THIRD COMMITTEE HEARS VIEWS ON PROBLEMS OF YOUTH, AGEING, DISABLED AND FAMILY

Press Release
GA/SHC/3518

THIRD COMMITTEE HEARS VIEWS ON PROBLEMS OF YOUTH, AGEING, DISABLED AND FAMILY

‘Unimaginable Disparity’ Cited by Nepal

To achieve sustainable development, an effective social protection system for its most vulnerable members had to be established, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) was told this morning by the representative of the Ukraine, as the Committee continued its consideration of social development, including questions related to youth, ageing, disabled persons and the family.

Nations needed to develop targeted social assistance to care for unprotected categories of their populations, he continued. In the field of social development, national efforts had to be supported by United Nations technical, consultative, information and financial assistance programmes.

The representative of Nepal said that despite United Nations efforts to promote social development, the world continued to suffer the ills of poverty and social disintegration. There was unimaginable disparity in the distribution of wealth, social disintegration, unemployment and marginalization of important sections of society.

The 1997 financial crisis had brought unemployment, social and personal trauma to his country, as well as migration, the representative of Thailand said. The world could no longer afford to treat social development as a second priority to economic development, he added.

Social development could not be divorced from economic development or from peace and stability, said the representative of the Sudan. Developing countries were being marginalized from the world economy because they were trying to eliminate poverty while facing the challenges of globalization.

The Permanent Observer of the Holy See said that, as the International Year of Older Persons came to an end, intergenerational solidarity should be emphasized. States should adopt policies to ensure participation of the elderly in society, including by helping young couples to raise grandchildren.

Speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the representative of Trinidad and Tobago said cooperatives had always been useful vehicles for critical social and economic progress in CARICOM countries, where cooperation and mutual help were rooted in the culture.

Third Committee - 1a - Press Release GA/SHC/3518 4th Meeting (AM) 7 October 1999

Statements were also made by the representatives of Mexico, Malaysia, Ghana, Turkey, Cyprus, Russian Federation, Uganda and Iraq. Youth delegates from Ecuador and Jamaica also spoke.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 8 October, to continue its consideration of social development, including questions related to youth, ageing, disabled persons and the family.

Committee Work Programme

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met this morning to continue its consideration of social development, including questions related to youth, ageing, disabled persons and the family. (For background information, see Press Release GA/SHC/3517 of 6 October.)

Statements

MARIA ANTONIETA MONROY (Mexico) said education was a powerful tool to overcome poverty and one favoured by the Rio Group countries. Girls should receive equal education to that of boys. School drop-outs and school repetition was a new problem in many countries. For that reason, keeping the family unit together was essential. Also, incorporating good nutrition in school cafeterias had been an effective tool in improving students’ performance. Furthermore, the application of the World Action Programme for Youth was essential. The population in developing countries was still very young. A world summit for the youth would take place in her country from 22 to 26 November of this year.

Major funding was being devoted to health, nutrition and social security in her country. The Government also had paid great attention to those living in poverty. A programme on education, health and nutrition geared to families of indigenous communities had been put into place. In support of social integration, her country had hosted in December 1998, the fifth International World Assembly for the Disabled. About 1,500 disabled people from 76 countries had attended. The Mexican Declaration had been adopted at that Assembly.

YVONNE GITTENS-JOSEPH (Trinidad and Tobago), speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said the twenty-first century had to be the people’s century. The greatest challenge facing the international community was the humanization of the world economy and of the globalization process whereby microeconomic policies were adopted with the lives of ordinary people in mind. More attention had to be paid to the social dimension of development policy at both national and international levels. Onerous external debt obligations, structural adjustment programmes, trade imbalances and global financial crises impeded social development. A worldwide democracy movement demanded increased participation and, for that to occur, opportunities had to be made available for participation.

Mentioning the Committee’s range of work for the present session as relevant to the CARICOM countries, she said cooperatives had always been of critical social and economic importance in those countries, where cooperation and mutual help were rooted in the culture. Cooperatives had been useful vehicles for the participation of lower and middle income groups.

She said some countries had a national policy for cooperative development as a way of creating jobs and developing business, especially among young people. The approach of cooperatives improved the standard of living, promoted social integration and increased personal and national capital resources by promoting sound economic attitudes. The cooperative movement also was important in the economic and financial sectors of CARICOM member States. With its financial base in industry, the community and the public sector, it had thrived and made a major contribution to national development.

JASMI MD YUSOFF (Malaysia) said programmes for social development on behalf of youth, the elderly, the disabled and the family should be comprehensive and integrated. Their implementation, however, would not succeed without all actors playing their roles effectively. Cooperation and coordination among all actors was vital, especially on the part of key players in the international community.

The youth of today were the leaders of tomorrow, he continued, elaborating on Malaysia’s programmes for each of those vital sectors. People with disabilities needed to help gain greater awareness for their situation, and they needed to be a part of society, participating in the mainstream. That required strong intersectoral coordination and action to enhance opportunities in all fields. That same sectoral coordination was important in programmes for the elderly, although caring for the elderly would remain the primary responsibility of the family, which was the strong, basic social unit of Malaysia.

RISHIKESH GAUTAM (Nepal) said despite United Nations efforts aimed at promoting social development, the world continued to suffer the ills of poverty and social disintegration. There was “unimaginable disparity in the distribution of wealth, social disintegration, unemployment and marginalization of important sections of society”, he said. A large segment of the population, especially in developing countries, was still living in poverty. Such a situation undermined all international efforts towards building an equitable, just and prosperous world for present and future generations.

Eradicating poverty required sustained political will, decisive national action and international cooperation at all economic and political levels, he said. He suggested that the year 2000 special session of the General Assembly focus on poverty eradication. Poverty and unemployment demanded urgent attention and special safety measures. To that end, his country had adopted specific policies and programmes for social protection, such as the mobilization of local resources and the development of social welfare. He also stressed the importance of the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the social development process.

ILHAM AHMED (Sudan) said social development could not be divorced from economic development or from peace and stability. She hoped for the ceasefire in the south of her country. That area needed humanitarian assistance. However, the rebel movement in that area still rejected peace.

Some contemporary societies had changed the concept of the family to suit to their new needs, she regretted. Developing countries were still attempting to eliminate poverty and were facing the challenges of globalization. Those nations were being marginalized from the world economy. Unemployment was still high in those nations. She called on the international community to fulfil their commitments towards social development. All societies had the right to fulfil their basic needs whether they were part of a rich or a poor nation.

RENATO MARTINO, Permanent Observer of the Holy See, said that, as the International Year of Older Persons came to an end, attention should be drawn to the need for intergenerational solidarity. The bustling democratic and commercial societies placed a high premium on youth. That prejudice left older persons feeling neglected and unwanted. The elderly in our societies not only deserved respect and support for all they had done, they could be useful. States should adopt the appropriate policies to ensure that the elderly were able to participate in the life of society, including by helping young couples to raise grandchildren.

In an age when technology made the world seem physically smaller and individuals spiritually isolated, he said restoring the family was the surest remedy for many social ills. The path of life could not be repeated. Parents had a special responsibility to care for and educate their children. That had to be given the proper recognition. In a strong family, parents transmitted fundamental values to their children and enabled them to become virtuous men and women who then shaped a truly peaceful and prosperous world.

VOLODYMYR KROKHMAL (Ukraine) said the issues being discussed in the Committee were among the most sensitive and most important. The well-being of every person would be affected by the strategy the international community agreed to adopt with regard to the groups under consideration. A society could not achieve sustainable development without an effective social protection system for its most vulnerable members. A system of targeted social assistance was needed to garner the resources to care for unprotected categories of the population, whether the disabled, families with many children or single mothers.

He said such issues in the Ukraine were addressed by the Government, in partnership with local communities and NGOs. There was a social services network for youths and for the disabled. Constructive and mutually advantageous cooperation with the bodies and agencies of the United Nations in the field of social development was critical. National efforts needed the support of the targeted, purposeful and coordinated assistance the United Nations offered through technical, consultative, information and financial assistance programmes.

ASDA JAYANAMA (Thailand) said the 1997 financial crisis had brought unemployment, social and personal trauma, and migration to his country. Fortunately for his country, the tight close-knit character of families and the existing strong agricultural base had played an instrumental role in stemming the tide of social devastation. “No longer can we afford to treat social development as the second priority to economic development”, he said.

Without education, people were deprived of many opportunities in life, he said. They were not well-equipped to defend for themselves, let alone their families and their loved ones. “While we are born poor and rich, what makes us equal is education”, he said. The international community needed to work towards equal access to education for all. However, while education was the ultimate goal, the immediate effort needed to be the development of human resources. During the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Singapore last July, his country had proposed the establishment of the ASEAN Human Resources Development Centre as well as the ASEAN Human Resources Development Fund. The objective was to strengthen the capacity of men and women in ASEAN effectively to meet the challenges of globalization.

BEATRICE ROSA BROBBEY (Ghana) said poverty, malnutrition, unemployment and social exclusion characterized a large proportion of the world’s population because of global economic and financial instability. Furthermore, the international community had failed to find solutions that were oriented towards social development.

Without the creation of an international enabling environment, developing countries could hardly attain the goals of the Copenhagen Summit, she emphasized. While there was a growing recognition of the need to completely integrate the social dimension of policy with the economic, in practice, attention seemed to be focused on economic parameters. Priority needed to be given to social programmes, such as basic education, health and employment promotion. She called also for international cooperation to help with the needs of the disabled and the elderly in developing nations.

LEVENT BILMAN (Turkey) said his country was revising legislation in order to change attitudes and traditional practices pertaining to social issues. Measures had been introduced to address problems of poverty and unemployment, while legislative studies and policy-making were being expanded. A new social security system would be less of a burden on the economy.

As many had already mentioned, he said, the youth issue was particularly significant because young people were the guarantee of the future. Because of their vision, ideals and energy, young people deserved the best opportunities for education and a healthy environment for developing skills. Turkey, therefore, had offered to host important gatherings with regard to youth, including the second World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth to be held in 2000, and the World Youth Forum of the United Nations System and the World Youth Festival in Istanbul in 2002.

DEMETRIS HADJIARGYROU (Cyprus) said the issues most relevant for his country were those related to the International Year of Older Persons, disabled persons and youth. A television documentary and a school project were among those undertaken by the Government to promote understanding of older persons and foster intergenerational interaction. The national programme for disabled persons was based on the World Programme of Action. It focused on safeguarding of the rights and the deinstitutionalizing of the disabled, so as to promote independent living. Physical access to facilities had been improved for the disabled and they were involved in formulating policies on their own behalf.

Cyprus placed utmost importance on the issues related to youth affairs, he said. Over the past 15 years, responsibility for youth had devolved from the Government to NGOs, culminating in 1994 with the establishment of the Youth Board, an umbrella organization for 37 youth organizations. The Board submitted proposals to the Government, which formulated policies on youth matters.

ANDREI NIKIFOROV (Russian Federation) said his country had taken many steps to overcome the ongoing difficult economic situation. His country provided social support to families with children, the disabled and other vulnerable groups. Also, measures to eliminate existing economic gaps were taking place and stable funding in the social sphere was being provided for. Furthermore, a social reform programme until the year 2000 was in place. In addition to national plans, cooperation of the international community was essential.

System-wide coordination for implementation of the agenda of the World Social Summit was necessary, he said, as was enhancement of the role of the Commission for Social Development.

CATHERINE OTITI (Uganda) said the lack of social development in many parts of the world had led to the widening of the gap between those who have and want more, and those who did not have and were too weak to express their needs. As a result, institutions such as the family had been weakened.

The youth of today’s world were left with very few choices, she said. They were left “loathing the idea of getting older because abject poverty becomes their problem to solve rather than a problem they are protected from”, she added. Also, the HIV/AIDS had robbed many young ones from life. In addition, many young lives were manipulated by the dictates of unfair environments. “Only a few grow older to appreciate and reap from what they have sowed”, she said.

CRISTINA MURGUEITIO and VERONICA VICUNA, Youth delegates from Ecuador, said adults called their generation Generation X, but they were not X at all. They urged all in the United Nations system to encourage youth who had the right to build their lives. The young people were the future. To work in harmony, the reason why things were done had to be explained to young people.

More young people should be brought to the United Nations, she said. Youth could open boundaries and could create youth networks to bring about change. Youth wanted to take part in local, regional and national forums; the voices of youth would not be lost, but would rise through their accomplishments.

MOHAMMED AL-HUMAIMIDI (Iraq) said developing nations had to deal with the negative effects of globalization. His country was faced with various challenges, as well as great destruction because of the 10-year-long economic embargo imposed on it. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) his country’s education policy was very good. There were a large number of scholarships and educational programmes in place. However, the number of people who had left primary school had gone up due to the current difficult situation.

Hospitals and clinics were not able to provide the necessary needs of his country’s population, he said. People with psychological problems were also on the rise due to the country’s existing problems. The drop in salaries and increased unemployment had compelled many to leave their jobs as professionals and had forced them to work on menial jobs. His Government had been forced to invest its meager funds on programmes related to social development.

DIEDRE BLACKWOOD, Youth delegate from Jamaica, said there were a number of threats to youth today. One was the increase in armed conflicts in various parts of the world. The international community could not begin to seriously prepare its youth for the challenges ahead if social, political and economic conditions were not conducive to ensuring that the environment could survive in the years to come.

Young people in circumstances such as those existing in developing countries were more susceptible to criminal activities than others, she said. Illicit drug trafficking and the proliferation of small arms were activities that were seen as a means to individual economic advancement. The continued collaboration of the United Nations system in such matters as finance and development, poverty eradication and international drug control was welcome. The responsibility for ensuring a future for youth rested also with governments. The World Programme of Action for Youth had been developed not only to help youth advance, but to enable it to participate and be heard in communities and the world.

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