WORLD"S RESPONSE TO PROBLEMS OF POOREST ôMORE RHETORICAL THAN REALö, SECOND COMMITTEE HEARS AS IT REVIEWS PROGRESS DURING DECADE

Press Release
GA/EF/2866

WORLD’S RESPONSE TO PROBLEMS OF POOREST “MORE RHETORICAL THAN REAL”, SECOND COMMITTEE HEARS AS IT REVIEWS PROGRESS DURING DECADE

Developing Countries Acknowledge Primary Responsibility, While Developed World Is urged to Honour Past Commitments

While the challenge of poverty had grown, the response to it had been more rhetorical than real, the representative of Guyana told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) this morning as it began its consideration of the implementation of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006).

Speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 developing countries and China, he said it was now estimated that the number of people living in extreme poverty, far from being halved, would instead rise disproportionately by 2015. Instead of rising to the challenge, levels of official development assistance (ODA) had with very few exceptions declined. Reliance on global market forces had led not to shared prosperity but to the reinforcement of prevailing biases and asymmetries disfavouring the poor and underprivileged. The United Nations must take up the mantle of leadership and provide new direction to the global anti-poverty struggle.

It was widely acknowledged that women were among those most susceptible to poverty and its effects, he continued. Their empowerment was key to any programme aimed at poverty eradication. If the development process was to go beyond the rhetorical, then it was essential for governments to integrate women at every level.

The main objective of the Decade was to give impetus to eradicating poverty by mobilizing the energies and resources of a multitude of actors, at all levels, said Andrzej Krassowski, Deputy Director, Division for Social Policy and Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). However, despite the numerous programmes initiated and the campaigns waged against poverty over time and across regions, it continued to be an apparently intractable challenge. For many developing countries, the prospect of reaching the target of halving poverty by the year 2015 seemed to be receding. With present trends in economic growth, and the nature of the growth that was being recorded, the world was well behind the target overall.

Second Committee - 1a - Press Release GA/EF/2866 11th Meeting (AM) 12 October 1999

The representative of Brazil said that, if the commitments arising from the cycle of United Nations conferences of the 1990s were to be fulfilled, the international community must provide new and additional financial resources that were both adequate and predictable. Only then would countries bridge the $136 billion gap in required allocations per year to achieve universal coverage for basic social services. The international dimension of any strategy to eradicate poverty was crucial.

Norway would like to see the declining trend in ODA reversed, and the target of 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to be met, that country’s representative said. Coordination bred better resource management and ownership. Donors should not continue to overburden public institutions in developing countries with different reporting requirements, missions and evaluations. “We must stop wasting scarce resources on turf fighting and duplication”, he said. “We have to lower our flags, coordinate our efforts and put results first.”

The fight against child labour by the International Labour Organization (ILO) was an important component in the fight against poverty, its Director said. Elimination of child labour and provision of alternative opportunities for education and child development were significant in ensuring that young people who entered the labour force in the future were better equipped to secure productive and remunerative employment. Access to decent work for all was crucial to the attainment of income security and a fair distribution of the benefits of economic growth – which, in addition to contributing to poverty reduction, were important development objectives in themselves.

The representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said that giving children access to an integrated package of basic, good-quality social services was one of the most effective and efficient steps towards reducing poverty. Social outcome indicators suggested however that virtually all countries under- invested in basic social services. Many developing countries spent more on debt servicing than on basic social services, with several of them spending three to five times more. That situation –- at a time when hundreds of millions of children went hungry or had no access to basic education, primary health, or safe water -- was morally wrong and economically inefficient.

Statements were also made by the representatives of Finland (on behalf of the European Union and associated States), United States, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Russian Federation, Botswana, Mexico, China, Turkey, Mozambique and Egypt. The observer for the Holy See and representatives of the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO) also spoke.

The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. to continue its consideration of the implementation of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty.

Work Programme

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this morning to start its debate on implementation of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006).

The Committee had before it a report of the Secretary-General on the Implementation of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006), which highlights progress and remaining challenges in global poverty reduction.

According to the report, the main objective of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty is to work towards the goal of eradicating absolute poverty and reducing overall poverty substantially in the world. The multidimensional nature of poverty encompasses not only lack of income but more qualitative aspects of life, such as illiteracy, poor health, lack of access to basic social services and productive assets, insecurity, powerlessness, social exclusion, physical isolation and vulnerability.

The majority of people living in poverty, says the report, live in the developing world in rural areas. They depend, to a large extent, on agriculture for their livelihood and employment. Poverty is also widespread in urban areas and significant in some industrialized societies, and is growing rapidly in many countries with economies in transition. Efforts to reduce global poverty have been severely constrained as a result of the financial turmoil of the last two years.

The report notes that, with 3 billion people still living on less than $2 a day, growing inequity within and between countries, 130 million children still not in school, 1.5 billion people still without access to clean water and 2 billion people without access to sewage, national and international action must be significantly strengthened and transformed. The current global picture is one of likely gains for the extremely poor in China, possible stagnation in India, and sharp declines in living standards in countries hit by financial crises, natural disasters and conflicts in East Asia, Africa and the former Soviet Union.

The report goes on to say that the General Assembly has designated the theme for the 1999 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty as “Women and the eradication of poverty”. According to the report, the participation of women as equal partners in national development not only enhances their productivity and earning potential but also raises women’s living standards and contributes to better economic performance, the reduction of poverty and improved family welfare. Gender- based inequality within most households, reinforced and enhanced within the legal, cultural, social, economic, and institutional spheres, contribute to women commonly being poorer than men.

Mainstreaming gender perspectives into all policies and programmes aimed at poverty eradication is the key to reducing gender inequalities, says the report. It recommends that all States parties fully implement their obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and other international human rights instruments.

In its observations on public policy, the report states that a policy framework which integrates macroeconomic, financial, structural, social and human issues is imperative if there is to be equitable and sustainable development. A growth strategy that aims for a more equitable distribution of assets, that is both job-creating and labour-intensive, and that is decentralized maximizes the possibilities for poverty reduction. The report also recommends poverty-focused responses to crises in order to prevent or dampen changes in the key variables that affect household income, such as employment, labour earnings, availability of credit, interest rates and public services.

On the role of public expenditure in eradicating poverty, the report states that adequate and universal access to basic social services contributes to the development of human capital, and can be an important factor in reducing poverty. Current allocations for basic social services, however, fall short by about a third of the financial requirements to achieve universal coverage. The Hanoi Consensus, adopted in October 1998, reiterates the objectives of the 20/20 Initiative (which calls for the allocation of, on average, 20 per cent of the budget in developing countries and 20 per cent of official development assistance (ODA) to basic social services). It emphasized that ensuring access to basic social services for the unreached, the vulnerable and the most disadvantaged members of society is not only morally imperative but also economically rational.

The report notes that another aspect of public policy, microcredit, has received prominence recently because of the recognition that the latent capacity of the poor for entrepreneurship would be encouraged by the availability of small-scale loans, which would enable them to establish small enterprises. The report mentions the microcredit annual meeting held at Abidjan, from 24 to 27 June, and the inter- American forum on microenterprise held at Buenos Aires from 24 to 26 June. A need nevertheless exists for further research on, inter alia, the impact of microcredit- lending on poverty and the empowerment of women, and on why, despite the high loan repayment rates, many programmes remain heavily dependent on subsidies and donor funds.

In order to address effectively the short- and long-term challenges of social and economic development and to ensure the attainment of economic growth with social equity, says the report, partnerships need to be established among government agencies, civil society -- including non-governmental organizations(NGOs), -- the business sector and communities at the local and national levels.

The report mentions several recommendations for possible action and initiatives for poverty eradication towards the new millennium. Some of these are: to promote and sustain economic growth, based on macroeconomic policies that create an enabling environment for poverty reduction; increase the incomes and participation of poor people in the economy through expanding employment by increasing productivity and skills, and applying science and technology towards improving their quality of life; devise social protection schemes to meet the basic needs of the poor; and reduce, if not eliminate, the negative impact of growth on the environment.

The international community could assist developing countries in reducing poverty through development cooperation. To that end, the report recommends: creating an enabling environment at the international level to facilitate the integration of marginalized countries into the word economy through fair trade, human resources development, technological development, and institutional building attractive to investment; providing adequate financing for poverty reduction and social development; and mobilizing global science and technology to address such issues as the development of appropriate technologies for developing countries.

As bodies for coordination at the intergovernmental level, the report mentions the Commission for Social Development, the Economic and Social Council, the United Nations Secretariat and regional commissions like the Economic Commission for Europe, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, and the Economic Commission for Western Asia.

In its annex, the report lists activities on poverty eradication carried out by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Relief and Works agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the United Nations University, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Universal Postal Union (UPU) the International Maritime Organization and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

The Committee also had before it a letter dated 17 May from the Permannt Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary- General (document A/54/98). It transmits the text of The Hague Agenda for Peace and Justice for the Twenty-first Century which emerged from The Hague Appeal for Peace Conference, held at The Hague from 12 to 15 May. This agenda relates, inter alia,.to the Committee’s deliberation on operational activities for development and implementation of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty.

Statements

ANDRZEJ KRASSOWSKI, Deputy-Director, Division for Social Policy and Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), said the main objective of the Decade was to give impetus to the task of eradicating poverty by mobilizing the energies and resources of a multitude of actors, at all levels. That included decisive national action and international cooperation in implementing fully and effectively all relevant resolutions and decisions of the United Nations, and all agreements and commitments undertaken at the major United Nations conferences and summits organized since 1990, as they related to poverty. The Secretary-General’s report highlighted the progress and remaining challenges in global poverty reduction.

Poverty was now a key policy concern for many governments all over the world, and several countries had given increased prominence to setting precise goals and time-bound targets for reducing poverty. However, despite the numerous programmes initiated and the campaigns waged against poverty over time and across regions, it continued to be an apparently intractable challenge. For many developing countries, the prospect of reaching the target of halving poverty by the year 2015 seemed to be receding. With present trends in economic growth and the nature of the growth that was being recorded, the world was well behind the target overall.

The current year’s theme, “women and the eradication of poverty”, provided an opportunity to assess achievements and failures in working for equality and equity between women and men, and recognizing and enhancing the participation and leadership roles of women in political, civil, economic, social and cultural life, and in development. Of major importance in public policy for poverty eradication was partnership among actors; that too was highlighted in the Secretary-General’s report. Also included in the report were recommendations for possible action and initiatives in the new millennium. The report provided additional information on the activities carried out by the United Nations system on poverty eradication, particularly the United Nations programmes, funds and specialized agencies.

Looking ahead to the year 2000, he noted that the Assembly had decided that the theme for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty would be “globalization and the eradication of poverty”. In that year, a special session of the Assembly would be devoted to the follow-up of the implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action, in which poverty eradication was a core issue.

GEORGE TALBOT (Guyana), speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 developing countries and China, said that three years ago the international community had committed the current decade to the reduction of poverty. Today, it was clear that if current trends persisted that goal would not materialize. The number of people living in poverty continued to rise. Three billion people lived on less than $2 a day. It was now estimated that the number of people living in extreme poverty, far from being halved, would instead rise disproportionately by 2015.

While the challenge of poverty had grown, he continued, the response to it had been more rhetorical than real. Instead of rising to the challenge, levels of official development assistance (ODA) had, with very few exceptions, declined. Reliance on global market forces had led not to shared prosperity but to the reinforcement of prevailing biases and asymmetries disfavouring the poor and underprivileged. Further, efforts expended to reduce global poverty had been severely constrained by the slowdown in the world economy linked to recent financial turmoil. The United Nations, which had led the way through the Copenhagen Social Summit, must once again take up the mantle of leadership and provide new direction to the global anti-poverty struggle.

Action at the political and policy levels must be coupled with concrete activities at the programme and operational levels if poverty eradication objectives were to be achieved, he said. The integration of a gender perspective into such policies was essential for success. It was widely acknowledged that women were among those most susceptible to poverty and its effects. Their empowerment was key to any programme aimed at poverty eradication. If the development process was to go beyond the rhetorical, then it was essential for governments to integrate women at every level. All indicators suggested that equal access to education had ramifications in improved health and living standards and decreased birth and mortality rates. Education, then, was also key to the achievement of poverty eradication and economic progress.

There were several proposals the Committee might recommend to the Assembly for consideration. The Assembly might, among other things, invite Member States to consider reducing by half (or by an alternative percentage, as appropriate) the proportion of people living in absolute poverty by the year 2015. Secondly, it might invite developed countries to consider increasing their ODA to 0.7 per cent of gross national product (GNP), as soon as possible but no later than the year 2015, as a demonstration of their commitment to poverty eradication. The Assembly could also call on the members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to make development and the concerns of developing countries a central focus of the next round of trade negotiations to be launched at Seattle.

MATTI KAARIAINEN (Finland), speaking on behalf of the European Union, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta, Cyprus and Iceland, expressed concern at the figures in the Secretary-General’s report on progress to date and remaining challenges in the eradication of poverty. Analysing the varying and changing causes of poverty and finding concrete solutions were important tasks for the world community. Strong, sustained growth and human resource development were fundamental for poverty eradication. Universal access to basic social services and good governance were two of the most important conditions for eradicating poverty and promoting development.

A positive development in recent years had been increased awareness of the importance of gender equality. However, the already large share of women among the world’s poorest people was expected to increase in the years to come. Increased gender equality was essential for any poverty-reduction strategy. Men and women needed to work together -– neither eradication of absolute poverty nor gender equality could be reached without the active and equal involvement of men. Microfinance services were one of the relevant instruments designed to provide the poor with access to financial services.

National policies alone could not solve the problems of faltering economies in a globalizing world. The international business community should become more actively involved in efforts to reduce poverty, and should adapt its practices to international labour standards set by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Governments needed to assume ownership of their strategies for growth and poverty reduction. Concerted efforts and partnerships with all actors were necessary if the goals were to be met. A lot remained to be done in that area. “Poverty eradication is the great challenge for the next millennium”, he said.

SIM FARAR (United States) said that, in addressing the question of alleviating poverty, ways had to be found that went beyond the mere transfer of resources. A strategy must be devised that placed people at the forefront of their own destinies. The focus should be on measures that took into consideration the living conditions of the poor as well as the skills they needed to develop. The “human-centred development” outlined in the Copenhagen Summit should be the hallmark of a global poverty-alleviation strategy.

Investment in the education of girls and women was an investment in prosperity, he said. Beyond the immediate physical aspects of poverty was the less tangible but equally tragic loss of opportunity for improvement that resulted from poverty. That was especially important in the case of children. It was imperative that the world community address that problem without delay. The wisest policy a government could adopt to reduce poverty was to lay a sound macroeconomic and structural foundation for sustainable growth. That meant open and undistorted markets, transparent regulatory systems, strong financial oversight and participatory decision-making.

ANWARUL KARIM CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) said that there had been a surge of initiatives and actions in recent years aimed at poverty reduction. Yet there was no visible dent in the situation. Indeed poverty had increased in many parts of the world. The section of the Secretary-General’s report on mobilizing resources mentioned microcredit, but failed to stress microcredit potential for the mobilization of resources, even in the poorest societies. The potential of microcredit programmes needed further deliberation in the United Nations. In addition, he felt that future reports by the Secretary-General on that and other development issues needed to look around more inquisitively into recent developments and analyse their impact. The report, in eight paragraphs dedicated to “microcredit and poverty eradication”, largely confined itself to materials already available in the United Nations, and, to some extent, echoed the Abidjan Annual Meeting of Microcredit Councils.

Further, the report’s “recommendations for possible action and initiatives for poverty eradication towards the new millennium” were too general: they added nothing specific to ongoing efforts by governments and the international community. The gravity of the subject required more serious and substantive engagement and more carefully articulated recommendations. Poverty was a multidimensional and complex reality. What was needed was the formulation of measures resulting in concrete undertakings, enumeration of proven policies and programmes, and analysis of strategies to help countries and communities further improve their ongoing efforts.

NURY VARGAS (Costa Rica), speaking on behalf of the five Central American Countries, said that the multidimensional character of poverty was not limited to the lack of income. It also embraced quality-of-life issues like illiteracy, poor health, lack of access to social services, insecurity, social exclusion and vulnerability. Poverty in the countries of his region was exacerbated by the burden of external debt. Governments could not simultaneously repay debts and provide social services. The consequence was simply increased poverty. Microcredit was one important instrument for reversing that trend. It provided the means to satisfy basic needs in a framework of liberty and democracy.

The Central American countries had worked hard to maintain peace and consolidate democracy. But that momentum could only be maintained by social policies that permitted families to enjoy employment, an adequate wage, education, health and shelter. She said that the need for international solidarity was obvious in times of disaster, but was equally urgent in the context of economical international relations.

VASSILI A. NEBENZIA (Russian Federation) said that the reduction of poverty was a cross-sectoral challenge permeating all areas of the United Nations system. The problem of poverty would, unfortunately, be one of the central tasks facing the international community in the new millennium. Tackling the issues would require active cooperation at national and international levels for the full implementation of decisions reached at the relevant United Nations conferences and summits. Poverty eradication should continue to be the focal point of activities of the economic and social bodies of the Organization. Poverty was linked to low qualitative standards of living, such as illiteracy. National and international strategies to combat poverty must take its multifaceted aspects into account. For example, poverty was not a problem only inherent in the developing countries.

Recently, he said, the international community had taken a number of steps to alleviate the debt burden of developing countries. Experience showed that further efforts were needed to find a lasting solution to the problem. In addition, efforts were needed to enable developing countries to mobilize their own resources. The goal of halving global poverty by the year 2015 was clearly out of reach. Despite countless campaigns, poverty continued to be one of the major obstacles to economic and social development.

EMOLEMO MORAKE (Botswana) said the ability to translate general consensus guidelines reached at various conferences into regional, national and local action programmes presented an immediate and pressing challenge. She urged the donor community to intensify efforts to fulfill the financial commitments undertaken at those conferences. The depth of poverty was greater in sub-Saharan Africa than in any other region. The vast majority of the region’s economies were based mainly on natural resources, and much of past development effort had been at the expense of those resources. Their sustainable utilization should therefore be reconciled with strategies of rapid economic growth. Women’s role as health and economic managers should be recognized, especially in the context of design and implementation of development plans. More ought to be done to facilitate greater access and retention of girls in school. The HIV/AIDS pandemic had exacerbated poverty in the region, as many breadwinners were lost and children orphaned. It was important, she said, that the effects of that pandemic should be perceived from economic and social perspective if left unchecked. HIV/AIDS had the potential to reverse the notable gains achieved in the past.

MAURICIO ESCANERO (Mexico) said that there were clear shortcomings in the struggle for poverty eradication, particularly with regard to the provision of an enabling and conducive international economic environment. Social programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean had been dramatically affected by low levels of international assistance and the onset of natural disasters. Poverty was a multidimensional problem, requiring strategies with long- and short-term plans. Urgent action was needed to maximize synergies at all levels to tackle the whole problem, not just its symptoms. It was crucial to focus on social programmes in the areas of education and health. To achieve full success, the international community must support the irreplaceable commitment of States to eradicate poverty.

He agreed with the emphasis in the Secretary-General's report on the need for a conducive international environment for integrating developing countries into the global economy. Mexico gave priority to integrating the challenges of development and of designing a new international financial architecture within the context of the next international trade negotiations. The first Decade for the Eradication of Poverty, and the agreements reached at the major United Nations conferences and summits, had recognized the importance of international cooperation. Mexico reaffirmed its commitment to the objectives of the Decade. He trusted that political will would be reflected in collective action to eradicate poverty and achieve equality, justice and prosperity on a global scale.

OLE PETER KOLBY (Norway) said that strategies for poverty eradication must be flexible enough to work in a variety of situations, and substantial enough to address the underlying causes of poverty. In the new World Trade Organization (WTO) round of multilateral trade negotiations, a trade agenda must be set that clearly reflected the interests of the poorest countries. The trend of declining ODA seemed to have ended. His Government, however, would like to see the trend reversed, and the target of 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product to be met.

Coordination bred better resource management and ownership, he said. Donors should not continue to overburden public institutions in developing countries with different reporting requirements, missions and evaluations. “We must stop wasting scarce resources on turf-fighting and duplication”, he said. “We have to lower our flags, coordinate our efforts and put results first.” The feminization of poverty seemed to be increasing. The most effective means of improving women’s status in society was education. Girls’ right to education had to be firmly established. Educated women had fewer children, and those children enjoyed better overall nutritional status and health.

RENATO R. MARTINO (Holy See) said that poverty was a moral issue. Poverty eradication was an ethical, social, political and economical problem. We could not tolerate a world where the rich and the destitute existed side by side. The poor were primarily victims of injustice. Poor people, for example, did not have equal access to loans.

Monsignor Martino noted that microcredit was already practiced by many institutions, and was now often geared towards women. Helping women was the best way to help eradicate poverty, because women spent most of their resources on their family. It was also one of the best ways to combat the shameful phenomenon of usury. Financing from microcredit institutions usually cost less than financing from development aid. But microcredit had not yet reached the poorest of the poor, who did not even dare address microcredit institutions. Specific programmes for the most deprived had to be researched.

LUIZ TUPY CALDAS DE MOURA (Brazil) said that poverty was a multidimensional phenomenon whose alleviation required more than mere access to basic social services. Poverty alleviation called for democratic participation and the reform of economic structures, so as to ensure access to resources, opportunities and public services for both men and women, on an equal basis. National efforts would not succeed, though, without a supportive international economic environment. At the national level, the Brazilian Government had undertaken measures to harmonize its internal economic and social-reform processes to ensure that macroeconomic stability was consistent with job creation and poverty-alleviation policies. Total social spending in Brazil had amounted to more than the 20 per cent target set in Copenhagen. Specific actions had been taken to combat poverty, reduce hunger and promote human development. In addition, the recruitment and professional training of women had been set as national priorities.

If the commitments arising from the cycle of United Nations conferences of the 1990s was to be fulfilled, the international community must provide new and additional financial resources that were both adequate and predictable. Only then would countries bridge the $136 billion gap in required allocations per year to achieve universal coverage for basic social services. The international dimension of any strategy to eradicate poverty was crucial. A favourable international economic environment was essential if development financing and poverty eradication were to be achieved. Resources alone were not enough. Nor would market forces alone generate social development. Actions should be taken to ensure international financial stability and to promote greater coherence, coordination and collaboration among the international trade, financial and monetary systems and regimes. A fair, balanced and rational negotiation to eliminate protectionist trade practices, especially regarding commodities, should be kept at the top of the international community’s agenda for the WTO Seattle Round.

SHEN GUOFANG (China) said that two points should be borne in mind with regard to international cooperation to eradicate poverty. First, along with domestic efforts, attention should be paid to improvement of the international environment. Efforts on the national level were not enough: improvement of the external environment was crucial. The international community should reduce protectionism against products from developing countries, increase financial assistance and technology transfer to them, help them strengthen capacity building, and ensure their equal participation in the formulation of the rules of the game, including rules for the prevention of financial risks.

Second, as a Chinese proverb noted “the prescription should fit the illness”. In other words, assistance and cooperation programmes and policy recommendations to developing countries should be made in light of their specific national conditions. A one-size-fits-all policy or method would not work, and might even be counterproductive. For poverty-eradication measures to produce the desired results in target areas, adequate attention must be given to the concerns and views of recipient countries.

The Chinese Government had always given high priority to poverty eradication, he said. Tremendous progress had been made since the shift in policy focus from charity- and relief-centered to development-oriented, the goal being to help poverty areas stand on their own feet. The Government had also laid down various preferential policies targeting poverty areas, so as to increase input into those areas in terms of infrastructure building and science and technology development. Policy measures, such as microcredit, had played an important role in reducing poverty among women. As a result of its efforts, China’s abject-poverty population had decreased drastically. Naturally, there were still a number of poverty areas where a hostile geographical environment had made poverty eradication almost impossible. China would continue to intensify its efforts, taking all necessary steps to strive for the eradication of abject poverty at an early date.

FEZA OZTURK (Turkey) said that combating poverty was not an act of charity. All nations should contribute to the fight against poverty, not only as a moral imperative but also as an act of self-interest. Primary responsibility naturally lay with national authorities, but their efforts must be complemented by international action. In formulating policies to eradicate poverty, generate employment opportunities and empower women, NGOs played an important role. Working at the grass-roots level, close to the targeted populations, their accumulated experiences were invaluable in the formulation policy. Transparency and accountability could be achieved only through such participation. That applied also to the relations between donors and recipients.

The United Nations system, with its extensive experience and expertise in dealing with development problems, had a major role to play in support of poverty- eradication policies at the national level. The major conferences of the United Nations throughout this decade provided an appropriate background against which such policies might be further elaborated. Many positive steps had been taken at international forums to combat poverty. But it must never be forgotten that much remained to be done, perhaps in a more comprehensive and systematic manner than in the past.

CARLOS DOS SANTOS (Mozambique) said that poverty eradication was a matter of primary concern to his country, where poverty was seen as a potential threat to social and political stability. With more than 70 per cent of its population living in absolute poverty, Mozambique hoped that the current debate would not only provide an assessment of progress made so far, but also point the way forward and set out concrete measures for eradicating poverty. Africa, as the poorest region, deserved special and urgent attention. Developing countries had a primary responsibility in addressing the issue. Indeed, poverty had become a key policy concern for many Governments, and poverty-reduction programmes were prominent in their national strategies. Mozambique last week launched its Integrated National Programme for Social Welfare, Employment and Youth, which aimed to help improve the social and economic conditions of the most needy social groups, supporting them in the struggle against poverty.

In the ongoing efforts towards the eradication of poverty, international cooperation, assistance and solidarity were fundamental for achieving successful results, he said. However, recent trends in that field were particularly alarming. The decline in ODA and other development assistance was disturbing. Lack of adequate ODA flows was seriously undermining the efforts of developing countries to eradicate poverty and improve the living standards of their people. Of equal concern was the sharp decline in funding for United Nations funds and programmes, particularly the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). That funding crisis was endangering the system’s capacity to address major international problems, such as poverty, and threatened the very existence of human beings. He therefore appealed to the international donor community to provide the funding to enable the United Nations to address such threats.

AHMED IHAB GAMALELDIN (Egypt) said that the eradication of poverty should become the highest goal of the international community. It should not be the case -- after humanity had succeeded in forging a technological revolutions, after the universal declaration of human rights -- that some countries of the North continued to fall short on their commitments. Those countries -- with the exception of the Nordic States -- could not claim that they were combating poverty. There was also no hope of combating poverty unless developed countries were serious about transferring technology to developing countries, and revising copyrights where necessary in order to do so.

Poverty was a multidimensional phenomenon that went beyond low income to include issues relevant to the quality of life. In that regard, he welcomed the fact that the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank had revised their goals, policies and strategies in order to focus on the fight against poverty as the central issue of development. Also welcome was the undertaking by United States President Clinton to write off all bilateral debts by Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) countries in a manner that allowed them to redirect resources towards the social services. The time had come for all countries to rise to the level of their moral and political responsibility, he said. It was no longer acceptable for half of humanity to live in abject poverty, at a time when the international community had the resources and technologies (but not the political will) necessary to solve the problem.

ALFREDO SFEIR-YOUNIS, Special Representative of the World Bank, said that at present poverty eradication was being addressed through a large number of programs and within the context of an environmentally and socially sustainable development strategy. That had not yet created the economic surplus that worldwide poverty eradication would demand. New conditions existed, however, that might assist developing countries in addressing poverty issues. The process of globalization, for instance, with its implications for the access, distribution and use of productive assets in the economy and by those now in poverty, could not be ignored.

Developing countries were facing major challenges at the global level, he said. The World Bank was supporting efforts to improve the enabling environment for sustainable poverty reduction by helping to address important transnational constraints. The Bank was also helping developing countries to integrate into the global financial system, derive the benefits of that integration and reduce the risks. Equally important were efforts in the area of commodity markets, where managing risks and volatility represented a major challenge for the least developed countries. An international task force on commodity-risks management in developing countries had been convened to explore new market-based approaches to the improved management of vulnerability and commodity-price volatility.

Two conditions must lie at the heart of any poverty-reduction strategy: poor people must fully participate in and own the whole design and execution of their destinies; and governance structures must enable the poor people of the world to lead the poverty eradication process. Radical changes in the patterns of income and wealth distribution and in political and institutional consensus-building were essential to the formulation of a new social contract to combat poverty at all levels. FABRIZIO BASSANI, Executive Director and Representative of the World Health Organization to the United Nations, said his organization was particularly concerned at the overall lack of progress towards achieving the global goals of reducing infant and child mortality rates by two-thirds and maternal mortality by three- quarters –- all by the year 2015. From WHO’s perspective, there were four main challenges. The first challenge was to reduce the burden of excess mortality and morbidity suffered by the poor. That would require major shifts in the way Governments used their resources. They must invest in proven effective interventions and focus on major diseases, such as malaria and HIV/AIDS, and on the most vulnerable populations, among whom women predominated. The second challenge was to tackle major threats to health resulting from economic crises, unhealthy environments, risky behaviour, and sectoral policies which ignored health consequences. Tobacco addiction was a major example. It was not just an issue for the North; over 80 per cent of all smokers lived in developing countries.

Developing more effective health systems and services was the third challenge. In many parts of the world, health systems were ill equipped to cope with current needs, not to speak of future demand. Public-sector services were chronically under-funded and resources were concentrated at the tertiary level. Health-care personnel were clustered in urban areas, benefiting the better off. In practice, such systems were not pro-poor, but anti-poor. Further, the cost of medical care was in itself a common cause of poverty, particularly when sudden illness or injury affected the household breadwinner. Social insurance, including that based on traditional systems or microcredit schemes, were vitally important tools in poverty prevention. The fourth challenge was the need to invest in building a knowledge base, which all countries could access and benefit from. Some $56 billion were spent on health research every year. However, 90 per cent of that was directed at the problems of the affluent. None of those challenges could be successfully overcome unless improving and protecting the health of poor people became a central and shared goal of all institutions working to eliminate extreme poverty.

FRANKLYN LISK, Director and Representative to the United Nations of the International Labour Office, said that the current reorganization and mainstreaming of the ILO’s work had sharpened the overall focus on poverty, and particularly the problems of the “working poor”. It was imperative, both at national and international levels, to establish a coherent policy for addressing the problems of the working poor, focusing on employment generation, social protection and social integration. It was important to ensure that employment opportunities were protected at all costs in times of crisis, while at the same time making it possible to maintain an adequate social safety net for those who could not find decent work and were in need of protection.

Action by the ILO to reduce poverty in Member States had included advice on the design and implementation of labour market policies addressing the specific employment and income needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged socio-economic groups in the labour market. Particular attention was paid to the situation of women; young people of working age who faced unemployment and limited job prospects; older workers who faced obstacles to continued employment and might lack adequate social protection; and persons with disabilities who might face discrimination in employment.

The fight against child labour by the ILO was an important component in the fight against poverty, he continued. That reached a high point with the adoption in June of the latest convention banning the worst forms of child labour. Elimination of child labour, and provision of alternative opportunities for education and child development, were significant in ensuring that young people who entered the labour force in the future were better equipped to secure productive and remunerative employment. From an ILO perspective, access to decent work for all was crucial to the attainment of income security and a fair distribution of the benefits of economic growth -- which in addition to contributing to poverty reduction, were important development objectives in themselves.

ADO VAHER, Director, Office of United Nations Affairs and External Relations of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said that giving children access to an integrated package of basic, good-quality social services was one of the most effective and efficient steps towards reducing poverty. Sustainable poverty reduction required policy reforms which created the supportive enabling environment required to develop the basic capabilities of women and children. Social-outcome indicators suggested that virtually all countries under-invested in basic social services. Even though the primary source for financing those services should be the national budget, ODA could play a critical role in the transitory phase. Improving access to and the quality of primary health care, basic education, water and sanitation, were concrete examples for both public and parliamentarians the tangible impact of aid programmes on people’s lives.

Many developing countries spent more on debt servicing than on basic social services, with several of them spending three to five times more. That situation –- at a time when hundreds of millions of children went hungry or had no access to basic education, primary health, or safe water -- was morally wrong and economically inefficient, he said. The HIPC’s core goal should be to convert debt liabilities into human investment. It was encouraging that Uganda, the first country to receive HIPC support, had been educating an extra 2 million children since debt relief was granted. Debt relief must be funded by new money, not taken from the already low level of ODA. UNICEF therefore urged industrialized countries and international financial institutions to assign additional resources for debt relief.

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