MANAGING RISKS OF GLOBALIZATION GREAT CHALLENGE OF MODERN TIMES, SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

3 February 1999

Press Release
ECOSOC/5812

MANAGING RISKS OF GLOBALIZATION GREAT CHALLENGE OF MODERN TIMES, SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

19990203 Urges Council, UN System To Help Meet That Challenge; Council Should Be Body 'Charter Intended", Says Council President

One of the great challenges of modern times was managing and minimizing the risks and uncertainties of globalization, Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the Economic and Social Council this afternoon, adding that the United Nations system and the Council should make a constructive contribution in meeting that challenge.

For progress towards peace and development, the intergovernmental and inter-agency components of the United Nations system must move in tandem, he continued. Coordination implied continuous dialogue and real engagement among partners. As Chairman of the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC), he had made it his priority to promote that process, and he reaffirmed that commitment today.

The ACC is a body composed of the Secretary-General and the executive heads of the specialized agencies, which coordinates programmes approved by the various United Nations system governing bodies and promotes cooperation in the common system.

Also this afternoon, the Council's President, Francesco Paulo Fulci (Italy), delineated points aimed at making the Economic and Social Council the entity envisioned in the United Nations Charter, among them: a Council manifesto against poverty; a focus first on Africa; enhanced working relations with the Bretton Woods organizations; and implementation of Article 65 of the Charter, which described the support the Economic and Social Council could provide to the Security Council, at its request.

Also this afternoon, statements were made by the representatives of Guyana (speaking for the "Group of 77" developing countries and China), Germany (for the European Union and associated States), Russian Federation,

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Norway and Bangladesh. The Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Nitan Desai, responded to comments and questions posed by Member States.

At the outset of the meeting, the President announced that elections to the International Narcotics Control Board and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for Development would be held by secret ballot at the Council's next meeting.

The Council will meet again at 10 a.m. Friday, 5 February, to hold elections for a number of subsidiary bodies and take action on all outstanding issues from its 1999 organizational session.

Council Work Programme

The Economic and Social Council met this afternoon to hear an address by the Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, on the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) and its relationship to the Council.

Statement by Secretary-General

KOFI ANNAN, Secretary-General of the United Nations, said that while globalization expanded markets and opened the world, it also compounded risks and uncertainties. One of the great modern challenges was managing and minimizing those risks and uncertainties. The United Nations system, and the Council, should constructively contribute to meeting that challenge.

The Economic and Social Council and the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) were both undergoing transformations that would help prepare for the task, he continued. The dialogue initiated last year between the Council and the Secretary-General, as Chair of the ACC, therefore had greater significance this year. Increasingly, the Council was beginning to truly function as a Council.

That had been evident in the number of major initiatives that it had undertaken last year, he said. Those included the high-level dialogue with the Bretton Woods institutions, the special session to promote a coordinated and integrated response to global conferences, the review and streamlining of subsidiary bodies, joint Bureau meetings to ensure greater complementarity in the "ECOSOC system", and greatly enhanced effectiveness and efficiency of Council meetings leading last year to the adoption of a Ministerial Communiqué on the theme of market access.

That rejuvenation had been paralleled and encouraged by a new spirit of motivation and a growing culture of consultation and cooperation in the ACC, he said. Those trends reflected a shared realization that, for progress towards peace and development, the intergovernmental and inter-agency components of the system must move in tandem. Coordination implied continuous dialogue and real engagement among partners. As Chairman of the ACC, he had made it his priority to promote that success.

One focus of ACC discussion last autumn had been a policy review of the implications of the global financial crisis and the response of the United Nations system, he said. With the full involvement of the heads of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), members committed themselves to joint action, including issuing an urgent call for help to those suffering acute hardship. They pledged to work together to help countries carry out the necessary structural and institutional reforms and build basic social services and safety nets. That demonstrated how components of the United Nations could

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come together and interact with the Council on issues that crossed functional and institutional responsibilities.

He said the issues addressed by the ACC during 1998 included: poverty eradication; human rights; gender equality; population; international drug abuse control; natural disaster reduction; and peace-building. The ACC had sought to mobilize a system-wide response by adopting joint statements, activating inter-agency machinery, and promoting collaboration at the country level. It had also focused on ways to develop the system's response to his report on "The Causes of Conflict and the Promotion of Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa".

In 1998, the ACC had continued its wide-ranging exchanges on the reform processes under way in the system, he said. Clearly, the reform of the ACC itself was an integral part of the reform of the United Nations family. Members had committed themselves to making the Committee a centrepiece of a more united and effective system. To that end, a number of steps and decisions had been taken over the past year.

Mr. Annan said that as a follow-up to his reform programme, he had established the Office for Inter-Agency Affairs to provide support to the ACC and its subsidiary bodies and to promote information exchange among system bodies. The Office would help reinforce links between the ACC and the Economic and Social Council, and the governing bodies of the system. Further, as all parts of the United Nations system were increasingly focusing on strategic planning, the ACC heads agreed that it should become a focus of the ACC itself, to help the United Nations look forward in a united and coherent manner.

As the Council began another year of work, the intergovernmental and inter-agency wheels of the system were running more smoothly, and increasingly in tandem, he said. He was pleased that the Council's President had launched an initiative for a series of panel discussions around the goal of poverty eradication. Also, the President's initial contacts with the President of the Security Council on building links between the two bodies, as envisaged in Article 65 of the Charter, were encouraging.

Globalization was now a fact of life -- the challenge was to create a globalized world with a human face, he said. There was no room for complacency. Building on progress to date, the Council must become an ever more effective body in meeting the goals of the United Nations Charter of promoting social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.

Statements

The President of the Council, FRANCESCO PAULO FULCI (Italy), recalled the main purpose of the Economic and Social Council for 1999, which was to

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make the Council what the Charter intended it to be. He then listed seven proposals that he said would help it achieve that purpose. First, he said, the Economic and Social Council must get its chamber back. Second, poverty eradication and alleviation must be the leitmotif for this year's deliberations. What was needed was an outcome that was action and results oriented. There were so many words and documents. It was high time for deeds. The Council should aim for an Economic and Social Council manifesto against poverty. Poverty was the main enemy of humanity. Five high-level panels would be undertaken to indicate priorities and make concrete suggestions.

Third, he continued, any strategy must first focus on Africa. Everything must be done to help African countries realize their existing and enormous potential. Concrete action and close coordination would be needed. Fourth, enhanced working relations with Bretton Woods organizations was critical. The path for that had been opened last year and this year there must be follow-up. Three high-level meetings were planned.

The fifth proposal, he said, was the implementation of Article 65 of the United Nations Charter, which described the support the Economic and Social Council might provide to the Security Council, at its request. That article had been dormant, but must be revived.

Sixth, coordination of the Economic and Social Council committees and bodies must be strengthened. It was of paramount importance that the Council aggressively pursue its coordination.

Seventh, new working methods for the Council must be created. The renaissance of the Council would not be complete if advantage was not taken of the information technology revolution.

JUNE PERSAUD (Guyana), speaking for the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said the Secretary-General's presence testified to the importance he attached to the work of the Council. The Group appreciated Mr. Annan's actions to "lift the veil of mystery" which had in the past surrounded the work of the ACC. By so doing, he had contributed greatly to fostering a new spirit of partnership between the various United Nations bodies and the Economic and Social Council. Welcoming the increased interaction between the Council and the ACC, she said that closer interaction between the Secretariat and intergovernmental machineries was needed to identify and pursue common objectives and to strengthen multilateral action.

As the principle point of interface between the United Nations and the wider United Nations system, the Council had an important role to play, in tandem with the General Assembly, in fostering joint action on critical development priorities, she continued. Poverty eradication and closing the gap between the rich and poor was a central challenge of the time and a

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central objective for the Untied Nations system. Against that backdrop, the importance of coordination could not be overemphasized. She hoped the ACC would continue to examine ways and means to support countries in dealing with the plight of the poor in the context of globalization. Also, she looked forward to this year's high-level segment as a means to give fresh impetus to the fight against poverty.

GERHARD HENZE (Germany), spoke for the European Union, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Iceland and Liechtenstein. He said that the fact that the Secretary-General had addressed the Council himself contributed to the strengthening of its capacity to carry out its coordination and guidance functions within the United Nations system. The ACC and the Council should interact closely and demonstrate the will to create cross-fertilization of information, ideas and experience.

However, in the future the Union hoped that the Council would be informed of the outcome of ACC meetings after the meeting itself or receive an official document on the outcome soon after, he said. The ACC's work was essential for the Council to fulfil its coordination role within the United Nations system in the economic, social and related fields and in reviving its relations to the specialized agencies as had been agreed, among other things, in the Agenda for Development. The ACC should present to the Council action- oriented recommendations to improve system-wide coordination on issues for consideration by the Council.

The Secretary-General's programme for reform needed to expand reform initiatives on a system-wide level, and the ACC had a key role to play in that context, he said. To achieve better coordination, the mere exchange of information was not sufficient. At some point, there should be a further step towards coordination, including a distribution of different roles in working towards a shared objective. That is where the ACC machinery had to come in.

The Union welcomed the priority placed on Africa's economic recovery and sustainable development, he said. Those problems could only be solved by a holistic and coordinated approach that involved the United Nations, regional and subregional organizations, as well as national governments and civil societies. The Union welcomed the Secretary-General's emphasis on the importance of human rights, democracy, the rule of law and good governance in the process of achieving durable peace and sustainable development throughout Africa. Any strategy for sustainable growth in Africa must include a commitment by the African States to create an environment conducive to investment and growth. Welcoming the theme of the coordination segment of the Council's substantive session, which dealt with Africa in particular, he encouraged the ACC in its next meeting to focus on the matter and provide input to the Council.

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The Union welcomed efforts to integrate human rights into the policies and programmes of the entire United Nations system, he said. He encouraged the ACC to take into account the outcome of the 1998 Economic and Social Council's Coordination Segment, dedicated to the coordinated follow-up to and implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. In its agreed conclusions, the Council had reaffirmed the system-wide approach to human rights and called for increased coordination and inter-agency cooperation to promote human rights. The ACC could make an important contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights within the United Nations system, in close cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

He then noted with deep concern that the security of staff continued to deteriorate. The Union supported efforts to improve staff security, including for military, civil and locally recruited staff. It had sponsored a resolution concerning the safety and security of humanitarian personnel and United Nations personnel during the main session of the fifty-third General Assembly, and welcomed all measures by the United Nations to promote security and safety for staff, including training and information exchange. Each incident involving humanitarian personnel must be fully investigated. Security of humanitarian personnel should be a priority issue for the United Nations.

He said the Union attached great importance to the theme of this year's high level segment -- "the role of employment and work in poverty eradication: the empowerment and advancement of women". The ACC statement of commitment for action to eradicate poverty in 1998 provided important input for the Council. He reaffirmed that poverty eradication was a key international commitment and a central objective of the United Nations.

He then asked if the ACC had been able to identify some of the emerging policy implications arising from the reform process. What were those, and how could they be articulated within the work carried out by the system? he asked. Also, welcoming the efforts regarding a strategic framework in Afghanistan, he asked the Secretariat to elaborate on lessons learned from that exercise. Regarding the private sector and civil society, what concrete steps were being planned to achieve the objective of greater cooperation? he asked.

SERGEY LAVROV (Russian Federation) said he greatly supported improved working relations between the Economic and Social Council and the ACC, and the Council was the right forum for those relationships. He hoped that they would not only be formal in nature, but also more regular informal contacts could be established. Perhaps the Bureau and interested delegations could meet with the ACC to discuss issues. Such informal mechanisms would help both.

He also noted with satisfaction the steps described by the Secretary- General to improve coordination through the ACC. The Economic and Social

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Council was right to draw attention to improved efficiency. At the same time, he wished to draw attention to a problem. Sometimes, ideas had been received from the ACC and from the United Nations system, and the Council had not been in a position to respond quickly and effectively. It must be able to do so.

He welcomed stronger relations between the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions. Useful steps were taken last year, and the Russian Federation supported the event scheduled for the Economic and Social Council on Friday, as it supported the trend towards dialogue. That relationship was particularly important for developing the new international financial architecture. Attention also needed to be paid to how the Bretton Woods institutions and the United Nations interacted at the country level. Any suggestions from the Secretariat on that would be welcome.

He also wanted to speak about the priorities listed by the Council President at the beginning of the meeting, particularly on the need to revive Article 65 of the United Nations Charter, he said. That depended not only on the Economic and Social Council, but also on the Security Council. An example of how that might work was the situation in Haiti, which had been discussed in the Security Council. It was a very serious problem and its roots lay in economic and social problems. Shared meetings of the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council could be held on the issue. That would allow Member States to see in practice how cooperation could solve problems. What Haiti needed was assistance to overcome its social and economic problems.

He also supported the priority identified by the Council President to move the Economic and Social Council back into its own chamber, he said. Not only should the Council receive its room, but its President should receive his own office.

OLE PETER KOLBY (Norway) said he would appreciate a summary of the ACC's activities being made available to the Council. He aligned Norway with the statement by Germany, which was in line with Norway's views.

In addition, he said that effectively addressing the main challenges of the United Nations required cross-sectoral and multidisciplinary approaches, as the Secretary-General had previously noted. The ACC had been proposed as a source of management at that level, and he would appreciate information on any progress being made in that regard. The United Nations' ability to respond in an issue-oriented and cross-sectoral manner was crucial, and would effect cooperation with other institutions. His Government attached great importance to that, and sought further information on ACC discussions on it.

In the humanitarian field, he continued, the establishment of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs had made for better cooperation. More needed to be done at the country level. Strategic frameworks were key to that. The United Nations was uniquely placed to have strategies for

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coordination of international assistance. That would require further action through the ACC and inter-agency committees. It should receive the attention of both the Economic and Social Council and the Secretariat.

ANWARUL CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) said he wished to raise some practical points and then ask two questions. As the Council was aware, the presentation by the Secretary-General on the ACC had been called for in an Economic and Social Council resolution. It would be appropriate to reflect that in the announcement in the Journal and in the agenda of the Economic and Social Council. That was a structured report. If it had been announced in that manner, it might have attracted more attention.

The Council did not have the 1998 annual review of the ACC available to it now, he continued, although it was now engaged in a dialogue about the ACC. The annual review would come out for the substantive session, to be held in Geneva. Nonetheless, it would be helpful to have a one- or two-page summary of the ACC activities for the meeting in which the Secretary-General reports on the ACC. In future, for the Economic and Social Council organizational meeting, a one- or two-page ACC summary could be submitted.

The Economic and Social Council had a coordination segment each year, he said, but the report of the ACC was taken up under the general segment. The Council might wish to consider whether the report should come under the coordination or the general segment.

He asked if Economic and Social Council resolution 1998/46, on the review and restructuring of subsidiary bodies, had been considered by the ACC and, if so, what had been the outcome. The resolution involved not only the Council's functional commissions, but also the regional commissions and the specialized agencies. He also asked if the closer dialogue with international financial institutions extended to coordination at the regional level. Had the regional commissions developed effective dialogues with the various regional development banks and financial institutions?

NITIN DESAI, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, responded to questions and comments. Arrangements for reporting the ACC's activities to the Council were governed by an old mandate, by which the ACC's report was to be given to the Council's spring session, he explained. Since that mandate had been established, however, the frequency and density of inter-agency work had increased, and new developments had taken place in the context of the Council's reform. Those new developments perhaps needed to be reflected in mandated reporting arrangements.

The ACC would be open to such changes, he said. It had sought to make up for the "once a year gap" by communiqués and statements, but it was receptive to other ways to increase communication between the two bodies. The

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two had to work together if the system was to achieve the objectives laid out in policies by Member States.

The Council's coordination segment was crucial, he said. It was a forum for Member States to give direction. For example, the programme on HIV/AIDS had been greatly enhanced by discussions in the coordination segment. He supported greater coordination at both the Secretariat level and the level of the intergovernmental process. Regarding remarks on the nature of documentation at a session such as this, he said they could be covered in reporting arrangements, so there would be a systematic basis on which the Secretariat could proceed.

To questions posed by Germany's Ambassador, the Under-Secretary-General said that the ACC had discussed the policy implications of the reform process, focusing primarily on substantive issues. The concept of the strategic framework had, in part, been the result of those discussions. The ACC's statement on poverty was another result of discussions on reform. It was very much on the minds of the membership of the ACC.

It was still early to evaluate the strategic framework, which, by definition, had to be applied in difficult situations, he said. Discussion was still under way as to where it should be applied next. Regarding links to the business sector, he said the Secretary-General had made particular effort to reach out to the business sector. Most recently, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he had outlined his concept of such partnership.

Turning then to the functioning of the ACC system, he said it went beyond information exchange. There were many areas where the United Nations system was trying to work together on joint activities, including the world climate, and HIV/AIDS.

The Secretariat sought to strengthen the Council's capacity to act as an effective coordination body that did not only receive reports, but rather directed bodies. He hoped that, step by step, the segment could be used for the exercise of the Council's coordination responsibilities.

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