH WINNICK (United States) said the United States supported Norway's statement: continued efforts for sustainable development would need more work. The process sketched out by Norway would lead to useful exchanges on what the role of official development assistance should be, and how to steer private sector finances into development projects. Those issues would continue to be addressed in the years ahead.

HENRI SCHUMACHER (Luxembourg) said the European Union had joined the consensus to establish a forum on forests; the European Union felt relevant aspects of the Agenda 21 document should constitute a substantive part of the work and consideration of the forum at its meetings.

Mr. NABENZIA (Russian Federation) said his delegation supported the European Unions statement and that it regretted that the draft could not be adopted as presented. The talk about budgetary implications were premature, as the budget of the next two years had not been agreed upon yet.

ANTONIO F. CRUZ DE MELLO (Brazil) said the resolution on a forum on forests did not mean further work was not needed on clarification on all issues related to the work of such a body.

Mr. WINNICK (United States) said there had been much debate on forests at the General Assembly special session, and there was agreement to create an ad hoc intergovernmental forum on forests. There was also an understanding that the cost of the ad hoc forum would be paid on a voluntary basis.

Mr. HYNES (Canada) said the delegation identified itself with the statement of the European Union.

ADAM ADAWA (Kenya) said Kenya welcome the decision to the effect that the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was the principal United Nations body in the field of the environment. However, as host country to UNEP and Habitat, Kenya was concerned that the programmes continued to suffer from inadequate funding and capacity under-utilization, despite their enormous potential.

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Mr. WINNICK (United States) said the country recognized the responsibilities of UN agencies and the challenges faced by them in non-self-governing territories. But the resolution on the topic unnecessarily linked their work to the declaration on the granting of independence to such peoples. Mr. NABENZIA (Russian Federation) said it had abstained on L.48. It was not appropriate to have the Council consider that issue, as that might lead to duplication of work with other United Nations fora.

ZVI COHEN (Israel) said the draft resolution on Palestine was completely out of place and irrelevant to the Council's work. It was just another weapon in the crude attacks against Israel by Palestine and other countries in the region, and a counter-productive effort to influence the negotiations under way with Israel. Members of the Council should vote against the resolution to preserve the integrity of the body and preserve the integrity of the peace process. The draft resolution was detached from both political and factual reality. According to it, among other things, the closure of the Palestinian territories occurred in a vacuum -- it made no reference to terrorist acts against Israel; it attacked and imposed obligations on Israel while applying no responsibility or obligations upon Palestinians. It would not work. This resolution would not advance the peace process one centimetre; if anything, it would move it back.

Mr. WINNICK (United States) said it would continue to oppose references which stated or implied Arab or Palestinian sovereignty over Jerusalem and territories that were the subject of direct negotiations between the parties to the conflict. The United States was also firmly opposed to sentiments expressed in the resolution on natural resources in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights; the resolution contained unacceptable language on sovereignty issues. The Council should be taking actions to encourage direct exchanges between the parties, not undermine them.

ROLANDO BAHAMONDES (Canada) said Canada recognized the social and economic needs of the Palestinian people, and felt the resolution passed by the Council was couched firmly within the context of the Middle East peace process. Establishing lasting peace for people in the occupied territories required progress in the framework of the peace process; such a peace could only be achieved through direct negotiations. It was incumbent on both Israelis and Palestinians to honour in full agreements already concluded. That included a willingness of Palestinian authorities to combat potential terrorist acts against Israel; Canada recognized that Israel had legitimate security interests in the matter.

Mr. NABENZIA (Russian Federation) said it had voted for the resolution. However, the consideration of the issue politicized the Council and clearly diverted it from its main functions. Russia believed that the issue should be resolved within the context of the Middle East peace process.

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MARWAN JILANI (Palestine) said there were not contradictions between upholding international law, United Nations resolutions, and the ongoing Middle East peace process. Only yesterday Israeli television had announced a decision to build a new settlement within Jerusalem, in violation of Security Council resolutions. Until there was a final settlement of the problem of the occupied territories, the United Nations had a responsibility to discuss and act in the matter.

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