COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OPENS THIRTY-EIGHTH SESSION, WITH THEME OF CONTRIBUTING TO REVIEW OF 1995 SOCIAL SUMMIT

Press Release
SOC/4525

COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OPENS THIRTY-EIGHTH SESSION, WITH THEME OF CONTRIBUTING TO REVIEW OF 1995 SOCIAL SUMMIT

Under-Secretary-General Nitin Desai Tells Commission Summit Anticipated Concerns Now at Top of Global Agenda

The World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995) had anticipated concerns that were today at the top of the global agenda, Under-Secretary- General Nitin Desai told the Commission for Social Development this morning, as it began its thirty-eighth session.

In opening remarks to the Commission, which will be considering its contribution to the General Assembly’s June special session that will review the outcome of the Social Summit, Mr. Desai said that today there was broad agreement that poverty eradication was central to development and growing recognition that policy must temper competition, profit maximization and free markets with values that reflected a sense of responsibility for the well-being of others. That shift had been one of several important contributions made by the Copenhagen Summit and the follow-up processes.

The Commission Chairman, Zola Skweyiya (South Africa), who was elected at this morning’s meeting, said the principles of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action remained as relevant today as they were in 1995. Today, there was a new urgency in the need to respond to poverty, social inequality, gender injustice, and discrimination against the disabled and the elderly. While governments bore primary responsibility, partnerships with civil society were key to the success of the process. An enabling national environment must be supported by regional and global arrangements that ensured the primacy of the people. With cooperation and support, the Commission could move towards realizing social justice and equitable development.

Nigeria's representative, on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, stated that, after five years, the goals of the Summit remained a pipe dream for many developing countries. Since Copenhagen, the goal of poverty eradication had been at the centre of the national policy agendas of all developing countries. In spite of that, poverty was increasing and its eradication remained the most formidable challenge for the Group’s governments, which faced: declining terms of international trade; increasing external debts;

Commission for Social Development - 1a - Press Release SOC/4525 1st Meeting (AM) 8 February 2000

structural adjustment programmes; armed conflicts; ethnic strife; globalization; and natural disasters. Unless the special session addressed those problems, the 2015 target to reduce poverty by half would be a mirage.

Speaking for the European Union and associated States, Portugal's representative said the Union remained committed to assisting developing countries and those with economies in transition in combating poverty and had integrated poverty eradication into the mainstream of its bilateral and multilateral cooperation. But, sustainable social development could take place only within a political environment of good governance that respected all human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as democratic institutions. At the same time, the process of social development was of paramount importance for raising the level of realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and for the strengthening of democracy.

The representative of the United States said that those who advocated reliance on official assistance should recall that growth which depended on constant infusions of grants or subsidized financing from abroad was inherently unsustainable. Solutions would come from both official and the private sectors. While higher levels of national output and income were intrinsic to development, the process also entailed investing in people to improve health and productivity, enhance skills, protect rights, and enable them to become full participants in society. That was "people-centred development" as described in the Copenhagen Summit.

John Langmore, Director, Division for Social Policy and Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, introduced the Secretary-General’s report on implementation of the Summit’s outcome. One of the most important changes was the increased priority that had been given to social development, he said. All governments had reported on upgraded social policies. Many had also reported on progress in the areas of literacy and life expectancy, increased school enrolment and access to basic social services, which had previously been major setbacks. Referring to cross-cutting issues contained in the report, he said that Member States information regarding the public sector had come as a surprise. Many national reports had referred to a need for strengthening the effectiveness of that sector.

The Commission began its work this morning by electing Mr.Skweyiya, South Africa's Minister of Welfare and Population Development, as Chairman. Three Vice-Chairmen were also elected: Luis Fernando Carranza-Cifuentes (Guatemala), Jaminska Dinic (Croatia), and Asith Kumar Bhattacharjee (India). The Commission also adopted its provisional programme of work, and its organization for the session, as orally amended.

Statements were also made this morning by the representatives of Ireland, South Africa and Chile.

The Commission will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its general discussion of its priority theme.

Commission Work Programme

The Commission for Social Development met this morning to begin its thirty- eighth session, with the priority theme being the Commission's contribution to the upcoming General Assembly special session to review the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995).

During its current session, the Commission is expected to consider a number of reports, including the Secretary-General's analysis of the results to date in implementing the Copenhagen Declaration. (For background on the thirty-eighth session, including the main documents before the Commission, see Press Release SOC/4524 of 7 February.)

This morning the Commission also had before it a note by the Secretariat on proposals for the United Nations medium-term plan for the period 2002-2005 (document E/CN.5/2000/6). It contains the narrative of the draft medium-term plan of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the draft narrative of the sub-programme on social policy and development and the main legislative mandates for the subprogramme adopted by the relevant intergovernmental organs.

It also had before it a statement submitted by Pax Christi International, International Catholic Peace Movement, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (document E/CN.5/2000/NGO/2).

Elections

Outgoing Chairman AURELIO FERNANDEZ (Spain) said the Commission for Social Development was now one of the United Nations important bodies and it was time to begin considering its work for the next five years. He wished the new bureau the greatest success.

The Commission then elected Zola Skweyiya, South Africa's Minister of Welfare and Population Development, Chairman of the Commission's thirty-eighth session.

The new Commission Chairman, ZOLA SKWEYIYA (South Africa), said the Commission had made important progress in coordinating the review and appraisal of the outcome of the Social Summit. The principles of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action remained as relevant today as they were in 1995. Today, there was a new urgency in the need to respond to poverty, social inequality, gender injustice, and discrimination against the disabled and the elderly.

While governments bore primary responsibility, partnerships with civil society were key to the success of the process, he continued. An enabling national environment must be supported by regional and global arrangements that ensured the primacy of the people. Any framework for social development must take into account diverse national and regional characters. With cooperation and support, the Commission could move towards realizing social justice and equitable development.

The Commission elected three Vice-Chairmen: Luis Fernando Carranza-Cifuentes (Guatemala); Jaminska Dinic (Croatia); and Asith Kumar Bhattacharjee (India). It decided to postpone the election of a Rapporteur until its next meeting.

The Commission adopted its agenda for the session, and its organization of work, as orally amended, with the understanding that adjustments would be made as necessary.

VIVIAN PLINER-JOSEPH, Commission Secretary, informed members of the costs of producing documentation, pointing out that the General Assembly, in resolution 50/206, had requested members of all bodies to exercise restraint in making proposals for new reports. The same resolution encouraged members of intergovernmental bodies to request oral reports and to request consolidated reports on related topics when it was cost-effective.

She also drew the attention of the Commission to a regulation in connection with submission of draft proposals which states that “no Council, Commission or other competent body shall take a decision involving either a change in the programme budget approved by the General Assembly or possible requirement of expenditures unless it has received and taken account of a report from the Secretary-General on the programme budget implications of the proposal”.

Statement by Under-Secretary-General

NITIN DESAI, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said the Copenhagen Summit had been ahead of its time. In 1995, the world economy seemed to be thriving. It had seemed then that the degree to which the concerns of the Summit resonated with policy makers left much to be desired. But, the situation was different now. The Summit had anticipated many of the concerns that had surfaced over the past five years. One of the most significant outcomes of the Summit was that it had ensured, in its follow-up activities, that poverty eradication was accepted as the central goal of development policy and cooperation. Today, there would be virtually no dissent on the primacy that must be given to poverty eradication.

Unfortunately, resources for poverty eradication were not yet meeting the challenge, he said. If poverty eradication was to become the guiding principle in the work of development, resources were needed for United Nations activities and the activities of the World Bank, through bilateral and multilateral channels. The consensus on the primacy on poverty eradication must now focus on how to obtain appropriate financing for those efforts.

The Summit had also generated greater recognition to the demographic dimensions of social development, he continued. For example, the debate and concern about the problems related to ageing were now more widespread. Those affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic were another demographic focus. In some countries, that pandemic meant that life expectancy would move from 60 years to 45 years within the next five years. The large number of children in those countries without parents or primary caregivers brought into focus other questions.

A third area in which the outcome of Copenhagen could contribute pertained to the anxieties surrounding the processes of globalization, he continued. There were 1.3 billion people worldwide who lived in absolute poverty. But, anxieties about globalization also pertained to the many more who felt left out because they were in countries or fields of work that were not benefiting from the process. There were anxieties about employment, marginalization, and those had surfaced largely in the past five years.

It was now more widely recognized that values must play a role in determining economic policy, he said. Economic policies must not be based exclusively on free markets and competition. There was a growing recognition, arising partly from the concerns about globalization, that policy must temper competition, profit maximization and free markets with values that reflected a sense of solidarity and responsibility for the well-being of others. That shift was another important contribution of the Copenhagen Summit and the related follow-up processes. Now the challenge was whether practical expression could be given to the more general urge for linking shared values with management of economic systems at the national and global levels.

He said the Commission faced the challenges of: pushing the consensus on poverty towards a consensus on the need for resources; reflecting more deeply on demographic units; seeing how to respond to anxieties about globalization; and considering ways to link values with economics. The Copenhagen Summit might have been "a bit of a sleeper", but in practice it was remarkable how the concerns that arose in Copenhagen were now widely reflected in the work of the United Nations system, as well as outside it. The Summit had anticipated concerns that were today at the top of the agenda. The challenge was to move beyond a review process into the articulation of new initiatives. He had no doubt the Commission would succeed.

Statements

JOHN LANGMORE, Director, Division for Social Policy and Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, stated that the report of the Secretary- General assessed the overall implementation and served as a background for political discussion on the Copenhagen Summit. It was a merged effort between Member States and the Secretariat to present as complete a picture as possible. Countries had been asked seven questions; five were directly related to that implementation. Given the overwhelming amount of information that had been received, it was difficult to make it concise, since it was crucial not to lose sight of the larger picture. To make the report objective, the Secretariat felt that both national information and other available information from the Organization must be included.

He said that the Secretariat had taken a bold approach in assessing the situation and, hence, every regional chapter contained an analysis of the section. The rich picture of national experience that had been received was most valuable and he hoped that it was highlighted in the report. Turning to the findings of the survey, he said the most important change was the increased priority that had been given to social development. All governments had reported on upgraded social policies. Many governments also referred to the need to recognize the agenda and its relationship to the impact of poverty on their people. Many reported on progress in the areas of literacy and life expectancy, increased school enrolment and access to basic social services, which had previously been major setbacks.

The Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995) had had an impact on the gender dimension, he continued. However, while incremental progress had been achieved in that area, its initiatives were not always sufficiently funded. The world had also regressed in other areas. For example, the absolute number of people living in poverty had continued to grow, perpetual wars continued to devastate and the world had become more unequal. That would also have an impact on future generations.

He pointed out that resources allocated to social programmes had declined. Also, there was growing concern over globalization. With limited access to capital flows, the world was experiencing a series of shocks and the present situation made it difficult to determine the mechanisms that should be used to combat that impact. Referring to the 11 cross-cutting issues contained in the report, he said that the response to the first one, which dealt with the public sector, had come as a surprise. Many national reports had referred to a need for strengthening that sector.

Dialogue on Priority Theme

OLUSEGUN APATA (Nigeria), on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, stated that, five years later the goals of the Summit remained a pipe dream for developing countries. Since Copenhagen, the goal of poverty eradication had been at the centre of the national policy agenda of all developing countries and governments had demonstrated their commitment by adopting several programmes, policies and strategies. In spite of that, poverty was increasing and its eradication remained the most formidable challenge for the Group’s governments. Some of the constraints they faced were: declining terms of international trade; increasing external debts; structural adjustment programmes; armed conflicts; ethnic strife; globalization; and natural disasters. Unless the special session addressed those problems, the 2015 target to reduce poverty by half would be a mirage.

He emphasized that full employment was central to poverty reduction. In developing countries, employment in the formal sector had stagnated and regressed. That goal was often hampered by policies for stabilization, fiscal austerity and balanced budgets. Therefore, governments were handicapped in their efforts to create an environment for providing more jobs. To create that enabling environment, the informal sector must grow and micro-credit schemes must be encouraged. Also, the huge debt burden facing many Group countries was another obstacle.

He suggested that a first step towards truly eradicating poverty would be to consider 2000 as a landmark year for developed countries, particularly creditor nations, to commit themselves to a definitive time frame of five years for debt cancellation for developing countries. In a world that was becoming increasingly globalized, governments could not control the factors of social development. A holistic approach to that was imperative and national policies should be complemented by international efforts.

ANTONIO MONTEIRO (Portugal) spoke on behalf of the European Union, as well as Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta, Turkey, Liechtenstein and Norway. Over the past five years, he said the Union had achieved progress in numerous areas of social development. The Concerted European Employment Strategy, launched by the European Council in 1997, was an important agreement concerning the development of active employment policies. The strategy for full employment, competitiveness and development was based on reinforcing sectoral, regional and local approaches for resolving social and environmental problems and promoting social dialogue and reinforcing partnerships.

Social protection systems in member States of the Union faced common challenges, including the need to adapt to changing work, family and demographic patterns, he said. The aspiration for high levels of social protection and services must be reconciled with the need to make those more effective within budgetary constraints. The Union attached great importance to social protection as a factor of productivity in an active society. Rather than being an economic burden, social protection systems that made efficient use of resources and promoted equality could help European economies become more flexible and achieve better results.

Changing trends in trade, technology and the process of globalization had offered new possibilities, but also created new challenges and risks for the development process, he said. Those changes necessitated reinforced international development assistance, especially to least developed countries. The Union recognized the importance of assisting those countries in turning the challenges into opportunities for social progress and participatory development. Promotion of good practices and the development of internationally agreed principles in social policy would contribute to increasing the benefits to be drawn from the process of globalization.

The Union remained committed to reducing poverty within its own region and assisting developing countries and those with economies in transition in combating poverty in their own regions, he continued. The Union supported the goal of reducing by half the number of people living in poverty by the year 2015, and stressed the importance of qualitative and quantitative indicators to measure progress towards that goal. It had integrated poverty eradication into the mainstream of its bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

The Union underlined the importance of the creation of a political, legal and economic environment that would enable people to achieve social development, he said. Sustainable social development could take place only within a political environment of good governance that respected all human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as democratic institutions. At the same time, the process of social development was of paramount importance for raising the level of realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, in particular of economic, social and cultural rights, and for the strengthening of democracy.

RICHARD RYAN (Ireland), on behalf of the Council of Europe, speaking on the European Conference on Social Development held in January 2000, said discussions had been organized around three themes based on the Copenhagen commitments: promotion of a political, economic, cultural and legal environment favourable to social development; promotion of social cohesion based on strengthening and protecting human rights, particularly social rights; and eradication of poverty and social exclusion in Europe.

The Conference had been an important step forward in demonstrating the value of the Council’s new strategy for social cohesion, he said. A review of national reports, commissioned by the French Government, would complement the Secretariat’s review of the national reports it had received and would assist the Council of Europe in preparing for the special session.

He stated that plans were being developed to increase cooperation on social projects with international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, among others. Also, a substantial effort was under way to assist countries in reforming their legislation and making it compatible with the European Social Charter and the European Code of Social Security. He hoped that, in future, the Council would give increased attention to the social policy aspects of the transition process, such as drawing up national anti-poverty strategies. Participants also felt that the Council’s experience in developing standard-setting instruments in the social field could be of interest to other regions and were supportive of holding an interregional conference on the topic. Also, the Council’s programme for children would result in a conference and forum of ideas in Cyprus later in the year.

DUMISANA S. KUMALO (South Africa) said that his country’s reconstruction and development programme was the national policy framework for implementing the Copenhagen commitments. It placed people at the centre of development and that vision was based on the democratization of society, meeting basic needs and transforming the public sector and institutions of governance. Central to that process was capacity-building and strengthening of social institutions. The constitution entrenched human rights and promoted an enabling legal and institutional framework for social and economic development.

Built on that constitutional mandate, South Africa was committed to act in unity with the rest of the world to confront fascism and racism in all its manifestations, he continued. They were presently in a better position to push back the frontiers of racism. To realize that goal, international support was needed. However, improved terms of trade, a reversal of the declining trend in official development assistance (ODA) from the agreed target, support for national micro-credit schemes and removing the debt burden had yet to be made concrete. Mobilizing international resources for effective and sustainable social development must be driven by national agendas.

On the issue of globalization, he said it had had varied impacts. The emergence of new information technologies and communities had redefined the international division and created opportunities for growth and development for developed countries that were part of the global economic system. On the other hand, the developing countries had experienced increased vulnerability and marginalization. Gains, which had been made through careful and responsible economic planning, had been wiped out within seconds because of unregulated and unbridled financial markets. Consequently, there was urgent need to develop a new global financial architecture and democratize global financial institutions.

MICHAEL GALLAGHER (United States) said higher levels of national output and income were intrinsic to development. The process also entailed investing in people to improve health and productivity, enhance skills, protect rights, and enable them to become full participants in society. That was "people-centred development" as described in the Copenhagen Summit. Development must rely on local capacities. The fundamental burden rested with States and, in turn, they must empower people and institutions. As the World Bank's plan for a Comprehensive Development Framework made clear, development required social and economic policies carried out in a supportive institutional framework.

He said development assistance could act as a catalyst for sustainable development, for example when it supported investments in people, capacity-building or the creation of an enabling environment supportive of entrepreneurship. The Copenhagen Summit emphasized that poverty was substantially alleviated through policies that promoted job creation. Many countries had the experience of seeing that small and medium-sized businesses excelled at job creation.

The United States was engaged in a variety of bilateral and multilateral aid programmes around the world, he continued. It was helping countries foster economic growth through development, build democracy and good governance, deliver adequate nutrition and health care, develop capacity through education, protect the environment and provide humanitarian assistance when disasters struck. In addition to its commitment under the Cologne Initiative, the United States had agreed to forgive 100 per cent of its debt to poor countries that met well-established criteria to support their pursuit of policies that would alleviate poverty and provide a solid foundation for sustained economic growth.

Open markets and rule-based trade were the best engine to lift living standards, reduce environmental destruction and build prosperity, he said. However, trade alone would not lift nations out of poverty. Sustained growth required investment in human, capital, education, health care, technology and infrastructure, and no investment paid off faster than education.

Developing countries could achieve growth without making some of the mistakes that developed countries had made, such as those regarding worker protection and the environment, he said. Rather than focusing on the fact that there had been an increase in inequality, there was need to focus on why it had happened and how it could be addressed. In the United States 100 years ago, when people had moved from farm to factory, there had been an initial increase in inequality, despite an increase in wealth. Some had been poised to take advantage of the new economy, while others were not. But then the institutions that could intermediate those inequalities began to develop, and the economy matured and began to disperse benefits more broadly.

Those who advocated reliance on official assistance should recall that growth that depended on constant infusions of grants or subsidized financing from abroad was inherently unsustainable, he said. Solutions would come from both official and the private sectors.

CRISTIAN MAQUIEIRA (Chile) said that an analysis of the summaries of the national reports had indicated the enormous dimensions in which governments had to implement their poverty alleviation mechanisms. While various distinct social mechanisms might exist, more flexibility was needed. For example, in dealing with a social development problem like employment and labour, the solutions most likely went beyond the International Labour Organization (ILO). A mechanism that governed civil society could also be incorporated when considering the problem.

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