PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR SPECIAL SESSION ON WORLD SOCIAL SUMMIT BEGINS PRELIMINARY REVIEW AND APPRAISAL OF SUMMIT'S OUTCOME
Press Release
SOC/4502
PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR SPECIAL SESSION ON WORLD SOCIAL SUMMIT BEGINS PRELIMINARY REVIEW AND APPRAISAL OF SUMMIT'S OUTCOME
19990518 Twenty-one Speakers Address Issues of External Debt, Global Financial Crisis, Social Policies and Effects of GlobalizationReducing external debt and addressing its causes were crucial in meeting social development goals, a number of delegates said this morning, in the Preparatory Committee for the special session of the General Assembly that will review implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development.
The special session, 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.
Speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated countries, the representative of Germany said that external debt continued to be a serious impediment to social development for many poor developing countries. Therefore, creditor countries and institutions should consider taking action to achieve rapid progress towards faster and deeper debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative, as well as other means. Resources freed by that action should be used for social development, including poverty reduction. He also called on all donor countries to increase efforts to meet official development assistance targets.
While agreeing that international debt remained a problem, the Minister of Education and Culture of Ecuador said it should be asked, how much of that debt was due to development spending and how much came from government corruption, conflict and inefficiency? Unless the true causes of debt were addressed, the problem would not be solved. Indebtedness should be audited, she said, to find the causes of debt and address the roots of the problem.
A number of delegations also stressed the importance of addressing the impact of the world financial crisis. The representative of Guyana, on behalf
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of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said the international commitment to halving poverty by 2015 was at risk due to the crisis. To address the impact of the crisis, developing countries needed to be assured of a more level playing field for the marketing of their products. They also needed more favourable and fairer terms of trade and of greater social sensitivity in the policies of the Bretton Woods institutions. Those conditions would serve to promote sustained growth and would strengthen efforts at poverty reduction.
The representative of the United States said the recent financial crisis and its social impact had highlighted the need for effective social policies to deal with the challenges of globalization. To achieve resiliency and overcome the financial crisis, States could take the following actions: invest in people; create productive employment; and facilitate information exchange to disseminate best-policy practices. There was also a need for greater donor coordination. Multilateral development banks and financial institutions should work together to ensure that social policy issues were integrated in each institution's programmes.
Statements were also made by the representatives of Bangladesh, Algeria, Chile, Netherlands, Canada, Tunisia, Egypt, Czech Republic, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Peru, Mauritius, Japan and Kazakhstan. The observers of Switzerland and Holy See also spoke.
A statement was also made by John Langmore, Director of the Division for Social Policy and Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
The Preparatory Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its general discussion on the preliminary review and appraisal of the implementation of the outcome of the Social Summit.
Committee Work Programme
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 met this morning to hold general discussions on the topic: preliminary review and appraisal of the implementation of the outcome of the Social Summit. (For background information on the Committee's session, see Press Release SOC/4498 of 14 May.)
Statements
JOHN LANGMORE, Director of the Division for Social Policy and Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said in an introductory statement that the documents before the Preparatory Committee showed that since the 1995 Social Summit in Copenhagen, national goals and priorities, strategies and policies had been reoriented in most countries with the aim of implementing more effectively the commitments made at the Summit. They also showed that many international organizations had made serious attempts to implement the commitments relevant to them.
He said that responses had been received from about 110 countries to requests from the Secretary-General in 1995 and 1996 for information on initial action taken or planned relating to the Social Summit. Other reports had been given by governments to the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Commission for Social Development since then. Those reports demonstrated that many countries had attempted to express Summit commitments in national strategies and had taken substantial steps towards implementation. They also suggested that implementation during the early stages had been uneven and that national adoption of goals and strategies in the commitments may have been far from complete.
An excellent summary of the complexity of the picture of implementation since the Copenhagen Summit was presented in the Social Watch Report for 1999, he said. That report concluded: "The good news is that the social indicators are showing significant progress in over 60 countries... The bad news is that progress is too slow to reach the goals in another 70 countries. Thirteen are in the same shape or worse off today than they were in 1990 and, for almost 40 countries, the data is insufficient to say anything, which probably reflects an even worse situation."
RUDOLPH COLLINS (Guyana), on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said that in the year 2000, when heads of State would meet to reaffirm the importance of the Copenhagen principles, they would be addressing the very same problems, aggravated by the aftermath of the financial crisis in Asia, whose devastating consequences had affected not only millions of people in Asia, but also those who had suffered economic
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recessions by reason of their close links with Asia. The World Bank had indicated that the economic recession in Asia could mean that countries that were once assured of being able to halve poverty by 2015 would need at least another 10 years to achieve that goal.
Similarly, he added, the Bank's President had admitted that developing regions had lost a great deal of momentum in achieving their poverty reduction targets. Thus, the international commitment to halving poverty, cutting infant and child mortality by two thirds and enroling all children in primary education by 2015 was now seriously at risk. The Asian crisis, as well as the subsequent one in Latin America, had highlighted the need for a regulatory framework for international financial speculations and capital flows.
The experience of the Group of 77 and China, he said, had clearly indicated the need for a positive international enabling environment in support of national efforts at improving the social conditions of all peoples, in particular those living in abject poverty. A major challenge was creating the foundation for sustained future growth. Developing countries needed to be assured of a more level playing field for the marketing of their products, of more favourable and fairer terms of trade and of greater social sensitivity reflected in the policies of the Bretton Woods institutions. They needed stronger debt relief efforts and the transfer of appropriate technology, knowledge and information. Those conditions would serve to promote the sustained growth needed in those countries and would strengthen their efforts at poverty reduction.
He said that the concerns voiced last month by the World Bank -- that despite a predicted world economic growth of 4.5 to 5 per cent by the year 2001, developing countries would face less investment, weak commodity prices and the lowest levels of official development aid -- did not augur well for expectations for sustained economic growth. Worse yet were forecasts of a significant decline in official flows to the so-called emerging markets of developing countries. Latin America was expected to receive $20 billion less in net private flows, while such countries as Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia and Thailand would register zero net flows in the current year. In 1997, Africa had received $3 billion less in external resource flows.
While recognizing the major role of the State in promoting social integration, the support of civil society and the international community was essential to that process, he said. As the Committee reviewed progress since the Copenhagen Declaration, it must be remembered that any blueprint for social development must take into account national and regional differences. Regional commissions, as well as regional and subregional organizations, had already made great strides in establishing regional social development agendas, which should be given greater attention by the international
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community. At the same time, there was a role for the relevant United Nations specialized agencies, organizations, funds and programmes, the World Trade Organization and the Bretton Woods institutions in promoting coordination and dialogue for the achievement of social goals.
ROSANGEL ADUM JARAMILLO, Minister of Education and Culture of Ecuador, said that often governments took up a package of development measures and that provided the illusion that they could control factors that could actually overwhelm them. Many of those factors came from outside their borders. The special session should go further than the Summit goals by establishing new international ethics for the behaviour of governments and businesses. The special session should spell out the need for new and radical rules for international relations.
She said that ministers expected the special session to support social development efforts. It should concentrate on the creation of peace, because only under peace could social development progress occur. There was also a need for political reform. Without that, the Summit commitments could not be turned into reality. Citizenship and the responsibilities that went along with that was key to implementing social development goals. The poor were also citizens and should participate politically in societies. Thanks to democratic changes in Ecuador, women and the indigenous had become very important political actors.
She added that international debt remained a great problem. However, it should be asked, how much of that debt was due to development spending and how much came from government corruption, conflict and fighting, and inefficiency? Unless the true causes of debt were addressed, the problem would not be solved. Indebtedness should be audited to find the causes of debt and address the roots of the problem.
BETTY KING (United States) said that democracy was at the core of social development. In the past two decades, the number of democracies worldwide had grown almost threefold. The world was a safer and more agreeable place for people to live than a generation ago. Recent events in the Balkans had accentuated the fact that the protection of people's political, economic and civil rights was fundamental to meaningful social development, and that democracy must be at the core of the enabling environment for social development. Democracy, transparent and accountable governance, the rule of law and independent and free media were the essentials for centred, sustainable development.
The recent financial crisis and its social impact had highlighted the need for the world community to formulate effective social policies to deal with the challenges of globalization, she said. To achieve resiliency and overcome the financial crisis, States could take the following actions:
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invest in people; create productive employment; and facilitate information exchange to disseminate best-policy practices. There was also a need for greater donor coordination. Multilateral development banks and financial institutions should continue to strengthen their support for economic and social policies. They should work together to ensure that social policy issues were integrated in each institution's programmes.
ANWARUL KARIM CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) said that national actions should highlight sound and sustainable policies aimed at capacity-building, delivery of social services and social safety nets to women and children and all other vulnerable social groups. Also, at the national level, implementation should be evaluated and a determination should be made of further steps to be taken. Poverty eradication should be the central goal of all such efforts, and the endemic spread of poverty must be reversed. The most effective approach was to enable the poor to help themselves. In that regard, the success of microcredit spoke for itself.
Also at the national level, he said that structural adjustment programmes should be "people-focused". Human security was jeopardized if structural adjustment programmes did not contain the social development goals of eradicating poverty, increasing employment and enhancing social cohesion. The effective and innovative use of resources was crucial for improved and cost-effective results. Governments could not meet the goals of Copenhagen alone; they required civil society and the private sector.
The spirit of partnership at the international level required genuine international cooperation, he said. The objectives of the Social Summit would never be realized if official development assistance (ODA) continued to fall, the debt situation worsened and market access was determined solely through competition among unequals. The negative effects of globalization on social development should also be addressed. It must be ensured, in the name of open markets and open societies, that the disparity within and among societies was not increased, or that vulnerable groups were not marginalized through the removal of social safety nets and the reallocation of resources.
He went on to say that social development goals were derailed by conflicts. Resources were diverted from the social sector and the damage to social cohesion was often irreversible. Regional cooperation could promote social development. In that connection, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation had decided to draft a social charter for the region, which would go beyond national plans of action and provide a regional approach for promoting social development. In the Asia-Pacific region, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) had adopted a regional agenda of action that provided guidelines to the countries of the region.
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ABDALLAH BAALI (Algeria) said that because the common aim was the implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action, the review exercise must include two essential aspects: first, the examination and evaluation of progress made in the application of the Declaration and Programme of Action, as well as the obstacles encountered in that regard; and second, the proposal of concrete actions and initiatives to eliminate those obstacles. It was not necessary to introduce new commitments or programmes of action, when the objectives commonly agreed upon in 1995 had not yet been achieved.
He said that initiatives that could be examined with regard to the outcome of the Special Session included: the utilization of modern means of communication for the exchange of information and experiences; an increase in the exchanges between developed and developing countries; strengthening in the United Nations system of mobilization and coordination of questions of development; and strengthening the role of the Commission on Sustainable Development in the follow-up to the outcome of the special session.
If some tangible progress had been achieved, he said, it must be pointed out that Copenhagen had not been fully applied, not through a lack of political will, but due to a lack of resources and because of the impact on developing countries of deteriorating terms of exchange, the infernal circle of external indebtedness and uncontrolled globalization. In that regard, it was vital that the international community, in general, and the financial institutions, in particular, redouble efforts and create an international environment more conducive to development and that would have a positive effect on the economies of the countries in question.
JEAN-JACQUES ELMINGER, Federal Office for Economic Development and Labour of Switzerland, said that discussions alone were not enough to answer the pressing needs all over the world. It was necessary to strive for a list of concrete and innovative solutions and strategies on which the Special Session should and could agree. During the thirty-seventh session of the Commission for Social Development, the Swiss delegation had advocated the follow-up to be grouped around a cluster of themes bridging social and economic policies. The key to the social dimension of globalization was job promotion and improved working conditions. More generally, it was necessary to focus on how to create a framework fostering economic growth, which simultaneously promoted the creation of jobs and decent working conditions.
He said social services for all, including basic social insurance, was of special importance. The elaboration of general guidelines in that respect and an exchange of best practices could be an important topic for the follow- up. The social responsibility of the private sector was also important. His delegation had repeatedly insisted on the importance of a sincere and open dialogue between government and business during the follow-up process. A
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particularly good chance to establish such a dialogue would be the second Enterprise Forum of the International Labour Organization (ILO) at the beginning of November.
Finally, coherence and cooperation among international organizations had to be improved and assured, he said. Concrete and binding principles for social policy for international organizations should be elaborated by the United Nations, the specialized organizations and the international finance institutions. Those principles should be discussed at the Commission for Social Development next year and at the second Preparatory Committee in April 2000, and agreed to by the General Assembly next year. The specialized agencies should also prepare concrete action plans by October. Such plans would permit the Commission and the Preparatory Committee to select the most appropriate and innovative strategies for agreement during the special session.
JOSEFINA BILBAO, Minister for Women's Affairs of Chile, said that, while many countries were dedicated to implementing the Social Summit commitments, progress made had not been as broad as expected. It seemed that resources were always scarce and needs plentiful. Therefore, there was an obligation to use resources in the most effective and efficient way. That was an important challenge for nations. There was a need, also, to have indicators to determine whether progress had been made. Evaluation, if done properly, could help countries focus resources better and overcome some difficulties in achieving goals. It also helped convince those ministers and political leaders that social development programmes were working.
Through the reallocation of resources, the Minister of Health had been able to provide seniors with additional health care and services, she said. On decision-making for social development, there was a need to stop making decisions based on national considerations and begin considering regional needs. States also must begin to listen more to citizens to determine their needs. In order to overcome poverty, efforts by different branches of government must be integrated.
DIETER KASTRUP (Germany), on behalf of the European Union and the associated countries of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus and Iceland, said that inequalities were an impediment to social justice, social integration and participation. The elimination of all forms of discrimination and existing inequalities in the enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms would, therefore, constitute a major advance towards achieving those central social development goals. The Union called upon all governments to ratify and fully implement international human rights instruments. Promotion of human rights included measures to promote the access of poor people and persons with
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special needs not only to basic social services, but also to productive resources.
In Europe there were a number of vulnerable and marginalized groups, as well as persons with special needs, he said. It was also faced with persisting racist and xenophobic attitudes. With that in mind, the Union was aware of the formidable challenges involved to live up to the standards and ideas of social justice. Because of its own experience, the Union was convinced that responsive and accountable government, effective participation, the rule of law and fair judicial procedures, based on legal standards, were key elements to ensure a just society, based on respect for human rights and dignity.
He added that external debt continued to be a serious impediment to social development for many poor developing countries. Therefore, creditor countries and institutions should consider taking action to achieve rapid progress towards faster and deeper debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative and through other means. Resources freed by that action should be used for social development, including poverty reduction. The political commitment of developing countries and the quality of aid programmes were as important as the level of ODA in reducing poverty. However, the Union would continue to increase efforts to achieve the ODA target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product (GNP) by all donor countries. That would require a reversal in the current downward trend in overall ODA. All donor countries should commit themselves to that.
KOOS RICHELLE (Netherlands), associating himself with the European Union statement, said the Social Summit highlighted the important fact that economic development and social development were intrinsically linked, and that social policy was an integral part of sustainable development. In the years since Copenhagen, the crisis in Asia, partially caused by uncontrolled globalization and liberalization, had deepened that awareness even more. The review of the Summit exercise provided a good opportunity to go beyond the phase of conceptualization and on to operational strategies, as well as to identify useful tools and techniques to put into practice the promises of 1995.
He said that his country had recently decided to concentrate aid on a limited number of countries. The main principle of that policy was that the socio-economic climate in the recipient country should be favourable to sustainable development, in order for cooperation to be effective. Criteria for selection were the level of poverty, national socio-economic policy and the extent of good governance. Good governance encompassed transparency, legitimacy, respect for human rights and participation by individuals and all other actors of civil society, including the private sector.
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The basic notion of the World Bank report on assessing aid was that societies could only develop in a sustainable manner when individual governments took up their responsibilities, he said. Therefore, they should exercise ownership over their own development processes. In order to make ownership possible, both bilateral and multilateral donors should be willing to be coordinated by the governments of the recipient countries. That might seem a revolutionary concept compared to the daily practice of development cooperation, but the outcomes of the global conferences and results of research inevitably led to that kind of approach. Further initiatives should, therefore, be identified and specified on the basis of that knowledge.
ROSS HYNES (Canada) said that the Preparatory Committee must be clear about what it wanted to achieve through the review process. Canada strongly supported the position that the objective of the special session was not the renegotiation of existing agreements. Rather, using the 10 commitments made at the Summit in Copenhagen as a framework for discussion, the special session should evaluate the effectiveness of implementation to date and consider further initiatives. It was necessary to harmonize social and economic policy, build partnerships and ensure coherent interventions at all levels. Each country was operating within a unique set of circumstances, and it was important to recognize that there might be many different and equally effective ways to achieve the same goals.
He said that the preparatory process and the special session could provide important opportunities for countries to share experiences, consider lessons learned and propose enhanced or alternative strategies. It was also necessary to give the policies and programmes put in place over the last four years time to bear fruit. Partnerships within, across and outside government -- at the community, national and international levels -- were of key importance in the period leading up to the special session. He supported the efforts of the United Nations to further non-governmental organization participation in its work, especially in the follow-up to major world conferences and summits.
ABDELLATIF BEN KILANI (Tunisia) said that recent years had been characterized by globalization and financial openness that had positive and negative impacts. To address those problems, his country had taken a number of steps, including: increasing the involvement of citizens in society; providing social support for all members of society to limit marginalization; and strengthening the role of women in public life. Due to such efforts, his country had reduced mortality rates, established basic infrastructure programmes and improved employment generation. The Tunisian Solidarity Bank was set up in 1997 to provide support for small businesses and other micro- enterprises. Credit given by that bank had lead to the establishment of thousands of jobs.
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He said his country had also taken steps to stabilize the purchasing power of citizens and guard against major fluctuations in the cost of essential goods. Poverty not only mean a lack of resources, it also meant having little access to education and health care. Poverty needed to be addressed in a broad manner, with the specific needs of countries in mind. He said the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) could play an important role in helping countries meet their development goals.
AHMED ABOUL GHEIT (Egypt) said the Social Summit had contributed to raising interest in social development areas and placed social aspects at the forefront of development plans. In that regard, it was important to respect cultural plurality and create a society based on cooperation and participation by all citizens. There were still strong challenges to implementing the Summit goals, including those on unemployment, poverty and social disintegration. To address those problems, it was important to mend the imbalances that existed in the international financial system.
He said his country had always been committed to eradicating poverty around the world. Poverty was not confined to a lack of resources; it also implied the deprivation of rights. Policies should ensure human rights, as well as provide resources. Poverty eroded the fabric of both developing and developed societies. In that respect, international cooperation must create market access, as well as provide resources for structural adjustment.
LUDEK RYCHLY, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic, said in the years following the Social Summit, his county had undergone many changes. It made the transition to a market economy, accelerated preparations for admission into the European Union and experienced a period of strong economic growth. However, it also faced a period of stagnation and a recent decline in GDP. Based on its experience, his delegation had come up with a number of recommendations for social development. Among them, it found that social policy must be viewed as an integral part of economic strategies.
His country had also found that social policy could not be limited to the mere protection against social risks, he said. On the contrary, it should focus on strengthening human resources and improving such areas as education, housing and transport. The role of politicians should not be underestimated in elaborating social policies. When policy measures were not discussed with citizens, they were often weak and unacceptable to the population. Also, social policy should be based on long-term objectives -- radical changes should be avoided. In that regard, governments should take into account possible dangers in the consideration of social policy measures.
SUH DAE-WON (Republic of Korea) said that although strenuous efforts had been made and progress had been achieved since the Copenhagen Summit, certain
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trends were disturbing. The problems of poverty, unemployment and social inequity, for example, had gone on unabated. Moreover, the situation had worsened in many countries, in light of the financial crisis and the lack of social safety nets. Addressing social development required a holistic approach. Indeed, such policies should be implemented as an integral part of national macroeconomic policy. States should pursue economic and social development as two pillars of the development process.
Concerning preparation for the special session, he said the session did not represent the final assessment of the Social Summit. Rather, progress made in that regard should be regularly reviewed. As hard as it was to achieve tangible results, it was even harder to sustain them. A review of development should be comprehensive and any assessment should integrate political will and action-oriented programmes. The results of the meetings of the Commission for Social Development, the General Assembly and regional meetings should be thoroughly reviewed at the special session.
Since the Social Summit, he said his country had taken substantial measures to fulfil the 10 commitments of the Summit. The development strategies of his country had, for years, centred on economic development, without giving due attention to social development. The World Summit was an excellent catalyst for reorienting its views on national development. Following the Summit, the Government established public aid programmes and several social insurance programmes, which had contributed towards a minimum living standard for the underprivileged. To foster social harmony and integration, the Government would redouble its efforts to remedy inequality in employment opportunity results from gender, age and disability, and create an enabling environment for a more inclusionary society.
The financial crisis of 1997 had resonated so strongly throughout Korean society that it had made its members acutely aware of the impact of social development on their lives, he said. In response, the Government was pursuing balanced development strategies, by enhancing transparency and accountability in all segments of society. In that process, solutions to unemployment and the expansion of social services were key priorities. If the twentieth century had been an era of nationalism and economic development, the twenty- first century would be an era of globalization and human-centred sustainable development.
FAWZI SHOBOKSHI (Saudi Arabia) said that the basic law of government, based on Islamic sharia law, ensured a secure social climate that helped in preventing injustice, discrimination and restrictions on people's movements. Those laws helped protect society from negative influences. Social services were all-inclusive and included a social security service, which offered relief to those suffering from hardship and those who were unable to support their families.
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He said that Saudi Arabia's labour laws stipulated that any company employing more than 50 workers and who could employ disabled workers who had been rehabilitated, must employ 2 per cent of its work force from among the disabled. Saudi Arabia had achieved the aims of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action.
EDGARDO MOSQUEIRA MEDINA, Minister of the Presidency of Peru, said his Government sought fair access to opportunities for all its citizens and, at the same time, it respected and re-emphasized their cultural, ethnic, social and historical characteristics as a basic part of their dignity. One prerequisite for that was the existence of peace, both within and beyond the country's borders, as well as a solid and growing economy. Peru had been pacified in the early 1990s with the defeat of subversive groups that had caused enormous human and material losses, estimated at 30,000 deaths and $25 million. Last week, Peru concluded the demarcation of its border with Ecuador, a historic landmark in bilateral relations and in the progress of both nations.
He said that, concerning economic matters, the responsible management of Peru's economy had requested in: a reduction of the annual inflation rate from 7,649 per cent in 1990 to 6 per cent in 1998; the growth of international reserves from $531 million to $9,183 for the same period; and the growth of 44.5 per cent in the GDP from the end of 1990 to the present. Those achievements had led to the generation of a larger number of employment opportunities for Peruvians and, accordingly, more resources that could be devoted to the fulfilment of the commitments of the Social Summit.
He said that from 1990 to date, his Government had significantly increased the budgetary allotment to social programmes, in accordance with the Copenhagen Declaration. While that Declaration stated that governments were directly responsible for the achievement of the social development of their peoples, it also stated that international cooperation played an important role in the achievement of that goal. For that purpose, it would be essential for the developed countries to assign 0.7 per cent of their GDP as official assistance for development.
V.P. BUNDHUN, Minister of Social Security and National Solidarity of Mauritius, said there was a need for greater political will to address the needs of structural and social adjustment policies. There was also a need to provide social support to marginalized groups, such as the elderly, and provide balanced terms of trade between developed and developing countries. In meeting Summit goals, States must also provide for: education and job opportunities; credit facilities for low-income groups; and the participation of women. Increasing resources should be dedicated to social development in order to ensure global peace and security.
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YUJI KUMAMARU (Japan) said that despite strenuous efforts in the three core issues of Copenhagen -- namely, poverty eradication, employment and social integration -- they remained of grave concern today, four years after the Summit. The special session, therefore, should focus on those central issues, paying attention to past lessons and identifying future initiatives. The significance of the "people-centred" approach to development should be underscored. While the recent economic crisis had made progress difficult, it had also highlighted the need to move forward with measures for social development, especially through the provision of social services, under any economic conditions.
Recent efforts by his Government were rooted in its belief in the value of the human-centred approach as a fundamental basis for social development, he said. That approach was in line with the comprehensive perspective of "human security", which respected the individual -- an objective fully supported by his Government as a key element in the formulation of any development strategy. Reaffirming the human-centred approach and encouraging efforts in keeping with it would illuminate further initiatives aimed at implementing the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action.
He said that volunteering among members of civil society was a valuable aspect of social development. Volunteers had undertaken activities in a wide range of areas, but especially in the area of social development, by providing welfare and educational services. In essence, through non-profit and non- vocational activities, they had contributed to the well-being of society as a whole. The report submitted by the United Nations Volunteers (document A/AC/253/9/Add.10) had provided significant insight into the activities of volunteers and had highlighted the qualitative aspect of their contribution.
AKMARAL ARYSTANBEKOVA (Kazakhstan) said the experience of several years of market reforms in her country demonstrated the important effects of the transitional process. That process included the transfer of ownership, institutional reforms and the creation of a new system of economic structures. At the same time, disorganization was apparent, as well as a lack of synchronization of the processes of restructuring society. That was caused by the dominance of economic priorities over social ones, her country's limited resources and a trend towards the decline in the population's standard of living.
She said that, taking into account those and many other internal and external realities, her Government was continuing to make efforts to minimize the negative impacts of the transition. A draft State programme had been drawn up to assist the poor and the homeless. Draft micro-credit programmes for the poorer groups of the population, and regulations on the system for providing micro-credit to citizens had been formulated. Self-employment was promoted through the implementation of the State programme for the development
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of small- and medium-sized businesses. Social policy issues were highly complex and of crucial importance.
DIARMUID MARTIN, of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See, said that development must be people-oriented and inclusive. Where persons were embraced by inclusive policies, they could flourish and be secure. The global economy must be open to the participation of all persons and nations. Development must also foster the inclusion of all the various sectors of society.
More consideration needed to be given to an analysis of the role and responsibility of the private sector within the development process, he continued. Appropriate codes of conduct should be developed, taking into account the social consequences of the activities of the private sector. They must include the protection of basic labour standards and the fact that investment in people made economic sense. The private sector must also assume appropriate responsibilities for the protection of certain common interests, for the global common good.
In recent years much progress had been made with the HIPC Debt Initiative, he said. That initiative must reach to deeper levels of debt sustainability, provide countries that performed well with debt relief more quickly and address a wider number of countries. The benefits from debt relief must be directed to constructive and sustained spending on social issues. The funds for the financial sustainability of an expanded HIPC initiative must be urgently found, and the special session might usefully address that issue. Social development could also be a decisive factor in fostering peace.
He said that armed conflict and disproportionate spending on arms were among the most serious causes of poverty in today's world. The absence of peace could destroy the gains of social advance. To be credible, the special session would have to address such questions. Distortion between military and social spending must be considered unacceptable.
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