ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL TAKES UP SEVERAL ORGANIZATIONAL MATTERS AS IT FINALIZES PREPARATIONS FOR 1999 SUBSTANTIVE SESSION

Press Release
ECOSOC/5824

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL TAKES UP SEVERAL ORGANIZATIONAL MATTERS AS IT FINALIZES PREPARATIONS FOR 1999 SUBSTANTIVE SESSION

The President of the Economic and Social Council, Francesco Paolo Fulci (Italy), highlighted a number of innovations that had been taken to revitalize the Council, as it met this morning to take up organizational matters.

Among then, he said that, on the invitation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he had led a group of 29 Council members to Washington, D.C., to hold a special dialogue with the IMF Executive Directors.

Also this morning, the Council heard reports on the following:

-- Its visit on 3 and 4 July to Turin, Italy, as well as the panel discussion to be held on 4 July, on "The Role of Training in Promoting Access to Work" at the International Labour Organization (ILO) International Training Centre in Turin;

-- The activities of the Ad-Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti, by Vice-President Makarim Wibisono (Indonesia); and

-- The meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on Informatics devoted to the Year 2000 Issue (Y2K), held yesterday with the participation of national coordinators from Member States, by the outgoing Chairman of the Working Group on Informatics, Ahmad Kamal (Pakistan).

In other action, the Council elected Argentina and Peru to the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting, for three-year terms beginning on 1 January 2000.

Further, it decided to postpone the election of one member from the Asian States Group to the Programme Coordination Board on the Joint and Co-sponsored United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

The Council also authorized the Commission on the Status of Women acting as the Preparatory Committee for the special session of the General Assembly, entitled "Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century", to hold a meeting during the week of 28 June for the purpose of filling three vacancies in its bureau. Statements were also made by the representatives of India, Guyana (on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China), Germany (on behalf of the European Union and associated States) and Indonesia.

The Council will meet again this morning, following the adjournment of its 10th meeting, to adopt the provisional agenda and approve the programme of work for its July substantive session.

Council Work Programme

The Economic and Social Council met this morning to take up organizational matters.

Among them, the Council planned to hold elections, that were previously postponed, for members of the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting; and for a member of the Programme Coordination Board of the Joint and Co-sponsored United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

Also this morning, the Council planned to consider the request for an additional meeting by Patricia Flor (Germany), the Acting Chairperson of the Commission on the Status of Women acting as the Preparatory Committee for the special session of the General Assembly entitled "Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century", to be held in June 2000. It is meant to appraise and assess the progress achieved in the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and the Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women, and to consider further actions and initiatives.

In her letter dated 17 June (document E/1999/86), she states that Irma Engelbrecht (South Africa) would no longer be able to serve in her capacity as Chairperson of the Preparatory Committee. For that reason, the Preparatory Committee for Women 2000 is requesting Council authorization to hold a one-day formal meeting during the week of 28 June for the sole purpose of electing a new chairperson, as well as two vice-chairpersons from the Group of Asian States. The election of a chairperson would allow the Preparatory Committee to continue its programme of informal consultations to make progress on the final political documents to be submitted to the special session. The next formal session of the Committee is planned for March 2000.

The Council will also discuss its visit to Turin, from 3 to 4 July, where a panel discussion on "The role of Training in Promoting Access to Work" will be held on 4 July at the International Labour Organization (ILO) International Training Centre. The panel is one of five planned in connection with the high-level segment of the Council's substantive session, to be held next month in Geneva. The first three panels were held in March, April and May in New York, and dealt with gender equality and eradicating poverty, food security, basic infrastructure and natural resources, and access to fundamental social services.

The Turin panel will be moderated by Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Nitin Desai and will include the following panellists: Professor Fan Gang, Director of the National Economic Research Institute of China; Professor Sanjaya Lall, Fellow at Green College, Oxford; Mervat Tallawy, Minister of Insurance and Social Affairs of Egypt; and Professor Gianni Vattimo, Department of Philosophy, University of Turin. The Council's visit to Turin will include a seminar on urban settlements, organized by the Municipality of Turin.

The Council was also expected to hear a report by Ahmad Kamal (Pakistan) on the meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on Informatics devoted to the Year 2000 issue (Y2K) with the participation of national coordinators from Member States.

Other items on the agenda for this morning included a visit to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by a group of Council ambassadors on 1 and 2 June, and a progress report on the activities of the Ad-Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti.

Action

First, the Council elected Argentina and Peru to the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards or Accounting and Reporting, to serve three-year terms beginning on 1 January 2000.

FRANCESCO PAOLO FULCI (Italy), the President of the Council, said that 31 of the 34 members of that working group had been elected. He appealed to the Western European and Other States Group to present its candidates for the three remaining vacancies, so the entire working group may be elected.

Next, the Council addressed the election of a member of the Programme Coordination Board of the Joint and Co-Sponsored United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), postponed from a previous session.

It was explained that while Kyrgyzstan had submitted its candidature to the Asian Group recently, the Asian Group had already had its meeting for the month and could not endorse that candidature. The Group would consider it at next month's meeting. In light of that, the Council decided to further postpone the election of one member from the Asian States Group for a three-year term beginning on 1 January 2000.

The Council then decided to authorize the Commission on the Status of Women acting as the Preparatory Committee for the special session of the General Assembly, entitled: "Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century", to hold a meeting during the week of 28 June for the purpose of filling three vacancies in its bureau.

The Council then took up the item on its visit on 3 and 4 July to Turin, Italy, and its panel on 4 July on "The Role of Training in Promoting Access to Work", to be held on 4 July at the ILO International Training Centre in Turin.

Mr. FULCI (Italy) said a detailed briefing on the visit was given on 7 June by the Deputy Mayor of Turin and the Director of the United Nations Staff College there. So far, 51 delegates from 22 Council member countries and 12 observer delegations had notified that they would attend. The final deadline for notification was at the end of this week.

Working Group on Informatics

The Council then heard a report by AHMAD KAMAL (Pakistan) on the meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on Informatics devoted to the Year 2000 Issue (Y2K), with the participation of national coordinators from Member States.

He said that the Working Group was successful because the idea was one whose time had come, and because it had established a task force, which had met almost every fortnight over the last four years. The results were visible and quantifiable. Among them were that all permanent missions were provided with connections, given a common e-mail system, and free and unlimited access to the Internet. The United Nations itself had been encouraged to establish a user-friendly Web page, which it did.

Above all, he said that the Working Group and its task force had closely monitored developments in the Secretariat in the field of informatics and information technology, as well as the speed at which it was being actually incorporated into the thinking and working of the United Nations. In addition, the Working Group had focused rather sharply on the "millennium bug" problem, something which was universal, serious and widespread, and in which only the United Nations could have played the central role that it had.

The Working Group had immense potential, and the Council should exploit that to its fullest, he continued. Some of the possibilities had been mentioned in the meeting held yesterday. The Council could give mandates to the Working Group to provide analytical inputs on the role of informatics in addressing important economic and social issues. Also, the Group could be asked to submit specific recommendations on the mainstreaming of the "informatics perspective" in the functioning of the United Nations system, especially in the area of operational activities.

Serious consideration could also be given to devoting one high-level segment of the Council to the subject of informatics, information technology and development, he added. The segment's outcome should present a blueprint for the United Nations role in shaping the information revolution for the benefit of all.

He said that he would be terminating his assignment as the Permanent Representative of Pakistan within the next few days. At the meeting yesterday, the Working Group on Informatics elected Percy Mangoaela, Permanent Representative of Lesotho, as the new Chairman of the Group. His would not be an easy task as the United Nations continued to come to terms with the power, speed and tectonic nature of the informatics revolution.

PERCY MANGOAELA (Lesotho) said that the Group's mandate, when it began, had been to ensure easy, economical, unhindered and uncomplicated access for Member States through their own missions to the computer systems of the United Nations. In doing that, the Group had focused on three issues: connectivity, training in the Internet, and removing impediments to access to the United Nations databases. All of those objectives had been achieved. Member States had 100 per cent access to the Organization's databases and those missions who wished to have Web sites had them. One of the first tasks had been to bring together the intergovernmental side of the United Nations with the Secretariat side.

Chairman Kamal had also tackled an issue outside the terms of reference of the Group, he continued. He had broadened the Group's scope to encompass the entire global problem of Y2K. He had managed to bring to the consciousness of the whole world the importance of addressing that issue. The large attendance at yesterday's meeting had been a tribute to his leadership. Chairman Kamal had sewn the seeds of future action in 173 Member States. Information technology had to be harnessed for the benefit of all humankind, especially in the age of globalization. It must be ensured that its benefits were accessible to all.

SATYABRATA PAL (India) said that Ambassador Kamal was an extraordinary diplomat, whose achievements had been remarkable. While he had bid the Council farewell, it would continue to profit from his wisdom and advice. Mr. Mangoaela had large shoes to fill, but he was known to have remarkable capabilities.

GEORGE TALBOT (Guyana), on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, expressed his appreciation and gratitude to Ambassador Kamal for the work done on informatics and in addressing the Y2K problem. He had brought it to the forefront of the Organization's consciousness. His departure left a great void, but he was confident that Ambassador Mangoaela would rise to the challenge.

HELEN WINTER (Germany), on behalf of the European Union and associated States, said that the achievements of the Group had been many. She thanked Ambassador Kamal for chairing the Group and warmly welcomed Ambassador Mangoaela as the new Chairman. She assured him of the Union's continued participation in the Group.

MAKARIM WIBISONO (Indonesia) said that the Group's many achievements were evidence of its hard work under Ambassador Kamal's leadership. He thanked him for his vision, hard work and jokes, and expressed his full trust in Ambassador Mangoaela's ability to lead the Group.

Visit to IMF

The Council then took up the visit to the IMF by a group of Council ambassadors on 1 and 2 June.

Mr. FULCI (Italy), Council President, said that, on the invitation of the IMF, he led a group of 29 Council members to Washington, D.C., to hold a special dialogue with the IMF Executive Directors. That was the very first meeting of its kind with the Board of the IMF. It was held in a most open and constructive spirit and covered a wide range of topics, such as forestalling and resolving financial crises, transparency, the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative and social aspects of IMF policies. Both sides found the exchange most productive.

He added that, while in Washington, he took the initiative of inviting the IMF Executive Directors to come to New York in the fall to meet with the Council again to report on the outcome of the meetings of their Board of Governors in September. An invitation for a similar briefing had been extended also to the World Bank Executive Directors. Such developing dialogue was a key instrument for strengthening the coordination and overall guidance role of the Council. In another format, he added, the vice-presidents and senior officers from Bretton Woods had met with the Council in New York. Never before had there been such an ongoing and fruitful interaction between the organizations -- such interaction was one of the most promising innovation of a revitalized Council.

Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti

On the item concerning the progress report of the activities of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti, the Council invited its Vice-President, Makarim Wibisono (Indonesia), to give a briefing on the activities of that Group.

He said that the first organizational meeting of the Group was held on 13 May. Since then, a series of meetings had been held aimed at gaining information on measures to ensure sustainable development in Haiti. Also, the Group planned to visit Haiti from 27 to 29 June. At the end of June, a report would be written and submitted to the Council at its substantive session, which would contain recommendations and conclusions on sustainable development in Haiti.

Coordination of Humanitarian Activities

The Council then heard a briefing on strengthening its role in the coordination of humanitarian activities.

Council Vice-President ALYAKSANDR SYCHOV (Belarus) said that informal consultation had been held on the topic on 15 June. At that meeting, it was found that the Council should consider the following measures: additional meetings of the Council should be held at the time of crises; the need for a division of labour in response to humanitarian emergencies; promoting capacity-building to respond to humanitarian emergencies; and improvements of oversight of the United Nations response to humanitarian emergencies. There was also consensus that the Council should not get involved in micromanagement of the humanitarian efforts during such emergencies.

Other Matters

Under other matters, the Council took up a meeting among the holders of the four main United Nations organs in New York.

Mr. FULCI (Italy), Council President, said that on 25 March, when the Council met with the Secretary-General, S.R. Insanally (Guyana) suggested that regular meetings should be held among the holders of the four main United Nations organs. On Friday, 18 June, General Assembly President Didier Opertti (Uruguay) hosted a luncheon with the Secretary-General; Baboucarr-Blaise Ismaila Jagne (Gambia), President of the Security Council; and President Fulci. The meeting allowed a thorough exchange of views on Kosovo and United Nations activities there.

Mr. Fulci said he briefed the participants on the revitalization of the Council and on the preparations for the Geneva session. It proved to be a fruitful meeting and it stimulated thought about what could be done to lay the foundations for better interaction among United Nations organs. Such meeting should be repeated.

Also under other matters, Mr. Fulci said that, based on his suggestion, the Department of Public Information's publication Image and Reality: Questions and Answers about the United Nations would contain a specific section on the Council. The latest edition devoted a page and a half of updated information to the role of the revitalization of the Council. No mention of the Council was made in the previous version.

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