PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR SPECIAL SESSION ON WORLD SOCIAL SUMMIT TO MEET AT HEADQUARTERS, 17-28 MAY

14 May 1999

Press Release
SOC/4498

PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR SPECIAL SESSION ON WORLD SOCIAL SUMMIT TO MEET AT HEADQUARTERS, 17-28 MAY

19990514 Background Release Special Session to Be Held in Geneva 26-30 June 2000; Committee to Conduct Preliminary Review of Social Summit Commitments

The Preparatory Committee for the 2000 Special Session of the General Assembly on the Implementation of the Outcome of the World Summit for Social Development and Further Initiatives will hold its first substantive session from 17 to 28 May at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The special session of the General Assembly, to be held in Geneva from 26 to 30 June 2000, is intended to provide the opportunity for sharing and comparing experiences and identifying further concrete means of addressing the 10 commitments of the Social Summit, which was held in Copenhagen in 1995. The objectives of the special session include both evaluating the effectiveness of implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action and deciding on further initiatives for achieving those commitments.

In preparation for the special session, the Preparatory Committee will hold a preliminary review and appraisal of the implementation of the outcome of the Summit. It will also consider further actions and initiatives to implement the commitments made at the Summit, as well as decide on non- governmental organization participation in the special session. Its discussions will result in draft proposals, which will be included in the report of the Committee for its first session. That report will be submitted for consideration to the General Assembly.

At the World Social Summit governments adopted a Declaration and Programme of Action, which represented a new consensus on the need to put people at the centre of development. The largest gathering yet of world leaders -- 117 heads of State or government -- pledged to make the conquest of poverty, the goal of full employment and the fostering of stable, safe and just societies their overriding objectives.

The Copenhagen Declaration contains a set of commitments that serve as the basis for the international community's drive to confront the structural

causes and distressing consequences of "profound social problems", particularly poverty, unemployment and social exclusion -- the core issues of the Summit. The Programme of Action recommends measures to be taken at the national, international and United Nations levels aimed at eliminating inequalities within and among countries and fostering social development policies and programmes.

On the first day of the session, the Preparatory Committee will hold a high-level dialogue on global review and initiatives. It will then begin four days of general discussion on each of the 10 commitments: creation of an enabling environment; eradication of poverty; promotion of full employment; promotion of social integration; equality between women and men; access to education and health; acceleration of development in Africa and the least developed countries; inclusion of social development goals in structural adjustment programmes; allocation of resources for social development; and a strengthened framework for international cooperation for social development.

In its second week, the Preparatory Committee will begin consideration of draft proposals and hold informal consultations. It will also establish an in-session, open-ended working group to facilitate consultations on organizational matters related to the special session. The Preparatory Committee also plans to adopt the provisional agenda for its second session.

At its organizational meeting, held from 19 to 22 May 1998, the Preparatory Committee agreed that the framework for discussion at the special session would be the 10 commitments made at Copenhagen. It also decided on the issues to be addressed at its future preparatory sessions, including coordination with the Commission for Social Development; the role of the United Nations system; and the mobilization of voluntary resources. It also decided that its second preparatory session would be held from 3 to 14 April 2000.

Reports before Preparatory Committee

The Preparatory Committee will have before it a report of the Secretary-General on further initiatives for the implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development (document A/AC.253/8). The report provides criteria for selection of suitable issues for consideration at the special session. It also describes possible issues under each of the 10 commitments adopted at Copenhagen.

The report states that since the Summit, economic and social interdependence has continued to increase and thus, one issue that would naturally be in the agenda for the special session would be the implications of globalization for national social policy. Further, the Secretary-General states, a priority for the special session could be clear statements on: principles of national socio-economic policy for responses to financial

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crises, for use by governments and international institutions in coping with the consequences of international financial instability; and socio-economic aspects of reform of international financial structures and policies, which could provide a foundation for technical discussions on the subject in other, appropriate forums.

In regard to poverty eradication, the report states that national poverty reduction strategies are the most important means of moving towards global poverty eradication. The special session provides an opportunity for all countries and international agencies to review current conditions and to exchange experience on strategies and best practices for poverty eradication. Further consideration might be given by the special session to the value of adopting international targets for poverty eradication, based on national strategies and experience.

Among others, the report states that the Committee might wish to consider the following topics for further initiatives in regard to poverty: adoption of a global target for poverty eradication that would halve the number of people living in absolute poverty by the year 2015; review of the attainment of commitments to meet the basic needs of all by the year 2000 contained in the Copenhagen Programme of Action; discussion of policies of redistribution; the establishment, strengthening and improvement in management of national social protection systems; and policies to make community participation in social development activities more effective.

Concerning employment, the Secretary-General states that the growth of employment has become the highest priority for national and international economic and social policy. It will contribute more than any other economic or social achievement to reducing poverty, to increasing personal and national economic security, to reducing waste, increasing efficiency and improving equity. Yet, in most countries unemployment and underemployment are high. Growth of employment -- of income-generating opportunities for work -- could, therefore, well become the principal focus of the special session.

Further initiatives in the field of employment could include: Mandating preparation of a global action programme for full employment in an integrating world; design and introduction of policies which aim to increase the rate of economic growth in ways that will maximize the growth of employment; and refocusing macroeconomic policies so that social goals and priorities become central and are sought simultaneously with economic priorities.

With regard to social integration, the report states that one of the requirements for social integration is the general sense that society is fair. People need confidence that justice will generally prevail, which involves both the rule of law and fair judicial procedures, as well as social justice. Inequity in all its forms -- political, socio-economic and cultural -- is one of the principal impediments to overcoming social exclusion. Also, achieving

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the goal of social inclusion will require addressing the issue of children at risk, particularly in times of conflict and war, or as a result of exploitation in the labour force or the sex industry, or because of family violence or disintegration.

The report states that topics for further initiatives in regard to social integration could include: actions to encourage the flow of information which maximizes participation, and to make information more user friendly; actions to support families, particularly in the areas of economic support and provision of social services; and comparison of national experience in policies on ageing and discussion of the relevance of adopting international norms.

Concerning equality and equity between women and men, the report states that the most important contribution of the special session to gender equality might well be to ensure that the issue is considered in relation to each commitment outlined in the Copenhagen Declaration -- to ensure, in other words, that gender is mainstreamed. Despite some progress, there is still gender-related discrimination in many countries. Thus, the special session might appropriately consider the extent to which gender considerations have been successfully mainstreamed to date, while recognizing that the specific concerns of women will be taken up at the review of the Fourth World Conference on Women.

Under universal and equitable access to quality education and health services, the report suggests that the Preparatory Committee might wish to consider: mandating preparation of new global plans of action to achieve access to education and basic health services for all by 2015; further review and consideration of the impact and effectiveness of the 20/20 initiative, by which developing countries are called upon to set aside 20 per cent of their budgets for basic social services and donor countries earmark 20 per cent of their official development assistance for such services; and the means for improving partnerships between the public and private sectors in the area of health research, so as to increase incentives for private research.

On accelerating the development of Africa and the least developed countries, the report states that the majority of African countries continue to rely on too few commodities for export earnings. That situation, combined with the fact that prices for most of those commodities are low and declining, results in inadequate prospects for growth. Also, the situation in Africa regarding human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) has become catastrophic. Today, more than 20 million Africans are infected with HIV and in 1998 more than 2 million people died of AIDS, including nearly half a million children.

In regard to African development, the report states, the Preparatory Committee might wish to consider the following topics for further initiatives:

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further support for efforts to reduce the debts of the poorest and heavily indebted low-income countries in Africa; promoting access to credit, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises; and strengthening support for activities to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS.

In ensuring that structural adjustment programmes include social development goals, the Secretary-General states that many countries have had to face severe economic disruptions since the Summit, in some cases on an unprecedented scale. It has become clear that there are wide differences among governments about appropriate modes of handling financial crises. To address that, the Preparatory Committee might wish to consider ways and means to strengthen coordination between the Economic and Social Council, the Bretton Woods institutions and the World Trade Organization, with regard to the ongoing evaluation of the social impact of structural adjustment programmes.

Under the commitment concerning increasing resources allocated to social development, the report suggests that the Preparatory Committee might wish to consider the following measures: preparation of guidelines for policies aiming to collect sufficient revenue to pay for national social services, social protection and other social policies in the context of globalization; identification of effective forms of international cooperation and coordination of taxation policy between countries, so as to contain tax competition; agreeing on further initiatives to substantially reduce the debts of the heavily indebted low-income countries; reversing the current decline in official development assistance and efforts to reach the agreed international targets for such assistance; and ways and means to attract and manage direct foreign investment.

Under implementation and institutional reform, the report states that the special session might wish to consider a clear commitment to the use of social impact assessments as a technique for evaluating national policy and programme initiatives and major projects. The establishment of national units for planning and evaluation of the effectiveness of policies and the strengthening of such units within international development cooperation agencies could be considered. That could be extended the introduction of international social auditing of the type undertaken in relation to economies by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

In conclusion, the Secretary-General states that the proposals included in the report are preliminary, and that one of the goals of the first session of the Preparatory Committee will be to identify priorities and to mandate the elaboration of a limited number of specific initiatives. He adds that, given the broad range of the issues discussed in the report, it would be valuable if a central theme could be identified, to lend coherence to the debate. For example, one central theme that embodies the issues discussed in the report

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is, "Putting social development at the centre of national and global political agendas".

The report of the Secretary-General on the preliminary assessment of the implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development (document E/CN.5/1999/4) was considered by the Commission for Social Development at its February session and is before the Preparatory Committee for its information. It states that at the Summit, governments adopted the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and the Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development, and identified the eradication of poverty, the achievement of full employment and the promotion of secure, stable and just societies as priority goals. In December 1995, the Assembly decided to hold a special session in the year 2000 for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the Summit and to consider further actions and initiatives. In November 1997, the Assembly established a Preparatory Committee to decide on the process to be followed to achieve the purposes of the special session.

The report goes on to say that at its organizational session in May 1998, the Committee requested the Secretary-General to submit to it at its first substantive session a report on the implementation of the 10 commitments contained in the Declaration. The present report responds to that request, and is submitted to the Committee through the Commission. In the context of its review of the implementation of the outcome of the Summit and in accordance with its multi-year programme of work and the agenda for its thirty-seventh session as approved by the Council, the Commission will consider "initiation of the overall review of the implementation of the outcome of the Summit" as one of its priority themes for 1999.

An additional report of the Secretary-General on preliminary assessment of the implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development (document A/AC.253/7) is considered an addendum to document E/CN.5/1994/4. It contains updated information under each of the 10 commitments of the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development since December 1998.

In the report, the Secretary-General also recalls the Committee's request, at its organizational session in May 1998, that he submit to its second substantive session in April 2000 a comprehensive document assessing the overall level of implementation of the Summit's outcome, including the identification of constraints, obstacles and successes and lessons learned, as well as recommendations on further actions and initiatives at the national, regional and international levels.

He states that, at the further request of the Committee, general guidelines as well as a structure and common framework for national reporting on progress made and obstacles encountered were prepared and forwarded to

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governments in October 1998 with a 30 June deadline for response. The Secretary-General invites governments to submit their responses as soon as possible in order to enable the Secretariat to complete the report in time for consideration by the Committee's second session.

Other documents before the Preparatory Committee include: a note by the Secretariat on the status of preparations for the special session (document A/AC.253/6); a note by the Secretariat on contributions from relevant organs, funds, programmes and specialized agencies of the United Nations system (document A/AC.253/9 and addenda); and a note by the Secretariat on participation of non-governmental organizations (document A/AC.253/10). It will also have before it a draft decision on preparation for the special session, which was introduced by Indonesia, on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, to the organizational session of the Preparatory Committee (document A/AC.253/L.1).

Membership, Officers

The Preparatory Committee is open to all members States.

At its organizational session in May 1998, the Committee elected Cristian Maquieira (Chile) as its Chairman; and Bagher Asadi (Iran), Abdallah Baali (Algeria), Ion Gorita (Romania), Koos Richelle (Netherlands) as Vice- Chairmen. Mr. Asadi was also designated to serve as Rapporteur.

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