ECOSOC DECIDES ON ITS 2001 PROGRAMME OF WORK, AND THEME FOR ITS HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT
Economic and Social Council ECOSOC/5938
2001 Organizational Session 31 January 2001
2nd Meeting (PM)
ECOSOC DECIDES ON ITS 2001 PROGRAMME OF WORK,
AND THEME FOR ITS HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT
Acting without a vote, the Economic and Social Council this afternoon adopted eight decisions related to its agenda and programme of work for 2001 and took action on various organizational matters before it. It also elected by acclamation, a number of States to fill vacant seats in various subsidiary bodies.
It approved the provisional agenda for its substantive session of 2001, by one decision, and its basic programme of work for 2002 by another. The dates for the various segments of this year’s session were established by yet another decision, with the high-level segment to be held from 16 to 18 July, the operational activities segment from 5 to 10 July, the coordination segment from 2 to 4 July, the humanitarian affairs segment from 11 to 13 July and the general segment from 19 to 25 July.
The theme for its operational activities segment will be “Triennial Policy Review”, and that for its humanitarian segment will be “Strengthening the Coordination of the Emergency Humanitarian Assistance to the United Nations” by two further decisions. Action on a draft decision on a theme for the regional cooperation segment was, however, postponed.
A high-level meeting between the Council and the Bretton Woods Institutions will be held at Headquarters on 1 May this year, by the terms of another decision. Other decisions changed the dates and venue for the Tenth Meeting of the Ad Hoc Group of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax matters, and the dates for the fifth session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development.
A decision on the implementation of two General Assembly resolutions about revitalizing and improving the Council's functioning was deferred until the resumed organizational session in May.
Among other action, decisions on aspects of the work of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for Development were also deferred.
The Council elected Algeria and Sierra Leone by acclamation to fill vacancies on the Commission on Science and Technology, but elections to fill five further vacancies on that body were deferred. The terms of the States elected will begin today and expire on 31 December 2004.
Economic and Social Council - 1a - Press Release ECOSOC/5938
2nd Meeting (PM) 31 January 2001
Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago and the United Republic of Tanzania were also elected by acclamation to fill seats in the Commission for Human Settlements. The election of further members, to be chosen from the Western European and other States group, was also postponed. The terms of the States elected will begin today and expire on 31 December 2004.
The Council elected Algeria, Benin, Cameroon and Sierra Leone by acclamation to fill vacancies in the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting, and deferred the election of three further members of that body.
Denmark and Italy were elected to the Executive Board of the World Food Programme (WFP), for terms that will expire on 31 December 2003, and Finland was elected to fill a vacancy resulting from Norway’s resignation from that body.
Sweden was elected by acclamation to the Programme Coordination Board of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
Comoros was elected to complete Kenya’s term of office on the Commission for Social Development (CSD); Kenya to complete Djibouti’s term on the Commission on Human Rights; and Djibouti to complete Comoros’ term on the Executive Board of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The Council also approved the Secretary-General’s nomination of 24 experts to the Committee for Development Policy.
The meeting was chaired by the President of the Economic and Social Council, Martin Belinga-Eboutou (Cameroon).
The representatives of Iran, on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, and Sudan addressed the Council.
Patricio Civili, Assistant Secretary-General, Department of Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary of the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) addressed the Council at the beginning of the meeting.
The Council will meet again at a date and time to be announced.
Overview
The Charter established the Council as the principal organ, under the authority of the General Assembly, to promote:
-- Higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress and development;
-- Solutions to international economic, social, health and related problems; and international cultural and educational cooperation;
-- Universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.
Sessions
The Council generally holds one five-week substantive session each year, alternating between New York and Geneva. The session includes a high-level special meeting, attended by ministers and other senior government officials, to discuss major economic and social issues. The year-round work of the Council is carried out in its subsidiary bodies -- commissions and committees -- which meet at regular intervals and report back to the Council.
Functions and Powers
The main functions of the Council are:
-- to serve as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to Member States and to the United Nations system;
-- to make or initiate studies and reports and make recommendations on international economic, social, cultural, educational, health and related matters;
-- to promote respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms; to call international conferences and prepare draft conventions for submission to the Assembly;
-- to coordinate the activities of the specialized agencies, through consultations with and recommendations to them, and through recommendations to the Assembly and Member States;
-- to consult with non-governmental organizations involved in matters falling within the Council's scope of responsibility.
The Council's members serve three-year terms and voting is by simple majority with each member having one vote. The current members are: Andorra; Angola; Argentina; Austria; Bahrain; Benin; Bolivia; Brazil; Bulgaria; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Canada; China; Costa Rica; Croatia; Cuba; Czech Republic; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Denmark; Egypt; Ethiopia; Fiji; France; Georgia; Germany; Guinea-Bissau; Honduras; Indonesia; Iran; Italy; Japan; Malta; Mexico; Morocco; Nepal; Netherlands; Nigeria; Norway; Pakistan; Peru; Portugal; Republic of Korea; Romania; Russian Federation; Rwanda; Saudi Arabia; South Africa; Sudan; Suriname; Syria; Uganda; United Kingdom; United States; and Venezuela.
PATRICIO CIVILI, Assistant Secretary-General, Department of Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary of the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC), said that progress in coordination depended on four basic requirements. The process should not take place in a vacuum, but should relate to a clear and comprehensive policy framework. There should be a strong sense of common purpose and mutual confidence between those who set policies and those who were called upon to implement them. There must be a system in place to translate common policies into guidelines for concerted system-wide action at the country level. There should also be a shared commitment to monitor progress at all levels.
He said the Millennium Summit had presented the system with a great challenge that affected all Member States equally. That Summit offered the organizations of the United Nations system an unprecedented opportunity to finally achieve concrete advances in relation to common objectives, provided they were able to act and respond truly as a system. Supporting countries and the international community in combating poverty had been a constant priority in the work of the system and in the activities of the inter-agency machinery. The Summit’s Declaration had challenged all the organizations of the United Nations to systematize that effort and to place it at the tope of each of their agendas.
At the ACC’s October retreat, which included the Bretton Woods Institutions, the importance of getting country-level cooperation among the system’s partners right, was seen as a crucial element of that strategy. Nevertheless the focus on enhancing the coherence of country-level support did not divert attention from the other critical dimension of a poverty eradication strategy –- the creation of a more supportive international environment. That implied working to reinforce the role of the multilateral system in the management of globalization and also strengthening policy coherence within the system itself.
He said discussions on the follow-up to the Millennium Declaration on the environment equally focused on setting out the broad elements of common strategy to restore that key public good to the prominence it deserved in the global agenda. A major focus of the discussions at the retreat on issues dealing with the rule of law, human rights and peace and security was on the system’s advocacy responsibility in those areas. It was also stressed that such advocacy was based on objective credible analyses, highlighting links between local and global concerns and elaborating the relationship between poverty eradication and development.
He said that a key element of the conclusions reached at the retreat was the importance of engaging in a concerted effort to ensure that the upcoming conferences and other intergovernmental events were utilized in a deliberate and systematic way to advance the goals and targets of the Summit Declaration. The goals and targets related to poverty eradication and sustainable development were particularly important.
The second point he touched on addressed the state of the review by the ACC of its own functioning and the structures of its subsidiary machinery. The main phase of that review was concluded at the fall session with the establishment of the terms of reference of two new High-Level Committees. Their purpose was to assist the ACC and act on its behalf in the overall coordination of the work of the system in the policy and programme area on one hand, and the management area on the other.
Action by Council
The Council first considered nine draft proposals submitted by the Bureau on the basis of informal consultations (document E/2001/L.3).
It then adopted decision I without a vote, thereby approving its provisional agenda for its 2001 substantive session of 2001.
It then adopted the second draft decision, thereby approving its basic programme of work for 2002.
The Council then decided that its substantive session of 2001 should be held from 16 to 18 July; the operational activities segment of that session from 5 to 10 July; the coordination segment from 2 to 4 July; the humanitarian affairs segment from 11 to 13 July; and the general segment from 19 to 25 July, by adopting draft decision III.
By adopting draft decision IV, the Council decided that the theme for the operational activities segment of its substantive session of 2001 should be "Triennial Policy Review of Operational Activities for Development".
By taking decision V, the Council decided that the theme for the humanitarian affairs segment of its substantive session of 2001 should be “Strengthening the Coordination of the Emergency Humanitarian Assistance of the United Nations”. The decision also provided for panel discussions during that segment, the specific details of which would be decided during inter-sessional informal consultations on the understanding that various challenges, including gender perspective, would be considered in those panel discussions.
The representative of Iran, speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said that links between segment themes and panel discussions should not be decided during discussions of procedure. He went on to note, however, that ECOSOC tradition required that the themes for the panel should include discussion of the funding of humanitarian assistance. There should also be briefings by the Secretariat, in order to provide background information on issues under consideration.
The Council decided to postpone taking the draft decision that would decide the theme for its item on regional cooperation.
It then adopted draft decision VII, by which it decided that its high-level meeting with representatives of the Bretton Woods Institutions would be held at Headquarters on 1 May.
SARBULAND KHAN, Director of the Secretariat Division for Economic and Social Council Support and Coordination, told the Council that an information note would be circulated containing specific information on the theme and the format of that high-level meeting.
The representative of Sudan asked if the Council could have any role in selecting the theme for this segment.
Mr. Khan said that the background note in fact suggested that discussions on the theme would start with Council members, but a final decision would be reached in consultation with the Bretton Woods Institutions.
By taking action on draft decision VIII, the Council approved the change of the time and venue of the tenth meeting of the Ad Hoc Group of Experts, to Geneva from 10 to 14 September, instead of 23 to 27 April in New York as previously decided.
By decision IX, the Council approved the change in timing of the fifth session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development in Geneva, to 28 May to 1 June, instead of 21 to 25 May as previously decided.
Turning next to implementation of General Assembly resolutions 50/227 and 52/12 B, on revitalizing and improving the Council's functioning, the President said that during informal consultations, Council members had decided to defer consideration of those resolutions until its resumed organizational session in May, and that informal discussion would be held next month.
The Council turned next to consider the recommendations made at the second session of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for Development (see document E/2001.L.1). The Council had been asked by that Committee to take a decision on a draft resolution on case studies from governments and international institutions on matters relating to integration of water and land management, in the context of Agenda 21 for sustainable development. It had also been asked to consider a draft decision on the report of that Committee's second session and its proposed provisional agenda for its third session.
At the request of the Group of 77, the Council deferred consideration of those two items to a later date.
The Council next took up elections, nominations and confirmations it had postponed from its earlier sessions. The President drew members’ attention to a number of vacancies in several of the Council’s subsidiary bodies.
With regard to vacancies in the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, the President said that the following seats remained to be filled: two members from the African States group; three members from Asian States group and two members from Western Europe and other States group. All those vacancies were for a term beginning on the date of election and expiring on 31 December 2004.
The President then informed the Council that the African group of States had endorsed Algeria and Sierra Leone to fill the two African vacancies. The Council elected Algeria and Sierra Leone by acclamation. It then decided to postpone filling the Commission’s remaining vacancies, and the President urged the two regional groups to come to an early agreement on nominations to fill those vacancies.
Turing next to the vacancies on the Commission for Human Settlements, the President informed members that the following seats remained to be filled: three members from African States group; one Member from Asian States group; two Members from Latin American and Caribbean States group; and one Member from Western Europe and other States group. All those vacancies were for a term beginning on the date of election and expiring on 31 December 2004.
The president said that the regional groups had informed him that the following candidates had been endorsed to fill their respective vacancies: Egypt, Ethiopia and Tanzania for the African States; Bangladesh for the Asian States; and Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago for the Latin American and Caribbean States.
The Council then elected Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Republic of Tanzania to fill the Commission’s vacancies. It decided to postpone the election of a member from the Western Europe and other States group.
With respect to the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting, the President noted the following vacancies: four members from the African States group; one Member from the Eastern European States group; and two Members from the Latin American and Caribbean States group. All those vacancies were for a term beginning on the date of election and expiring on 31 December 2003.
The President said that the African group of States had endorsed Algeria, Benin, Cameroon and Sierra Leone to fill four vacancies. The Council elected those four States, and then decided to postpone the election of members to fill the remaining vacancies. The President urged the Eastern European group and the Latin American and Caribbean States group to submit nominations for those outstanding vacancies as soon as possible.
The President said that there were also two vacancies to be filled on the Executive Board of the World Food Programme (WFP). He had been informed by the Western European and other States group that Denmark and Italy had been nominated to fill those seats.
The Council elected those two States to fill the vacancies for terms beginning today and expiring on 31 December 2003.
The President also advised that Norway would resign its seat on that Board and that Finland had put forward its candidature to complete Norway’s term of office, which expired on 31 December. The Council then elected Finland to complete Denmark’s term on the Board.
There was also one outstanding seat from the Western European and other States group on the Programme Coordination Board of the Joint United Nations
Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the Council was advised. It elected Sweden to fill that vacancy, for a term beginning today and expiring on 31 December 2003.
The Council next turned its attention to the appointment of experts to the Committee for Development Policy, which was postponed last year. The Council approved the Secretary-General’s nomination of the 24 experts listed in document E/2001/L.2 for terms that would begin today and expire on 31 December 2003.
The President said that it was his understanding that more consultations were required before the Council could take a decision on reconfiguring the membership in the Committee of Experts on the Transportation of Dangerous Goods and on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (document E/2001/L.2/Add.1 and Corr.1).
Turning to consider several resignations from three of the Council’s subsidiary bodies, the President said that Kenya had resigned from the Commission on Social Development, Djibouti had resigned from the Commission on Human Rights, and Comoros had resigned for the executive board of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
As a result of those resignations, the following States had been endorsed to complete the remaining portions of the terms of office of those resigning members: Comoros, for the Commission on Sustainable Development, for a term that would expire 31 December 2004; Kenya for the Commission on Human Rights, for a term expiring on 31 December 2003; and Djibouti for the Executive Board of UNDP/UNFPA, for a term that would expire on 31 December 2003.
The Council then elected those States that had been endorsed to fill the vacancies in the Council’s subsidiary bodies.
In his closing remarks this afternoon, the President strongly encouraged all candidates standing for election to be prepared to fulfil their terms of office, thus avoiding this irregular process, which weakened the Council’s mandate to decide elections.
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