PRESS CONFERENCE BY ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL PRESIDENT

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL PRESIDENT

"The Role of Information Technology in the Knowledge-Based Economy" would be the special topic of the high-level segment of the Economic and Social Council this year, the newly-elected President of the Council, Makarim Wibisono (Indonesia), told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon.

Information technology would be given top priority, he continued, and the Council intended to launch specific activities in conjunction with it, including a series of panel discussions and regional meetings. So far, India, Austria, Bulgaria and Brazil had indicated their intention to host such meetings in their respective regions. That would be in keeping with the "bottom-up" approach, rather than imposing views from the top.

He said that there were also plans to organize an information technology exhibition with the involvement of private sector, as well as informational meetings with the Chief Executive Officers of leading private companies in the field of information technology, from both developed and developing countries. Such meetings would take place during the high-level segment of the Council. Other activities would involve establishing an institutional and permanent focal point on information technology, under the aegis of the Council and the General Assembly, and exploring the possibility of establishing an information technology centre in the developing countries.

He wanted to ensure that the Council had the ability to respond in a timely manner to new emerging issues and problems of major international significance in the social and economic fields, he said, for example the recent global financial crisis and the natural disasters in Latin America. Since the Council had only one substantial session each year, it was not in a good position to address fast-emerging issues in the era of rapid globalization. In that connection, he intended to explore ways in which the Bureau could be authorized to call a meeting or session of the Council at any time during the year in response to crises or emergencies.

Mr. Wibisono also stressed that the Council should strive for continuity when pursuing its ongoing programme of activities. The Council should, however, remain open to new ideas and initiatives to address the emerging challenges of a new millennium. In that connection he said that he intended to continue vigorous efforts to revitalize and restructure the Council. But "the presidency of the Bureau cannot stand alone", he said. In order to tackle the programme, he would encourage the active partnership and participation of the Member States, the Bureau and its subsidiary bodies.

One of the top priorities of his presidency would be to seek to reassert the central coordinating role of the Council and help it work more effectively to maintain its status vis-à-vis its subsidiary bodies, functional commissions, funds and programmes and specialized agencies. There were several ways in which that could be achieved, including requesting subsidiary organs to submit reports

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well in advance of the Council's substantive meetings; increasing the number of informational meetings among the Council’s subsidiary bodies; promoting cooperation between and among the functional and regional commissions responsible for follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits; and further developing the basic indicators for integrated and coordinated follow-up.

Continuing, Mr. Wibisono said that during his presidency he also intended to intensify contacts and cooperation between the Council and the Bretton Woods institutions. To that end, the Council would continue its high-level meeting with the institutions and focus that meeting on specific issues, such as development financing. He would also insist that the Council follow up on the establishment of a joint task force of the Council and the institutions on financing for development.

Finally, concerning the major issue of globalization, particularly in the areas of trade and finance, he said it was important to seek to intensify contacts between the Council and the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). That would facilitate greater coherence and understanding between the economic and trade sectors. It was very important to explore the possibility of establishing a trilateral forum -– the Council, the WTO and UNCTAD -- to consider ways and means of promoting the goals of development. Tomorrow he was going to Geneva for a meeting with the Director-General of the WTO to explore the possibility of establishing such a forum.

Responding to a question about the position of Council members to the proposed urgent response to emergency situations, which had been referred to as an "Economic Security Council", Mr. Wibisono said that the idea of such a transformation, which had been discussed for a long time, had its pros and cons. The United Nations Charter clearly pointed out that the function of the Council was to address the social and economic matters of the world. It would take time to reach an agreement on the matter.

Did it mean that the "Fulci doctrine" was dead, a correspondent asked. Mr. Wibisono answered that, at the United Nations, time was needed to deal with any good idea. Reflection of all Member States was needed on any issue. Also, wisdom was needed to select the best ideas acceptable to all.

Asked to provide his response to countries like Haiti, which had received unfulfilled promises under the old doctrine of the Council, Mr. Wibisono said that the mandate of the ad hoc advisory group on Haiti had nothing to do with the Council. The idea was to try to identify the areas where international help to Haiti was adequate and to determine the need for changes. Therefore, advice had been provided according to mandate, as well as policy guidance on Haiti. That was reflected in last year's resolution adopted in Geneva.

What role would the Council play within the Council/WTO/UNCTAD efforts to bridge the gap between the developed and the developing countries, a correspondent asked. Mr. Wibisono replied that to initiate the dialogue, it was necessary to create a climate conducive to reaching an agreement on basic

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issues. Based on his intention to do that, he was going to Geneva to talk with the Director-General of the WTO and find out what measures could be undertaken together.

Asked what role he intended to play when Indonesia became a subject of discussion in the Council in relation to East Timor, Mr. Wibisono answered that it was necessary to draw a distinct line between his role as an ambassador and President of the Council. He would perform his duties as President impartially and objectively.

To a question about his hopes for the upcoming UNCTAD X, he said that it would be a very important meeting. He was going to participate in it. The conference would be essential for efforts at development, for it would take up such issues as market development and the expansion of trade.

Asked about the coordination function of the Council, Mr. Wibisono replied that it was a very interesting aspect of the Council's work. The objective was to make all the subsidiaries' work more efficient and effective. In fact, the coordination efforts sometimes took much time and became bureaucratic. Therefore, the Council had an intention to address the issue of revitalization of the Council. Coordination efforts must be streamlined and sustained. It had been proposed that the Vice-President of the Council responsible for coordination should start his work this month and continue to be in contact with regional commissions and other bodies throughout the year. The problem should be approached very carefully, however, for there was the possibility of misinterpretation; that it might be perceived as the Council pretending to know better than the subsidiary bodies. It was also necessary to take advantage of the "bottom-up" approach, which would put an emphasis on the role of regional commissions and input at the country level.

Responding to several questions regarding his reaction to recent human rights reports on East Timor and the call for an international court, he said that the Government of Indonesia had already provided its response by submitting letters from the Foreign Minister of Indonesia to the Secretary-General, which had been distributed as a United Nations document. The Government could not approve the content of the report, because the information had been gathered in a non-judicial setting. It was also one-sided. Indonesia could not agree with the international commission of inquiry and all Asian members of the Council, as well as other countries, supported its position. The report was not binding on Indonesia, either morally or legally.

Regarding the report by the fact-finding team of the National Commission of Human Rights, he said that it had been submitted to the Attorney-General of the country, who was going to review it and bring the issues before the relevant national judicial mechanisms. It was best to handle those issues within national jurisdiction. To be able to resolve the problems comprehensively, it was necessary to create a climate of reconciliation and act in a balanced manner. The new democratic Indonesia was devoted to promoting human rights. The Government intended to bring all perpetrators of crimes to justice and to assure accountability through the national judicial process. When national remedies were working, the arguments for international involvement became less convincing.

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To a question about the role of non-governmental organizations in the work of the Council, Mr. Wibisono answered that, in the area of politics, non- governmental organizations were the new phenomenon in the age of globalization. They were new actors, and the Council was trying to have a dialogue with them. He had been invited to several non-governmental organizations meetings, and he was going to listen and consider what could be done to put non-governmental organizations participation in the proper context. At this stage, he did not have a clear picture, but he promised that he would try to give his ideas on the matter.

One of the complaints of the developing countries was that most of the non-governmental organizations participating in the work of the Council came from the industrialized countries, a correspondent said. Mr. Wibisono said that was correct. Another complaint was that non-governmental organizations in the developing countries had limited resources and had difficulty attending world gatherings, although they had superior knowledge of the situation in particular countries.

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