POPULATION ISSUES LINKED TO DEVELOPMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS AGENDAS, NORWAY TELLS SECOND COMMITTEE
Press Release
GA/EF/2839
POPULATION ISSUES LINKED TO DEVELOPMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS AGENDAS, NORWAY TELLS SECOND COMMITTEE
19981029 Status of Human Settlements Progress Also DiscussedPopulation issues could no longer be treated in isolation from the development agenda or the human rights agenda, the representative of Norway told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial), as it considered sustainable development and international economic cooperation.
In order to review progress made since the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development, a broad-based agenda must be maintained. There was a need to look at progress made in linking the issues in national policy development, as well as in global development programmes. Of key importance in the review was to examine what changes had been accomplished in the lives of women in terms of access to information, to education and to reproductive services of good quality.
Also on the review of the Population Conference Programme of Action, the representative of the Republic of Korea said the review should not renegotiate the agreements of the Programme, but rather ensure their implementation. It was unreasonable to evaluate each country's programme on the basis of a unified law, disregarding specific social, economic and cultural differences. Different population polices should be taken into consideration in the review and assessment of countries with low or high birth rates.
On implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), the representative of Indonesia, on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said concerted action was needed to address the problems of over a billion people trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty around the world. That problem had been exacerbated by globalization processes, and there was an urgent need to address that. The international community needed to provide sustainable shelter for all peoples. That could be accomplished through local administration of programmes and sharing of best practices.
The representative of the United States said the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements was intended to play a vital role in achieving the goals
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of the Habitat II agenda. To succeed in that task, the Centre must operate with complete integrity and transparency and provide real leadership on sustainable development in urban areas. The Centre's management and financial problems had a negative effect on its ability to implement the decisions made at Habitat II.
Statements were also made by the representatives of Bangladesh, Austria (on behalf of the European Union and associated countries), Russian Federation, China, New Zealand, Turkey, Benin, Lithuania, Mexico, Pakistan, Myanmar and Lesotho.
The representatives of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) also spoke.
Dr. Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund, made a closing statement.
The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. today to resume its consideration of sustainable development and international economic cooperation. It also planned to take up the topic of macroeconomic policy questions.
Committee Work Programme
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this morning to consider sustainable development and international economic cooperation. Under that general heading it will discuss: implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II); and implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).
The Committee had before it a report of the Secretary-General on sustainable development and international economic cooperation: implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) (document A/53/267). That report contains proposals on the scope and organizational aspects of the special session of the General Assembly on the overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda.
The Conference, held in 1996 in Istanbul, Turkey, had recommended that the General Assembly consider holding a special session in the year 2001 for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the outcome of Habitat II. An indicative time table for the preparatory process for the special session was included in the report. This recommendation was approved by the General Assembly with the adoption of resolution 52/190 on 18 December, 1997. The modalities were to be determined by the Assembly at its fifty-third session in 1998.
The report describes the mandate, national and local actions, participation of partners and the role of civil society, monitoring and assessment, international cooperation, the organizational aspects of the preparatory process, the role of the Commission on Human Settlements, the role of Economic and Social Council and organizational aspects of the special session. It notes that a comprehensive framework was set in place at Habitat II to ensure sustainability and cost-effectiveness for the momentum generated at Istanbul. That framework is based on the full mobilization of existing programmes within the United Nations system as well as the resources and initiatives of all Habitat Agenda partners and representatives of civil society.
As agreed at the Conference, governments have the primary responsibility for implementing the Habitat Agenda. The special session should consider ways through which implementation at national and local levels could be further promoted and supported. Apart from assessing the effectiveness of coordinating, supporting and implementing mechanisms, that should include consideration of experience with disseminating and learning from best practices and capacity-building activities at the local government level. The special session should also focus its review on implementing the Habitat Agenda through actions at the local level and should make recommendation for future directions.
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The broad-based concept of partnership with all actors in civil society has been widely recognized as a key feature of the Habitat Agenda and for making human settlements sustainable in ecological, social and economic terms. The Habitat Agenda calls for partnerships among actors from public, private, voluntary and community-based organizations, the cooperative sector and non-governmental organizations as being essential to the achievement of sustainable human settlements and to the provision of adequate shelter and services for all.
The special session will also review the effectiveness of the mechanisms established to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Habitat Agenda. Issues that will merit in-depth analysis are: the effectiveness of the Commission, providing Member States with an effective and comprehensive process for monitoring and analysis of progress implementing the Habitat Agenda; the effectiveness of the guidelines provided for the same purpose; the effectiveness of indicators and best practices in improving urban policy and decision-making; the effectiveness of the Global Urban Observatory as a medium for increasing the base of knowledge on the shelter and human settlements; and the effectiveness of global research efforts.
International cooperation is a fundamental strategy for implementing the Habitat Agenda, the report states. Most organizations and agencies of the United Nations system have announced their plans of action to achieve the goals of the Istanbul Conference. The special session should invite these organizations, including the Bretton Woods institutions, to submit progress reports with an assessment of the impact of their actions in support of the Habitat II themes. The review of international cooperation through the United Nations system should be done in the context of major global issues and trends such as urbanization, decentralization, globalization, capacity-building and partnership. The special session should also review the respective roles of the Economic and Social Council and of the Commission on Human Settlements in the coordination of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda. Further, the report states, the special session should consider the issue of new and additional financial resources to implement the Agenda.
The preparatory process for the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda will be carried out at the local, national, regional and global levels. At the local, national and regional levels the organizational arrangements that were successfully and effectively utilized for the preparations for the Habitat II Conference will be refined and adapted to the requirements of the special session, with special emphasis on the inputs and participation of local authorities and other partners from civil society.
The report states that the Secretary-General recommends to the General Assemble that it invite the Commission on Human Settlements to serve as the preparatory committee for the Special Session and it set forth a meeting schedule for the preparatory committee. Also the Secretary-General
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recommended that the General Assembly invite the Economic and Social Council to hold a high-level segment to address issues identified by the Commission. Further, it recommended that the special session be held in June 2001 for a period of five working days.
The Committee also had before it a report of the Secretary-General on the assessment of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (document A/53/512), as requested by the General Assembly in its resolution 52/190 of 18 December 1997. A revitalization committee is expected to report by the end of December 1998 and to make specific recommendations on: streamlining administrative and financial routines, training of personnel and the provision of adequate technical equipment; strengthening the core normative foundations of the Centre; proposing a more focused agenda for the Centre in the coming years; and the recommend organizational changes.
The report also said the Centre would have to play a more innovative and creative role in mobilizing funds by providing intellectual leadership in developing its programme framework; organizational leadership in bringing together the main actors, and financial leadership in using its own resources to leverage additional funds. To those ends, it made recommendations on general management. It also cited external factors affecting the Centre precarious financial situation
The Committee also had before it a report by the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) concerning the communication for development programmes in the United Nations system (document A/53/296). And, it had before it a report of the Secretary- General on the utilization of the development dividend (document A/53/374). (For background information on those reports see Press Release GA/EF/2828 of 19 October.)
Also before the Committee this morning was a report of the Secretary- General on preparation for the special session of the General Assembly for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development. The report presents the status of efforts made on preparations for the special session to be held from 30 June to 2 July 1999.
The report states that review and appraisal of the Programme of Action of the Conference was well under way, focusing on policy changes and operational experiences at the country level. The review sought to draw out lessons learned, identify obstacles encountered and propose key future actions needed to achieve the goals and objectives of the International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo from 5 to 13 September 1994.
The five-year review of the implementation of the Plan of Action was a broad-based and inclusive process and had benefited from cooperation among concerned groups. As part of the review process, the United Nations
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Population Fund (UNFPA) was sponsoring a series of events, including technical meetings and round-table discussions on selected subjects, as well as an international forum focusing on operational aspects of implementation of the Programme of Action.
The report adds that the documentation of the special session should focus on: analysis of key successes and constraints, as well as lessons learned in developing effective strategies and actions in the implementation of the Programme of Action; strengthening coordination throughout the United Nations system and among Governments and other actors; domestic, bilateral and multilateral resources made available as of 31 December and estimates of resources to made available as of 31 December 1999; and methodology and mechanisms for monitoring progress in the implementation of the Programme of Action.
Statements
MOCHAMAD SLAMET HIDAYAT (Indonesia), on behalf of the Group of 77 developing countries and China, said the status of human settlements and the Istanbul agenda was crucially important. It was essential to ensure basic human rights for all and to provide a higher quality of life for all. Habitat II should be sustained at the highest political level. While national Governments had the primary responsibility for implementing Habitat II, partnership with civil society was essential. Concerted action was needed to address the problems of over a billion people trapped into a vicious cycle of poverty around the world. Today, that problem had been exacerbated by globalization processes, and there was an urgent need to address that urgent question. The international community needed to provide sustainable shelter for all peoples. That could be accomplished through local administration of programmes and sharing of best practices.
ANWARUL KARIM CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) said that there was no need to renegotiate the existing agreements contained in the Programme of Action for the International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo. His country had held round table discussions to discuss what had been achieved since Cairo and what remained to be done. Participants generally agreed on the need to strengthen the capacity and the financial stability of small, community-based organizations and various groups in civil society. They also learned how various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and microcredit institutions could contribute towards the achievement of human development, through empowerment of women with various income-generating activities.
JOHANNES WEDENIG (Austria), spoke on behalf of the European Union and Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. He said that the review of the Cairo Conference would take place next year when the world population would reach six billion and between 120 and 150 million women and men lacked access to information and services to plan their families and protect their sexual and
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reproductive health. The Cairo Conference had taught the world community that it was possible to address population issues, while respecting and strengthening individual human rights. A more moderate demographic development could indeed be achieved on the basis of individual freedom of choice for women, men and adolescents with regard to their reproductive rights in general and their decision regarding the number and spacing of children in particular.
He added that access of women and girls to confidential, affordable and responsive health services that provided advice on and assistance in all aspects of health, including sexual reproductive health, was of utmost importance. The Cairo Programme of Action rightly integrated population in the broader context of sustainable development, addressing such issues as poverty alleviation, gender equality and empowerment of women, education and environmental concerns. International cooperation remained essential in supporting national efforts to implement the Programme.
BETTY KING (United States) said the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements, established at the Istanbul Conference, was intended to play a vital role in achieving the goals of the Habitat II agenda. To succeed in that task, the Centre must operate with complete integrity and transparency and provide real leadership on sustainable development in urban areas. The Centre's management and financial problems had a negative effect on its ability to implement the decisions approached at Habitat II. The need for an effective, transparent and accountable Centre also was important as the review of Habitat II approached.
On the review of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, she said her country would like to ensure that population and reproductive health care remained central concerns of national health care systems as part of health sector reform efforts. There should also be efforts to increase political and popular support for the implementation of conference goals in both donor and host countries. Despite recent setbacks in United States funding of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United States Administration remained strongly committed to UNFPA's activities to implement the Cairo Programme of Action.
VASILY NEBENZYA (Russian Federation) said his country favoured increased implementation of the tasks of Habitat II. Habitat should not lose its independence in as a result of the process of reform, but rather should concentrate on its own core tasks.
He said that Habitat was carrying out work with the Russian Federation, where problems of a high mortality rate among men of working age, high infant mortality and too many abortions, in addition to the acute problem of migration, abounded. Habitat could help countries in transition by carrying out environmentally-sound and energy-saving strategies in such countries.
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Global and regional work on Habitat issues would enable the international community to tackle problems in their entirety.
From the point of view of his country, he said, the international community should not take an isolated approach to this task, but should seek to achieve synergies on an international level.
OLE PETER KOLBY (Norway) said that in order to review progress following the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development, a broad- based agenda must be maintained. Population issues could no longer be treated in isolation from the development agenda or the human rights agenda. There was a need to look at progress made in linking those issues in national policy development as well as in global development programmes. Of key importance in the review was to examine what changes had been accomplished in the lives of women, in terms of access to information, education and reproductive services of good quality. At the same time, there was a need to look at the extent to which men were becoming involved in issues regarding reproduction.
He added that far too little progress had been achieved in the area of maternal mortality. The situation was intolerable and needed to be addressed with urgency. There was a need to study successful experiences in addressing that problem, in order to find appropriate and effective ways to respond on a scale that would provide the necessary impact. The world community should use the Population Conference review process to ascertain such experiences in order to inform future action.
YU QINGTAI (China) said that his country was pleased with a change in the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Cairo Conference that allowed for the integration of population strategies into respective overall plans for social and economic development, thereby transforming population activities into a common cause for the whole society.
He said that the review of the implementation of the Programme of Action should be balanced and comprehensive. While ultimately the implementation of the population and development strategy would be reflected at the national level, the realization of the objectives laid down in the Programme of Action required action at national, international and regional levels because the programme of action was an integral whole.
ALEXANDRA WILDE (New Zealand) said that her country was committed to the implementation of the Cairo Programme of Action both in its official development assistance (ODA) programmes and in the development of domestic policy. Her country continue to contribute to population policy objectives through the impact of her country's ODA on key related development issues as well. Among those was the portion of her country's ODA spent on education and training, with an emphasis on gender equality. New Zealand recognized that wider improvements in basic health and education could make a formidable contribution to population objectives.
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At the special session, she said, her country would like to see emphasis given to strengthening coordination throughout the United Nations system, and with governments and other actors, such as development banks, and civil society.
FEZA OZTURK (Turkey) said that his country had made a standing offer to establish a Habitat office in Turkey, from where it could service a large number of countries in Europe, the Caucuses and Central Asia. The office could effectively further the decentralization and outreach processes of Habitat. He said that his country was working on a coordination project with other partners and hoped to receive the support of the countries in the region for the establishment and operational activities of the Habitat office.
ZOFIA OLSZOWSKA, of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, said that demographic factors such as population growth and migration flows had an influence on the pace and quality of economic and social development. Population was one of the key issues preoccupying the academic community. The academic and professional training of demographers and other population specialists should therefore aim at being proficient in development policy analysis, so they could draw necessary conclusions regarding programmes for reconciling population growth with economic and social development.
In terms of research, she said, room should be made for applied research dealing with actual problems confronting communities and seeking the most culturally appropriate solutions to solve those problems.
CHARLES TODJINOU (Benin) said it should be asked what had been done in the years since the Habitat II to make its goals a reality. Had the implementation structures of Habitat II been given the human and financial resources to implement decisions? There was a need for more resources to implement Habitat II, as well as a need to manage those resources better. All United Nations bodies should lend their backing to the human settlement agenda. His government had been striving to mobilize technical assistance in that regard and a national housing fund had been established. However, his country was in need of continued support from its partners in development. The international community should draw on lessons from past experiences to give Habitat II a chance to succeed in the next century.
RIMVYDAS PRANAITIS (Lithuania) said that the transition from the central planning system to a free market system was quite complicated. The transition had left its mark on the housing construction situation. There was a need for approximately 100,000 dwellings of adequate standard, due to the fact that there was about nine per cent of the population waiting for new housing. The existing housing, especially in the cities, partly consisted of large panel houses that lacked quality and energy-efficiency.
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He added that young people had been the most seriously affected by the economic transition. The recent decision to assist young families under the age of 35 with housing acquisition was imperative. Furthermore, a law on State and municipal support for individuals and families with low incomes was recently prepared in order to provide aid with rents or the buying of houses.
ROBERT PAIVA, of the International Organization for Migration, said that migration, with all its economic, political and humanitarian implications, had moved steadily up the international agenda in the 1990s. Globalization in the flow of goods, capital and information had clearly had a major impact on international population movements. Few places had not been affected by migration today, either as countries of origin or of destination. It had also been increasingly recognized that migration policy decisions in one country had an impact on neighbouring countries. That fact had emphasized the importance of consultation and harmonization of the policies, programmes and technical cooperation that the ICPD Programme of Action encouraged.
He added that one key element of his organization's work plan was to support governments' efforts to improve international dialogue on current migration issues. The organization had also continued to foster the sharing of information and expertise between the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and experts from other parts of the world, through custom- tailored seminars and training activities.
ULISES CANCHOLA (MEXICO) said that his country has worked into its domestic policies provisions of the Cairo action programme. The projects on which Mexico was moving forward were designed to spur action in a number of related areas including poverty, population growth, the conditions of women, the family and development. His country was pursuing efforts to bring a whole range of actors to play in those and other areas on the national level, using chambers of commerce and private firms, as government and civil society shared the same motives. In addition, he said the international community must keep the Cairo Conference from turning into nothing more than an exchange of national experiences. The agreements hammered out in Cairo should not be rehashed, but implemented.
STEVEN MILLER, of the International Labour Organization (ILO), said that the Habitat agenda showed that there existed a close relationship between employment, adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements in an urbanizing world. Investment in shelter, which encompassed a wide range of basic infrastructure and services, could have a profound impact on employment creation.
He said that the employment-intensive programme of the International Labour Organization (ILO) worked in both developing and transitional economies to realize these goals. Infrastructure investment provided an excellent opportunity for both national and local governments to create jobs. Unfortunately, all too often this was a lost opportunity.
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NAVID HANIF (Pakistan) said that, instead of merely setting targets for population and development, the Cairo Conference had promoted the role of women as a key in controlling population and helping the environment. To feed the population of developing countries in the future, there was a need for three times the amount of food production that existed today. That increase would put further stress on natural resources and the environment. Pakistan's population would be 400 million by 2050. The current growth rate of Pakistan was 2.6 per cent per year. A national programme had been implemented to reduce that rate by 1.6 percent by 2003. In the review of the Programme of Action, one major constraint was the lack of resources. In most cases, States had been meeting their obligations, but there was a considerable shortfall envisioned for next year. The international community must recognize that current development efforts would be neutralized by an enormous growth in work population.
JONG-SOO YOON (Republic of Korea) said the review of the Cairo Programme of Action should not renegotiate the agreements of the Programme, but rather ensure their implementation. Also, it was unreasonable to evaluate each country's programme on the basis of a unified law, disregarding specific social, economic and cultural differences. For instance, different population polices should be taken into consideration in the review and assessment of countries with low or high birth rates. In that context, a survey that evaluated the implementation of the Programme of Action by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) was important. However, a committee should be established to assist developing countries in carrying out those population surveys.
He added that, since the ultimate purpose of the Plan of Action was to improve quality of life, health issues such as natal care should be optimized to achieve the goals at the national level. Also, as a result of the financial crisis and extensive budget cuts, the United Nations should provide assistance so that the present crisis would not lead to a stalling of population polices in affected countries.
THANE MYINT (Myanmar) said that his own country's experience in implementing the Habitat agenda could be termed a success story. Shelter was a basic need not only for urban folks, but also for all citizens living in the country. Myanmar had pursued an integrated national shelter strategy using Habitat's global strategy. Intergovernmental and private sectors, he said, were implementing the "shelter for all" concept. In the rural areas, local authorities and local non-governmental organizations were facilitating it, while Government agencies were concerned with building capacity by implementing the Habitat agenda. In the border areas of the country, for example, a separate ministry had been formed to coordinate and implement development.
M.C. MPHUTLANE (Lesotho) said that the Cairo Programme of Action provided details on the scope, the priorities and an appraisal of the
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programme to be embarked upon, as well as the process and modalities, and the role played by different bodies of the United Nations system. It was indeed a useful and informative brief. Among the Cairo issues which her country was implementing was an aggressive family planning program and educational campaigns, which allowed her country to envision a day when a population growth of one could be expected.
In a closing statement, NAFIS SADIK, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said the need for census-taking was very great for countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The Fund was looking at census needs in that region because it recognized that census information formed the basis for all population and development planning. There was also an important need to report on UNFPA efforts to the General Assembly. She added that it should be taken into consideration that 4 per cent of ODA be dedicated to population-related programmes.
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