ECOSOC ADOPTS RESOLUTIONS, DECISIONS ON SOCIAL, HUMAN RIGHTS, ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

ECOSOC ADOPTS RESOLUTIONS, DECISIONS ON SOCIAL, HUMAN RIGHTS,

ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Approves Resolution on Economic and Social Repercussions

of Israeli Occupation on Palestinians and Population in Golan Heights

(Reissued as received.)

      GENEVA, 25 July (UN Information Service) -- The Economic and Social Council this afternoon adopted a number of resolutions and decisions on social, human rights, economic and environmental issues.

A resolution concerning the economic and social repercussions of the Israeli occupation on the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the occupied Arab territories, including Jerusalem, and the Arab population in the occupied Golan called on Israel to stop its actions against the Palestinians, in particular the closure of the occupied territory.  It passed by a vote of 42 in favour to one against and five abstentions.  In the resolution, the Council stressed the need to preserve the territorial integrity of the entire area, and to guarantee the freedom of movement of persons and goods there.

The Council also adopted, without a vote, a resolution on Myanmar's observance of the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Forced Labour Convention.  The document noted that an objective assessment would be carried out by a high-level ILO mission with respect to the practical implementation of the Convention.

The Council adopted several other decisions and resolutions.  Without a vote, it approved a text on the enlargement of the Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.  And in considering a report on the United Nations Forum on Forests, the Council approved a series of decisions concerning the venue of the second session of the Forum.  Further, discussing a report on its Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), the Council approved four decisions about non-governmental organizations applying for consultative status.

Earlier in the afternoon, the Council concluded its general debate on economic and environmental matters.  Topics included creating a "preventive climate" to lessen the impact of natural disasters, and international assistance to "third party States" which were affected by economic sanctions on other countries.

Contributing to the discussion were representatives of Iraq, Maldives, Ukraine, Peru, El Salvador, Argentina, Romania, Fiji and Andorra.

The Council will meet at 3 p.m. on Thursday, 26 July to continue action on outstanding draft resolutions and decisions.

Action on Resolutions and Decisions

The Council first adopted a number of decisions recommended to it by the report of the United Nations Forum on Forests (E/2001/42, Parts I, II, III).

It adopted a decision on the venue of the sessions of the United Nations Forum on Forests, which stated that the first and fifth substantive sessions of the United Nations Forum on Forests would be held in New York, that two of the three intervening sessions would be held in Geneva, and one in San Jose, Costa Rica, and that any ministerial segment to be convened during the intervening period would be convened during the session held in San Jose.

The Council adopted a decision on the date and venue of the second session of the Forum which decided that the first high-level ministerial segment of the Forum would be held during the second session.

And it adopted a final decision on the report of the Forum on its first session and provisional agenda for its second session in which it approved the provisional agenda for the second session of the Forum.

Report of Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations

The Council then adopted a number of decisions recommended to it by the report of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (E/2001/86) on its

2001 regular session

It adopted a decision on the applications for consultative status and requests for reclassification received from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which decided to grant several NGOs consultative status.

It adopted a decision on the implementation of Economic and Social Council decision 1996/302 which decided that the non-governmental organizations referred to in decision 1993/220, which wished to expand their participation into other fields would be considered by the Committee.

The Council adopted a decision on the resumed 2001 session of the Committee in which it decided to authorize the Committee to hold a resumed session from

14 to 25 January 2002, in order to complete the work of its 2001 session.

And it adopted a final decision on the report of the Committee on NGOs and the provisional agenda and documentation for the 2002 session of the Committee which took note of the report of the Committee at its 2001 regular session and approved the provisional agenda and documentation for the 2002 session.

In a resolution (E/2001/L.26) on the economic and social repercussions of the Israeli occupation on the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the occupied Arab territories, including Jerusalem, and the Arab population in the occupied Golan, adopted by a roll-call vote of 42 in favour and one opposed, with five abstentions, the Council stressed the need to preserve the territorial integrity of all of the occupied Palestinian territory and to guarantee the freedom of movement of persons and goods in the territory; also stressed the vital importance of the construction and operation of the seaport in Gaza and safe passage for the economic and social development of the Palestinian people; called upon Israel, the occupying power, to cease its measures against the Palestinian people, in particular the closure of the occupied Palestinian territory, the enforced isolation of Palestinian towns, and destruction of homes and the isolation of Jerusalem; reaffirmed the inalienable right of the Palestinian people and the Arab population of the occupied Syrian Golan to all their natural and economic resources; reaffirmed the Israeli settlements were illegal and an obstacle to economic and social development; urged Member States to encourage private foreign investment in the occupied Palestinian territory; and requested the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session a report on the implementation of the present resolution and to continue to include, in the report of the United Nations Special Coordinator, an update on the living conditions of the Palestinian people.

In favour:  Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Bahrain, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Canada, China, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Uganda, United Kingdom and Venezuela.

Against:  United States.

Abstentions:  Angola, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Fiji and Honduras.

Further Action

In a resolution (E/2001/L.13) on the enlargement of the Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, adopted without a vote, the Council recommended that the General Assembly take a decision at its fifty-sixth session on the question of enlarging the membership of the Committee from 58 to 61 States.

In a resolution (E/2001/L.21) on developments concerning the question of the observance by the Government of Myanmar of the ILO Forced Labour Convention, adopted without a vote, the Council took note of the outcome of the discussion of the Committee on the Application of Standards during the eighty-ninth session of the International Labour Conference; took note of the understanding concluded between the ILO and the authorities of Myanmar regarding an objective assessment to be carried out by an ILO high-level mission with respect to the practical implementation and actual impact of the framework of legislative, executive and administrative measures reported by Myanmar within the overall objective of complete elimination of forced labour in law and practice; and requested the Secretary-General to keep the Council informed of further developments in this matter.

Statements

SAAD A. O. HUSSAIN (Iraq) said the implementation of women's rights had the support of the international community.  This was one of the priority objectives of the United Nations.  Iraq put a strong emphasis on the role of women, and the rights they enjoyed in Iraqi society.  The Government had adopted various measures concerning the economic, social and cultural rights of women in Iraq.  Women had 17 seats in the National Assembly, and they held important posts in the different public sector institutions of the State.  The sanctions that had been imposed on Iraq had affected everyone, especially women and children, and this had a negative impact on their health.  New mothers faced particular health crises.  The unjust blockade had caused a lot of girls to leave school in order to find jobs so they could help their families.  There was also a social and psychological effect on women because of uranium deposits, which led to an increase in still births, sterility, and cancer.  The Government appealed to the Economic and Social Council to force a removal of the unjust blockade.  It was hoped that it would be supported.

He said the effect of economic blockades against third party States was a curious issue, when there was little attention paid to the effect of the blockade on the country that was targeted.  In Iraq, the economy and infrastructure had been destroyed, and the sanctions had claimed the lives of more than 1.5 million people.  It was strange that the United Nations should be used as a pretext for applying a blockade of this sort.  This economic blockade, which was due to two members of the Security Council, violated the principles of the United Nations Charter.  It was not just a question of providing food and medicine to an entire people, it was a question of ensuring the survival of an entire people.  The Government had not been able to provide basic services to its people.  Wage earners had not seen their incomes increase since August 1990.  The solution, the way to put an end to the suffering, was to put an end to the blockade and the extremely severe sanctions.

HUSSAIN SHIHAB (Maldives) said his country was grateful for the decision to defer action on agenda item 13 (a) to the resumed session of the Council in New York, as the matter was of great significance to Least Developed Countries which had their representation at UN Headquarters.

IGOR SAHACH (Ukraine) said the implementation of the provisions of the United Nations Charter regarding the position of third party States affected by economic sanctions affected Ukraine.  It was one of the countries most severely affected by the sanctions on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.  In 1998, the Secretary-General had convened an Ad Hoc Expert Group on the issue of developing a methodology on the issue of affected third party States.  The in-depth review undertaken by this Group represented a big step forward.  The outcome of the meeting could be regarded as instrumental for minimizing the effects on third party States.  The Group had pointed out that practical and timely assistance to third party States would further contribute to an effective and comprehensive approach to sanctions imposed by the Security Council.  It was time for the Council to take a closer look at the relevant United Nations efforts in this area.  The scope and complexity of this work required active involvement and coordination on the issue.  This would help those third party States recover economically.  The international community had to realize how important this assistance would be to third party States.

MARCO BALAREZO (Peru) said the reports on the implementation of strategies and cooperation to overcome the impact of El Niño dealt with matters of great importance to Peru.  In 1999 there had been many large-scale natural disasters throughout the world with huge losses of life and property and economic damage.  The effort to move to a response and mitigation process involving natural disasters was vital to stem such future losses, and Peru supported those agencies involved with the strategies for such prevention efforts.  Maximum international support also was necessary.  On the matter of El Niño, Peru supported the recommendations contained in the relevant reports before the Council and hoped they would be given full support.

On the subject of a protocol related to world tourism, Peru would continue to work actively on the matter.

SANDRA MORALES DE DUJE (El Salvador) said earthquakes had affected El Salvador earlier this year, killing more than 1,000 people, and the international community should be commended for coming to its aid.  All regional organizations should help and work together to respond to needs to all countries affected by natural disasters.  Unfortunately, natural disasters were enemies that were not always known, and they were economic and social enemies.  It took El Salvador eight years to reduce its level of illiteracy, but in just one month’s time, with two earthquakes, the poverty indicator went up from 48 per cent to 52 per cent.  That was just one example on how a natural disaster could affect a country in a very short amount of time.  El Salvador was participating in environmental projects to reduce its vulnerability, like the project on climate change.  It was agreed that a culture of prevention should prevail, and the international community should give adequate support to make this culture a reality.  The impact in human life loss was something that could not be measured.

ANDREA REPETTI (Argentina) said the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development was an event of great importance.  Argentina supported the statement made this morning by Paraguay about unfair and distorted trade policies that limited the participation in world trade of developing countries; such distortions also harmed the environment.

Argentina found the consolidated list on harmful chemical and pharmaceutical products to be useful; such information was often hard to come by for developing countries, and Argentina asked that the list be made available in other languages and on the Internet so as to make national decision-making easier.

GHEORGHE VLAD (Romania) said since the 1990 Rio Summit, the international community had beaten a path towards sustainable development to offer a better life to this generation, and to preserve natural resources.  Sadly, often the community heard bad news concerning the environment.  In spite of global environmental problems, which were in the headlines all the time, it was clear that the international community understood the problems.  Looking at the aim of growth at any price, that was the philosophy during much of the twentieth century.  The Conference on Sustainable Development, scheduled for next year, was creating further cooperation within the international community.  Romania was pleased with the importance attached to sustainable development.  It favoured a closer tie between economic development, sustainable development, and environmental protection.  Romania had been in active from the very start in preparations for next year's summit.  It had ratified the Kyoto Protocol.  Meetings in Bucharest in the last few months showed the interest of the Romanian authorities.

AMENA V. YAUVOLI (Fiji) said his country was very concerned with natural disaster reduction and supported the statement of the Group of 77 and China on the matter.  A global code of ethics for tourism had Fiji's support, and it acknowledged that the code would effectively contribute to the tourism sector's development as a major source of employment and economic progress for small island nations such as Fiji; Fiji looked forward to working closely on the protocol related to implementation.

Graduation of some small island countries from Least Developed Countries status to developing-country status could lead to some difficulties for those countries.  Given the importance of the subject matter, it was crucial that there be full participation of the countries that would be affected in the decision-making process, and Fiji was grateful for the decision to delay consideration of the matter until the Economic and Social Council’s resumed session in New York.

JELENA PIA (Andorra) said her country believed that the code on the ethics of tourism was an important instrument, and Andorra had supported it since it was adopted two years ago by the World Tourism Organization.  Andorra hoped it would be adopted today.

MILAN MAJEK (Slovakia) said his country supported the idea of Ukraine on assistance to third party States affected by the application of sanctions on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.  Slovakia had suffered for some years because of limits on the use of its important waterway, the Danube, which now was not navigable for its entire length.  This matter, it was hoped, could be taken into account when aid for affected third-party countries was considered.

RON ADAM (Israel) said non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were becoming the threshold of the work of the United Nations.  The Secretary-General had encouraged the work of NGOs and civil society, knowing that in most cases, these organizations represented the grassroots.  Their participation generally led to better results.  At the beginning of this year, some 2,200 NGOs had consultative status, and more than 300 were waiting for their applications.  This created an enormous workload for the NGO section, and it needed help.  If the Economic and Social Council truly believed in the work of the NGOs, it should help strengthen that section.

JOHN DAVISON (United States) said draft resolution L.26 lacked balance, politicized the work of the Council, and took up themes that were the subject of permanent-status negotiations.  The only way to address correctly the issues dealt with by the resolution was through an end to the violence and a resumption of negotiations.  The United States would vote against the resolution.

C. PAYOT (Belgium), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said countries of the European Union would vote for the draft resolution; the European Union would like to see prospects for peace reinvigorated; it stressed the need to ensure security for the civilian population in the region and the need for the concerned parties to bring an end to the violence.  The European Union had long favoured the lifting of measures that affected the economy, health and other factors affecting the people in the region.

ARMAN AARDAL (Norway) said the Israeli occupation of the West Bank had a profound and negative impact on the Palestinians.  The use of internal and external closures had hurt the Palestinians’ economic activities.  Since the beginning of the violence nine months ago, there had been a shortfall in revenues, threatening public payrolls, which then threatened basic services and public order.  To offset the negative social, economic and political impacts on the Palestinian Authority, Norway had provided some $200 million.  The immediate solution to end the crisis was to end the hostilities and lift the closures.  Norway urged Israel to take measures to this effect.  The only long-term solution was a negotiated peace agreement.  Over the past months, violence and military actions had increased.  It was high time that the initiative was returned to the political leaders. 

KENJI HIRATA (Japan) said his country voted in favour of resolution L.26 but wished to point out once again that this issue was essentially a political matter that had been discussed in other United Nations forums such as the General Assembly and the Security Council.  In the interest of efficiency and avoiding

overlapping of work, it was inappropriate for the Council to discuss this matter repeatedly.

NASROLLAH KAMIAB (Iran) said its support of the resolution should not be construed as recognition of Israel.

YURI KOLESNIKOV (Russian Federation) said his country had voted in favour of resolution L.26 because it believed General Assembly resolutions reiterated the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to their natural resources.  These questions would have to be subject to final-status negotiations.  International attempts to stabilize the situation in the occupied territories had so far not succeeded; violence, while lessened, had continued.  It was necessary to take measures to build confidence both politically and economically, to concentrate on implementing agreements previously arrived at, and to follow the recommendations of international mediators, including the Russian Federation.  The presence of third-country observers, something acceptable to both parties, would help to settle the conflict.

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