PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL SESSION TO EXPLORE NEW SOLUTIONS TO OLD PROBLEMS

Press Release
PI/1234
SOC/4538

PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL SESSION TO EXPLORE NEW SOLUTIONS TO OLD PROBLEMS

After finding that globalization has not provided a windfall in benefits to most people and that most of the social development goals of the 1995 Copenhagen World Summit for Social Development have not been achieved, delegates are preparing to negotiate new strategies that will help people attain a better standard of living.

At the Preparatory Committee meeting for the General Assembly special session on the five-year review of the follow-up to the Social Summit, which will start Monday and run from 3 to 14 April at United Nations Headquarters, delegates will negotiate the final outcome of the special session that will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 26 to 30 June.

Against the backdrop of the major rifts that appeared between developing and developed countries at the World Trade Organization (WTO) talks in Seattle last December, where countries were unable to address important social and environmental issues within the context of trade negotiations, efforts to find a agreement on initiatives to spur social development will face an uphill battle.

Major philosophical and practical differences between developing and developed countries are likely to make the negotiations long and difficult during the two-week Preparatory Committee. In recent negotiations, proposals from developed countries have tended to stress the need for good governance, which includes the need for democratic, transparent and accountable governments, as well as the need to respect political human rights. Developing countries have pushed an agenda that focuses heavily on resource issues, including greater international cooperation and technical assistance.

In Copenhagen, representatives from 186 countries, including 117 that were represented by a head of State or government, agreed on a Programme of Action aimed at eradicating poverty, promoting full employment, and ensuring social cohesion. At the Summit, countries agreed to set a target date for the eradication of poverty, and also agreed to work toward a number of health and education goals. Countries also agreed to adopt international conventions protecting the rights of workers, such as the right to free association, the right to collective bargaining, the prohibition of forced or child labour, and the principle of non-discrimination.

Yet, five years later, the 25 United Nations agencies that were asked to report on social developments since the Summit have concluded that inequality,

- 2 - PI/1234 SOC/4538 3 April 2000

poverty, and insecurity have increased, and more countries have been marginalized by globalization. This basically candid and generally pessimistic assessment of recent trends, which has been adopted by countries in their review of social progress since Copenhagen, will serve as the foundation for the negotiations over further initiatives.

Shaping a new consensus will be difficult. Sharp differences over social issues helped scuttle the WTO talks, as some countries' efforts to enforce “labour standards” was seen by developing countries as a move to shut them out of markets.

“The response of the international community to what happened in Seattle is the Social Summit +5”, according to Preparatory Committee Chairman Cristián Maquieira of Chile. Contrary to the situation in Seattle, where the delegates from developing countries felt marginalized, Mr. Maquieira called the special session a place where the voices of the poor can be heard. “Seattle taught us that we could not negotiate on one important issue, such as trade without negotiating other important issues.”

Among the issues that the special session must address, Mr. Maquieira said, is the need to fully incorporate social concerns into economic decision- making and to strengthen the capacity of the State to safeguard the welfare of its citizens.

A wide-range of proposals to advance social conditions are on the agenda. These include proposals for a political campaign to end poverty, new poverty reduction targets, a global employment strategy that could generate more jobs at a liveable wage, possible guidelines on corporate social responsibility, strengthening the existing commitment on education, a new global health and development strategy, and social guidelines for the world's financial institutions.

Negotiations are also expected to focus on resource issues, such as greater market access for exports from developing countries and additional official development assistance. Other sources of revenue will also be considered, such as improved taxation collection systems and innovations that use market reforms to allow poor people to work their way out of poverty. There will also be a discussion on holding an inquiry into the feasibility of the highly controversial “Tobin tax,” a proposal that calls for taxing large international financial transfers.

For further information, please contact Dan Shepard, Department of Public Information, Development and Human Rights Section, tel. (212) 963-8104, fax (212) 963-1186, e-mail , or Randolph Ryan, Division for Social Policy and Development, tel. (212) 963-4981, fax (212) 963-2080, e-mail ryan@un.org.

Information on the special session can also be obtained from the Social Summit +5 Web site at .

* *** *