PARTNERSHIPS NEEDED BETWEEN INDUSTRIAL, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, COMMISSION ON SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT TOLD

11 February 1998

Press Release
SOC/4433

PARTNERSHIPS NEEDED BETWEEN INDUSTRIAL, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, COMMISSION ON SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT TOLD

19980211 United Kingdom Stresses Lines between Social Justice, Economic Growth; Participation in Global Decision-Making, Commission's Objectives Also Addressed

New partnerships between industrialized and developing countries were needed to eliminate poverty and achieve international development targets, the representative of the United Kingdom, speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated countries, told the Commission for Social Development this morning, as it continued its consideration of promotion of social integration and participation for all people.

All countries should recognize common needs as an integral part of economic and social development, she added. Social justice and broader participation in richer countries was linked to the process of achieving economic growth and stability in poorer countries, she said.

Developing countries must participate more in global decision-making, said Indonesia's representative, speaking for the "Group of 77" developing countries and China. Many countries have been severely impacted by market forces and globalization and their development efforts had been impeded. While greater international inclusion required increased funds for development and expanded participation, he stressed that the goals of social development must be pursued within the context of countries' cultural, political and economic realities, and with full respect for national sovereignty.

On the work of the Commission, the United States representative said it seemed unable to move beyond restating the outcome of the 1995 World Summit for Social Development on to a more robust response to social inequities. The Commission should work towards integrating social development objectives into the local, national and international levels. Also, it should encourage governments, the private sector, civil society and the United Nations system to consider the impact of their actions on social integration and social development.

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The World Bank was trying to become a better partner in the effort for social development, said its representative. The Bank was increasingly focused on reducing disparities and eliminating exclusion. Because economic and social development were linked, sustained prosperity in developing countries was impossible without broad inclusion.

Before the discussion this morning, the Commission decided that Joanna Wronecka (Poland) would serve as the Commission's Vice-Chairman and its Rapporteur.

At the outset of the meeting, the Chairman drew attention to a letter from the President of the Economic and Social Council, dated 5 December 1997, transmitting the Council's conclusions on mainstreaming the gender perspective into all aspects of the United Nations system.

Statements were also made this morning by representatives of China, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Norway, Venezuela, Algeria, Nepal and the Netherlands. A representative of the International Labour Organization (ILO) also spoke, as did the President of the Association of International Entrepreneurs for the Social Summit.

The Commission will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its general discussion on promoting social integration, as part of its review of the implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development.

Commission Work Programme

The Commission for Social Development met this morning to consider its agenda item on "Promoting social integration through responsive government, full participation in society, non-discrimination, tolerance, equality and social justice". The Commission will consider the issue 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

Dr. ROSALIND EYBEN (United Kingdom), speaking for the European Union and the associated countries of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Cyprus, said that integration required a comprehensive approach. For too long, the problems of groups with special needs had been addressed with partial, sector-based solutions, rather than addressing the root causes of social exclusion. A holistic analysis, which would include both comparative statistics and qualitative indicators for social development, was needed in order to develop effective strategies for promoting social justice and inclusion. Such an analysis should begin with, and incorporate the perspectives of, marginalized groups and those with special needs.

She said many social groups were excluded because society failed to recognize their potential productive and social contribution, which was the case with older persons, people with disabilities, full-time mothers and fathers, minorities and others. Furthermore, a systematic children's perspective, as well as the perspective of women, must be integrated into society. Women's participation was crucial in the process of social integration, as a means of building new societies and developing participatory processes.

Also, social cohesion could be enhanced by supporting investment in social capital, she said. That meant strengthening the social relationships, networks and organizations that contributed to the civic engagement of all population groups, including people living in poverty and members of vulnerable groups. Participation in the global community was ever more dependent on rapid access to information. The poor and marginalized in society were increasingly impoverished in that process. Policies and investments were needed to ensure transparency and to make both flows and means of information and communication more inclusive.

She said a new, broader solidarity was needed, founded on a common understanding that a fairer and more inclusive and secure society in richer countries was linked to the process of achieving economic growth and stability in poorer countries. New partnerships between North and South needed to be built, in order to strengthen the commitment to the elimination of poverty by

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the achievement of international development targets. The success of such partnerships would depend on all countries recognizing common needs as an integral part of economic and social development.

ARIZAL EFFENDI (Indonesia), on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said the 1995 Social Summit had not applied only to developing countries. The current deliberations must, therefore, focus on countries in all regions. Developing countries must participate more in the global decision-making processes. Many countries had been severely impacted by market forces and globalization, as they lacked input in shaping an environment to promote their social development.

There was no universally applicable method to promote social integration and participation, he continued. Each country must pursue those goals within their respective social, cultural and economic realities, with respect for religious and historical backgrounds. Greater access to government must be implemented within the constitutional framework of each country, with full respect for national sovereignty. National governments must take the lead in fostering greater participation. Governments should promote policies and programmes to enhance the capacities of vulnerable and marginalized groups, such as women and older persons. Human resources should be developed by constantly upgrading relevant skills in the changing labour market, and social safety nets should be established to protect basic needs in times of transition.

Empowerment of local communities and decentralization of responsibilities, accompanied by adequate funding for local efforts, would facilitate greater participation in the decision-making process and open vertical channels of communication, he said. Social integration should be considered within the national context and undertaken within the policies and guidelines established by respective governments, in accordance with their constitution, laws and regulations.

Economic growth was an essential component for social development, he continued. Internationally, the overall decline in financial flows for development must be reversed, as that trend had severely hampered development efforts and contributed to a growing sense of disenfranchisement and exclusion. A global consensus was needed to create an environment of development, sustainable growth and social integration, as well as to overcome the barriers of exclusion and polarization.

BETTY KING (United States) said her country's promotion of democratic values and institutions was based on the premise that democratic governance, economic development and political pluralism went hand in hand. Respect for the right to development, as a right to every individual and as an integral part of fundamental human rights, was key to social integration. While the Commission could play an important role in promoting equal access to development, it was not alone in that work.

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Social development required the broad support of civil society and the full participation of regional and multilateral organizations, she continued. The role of the Commission was not so much in implementing social development programmes, but in monitoring the follow-up to the Declaration of the World Summit for Social Development. However, many Commission members had expressed frustration that the Commission seemed unable to move beyond restating the Copenhagen principles to a more robust response.

She said the Commission's role should be to assure that social development objectives were integrated at the local, national and international levels. The Commission should encourage government, the private sector, civil society and the United Nations system to consider the impact of their actions on social integration and social development. The Commission could do that by continuing to offer forums, expert workshops and panel discussions. It should also continue the practice of consulting with and supporting the work of non-governmental organizations, which were so vital to many social development programmes.

QIN HUASUN (China) said that, if problems such as poverty, unemployment, drugs, ethnic conflict and organized crime were not solved soon, it would lead to social unrest or violent conflict throughout the world. When social stability was not guaranteed, social development was an empty concept.

In order to ensure social participation, three aspects were important, he continued. First, accelerated economic growth was a prerequisite for promoting social integration. If the right to sufficient food and clothing was not first realized, the other rights of people of developing countries would not be realized. Second, governments should formulate their policies for the promotion of social integration in light of their own national conditions. Third, international cooperation between poor and rich countries should be expanded.

He said his Government attached great importance to coupling economic growth with overall social development. Since China's policy of reform was introduced in 1978, the Government had lifted 200 million Chinese out of poverty. In so doing, they thus had been provided with the necessary material conditions to better enjoy the various rights entitled to them. The Chinese Government also devoted much attention to the life and development of such vulnerable groups as the young, the elderly and the disabled. It had formulated policies to ensure that those groups enjoyed the equal right to be integrated in social life and shared the material and cultural achievements of the society.

JULIA T. DE ALVAREZ (Dominican Republic) said that if groups were defined as vulnerable and disadvantaged, they could not participate in society on an equal footing. While some persons and groups faced clear oppression or disadvantage, identity should not be confused with circumstances. When groups were defined as vulnerable or disadvantaged, an understanding of the essential

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links uniting all groups was sometimes lost. Fragmentation and artificial divisions did not yield social dividends.

As the year 1999 approached, which was the International Year of Older Persons, it was important to view older persons as role models, she said. However, elderly persons often appeared to be invisible. Little was expected of them, which nullified their desire to contribute to society. Elderly persons must be integrated into social life. They should not be considered "others". Attention should be paid to their capacity to serve as a bridge between generations. A healthy society could be defined by the ties that united the generations.

Often, circumstances or intellectual laziness led to compartmentalizing persons and groups, she continued. Assumptions must be considered carefully, since the spirit that guided an initiative foreshadowed its success. The basis of the Commission's work should be a realistic view of the relationships within society. The Dominican Republic was submitting a draft text, the Declaration of Interdependence, for the Commission's consideration. That text advocated that consideration be given to each individual; hierarchical power should be replaced by a focus on the needs of individuals and groups, as well as the interdependence connecting them.

FAITH INNERARITY (Jamaica) said the international community must implement the commitments made at Copenhagen with a sense of urgency. Existing gaps within and between countries had to be closed, if the goals of social development were to be attained. Within the Latin American and Caribbean region, the equity gap remained a cause for great concern. In Jamaica, as in other English-speaking Caribbean countries, pluralistic tendencies existed, based on the historical experience of colonialism and the plantation economy. Over the years, greater social integration and a breakdown of power relations defined by race-based hierarchies had been achieved, largely due to the country's democratic political system.

However, imbalanced distributions of wealth, power and prestige must still be corrected, she continued. Strategies to promote the participation of all groups required investment in social institutions and social capital, as the Secretary-General had indicated in his report. Jamaica's national programme had focused on human resource development, through enhancing education and training programmes. Another focus had been the reform of local governments, to promote decentralization and facilitate greater participation in political decision- making.

The country's national poverty eradication programme was based on community empowerment and involved a broad partnership between all social sectors, she said. Also, within the community-based approach to development, the country had invested in fostering social skills, through the integration of family-life education and related subjects into the school curriculum. The

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country was also undertaking constitutional reform to protect the human rights of all. Interwoven in all those policy initiatives was the recognition of the special needs of vulnerable groups. While the representative of the Dominican Republic had objected to the use of that term, she considered it a recognition of special needs, rather than an attempt to deny participation.

OLE PETTER KOLBY (Norway) said one of the greatest challenges facing society today was that of giving attention to human diversity. Governments should develop a dialogue with representatives of vulnerable groups, which would allow those persons with reduced ability to protect or to defend themselves to present their situation and define their own basic needs. Vulnerable and disadvantaged groups must be included in decision-making, with a view to reducing their vulnerability. That strategy could be applied to the elderly and people with disabilities, who suffered from problems in daily life that were unknown to most people.

While it was essential to strengthen mechanisms for enhanced participation at the national level, it was also imperative to build an international framework in support of good governance and participation, he said. In essence, the international level was key to setting standards and priorities, which could influence the way nations ran their economic and social policies. At the international level, Norway would like to see the disability component, built on the United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, harmonized into the activities of all United Nations agencies.

CARLOS ALTIMARI (Venezuela) said his country had undertaken extensive efforts to improve development and encourage participation by all parts of society, especially among the most vulnerable groups. The Government's efforts have been focused on four different aspects, which incorporated the greatest needs of the country. First, the Government had taken measures to strengthen the family unit by promoting equal and positive relations between family members. Second, efforts had been made to promote human capital through training and education. Third, programmes had been implemented to reduce poverty by enhancing income and raising the minimum wage. Fourth, a programme of economic adjustment had been undertaken that would not allow a decline in macro-social and economic indicators.

As part of the process of integration and participation, he said the Government had also extended formal education in rural areas, fought drug proliferation and improved social security programmes. Many programmes had been focused on areas of the country that were the most disadvantaged in resources, to ensure that those areas shared in development and growth. Strengthening civil society was an important part of Venezuela's social integration and participation efforts.

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GLORIA DAVIS, of the World Bank, said that the Bank had not been a pioneer in social development, but it was now focusing on becoming a relevant partner in the effort for social development. That could be seen in its new public focus on reducing disparities and eliminating exclusion. The Bank wanted to be a better partner than it had been in the past. It had recently held a joint seminar with the International Labour Organization (ILO) on social inclusion.

Also, the Bank was undertaking social assessments, to identify stakeholders and provide a framework for their participation in projects from the outset, she said. Country-assistance projects were becoming more transparent and participatory, through the inclusion of non-governmental organizations, civil society and governmental organizations. The Bank would try to support operational activities that contributed to social development. Its focus on conflict resolution was a response to the fact that 16 of the 20 poorest countries were either in conflict or just emerging from conflict. The world's 45 million refugees were the most excluded persons on the globe, she added.

The Bank would focus on social inclusion and social institutions, which were inextricably intertwined, she said. On the latter, it was interested in showing the validity, in quantitative and qualitative terms, of community participation. The Bank had tried to change before, but today there was an unprecedented consensus on the unambiguous links between economic and social development. Sustained prosperity in developing countries was impossible without broad inclusion, as well.

SAMIR RADWAN, Director of the Development Policies Department, ILO, said inclusive employment was a sure way of combating poverty and exclusion. Part of the organization's work had been focused on creating international labour standards and those standards were based on fundamental human rights. The organization had also addressed poverty, through the creation of jobs and production of a compendium of poverty statistics, as a resource for social policy-makers and researchers. Also important was the introduction of the gender perspective in the organization's work. In that way, it was attempting to understand the impact of crisis and globalization on women in the labour market.

Another important area of concern for the organization, he said, was the situation of youth in the work force. Youth unemployment was a worldwide problem. Unemployment of youth between the ages of 16 and 24 years was double that of adults. Working children were also a concern. At least 300 million children were at work and many were in intolerable forms of employment and exploitation. The organization had been trying to assist countries with that problem by dealing with it at its root level and working to formulate international labour standards for children.

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Two areas that deserved future attention were the issues of crisis and globalization, he said. Crises had become a natural part of societies. As the Asian crisis had shown, short-term shocks could lead to long-term consequences. In addition, while the process of globalization would have long-term benefits for all, it did have short-term negative effects on groups and countries, especially those countries that could not compete in the global market. Measures should be taken to ease those effects.

MELLE DALILA SAMAH (Algeria) said that despite international, national and regional efforts, the gap separating the rich and poor countries was expanding. In many countries, structural adjustment programmes, implemented harshly and without consideration of their social impact, had lowered the standard of living of inhabitants. The international community must make efforts to maintain international peace and security, without which there could be no real development.

The Programme of Action adopted at the Social Summit had aimed at a society for all, in which each individual had both rights and responsibilities, she continued. The social dimension had always been the centre of Algeria's development activities. Social action for disadvantaged groups had received particular attention from authorities, who sought to strengthen protections through the development of social networks. A primary effort was the socio- economic inclusion of the disabled persons and groups. Efforts were aimed at fostering solidarity with those groups to reduce intolerance and promote social justice.

RAGHAB DHOJ PANT (Nepal) said that the question of social integration could not be considered apart from the issues of poverty alleviation empowerment of vulnerable and disadvantaged groups and globalization. Social integration should be a starting point, rather than a conclusion. The issues at hand were not controversial. The questions were, what efforts were needed to achieve agreed-upon goals and how could those efforts be funded?

The Government of Nepal viewed poverty alleviation as a primary objective, he said. Poverty could not be eradicated without increasing the economy's growth rate. Poverty alleviation and social integration required cooperation between government, the private sector, communities and non-governmental organizations. His Government had issued directives providing for women's education, health and employment. The country's economy was divided into a modern sector, stimulated by pro-market polices, and a rural sector, where there was, as yet, no market. In response, government activities concentrated on human resource development and employment to increase the participation of people in local self-management.

Without following liberal economic policy, citizens could not adequately participate towards a country's development, he said. Without democracy, it was not possible to develop self-reliant local entities to respond to increasing local needs.

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P. PENNEKAMP (Netherlands) said that countries should stress the role of early childhood education and the role of sports in social integration. In early childhood education, specific programmes should be set up for minority and lower income groups. Also, sports as a social activity offered special opportunities for improving relations for children and the elderly. Programmes should also be offered to those with disabilities, to improve their self-esteem and confidence. Those programmes in large cities and in rural areas could strongly support social development and social integration.

OLIVIER GISCARD d'ESTAING, President of the Association of World Entrepreneurs for the Social Summit, said special focus should be given to promoting participation for those with disabilities. Developing computers for the blind, providing wheelchairs for workers who could not travel and other efforts helped those with disabilities participate in society. Promoting the hiring of those with disabilities could be done by establishing legal obligations to allow a certain percentage of disabled in a company. It could also be done by pointing out the benefits of hiring those with disabilities.

Entrepreneurs should be enlisted to help in those and many other development activities, he said. Many times the participation of entrepreneurs went unpublicized, but private entrepreneurship could be very beneficial. While some criticized those efforts as interference, entrepreneurs often helped build better and fairer societies. Steps should be taken to promote the actions taken by entrepreneurs, asses their merits and fully utilize them.

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