SECOND COMMITTEE TOLD ISR"L DENIES RIGHTS OF PALESTINIANS THROUGH DIVERSION OF WATER AND LAND CONFISCATION

28 October 1998

Press Release
GA/EF/2838

SECOND COMMITTEE TOLD ISRAEL DENIES RIGHTS OF PALESTINIANS THROUGH DIVERSION OF WATER AND LAND CONFISCATION

19981028 Committee Also Discusses Work of United Nations University

Israel was denying the Palestinian people their rights through its forced diversion of water resources and confiscation of land, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) was told this afternoon as it considered the sovereignty of the Palestinian people over their natural resources.

Israel's actions were intended to drive away the land owners in the interest of an occupying minority, said the representative of Egypt. Those actions were environmental terrorism against the land's Palestinian owners. The creation of a regimen of financial incentives to attract polluting industries to settle in those territories, and Israeli laxity at enforcing environmental standards, allowed problems to become manifest. Those problems could lead to clashes and volatility, not only in the affected territories but throughout the Middle East.

Israel's increasing water demands had been met almost entirely from the West Bank, said the representative of Syria. In the Golan, Arab living conditions had declined with Israel's occupation.

The representative of the observer mission of Palestine said it had recently been determined that Israel was dropping dangerous refuse in Palestinian areas, including eighty-plus tons of chemical waste. That was a serious violation of Palestinian rights to its natural resources and showed that a spirit of domination was pervasive in the Israeli administration of Palestinian land. Despite all those difficulties, the Palestinians were trying to build a country.

The representative of Israel said that, in light of the positive breakthrough of the Wye River Memorandum signed days ago, it was regrettable that the Committee should be discussing the current topic. The peace process depended on the support of the international community. Support meant creating an atmosphere conducive to achieving progress in the negotiations, not a climate of political confrontations. Unfortunately, today's debate contributed nothing at all to the cooperative spirit of the peace process.

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Statements on that topic were also made by the representatives of Tunisia, Qatar, Jordan. A representative of the International Labour Organization (ILO) also spoke.

Also this afternoon, the Committee discussed the work of the United Nations University. On that topic, a number of speakers called on the University to promote its role as an intellectual resource. The representative of Japan said the basic policies underpinning the organizational structure of the University needed to be more clearly defined. Also, much more needed to be done in order to enable the University to gain greater visibility. A consistent and unified publications policy should be implemented and the University should also strive to contain and eliminate any unnecessary administrative expenses.

Statements on the University were also made by the representatives of Venezuela, China, India, Iceland, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Canada, Jordan, Haiti and Guyana. A statement was also made by Hans Johannes Van Ginnkel, Rector of the United Nations University.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. Thursday, 29 October, to consider sustainable development and international economic cooperation.

Committee Work Programme

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this afternoon to consider the topic of training and research. Under that general heading, it will discuss the United Nations University and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). The Committee will also take up the agenda item: permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources.

Before the Committee was the report of the Council of the United Nations University (document A/53/31), which covers the period from January to December 1997. The report highlights the University's main initiatives and work areas for 1997. The basic framework for the University's work during the year was its third Medium-Term Perspective, which is meant to guide the academic and institutional development of its activities during 1997-2001. It calls for the University to find solutions to pressing global problems within four programme areas: environment; science and technology; development; and peace and governance.

Established in 1973, the United Nations University was intended to be a system of academic institutions, rather than an intergovernmental organization. It is comprised of a programming and coordinating central organ and a decentralized system of affiliated institutions integrated into the world university community and devoted to action-oriented research into the global problems of human survival, development and welfare and to postgraduate training of young scholars and research workers. Headquartered in Tokyo, it has eight research and training centres and programmes around the world. The University's Council is its governing body; it has 28 members.

On the University's work in the field of the environment, the report states that its programme focuses on interaction between human activities and the natural environment. Its work in this field is divided into four areas: sustainable resource management; eco-restructuring for sustainable development; natural resources in Africa; and water environment and health.

On the topic of science and technology, the University's work has two parts: study of the diffusion of scientific and technological innovations, and basic and applied scientific research. The science and technology work at the University falls under such programmes as: national systems of innovation, science and technology; software technology for developing countries; applications of biotechnology for development; and food and nutrition.

On development efforts, the University investigates the effects of globalization and liberalization and the countering forces of regionalism and protectionism. All of those factors had a profound impact on a country's

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prospects for economic and social development. Work on development was organized in programmes such as: globalization, liberalization and development; distribution, development and the economies of transition; the role of technology policy in industrialization and industrial competitiveness; and mega-cities and urban development.

Under peace and governance, the report states that during the late 1980s and the early 1990s, the international community took an activist approach towards crises and conflicts. This approach was successful in a few cases, but for the most part it ended in disappointment. Failures occurred because the problem-solving tools available to the international community were not efficient, and firm commitment from the worlds most powerful countries was often not forthcoming. By the mid-1990s, extreme caution had become the prevailing attitude in international politics. The University's peace and governance programme studied past events, conceptualized the present and planned for the future.

On the University's post-graduate programmes, the report states that over 1,596 fellows had completed training and fellowship programmes since 1976. In 1997, 70 University fellows finished their studies, while another 104 began training. The postgraduate programme had three purposes. First, it strengthens academic institutions in developing countries, enabling them to conduct high-quality research and to train future scholars. Second, it helps alleviate the intellectual isolation academics from developing countries often face. Third, it strengthens the global outreach of the University.

The University also takes a number of measures to disseminate its research results and to interface with the United Nations system. It plays an active part in the work of the Subcommittee on Nutrition of the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC), the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and other United Nations bodies.

On financing for the University, the report states that, as of 31 December 1997, pledges made by 54 Governments and 136 other benefactors totalled $346.1 million, of which $315.6 million had been received. The University also benefitted during the year from counterpart and other support.

Also before the Committee was the Secretary-General's report on the United Nations University (document A/53/408). The report discusses the interaction between the University and other bodies of the United Nations system. It states that developments in the past two years underline the continuing expansion of the substantive interactions between the University and the United Nations system. That has focused on two interrelated levels: the provision of inputs in support of United Nations intergovernmental deliberative and decision-making processes, and increased participation and

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contributions of the University to the activities and work of the United Nations.

The appointment of a new Rector of the University in September 1997 has given added impetus to substantive policy and programmatic cooperation, the report states. The new Rector initiated an intensive round of consultations with United Nations senior officials which were intended to identify possible areas of cooperation where the University could make contributions to the work of the Organization. Against this background, the University is currently in the process of reviewing its programmes so that it might be in a better position to act as a bridge between the United Nations and the international academic community and to perform think-tank functions for the Organization.

In relation to United Nations reform efforts, the establishment of the Strategic Planning Unit in the office of the Secretary-General will provide a critical link between the United Nations and the University. The Unit will work closely with the University on one hand and with relevant departments, programmes and funds on the other. Through that process the University will be drawn into a larger strategic planning network which will help involve it and the academic community in the strategic planning work of the United Nations.

The report also states that the University has played an important role in the efforts of the Executive Committee on Economic and Social Affairs to enhance further the involvement of the academic community. In that regard, the University has helped in the formulation and assessment of social, economic and environmental policies and their translation into action at the country, regional and interregional levels.

In conclusion, the report states that the innovative measures that have progressively been introduced to enhance University interaction with the United Nations have been of great mutual benefit. Greater efforts are being made to increase awareness of the work of the University. Its public information activities are targeted at heightening the visibility of its academic programmes and achievements.

The Committee also had before it a note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) on the United Nations University: enhancing its relevance and effectiveness (document A/53/392).

The report states that the University has performed its basic mandates reasonably well, but not without constraints and challenges. It has undertaken numerous research projects on a wide range of topics, provided various forms of training courses to thousands from all regions of the world and produced a long list of publications for the benefit of the world academic community and organizations of the United Nations system.

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That record of achievements, however, has not been perceived by the University's major stake-holders within and outside the United Nations system as having fulfilled the high expectations attached to its creation, according to the report. The University has clearly not succeeded fully in asserting its distinctive academic image and visibility within the United Nations system and broader world of scholarship. Constrained by a number of factors, including limited financial resources, the University has not made the best of its potential as a think tank supportive of the United Nations system, nor has it become a valued intellectual bridge between the multilateral system of cooperation and the world academic community.

The University's major programme endeavours since its inception have had limited focus, strategic direction and tangible impact on inter-governmental deliberations, the report states. It has established a network of outreach research and training centres and programmes, but has had to contend with the challenge of effective programme coordination and institutional imbalances within the network.

The JIU concluded that the University is in need of fresh vigour and new directions in facing up to the uncharted challenges of the next century. The first item of business would be a thorough review of its governance, particularly its structure, which currently comprises several overlapping reporting layers with blurred lines of responsibility and accountability for results and outcomes. The University's existing governance system and processes should be streamlined, so that it becomes more effective and better focused on the substance and results of its work.

The report states that enhancing the University's overall performance capabilities and credibility also implies revitalizing the strategic management and coordination role of the University Centre in Tokyo and reinforcing institutional cohesion among its different outreach and implementation measures. Further, the formulation and enforcement of common programme quality standards for all its components would help define and project the University's reputation for scholarship.

The JIU supports the reform measures being introduced by the University aimed at rationalizing the institution's administrative management systems and processes, including the University-wide management information and accounting systems as well as a more coherent staff management policy, the report states. The real challenge, however, is full implementation of those proposed measures.

The JIU report includes further recommendations dealing with such topics as: University governance, institutional development, programme planning and implementation, and financing and management. Under financing and management, the JIU recommends that the University enhance its efforts to make optimal use of the available financial resources in more innovative and transparent ways.

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At the same time, it should explore with potential donors the possibility of linked funding, by which a fixed percentage of contributions made to a University entity in the developed country would be provided to another University entity in the developing country.

The report also states that the General Assembly may wish to consider the possibility of adding the University to the list of organizations eligible for participation in the United Nations Pledging Conference being held annually.

Also before the Committee are the comments of the Secretary-General on the report of the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) recommendations (A/53/392/Add.1).

This report states that the Secretary-General shares fully the rationale of the JIU report which is to make the University an integral part of the United Nations renewal process; to explore ways to realize its potential more fully as a strategic intellectual resource for the multilateral system of cooperation; and finally, to strengthen its alert reflexes with regard to the emerging or uncharted challenges of the next century. The Secretary-General also wishes to observe that the mandate of the University, as stipulated in its Charter, extends beyond the role of think-tank for the United Nations and includes promotion of the continuing growth of vigorous academic and scientific communities everywhere, particularly in the developing countries. Thus, the report of the JIU focuses on only one aspect, albeit an important one, of the overall mandate of the Charter of the University.

The Secretary-General also believes that the University can best perform its key functions if two requirements are observed. First, the University needs to be allowed to pursue its research activities with a degree of autonomy and intellectual rigour. At the same time however, these institutions also have an obligation to make their work both relevant and accessible to the United Nations community. The Secretary-General attaches great importance to ensuring that the University is contributing effectively to the work of the United Nations system. In this regard, the Secretary-General wishes to recall that in both a previous and a current report to the General Assembly, reference has been made to the important progress being made in strengthening University collaboration with other United Nations bodies.

On the recommendation to review the composition of the University's Council, the Secretary-General said that needs to be examined with some caution. The members of the Council are appointed jointly by the Secretary-General and the Director-General of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Both appointing authorities see it as essential that the core expertise of Council members be in academic disciplines and in the application of science to ongoing societal problems.

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Furthermore, the membership of the Council is mandated by the University's Charter, and any change would therefore require an amendment to that Charter.

The Secretary-General shares the JIU's view that it would be desirable for the University to have a balanced and more equitable institutional presence in all continents of the world. However, the establishment of fully- fledged university centres can only proceed, in accordance with the general policies of the University Council, with the assurance of sustained financial resources. Furthermore, the Secretary-General notes that while several centres and programmes of the University are located in developed countries, the emphasis and focus of their research and capacity-building activities is on the problems of developing countries.

The Secretary-General recognizes that the Charter of the University places great emphasis on capacity-building as part of the overall mandate given to the University, and he therefore fully agrees with the recommendation of the JIU that more resources should be allocated to those types of activities. At the same time, the Secretary-General points out that other organizations of the United Nations system are involved in several aspects of capacity-building and the University should collaborate more closely with them.

On the question of adding the University to the list of organizations eligible for participation in the United Nations Pledging Conference for Development Activities, the Secretary-General said that is a matter that needs to be taken up directly by the General Assembly. Should the Assembly decide to authorize the inclusion of the University in that list, it is unlikely that such a decision would be effective for the 1998 Pledging Conference. The University would be included, however, in the Pledging Conference for 1999, if the General Assembly so recommends.

Also before the Committee was the report of the Executive Director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) (document A/53/14). The report details the activities of UNITAR focusing on its restructuring efforts as well as its training programmes, cooperation measures and plans for its future. It covers the period from 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1998.

The report states that UNITAR has undergone a process of restructuring, consolidation and expansion over the last six years that had been dictated by the General Assembly. That restructuring process has covered such areas as: programme focus, finance, extension of the programmes to other United Nations offices, cooperation with other training institutions and with United Nations funds and programmes, as well as division of labour.

Since 1993, UNITAR's operational strategy has clearly been to provide training programmes and research activities related to training. Its funding

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since that time has been covered from voluntary contributions, donations, special-purpose grants and executing agency overheads. Simultaneously, the General Assembly has repeatedly appealed to Governments and private institutions to give UNITAR support.

The report adds that, in the two years under review, some 243 different programmes had been organized benefiting close to 7,800 participants, representing five continents. A specific training approach had been developed, based on networking and partnership as well as on a precise assessment of needs. New structures were being designed and new concepts implemented in that regard. While training in international affairs management remains the most traditional of UNITAR's activities, training in economics and social development intended for decision-makers and practitioners was being expanded and diversified.

From the beginning of the restructuring process, the main priority has been to avoid any financial deficit, while improving the quality of the programmes, the report states. The credibility and the long-term viability of UNITAR depends on that effort. A stringent financial and administrative management system was established in cooperation with the Financial Resources Management Service of the United Nations Office at Geneva. At the current stage, UNITAR fervently hopes to see some consistency from its main donors. They had demanded UNITAR's restructuring, more relevant training programmes and a truly efficient management procedure. Those directives had been implemented. Each past and potential donor would be addressed separately in a major fund-raising campaign, soon to be launched.

Further development of UNITAR's training and institution-building programmes depends on closer cooperation with United Nations funds and programmes. The Institution's Board of Trustees is increasingly considering ways and means for it to become the main partner of the United Nations for its programmes in developing countries and countries in transition.

There was great potential for cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at the country level, the report adds. The on- going reform measures of the Secretary-General aiming to involve the United Nations resident coordinators more directly in training and capacity-building operations could open new avenues for cooperation. In cooperation with local and national experts, UNITAR plans to organize high-impact training and technical support programmes. Such an approach will allow the progressive development of a genuine and recognized expertise within the United Nations itself. That process had already begun with some field offices in Africa, the Caribbean, Asia and the Middle East, and will certainly expand to other countries. Practical modalities will have to be sorted out so that national authorities and UNDP remain the overseers of the projects and UNITAR the service provider.

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The report also discusses the work of UNITAR's training programme in multilateral diplomacy and international affairs management and its training and capacity building programmes in the field of economic and social development.

Further, the Committee had before it a note by the Secretary-General entitled "Economic and social repercussions of the Israeli Occupation on the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan" (A/53/163 - E/1998/79). By its resolution 1997/67 of 25 July 1997 dealing with that subject, the Economic and Social Council requested the Secretary-General to report on the implementation of its resolution. The General Assembly, by resolution 52/207 of 18 December 1997, reiterated the request. The Secretary-General's note transmits a report prepared by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in response to the requests.

The report, which covers the period from June 1997 to May 1998, states that the stalling peace process has been accompanied by continuing hardship for the Palestinians in the occupied territory, as well as for the Arab population of the occupied Syrian Golan. Israeli occupation policies and closures of the occupied territories continued to aggravate the living conditions of the Palestinian people.

Israel has established approximately 150 settlements in the West Bank, with a civilian population of 170,000; in East Jerusalem, approximately 180,000 Israelis are resident; in the Gaza Strip, 5,500 settlers live in 16 settlements; and in the Golan Heights, 15,000 settlers reside in 36 settlements. By the end of 1998, more than 350,000 Israelis would be living in over 200 communities established since 1967 in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights.

During the coming 15 years, settlement expansion in East Jerusalem was expected to play a crucial role in offsetting Palestinian population growth. That anticipated increase in Israeli settler population would bring the total number of Israeli settlers in and around East Jerusalem by the year 2015 to 500,000. The Palestinian population was expected to double over the same period, to 1.5 million within greater Jerusalem and to 1 million in the metropolitan region.

Moreover, environmental conditions often differ greatly in areas inhabited by Arabs and Israelis. Contamination by sewage directly affects Palestinian agriculture in the region around Kiryat Arba near Hebron. The confiscation of agricultural lands and their transfer to settlements has occurred on numerous occasions. There are also costs associated with Israeli- owned industries in the occupied territories, such as a recycling plant for

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used motor oil, stone quarries and other plants where harmful and toxic by-products are produced.

Limited access to water remained the greatest obstacle to Palestinian agricultural development. According to a recent report for the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, almost the entire increase in Israeli water use since 1967 derived from the waters of the West Bank and the upper Jordan River. However, Israel was today in the midst of a water emergency. Even with the resources acquired in 1967, it was pumping more water from aquifers than nature could replace. In the West Bank, Israel was exploiting water amounting to 15 per cent of total consumption for its own population in Israel and the occupied territories. It was also preventing the Palestinian community from increasing its water use to barely 20 per cent beyond the amount used in 1967, and only for personal use, not for agriculture and economic development. The document cited a recent report for an Israeli think tank, which stated that the status quo had effectively barred economic development in the territories and in Gaza.

Environmental regulations on soil, air and water quality, and restrictions on industrial development, have generally been far less comprehensive and much less enforced in the occupied territories, compared to Israel proper. Combined with state-subsidized incentives for Israeli concerns to locate to industrial parks in nearby settlements, the relative laxity of environmental enforcement and monitoring has led to the relocation of polluting industries into the occupied territories.

The settlement of Kiryat Arba has been identified by Palestinian investigators as the main source of pollution in the Hebron area. A tile factory located in the settlement's industrial area was flushing its wastewater through the sewage system, resulting in numerous problems. The city of Hebron successfully petitioned the court to stop that practice. The wastewater was subsequently trucked off in tanks and dumped on Palestinian fields. The water contained high levels of calcium carbonate, increasing the already high pH level of the land. The report cited additional Israeli industrial polluters in the occupied territories and documented a very high ratio of health-related problems among farmers and people living around the factories.

The unemployment situation in the West Bank and Gaza strip remained critical due to frequent Israeli border closures, the report stated. The closures had also been a major factor behind the 18 per cent drop in gross national product (GNP) in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the 35 per cent drop in per capita GNP between 1992 and 1996. In addition, in 1997 gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated to have grown by 1.2 per cent, down from 5.5 per cent in 1996, as estimated by the Palestinian Authority and the International Monetary Fund, while the population growth was estimated at

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4.5 per cent. However, economic indicators showed that the actual deterioration in standards of living had been far more dramatic in the West Bank, with a 19.7 per cent loss of per capita GDP compared with 8.4 per cent in the Gaza Strip in the period 1993-1995.

The report also noted that while incentives and investment continued to promote the Israeli civilian presence in the Syrian Golan, the Arab population faced further deterioration in their living conditions owing to Israeli settlements, restrictions on employment opportunities and education, as well as the Israeli taxation policy.

Introduction of Draft Resolutions

Also this afternoon, the Committee will hear the introduction of a live draft resolution the first concern globalization and liberalization of the world economy -- prevention of the marginalization of weak or vulnerable economies (document A/C.2/53/L./14). This draft resolution was sponsored by: Bangladesh, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Fiji, Mauritius, Micronesia, Mongolia, Senegal, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Considering the urgent need to prevent further marginalization of the weak or vulnerable economies of developing countries and of countries with economies in transition and to help those economies to benefit from the globalization and liberalization of the world economy, the General Assembly would call upon Member States to take, individually and collectively, the relevant measures and policies to prevent that marginalization. It would also call upon Member States to help those countries benefit from globalization and liberalization with a view to their full integration into the world economy.

The Assembly would request the Secretary-General of the United Nations together with the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the executive secretaries of the regional commissions, to give special attention to the subject of the present resolution in the relevant reports mandated for the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly.

The Assembly would also request all States and relevant international organizations to communicate their views to the Secretary-General on this subject.

The second draft resolution, on environment and sustainable development: implementation of the outcome of the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (document A/c.2/53/L.15), was sponsored by Indonesia on behalf of the Group of 77 developing States and China. Norway later joined in sponsorship.

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By that text, the General Assembly, would, among other things, welcome the donors conference, scheduled for 24-26 February 1999 between representatives of small island developing States and prospective bilateral and multilateral donors and would call upon small island developing States to continue preparations for the seventh session of the Commission on Sustainable Development and the special session of the General Assembly in September 1999 for the review and appraisal of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. It would also urge the international community, United Nations agencies and intergovernmental bodies to continue to assist in this regard.

The Assembly would also decide to invite States members of the specialized agencies that are not members of the United Nations to participate in the special session of the General Assembly and in the preparatory meetings. It would also decide to establish a voluntary fund to assist small island developing States to participate fully and effectively in the special session and its preparatory process, and would invite governments to contribute to this fund.

The Assembly would reiterate the urgency for the international community to support adaptation efforts by small island developing States to cope with the threat of sea-level rise experienced as a consequence of climate change. And, it would request the Secretary-General to submit to it at its special session a report on the donors' conference. The Assembly would also request the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth session a report on actions taken to implement the present resolution and recommendations emanating from the special session.

The third draft resolution, on implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in the Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (document A/C.2/53/L.16), was sponsored by Indonesia on behalf of the Group of 77 developing States and China.

By the draft, the General Assembly, among other things, would call upon all States and other actors to contribute to the successful outcome of the second session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention in Dakar, Senegal, which was scheduled from 30 November to 11 December 1998. It would also call upon remaining States to ratify or accede to the Convention as soon as possible.

The Assembly would urge all Parties to the Convention to pay promptly and in full in the first month of each year starting on 1 January 1999, the contributions required for the core budget of the Convention, envisaged in the financial rules of the Conference of the Parties. It would also urge governments, regional economic integration organizations and other interested

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organizations, and others, to contribute generously to the General Fund, the Supplementary Fund and the Special Fund to be established by 1 January 1999.

By the text, the Assembly would also call upon the international community and multilateral financial institutions to support the efforts of affected developing countries in the processes of elaboration and implementation of action programmes to combat desertification, including the programme of cooperation between Africa and Asia and the platform of interregional cooperation between Africa, Latin America and the Carribbean. It would invite the Conference of Parties, at its second session, to launch the process of the elaboration and negotiation of an additional regional implementation annex to the Convention for the countries of the Eastern and Central European regions, with a view to finalizing it as soon as possible.

The Assembly would also request the Secretary-General to report to it at its fifty-fourth session on the outcome of the second session of the Conference of the Parties as well as on measures taken for the implementation of decisions adopted by the Conference at that session.

The fourth draft resolution on the review of progress made in implementing conventions related to environment and sustainable development (document A/C.2/53/L.17) was sponsored by the Russian Federation. By the text, the General Assembly would decide to undertake at future sessions integrated reviews of progress made in implementing the conventions related to environment and sustainable development, on the basis of assessment of their linkages, with a view to elaborating policy recommendations which could be brought to the attention of their respective conferences of the parties.

It would also decide that the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) should prepare periodic thematic reports to assist the General Assembly in undertaking the intergovernmental reviews. The report should focus on scientific assessments of ecological linkages between the conventions and should synthesize the results of relevant studies on other activities taking place, both individually and jointly.

Also, the assembly would request that the Executive Director of UNEP prepare proposals regarding the possible themes, scopes and timing of such reviews and submit those proposals for consideration by the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session.

The fifth draft resolution on review of progress made in implementing conventions related to environment and sustainable development (document A/53/L.18) was recommended to the General Assembly by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

By that text, the Assembly would proclaim 2005 as the International Year of Microcredit. It would also, among other things, request that the

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observance of the Year be a special occasion for giving impetus to microcredit programmes throughout the world. The Assembly would invite governments, the United Nations system, all concerned non-governmental organizations (NGOs) all other actors of civil society, the private sector and the media to give enhanced recognition to microcredit.

It would also ask all those involved in the eradication of poverty to consider taking additional steps, to allow credit and related services for self-employment and income-generating activities to be made available to an increasing number of people. It would invite the Secretary-General to present at the Assembly's fifty-eighth session a report containing a draft programme of action for the effective observance of the year, in consultation with all relevant actors including United Nations bodies, under an item entitled "First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty".

Introduction of Draft Resolutions

NASTE CALOVSKI (The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) introduced the draft resolution on globalization and liberalization of the world economy -- prevention of the marginalization of weak or vulnerable economies (document A/C.2/53/L./14).

DIMITRY MAKSIMYCHEV (Russian Federation) introduced the draft resolution on the review of progress made in implementing conventions related to environment and sustainable development (document A/C.2/53/L.17).

RADEN HAPSORO (Indonesia), introduced the draft resolution on environment and sustainable development: implementation of the outcome of the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (document A/C.2/53/L.15).

CHARLES TODJINOU (Benin) introduced the resolution on implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in the Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (document A/C.2/53/L.16).

BURAK OZUGERGIN (Turkey), acting Chairman of the Committee, introduced the draft resolution on implementation of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006): International Year of Microcredit, 2005 (document A/C.2/53/L.18).

Statements on training and research

LUIS PEREZ-SEGNINI (Venezuela) said the United Nations University was a valuable bridge between the United Nations and the international academic community. The University was a valuable tool for work and study on topics such as development, peace and security, and public adminstration. In order

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to do its job efficiently, the University should continue to work independently from the United Nations.

DONG GUILAN (China) said that, with rapid advances in science and technology and increased global economic integration, either to develop a research and training programme or to organize international cooperation, it was imperative to have a new perspective and an innovative way of working to put plans into practice. Under such circumstances, it was necessary for the United Nations University to readjust its focus and improve its method of work. Only in that way would the University be able to take up the challenge of the times and accomplish its objectives.

She added that, in identifying programme areas and projects, the University must pay attention to the order of priority and focus its resources on pressing issues. It should also pay greater attention to needs in the area of environment and development, and make that the priority area in project selection. Research and training programmes should be made more problem- oriented and practical and resources should be allocated in a more rational way. Also, necessary measures should be taken to ensure timely and effective dissemination of the research findings.

B. MAHTAB (India) said that his country has attached considerable importance to the research and capacity-building work of the United Nations University. His country welcomed the goals of the strategic plan currently being developed at the University. That plan would define the strategic goals of the University for the next five years and would be submitted for approval to the Governing Council of the University at its forthcoming session in December. His country welcomed the Rector's intent to undertake research and capacity-building within two major programme areas: peace and governance and environment and sustainable development. Also, it appreciated the need to work out long-term fundamental research and reflection on pressing global problems. At the same time, the research conducted by the University, while seeking to achieve the highest standards of academic excellence and to retain its credibility, should be concrete, practical and policy-oriented. It should also seek to cover such topics as the application of science for development.

THORSTEINN INGOLFSSON (Iceland) said that his country considered it important to cooperate with the United Nations University. More than 200 scientists and civil engineers from 35 developing countries had attended courses at Iceland's National Energy Authority in highly specialized studies and on-the-job training.

The success of the geothermal programme had encouraged his government to establish a programme in the field of fisheries cooperation with the University. The new fisheries training programme was inaugurated recently with participants from three African countries, Gambia, Mozambique and Uganda.

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ENVER RAHMANDOV (Turkmenistan) said his country agreed with the recommendations on the necessity to enhance the potential of the United Nations University more fully as a strategic intellectual resource, in order to respond to the challenges of the next century. He also agreed that the University's mandate extended beyond the role of think tank for the United Nations and included promoting the continuing growth of academic and scientific communities everywhere.

ABDERRAZAK AZAIEZ (Tunisia) said the United Nations University had held a number of programmes in the field of capacity-building, including training programmes, and many of those activities had supported the work of various academic institutions. However, that capacity-building had been small compared to the great need. On the University, the reports should have given precise indications of the number and nationality of those who had received training by the University and the field covered. The main activities of the University had been carried out in industrialized countries. There should be a more balanced distribution for projects of the University in the global South.

WATARU NISHIGAHIRO (Japan) said that the United Nations Headquarters could not exercise adequate oversight and control over the United Nations University. The overall financial situation of the University remained weak. The basic policies underpinning the organizational structure of the entire system needed to be more clearly defined. Much more needed to be done in order to enable the University to gain greater visibility. Efforts to formulate a consistent and unified publications policy and ensure its effective implementation should be intensified. The University should also strive to contain and eliminate any unnecessary administrative expenses. There was an urgent need for the University to intensify its efforts to secure greater financing.

DENIS CHOUINARD (Canada) said that two years ago, the first major research and training programme of the United Nations University was held in Canada. That programme was called the International Network on Water, Environment and Health. The approach of the Network was to identify, plan and execute capacity-building programmes and projects quickly, effectively and at minimal cost. Projects were conceived based on what the experts in developing country institutions perceived to be their most urgent needs. The Network also strove to determine appropriate science and technology to meet water needs. It would also assist environmental industries in developing countries to ensure the ongoing availability of affordable products and services.

ZAID AL-HADIDI (Jordan) said the way to train leaders for the future was to steep them in national affairs, then complement the training with diverse points of view to keep them from being wedded to a single point of view. The international leadership academy of the United Nations University, located in Amman, Jordan, provides the latter. There, students may experience a variety

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of ideas and cultures from around the world. He called on the international community to back the academy.

JEAN MAXIME MURAT (Haiti) said the United Nations University had established and maintained academic and scientific centres and those centres had a very positive influence on international life. The University had not entirely lived up to the goals the international community had for it, however. It must diversify its capacities to deal with concerns of people around the world. Its publications should also take more account of the official languages of the United Nations. Effective work by the University was not possible unless Governments contributed to its budget, he said. Cooperation with UNITAR was also important because it helped both institutions to avoid overlap in their activities.

GEORGE WILFORD TALBOT (Guyana) said that he thanked the JIU for its work, and was pleased to add the voice of his country to those congratulating the Rector of the United Nations University for his success. His country wished to show its appreciation for the fine work of the University.

HANS JOHANNES VAN GINNKEL, Rector of the United Nations University, said that for the University to become a strategic intellectual resource for the multilateral system of cooperation, it must obtain the necessary support of all the Member States.

At the same time, he said, the University must remain relevant and credible not only to donor governments, but to the United Nations and the university world. For that reason, the University must operate with academic freedom and autonomy within the framework of the United Nations. Without such understanding, the University would be unable to draw upon and fully exploit its value, which was its unique capacity to provide an imprimatur of scholarly impartiality and neutrality and to mobilize intellectual resources of diverse cultural and disciplinary horizons.

Statements on Palestinian Natural Resources

HASSAM-EDIN A'ALA (Syria) said there had been overuse of natural resources by Israel that had led to an ecological imbalance in the occupied territories. The colonization of the occupied territories by Israel involved the seizure of lands and water resources. Israel had done that under a number of pretexts, such as security and allegations of extremism. Israel had also exercised a policy to annex the Golan area from Syria. That matter was aggravated when the Knesset drafted a law to annex the Golan Heights. The Security Council considered that law null and void; however, Israel went ahead with the annexation. In addition to those actions, Israel continued to lay seige to five Syrian villages containing some 23,000 Syrian civilians. All that went hand-in-hand with the Israeli authority's policy to deprive the

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Syrian citizens of the Golan access to water. Israeli authorities, however, were using those resources for their own settlements.

AMANY FAHMY (Egypt) said that settlement building and systematic strategic, economic and social measures on the part of Israeli occupation forces in the territories, against the Palestinian people, was in violation of the Geneva Conventions. Those measures were intended to drive away the land owners in the interest of an occupying minority.

He said those actions were a tool of what he called environmental terrorism against the land's Palestinian owners. The creation of a regimen of financial incentives to attract polluting industries to settle in those territories, and Israeli laxity at enforcing environmental standards at the expense of Arab land ownership, allowed problems to become manifest which could lead to clashes and volatility, not only in the affected territories but throughout the Middle East.

Egypt hoped the recent signing, by Israel and Palestine, of an interim agreement would lead to peace, on the basis of exchange of land for peace. But Israel's policies in the occupied territories were in contradiction to the policies of the present Israeli administration.

ABDERRAZAK AZAIEZ (Tunisia) said there was need to discuss the current topic as long as Israel continued its occupation and as long as peoples were denied their civil and political rights. Denial of fundamental rights was demonstrated in the forced diversion of water resources and the confiscation of land by Israel. The report of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) gave a succinct picture of the impact of Israeli occupation. The occupying power had also been confiscating water -- Israel's increasing water demands had been met almost entirely from the West Bank. In the Golan, Arab living conditions had declined with Israel's occupation. Syrian peasants had to pay taxes to Israel for use of water for livestock and agriculture. That had caused many Syrians in the area to give up farming.

JAMAL AL-BADER (Qatar) said the ESCWA report clearly showed the thrust of Israeli policies in the occupied territories. Confiscation of Arab lands and the destruction of houses all flew in the face of international human rights instruments. Israeli policies demonstrated a race against the clock to bring in Jewish settlers from all over the world, without taking into account the Arab occupants of the land. There were continued efforts to change the demographic nature of the land. A Security Council resolution clearly reaffirmed the rights of the Palestinian people to natural resources. Israeli actions reflected a flagrant violation of international instruments, he said, and rights of all those who had been dispossessed, should be restored.

MARWAN A. JILANI, of the Observer mission of Palestine, said that the ESCWA report gave a clear picture of Israel's ongoing colonial policy, its

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settlements and the resulting destructive consequences for Palestinian people in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian people in the occupied Syrian Golan.

He objected to the report's apparent reference to Jerusalem as separate from the West Bank.

He said that committees of the Palestinian environment Ministry had recently determined that Israel was dumping dangerous refuse in Palestinian areas, including 80-plus tons of chemical waste, in one instance. That was a serious violation of the Palestinian right to its natural resources and showed that a spirit of domination was pervasive in the Israeli administration. Despite all those difficulties, he said, the Palestinians were trying to build a country.

STEVEN MILLER of the International Labour Organization said employment was central to sustainable development within the territories. As of September 1997, it was estimated that 35 per cent of the Palestinian labour force was employed as wage labourers within the territories, whereas some 12 per cent was employed as wage labour in Israel. In addition, over 21 per cent of the Palestinian labour force was unemployed. The continued high level of unemployment and the limited proportion of wage jobs that were stable or otherwise satisfying raised the challenge of job creation.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) was willing to assist the Palestinian Authority in putting in place policies and institutions to reduce unemployment. There could be no long-lasting improvement in the situation of workers in the Palestinian and other Arab occupied territories without economic development, accompanied by employment, training for workers and managerial staff, strengthening of employers' and workers' organizations and more efficient social institutions.

ZAID AL-HADIDI (Jordan) said Israel had attempted to change the demographic nature of the occupied territories through land confiscation and settlement. Despite Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, Israel continued its practices. Israel's settlement policy had reduced the amount of natural resources available to Arabs and that had an adverse impact on Arab agriculture efforts. Israel was unfairly exploiting water resources, aggravating a situation of scarcity and depriving Arabs of the use of those resources. Israel had limited the use of water by Arabs to personal use only, depriving them of the ability to farm. Also, Israeli factories in the occupied territories could, with impunity, indulge in practices that would not be tolerated in Israel itself. Jordan had spared no efforts in promoting the peace process and supporting its Palestinian brothers. Peace and development were indivisible and a fundamental human right. It would be impossible to establish peace while people continued to be deprived of their rights.

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YORAM ELRON (Israel) said that, in light of the positive breakthrough of the Wye River Memorandum signed days ago, it was regrettable that the Committee should be discussing the current topic. It was, at best, superfluous to the work of the Committee. It was, moreover, already covered extensively by the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement signed on 28 September 1995. And it was again included in the Wye Memorandum, which stipulated that both sides reaffirmed their commitment to actively promote economic development and cooperation. Those were the appropriate fora for such issues.

The peace process depended on the support of the international community, he added. Support meant, first and foremost, upholding the principle of direct negotiations. Support also meant creating an atmosphere conducive to achieving progress in the negotiations, not a climate of political confrontations. In particular, support called for adopting resolutions that reflected the positive developments in the process and the hope for a better future in the region. Unfortunately, today's debate contributed nothing at all to the cooperative spirit of the peace process. On the contrary, by raising issues here that sought to predetermine the outcome of permanent status negotiations, this report ran counter to the driving principle of the whole process, namely that Israel and the Palestinians must resolve those issues directly. His country strongly urged the Committee to devote its efforts to matters more worthy of its attention.

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