SECURITY AND PEACE ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR SPECIAL SESSION ON OUTCOME OF 1995 SOCIAL SUMMIT TOLD

21 May 1999

Press Release
SOC/4509

SECURITY AND PEACE ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR SPECIAL SESSION ON OUTCOME OF 1995 SOCIAL SUMMIT TOLD

19990521 Committee Takes Up Enabling Environment, Resources And Cooperation for Social Development

Security and peace were essential ingredients for social development, delegates stressed this afternoon in the Preparatory Committee for the special session of the General Assembly that will review implementation of the outcome of the 1995 Copenhagen Social Summit.

The special session, to be held in Geneva from 26 to 30 June 2000, is intended to provide the opportunity for sharing experiences and identifying further concrete means of addressing the 10 commitments of the Social Summit. This afternoon, the Committee took up the commitments concerning: enabling environment, resources and cooperation for social development.

China's representative said that without peace, social development goals were meaningless. Creating a peaceful environment was a fundamental condition for enabling social development. It should be remembered that poverty, crime, drug trafficking and other problems all had trans-boundary impact, and international efforts were needed to combat them. Among efforts to support social development, the international community should take effective measures to improve the international financial system, she added.

The observer for the Holy See said that where the social and employment situations of the world's peoples were insecure, where they were excluded from political participation, where they lived in poverty -- the very peace they yearned for was insecure. The international community must look again at the centrality of the human person and work to ensure their dignity.

On international debt, a representative of the International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity, speaking also for two other non-governmental organizations, Caritas International and Franciscans International, said the debts of dozens of Southern countries had reached intolerable levels. It was therefore necessary for global institutions and creditor countries to adopt

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measures for debt reduction before the year 2000. Those measures should allow countries in debt to release their financial resources for public services, such as education, health and sustainable job creation.

A representative of Consumers International said the wealth achieved by global trade went mostly to the industrialized countries of the North. The least developed countries stood to lose billions per year due to that system. Transnational companies employed less that 3 per cent of the world labour force and few of those employees came from the South. There should be established between the United Nations and the World Trade Organization a code of rights and responsibilities for international business and trade.

Also this afternoon, the Preparatory Committee decided to deny the accreditation of two non-governmental organizations to its session: the Foundation for Research on International Environment Development and Security, of Pakistan; and the Kazem Rajavi International Association for the Defence of Human Rights, of France.

Other statements were made by the representatives of Germany (on behalf of the European Union), France, United States, Benin, Zambia, Mexico, India, Russian Federation, Turkey, Canada, Malaysia, Viet Nam, Iran, Republic of Korea, Jamaica, Senegal and Thailand. The representative of the Observer Mission of Switzerland also spoke.

Statements were also made by representatives of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Council of Europe.

The Committee also heard a statement by a representative of the United Nation Research Institute for Social Development.

Representatives of the following non-governmental organizations also made statements: Human Rights Internet, Women's Caucus, Christian Aid UK, International Council on Social Welfare and the International Commission of the Churches in International Affairs.

On Monday, 24 May, the Preparatory Committee will take up consideration of draft proposals for adoption. It next formal meeting will be announced in the Journal.

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 met this afternoon to continue its consideration of further actions and initiatives to implement the commitments made at the Summit. The meeting will focus on the commitments concerning: enabling environment, resources for social development and strengthened framework for international regional and subregional cooperation. (For background information see Press Release SOC/4498 of 14 May.)

Participation of Non-governmental Organizations

CRISTIAN MAQUIEIRA (Chile), the Preparatory Committee Chairman, reported on the results of his consultations on the issue of accreditation of non- governmental organizations. He said the delegation of India had informed the Committee that the Foundation for Research on International Environment Development and Security (Friends), which figured as No. 25 on the list proposed in document A/AC.235/10, had been rejected by the Economic and Social Council's Committee on non-governmental organizations. The Committee on non- governmental organizations had rejected that application on 7 May 1997. That organization had not re-applied for status with the Economic and Social Council. Therefore, the Preparatory Committee should reject its accreditation since it now lay beyond the purview of Decision 7.

The Committee decided to reject the non-governmental organization's accreditation.

Mr. MAQUIEIRA (Chile), Committee Chairman, then asked the delegation of Iran whether it insisted on its objection to the accreditation of the Kazem Rajavi International Association for the Defence of Human Rights, which was listed as No. 36 on the list.

ESMAEIL AFSHARI (Iran) said that, as stated previously, his delegation objected to the accreditation of that non-governmental organization because of its established and clear affiliation with a recognized terrorist group that had carried out acts of terror inside and outside Iran, including attacks against consular buildings. Most recently, the non-governmental organization had been involved in the assassination of a top military official, an act that had been condemned by some Member States of the United Nations. Iran requested the non-governmental organization's exclusion.

PATRICIA FLOR (Germany), on behalf of the European Union, said she would like to underscore the importance of the participation of non-governmental organizations and civil society in the work of the United Nations. Non- governmental organizations that were at the Social Summit should be included

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in the preparatory process for the special session on the Summit. However, as an exceptional case, her delegation was willing to accept the non- accreditation of Kazem Rajavi International Association for the Defence of Human Rights.

MARINE DE CARNE (France) said her delegation also reaffirmed its support for the participation of non-governmental organizations in world conferences and in the preparatory processes of special sessions. However, it would not object to the non-accreditation of the non-governmental organization in question. It welcomed the statement by Iran that this move represented an exceptional matter.

Statements on Social Summit Commitments

YIN QI (China) said that creating a peaceful environment was a fundamental condition for enabling social development -- without peace, social development goals were empty. Among efforts to support social development, the international community should strengthen cooperation and take effective measures to improve the international financial system. It should be remembered that poverty, crime, drug trafficking and other problems all had trans-boundary impact. International efforts were needed in that regard. Developed countries should take measures as soon as possible to reverse the decline in official development assistance (ODA). Her country had taken a number of measures to protect itself from the Asian financial crisis, including overcoming great difficulties to support its currency. Further international efforts were needed to protect developing countries from such crises.

JAMES REINERT, Observer for the Holy See, said that where the social and employment situations of the world's peoples were insecure or precarious, where they were excluded from participating in the decisions that concerned them, where they lived in poverty -- especially extreme poverty -- they lived in insecurity and the very peace they yearned for was insecure. The international community must look again at the centrality of the human person and work to ensure that the dignity of every human person was respected, especially the most vulnerable, and including migrants, displaced persons and refugees.

MICHAEL ALLEN (United States) said that his Government was committed to increasing equality. President William Clinton had called on the international community to take action under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative and accordingly, the United States had decided to forgive up to $70 million in debt to the world's neediest nations. Cooperation for social development as an economic policy could be not done in a vacuum. Those advocating it must deal with real issues, not just the political issues.

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ROMAIN DEGLA (Benin) said his Government had taken a number of efforts to champion the rights of citizens. Today there were no political prisoners in Benin and all people had a right to a fair trial. Population concerns were at the forefront of policies. His country had the political will for development, but it was missing financial needs. There was a lack of financial resources to promote social progress and cope with the needs of development. He applauded the efforts of countries to forgive foreign debt and Benin should have access to the HIPC Debt Initiative.

DAWSON LUPUNGA, Minister of Community Development and Social Services of Zambia, said that all partners involved in the Social Summit must ensure the full participation of civil society at all levels, and his country was taking many efforts in that regard. Creating an enabling environment for social development required people-centred political and legal frameworks. Donor countries should work in a more concerted manner to address the decline in ODA. Poverty had persisted, in part due to inadequate cooperation and organization of development activities. Standard indicators were needed to monitor progress and targets needed to be established in that regard.

ROSALBA CARRASCO (Mexico) said that realizing the Summit goals meant a reorientation of resources and an increase in resources for social development. While political will was also necessary, the question of resources was beginning to be an important one. It must also be asked how all social sectors, including the private sector, supported development initiatives. Her delegation supported the drawing up of indicators to monitor development in all social spheres. Countries should also develop a far more systematic mechanism for measuring development.

GAUTAM MUKHOPADHAYA (India) said that the United Nations and preparatory processes should focus as much as possible on the international enabling environment for development. While there were calls for democratization on the national level, there should also be democracy on the international level. Also, it was not enough that dialogue and participation be limited to the financial institutions. Participation should extend to central banks and other financial institutions. The United Nations needed to address the real players in the economy and have a greater effect on the financial and economic situation. He also called for greater diplomatic efforts for security, which was essential for development.

M. KORTUNOVA (Russian Federation) said the actions of the international financial institutions must have a direct link with social development plans. The bulk of the funds allocated by the United Nations should be allocated to concrete programmes in the social sphere. There was also a need for an international legal base to combat organized crime. Efforts were needed in overcoming the difficult problems of crime and corruption.

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YUSUF ISIK (Turkey) said that while everyone had underlined the need to increase international aid, it was also important to consider the other aspects of financing for development. As the special session approached, it would be useful to elucidate the extent to and way in which those matters could be considered without causing institutional duplication. The full impact of the World Bank's new comprehensive development framework, including at the operational level, should also be examined, as well as ways to upgrade principles relating to social policy. The most appropriate United Nations cooperation perspectives should also be pursued, as well as ways to tap into international global capital markets.

He said that further initiatives aimed at increasing foreign direct investment would also be fruitful, especially in view of its ability to generate income of a stable nature. Also likely to open new prospects were innovative ways to ensure private sector participation in infrastructure investments. The involvement of the private sector into the social area was important, especially in light of the recent very large-scale mergers. Sharing of countries' experiences could be enhanced through workshops that dealt with a more in-depth and interactive treatment of cases. Elaborate social indicators would be useful for many aspects of the Summit process, as long as those considered developmental and qualitative differences among countries.

OKKYUNG PAK (Canada) said her country had a long-standing commitment to meeting its obligations under human rights treaties. It reaffirmed that commitment. Canada support the European Union with regard the commitment of developed countries to devote 0.7 per cent of gross national product to ODA for developing countries and 1.5 per cent of gross national product to the least developed countries. Canada also supported proposals made by the "Group of 77" developing countries and China.

THEIVANDRAM RAJADURAI (Malaysia) said that while further national efforts to improve the situation of their respective populations, the international community had a vital role to play in helping to reduce poverty. To address widening income inadequacy, the Malaysian Government had adopted measures to focus on the commercial and industrial community in efforts to create a bigger middle income group. There would be more opportunities for tertiary education and training for all. While it was the primary responsibility of government to initiate social development programmes, non- governmental agencies and organizations had complemented public programmes to create an enabling environment for the provision of social services. Further initiatives must focus on cooperation between governments, civil society and the private sector.

NGUYEN HUU DUNG (Viet Nam) said that not only must countries be more creative in mobilizing resources for social development, but they must also be

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more efficient in the use of those resources. Based on a history of long years of war, the Government of Viet Nam had initiated programmes for people with special needs. Viet Nam was strongly committed to the realization of that initiative, as it was truly in the interest of the population. Human resources were no less important than financial resources. Women, youth and families had been mobilized in the daily struggle against social evils and injustices.

ESMAEIL AFGHARI (Iran), said he subscribed to the views expressed by the representative of Guyana on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, and wished to propose measures to be taken at the national and international levels. At the national level, governments must be transparent and accountable, and seek to strengthen their democratic systems. It was only through the rule of law that proper conditions for genuine social integration could be maintained. It was also essential to support the family as a basic institution for fostering social integration, and to ensure fair and ethical competition and enhancing long-term productive investment.

At the international level, an enabling environment conducive to social development must be created, he said. Equal access to markets, investments and technologies should also be provided for developing countries, while non- trade barriers and unilateral coercive measures must be removed. The universality of benefits of the multilateral trading system should be ensured, and concrete actions for the full realization of the right to development must be initiated. Since developing countries were recently derailed from the path of national efforts to implement the Copenhagen Commitments, international agencies should provide, among other things, technical assistance to developing countries for capacity-building in trade negotiations.

MA YOUNG-SAM (Republic of Korea) said democracy, justice and good government were all essential elements of social development, as well as the fight against international crime. There was a need for a balanced perspective to fiscal development and the special session should address the matter of resources in an objective manner. His delegation fully supported the 20/20 Initiative, and it shared the view that efforts should be made to reverse the decline in ODA. Priority in providing ODA should be given to the least developed countries. The Republic of Korea, which had changed from a receiver to a donor country, was taking many efforts to contribute ODA to developing countries. Those efforts continued despite the Asian financial crisis.

FAITH INNERARITY (Jamaica) said the expansion of secondary and tertiary education had been very important in her region as a means to social mobility. There should be effort to ensure that the poor had access to secondary as well as primary education. It was not enough to discuss only primary education -- many persons with just primary education could barely participate in society.

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There was also a need to enforce private sector sharing in the responsibility for development efforts. Very little had been said about models for economic development. There was a need to explore further what kind of models of economic growth should be explored at the special session.

MANKEUR N'DIAYE (Senegal) said a number of measures to encourage growth and encourage the private sector in efforts to combat poverty should be taken. His country was implementing a social investment fund in cooperation with the World Bank; and there were also projects with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) mainly aimed at ensuring clean drinking water supplies. During the last few years, there had been great efforts by non-governmental organizations for social and economic development. A proper legal environment was also needed to ensure social development. In that regard, the struggle against corruption was a priority for his country.

VITAVAS SRIVIHOK (Thailand) said that all aspects of development -- political, social and economic -- were mutually reinforcing. Social development must therefore be pursued in a holistic, equitable and balanced manner. At the national level, it was necessary to promote peace, democracy, good governance and human rights, as those elements were vital to the enhancement of social justice and the improvement of the human condition. Internationally, an enabling global environment was needed. Apart from peace and security, the globalization and liberalization processes posed a major challenge to the success of social development.

He said the special session next year must address the social repercussions of globalization in a comprehensive manner. While his country remained firmly committed to free trade and market liberalization, it sought a more favourable and fairer financial global market. As a developing country, Thailand was ready to participate in a more level playing field of economic competition and cooperation. The more level the playing field, the more equitable the benefits that developing countries could reap from the process of globalization and liberalization. Moreover, his country strongly supported a regulatory framework for international financial speculations and capital flows.

STEFAN BRUPBACHER, Permanent Observer for Switzerland, said that despite the call on States four years ago to assure a coherent policy among institutions, large policy discrepancies had persisted. Moreover, policy coordination and cooperation required the appropriate institutions, instruments and means. Yet again, since the World Social Summit, the world had changed but the international framework had not. In that context, one promising solution for enhanced coordination and cooperation was the World Bank's proposal to the United Nations to assume responsibility in drafting principles for social policy.

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He said that a number of measures might alleviate any initial concerns about elaborating such principles. The principles should be promotional and should help countries achieve goals to which the international community had already agreed, such as the Copenhagen Commitments. Better targeted technical cooperation would increase efficiency, which in turn, might induce governments to increase funds allocated for that purpose. The principles should not be used for protectionist purposes. Rather, their language might draw from that used in the International Labour Organization (ILO) declaration for fundamental rights and principles at work. Finally, the principles and improved cooperation would reinvigorate the Economic and Social Council.

S. SHAHID HUSAIN, representing the Organization of the Islamic Conference, said that several of the Organization's Member States that had made strides on the road to development, and were now on the threshold of a take-off, needed the continued inflow of external resources so that they might at least maintain their pace of progress and not suffer retardation on account of shortfalls in the availability of investment capital just at the point where it was needed most. The international community should seize the opportunity to strengthen coordination mechanisms offered by the regional biennial high-level meetings proposed by the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action. Through those mechanisms, representatives of governments, United Nations agencies and other relevant intergovernmental organizations might periodically review the progress of efforts in support of economic and social development at the national and international levels.

MICHAEL REMMERT, Council of Europe, said that the Copenhagen Commitments had provided important guidelines for the Council of Europe, which had been set up to achieve greater unity between its members for safeguarding their common heritage and facilitating their economic and social progress. A European Meeting for Social Development, to be held in Strasbourg, France, in January 2000 would review the strategies for social development and consider further actions to implement the Copenhagen Commitments. The participants would adopt a document, with a view to its submission to the Special Session of the General Assembly.

He said the document would focus on promoting social integration based on the protection of human rights and freedoms, especially social rights. It would also focus on the promotion of an economic, political, social, cultural and legal environment to enable achievement of social development. Eradication of poverty and social exclusion in Europe would be another area of emphasis. Among the agreements reached at the Council's 1997 Summit was the decision to draw up a European strategy for social cohesion, which would also promote implementation of the Copenhagen Commitments. The Council's strategy debate had demonstrated its determination to develop new tools for promoting social integration and social cohesion in Europe and to reinforce real access to social rights for everybody. The Council's specialized unit for monitoring

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issues linked to social cohesion had just been established to carry out concrete actions aimed at full implementation of the commitments.

ROSEMARY MAX, for the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, said that many development actors had renewed their commitment to social development during the Social Summit. While it was unrealistic to expect great progress only four years since the Summit, there should be efforts to increase cooperation and adopt policies for social development. Her organization was undertaking an analysis of development efforts that would focus on the reforms that had gained prominence in the 1990s. Policy reforms were needed to improve financial and social development. Partnerships with civil society should be enhanced and there was a need for people-centred development.

Mr. BLANCO, representing Human Rights Internet, said that United Nations entities and governments recognized that human rights were preconditions for social development. Human rights were legal entitlements that nations were required to respect. Governments must be held accountable for them. There was a need for the Secretary-General to ensure that human rights were part of all United Nations activities. Women had been marginalized for many years from the processes of economic and social development. Women's rights should be addressed during the special session, as should the rights of workers.

JOCELYN DOW, representing the Women's Caucus, said that women's participation had not been enabled and, despite the rhetoric, political institutions were functioning in a less accountable manner. It was not enough to admit to the growing feminization of poverty, the world was faced by the growth of poverty itself. Women were full political and economic contributors, whether they were paid or unpaid. There had to be a new paradigm centred on people.

She said a child died every 10 seconds from the failure to provide an environment for it to live; 15 people owned more than the gross domestic product of sub-Saharan Africa -- that was not a gap but a condemnation. There could be no justification, in the last days of the century and at the United Nations, to be confronted with an all-male bureau. If women were enabled, all humanity would prosper.

Bishop MANDLAT, Christian Aid of the United Kingdom and Ireland, said a global international development target could mobilize political will and resources and enable progress to be measured. That target could only be achieved, however, if three preconditions were met: sufficient resources; the setting of intermediate targets; and ensuring that the poor, themselves, participated in all the steps taken to meet the targets. It was not simply a case of striking the right balance between global and national targets; it was necessary to build the implementation strategy from the bottom up.

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He said that participatory poverty assessments, which gave voice to the poor, had now received donor support in a dozen countries. Such assessments could form the basis of community-level action plans. If one success of the Earth Summit was local Agenda 21 action plans, why not launch in Geneva next year a wave of social Agenda 21 action plans? Those could form the basis of national anti-poverty strategies, which, in turn, could attract donor support. Implementation of poverty targets needed a monitoring system. In that regard, the Preparatory Committee should lose no time in initiating a consultative process among governments and non-governmental organizations to recommend improvements in the monitoring undertaken by the Commission for Social Development.

Mr. DISNEY, International Council on Social Welfare, said that, despite some improvements since the Social Summit, much greater progress needed to be made in strengthening the structures and processes of the Economic and Social Council. That was essential if the international environment was to be sufficiently conducive to sustainable economic and social development. Among those changes, the Council should establish an executive committee to focus on developing closer and more frequent interaction with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The Council should also develop close interaction with regional groups such as the European Union, and initiate an annual meeting with them and its regional commissions.

Ms. HANFSTAENGL, International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity, in collaboration with CARITAS Internationalis and Franciscans International, said the debts of dozens of Southern countries, especially in Africa, had reached intolerable levels. It was therefore necessary for global institutions and creditor countries to adopt measures for debt reduction before the year 2000, which realistically allowed countries in debt to release their financial resources for public services, such as education, health and sustainable job creation. As development non-governmental organizations, their work had increasingly struggled to offset some of the worst effects of structural adjustment programmes on the poorest communities. They therefore advocated reform of the policy formation process to ensure that it had poverty as its central focus.

Mr. CHAI, Consumers International, said the wealth achieved by global trade went mostly to the industrialized countries of the North and the least developed countries stood to lose billions per year due to that system. Transnational companies employed less that 3 per cent of the world labour force and few of those employees came from the South. There should be established between the United Nations and the WTO a code of rights and responsibilities for international business and trade. Those two bodies should also create a new body to enforce that code. The WTO should address

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the protectionist policies of industrialized countries. Food security and environmental standards must dominate in trade policies.

JAMES HUG, Centre of Concern, said that 25 million people slipped into absolute poverty every year. Despite development efforts, the challenges embraced five years ago still existed. It was a moral and political responsibility to free those who were trapped in unbearable poverty. Faster reduction of more debt for more countries was essential. There was also a need for increased ODA. Equitable and just trade and investment policies was another pillar of social development. The Preparatory Committee must speak out on trade and encourage ongoing negotiations on trade between the United Nations and the WTO.

Mr. GYAN, representing the Commission of Churches in International Affairs, said the accumulation of wealth in a few countries and the deepening poverty in the majority of poor countries could no longer be tolerated and must be redressed. That accumulation of wealth was promoted by the leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized countries through the Bretton Woods institutions. Because foreign debt could only be repaid in hard currency, debtor countries were forced to use their exports to raise new loans. That explained why poor nations were caught up in an endless cycle of borrowing. What was offered to poor nations was too little, too late, too few. The diversion of resources from impoverished people for debt servicing was a violation of human rights. Children and women were forced to bear the full cost of indebtedness through the reduction of resources for sanitation and drinking water. Both lending and borrowing countries must bear the responsibility for debt. Collective political will was urgently needed. There was widespread support for debt cancellation.

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