IMPACT OF FOREIGN DEBT PROBLEM ON SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT POLICIES AMONG ISSUES ADDRESSED AT SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
Press Release
SOC/4492
IMPACT OF FOREIGN DEBT PROBLEM ON SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT POLICIES AMONG ISSUES ADDRESSED AT SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
19990217 Discussion on Overall Review of Implementation Of Outcome of Copenhagen World Summit for Social Development Continues"Primarily we need a just process of arbitration for international debt cancellation which ensures that losses and gains are equally shared", a representative of the World Council of Churches told the Commission for Social Development this morning as it continued discussion of the initiation of the overall review of the implementation of the outcome of the 1995 World Summit for Social Development.
Both lenders and borrowers must take responsibility for the debt crisis, she said. "We need new independent and transparent structures for overseeing relations between debtors and creditors." Such structures must involve creditors and debtors and must produce ethical, mutually responsible and transparent solutions, which satisfy ethical economic efficiency requirements and basic human needs. When funds were released through debt cancellation or other measures, civil society must be able to participate in determining how monies were reallocated for social priorities.
The representative of Colombia said that in Africa, the servicing of foreign debt had required four times the amount of resources allocated for social development. Creditor governments should urgently consider debt cancellation of the poorest countries. Market forces did not guarantee relief for the social development problems of developing countries. The Summit review process should examine new forms of tying populations more closely into social development policies.
The representative of the United States said people were an essential element of an enabling environment as both beneficiaries of, and major contributors to, social development. An active civil society was essential to advance and safeguard the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of all citizens.
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A representative of Pax Christi International said social development must be grounded on human rights. Most rights were not absolute -- they existed in conflict with others. It was in adjudicating conflicting claims to rights that there was a need for ethical norms that were cross-culturally acceptable. In providing such norms, the needs of the poor should take priority over the wants of the rich. The rights of all members of society to participate in decision-making that affected them should take priority over the ability of the privileged to exclude them.
The representative of Guyana, speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said the Copenhagen review must acknowledge that progress in social development had been less than anticipated and that ground had been lost in areas not previously considered vulnerable. It must also recognize that development could not be compartmentalized. Unless development was holistic, Summit goals would remain beyond reach. The review would be futile unless the international community confronted the causes behind its slow progress.
Statements were also made by the representatives of Turkey, Philippines, Nepal, Venezuela, Republic of Korea and India, as well as Switzerland. Representatives of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Real Women of Canada, International Council on Social Welfare, Third World Institute/Social Watch, ATD Fourth World, World Movement of Mothers and the Business Association for the World Summit on Social Development (BUSCO) also spoke.
In other matters this morning the Commission decided to appoint Mathe Diseko (South Africa) as its Vice-Chairman cum Rapporteur.
The Commission will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 18 February, to continue its discussion of the initiation of the overall review of the implementation of the outcome of the Social Summit.
Commission Work Programme
The Commission for Social Development met this morning to continue its consideration of one of its priority themes: initiation of the overall review of the implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development, held in Copenhagen, in 1995. (For details of the documents before the Commission, see Press Release SOC/4482 of 8 February).
Statements
BETTY KING (United States) said her delegation believed that good governance was a critical element of an enabling environment. Free and regular elections, the rule of law, transparency in political processes, and an independent and free media were the basic building blocks of that process. An active civil society that represented interests from different walks of life and that functioned independently within a democracy was essential to advance and safeguard the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of every citizen. People were an essential element of an enabling environment. That meant creating an environment in which they were not only the beneficiaries of, but also the major contributors to social development. To do that "we must find ways to improve education and health care, and to alleviate extreme poverty".
She said that while international attention and action could create conducive environments for social development, it was ultimately up to each Member State to work closely with its citizens to make a difference. Governments must be accountable to the people, and together they must bear the primary responsibility to formulate and implement social development policies. The state's primary responsibility was to provide a democratic and stable environment in which citizens were free to take their own initiatives to better their lives. Governments should foster and encourage social integration to guarantee that all members of society could contribute to and benefit from social development.
YUSUF ISIK (Turkey) said the overall failure to implement basic social demands highlighted the need to implement basic concepts of development. It was also necessary to use the new phenomena of technological change and globalization to accrue positive benefits. It was encouraging that the process and institutional framework of the Copenhagen outcome was becoming the focal point of the international forum's efforts in development. The impetus to achieve a productive review of the implementation of the Summit's goals would result in pertinent action for the special session of the General Assembly in the year 2000. He believed that an expert meeting on the connection between macroeconomic factors and the requirements of the social aspects of development would also be useful.
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He said that there were a number of factors to be considered at the special session. The paradigm relevant to economic and social development was shifting towards a knowledge-based economy and a number of issues needed to be addressed. Among those, he cited the economic and social consequences and potential of rapid technological development, including genetic engineering; the effects of electronic commerce; divergence and convergence perspectives in worldwide technological development; access by developing countries to the information superhighway; and modern institutions and rules-based market mechanisms.
Addressing the issue of public management reform would also be beneficial, he noted. Impact of the world financial order on social systems was another useful area that could be reviewed as part of the follow-up to the Summit. An examination of the links between macroeconomic sustainability and social development requirements could result in productive discussions as well.
MARIA LOURDES V. RAMIRO-LOPEZ (Philippines) said that for the review process to be productive, it must be based on the priorities identified at the Summit. It must also take stock of actions at all levels to assess the progress in implementation, while identifying the impediments to full implementation. It was noteworthy that institutional development at the national level had been marked by democratization. That was encouraging since it contributed to the creation of an enabling environment for social development. The creation of an enabling environment also called for more equitable access for all to resources and basic social services. The eradication of poverty was linked to issues such as full employment, education and equality between men and women. Developing countries had done their best to achieve their Copenhagen commitments by, among other things, widening access to social services. Her country had made eradication of poverty and increasing the living standards of its citizens the primary focus of its development efforts. The incidence of poverty had been on a continual decline since 1994.
Prior to 1997, many parts of the developing world had showed signs of economic resurgence, she said. An atmosphere of social progress was quickly dissipated with the advent of the financial crisis. Private capital flew from the affected regions, and currencies stumbled while interest rates skyrocketed. The crisis had wiped out the gains achieved over decades. Being at the epicentre of the South-East Asian crisis, the Philippines was unable to avoid the disaster. The full range of social setbacks could not yet be fully known. In a crisis, education and social programmes became the casualties of national budgetary cuts. Also, official development assistance (ODA) had been on a continued decline. Hardly a handful of countries in the North had met the 0.7 per cent target. It was troubling that the international community was still grappling with ways to secure necessary resources for development.
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ODA would be required for decades to come, especially for programmes vital for development, but not attractive for private capital or national funds.
BHOLA NATH CHALISE (Nepal) said that poverty eradication was the only credible basis and gateway to sustainable development, especially with regard to developing countries. It was disheartening to note that four years after the Summit, its central goals -- poverty eradication, full employment and social integration -- were still far from being implemented. The goal of eradicating poverty required a sustained political will and commitment of the highest order; an integrated and coordinated approach; and decisive national action and international cooperation at all economic and political levels, including the grass-roots level and civil society. It was imperative that the United Nations system, multilateral financial institutions and regional organizations contributed their share of efforts and resources to the alleviation of global poverty as part of the urgent agenda of the early twenty-first century.
The twin problems of poverty and unemployment in developing countries needed urgent attention and special safety measures just to keep the people on an even keel, he said. In that context, Nepal had adopted specific policies and programmes regarding social protection such as mobilization of local resources, strengthening and developing social welfare centres especially for victims of drugs and disaster, and public awareness on social protection of women. The Government and the non-governmental organizations were joining hands in implementing those programmes with the sole objective of elevating the status of the silent majority -- the oppressed, exploited and marginalized.
STEFAN BRUPBACHER, Deputy Head, International Affairs, Federal Office for Economic Development and Labour of Switzerland, said that follow-up to the Summit should be grouped around a cluster of themes which bridged social and economic policies, and linked the many issues which the Secretariat had laid out in its preparatory papers. Those included how to create a framework fostering economic growth, which at the same time promoted the creation of income earning possibilities and assured a trickle-down effect through, among others, decent working conditions and salaries. To achieve that goal, macroeconomic policy and equity considerations must be linked. The crux of the debate was that employment was entangled with other issues such as social responsibility of private business, social services for all, and the promotion of an enabling environment. Further, a promotional approach should facilitate the resolution of the revenue question both on at the national and international level.
He suggested two further areas to be discussed in the preparatory process. First, a firm commitment for cooperation and collaboration among international organizations could not only revitalize the Economic and Social Council, but significantly improve the efficient use of the resources at hand.
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A concrete example for synergies might be the development of a common set of statistical indicators. Secondly, linking economic and social policies should contain a political component. Experience had shown that policies promoting good governance were central pillars to promote economic and social stability. Finally, the success of the follow-up process would critically hinge on the ability not to reopen the Copenhagen conclusions, but to agree on new initiatives to achieve their realization.
LYDA APONTE DE ZACKLIN (Venezuela) said despite efforts by various governments since the Copenhagen Summit, the deterioration of social services worldwide seemed uncontrollable. The gaps between rich and poor countries was widening and there was an unimaginable disparity in wealth. The present reality raised the question as to whether the problem of social development had been tackled as a philosophical issue. The formation of new initiatives to broaden the implementation of the Summit's commitments was complex and demanding since it had to be determined what required the most urgent attention. Her delegation felt that it was important to carefully consider the ever-growing interdependence between the economic and social spheres.
Venezuela agreed with the Secretary-General that caution must be exercised with regard to the tempo and scope of liberalization, she said. At the Summit, poverty had been recognized as the most urgent social problem and in that respect it had been noted with concern the drop in ODA. Every possible effort should be made to reverse that trend that was reducing the possibility of countries to wipe out poverty in a more systematic way. A collective effort was also needed to reverse the trend of social deterioration. Universal access to basic social services was a fundamental element of basic human development. Without that access, the individual relationship between human and social development would remain elusive.
JEONGHO CHO (Republic of Korea) said since the beginning of the financial crisis in November 1997, the unemployment rate had tripled in his country, reaching 7.9 per cent in December 1998. There was little doubt that the persistence of high unemployment was costly and threatened social cohesion. In response to that situation, the Republic of Korea had formulated unemployment policy measures which were divided into three categories: creating new jobs; promoting re-employment; and expanding the social safety net to minimize the hardships of the unemployed. Those measures were prepared based on a social consensus established through a tripartite commission. The mid-term goals were to generate 2 million jobs in four years and keep the unemployment rate below 5 per cent.
He said there were now signs of recovery in his country. The financial and foreign exchange markets had stabilized and international credibility had improved as institutional frameworks were being reformed. In addition, the real economy showed signs of picking up. Growth was now forecasted to take an upturn and register positive for this year. The combination of those factors
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was expected to reduce the unemployment rate. The ongoing global economic crisis further underscored that economic and social policies and objectives must go together. Concerted international efforts were therefore essential in tiding over the current financial crisis, which caused serious social problems in the global economy.
FABIO OCAZIONEZ (Colombia) said that the four main areas of the Summit continued to be valid, considering the progress and setbacks in social progress. In 1995, there was a feeling that globalization would have a positive impact on social development. While it might be too early to assess the impact, the effects had not seemed to be very positive. The recent Asian crisis had contributed to making things worse. In Africa, the servicing of foreign debt had required four times the amount of resources allocated for social development. As a matter of urgency, creditor governments should consider cancelling the debts of the poorest countries. It was clear that the market forces, in and of themselves, did not guarantee relief for the social development problems of developing countries. The review process should offer an opportunity to examine new forms of tying in the population more closely to social development policies.
He believed that inadequate efforts to fight poverty and for broadening access to social services were promoting a climate of violence and armed conflict in many countries, including his own. It was clear that the violence Colombia had suffered for so long had been the main obstacle to tackling poverty, the unfair distribution of wealth and the effects of the drug problem. The Government would continue to strengthen the ties of social cohesiveness and improve trust between social groups by generating a new social capital based on peace-building. "Plan Colombia" was a programme for social and environmental reconstruction in the regions where illegal crops were grown and where there were high incidences of forced displacement. The participation of the private sector in that programme, both profit and non- profit, would take place within an alliance with the Government.
GAUTAM MUKHOPADHAYA (India) said that the balance sheet regarding the creation of a favourable international political and economic environment was complex. While economic growth remained strong in many developing countries until recently, the financial crises had shown that such growth had lacked secure foundation; had not been accompanied by economic stability and long- term investment; and had thus far been far from sufficient to make a strong dent in poverty levels. Another priority to be addressed was to correct the existing bias towards negotiating agreements in sectors where lower barriers benefited richer countries and focus future trade negotiations on sectors such as agriculture, where freer trade would tend to benefit developing countries. A further area that needed addressing was cooperation in international taxation, so as to prevent tax competition or "downward harmonization" of taxation policies in a manner that encouraged inefficient private investment and deprived governments of essential revenues.
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Increasing internationalization of economic activity and power was greatly reducing the space within which individual governments could chart the social development of their people, he said. If developing countries were to have a realistic chance of mitigating the impact of international economic policy on social development, improved dialogue, involvement and participation in international economic decision-making processes that affected the enabling environment within which social development could take place were necessary. In the long run, it might be possible to formalize the dialogue process within and outside the United Nations into a more effective consultative mechanism. Only by doing so could the concerns of those actors at the national and international levels, in developed and developing countries, who did not have the power to turn the world, but who bore the brunt of the social consequences of market failures, be integrated.
BEAUTY MAEMZANISE, a representative of the World Council of Churches, said that the reality of the inequitable distribution of power, as well as the prevalence of poverty, marginalization and exclusion, challenged the notion of a shared global community. The often-used image of the global village was misleading. The present situation was lacking precisely the sense of community, belonging and mutual accountability that was typical of village life. Global media networks promoted a universal culture of consumerism, with devastating consequences.
Addressing debt relief, she said that both lenders and borrowers must take responsibility for the debt crisis. "We need new independent and transparent structures for overseeing relations between debtors and creditors." Such new structures and related mechanisms must involve participation of and dialogue between creditors and debtors. It was unacceptable that creditors dominated the debt relief process, she stressed.
"Primarily we need a just process of arbitration for international debt cancellation which ensures that losses and gains are equally shared", she said. Collective political will was urgently needed to develop ethical international lending-borrowing mechanisms, which involved civil society, in the process of debt relief and in preventing future debt crisis. Those mechanisms must produce ethical, mutually responsible and transparent solutions which satisfied not only ethical requirements for economic efficiency, but also met basic human needs while protecting human rights and the environment. Where funds were released through debt cancellation or other relief measures, civil society must be enabled to participate in determining the structure and the process of how monies are reallocated for social priorities.
ELLEN FREY-WOUTERS, a representative of the International Working Group on Trauma, said her organization had provided world leadership in understanding the long-term effects of exposure to traumatic events and the development of post-traumatic stress disorder. An international working group
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on trauma had been established to develop a document to guide public policy in countries torn by exposure to traumatic events. The need for fundamental principles that could be applied generically had never been more clear than in the past several years across the globe.
She said that with problem areas on every continent and with many racial and ethnic groups, there was need for a working group of individuals to identify active therapeutic principles that could be employed to help the effect of traumatic stress on civilians. Those principles could also be applied directly to those people who were exposed to the aftermath of death and destruction as they performed a wide variety of roles central to the mission of the United Nations.
KATHERINE BALMFORTH, representative of Real Women of Canada, said that the special session of the Assembly should consider the issue of "mainstreaming the family". Mainstreaming, in that context, meant that the promises made at Copenhagen to strengthen and support the family be always kept at the forefront, and that each initiative for social development be examined to determine its impact on the family. Firstly, it should be determined whether the initiatives supported, not supplanted, the family in its central role as nurturer, educator, transmitter of culture and agent of healthy development. Secondly, whether they led to greater family cohesion and stability, rather than possibly adding to the stresses that were tearing families apart. Thirdly, whether they led to greater family self-sufficiency, rather than dependence. Mainstreaming the family was an urgent issue because modernization was placing stress on families everywhere, and disintegration of the family exacerbated most of the problems addressed by the Commission. Moreover, it met all of the stated criteria for inclusion in the special session.
The issue of the family was a cross-cutting one and was relevant and important to all the Summit commitments, she said. Further, it was mentioned repeatedly in the Copenhagen documents, including its specific role in keeping the various commitments made there. Yet, for some reason, as those individual commitments were examined, the family sometimes dropped off the radar screen. Mainstreaming would prevent that phenomenon. In addition, the means to mainstream the family existed and the proposal was feasible.
JUNE PERSAUD (Guyana), speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said that it was clear that national governments alone did not control all of the circumstances which ultimately determined the welfare of their peoples, even though they played an important role in guiding policies and allocating resources. The review must acknowledge not only that progress in social development had been less than anticipated, but that ground had been lost in areas which were not previously considered vulnerable. It must also recognize that development could not be compartmentalized, neither within countries nor among countries. Thus, unless
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development took place in a holistic manner, the Copenhagen goals would remain beyond reach.
She reiterated the Group's call for the building of a genuine partnership between the stakeholders in the Summit, as well as for an enabling environment for social development at both the national and international levels. In the latter area, declining levels of ODA, international debt burdens, deteriorating terms of international trade and the marginalizing effects of globalization could be seen as major impediments to strong developing-country partners in the Copenhagen compact for social development. The review would be an exercise in futility unless the international community was prepared to confront the causes behind its slow progress in implementation. The capacity to progress resided in the ability to engage one another in a constructive partnership.
ROBERTO BISSIO, Secretary of Social Watch, said that his organization was made up of 50 non-governmental organizations from around the world committed to follow up and monitor implementation of the Copenhagen and Beijing conferences. The financial crisis, that last year effected South-East Asia, had expanded to the Russian Federation and Brazil. The mechanisms designed to cope with it had placed most of the burden unevenly on the shoulders of the poor, women, the children and the other vulnerable sectors of society. The opening of the financial markets and the resulting crisis had been a cataclysm, comparable in its impact to natural disasters or war.
To address that, the Commission's review process of the Copenhagen commitments should include setting new targets for the coming decade, he said. Some social development targets and indicators had been suggested by the donor countries, but in order to become effective, they need to be agreed to by the international community. Effective national reporting mechanisms needed to be established for all countries -- North and South. Progress towards accomplishment of the agreed ODA targets need to be reported.
JULIAN DISNEY, International Council on Social Welfare, said it had been generally agreed that the five-year review of the Copenhagen commitments should, instead of renegotiating the commitments, concentrate on ways of implementing them. However, it was necessary to focus the review even more tightly if it was to be effective and to justify consuming the time and resources dedicated to it. The review should concentrate on five to 10 priority issues rather than trying to cover all or most of the topics considered at Copenhagen. Only in that way would the review hope to develop agreements which were sufficiently specific and to which all the key actors were committed.
The priority issues should be the ones of fundamental importance to social development, he said. They should also be issues on which the review process could make a distinctive contribution to rather than merely
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duplicating the work and perspectives of other international processes. Those issues of focus should deal with such topics as: the Economic and Social Council system, international financial systems, anti-poverty programmes, official development assistance, basic income support, and fair trade and investment.
HUGUETTE GEDEGELD, Vice-President of ATD Fourth World, said that extreme poverty was a denial of human rights and overcoming it required mobilizing all of society's members, as well as building solidarity among nations. As countries continued the evaluation of the Copenhagen process now under way, they should focus on what had not been accomplished since Copenhagen. Important points were agreed upon, but as yet they had not been made the basis for action. Those points should be studied with care, taking specific realities into account.
Among those points, attention should be given to the multidimensional aspects of poverty, she said. It was clear that policies for overcoming poverty could be shaped only in a cohesive and forward-looking way. Pragmatism must not keep the world from aiming for compressive polices and continually monitoring the impact of policies in different domains. For example, support for micro-credit initiatives could not be left to stand alone. They should be an integral part of rethinking the economy. Those economic measures should also be accompanied by measures enabling all members of society to enrich one another through culture and art.
VINCENT COMISKVY, a representative of Pax Christi International, said social development must be firmly grounded on human rights. Most rights were not absolute -- they existed in conflict with others' rights. It was precisely in adjudicating conflicting claims to rights that there was a need for ethical norms that could be accepted across cultures. He believed that in providing such norms, the needs of the poor should take priority over the wants of the rich. He also believed the rights of all members of society to participate in decision-making that affected them should take priority over the ability of privileged individuals to exclude them. Those principles provided the basis for practices that integrated development and human rights. While they allowed for growth they also allowed for balance, and for care of the physical environment.
He said it must be acknowledged that enormous wealth and crippling poverty did not exist side-by-side without any causal connection. There could be no adequate distribution of wealth as long as there was only a minimum and no maximum standard of living in a society. Tolerance for unlimited wealth was destructive to the fabric of society. Until that was acknowledged, many of the efforts to restructure economies in the direction of justice would fail because they did not face a major factor in the so-called "poverty problem". The problem of poverty was also a problem of unbridled economic growth. Development policies should be essentially sensitive to the effect on
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children, who were humanity's most precious and vulnerable members. In addition, the assumption that what was good for trade was good for the people needed to be called into question.
SEAN E. BROTHERSON, representative of both the World Movement of Mothers and Family Voice of Brigham Young University, said that because family stability and parental influences played a central role in the development and well-being of youth, social development activities had to recognize and foster healthy family linkages. Programmes that overemphasize individualism or the achievement of rights for youth and children had to be careful to balance those objectives with a respect for parental responsibilities and familial ties. Otherwise, such programmes ran the risk of undermining social development of youth rather than enhancing it. Social development programmes should avoid undermining the ties between parents and youth that research showed assisted in healthy development.
It must also be recognized that governmental or social policies and programmes could not replace the functions of the family in promoting positive social development in children and youth, he continued. There were limits to what governmental or social programmes could and should do in attempting to impact family life, and care should be taken to preserve the capacity of families to develop an atmosphere of healthy and positive development for children and youth.
CLAUDE RENARD, Secretary-General of the Business Association for the World Summit on Social Development (BUSCO), said that the Summit had recognized the need for representatives of civil society and actors of economic life to become directly involved in the fight against poverty, unemployment and social exclusion. BUSCO was established to gather personal views of business people based on broad international consultations. Since the end of the Summit, it had been involved in the efforts of various United Nations agencies to bring in business people to articulate their plans of action, such as the holding of forums, in the development of their social responsibilities. The implementation by businesses of their social responsibility was important. It was essential to address social development problems at that level. One of the things it could do was to highlight the difficulties that had paralysed businesses and submit recommendations to tackle those difficulties. He believed that non-governmental organizations should be full participants in the discussions taking place in the preparatory process.
Dialogue with Non-Governmental Organizations
AURELIO FERNANDEZ (Spain), Chairman of the Commission, said that one of the proposals put forward by the International Council on Social Welfare was to establish working groups to address specific questions in the preparatory
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process. He asked the representative to elaborate on that idea, as well as on strengthening the role of the Economic and Social Council.
Mr. DISNEY, elaborating on the idea of working groups, said that it would be useful, since the range of topics to be covered was so great and there would not be enough time or expertise, among the country delegations or non-governmental organizations, to develop, discuss and agree on various issues. The distinctive contribution of such a gathering should be agreement on international action, not because that was more important than national action, but because the special session would be an international meeting. It would be important since it was one of the few opportunities for NGOs to engage with countries on addressing social development issues.
With regard to the strengthening of the Economic and Social Council, he said that it was crucial that macroeconomic issues be discussed with a social dimension. Governments should be represented in a broad way rather than by a small group of the world's countries. The Council needed to be strengthened, which would require discipline by a number of countries. He supported a smaller Council, with equal representation from both the developed and developing world.
Mr. FERNANDEZ (Spain) said he was convinced that every year, the Third World Institute -- Social Watch -- suffered from insufficient social indicators. He asked the representative of Social Watch to elaborate on the main priority in that regard.
Mr. BISSIO said that last May, the Economic and Social Council had recommended the elaboration of a set of basic indicators for social development. While some progress had been made in that area, it was necessary for the United Nations, as the only body with the capacity and authority to set standards, to establish them. If social indicators should be a guide for policy-making, they had to be agreed upon and not imposed. One of the problems faced by organizations such as his was finding up-to-date internationally comparable statistics.
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