ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL ADOPTS PROVISIONAL AGENDA AND PROGRAMME OF WORK FOR 1999 SUBSTANTIVE SESSION -- GENEVA, 5 -30 JULY
Press Release
ECOSOC/5825
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL ADOPTS PROVISIONAL AGENDA AND PROGRAMME OF WORK FOR 1999 SUBSTANTIVE SESSION -- GENEVA, 5 -30 JULY
19990623The Economic and Social Council began its 1999 substantive session this morning by adopting its provisional agenda and programme of work for the session. The session will be held from 5 to 30 July in Geneva.
Council President Francesco Paolo Fulci (Italy) said that during the high-level segment, the Council may launch a Geneva Declaration on the Eradication of Poverty. That Declaration would contain 10 immediate priorities in regard to the eradication of poverty. Also, it related to the need to return the Council to the role envisaged for it in the United Nations Charter. An aggressive communication strategy was needed to reach ordinary people with a message that captured the essence of the United Nations approach to development and poverty alleviation, as articulated in the nine global conferences of the 1990s.
The representative of Guyana, on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said the Group supported the ideas behind the Declaration and it supported focusing more world attention on the eradication of poverty. However, it was concerned about the launching of the Declaration on the first day of the session, as that could be seen as a comment on the intergovernmental process.
The representative of India said that, under the Council's rules of procedure, the President did not have the authority to issue any statement that had not been approved by the Council as a whole. If a document were issued that took into account the views of Member States, but was not officially approved by them, it would set a precedent for other work of the United Nations. Any presidential statement must command intergovernmental approval and should command a consensus of the Council.
The representative of Latvia said the content of the Declaration was so important that the Council should utilize maximal media coverage and public attention to its launching. The symbolic value of the Declaration was so immense, it could not be considered another document to be filed. He urged the Council to present the document on the first day of the meeting.
In response to comments, President Fulci said he would take no actions that were not first authorized fully by the Council. He said the final decision on the Declaration was totally in the hands of the Council, and he asked that a decision be made by the Group of 77 by the end of the day.
Presentations on preparations for the various segments of the substantive session were made by Giovanni Brauzzi (Italy), and by Council Vice-Presidents Makarim Wibisono (Indonesia), Percy Metsing Mangoaela (Lesotho) and Alyaksandr Sychov (Belarus), as well as by Andres Franco (Colombia), who spoke on behalf of Vice-President Alfonso Valdivieso (Colombia).
The Council will resume its substantive session on 5 July in Geneva.
Statements
Following the adoption of the provisional agenda for the 1999 substantive session of the Council -- to be held in Geneva from 5 to 30 -- FRANCESCO PAOLO FULCI (Italy), the Council President, briefed the Council on the status of the preparations for the substantive session.
He said the high-level segment would be opened by his introductory remarks and, hopefully, by the launching of a Geneva Declaration on the Eradication of Poverty. That Declaration was not meant to upstage the ministerial communiqué that would be issued at the end of the high-level segment or to detract from its importance. The Declaration was fully consistent with the main points of the communiqué related to gender issues and to employment creation. It related to the need to return the Council to the role envisaged for it in the United Nations Charter. An aggressive communication strategy was needed to reach ordinary people with a message that captured the essence of the United Nations consensual approach to the themes of development and poverty alleviation, as articulated in the nine global conferences of the 1990s.
GIOVANNI BRAUZZI (Italy), who had chaired most of the informal consultations on the matter, briefed the Council. He said that four rounds of consultations had been held on 10, 11, 16 and 17 June on the theme of "The role of employment and work in poverty eradication: the empowerment and advancement of women". The negotiations had progressed in a positive atmosphere. The text, as it stood now, was composed of 19 paragraphs. He was confident that in the next round of consultations, planned for tomorrow at 3 p.m., a final agreement on the text would be reached, allowing for its early translation, publication and dissemination.
GEORGE TALBOT (Guyana), on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said the Group had sympathy for and supported the ideas behind the Declaration and for focusing more world attention to the eradication of poverty. However, he did have a few nagging concerns. One of them related to the timing of the launch, scheduled for the first day of the substantive session. The launch on the first day could be seen as a comment on the intergovernmental process, and that may not be in the best interest of that process.
SATYABRATA PAL (India) said that under rule 42 of the rules of procedure of the Council, his delegation did not see any authority given to the President to issue any statement that had not been approved by the Council as a whole. If a document were issued that took into account the views of Member States, but was not officially approved by them, it would set a precedent for other work of the United Nations. Any presidential statement must command intergovernmental approval and should command a consensus of the Council. It was stated that the views of delegations would be taken into account in the new version of the Declaration; however, he did not see that the views of the Group of 77 had been included in the new version.
He said that, unless the views of the Group were reflected, the document was unlikely to carry any value. Because poverty was so important an issue, various United Nations bodies had issued documents on poverty. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) had issued a document on poverty that was in an understandable format. But the present Declaration, instead of raising the Council profile, would hold the Council up to ridicule. It was important that a statement such as that did not trivialize or glamorize the issue. It had been said that the reason for issuing the Declaration on the first day of the session was because Luciano Pavarotti would be singing that day. For substantive and procedural reasons, the document must be negotiated within the Council and approved by the Council.
JANIS PRIEDKALNS (Latvia) said the content of the Declaration was so important that the Council should utilize maximal media coverage and public attention to the launching of it. The symbolic value of the Declaration was so immense, it could not be considered as another document to be filed. He urged the Council to present the document on the first day of the meeting.
Mr. FULCI (Italy), Council President, said he believed deeply in paragraph 2 of rule 42, which states that the President, in the exercise of his functions, remained under the authority of the Council. He assured the representative of India that he would not do anything that was not authorized fully by the Council. Placing poverty as a priority in the Council was one of the goals of his presidency. Also, the text of the Declaration, previously called a manifesto, had been submitted to the Council earlier. Three panels were held in the Council chamber and consultations had been held with United Nations agencies on the content of the Declaration. A revised draft was circulated in early June to the Council. Informal consultations had been held since 7 June.
He stressed that the Council desperately needed to send a message to the world on poverty. It was also a precedent sent by the United Nations to engage celebrities to draw public opinion to its work. He had agreed to a number of requests for changes on the Declaration, including changing its name. The last request was that it should be launched on 7 July and not on 5 July. He did not agree with that move; however. the decision was totally in the hands of the Council. A decision had to be made by 8 p.m. today in order to make necessary arrangements for the session. He requested a decision from the Group of 77 on the status of the Declaration.
Mr. TALBOT (Guyana), on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, said that the Group would reflect on the issue with the comments of the President in mind and the Group would be able to give a firm answer on the Declaration by the end of the day.
Mr. PAL (India) said it was important that there be no misunderstandings. The President said there had been many requests regarding the Declaration. It was the function of the bureau to work under the authority of the Council. Council members had submitted not requests, but responses to the draft document that had been circulated. India responded to the draft document by saying that it was not adequate. Its responses were not meant to be unhelpful. India's primary interest was in the bolstering of the Council and the eradication of poverty.
PERCY MANGOAELA (Lesotho), Chairman of the operational activities segment, said that informal consultations for that segment would be held on Thursday and Friday. There were four areas covered in the segment -- poverty eradication, capacity-building, oversight and funding. While funding would be discussed substantially next year, discussions had to begin now with the executive heads of the funds and programmes to come out with effective recommendations next year.
Regarding oversight, he said that it was the mandate of the Council to oversee, from the policy standpoint, the operations of the funds and programmes. It seemed that the funds and programmes were not quite happy with the oversight they had been receiving from the Council. Therefore, it would be constructive to have a meeting during the segment with the heads of the funds and programmes to draw out their opinions on the matter.
ALYAKSANDR SYCHOV (Belarus), Chairman of the humanitarian affairs segment, said that informal consultations had taken place on 14 June, during which the draft report of the Secretary-General on the strengthening of coordinated emergency humanitarian assistance had been presented by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The segment would hold two panel discussions. The first would be with the resident coordinators of Bangladesh, China, Dominican Republic and Honduras. The other would be with the resident coordinators of Angola, Burundi and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
During the informals, some Member States had requested that the Secretary- General's report to the Security Council on the Inter-agency Humanitarian Needs Assessment Mission to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia be circulated during the segment. The OCHA would be asked to give a briefing on that during the segment, as well.
ANDRES FRANCO (Colombia), spoke on behalf of Ambassador Alfonso Valdivieso, Chairman of the coordination segment. Informal consultations had been held on 18 June. He hoped to have an ambassadorial-level meeting tomorrow to approve the agreed conclusions. The segment would have a panel discussion, and the selection of the participants was currently under discussion.
MAKARIM WIBISONO (Indonesia), Chairman of the general segment, said that informal consultations had been held last Monday, and there would be another one following the adjournment of this meeting. Some of the draft resolutions for the segment had already been drafted and disseminated to the delegates. He hoped to get their input at the meeting today.
Following statements by delegations on procedural issues relating to the substantive session, the Council approved its programme of work for its July session.
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