UNITED NATIONS BODIES SHOULD COLLABORATE TO HARMONIZE INFORMATION SYSTEMS, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL IS TOLD

24 July 1998

Press Release
ECOSOC/5790

UNITED NATIONS BODIES SHOULD COLLABORATE TO HARMONIZE INFORMATION SYSTEMS, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL IS TOLD

19980724 Need to Get Best from Evolving Technologies Is Stressed; Support Sought for Initiatives to Deal with 'Year 2000' Computer Problems

United Nations bodies should collaborate in developing a harmonized system of informatics -- data storage, retrieval and transfer -- several speakers told the Economic and Social Council this morning, as the Council considered a series of issues related to coordination and programme questions.

One speaker suggested that the Organization should harness the benefits of new information technology to enhance efficiency, avoid duplication and increase the points of contact with civil society. The Council should support initiatives to address the year 2000 problem, which would affect all computer hardware and software that used a date function.

Regarding the proclamation of an international year of mountains, several speakers noted that mountains were an important component of the international life-support system and essential to the global ecosystem. Activities organized around an international year could contribute to a better understanding of the importance of mountains in the fields of resources, the environment, and biodiversity.

The devastating effects of malaria and cholera on millions of people every year were stressed by several other representatives. Those diseases also negatively affected the economic and social development of many countries, particularly in Africa. The early diagnosis and treatment of malaria with affordable and effective drugs could reduce mortality and morbidity among children.

One speaker called for the strengthening of the Committee on Programme and Coordination (CPC). In addition, the priorities for the medium-term plan should continue to be established, because they guided programmes, aspects of budgets and objectives. Yet, any changes to the plan's objectives had to be made by the General Assembly.

Introductory statements were made by: the Assistant-Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, Patrizio M. Civili; the Chairman of the CPC, Bagher Asadi (Iran); the Special Adviser to the Director-

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General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Ralph Henderson; the Acting Chief of the Computing Technology Services, Eduardo Blinder; the Chairman of the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group on Informatics, Ahmad Kamal (Pakistan); the Officer-in-Charge of the Division for Sustainable Development, Kenneth Ruffing; and the representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Nina Sibal.

Statements were made by Austria (on behalf of the European Union and associated States), Indonesia (on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China), India, Argentina, Kyrgyzstan, United States, China, Mozambique (on behalf of the African Group), Republic of Korea, Mexico, Turkey, Nicaragua, Russian Federation, Japan, Peru and Algeria.

Also addressing the Council this morning were representatives of UNESCO, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

The Council will meet again at 10 a.m. on Monday, 27 July, to continue the general segment of its 1998 substantive session.

Council Work Programme

The Economic and Social Council met this morning to begin its consideration of coordination, programme and other questions as part of the general segment of its 1998 substantive session.

A letter from the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh addressed to the President of the Council (document E/1998/83) conveys a proposal of his Government that the year 2005 be proclaimed by the United Nations as the International Year of Microcredit.

An explanatory memorandum in support of the proposal states that the year 2005 is the final year of the Microcredit Summit campaign which seeks to reach 100 million of the world's poorest families, especially the women of those families, with credit for self-employment and other financial and business services by then.

Designation of the international year would reinforce the efforts already being undertaken at different levels and strengthen the follow-up activities needed to implement proposals from the Microcredit Summit held in Washington, D.C., from 2 to 4 February 1997. It would also contribute, through stimulation of national, regional and international activities, to the raising of awareness of the socially beneficial role of microcredit. The observance would also highlight 2005 as a special occasion for giving further impetus to reaching the goals and objectives of the Microcredit Summit, and to making microcredit available to people willing and able to undertake micro-enterprises.

General Assembly resolution 52/194 of 18 December 1997, entitled "Role of microcredit in the eradication of poverty", presents the overall approach and the viewpoint of Member States on microcredit. The United Nations system, including the international financial institutions, and regional banks have substantially increased their support and expanded microcredit programmes since the adoption of the resolution, according to the memorandum.

The Microcredit Summit, attended by heads of State and government, was conceived as part of a larger global effort to eradicate poverty. One of the strategies towards that end is building institutions capable of providing microcredit services -- specifically, credit for self-employment and savings capabilities -- to 100 million of the world's poorest families.

A report before the Council provides an overview of coordination issues addressed by the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) in 1997 which are being brought to the attention of intergovernmental bodies (document E/1998/21). Part one of the report highlights the issue of reform which has had significant implications for the work of the ACC.

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ACC actions to promote the coordinated follow-up to major global conferences by the United Nations system, including an assessment of the work of the three task forces set up for that purpose, as well as the inter-agency work undertaken in relation to the special session of the General Assembly to review the implementation of Agenda 21, are also covered in the report. Other issues include the inter-agency preparations for the observance of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the five-year review of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action; the relationship of the United Nations system with civil society; peace-building in crisis situations; and progress in the implementation of the United Nations System-wide Initiative on Africa.

Inter-agency preparations for the forthcoming triennial comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system, and updated information on measures undertaken by the system to assist countries invoking Article 50 of the Charter (assistance to third countries affected by sanctions), are also covered. Part two of the report contains a brief outline of the programme of work of the ACC for 1998.

The report observes that 1997 was a year of transition and reform for many organizations of the United Nations system. The assumption of office by the Secretary-General at the beginning of that year brought new leadership to the ACC. At the United Nations, the reform process initiated by the Secretary- General was in two phases: the first phase (track I), in March, identified initial measures that could be carried out within the Secretary-General's own authority. A more comprehensive package of reforms (track II) was then issued in July. These reform measures, as acted on by the General Assembly (resolutions 52/12 A and B), are already reshaping, in a major way, the manner in which business is carried out within the Organization and the way the United Nations relates to the rest of the system.

The reforms, together with similar processes under way in the organizations of the system, have significant implications for the work of the ACC, which, in turn, is undertaking a renewed effort to bring about increased collaboration and greater unity of purpose and coherence of action within the system. The Secretary-General's reform proposals were aimed at enabling the Organization to meet more effectively the growing challenges and demands being placed on it and to prepare it for the twenty-first century.

A key component of the process was the putting in place of new leadership and management structures for the Organization as a whole, including its programmes and funds, the report continues. Special attention was given by the ACC to the implications for the system of the establishment within the United Nations itself, at the secretariat level, of executive committees in the four core areas of peace and security, economic and social affairs, development cooperation, and humanitarian affairs, with human rights being approached as a fifth core area, as well as a cross-cutting issue.

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Another important measure was the consolidation of the economic and social functions of the Secretariat in a single department, which took place in parallel with the consolidation of technical secretariat servicing facilities for United Nations intergovernmental bodies. Other relevant measures included the reorientation of public information activities, the streamlining and consolidation of United Nations administrative, financial, personnel, procurement and other services and reductions in the level of documentation, accompanied by a reduction in the Organization's overall budget and staffing levels. The report states that the second phase of United Nations reform addressed an even wider range of issues, many of which required intergovernmental action and were embodied in a comprehensive report of the Secretary-General entitled "Renewing the United Nations: a programme for reform" (documents A/51/950 and Add.1-7). Other organizations within the system have also continued to pursue far-reaching reforms, which are bringing about the reorientation of programmes, increased efficiency in operations, and significant changes and improvements in their functioning.

In reviewing these processes, the ACC, according to the report, recognized the importance of sharing plans and information on a continuing basis. It agreed that approaches to inter-agency coordination and cooperation should be based on a renewed effort to elaborate common policy objectives and pursue all opportunities for programme cooperation, and on the effective pooling of capabilities and resources throughout the system, at both headquarters and field levels. A new and more comprehensive approach to the concept of security, fully encompassing its economic and social components, should underlie that effort, the report states.

Other cross-organizational issues identified by the ACC as requiring common attention in pursuing the reform processes included the issue of linkages with civil society, and the sharing of experience at the inter-agency level on cooperation with the private sector; managerial improvements within the United Nations common system, particularly in relation to existing rigidities in personnel policies and practices; and the need to ensure that new programmes are matched by adequate resources. As part of the effort to improve the exchange and dissemination of information system-wide, the report says a publication will be issued under the aegis of the ACC in 1998 outlining common themes underlying the reform processes under way in the system.

On follow-up to international conferences and summits, the report states that the task forces set up to develop a coordinated approach to the follow-up to those conferences have been discontinued upon completion of their assigned tasks. The effectiveness of their work will ultimately be measured by the extent to which the system is able to pursue and step up collaborative activities and enhance its impact in assisting countries to implement the policy commitments made at the conferences. The ACC agreed that the effort to promote integrated and coordinated follow-up to the conferences should be

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actively pursued and approached in the broader context of United Nations system reform and of the system's effort to enhance its capacity to advance the global agenda in a coherent and effective way.

The ACC reiterated that sustainable development provides a broad framework to guide the ongoing work of the system, and underlined the importance of mainstreaming human rights, environmental, gender, population and children-related questions, and of making optimum use of information and communication technologies. The ACC also stressed that the goal of poverty eradication, as reaffirmed by all the recent global conferences, remains a fundamental commitment of the system.

Special attention was given during 1997 to the relationships between the United Nations system and civil society, including the private sector, because of the important role played by non-State actors in advancing the global development agenda, and the need to develop effective partnerships with such actors. The ACC encouraged greater exchange of information among the organizations of the system on the policies, directives and practices of cooperation with civil society partners to identify and build on best practices. It agreed to give further consideration to the feasibility of establishing an inter-agency enterprise liaison service to serve as a common clearing-house for cooperation with the business community.

In a section on other matters, the report refers to the Administrative Committee's review of the Graça Machel study on the situation of children affected by armed conflict and its agreement that concerned organizations within the United Nations system should develop inter-agency guidelines for activities related to such children. United Nations system country teams and field personnel, including the staff of humanitarian relief operations, were similarly invited to accord priority attention to the issue of children affected by armed conflict.

The report states that the ACC will continue to address, during 1998, key policy issues requiring a system-wide response. It is expected to continue the effort, initiated in 1997, to develop strategic frameworks for peace-building in crisis situations. It will also continue to monitor progress in the implementation of the United Nations System-wide Special Initiative on Africa, as well as the role of the Initiative in the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s. Intergovernmental action on the report of the Secretary-General on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa (document A/52/871-S/1998/318) is expected to provide new impetus to inter-agency collaboration in support of Africa.

The contribution of the ACC to the overall process of reform and strengthening of the United Nations system is expected to be further deepened in 1998.

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A report of the Secretary-General, prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO) in response to Economic and Social Council resolution 1995/63, describes strategies and work plans being implemented for the prevention and control of malaria and diarrhoeal diseases, in particular cholera (document E/1998/20).

Those diseases continue to impede social and economic development in developing countries. For control in the longer term, the report says, there is need for improvements in environmental sanitation and food safety, and the implementation of health education programmes. There are 300 million-500 million cases of malaria every year, and 1.5 million to 2.7 million deaths. Most malaria cases and deaths (90 per cent) occur in sub-Saharan Africa, mainly in young children.

The basic objectives of the Global Malarial Control Strategy of the WHO are to prevent mortality and reduce morbidity and its social and economic consequences through the progressive improvement and strengthening of national and local capabilities to control malaria. During 1997-1998, the Director- General of the WHO allocated $20 million over two years for intensified support to 24 priority countries in Africa.

In March 1996, malaria was identified as a priority component of the inter-agency United Nations System-wide Special Initiative on Africa. An Inter-agency Meeting for the Coordination of Action against Malaria in November 1997 identified resources to develop options for more effective coordination of the growing number of public and private initiatives to strengthen malaria prevention and control. Information exchange between agencies and malaria programme managers is taking place between the World Bank and the WHO, and planned collaboration between the WHO and UNICEF on malaria control in several African countries is being finalized.

The report states that financial support for malarial control to date has been insufficient, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. It observes that malaria can be controlled with the tools available and that the challenge now is to apply them to protect the most vulnerable groups, and to sustain the gains in the face of problems such as the spread of drug resistance.

Research and development must be continued and strengthened to provide new and affordable drugs, diagnostic tests and vaccines and new approaches required as the malaria situation evolves and changes, the report continues, adding that the Economic and Social Council can play a major role in encouraging member States and the private sector to make resources available to meet those needs.

The report states that cholera remains a global threat. Membership in a WHO task force for its control, established in April 1991, has been extended to 20 major agencies. At a 1997 Geneva meeting, it recommended the

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establishment of a computerized information system for cholera, and a list of regional stocks of cholera-related supplies.

In its general conclusions, the report states that malaria, cholera and other diarrhoeal diseases remain diseases of poverty, and that fighting poverty will help prevent them. It says member States of the Economic and Social Council can assist by continuing to stress the need for research and development to ensure that new tools for disease control are made available at affordable prices.

The Council also had before it relevant chapters of the proposed revisions to the medium-term plan for the period 1998-2001 (document A/53/6). The medium-term plan spells out the strategic objectives of the United Nations and provides the framework for the Organization's budget. It also sets the pursuit of international peace and security, and the promotion of sustained economic growth and sustainable development, among the Organization's priorities.

The medium-term plan for the period 1998-2001 sets the following eight priorities: development of Africa; promotion of human rights; coordination of humanitarian assistance efforts; promotion of justice and international law; disarmament; drug control; crime prevention; and combating international terrorism in all its forms.

The Secretary-General's report on international cooperation in the field of informatics (document E/1998/44) discusses the activities of the ad hoc open-ended working group to design an overall information management strategy for the United Nations system. The working group had intensified its efforts to address the needs of the permanent and observer missions to make United Nations information more easily accessible electronically and to ensure that all missions could easily connect to the Internet and obtain United Nations data. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Secretariat completed the Internet "connectivity" of all 185 permanent and observer missions in New York by July 1997. In order for Member States to utilize Internet services, the working group requested the Secretariat to continue to provide training courses for permanent and observer missions.

At the country level, the UNDP has set up pilot electronic community centres, helped to develop content, created means of livelihood, empowered civil society and sharpened vision and policies. The first pilot centres were being prepared for South Africa and Egypt, and the next were likely to be in India and China, later in the year. The UNDP was providing virtual support to all of those efforts by maintaining a resource and knowledge site on the Internet which provided more than a thousand hyper-links to content and experience sites globally, broken down by region and development sector.

According to the report, the Working Group was also considering a number of steps for building awareness among Member States and permanent and observer

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missions of the seriousness of the "year 2000" problem, which would affect software and practically all equipment that used a date function. Internally, the United Nations was addressing the problem on various fronts. A consulting firm was being contracted to study the situation at the Secretariat, prepare an impact analysis and make specific recommendations.

A letter from the Permanent Representative of Pakistan (document E/1998/85) addressed to the President of the Council draws attention to General Assembly resolution 52/233 of 26 June 1998 entitled "Global implications of the year 2000 date conversion problem of computers". In that resolution, the Assembly calls upon the Economic and Social Council, at its 1998 substantive session, to prepare guidelines for addressing the diverse aspects of the year 2000 problem.

Annexed to the letter are suggested draft guidelines prepared by the Task Force of the Working Group on Informatics. A brief introductory note summarizes the issues involved and provides general guidelines for attacking the problem. It states that the problem stems from the fact that many hardware and software systems use only the last two digits to identify the year. If not converted by the target date, 31 December 1999, those systems will recognize "00" not as the year 2000, but instead as the year 1900. Electronic systems which are not "year- 2000-compliant" and involve processes based on dates will either shut down, produce meaningless and misleading results, or revert to some other date, as a result of which whole sectors of the economy and critical government operations could experience significant disruptions.

Readers are referred to the Internet and other sources of information mentioned in the annex to the letter. The guidelines outlines a four-step procedure covering awareness of the problem and its assessment and solution, as well as contingency planning. Governments and international organizations, at the highest level, are urged to announce their commitment to meeting the year 2000 challenge. A management structure should be put in place, assigning clear responsibility and authority for addressing the various aspects of the problem, according to the guidelines. Validation strategies and testing procedures for all converted systems or replaced systems and their components are called for. Governments are urged to establish contingency plans for all systems and activities of national importance and the systems that support them for continuity of operations.

The Secretary-General's report on the proclamation of an international year of mountains (document E/1998/68) highlights ways of ensuring the sustainable development of mountain countries. The report, requested in the Council's resolution 1997/45, was submitted at the 1998 substantive session and was prepared in consultation with governments, international, regional and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). It was based on the view that mountains represented an essential component of the global life-support system and were essential to the survival of the global ecosystem. It welcomed and supported efforts to protect mountain ecosystems, and to promote sustainable development.

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The report states that the adoption by the international community of chapter 13 of Agenda 21, adopted at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), has generated genuine interest in the conservation of mountain ecosystems. There is a continuing need for rigorous interdisciplinary scientific research on mountains that takes into account the knowledge and traditions of the mountain inhabitants themselves. According to a report submitted to the General Assembly, the global database on mountains was unacceptably sparse. Given the scarcity of research funds, international collaborative efforts, including standardization of objectives and methods, sharing of data banks and identification of minimum needs were called for.

The report goes on to say that, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), what was now needed was an agreed prioritization at regional and global levels of the objectives contained in chapter 13 and other components of the "Mountain Agenda". The elaboration of national action plans for mountain areas and the integration of mountain concerns in national policies and strategies for sustainable development could help focus the decision-making process in mountain countries.

The report says it was felt that the proclamation of an international year of mountains would provide an impetus for the work still required to achieve the objective of chapter 13, namely, sustainable mountain development. It also refers to the largely untapped role of the private sector, especially major industries like tourism, energy, forestry and mining, which affect mountain regions around the world. While there is now a greater recognition of the enormous value mountains confer on the global economy, society and environment, the report says, much still needs to be done at all levels to protect, conserve and sustainably manage these resources.

A letter from the Permanent Representative of Kyrgyzstan addressed to the Secretary-General (document E/1998/80) transmits the text of a declaration adopted at an international seminar on mountains of Central Asia, which was held at Bishkek from 25 to 28 May 1998. The seminar was organized by the Government of Kyrgyzstan, jointly with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development and the Asia Pacific Mountain Network, within the framework of preparations for the proclamation of an international year of mountains.

The "Declaration of the International Seminar on the Mountains of Central Asia: Problems, Experience and Perspectives" drew attention to the problems facing mountainous areas of Central Asia; the need for information exchange and a data bank on the ecological, economic, social, ethnic and cultural trends in the development of mountainous areas and the peoples inhabiting them; and the advisability of convening annual international seminars on the theme "Mountains of Central Asia: problems, experience and prospects".

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A note by the Secretary-General transmits the report of the Director- General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on the state of preparations for the International Year for the Culture of Peace, 2000 (document E/1998/52). The culture of peace was said to consist of values, attitudes and behaviours that reflected and inspired social interaction and sharing, and which endeavoured to prevent conflicts by tackling their root causes through dialogue and negotiation.

At the regional and international levels, the report says, the International Year would highlight the priorities of peace, development and democracy and the central role that the United Nations could play in promoting a culture of peace. The celebration of cultural diversity would be a major focus of activities in the framework of the International Year. Activities for promoting non-violence would extend the effectiveness of the International Year and contribute to the mobilization of the international community for the prevention and elimination of violence. At the local and national levels, the International Year provided an opportunity to promote reconciliation and national unity and to prevent violent conflicts.

Introductory Statements

PATRIZIO M. CIVILI, Assistant-Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, introducing the 1997 annual report of the ACC, said there was a new spirit and vitality that should have a positive synergizing effect on the work of the United Nations system. The report far from represented the totality of the work done by the ACC and its committees; it would not be right to judge the work of the ACC and intergovernmental agencies on the report alone. The distinctions between Secretariat reports and inter- agency reports were becoming increasingly blurred. Current examples of Secretariat reports that addressed system-wide contributions were many and covered subjects that could only be captured in brief syntheses in reports such as the ACC annual report.

BAGHER ASADI (Iran), Chairman of the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC), introduced the report of the CPC on the work of the first part of its thirty-eighth session (document A/53/16 (Part I). During that session, he said the Committee discussed a new agenda item on improving the Committee's working methods and procedures within the framework of its mandate. The Committee agreed that its role in all aspects of its mandate should be strengthened. To that end, a number of recommendations were made to bolster the efficiency and effectiveness of the Committee and to help it fully realize all its potentials.

He then drew the Council's attention to certain recommendations relating to economic and social matters. Regarding the medium-term plan for the period of 1998-2001, the Committee recommended that the Council and the Main Committees of the General Assembly, particularly stress the consideration of

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the proposed revisions to the plan that had not been submitted to the attention of sectoral and regional bodies. Those were the following programmes: political affairs, peaceful uses of outer space; international drug control; economic and social development in Western Asia; humanitarian assistance; management and central support services; disarmament; and economic and social affairs.

The Committee approved the proposed revisions, with some modifications, to the programmes relating to regional development, he said. Those included the programmes on the economic and social development of Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Western Asia. The Committee also decided to request the Secretary-General to update the programme on Africa: New Agenda for Development, and to consider the proposed revisions at the second part of its thirty-eighth session.

Regarding the programme on economic and social affairs, he said the Committee recommended that the Council and the Assembly consider possible arrangements for the establishment of a programme and/or sub-programme in the medium-term plan on post-conflict rehabilitation and reconstruction, as well as on the transition from relief to development. It also recommended the deletion of the following programmes in the medium-term plan for the period 1998-2001: policy coordination and sustainable development; economic and social information and policy analysis; and development support and management services. Those programmes had been consolidated in the new programme on economic and social affairs.

The Committee made a number of recommendations on the in-depth evaluation of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), he said. It emphasized that the realignment of the Centre for International Crime Prevention with the UNDCP should result in better coordination between those entities and should produce important synergies. The realignment should also safeguard the multi-disciplinary aspects of drug control policy and full implementation of its comprehensive programme in accordance with the medium- term plan.

Regarding coordination question, he said the Committee requested that future reports of the ACC be more analytical and highlight problems encountered. The ACC should focus on the strategic objectives established in the Charter, the Assembly, the Council and the medium-term plans of the bodies of the United Nations system. The Committee recommended that ways should be found to analyse the results of the work of the Council and its functional commissions. That should be accomplished through the annual overview report of the ACC, on issues dealt with by the Committee within its coordination mandate. The Committee emphasized the need for frequent briefings by the ACC to relevant intergovernmental bodies, which would result in greater interaction between the ACC and Member States.

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He said the Committee's report also addressed the progress report on the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women, 1996-2001, and Council agreed conclusion 1997/2. The Committee recommended that all United Nations entities designate focal points to facilitate and monitor the implementation of the system-wide plan and mainstreaming a gender perspective in the work of their respective entities.

The Committee worked to utilize all its potential to function as the main subsidiary organ of the Council and the Assembly for planning, programming and coordination, he said. That endeavour should be further encouraged through attention to its work by the Council and the Assembly, particularly at a time when the reform process required proactive collaboration among all intergovernmental bodies. The Committee would hold the second part of its thirty-eighth session from 17 to 28 August.

Dr. RALPH HENDERSON, Special Adviser to the Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO), introduced the report of the Secretary-General on preventive action and intensification of the struggle against malaria and diarrhoeal diseases, in particular cholera. He said malaria and diarrhoeal diseases, including cholera, were still major health problems and major development issues. Both diseases were mainly killers of children and also undermined the health and welfare of families. As they were primarily reflections of poverty, control over them contributed to social and economic development.

He said that within the WHO, "Roll Back Malaria" was being managed as a cross-programme and multi-sectoral project to ensure that it received contributions from colleagues whose primary expertise lay elsewhere. Those contributions included support in health systems and development, in the health of children and mothers, in health promotion and in the environment. They complemented WHO's traditional expertise in malaria control and research. Since most of the burden of malaria was concentrated in Africa, that continent would be the spearhead of the global initiative.

While diarrhoeal diseases, including cholera, were not at this time the specific subject of an initiative like "Roll Back Malaria", he said, a similar cross-programme, multi-sectoral approach, emphasizing disease control as a component of health services development, would be applied to the problem. The malaria initiative would not exclude work on other diseases. Rolling back malaria was no victory unless health systems were equipped to sustain gains.

EDUARDO BLINDER, Acting Chief of the Computing Technology Services, introduced the report of the Secretary-General on international cooperation in the field of informatics. He said the Secretariat, together with the UNDP, had continued to operate dedicated "help desk" facilities for permanent and observer missions to handle any technical problems that could be encountered in using database services provided by the Organization. In July 1997,

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connectivity for all 185 permanent and observer missions in New York was achieved six months ahead of schedule. Similar services continued to be provided by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for permanent and observer missions in Geneva.

At the country level, he said, the United Nations and the UNDP pursued five objectives in the area of information and communications technology: helping to articulate a shared vision among the policy and decision-makers; promoting connectivity and access; building capacity and skills among governments, NGOs, civil society, and the private sector; developing content in local languages to give expression to cultural diversity; and supporting pilot projects in various sectors, including the establishment of electronic community centres.

He said the United Nations web page had been designed to allow expansion to include almost all the areas of interest to the Organization, with links to the sites of the other entities of the system. The Organization had been striving to make full use of the opportunities provided by the Internet, including enhancement of outreach for traditional channels of communication.

He said the Secretariat expected that expansion of electronic information services to Member States would continue during the 1998-1999 Biennium. Now that universal access to the missions had become a reality, the focus of services development was expected to shift from connectivity to content, and to include significantly more information.

AHMAD KAMAL (Pakistan), Chairman of the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group on Informatics, presented the report of the Group, contained in document E/1998/44. He said the group was established to enable Member States and the United Nations system to benefit from opportunities in the field of information and communication technology. Its primary aim was to ensure that the Member States did not lag behind on the information highway. The group's tasks were focused in three primary areas: connectivity; training; and unimpeded access to United Nations data bases. Its activities had also spread to launching and improving the sites of the Organization and the permanent missions on the worldwide web, the optical disk system, and the dissemination of electronic material.

Over the past year, the group concentrated on additional tasks and services, he said. Those tasks included: electronic information service; permanent mission "home pages"; Internet access at Headquarters; video- conferencing; informatics symposiums; and the distribution of surplus hardware to developing countries.

KENNETH RUFFING, Officer-in-Charge, Department of Economic and Social Affairs/Division for Sustainable Development, introduced the report of the Secretary-General on the proclamation of an international year of mountains.

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He said preparation of the report had benefited from the active involvement of the Bureau of the sixth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development which sought the views of Member States on the matter. In addition, the Inter-agency Commission on Sustainable Development of the ACC requested inputs from the relevant organizations of the United Nations system.

He said a broad network of international, regional and NGOs, with an interest in mountains were consulted for their opinions on declaring an international year of mountains. The Secretariat appreciated the responses received from all sources and, in particular, acknowledged the significant contribution to the report provided by the FAO, which served as task manager for mountains issues. All 16 replies received from governments supported the proposal to proclaim an international year of mountains.

NINA SIBAL, representative of UNESCO, introduced the agenda item on the state of preparations for the International Year for the Culture of Peace, 2000. She said that, in line with Assembly resolution 52/13, a consolidated report containing a draft Declaration and a Programme of Action on a culture of peace would be presented by the Secretary-General to the Assembly at its fifty-third session. The draft Programme of Action was based on a system-wide consultation conducted by UNESCO. Heads of all specialized agencies and of intergovernmental and regional organizations had been contacted in the preparation of the document.

The programme of the International Year would probably need further work by the Assembly, she said. Sponsors had already proposed that an open-ended working group should be established to discuss the draft texts of the Declaration and the Programme of Action. The UNESCO hoped that those texts would be adopted, at the latest, by the fifty-fourth session of the Assembly.

Statements

HANS PETER MANZ (Austria), speaking on behalf of the European Union and Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Iceland and Norway, said the report correctly placed the role of the ACC in the wider context of reform and strengthening of the United Nations system. The ACC had only begun to exploit its potential, and its enhanced role should be accompanied by an increased transparency of its deliberation and better interaction with the Council. The Council's work would be enhanced if the conclusions and recommendations by the ACC on specific coordination were included in the report on the work on the ACC.

He then commented on several of the coordination issues contained in the report. The European Union would have been interested in more specific information on how the executive committees relate to the work of the ACC. The Union fully subscribed to the agreement with the ACC that political efforts to resolve conflict and consolidate peace should be supported by an

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integrated and coordinated effort by the entire United Nations system. That should include a clear and common understanding of the respective role of the various actors within the United Nations system, both at headquarters and in the field. In addition, the Union welcomed the priority placed by the ACC on African economic recovery and development, by reviewing the progress made through the United Nations System-wide Special Initiative on Africa. It also supported the ACC's efforts to improve the security and safety of humanitarian personnel.

Regarding the ACC's programme of work for 1998, he said the Union welcomed the focus on a common framework for eradicating poverty. The ACC rightly placed a strong emphasis on empowerment and participation as an important means for action against poverty. A campaign against poverty must be able to demonstrate impact, and the Union strongly supported the call for continuing measurement and monitoring.

PRAYONO ATIYANTO (Indonesia), speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said the role of the CPC should be strengthened in all aspects. It was good that priorities for the medium-term plan continued to be established since they would guide programmes, programme aspects of the budget and objectives. Any changes to objectives, however, had to be made by the General Assembly.

SIDHARTO R. SURYO-DI-PURO (Indonesia), also speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, expressed support for Council resolution 1997/1 to design an overall information management strategy for the United Nations system. That resolution sought to harmonize the Organization's system and ensure optimum accessibility by all Member States. Because of the importance of the United Nations website to a global audience, there was a need to have all documents and information posted on time. In addition, the authors of documents must be clearly identified.

ATUL KHARE (India) said malaria was perhaps the most crucial tropical parasitic disease, and the mortality and morbidity caused by cholera and other diarrhoeal disease were significant. Yet, other communicable diseases also comprised extremely important factors affecting the health and development of developing countries. In India, those diseases would include, among others, tuberculosis, leprosy and HIV/AIDS. The WHO should continue with its focus on all those diseases, in addition to its work in the field of malaria and diarrhoeal diseases. Efforts towards eradication of poverty would also help in the prevention of those diseases. In addition, the control of those diseases would assist in efforts aimed at combating poverty.

MARIANO ENRICO (Argentina) said his Government supported proclaiming the year 2000 as the international year of the mountains. The adoption of a resolution to that affect would alert the international community to the extreme fragility of the mountain ecosystem. Argentina attached great

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importance to the celebration of international years to promote global awareness of vital international issues. His Government had announced that it would establish an inter-ministerial conference, with academia and civil society, in order to discuss the objectives of the international year and bring the message to all sectors of society. It was hoped that they could help to promote cultural and religious events in order to celebrate the international year in the context of the new millennium.

Regarding the reports of the CPC and the ACC, he said Argentina agreed with the establishment of the new agenda item of the CPC on improving the working methods and procedures of the Committee within the framework of its mandate. It would contribute to the strengthening of the Committee.

ZAMIRA ESHMAMBETOVA (Kyrgyzstan) said the idea to proclaim an international year of mountains, proposed in October 1996 at a conference in Kyrgyzstan, had been supported by her country's President in a letter to the Secretary-General, which was circulated in the Assembly in 1997. Resolution 1997/45 of the Economic and Social Council recognized that mountains represented an important component of the global life-support system and were essential to the global ecosystem. The Commission on Sustainable Development had sought the views of governments, international and regional organizations and other actors on the desirability of proclaiming an international year of the mountains, and to ensure a sustainable approach to protecting them. Mountains were also important to the global economy, society and the environment.

Chapter 13 of Agenda 21 recognized that mountains were an important source of water, energy and biodiversity, she said. They were also a source of key resources and were essential to the survival of global ecosystem. The eighth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development could serve as the preparatory body for an international year and enable discussion of way and means to ensure sustainable mountain development. The FAO should act as the focal point. Activities related to the international year would entail no extrabudgetary implications for the Organization, as they would be financed through extrabudgetary resources and voluntary contributions.

SETH WINNICK (United States) said his delegation encouraged the ACC to continue its efforts to improve coordination with the Bretton Woods institutions and other specialized agencies. The United States also supported the idea of increasing contact between the Committee and the intergovernmental machinery. His country firmly endorsed the work of the ACC in improving the functioning of the United Nations via strengthened coordination, and urged the Economic and Social Council to adopt the Committee's report.

With the start of the twenty-first century, the Organization faced a major challenge in keeping pace with the ever-increasing growth rate of information technology and communications. As a core reform issue, the United

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Nations was making major strides in addressing that challenge. If that challenge was met, it could reap major savings, increase public support, and improve the effectiveness of the entire Organization. The increasing accessibility of electronic information was not only important for United Nations missions, but would largely affect how the Organization was perceived throughout the world, where it could often be judged by the electronic data it produced.

Ms. SIBAL, of UNESCO, said her organization had followed the same course of action as the Secretariat in the area of informatics activities. Outlining key aspects of UNESCO's information drive, she said the building where permanent delegations to her organization had their offices now had computer networks. Field and regional offices had been linked to the global UNESCO network, and video-conferencing facilities, which could be used by staff members and permanent delegations, had been installed.

She said the Internet website had grown exponentially during the last year, and had become an important medium for the electronic dissemination of information, as well as for dynamic interactive contact with UNESCO's worldwide partners. Her organization had also been distributing a dozen different databases, in CD-ROM format, to be used by libraries and other institutions in member States. Efforts to verify, correct and modify UNESCO's computing systems had started, to ensure that they would function correctly with the entry of the year 2000.

ADO VAHER, Director of the Office of United Nations Affairs and External Relations of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said malaria must become a top priority of the child health agenda. That was particularly true in the case of sub-Saharan Africa where malaria took its greatest toll. The UNICEF had renewed its efforts to support the acceleration of malaria control programmes, with a special focus on the African region. It was currently supporting such programmes in 32 countries, 27 of which were in Africa. The Fund's Executive Board had supported the allocation of additional funds to malaria prevention and control as a part of primary health care programmes.

The global response to malaria control had been hampered by the legacy of the failed malaria eradication programme in the 1950s and 1960s, he said. It also had been affected in the past by the lack of proven effective tools to prevent malaria. Currently, there was the increasingly difficult problem of emerging drug resistance to commonly used anti-malarial drugs, such as Chloroquine, Fansidar, Mefloquine and Quinine. UNICEF's overall goal in the area was a reduction in child mortality and morbidity. The early diagnosis and treatment of malaria with affordable and effective drugs would reduce mortality and morbidity among children. That should be combined with a strategy that ensured that all children and pregnant women in malaria-prone regions were protected from mosquito bites by sleeping under an insecticide- treated mosquito net.

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RALPH SCHMIDT, of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said poverty in mountain communities was acute because of many interacting factors, such as isolation, harsh conditions, and lack of access to education, health care and other basic services. People living in poverty depended, to a far greater degree than the affluent, on the natural resource base to secure the fundamentals of life. In particular, food, water and fuel were the basis for their income-generating activities. They were, therefore, affected more severely by environmental degradation. In many mountain areas, unsustainable agricultural practices and deforestation had contributed to environmental decline and increased poverty.

He said the UNDP and the European Community were currently focusing on the insidious relationship between poverty and the environment. Although many mountain inhabitants lived in poverty, mountains were relatively rich in natural resources which were often extracted unsustainably and without fair compensation to the mountain communities. Energy, food security, sustainable forest management, and management of water resources were four areas of critical importance to achieving sustainable development in mountain regions.

There was a need to gain a fuller understanding of resource flows to and from mountain areas in order to improve the economic status of many of the communities there. It was also important to develop small-scale employment opportunities that did not depend so heavily on resource extraction.

YU QINGTAI (China) said his Government appreciated the Secretary- General's report in bringing attention to United Nations efforts in the area of informatics, particularly constructive efforts achieved by the working group on the subject. The group had become one of most effective subsidiary bodies of the Council.

He said China had co-sponsored the Council's resolution last year on the international year of the mountains. The Chinese people fully understood the importance of the sustainable development of mountains to the whole country. By organizing activities around the international Year, his Government hoped to contribute to the understanding of the importance of mountains in terms of resources, the environment and biodiversity. It also hoped those activities would mobilize support for the people living in mountains to achieve sustainable development.

MARIA GUSTAVA (Mozambique), for the African Group, said malaria and cholera caused the deaths of millions of people every year, particularly in Africa. They also had negative impacts on the economic and social development of those countries. Her Government welcomed the Secretary-General's report on the subject. It also welcomed the efforts taken by UNICEF, other United Nations agencies, NGOs and other international organizations to control those diseases. The African Group was preparing a draft resolution that it would introduce during the Council's general segment.

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YOUNG-SEOK KIM (Republic of Korea) said that each year infectious diseases took the lives of millions of children, including 8.2 million in the developing countries. Many of those diseases could be cured by vaccines. However, commercial producers were reluctant to develop such remedies for a number of reasons. He cited product liability and high costs as examples. Today, disease eradication programmes were inadequate. The United Nations and its system had embarked upon a worldwide campaign to develop vaccines for children. The International Vaccine Institute had been established to find cures for infectious diseases and to develop vaccines. However, the latter was a process of decades and not weeks, months or years. His delegation stressed that the approach to infectious diseases should be all inclusive.

ROGELIO MARTINEZ-AGUILAR (Mexico) said his delegation encouraged all the bodies of the United Nations system to work together to bring about a harmonized system of informatics. The guidelines to solve upcoming informatics problems at the turn of the century was a good initiative that deserved the support of the Economic and Social Council.

BURAK OZUGERGIN (Turkey) said his Government commended the good work of the Secretariat in the areas of computerized databases and information services. The working group on informatics had provided assistance in all electronic problems. Its efforts had worked to tangibly improve the efficiency and enhance the work of the permanent missions. Regarding guidelines to address the diverse aspects of the year 2000 problem, he said the working group's activity in that area was vital and should be continued. The Council should decide to convene the working group for one more year so it could pursue projects currently under way and undertake work on emerging issues.

Concerning an international year of the mountains, he said his Government appreciated the work of the Government of Kyrgyzstan in fostering and pursuing the proclamation of such a year. Turkey had already indicated that it would be willing to organize various conferences and seminars, as well as field seminars, in the mountain areas.

MARIO CASTELLON (Nicaragua) said the citizens of his country were now shaping a lasting peace and forming a state of law. They were working to overcome the evils of the past and make a culture of peace a permanent way of life. To that end, his Government was promoting a balance between the factors of production and a participatory openness with the involvement of all classes. Above all, Nicaragua was openly promoting the protection of all human rights and safeguarding the economic and political rights of all people.

The solutions to all problems resided in the people of the country, he said. His Government was trying to define public property within the parameters of the social conscience and the common good. It had resolved to give priority to the modernization of the State and good governance. That required the eradication of corruption in the Government. The transition from

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a culture of war and violence to a culture of peace and non-violence deserved to be celebrated by the proclamation of the year 2000 as the year of the culture of peace.

OLEG RUDENSKIY (Russian Federation) said the effectiveness of the working group on informatics resulted not only in designing web pages and connecting missions to the Internet. The group also sought the input of companies and experts in the field and took advantage of information on available goods and services on the market. There was a definite and real need to include the year 2000 problem on the agenda of the fifty-third session of the Assembly.

There should be a strategy for information management for the United Nations system, he said. That should consist of conceptual principles for large-scale information blocks, the organization and coordination of principles and machinery, and ways and means for the implementation of the machinery itself. The information blocks should be constructed on the basic and functional areas of the United Nations system. It was important to think in terms of creating global functional information sub-systems, which would be part of the Internet system, involving governments, the private sector and NGOs. They would work to link all global partners and enhance the effectiveness of United Nations information system.

The elaboration of guidelines for governments on the year 2000 problem should promote awareness of the interrelatedness of international computer systems, he said. That would require coordinated activities, including the participation of the United Nations and prior evaluation of the year 2000 virus, including assistance to developing countries and countries with economies in transition.

YOSHITAKA KITAZAWA (Japan) said his delegation believed that the United Nations should harness the benefits of new information technology to enhance the efficiency of its system and to increase the number of points of contact with civil society. His delegation felt that harnessing information technology should be done in such a way that duplication of activities was avoided. Concepts and objectives, therefore, had to be clearly defined. The establishment in the future of new focal points, such as Chief Information Officer and a task force to address informatics problems, would require budgeting programmes. Decisions should, therefore, not be hasty and should involve thorough discussions.

RUBEN ESPINOZA (Peru) said the Organization's proposed approach to informatics was broad and comprehensive. It was hoped that the new programmes for next year would consider establishing experimental electronic information centres in Latin America. The suggestion by the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group on Informatics on open access to information transfer was a praiseworthy idea.

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ABDERRAHMANE MEROUANE (Algeria) said his delegation wished to see the services and efforts in informatics provided by the Secretariat opened more to the other languages of the United Nations. They were also fully prepared to support any initiative to increase efforts that would make the international community more aware of fragile mountain eco-systems.

BEATRICE VON ROEMER, representative of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), said United Nations interest in establishing closer cooperation with the business sector needed to be balanced by increased cooperation with the trade unions. The majority of the world's people were workers, and their voice must be considered in the implementation of development policies and programmes. Cooperation was particularly essential in light of the deepening Asian financial crisis. That phenomenon threatened the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of working people, as well as the entire global economy. The ICFTU had proposed that the world's leading economic Powers establish an international reconstruction fund. That would allow private creditors and Asian enterprises to develop five-to-10-year corporate plans for the financial and social restructuring of the productive base of Asian enterprise.

It was essential that markets be kept open and that countries did not resort to protectionism, she said. The proposals of the ICFTU on core labour standards and trade aimed to prevent the gross and persistent abuse of human rights at work. They would strengthen the authority of the world trade system. Contrary to what had been repeatedly suggested, the issue of core labour standards and trade was not a North American concern, driven by American trade unions. Nor did it involve the imposition of an international minimum wage. Yet it would enable workers to negotiate improvements in wages and working conditions as trade and development expanded.

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