ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL BEGINS COORDINATION SEGMENT, WITH FOCUS ON FOLLOW-UP TO MAJOR UN CONFERENCES

Press Release
ECOSOC/5900

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL BEGINS COORDINATION SEGMENT, WITH FOCUS ON FOLLOW-UP TO MAJOR UN CONFERENCES

The Economic and Social Council, in its role of coordination and follow-up to the major United Nations conferences, had maintained a focus on major goals, such as reduction of poverty and the advancement of women, the Economic and Social Council was told this morning, as it began the coordination segment of its 2000 substantive session.

Introducing the Secretary-General’s report on implementation and follow-up to United Nations conferences and summits, Patrizio Civili, Assistant Secretary- General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, said the Council's coordination segment would provide a review of the goals that had been set at the conferences. The second task of the segment concerned the Council’s own role in coordination and follow-up to the Conferences. The Council’s work should be reinforced by the support of non-governmental organizations and the private sector.

The representative of Brazil said the five-year review processes had served to reaffirm the commitments agreed at the major United Nations conferences of the 1990s. Yet, despite the intrinsic values of those exercises, a sense of frustration often accompanied the perception that results were uneven and lacking. Given the complexity of the issues and the structural processes required to bring about change, the span of five years was often too short to show significant progress.

Mexico's representative said ensuring appropriate follow-up to conferences was one reason to strengthen the coordinating role of the Council. “It is our duty” to fulfil the goals and commitments established at the various summits and to overcome the obstacles impeding success, he said. To obtain better results, preparatory work must be strengthened, including more effective use of regional commissions. Avoiding duplication of efforts, staggering reviews, rationalizing the review cycles, and holding special sessions of the Assembly every 10 years were all approaches that warranted consideration.

The representative of Japan noted several problems with the way review meetings had been conducted. One was the tendency to hold United Nations General Assembly special sessions almost automatically and too frequently. The impact of outcome documents had often been mitigated by their sheer length and the vagueness

Economic and Social Council - 1a - Press Release ECOSOC/5900 17th Meeting (AM) 10 July 2000

of expressions. Their impact was also affected by recurrence of same issues, at meeting after meeting, regardless of the nominal theme. He proposed that "plus fives" and "plus tens" not be held automatically, and special sessions of the General Assembly be limited to one a year. Related themes should be grouped together and taken up on the same occasion.

Speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated countries, the representative of France said that the technical aspect of reviews needed enhancement, as did coordination with agencies and such organizations as the World Bank. More experts from developing countries should be included and supported by the developed world.

Statements were also made by representatives of Nigeria (speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China), China, Norway, Cuba, United States, and Croatia. The permanent observer of Switzerland also spoke.

A representative of the International Federation of Settlements and Neighbourhood Centres addressed the Council, as well.

The Council will meet again at 3 p.m. today.

Council Work Programme

The Economic and Social Council met this morning to begin the coordination segment for its 2000 substantive session. During the segment, it is expected to assess the progress made within the United Nations system, through the conference reviews, in the promotion of an integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related field.

Before the Council was a report of the Secretary-General on such an assessment (document E/2000/57).

Based on an examination of lessons learned from the five-year reviews of conferences conducted thus far, the report makes a number of proposals to assist the Council in its guidance to its subsidiary bodies with respect to the upcoming 10-year reviews of the conferences of the 1990s, as well as in further enhancing its own work on conference follow-up. The report also discusses progress in implementing the conferences in a more integrated and coordinated fashion at national and international levels, and makes a number of suggestions for ensuring that the United Nations system provides enhanced support in that regard.

The report mentions that quite a large portion of the regular budget and extra-budgetary funds are spent on the review processes, instead of on actual implementation at the country level, and recommends that the Council invite its functional commissions to clearly identify the goals and scope of the review at an early stage, and ensure that the review's preparations focus on the core issues.

According to the report, the Council needs to continue to address cross- cutting conference goals. It is important that the Council continue to address the means to implement the conferences of the 1990s, in particular the building of an enabling environment at the international level through enhanced international cooperation, increased and more effective use of official development assistance (ODA) and more coherent policies.

The report recommends, among other things, that the Council call on governments to mobilize resources for implementing conference goals and urge donor countries to meet the commitments made at the conferences. The Council could reaffirm that it will address issues related to the follow-up to the outcome of the conferences and their five-year reviews at its meetings with the Bretton Wood institutions.

According to the report, the Council might also encourage United Nations system organizations to continue to build on national data sets to develop key system-wide indicators related to global conferences and to link those efforts to country-specific poverty eradication initiatives. The Council could further note the important contribution that global policy networks or alliances can make to implementing conference goals and encourage the United Nations system to become actively engaged in such networks and contribute to them through the use of modern information and communication technologies.

The three annexes to the report offer recent reviews and selected characteristics of the conferences, upcoming reviews of conferences, and examples of quantified goals and targets adopted by international conferences of the 1990s and their five-year reviews.

Introduction of Secretary-General’s Report

PATRIZIO CIVILI, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, introduced the Secretary-General’s report on implementation and follow-up to United Nations conferences and summits (document E/2000/57). He said there was more in common than appeared between the high-level segment and the coordination segment. Both were concerned with attaining the Council’s long-term goals. The coordination segment involved a number of elements. First, it would provide a “review of the reviews” of the goals that had been set at the conferences. While some aspects of those reviews were uneven, an assessment should be related to achieving overall goals. The Council would be reviewing what had been learned from the five year reviews, even though in some views it was too soon to assess some five-year goals, such as those from the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995) or the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995).

The second task of the coordination segment concerned an evaluation of the Council’s own role in coordination and follow-up to the conferences, he continued. The Council had maintained a focus on major goals, such as reduction of poverty and the advancement of women. The Council’s support of countries, and its assistance in such tasks as data gathering and the development of indicators, were part of the Council’s work to be assessed. The Secretary-General’s report suggested that the Council’s work should be reinforced by the support of the non- governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector.

A third aspect of coordination segment, he said, was to consider how the current session of the Council could help its work. The consideration of how information and communication technology (ICT) could assist the Council's work in the long-term was already an outcome of the high-level segment.

OSITADINMA ANAEDU (Nigeria), speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said the key concern for developing countries was the lack of implementation of the outcomes of conferences and the inability of developed countries to live up to commitments made at those summits. While it was recognized that governments were responsible for the implementation of conference outcomes, the extent to which they could accomplish that in developing countries depended on the support of the international community. The Group believed that there was a need for flexibility with regard to future conference reviews. It was important that the main conference bodies decide when to review and determine the nature of review on a case-by-case basis.

The Council should ensure that its conference bodies clearly identified the goals and scope of the review and critically addressed the extent of the implementation of the objectives of the meetings, he said. The review should also identify the lessons learned from the implementation of conference outcomes, constraints encountered and ways to overcome such constraints. New and emerging issues and challenges should be addressed within the framework of the implementation of conference outcomes. The Group also supported the Secretary- General’s view that reviews should be rooted in national and regional reports and technical assessments. Those reports would also encourage the exchange of experiences at both those levels.

It was important that United Nations country teams increased the level of assistance to governments in preparing national reports in developing countries, he said. It was equally important that the overall assessment of progress made in the implementation of the conference outcomes should be based on solid statistical data. The Council should also encourage the partnerships between the United Nation system and the Bretton Woods institutions, the private sector and relevant stakeholders to take appropriate measures and actions to implement commitments made at the major conferences and summits. He placed particular emphasis on the commitments related to the external debt of developing countries and poverty reduction.

GELSON FONSECA (Brazil) said the five-year review processes had served to reaffirm the commitments agreed upon at the major United Nations conferences of the 1990s. Yet, despite the intrinsic values of those exercises, a sense of frustration often accompanied the perception that results were uneven and lacking. Given the complexity of the issues and the structural processes required to bring about change, the span of five years was often too short to demonstrate significant progress. That situation, nevertheless, should neither allow the collective will to be abated nor for backward trends to take hold. On the contrary, the focus should be placed on the deployment of additional efforts, where necessary.

He said the Council must also actively perform its role of promoting a coordinated and integrated follow-up to those major international conferences and summits, building on lessons learned in the special sessions. The Statistical Commission should continue the review of the work undertaken in harmonizing and rationalizing the use of indicators in the context of the implementation and follow-up to the major United nations conferences, in order to facilitate their comprehensive consideration by the Council. In that context, the United Nations Statistical Division should deepen its efforts to serve as a focal point, promote networking and encourage the exchange of information on data, analysis and indicators obtained by national institutions and international organizations.

He said implementing the recommendations emanating from the conferences required efforts at the national level that should be reinforced by a supportive international environment. That included: technology transfer to developing countries; durable solutions to the external debt problem; stable and predictable financial flows; and full market access for the export products and services of developing countries. Last but not least, South-South cooperation was an avenue that had great potential for promoting the goals of the United Nations conferences. That, again, should be more actively and systematically supported by the international community.

JEAN-DAVID LEVITTE (France), speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated countries, said the Union had proposed the theme for this segment last year for a number of reasons, including the occasion of five-year reviews. In some cases, the five-year reviews were modest and showed the constraints of administrative costs, particularly for developing countries. Some reports had been uneven and the five-year reviews had been less than satisfactory in many ways. The coordination segment could correct some of that. The Secretary- General’s report offered concrete recommendations.

Reviews could be improved in a number of ways, he continued. One was in the area of technical evaluation, which should be conducted within the functional commissions. Other improvements involved the launching of new initiatives. In some cases, there should be regular monitoring and the organization of that monitoring should be made on a case-by-case basis, with adjustments made when necessary. The technical aspect of reviews needed enhancement, as did coordination with agencies and such organizations as the World Bank. More experts from developing countries should be included and supported by the developed world. A small number of indicators should be developed. All parties involved, including lenders, should make an effort to reinforce the approach of the developing countries. Finally, two or more follow-up reviews should not happen in any one year.

ROGELIO MARTINEZ-AGUILAR (Mexico) said the major United Nations conferences of the last decade were huge efforts to find solutions to the problems associated with globalization, development, environmental degradation, inequity and other critical issues of the modern world. The adequate follow-up to the political consensus achieved at the United Nations conferences must be achieved. How could there be talk of sustainable development without referring back to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, 1992) or eradication of poverty without reference to Copenhagen?

Ensuring the follow-up to conferences was, therefore, one reason to strengthen the coordinated role of the Economic and Social Council. “It is our duty” to fulfil the goals and commitments established at the various summits and to overcome the obstacles impeding success. To obtain better results, working methods on reviews needed to be fine-tuned. There was a need to strengthen the preparatory work, including the more effective use of regional commissions. Avoiding duplication of efforts, staggering reviews, rationalizing the review cycles, and holding special sessions of the Assembly every 10 years in order to establish the efficacy of the follow-up bodies were all approaches that warranted consideration.

LIU JINGTAO (China) said the fact that there was a long way to go to achieve the goals of the major United Nations conferences could not be ignored. Many developing countries had made great efforts, but due to backlogs in implementation there were still many obstacles to implementation. Also, ODA was falling, and the international community had not taken into account the specific situations of various recipient countries. Those problems should be seriously considered and tackled.

He said the integrated and coordinated follow-up to conferences called for both national and international efforts, especially within the United Nations system and particularly the Council. The international community, for its part, had made little progress in implementing commitments made and had even gone back on previous positions. He called on that community to demonstrate political sincerity and to take concrete actions for the common prosperity of mankind.

He said there should be only one conference review in any given year. His delegation was open to the recommendation that the plus-five reviews and appraisals could be carried out by relevant regional commissions, the Council or the General Assembly, with the big reviews being held by the latter once every 10 years. He also called on the Council to formulate regulations so that civil society could participate in the review processes under the relevant rules and procedures and make positive contributions.

AGE B. GRUTLE (Norway) said one of the elements crucial to the success of the reviews was the increased involvement of civil society, which had contributed to broader popular participation in the implementation process at both national and global levels. That, in turn, had helped to deepen the involvement of civil society.

As an example of the innovative approaches needed to further strengthen the involvement of civil society, he mentioned the "cialogue committee" during the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), where civil society, including representatives of local government, community-based organizations and NGOs, participated in an active dialogue with governments. Another example of the new partnerships was the increased collaboration between the United Nations system and the Bretton Woods institutions.

Of the factors that had prevented the reviews from being as good as they might be, one serious deficiency had been that gender had not been consistently mainstreamed. A second factor was that the guidelines developed by the Council on many of the cross-cutting themes had not always been fed into the reviews. The follow-up to the substantive issues should be monitored and coordinated by the Council, he said.

HORMILLA CASTRO (Cuba) said the recommendations in the report were practical. Delays in documentation were of concern. They had hindered the progress of negotiations and discussions. The reviews made thus far, however, showed that priorities and obstacles were still the same. A joint effort to implement conference recommendations was necessary, not just by the United Nations system, but also with the participation of civil society. A five-year review was too short a period to assess effectiveness. The functional commissions should look at the alternatives and decide how the next reviews would be carried out. Decisions should not be hasty.

The Council should set the example for the integrated follow-up of issues, she said, which should be kept in mind for the next meeting of the Council. The issue of indicators had been decided as important, yet not much work had been done beyond rhetoric. That was an ideal issue for the Council to consider. Also, the commitment for follow-up of conferences was simply not there in practical terms -- such as promoting ODA, for example. The Council’s coordination role should be strengthened. There should be a conference on financing for development.

PIERRE HELG (Switzerland) said the reviews were a good impetus for renewing solidarity between all, in order to work towards conference goals. The Secretary- General’s report pointed out some problems with reviews. One was their lack of consistency. The review conferences, as well as the functional commissions, should focus on specific issues, with more general considerations left to others. The Council should take up the framework conditions for development, the specifics of which could then be taken up by the review conferences. The process could also be improved. The review should take place only every 10 years, and the functional commissions should be more closely involved, as should the funds and programmes. The operational system of the United Nations should lend support for national review efforts.

With regard to improving review, he said there was no advantage in establishing clusters, as had been done. There should be an in-depth examination of conference goals, especially by the task managers. With regard to overall integration of conference recommendations at the global level, the Secretariat should pursue systematic analyses. Simple global indicators needed to be established, particularly for development. Financing should take into account the implementation of conference objectives.

BETTY KING (United States) said the Secretary-General’s report gave a good indication of what was occurring and the directions for the future. A number of comments could be made about the reviews. First, issues that had already been decided should not be reopened. Second, there was too much focus on non-core issues, along with repetition of issues. The review should identity lessons learned and the constraints encountered, along with ideas on how to address them.

In some cases, a technical review would do, rather than a broad, political review, she said. The complaint of five years being too short to assess implementation was well taken. There had been an excessive focus on finance for development. The major question for the Council over the next three days was how to coordinate. Perhaps a mechanism could be devised for review, maybe on a thematic basis.

IVAN SIMONOVIC (Croatia) said the lessons learned from the five-year reviews should be examined from the perspective of both the actual outcome documents and the path travelled in negotiating them. The review processes could help engender political will in governments to involve themselves, but they were costly and time consuming. In general, five years was an appropriate length of time for the review of conference results.

National reporting on conference implementation was important in helping countries to assess and stimulate progress, as well as in allowing an exchange of experiences at national, regional and international levels, he said. The outcome documents of meetings held by regional commissions in preparation for five-year reviews should be used in the negotiating process of the actual review. Negotiations should only be conducted where it was feasible to achieve advancement and not simply to repeat agreed language.

Coordinated follow-up of the conferences implied that the major conferences should be viewed as interlinked and as contributing to an integrated framework of a global partnership for development, he said. The Council had taken a series of indicators for integrated follow-up, as well as indicators relating to the means of implementing the conferences. A universal aim for the medium-term should be an assessment of progress of all global conferences, with the aim of achieving a global overview.

HIDEAKI KOBAYASHI (Japan) said what was most important was to implement the plans of action adopted at global conferences and to work towards the goals they proclaimed. To that end, countries affected by the issues must make the utmost effort to address them, and the international community must work with those countries to assist their efforts.

There were several problems with the way review meetings had been conducted. One was the tendency to hold review United Nations General Assembly special sessions almost automatically and too frequently. The impact of outcome documents had often been mitigated by their sheer length and the vagueness of expressions. Their impact was also affected by the recurrence of the same issues, at meeting after meeting, regardless of the nominal theme, he said.

He proposed that "plus fives" and "plus tens" not be held automatically. Special sessions should be limited to one a year. Related themes should be grouped together and taken up on the same occasion. The outcome documents should be as focused and concise as possible, not including non-core issues that had been covered by documents of other recent meetings.

M. LUBIN, of the International Federation of Settlements and Neighbourhood Centres, said the texts that had come out of the various debates had not progressed in the way everyone had wanted. That was due to the lack of will by governments and the reliance on consensus, which meant the lowest possible denominator. Progress was also hampered by delegations having to go back to governments rather than adopting new language. As a result, the overall outcome was generally disappointing.

While no one had generally gone backward, any gains were nevertheless very limited, she said. Proposed actions to either alleviate or eliminate an issue were fragmented and uncoordinated. The operations of an agency, such as the World Trade Organization, for example, were just some examples of fragmentation and lack of coordination. Coordination required the appropriate use of social indicators, as well. Also, governments, and international bodies and organizations tended to use different and conflicting standards.

Coordination involved governments, international agencies and civil societies, she said. Closer relations were needed between those responsible for implementing programmes.

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