PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR SOCIAL SUMMIT SPECIAL SESSION HEARS PROGRESS REPORTS ON WORKING GROUP NEGOTIATIONS

Press Release
SOC/4542

PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR SOCIAL SUMMIT SPECIAL SESSION HEARS PROGRESS REPORTS ON WORKING GROUP NEGOTIATIONS

The Preparatory Committee for the 2000 General Assembly special session entitled "World Summit for Social Development and Beyond: Achieving Social Development for All in a Globalizing World" met this evening to hear progress reports from its three working groups and statements by non-governmental organizations on the inclusion of civil society’s concerns in the outcome documents.

The second preparatory session began at Headquarters on 3 April and is expected to suspend or conclude its work on 14 April, with the approval of a draft outcome document and a draft political declaration to be forwarded to the special Assembly session. The social development review comes five years after the consensus adoption by 186 countries of the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development (1995), which charted a new course towards people-centred development.

Through the adoption of 10 commitments, world leaders pledged to eradicate poverty, attain full employment and foster stable, safe and just societies. Commitments 1 through 10 concern: (1) an enabling environment for social development; (2) poverty eradication; (3) full employment; (4) promotion of social integration; (5) equality and equity between women and men; (6) universal and equitable access to high-quality education and health services; (7) acceleration of development in Africa and in the least developed countries; (8) inclusion of social development goals in structural adjustment programmes; (9) resources for social development; and (10) international cooperation for social development.

Working Group I is dealing with new initiatives based on commitments 1, 7, 8 and 9. Working Group II’s negotiations concern commitments 2,3,4,5,6 and 10. Working Group III is focused on the draft political declaration.

The Chairman of Working Group II, Koos Richelle (Netherlands) told the Committee that the Group had started work on commitments 2, 3 and 4, respectively: poverty eradication; full employment; and the promotion of social integration. Several pages of alternatives to the text, or more than one third, had been deleted, but work remained on certain paragraphs over formulation, rather than substantive differences of opinion.

Mr. Koos said the Group had identified two paragraphs of the text, 38 and 39, on which facilitation was needed. Paragraph 38 concerns the relationship between the International Labour Organization and the quality of work and employment. Paragraph 39 centres on child labour. A proposal by the “Group of 77” developing

Preparatory Committee for - 2 - Press Release SOC/4542 Special Session on Social Development 7 April 2000 3rd Meeting (PM)

countries and China was made to replace the existing paragraph with one which calls for a multilateral initiative to better understand the social dimensions of globalization. A clean text of the second, third and fourth commitments would be available at approximately 6 p.m. today, he said, adding that the Group should prepare for night sessions, beginning on Monday.

The Chairman of Working Group I, and also Committee Chairman, Cristian Maquieira (Chile), said that the Group had not removed that many brackets, but it had removed some rather nettlesome ones. Discussion had made it possible to devise language in the margins leading to the outlines of a solution. A series of agreements had been achieved with regard to human rights, and technical assistance to developing countries and countries in transition, to enable their participation in economic and trade talks. Fortunately, the Group had managed to devise wording on the sanctions issue, which would serve as a premise for future negotiations. Somewhat more than half of the work remained on commitment 1, on an enabling environment for social development, including some safeguards issues, which were perhaps the most complicated commitments being discussed in the Preparatory Committee.

The atmosphere in the negotiations had been “very good”, he added, although it had not been possible to devise specific language in all instances. A facilitator had been asked to tackle the problem of coordination between social and environmental policies, and humanitarian assistance to countries stricken by natural disasters or conflicts, including refugee and post-conflict concerns, with complex ramifications. His intention within Working Group I was to cover all four of the commitments: 1, 7, 8 and 9. Some thought should be given to an inter-sessional machinery, because the entire package could not be left next Friday for resolution in Geneva. The matter of inter-sessional work, therefore, would be taken up by the Bureau next week, which would evolve a recommendation in that regard.

Mr. Maquieira added that the Chairman of Working Group III, Bagher Asadi (Iran), was “caught up in a swamp of negotiations” on the draft political declaration and was unable to address the meeting.

Representatives from the following non-governmental organizations addressed the Committee: Instituto del Tercer Mundo; Women’s Environment and Development Organization; Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era; Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches; International Council on Social Welfare; International Council of Free Trade Unions; Human Rights Internet; and Grass Roots Organizations Operating Together in Sisterhood.

Some of the representatives expressed concern that the political declaration would not address the key challenges posed by social development and would dilute the commitments undertaken at Copenhagen. The political declaration presently lacked a clear vision and a sense of urgency, and did not effectively address such pressing issues as poverty eradication and the prevention of armed conflict, they said. Others focused on the need to reconsider the relationship between globalization and social development. A shared view emerged on women’s centrality to social development. In that respect, governments must ensure that the poorest women had access to basic education, health and reproductive services, and food security.

The Preparatory Committee will meet again at a date and time to be announced.

* *** *