COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT BEGINS THIRTY-SIXTH SESSION, HEARS FROM UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

10 February 1998

Press Release
SOC/4431

COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT BEGINS THIRTY-SIXTH SESSION, HEARS FROM UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

19980210 Nitin Desai Addresses Theme, 'Social Integration and Participation for All'; Presentations Made on Implementation of 1995 World Summit for Social Development

Social integration did not mean loss of diversity, it meant the inclusion of all groups in the decision-making process, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Nitin Desai told the Commission for Social Development this morning, as it began its thirty-sixth session.

Addressing the Commission's priority theme for the session, "social integration and participation for all", Mr. Desai stressed the link between development and human rights. On the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it was important to realize that basic human rights depended upon successful development, which should centre on people, not just economic growth. Any development effort that compromised equal justice and freedom impinged on human rights.

Also this morning, five presentations were given on efforts to implement the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995). Austria's representative reported on the International Expert Meeting on Innovative Employment Initiatives. That meeting was part of the European region's follow-up to the Social Summit, and had sought to elaborate innovative approaches for addressing Europe's employment situation.

Brazil's representative provided information about a meeting convened by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) to review regional efforts to implement the commitments of the Social Summit. Presentations on national efforts to foster social development were made by representatives from China, Namibia and Chile.

Chile's representative said his country had made great efforts to redress the imbalances created by programmes in the 1980s which had focused on economic growth to the exclusion of the social sphere. Key among the reforms implemented in the 1990s were improving access to education, strengthening social security and creating transparency and efficiency for financial markets.

Also this morning, the Director of the Division for Social Policy and Development, John Langmore, introduced the reports before the Committee.

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At the meeting's outset, the Commission elected Aurelio Fernandez (Spain) Chairman of its thirty-sixth session. Speaking after his election, the new Chairman said the Commission must not rewrite what had been agreed upon at Copenhagen. Instead, it must make concrete recommendations to move the outcome forward.

In other action, the Commission elected as Vice-Chairman Faith Inneraity (Jamaica), Joanna Wronecka (Poland); Maria Lourdes Ramiro-Lopez (Philippines), and Mathe Matthews Diseko (South Africa). The Commission also adopted its agenda and the organization of its work.

The Commission will meet again at 3 p.m. today to hold a panel discussion on "participation and social justice", to be moderated by the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. Desai.

Commission Work Programme

The Commission for Social Development met this morning to begin its thirty-sixth session. The priority theme of the session is "Promoting social integration and participation of all people". The Commission will consider this theme as it continues its review of the implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995). (For background information, see Press Release SOC/4430 of 9 February.)

Statements

ION GORITA (Romania), the outgoing Chairman of the Commission, said that over 280 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) had expressed their interest in participating in the current thirty-sixth session. He congratulated the Secretariat and participants of the two expert workshops, whose work would contribute to the current session's consideration of its priority theme, promoting social integration and participation of all people. That theme had been a main topic of the Social Summit. The present session would impact the overall implementation of the outcome of that Summit, because the Commission would produce substantive recommendations and strategies.

After being elected by the Commission, the new Chairman, AURELIO FERNANDEZ (Spain), said that three years after the Social Summit, one of the international community's primary challenges was to see that economic growth benefited all persons. The investment in human social capital was essential, and participation was a key tool to be used.

The Commission's work would focus on developing policies to protect against the negative repercussions of social vulnerability, he continued. The daily presence of violence, corruption, crime, delinquency and the consumption of drugs should be addressed as part of the Commission's discussion of social integration.

In accordance with its multi-year programme of work, the Commission focused on the implementation of commitments of the Social Summit, he said. The Commission must not rewrite what had been agreed upon at Copenhagen; instead, it must make concrete recommendations to move the outcome forward.

He noted the valuable contributions of NGOs to the Commission's work, which was directed in part towards the year 2000, when the General Assembly would hold a special session to review efforts made during the five years since the Social Summit to implement the Summit's outcome. The Commission would also be a primary support body to a preparatory session of the Assembly's special session, to be held later in the year.

NITIN DESAI, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, congratulated the Chairman and Vice-Chairman on their election. He said that,

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in many ways, interest and participation in development and social issues were growing because governments were moving away from direct involvement in the economy and focusing more on social and environmental issues. Therefore, the work of the Commission had become more important for governments. The Commission had also aided in the United Nations goal of re-energizing its social and economic efforts and raising its credibility in the eyes of government officials who deal with those issues.

On the issue of reform, he said the new Department of Economic and Social Affairs had sought to bring United Nations efforts in the development field into one place. It undertook to integrate the mandates of various United Nations bodies and help implement their decisions and recommendations. To do that, the Department was providing advisory services to Members States on request. The Department also intended to ensure that the priorities, orientations and objectives that emerge from the Commission were reflected in the work of the Organization. In that regard, the Department would make sure the Commission's recommendations would become reality.

Another goal of reform, he said, was to weave together the work of various United Nations entities so their work would be part of a coordinated system. That would allow the United Nations to provide much more coherent and unified support in development and social issues.

On the theme of the Commission's current session, he said it should be clear that social integration did not mean loss of diversity. Social integration, instead, meant social inclusion and attempts to create social arrangements that included all parts of society in the decision-making process. The Commission had placed that issue on the global agenda more than any other body. A key consideration during the work of the current session should be the link between development work and human rights. On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it was important to realize that the realization of the human rights guaranteed in that document depended on successful development. The desire to ensure the inherent dignity of each human being and their rights to freedom and equality, could not be realized without development.

In that regard, development had to be centred on people not just on economic growth. he said. Any efforts that allowed development by compromising equal justice and freedom was an effort to impinge on human rights. The elimination of violations of human rights would lead to development. Many international instruments made it clear that requiring the right to education, health and family well-being made no sense unless a country had development. "There was no use saying everyone has the right to education and not have programmes that invest in education", he said.

The Commission's work was part of United Nations efforts to articulate a set of shared values and create programmes of action that recognized that the

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dignity of each person required all States to commit to solidarity, freedom and equality, he concluded.

JOHN LANGMORE, Director of the Division for Social Policy and Development of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, introduced the reports before the Commission. He said social integration was among the most complex and elusive subjects of the Summit. It was differently perceived in different national and cultural settings. At its core was the recognition of the need to respect diversity and promote social justice within a framework of minimum shared values. The Secretary-General's report had attempted to distil the subject into clear topics and put forth practical suggestions.

While the number of functioning democracies was increasing, so too was people's overall sense of alienation from political and economic processes, even within those democracies, he said. The activities of the market and of participatory political processes must be balanced. The role of civil society had never been more important than it was at the present time, because it was through such organizations that groups could articulate and achieve their goals. National consultative bodies had been of great importance in that regard.

He stressed the importance of making available social services and paid employment opportunities for all who wanted them as essential aspects of inclusive social participation. Education was particularly important for enhancing understanding of political processes and participation. Under the heading of media, he noted the danger of narrowing the subjects for public discussion because diversity of ideas played an important role in social inclusion. Among practical recommendations made by the Secretary-General to prevent and protect against the negative consequences of vulnerability was the fostering of empathy within persons and groups, and the use of social impact assessments to gauge policies and programmes, he added.

YANG QUINWEI (China), Director-General of the Department of Social Development, State Planning Commission, said his Government had been taking actions to honour the commitments it made at the Social Summit. China's steady and sustained economic growth had improved people's livelihood, but had, at the same time, led to social problems. The Chinese Government was making efforts to promote and coordinate economic and social development. Figures indicated successes to date: population in poverty had declined from 80 million in the early 1990s to about 50 million at the end of 1997. Primary school enrolment rate had reached 98.5 per cent while the child immunization rate had reached 85 per cent.

In 1996, the National People's Congress had adopted a blueprint for China's development, in its ninth five-year plan of national economic and social development and the perspective development programme towards 2010, he said. At present, the country was in the process of transition from a planned to a market economy. In light of that fact, governments at all levels were

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taking the major responsibility for social policy-making and social management. In recent years, governments at all levels had made great efforts in alleviating poverty and increasing access to education and health care. China was rich in labour resources; about 9 million joined the labour force each year, in addition to a large surplus of rural labourers. Accelerated industrialization meant that the creation of job opportunities was an increasing and long-term challenge. With the Government as a leading force, and by combining efforts with enterprises, individuals and social groups, re-employment projects had been launched and vocational and training programmes developed. The Government was actively advocating reforms in pension funds and unemployment insurance system.

China had established guidelines for public health, he went on. Those guidelines focused on prevention, and gave equal weight to Western and Chinese medicine. The continuing improvement of legislation in social development was essential to guarantee people's access to social services and sound social management. In recent years, the National People's Congress had promulgated a number of laws regarding social development. The management of social affairs was thus on the road of rule by law.

Turning next to the broad participation of all social sectors in development, he said that social development should not stop at the stage of governmental plans at the provincial or central levels, but must be implemented at the lowest grass-roots levels to make social services accessible. Resources from all social sectors should be mobilized to contribute to social development. China's traditions, as well as its spiritual and material forces, were essential for resolving its social problems, he stressed. China attached great importance to the participation of vulnerable groups in social development, and highly valued their contributions. Though social development in China had advanced since the conclusion of the Social Summit, unemployment and poverty remained significant problems. As a developing country with a population accounting for one fifth of the world's population, China was striving to achieve modernization by the middle of the next century.

REINALDO RUIZ, Director of the Social Division of Chile's Ministry of Planning, said that, since the Social Summit, his country had made significant progress on the central subjects of jobs, social exclusion and poverty. The programmes of growth implemented in the 1980s had left great deficits in the social sphere. To counteract that, reforms were implemented in the 1990s to increase investments in human capital. Key among those reforms were improving access to education, strengthening social security and creating transparency and efficiency for financial markets.

Unlike the first generation of reforms, he said the recent reforms focused more on social factors such as education. Education programmes had benefited almost 2.5 million students. While the benefits of those programmes were not immediately apparent, the long-term, indirect benefits to the country were enormous. Significant progress had also been made in the eradication of

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poverty. Between 1990 and 1996, there had been a 40 per cent reduction in the number of those living in poverty, bringing the total from 5 million poor in 1990 to 3.3 million in 1996. That success was due to an economic policy that promoted sustained growth for 14 years, as well as low inflation and the promotion of savings and investment.

Those efforts would continue in 1998, he said. The social budget would absorb 72 per cent of national budget, and there would be an increase for resources in housing and subsidies to the poorest sectors. Programmes had been instituted to identify and help the most vulnerable sectors, and there were efforts to promote citizen's participation with the goal of empowerment.

Despite the favourable development in employment, he said, the work force continued to grow and youth unemployment was a major problem. Efforts had been made to reduce the social marginalization of young people through increasing assess to information and training for jobs. Reform of education to enhance job training would also address the problem of youth unemployment. By facilitating access to employment for youth and promoting equal wage levels for women, the Government was addressing marginalized sectors of the work force and was creating a more favourable labour market.

ERNST SUCHARIPA (Austria) presented a brief overview of the outcome of the International Expert Meeting on Innovative Employment Initiatives, held in Vienna from 2 to 6 February. Austria had hosted the meeting as a European initiative to the regional follow-up to the Social Summit. The meeting had been held only last week; a detailed report would be issued at a later date by the Vienna-based European Centre for Social Welfare and Research.

The meeting had sought to elaborate innovative approaches for improving the employment situation in Europe and to develop instruments to fight unemployment, he said. About 90 experts from 26 countries in the European region and the United States had attended, including researchers, governmental representatives and United Nations officials. The meeting's agenda had focused on international employment initiatives; fiscal and social policies to promote employment; and the employment situation in Central Europe.

The experts had exchanged information about successful efforts to combat unemployment on the national and regional levels, he continued. With regard to the phenomenon of increasing numbers of unemployed citizens in Europe, the experts had proposed incentives for the hiring of long-term unemployed persons. To reduce youth unemployment, participants had stressed the importance of education and training programmes. There had been an exchange of views regarding best practices in terms of flexible working time . Reducing weekly working hours, part-time work, new forms of leave and sabbatical, as well as flexible retirement, had been analysed. Experts had underlined that the introduction of flexible working patterns must be complemented by redesigned social security schemes.

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In discussing employment initiatives for rural areas, experts had focused on the creation of non-agricultural jobs and protection of the environment, both of which required large-scale investments, he said. On the general demographic trend towards an older society, participants had discussed a possible cost explosion which might result from ageing and health problems.

The establishment of unemployment and training accounts to combat unemployment had been the subject of lively debate, he said. According to that proposal, employed persons would contribute to their accounts, while governments would contribute for low-income groups. Unemployed persons could withdraw limited amounts from their accounts. If an account balance fell below a certain limit, the person would receive public assistance. If the balance exceeded a certain level, the funds could be used for other purposes.

The main conclusion which could be drawn from the expert meeting was that initiatives with positive employment impact in one country might not prove successful in another, he said. While employment policies remained a national responsibility, the continuous exchange of experiences, on regional and international levels, was of great importance.

K.J. HIKUAMA-MUPAINE, Director of Employment Planning, Namibia's Ministry of Labour, said that his country had some major challenges which needed to be overcome before it could implement far-reaching poverty- eradication measures. The country was faced by stark contrasts between rich and poor with the higher income earners living in the major urban parts of the country, far from the impoverished rural centres. Secondly, Namibia's agricultural resource base was weak due to limited rainfall and sandy, infertile soil. Thirdly, the population was growing at a rapid rate and it was expected to double by 2020. Lastly, the economy inherited at independence was not geared towards equitable growth and job creation.

Since the World Summit for Social Development, he said, the Government had re-emphasized its commitment to reduce poverty by approving the creation of an inter-institutional coordination body, comprising government and private sector representatives, NGOs and donor agencies. It was intended to advise the Government on poverty issues, as well as to coordinate all poverty reduction efforts.

To reverse the effects of poverty, the Government had adopted a human- centred approach to national development by investing in education, health, and other social services. Government efforts to improve the socio-economic and political status of the poor included: the promotion of a stable political atmosphere based on guaranteed human rights and fundamental freedoms, internal peace and security; and the establishment of an efficient system of government administration. Through those efforts, the country intended to eradicate poverty, provide better living standards, narrow the income gap and facilitate agricultural and industrial development.

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In the education sector, he said that spending on education accounted for 28 per cent of the annual budget in 1996 and over 10 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). Over 100 new schools had been built and the number of teachers had increase from 12,000 to 16,000. Also in 1996, 90 per cent of all children of school-going age were enrolled in schools.

In the health sector, the programme "Health for all Namibians by the year 2000" was implemented, and it had shifted its resources to the disadvantaged regions, he said. It was focused on preventative care and providing of clinics with a community-based approach. Those efforts had resulted in the number of primary health-care facilities increasing significantly. Expenditures on health had grown from 14.5 per cent in 1990 to 15.7 per cent in 1994.

One of the major causes of structural inequality in Namibia was unequal access to land, he said. Due to factors left over from colonial expropriation of land and its forced acquisition from blacks to whites, a few commercial ranch owners controlled 44 per cent of the land. The 1994 Agricultural Land Act was passed by Parliament with a commitment to strengthen the production capacity of the farming sector by way of land redistribution on a willing-buyer willing- seller basis, instead of compulsory appropriation. Resettlement and rehabilitation programmes and projects had reached about 7,000 people and included persons with disabilities and war refugees.

Also, recognizing the central role employment played in facilitating poverty reduction, he said the Namibian Government had developed national employment policies and was involved in various data-collection activities to better address employment problems. The Government was also formulating a national employment services bill that would regulate the provision of such services.

In order to shift resources from benefiting few to benefiting many, he said Namibia had moved towards a decentralized policy that would increase participation in the development process and move the country away from its colonial legacy of a centralized system of administration and management.

MARCELA MARIA NICODEMOS (Brazil) told the Commission about a conference convened by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) to follow up on the commitments made in Copenhagen. Held in Sao Paulo from 6 to 9 April 1997, it had been the first regional meeting to be convened to review the implementation of the Social Summit. In opening remarks, Brazil's President Fernando Cardoso had stressed the importance of education in meeting the challenges of globalization, she said. In panel discussions, participants had discussed the Summit's core themes of eradication of poverty, productive employment and social integration. High-level government officials, as well as representatives of international organizations, had attended and actively participated.

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She said that the conference had also discussed the need for an integrated approach to development, through which social policies generated economic development and stimulated employment. Other themes had been the importance of decentralizing programmes and policies, and the need to enhance partnerships between governments and civil societies.

The conference had culminated in the adoption of the Sao Paulo Consensus, in which the region's support to the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action was reflected, she said. The text also contained recommendations to implement the Social Summit's outcome through, among others: strengthening complementary efforts to obtain economic growth and social equity; developing regional networks to share information; and encouraging governments, international and civil organizations to ensure ongoing consideration of agreements reached by the United Nations on such matters as women, environment and human settlements. Participants had requested that ECLAC convene another such meeting within the next two years to analyse regional efforts and obstacles to the implementation of the Social Summit.

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