ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL HEARS FROM HEADS OF REGIONAL COMMISSIONS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF FOLLOW-UP TO UN CONFERENCES AND SUMMITS

15 May 1998

Press Release
ECOSOC/5757

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL HEARS FROM HEADS OF REGIONAL COMMISSIONS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF FOLLOW-UP TO UN CONFERENCES AND SUMMITS

19980515 Uncertainty in Availability of Financial Resources Cited among Major Problems Hampering Follow-up Process

Uncertainty and constraints in the availability of financial resources limited the activities on the follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits at the regional level, the Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Adrianus Mooy, told the Economic and Social Council this morning as it continued its session on the integrated and coordinated follow-up of those conferences.

The Council held a panel discussion with Executive Secretaries of regional commissions on "the role of regional economic commissions in the integrated/coordinated implementation and follow-up to conferences".

The limited amount of resources of all the parties involved in follow-up called for greater coordination and cooperation in the Asian region, Mr. Mooy said. There was a lack of coordinated efforts at the regional level as well as a lack of recognition of the leadership role of the regional commissions. Success in follow-up efforts also required more political commitment by all parties concerned and better communication among different constituencies and governing bodies.

The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe, Yves Berthelot, said a problem in conference follow-up was that often efforts only covered part of the recommendations and goals of the global conferences. Follow-up actions were not always conducted in a coherent way with what was proposed by the conferences. For instance, a particular region may have already attained or surpassed the goals of the conference. Some States also had evolving priorities which might not correspond to the conference goals. Despite those factors, the United Nations must work to ensure that the messages of the global conferences were alive and that efforts to develop them continued.

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On the problems facing Africa, K.Y. Amoako, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), said poverty reduction should be the overarching theme in his region. In order to be successful in reducing poverty, governments needed to develop strategies for macroeconomic reform, sound economic management and good governance. He added that it was important to examine how the regional commissions could work with the other funds and programmes. Perhaps the reports produced at the national level could be first submitted to the regional commissions before they were sent to the functional commissions.

The Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), Hazem Abdel Aziz El Beblawi, said ESCWA was utilizing its role as regional coordinator by working with non-United Nations organizations such as the League of Arab States. Together with those organizations, ESCWA had created a working group to address development issues as well as gender issues. The ESCWA was also sensitive to what other agencies and organizations were doing in the region, he said, adding that efforts could be made to fill gaps left by other agencies.

Juan Somavia (Chile), President of the Economic and Social Council, introduced the group of panellists.

The Council will meet again this afternoon to conclude its session on the integrated and coordinated follow-up of major United Nations conferences and summits. It is scheduled to hold a panel discussion with non-governmental organizations on their role in that process, and hear a summary by the Council President on the three-day session.

Council Work Programme

The Economic and Social Council met this morning to continue its session on the integrated and coordinated follow-up of major United Nations conferences and summits. It was scheduled to hold a panel discussion with Executive Secretaries of regional commissions on the following theme: "Role of regional economic commissions in the integrated/coordinated implementation and follow-up to conferences".

Panel Discussion

JUAN SOMAVIA (Chile), President of the Economic and Social Council, introduced the panellists: K.Y. Amoako, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA); Yves Berthelot, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE); Adrianus Mooy, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP); and Hazem Abdel Aziz El Beblawi, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).

K.Y. AMOAKO, Executive Secretary of the ECA, said the normative functions of the regional commissions contributed to the goals of the regional conferences. The ECA had the ability to convene meetings which deliberated on the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) task force's cross-cutting themes. The regional commissions also provided advice on best practices and advocated positions at various forums at the regional level.

Creating an enabling environment for development was one of the key cross-cutting themes of many global conferences, he said. It was a vital issue, and poverty reduction should be the overarching theme in Africa. In order to be successful in reducing poverty, governments needed to develop strategies for macroeconomic reform, sound economic management and good governance. Effective poverty reduction strategies called for the provision of basic social services.

Partnerships had become very important in Africa, he said. The ECA had organized an international conference on the theme, "African Women and Economic Development: Investing in Our Future" on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of ECA in April. That was the key issue Africa had to confront in the coming century in order to remove the constraints which are preventing African women from fully participating in society. The conference had featured a forum of Heads of State in which government leaders had shared their views and reaffirmed their commitment to the key goals of the Beijing Platform for Action. It also gave fresh impetus to the involvement of non- governmental organizations, which used the occasion to renew their commitment to the implementation of the Platform for Action.

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It was important to examine how the regional commissions could work with funds and programmes, he said. Perhaps the reports produced at the national level could be first submitted to the regional commissions before they were sent to the functional commissions.

YVES BERTHELOT, Executive Secretary of the ECE, said that ensuring an integrated follow up to major conferences required recognizing the themes and ideas behind them. In follow-up efforts for one conference, steps should be taken to ensure that those actions did not counteract the purpose of other conferences. For example, efforts for economic development should not act to harm environmental development. The Committee for Development Planning could play a role in coordinating follow-up to avoid such actions. Another problem in follow-up efforts was the lack of useful statistics, especially those in measuring income, he said, adding that the regional commissions were making a contribution in producing useful statistics.

He also said that ensuring follow-up in an integrated way meant cooperation among States in the different regions. Many of the conferences recognized the role of regional groups and allowed a relevant exchange of experience at the regional level. While some problems needed to be addressed by the global community, such as environmental problems, there was also room for regional activities.

One problem in conference follow-up, he said, was that often such efforts only covered part of the recommendations and goals of the global conferences. Follow-up actions were not always conducted in a coherent way with what was proposed by the conferences. That was true because, among other reasons, a particular region might have already attained or surpassed the goals of the conference. Some States also had evolving priorities which might not correspond to the conference goals. Despite those factors, the United Nations must work to ensure that the messages of the global conferences were alive and that efforts to develop those messages continued.

ADRIANUS MOOY, Executive Secretary of the ESCAP, said ESCAP had played an active role in the provision of regional support in the follow-up to global conferences. It saw itself as a natural link in channelling decisions taken at the global level to the national level and in bringing actions taken at the national level to the attention of global conferences. That role, however, was not fully recognized by the funds and programmes which had created certain difficulties in coordination.

The activities carried out by ESCAP had been performed on a largely ad hoc basis rather than on a sustained basis, he said. One reason for that was that the mandates for follow-up action on the regional level had been adopted at conferences, but those mandates were not fully recognized by all parties involved in the implementation. Resource uncertainty and constraints also limited the activities at the regional level. The limited amount of resources

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of all the parties involved in follow-up called for greater coordination and cooperation in the region. ESCAP had set up an inter-agency committee to ensure better coordination. That experience showed that while it was a good forum to exchange information, there had not been much success in initiating collaborative activities and projects.

The lack of coordinated efforts at the regional level could also be attributed to lack of commitment by the various parties in the region to work together, he said. There was also a lack of recognition of the leadership role of the regional commissions. Yet, different agencies had different constituencies and different governing bodies. There should be better cooperation between the governing bodies to avoid duplication and promote coordination. The differing programming cycles also caused some difficulties. Success in follow-up to global conferences required more political commitment by all parties concerned to work together, better communication among different constituencies and governing bodies, and better access to resources.

HAZEM ABDEL AZIZ EL BEBLAWI, Executive Secretary of the ESCWA, said that the regional commissions were in a good position to approach follow-up to world conferences. States were often motivated by how their neighbours were progressing on certain issues. The commissions were well-placed to let States know what others were doing. The work of ESCWA was focused on a number of cross-cutting themes of the conferences, among those themes were poverty, gender mainstreaming, and the development of civil society. In that regard, ESCWA was very much involved in the follow-up process.

He added that ESCWA was concentrating efforts on improving the standard of living, developing the informal sectors, and sharing local development experiences in the Arab world. All those activities were related to the plans of action of conferences. ESCWA was also utilizing its role as regional coordinator by working with non-United Nations organizations such as the League of Arab States. Together with those organizations, ESCWA had created a working group to address development issues as well as gender issues. It had also scheduled a meeting with the ministers for foreign affairs in the region to discuss follow-up to conferences. ESCWA was also sensitive to what other agencies and organizations were doing in the region. In that way, efforts could be taken that fill gaps that were left by other agencies.

In response to questions about successful and unsuccessful activities initiated by ECA, Mr. AMOAKO re-emphasized ECA's stress on the regional follow-up to the outcome of the Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women. The ECA conference in April had managed to bring together most of the partners and stakeholders, from highest levels of government to civil society. All participants had echoed the sentiment that it was time to fully capture the African women's contribution to development. The least successful activity was an ECA committee of ministers on sustainable development and environment, which duplicated efforts performed at the subregional level.

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Regarding inquiries about the United Nations Special Initiative on Africa, he said that it had given the ECA a mechanism to work with all United Nations agencies, especially the Bretton Woods institutions. The ECA had worked with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to establish an African Governance Forum to develop national action plans. Yet, the most vital issue on coordination in Africa was avoiding duplication at the sub- regional level.

In response to several questions about communication between the Council, the regional commissions, and the funds and programmes, he said that sometimes the left hand did not know what the right hand was doing. The information flow at the national and sub-regional level needed to be explored. Reports should be submitted simultaneously to the regional commissions and the ACC functional commissions. There was no effective mechanism that transmitted the results of regional meetings and conferences to the Council.

One speaker asked if it was possible to differentiate between the role of the regional commissions and that of the members of the United Nations Development Group (UNDG). Mr. AMOAKO replied that the operational projects at the regional level were distinctly different from those of the funds and programmes most obviously in terms of size. The funds and programmes were country-based, though they did also occasionally initiated regional activities. Yet, those regional activities tended to be on a long-term basis. The activities of regional commissions were of a catalytic nature and were usually short term.

Responding to a question on successful practices, Mr. BERTHELOT said the ECE found great success with its conference on transportation and the environment. That led to the signing of two binding agreements in the field and to the creation of machinery for follow up. It was also the first time at the international level that ministers of environment and transportation had been brought together at the same table. It was also successful because the conference was initiated by Governments, it was not something the secretariat did just to be in compliance with Council requests. Other conferences and meetings failed because there was insufficient time and resources to make sure they worked.

On the question of coordination of conference goals, he said regional commissions were the only bodies that were really multi-sectoral. They had an opportunity to see if there were contradictions between the policies of one conference and the policies of another. The Council did have a role to play in that regard as well.

On questions regarding resources, he said the ECE operational activities focused on assistance given to countries to implement standards and goals prepared by conferences. The ECE was placed to take on that activity and perform it well. There was a need to coordinate those efforts with the UNDP

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and other agencies. There should also be a dialogue with those agencies and members of regional commissions. The Council could facilitate that dialogue to ensure that what was developed in one branch was utilized and practiced by another branch. The Council should invite experts from agencies, regional commissions and Member States to discuss multi-sectoral and cross-cutting issues.

On questions about coordination at regional level, Mr. MOOY said ESCAP tried to achieve coordination through the exchange of information. It also shared ideas and priorities among different agencies, pooled resources and designed joint programmes and projects. The ESCAP had succeeded in achieving exchanges of information, but it had enjoyed limited success in developing joint programmes and projects.

Regarding the success and failure of ESCAP-initiated activities, he said all of the projects had achieved some degree of success. For example, ESCAP had developed close cooperation with non-governmental organizations and had undertaken symposiums, conferences and meetings in the observance of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons (1993-2002). Most of the population programmes at the country and regional levels were funded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), so there were more resources available and a greater degree of horizontal coordination. The ESCAP had not formulated a really integrated programme that achieved all its funding and cooperation goals. There was a tendency for agencies to come up with their own regional programmes, which caused a problem in communication between the regional office of funds and programmes and ESCAP.

On questions regarding communication and cooperation, he said ESCAP was looking into ways to alternate forms of communication with the funds and programmes. It had contacted the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) about communication through e-mail. Difficulties arose because the concept of regions and sub-regions was not the same. The Asia- Pacific region was divided into different sub-regions by the different funds and programmes. The ESCAP had also tried to communicate to the Council, through informal consultations and its newsletter, whatever information was available about regional activities.

Concerning an inquiry about ESCAP's role in the country-level operational activities, he said ESCAP's initiatives were of intra-country nature. Yet it did provide regional advisory services that could be done at country level at the request of governments.

Responding to a question on successful practices, Mr. EL BEBLAWI said it was difficult to point to one practice that was always successful. One meeting that was positive, however, had been proposed by the Government of Jordan and the Arab League. They requested that the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) host a conference of ministers for social

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affairs on follow-up actions to the Beijing Platform for Action. Not only was that a successful meeting, but it was a good example of close cooperation between United Nations and non-United Nations organizations.

On a question regarding cooperation at the regional level, he said that coordination policies must be spelled out very clearly. There was a tendency for people to do the least amount possible in coordination activities and without a specific mandate there would not be much progress. The personalities of various heads of regional bodies also played a part in how well the bodies communicated and worked together. One way to improve coordination was to house the various United Nations bodies working in a region in the same headquarters as the regional commissions.

One speaker said United Nations conferences had tried to make an effort to ensure greater economic participation and more open markets, respecting nature and the human being, with a special emphasis on women. He asked the four executive secretaries how their regional commissions viewed globalization and the current economic global markets.

Mr. AMOAKO said Africa had moved into an era where the importance of macroeconomic stability and the importance of protecting the environment had been accepted. Governments were becoming able to tackle problems with sound programmes. Part of the problems in the past related to the role of the private sector, good governance, and partnership problems. The lessons had been learned, and the role of the ECA was to promote a sense of popular participation. The global conferences had emphasized social justice and poverty reduction. It was clear that the market could not do everything but it did have a role to play. There needed to be more of a balance.

Regarding the questions about the role of non-governmental organizations, he said the ECA considered cooperation with non-governmental organizations of vital importance. The non-governmental organizations had established a fund to help ECA follow-up on the goals of the Beijing Conference. The ECA also had a strong relationship with trade unions in order to ensure their participation in the development process.

Responding to a question on the participation of non-governmental organizations, Mr. BERTHELOT said they were very active in the follow-up activities to the Beijing Conference. They were also active in other regional conferences and they were having an impact on public life in various fields such as environmental policy and information exchange. NGOs should be active in the implementation of conference goals and they were a very powerful tool for supporting democracy.

In response to questions about civil society, Mr. MOOY said ESCAP was making continuous progress in its communication and cooperation with civil society, and in particular with non-governmental organizations. That was

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particularly true in the field of social development. The recent financial crisis in South-East Asia had showed that the market economy and globalization had produced successes and challenges for the social sector. The ESCAP had held a panel to discuss the impact of the economic crisis on the region. There was no question that market forces and economies were not adequate to shape all the forces of social development in the region.

Also responding to questions on NGO participation, Mr. EL BEBLAWI said ESCWA had developed a relationship with NGOs, particularly on issues regarding women. They were very involved with a programme to help women to start their own small businesses. On a question regarding international trade, he said the Middle East was a very homogenous region with a common language, history and culture. However there were very few trade and economic relationships among countries. Economic links needed to be established in order to improve development in the region.

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