HABITAT AGENDA, HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT, INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION AMONG ISSUES WEIGHED IN SECOND COMMITTEE DEBATE

Press Release
GA/EF/2872

HABITAT AGENDA, HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT, INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION AMONG ISSUES WEIGHED IN SECOND COMMITTEE DEBATE

Delegates Hear Arguments for and against Proposed UN Conference on International Migration and Development

A successful strategy for poverty eradication must include recognition of the importance of sustainable human settlement development, the representative of Norway said this afternoon as the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) continued its consideration of sustainable development and international cooperation.

The battle for sustainable global development would, in many ways, take place in expanding cities, he continued. His country had actively supported the revitalization of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) with respect to both financial and personnel resources. In finding ways to reverse the negative trends of growing slums, escalating poverty and social exclusion, the Global Campaign on Secure Tenure might prove to be a vital tool.

The representative of Turkey said that in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda the need for international cooperation was obvious. Progress in attaining the goals of Habitat II would ultimately depend on the full mobilization of civil society. Implementation would take place largely at the local level, and must involve a multitude of partners.

The representative of Indonesia said that while there was no denying that progress had been made since Habitat II, a majority of the world’s population still faced intolerable living conditions, further aggravated by the rapid pace of urbanization, increased poverty and the negative effects of globalization. Increasing international cooperation for the Agenda’s implementation would require the firm commitment of the international community to reinvigorate such cooperation in capacity- building, technical assistance, technology transfer, and new and additional financial resources.

While many speakers expressed support for the convening of global conference on international migration and development, others felt that

Second Committee - 1a - Press Release GA/EF/2872 16th Meeting (PM) 19 October 1999

it was not yet called for. The representative of Singapore said that there was still no coherent theory to explain the complex interrelationship between migration and development. Rather than convene another international conference, existing resources should be devoted to mechanisms that addressed migration, such as the Commission on Population and Development. Given the lack of migration data and the lack of convergence among countries on the scope and objectives of such a conference, now was not the right time to convene one.

On the issue of human resources development, the representative of Antigua and Barbuda, speaking on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), said that, given the restricted size and vulnerability of small island developing states, special emphasis had to be placed on education at all levels. A critical area of human resources development was the training of policy makers, especially in areas of natural resource management and sustainable development. Information and telecommunication technologies now made it feasible and economically affordable to design human development systems that met people's needs in a holistic way.

Statements were also made by the representatives of Costa Rica, Russian Federation, Mexico, Senegal, Romania, Philippines, Mali, Croatia, China, Republic of Korea and Nigeria. The observer of the Holy See and the representatives of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) also addressed the Committee.

The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. tomorrow to continue its discussion of sustainable development and international economic cooperation.

Committee Work Programme

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this afternoon to continue its consideration of sustainable development and international economic cooperation. (For background, see Press Release GA/EF/2871, issued this morning.)

Statements

NURY VARGAS (Costa Rica) said that her country, which was primarily an agricultural society, well-known for democracy and peace, and whose primary focus was human development, was a major immigrant destination. Traditionally, Costa Rica had been a country attractive to immigrants. While earlier immigrants had been driven there out of political necessity, today, the majority were driven by the need to escape poverty and gain a better standard of living. Costa Rica’s Constitution granted the same rights and duties to immigrants as it did to its own nationals. It was a very tough prospect to leave one’s land and confront a new country, climate, language and customs. Every time a tragedy, economic crisis or natural disaster struck, Costa Rica received waves of immigrants. Its population of three and a half million people played host to over half a million immigrants.

Costa Rica was in urgent need of international aid to help it generate jobs and provide humanitarian aid, housing, education and health care to those immigrants. The international community needed to consider those countries that had to bear the burden of providing for large numbers of immigrants, she said. If basic social services were not provided, the immigrants would go elsewhere. Recipient countries must be assisted so that they could provide those people with the basic social services they needed.

YURI ISAKOV (Russian Federation) said his country favoured a global conference on international migration. Although many migration crises had been solved by a regional approach, a United Nations conference could provide the finishing touch to regional conferences carried out on the initiative of governments and international organizations. The final document for such a conference could be drafted by an expert preparatory committee. Emphasis should be given to the protection of human rights of international migrants and finding long- term solutions to their problems. A system-wide approach was needed.

Turning to Habitat, he said that the Russian Federation supported the decisions passed at the Seventeenth Conference on basic elements of reform. Habitat should be an integrated part of the United Nations system. The measures taken to reorganize the work of the Centre seemed to be on the right track. The reform of information work would enhance the drafting of specific recommendations in specific socio-economic development situations.

MAURICIO ESCANERO (Mexico) said that the linkages between international migration and development were complex and involved several factors, one of which was economics. Strengthening international dialogue in that area would be furthered by an approach that considered the phenomenon’s causes as well as ways and means to deal with it. Mexico advocated the convening of an international conference on international migration, under the auspices of the United Nations. Such a conference might, among other things, foster high-level talks and international cooperation on the subject, including its regional ramifications. A solid and substantive preparatory process would be crucial for such a conference. First, the phenomenon would have to be quantified. Second, what migration phenomena around the world had in common -- as well as the differences among them -- would have to be spelled out clearly. Finally, the preparatory process must determine what type of migration was to be taken up at such a conference. The question of refugees and displaced persons must be dealt with separately. Any such conference should end with the production of tangible results.

IBRA DEGUENE KA (Senegal) said that the question of international migration was as old as humanity itself. Human beings always wanted to find elsewhere what they could not find at home. The phenomenon of international migration was a part of the global challenge. It needed a multilateral approach. One of the fundamental questions was that of underdevelopment. “Man in his natural quest for better well-being seeks better horizons”, he said.

Senegal supported proposals for an international conference on international migration. The conference should not mask the problem of those seeking refuge in host countries. Migrants and their families, living often in inhuman conditions, continued to receive treatment incompatible with their dignity. That was contrary to the concept of civil society. Even in an illegal situation, foreigners had minimal rights. International migration was of concern to all countries -- those of origin, transit and destination. A common denominator had to be found in addressing the problem.

ARNE HONNINGSTAD (Norway) said that his country had actively supported the revitalization of Habitat’s financial and personnel resources. A successful strategy for poverty eradication must include recognition of the importance of sustainable human settlement development. The battle for sustainable global development would in many ways take place in expanding cities. In finding ways to reverse the negative trends of growing slums, escalating poverty and social exclusion, the Global Campaign on Secure Tenure might prove to be a vital tool.

On the subject of international migration and development, he said that Norway had in principle responded positively to the proposal that an international conference should be organized. It had also been proposed, however, that the issue of migration should first be pursued at the regional level. That might be a constructive way to move forward on the issue.

On renewal of the dialogue on strengthening international economic cooperation for development through partnership, he stressed that to ensure the continued relevance of the dialogue, the theme should be as clearly defined and focused as possible. Noting that the meetings schedule for next year was already very busy, he proposed setting the dates for the meeting as early as possible in order to ensure that the high-level participants would be available to attend.

PATRICK ALBERT LEWIS (Antigua and Barbuda), speaking on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), said on the subject of human-resources development that, given the smallness and vulnerability of small island developing States, special emphasis had to be placed on education at all levels. A critical area of human-resources development was the training of policy makers, especially in areas of natural resource management and sustainable development. Information and telecommunication technologies now made it feasible and economically affordable to design human development systems that met people's needs in a holistic way.

Turning to the item on renewal of the dialogue on strengthening international economic cooperation for development through partnership, he said that AOSIS countries strove both to build on existing partnerships and to establish new linkages, including linkages with civil society and the private sector. The need for a partnership approach was the central message of the Barbados Programme of Action, but that message was not always heard. Since the Barbados Conference five years ago, there had been a significant decline in overall disbursements to small island States. The Programme of Action represented a commitment to partnership between those States and the international community in their joint effort to share resources and expertise.

OVIDIU IERULESCU (Romania) said that last September’s first high-level dialogue on strengthening international economic cooperation for development through partnership had offered a stimulating exchange of views on what globalization meant for countries and regions, including the question of sharing the benefits and avoiding the risks. Romania welcomed the ongoing United Nations debate on globalization issues as a practical follow-up to the first high-level dialogue. The proposal for the theme suggested by Romania on “promoting economic security: objectives of national strategies and of international cooperation for development through partnership” was intended to focus on fundamental factors in achieving economic and social welfare and thus economic security. He hoped that his country’s proposal would receive due consideration during the selection process for the theme of one of the future high-level dialogues. Romania believed that the question of mobilizing domestic resources for development was important and timely, and should be examined when finalizing the theme for the second high-level dialogue.

FEZA OZTURK (Turkey) said that in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda a need for international cooperation was obvious. Progress in attaining the goals of Habitat II would ultimately depend on the full mobilization of civil society. Implementation would take place largely at the local level, and must involve a multitude of partners. The Government of Turkey had a standing offer to establish a Habitat regional office in Turkey, which could deliver its services to a large number of countries in Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

On international migration and development, he said that the objectives of a United Nations conference should be designed to allow a debate on major issues related to: international migration in view of recent worldwide global socio- economic transformations; developing necessary measures to be taken by governments, civil society and international organizations; and intensifying efforts in the maintenance of international cooperation between countries of origin and destination. A programme of Action covering all categories of migrants could be adopted at the end of the conference.

DJISMUN KASRI (Indonesia) said there was no denying that progress had been made since Habitat II. However, a majority of the world’s population still faced intolerable living conditions, further aggravated by the rapid pace of urbanization, increased poverty and the negative effects of globalization. The financial crisis had struck Indonesia particularly hard, undermining the country’s ability to carry through its programme to develop increased quantities of subsidized low-cost shelters for low-income people. However, the Government was still striving to pursue a major overall reform programme. Involving extensive and fundamental legal and institutional transformation, the programme aimed to facilitate full implementation of the Agenda at the national and local levels. Increasing international cooperation for the Agenda’s implementation would require the firm commitment of the international community to reinvigorate such cooperation in capacity-building, technical assistance, technology transfer, new and additional financial resources, and related areas. The Agenda’s implementation could be further pursued by strengthening the role of the Habitat within its existing mandates.

Turning to the renewal of the dialogue on strengthening international economic cooperation for development through partnerships, he said that the international community’s central challenge was to harness globalization, focus on its challenges, and find ways and means to overcome them. All of which must be done in a spirit of constructive dialogue and partnership, aimed at maximizing benefits for all countries and minimizing setbacks. It might be advisable to defer the holding of the second high-level meeting to the Assembly’s fifty-sixth session in 2001, when there would be more time to take the outcomes of that and other relevant United Nations conferences fully into account. It was critical that preparations for the dialogue should involve widespread participation.

LIBRAN N. CABACTULAN (Philippines) said that progress in implementing the Habitat Agenda could be properly assessed only when the international community had reached mutual agreement on comparable human settlements. The Centre had a pivotal role to play in ensuring that the provisions of the Agenda were carried to their operational applications. The Philippines supported the holding of a special session of the General Assembly in the year 2001 for an overall review and appraisal of implementation of the Agenda.

On international migration and development, he said that, following democratic rules and procedures, a decision should already have been made to convene an international conference. A sense of good direction should guide the international community along the right path in such a global overview of the complex phenomenon of international migration and development. Countries needed assurance that by participating in the process they were protecting their respective national borders and honestly safeguarding the dignity of individuals.

The Philippines was very supportive of the General Assembly’s decision to convene the Third United Nations Conference on the least developed countries (LDCs). Such a conference should make possible a new and comprehensive drive to inject momentum into implementation of the Programme of Action for the LDCs. It should also provide them with appropriate international support, particularly in the areas of official development assistance (ODA), debt, investment and trade.

MAHAMADOUN BOCOUM (Mali) said that the greatest challenge facing the international community was achieving real sustainable development through true global partnership. “In this day and age, how do you reverse the declining trend of ODA?” Many developing countries, strangled by the debt burden, were being frustrated in their attempts to reduce poverty and provide for their people. In the global economy, efficiency must be reconciled with equity. Globalization had become a major phenomenon. The international community must recognize now that countries facing constraints had meager resources. For globalization to benefit all, it must focus on sustainable human development. True partnership and shared responsibility could help build a better world for all. “How do you remain insensitive to the numbers of children dying before the age of 5 due to the lack of food and not, at the same time, be revolted at the statistics of people dying from overeating?”

In seeking to create a South that was less depressed, healthier, and more confident, international development partners must rally around the strategic coalition against poverty and hunger, he said. More integrative policies where needed. It was not largely acknowledged that the primary responsibility for poverty reduction and sustainable development was incumbent on each and every society. He hoped to see more international cooperation in a more tangible form, and not just in the traditional realms of economy and trade. “How can you express devotion to genuine international cooperation -- while, cutting back on the provision of international economic assistance?” he asked. The support of the international community would be more useful if it were based on true partnership.

JASMINKA DINIC (Croatia) said that her country envisaged a system of physical planning that took into account the parameters laid down in the Habitat Agenda. Due to socio-demographic, economic, developmental and socio-cultural factors, implementation of the Agenda would be focused on developing middle-sized and small- sized towns and communities, while simultaneously checking the trend to population growth in large cities. The Government had categorized areas of special concern for assistance in the process of reconstruction and development. Croatia’s approach to housing had undergone a marked transition to market principles, with privatization of housing funds and a move from state to private ownership.

Croatia approached implementation of the Habitat Agenda and its National Plan of Activities through the application of planning and development programmes designed to advance the condition of human settlements. His Government believed that further elaboration of the Schedule of Indicators would provide an effective basis for assessing the real situation and growth orientation of each of its towns. Such a step would produce both qualitative and quantitative indicators essential for planning, follow-up and assessment of progress made in housing quality and in furthering the principle of constructing sustainable human settlements.

CATHERINE WONG (Singapore) said there was a perception that receiving countries were the sole beneficiaries of international migration, and that sending countries were disadvantaged. That was a misconception that must be corrected. International migration impacted on both sending and receiving countries, and both parties had a responsibility towards migrants. According to the Secretary- General’s report, many respondents favoured convening an international conference on international migration and development. However, those respondents constituted only a small proportion of United Nations Member States. Even among those in favour of holding an international conference, there was a lack of consensus on its objectives and on the issues to be addressed. There was also no agreement on details, such as funding or the composition of the conference secretariat.

While international cooperation in the field was desirable, it should be based on accurate data, not on perpetuated myths. There was still no coherent theory to explain the complex interrelationship between migration and development, she said. More effort should be exerted to collect the relevant data and exhaustively analyze the complex issues, before a clear understanding of the challenges could be reached. Rather than convene another international conference, the international community should devote existing resources to mechanisms that addressed migration, such as the Commission on Population and Development. Given the lack of migration data and the lack of convergence among countries on the scope and objectives of such a conference, now was not the right time to convene one.

RENATO R. MARTINO (Holy See) said that in the matter of sustainable development and international economic cooperation, the negative effects of sanctions should be addressed. The fact that the leadership of a country had posed a threat to international peace and security and impeded the restoration of peace did not mean that the entire population of that country should be forced to suffer. Sanctions were not simply an easy way to placate outraged public opinion. Their primary aim was not to punish, but rather to coerce the targeted government into a change of behaviour.

In recent history, regimes which had pushed their countries into aggression or unwarranted conflicts were often politically strengthened by the imposition of long-standing sanctions. The tremendous humanitarian impact of economic sanctions on an entire population was not a matter that could be easily overlooked by the international community. Sanctions were difficult to fine tune: although intended to exert pressure on those whom the international community sought to target, they too often inflicted suffering exerted pressure on innocent civilian populations. At times they could even punish innocent future generations for the faults of the past. The Holy See appealed to the conscience of the international community to reconsider the negative consequences of the present mechanism of indiscriminate economic sanctions.

MA XUESONG (China) said that in recent years a vast number of developing countries had carried out extensive economic reform and structural adjustment to realize the basic goals set out in the Declaration on International Economic Cooperation and in the Strategy for the United Nations Fourth Development Decade. Yet the unjust international economic order, plus the fact that international development cooperation was advancing with considerable difficulty, had seriously hampered effective implementation of the Declaration and the Strategy. He called on the international community, especially the developed countries, to demonstrate the necessary political will and realize to the fullest its commitments in the core areas of development financing, debt, trade and technology. That would help create an external environment favourable to developing countries, and help them overcome obstacles on the path to development. In the long run, the developed countries also stood to benefit from such efforts.

In the face of rapid globalization, which brought both opportunities and daunting challenges, it was imperative for the international community to strengthen management of the process on the basis of real partnership, equality and mutual benefit. In that regard, a dialogue on international economic cooperation was indispensable. There were many approaches to that end. First, international development cooperation must be revitalized through strengthened dialogue and partnership. Second, future high-level dialogues should continue to give priority to the problems of international development cooperation under globalization and other specific issues in relevant decision-making areas. Third, the international community must do all it could to turn consensus in that regard into action. Lastly, international development cooperation must adhere to a right direction, and developing countries’ autonomy in choosing their paths of development must be respected.

CAROL LUBIN, Adviser, International Labour Office of the International Labour Organization (ILO), said the ILO was deeply concerned with the need both to regulate the flow of migration, and to protect migrant workers and their families from exploitation by countries either of immigration or of emigration. International as well as governmental standards had to be adapted to the changed world situation and the current problems faced by migrants and their families. One factor that must be taken into consideration was the feminization of migration. More and more women were migrating for economic reasons in the hope of finding better employment, but often fell prey to prostitution and other forms of exploitation.

Another factor was the great increase in illegal immigration and its relation to employment and protection in the workplace, she said. A linked issue was repatriation or absorption of migrants. The ILO provided technical assistance to governments, on request, with respect to all those and other issues. The ILO also worked with governments seeking to negotiate bilateral or multilateral agreements to deal with migration problems.

The ILO Migration Programme (MIGRANT) had launched a new mechanism to study patterns or practices of maltreatment of migrant workers. It had also begun an International Labour Migration database, which would be available on the Internet to provide quantitative as well as qualitative information on the living and working conditions of migrants. The ILO proposed that a United Nations conference on international migration and development should be based on the principles embodied in existing international instruments regarding migration, and should foster a better understanding of those instruments. It should be a technical meeting designed to obtain broad consensus on issues such as employment and protection of migrant workers and their families.

NDIORO NDIAYE, Deputy Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that “one need not be a specialist or a scholar to understand instinctively that international migration and development are linked”. Differing levels of development -– economic, social and political –- were an important factor driving population movements both within countries and across national boundaries. Studies had demonstrated that there was no simple causal link between underdevelopment and migration, or for that matter, between poverty and migration. It was not always obvious that most international migration in fact took place between developing countries, and not exclusively from the South to the North. In addition, in global terms migration today was a numerically significant factor. Nowadays, virtually every country in the world was affected as a receiving, transit or origin country -- and increasingly, as all three at once.

The need to develop integrated policy frameworks which took into account the links between migration, ODA, trade, investment and demographic and social development plans was much better recognized today, she said. Beyond simply contributing to better understanding, efforts to foster constructive dialogue among countries of origin, transit and destination would ultimately contribute to better management of migration’s challenges. Collective management of migration was the key to resolving the problems associated with present-day migration trends, while reaping the very real and significant benefits that orderly migration could generate. Irregular migration, she noted, was a complex reflection of inadequate or failed development and migration policies. Linked to that was cooperation on return migration, which was one of the IOM’s priority service areas.

HWANG SUNG-YUN (Republic of Korea) said, in reference to the outcome of Habitat II, that the final goal of the development process should be balanced growth. Social goals such as equity, gender awareness, education and health should be incorporated at the initial stages of elaborating strategies for development. Provisions for domestic conditions were prerequisites in achieving the goal of sustainable development, as were sound macroeconomic policies and banking practices. Good governance was also fundamental to proper management of the economic and social system. Governments should assume a key role in creating domestic conditions conducive to sustainable development, by serving as facilitators rather than regulators. On the question of women and development, he said that in order to yield more tangible results in the next high-level dialogue, the theme of the dialogue must be chosen with great care. It should focus on specific aspects of international economic and development cooperation and policymaking. Moreover, it should capitalize on the comparative advantages of the United Nations, in terms of the Organization’s emphasis on long-term development goals and sustained economic growth.

AUSTIN ETANOMARE OSIO (Nigeria) said that in order to achieve the goals set out in the Declaration on International Economic Cooperation, developing countries needed to be better enabled to counteract the adverse effects of globalization. Effective strategies to that end should seek to maximize the benefits accruing from liberalization of trade, external debt-relief measures, poverty-eradication plans and programmes, human-resources development, and individual and institutional capacity-building measures, among others.

On human-resources development, he said that human resources constituted the greatest asset of any nation. He underscored the need to enable all peoples and nations to realize one of their most important rights –- the right to development. Development of any nation was meaningless, without appropriate development of its human capital. He also stressed the importance of dialogue, especially in multilateral relations. At the regional and interregional levels, the need to strengthen dialogue had become increasingly relevant for the enhancement of international economic cooperation, especially in the current era of knowledge- and profit-driven globalization and liberalization of the world economy.

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