DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS OFFICIAL TELLS SECOND COMMITTEE OF NEED FOR INCREASED FUNDING FOR OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES

Fifty-seventh General Assembly

Second Committee

18^th and 19^th Meetings (AM & PM)

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS OFFICIAL TELLS SECOND COMMITTEE

OF NEED FOR INCREASED FUNDING FOR OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES

Funding for United Nations operational activities for development had to rise substantially if they were to play a vital role in spreading prosperity worldwide, a senior official in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today as it began considering operational activities.

Introducing a report on pledging mechanisms to fund operational activities, Massimo d'Angelo, Chief of the Development Cooperation Policy Branch, stressed that such resources should be provided on a predictable and continuing basis.  The current annual Pledging Conference had failed to obtain the support required of major donors or to mobilize sufficient resources from individual bodies.

The report, he went on, suggested that several high-level public events could become new vehicles for obtaining resources to fund operational activities for development.  If those events were to produce tangible results, they should have high political and public visibility, be subject to accountability and demonstrate the effectiveness of obtained resources, he added.

Denmark’s representative, speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, agreed that pledging mechanisms were no longer effective, noting that the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) had raised only about

0.04 per cent of its total financial contributions through last November’s Pledging Conference.  The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had received similarly dismal responses, she added.

Addressing the same theme, Pakistan’s representative emphasized that the current pledging system was not entirely to blame for the drop in operational funding.  Several factors, including the overall drop in official development assistance (ODA), earmarked funding, and the linking of resources with agency efficiency could have led to pledging shortfalls.  The practice of donor-driven rather than recipient-driven programmes distorted development goals in the countries concerned, resulting in a considerable waste of scarce resources, he said.

Canada’s representative noted that multi-year funding frameworks -– in contrast to pledging mechanisms -- had succeeded in attracting multiple donors, who had even upped their contributions.  Pointing out that the UNDP, the United

Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP), had adopted that approach, she encouraged other agencies to follow their lead.  She suggested linking the sessions of various United Nations funds and programmes that had no multi-year funding frameworks to the joint meeting of their executive boards.

Other reports introduced this morning focused on South-South cooperation, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the UNDP Special Unit for Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries.

Addressing those topics, speakers stressed that donor support for South-South initiatives could bring stronger and greater ownership as well as partnership.  They also noted, however, that awareness of the successes of South-South and triangular cooperation was generally lacking.

Viet Nam’s representative said that the first South Summit, held in Havana, Cuba, in 2000, had raised South-South cooperation to a new level, creating a framework for action in facing the developmental challenges, although such cooperation continued to lack the proper institutional mandate and financial resources.  Most countries of the South were small and poor, and intra-regional cooperation had not been effectively mobilized, he added.

Turning to UNIFEM, speakers stressed that governments, non-governmental organizations and the private sector should increase contributions to the Fund, so that it could fulfil its mammoth task of assisting countries in gender mainstreaming.  The UNIFEM's core resources had grown by 8 per cent to

$20 million, but it had hoped to mobilize $35 million by the end of 2003, one speaker pointed out.

Regarding the UNDP Special Unit for Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries, representatives called on the international community to strengthen and fully integrate that Unit into operational activities, stressing that the United Nations, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and specialized agencies should step up technical and financial development assistance to the South.     

In other business today, Venezuela’s representative, on behalf of the

Group of 77 and China, introduced a draft resolution on the high-level dialogue on strengthening international economic cooperation for development through partnership.  The text contained guidelines for the General Assembly’s role in following up on commitments reached at the Monterrey Conference on Financing for Development.     

Other speakers this morning included the representatives of Norway, Russian Federation, Bangladesh, India, Cuba, Switzerland, Yemen, Namibia, Brazil (on behalf of MERCOSUR), Burkina Faso, Belarus and the Republic of Korea.

Speaking during this afternoon’s meeting were the representatives of Algeria, Israel, China, Nepal, Japan, Indonesia, Iran, Ukraine, United States and Antigua and Barbuda (on behalf of the Caribbean Community).

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The Deputy Executive Director of UNIFEM, the Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, and the Deputy Director of the UNDP Special Unit for Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries also spoke.

Also addressing the meeting were representatives of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, 30 October, to take up the subject implementation of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997 to 2006).  It is also expected to hear the introduction of several draft resolutions on environment and sustainable development.

Background

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this morning to consider a draft resolution on sustainable development and international economic cooperation.  It was also expected to begin discussing operational activities for development as well as the follow-up to the outcome of the special session on children.  

Draft Resolution

Before the Committee was a draft resolution on high-level dialogue on strengthening international economic cooperation for development through partnership (document E/C.2/57/L.15).

South-South Cooperation

The Committee also had before it a report by the Secretary-General on measures to promote and facilitate South-South cooperation (document A/57/155), which outlines what has been accomplished thus far and what remains to be done, pointing in particular to the role of the Special Unit for Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).  It suggests that the Unit focus more on catalyzing and monitoring South-South efforts to meet the Millennium Summit’s goals of poverty eradication and sustainable development.  The report recommends that the Unit prepare a progress report every two years for the High-level Committee on the Review of Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries; work with universities and research centres in the South to expand research and analytical capabilities; and link national South-South committees through its online information network.

The report cites the May 2002 conference to reconstruct Afghanistan, convened by the Indian Government and the UNDP’s New Delhi office, as one example of South-South cooperation in post-conflict situations that could be used as a model for other regions. The UNDP should also join forces with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to promote the inclusion of peace education in elementary school curricula, the report suggests.  To shore up extra funds, the UNDP could forge partnerships with regional development banks and the United Nations pledging conference should include the Trust Fund for South-South Cooperation.

United Nations Development Fund for Women

The Committee also had before it a note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the activities of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), which reviews women's economic security and rights, as well as their leadership in shaping governance and peace-building, as well as human rights and violence against women.

Regarding economics and security, the report (document A/57/125) notes that UNIFEM assisted in 2001 with new and strengthened institutions, laws and policies aimed at ensuring equal ownership and access to economic resources for women.  It is also helping to increase knowledge and understanding about managing globalization and economic transition from the perspective of poor women.

According to the report, UNIFEM's work has led to new commitments to incorporate gender perspectives in economic governance and increased economic capacity for women entrepreneurs, producers and informal sector workers.  Its support is helping women producers strengthen market links, access information communication technologies for business development, and analyse sub-sectors to identify promising economic opportunities.

The UNIFEM’s assistance has been instrumental, the report adds, in launching the Technical Resources Network for Small and Micro-Enterprises in the Arab States, a new forum for South-Asian women entrepreneurs, a network of Peruvian and Ecuadorean women artisans, and networks of women entrepreneurs using information communication technologies to access new markets.

In the area of governance, UNIFEM significantly expanded its programmes in every region in 2001 to ensure that women's leadership shapes governance and peace-building, the report says.  Bilateral donors and the United Nations Foundation pledged nearly $12 million for multi-year programmes to assist women in conflict situations, build understanding about the impact of war on women, and support them in building peace.

The report notes that efforts to promote women's human rights and eliminate violence against women include a rapidly expanding programme to mainstream gender and human rights into strategies to tackle HIV/AIDS.  A key mechanism addressing women's human rights is the Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women, which received 325 requests for a total of $17.5 million in 2001, UNIFEM had only $1 million to provide grants.

According to the report, the UNIFEM Consultative Committee recommends that the Fund work on prevention and early warning in conflict situations, and stresses that it give regular information to political and decision-making bodies about the impact of armed conflict on women and on their role in peace-building.  It also encourages UNIFEM to strengthen fund-raising strategies, and to designate

25 November (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) as the day for making specific appeals to Member States and other potential contributors.

Pledging Mechanisms

Also before the Committee was a report of the Secretary-General on pledging mechanisms to fund operational activities for development of the United Nations system (document A/57/332), which reviews the effectiveness of the annual United Nations Pledging Conference for Development Activities and possible alternatives presented by the Secretary-General.  It recognizes new opportunities to mobilize resources for development activities and strengthen dialogue on these issues.  It also recommends several criteria to help the General Assembly select the most suitable arrangements.

According to the report, the annual Pledging Conference, begun in 1979, has not been effective and new pledging mechanisms are needed that include the positive aspects of the Pledging Conference and new ways to link resource mobilization to performance assessment.  Suggestions include the creation of a series of pledging sessions under the multi-year funding frameworks for the UNDP, the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) and UNICEF.  The report also recommends the creation of a high-level forum for development cooperation issues, the funding of development operational activities for promoting the effectiveness of development assistance.

The Committee also had before it a letter to the Secretary-General from the Permanent Representative of Venezuela to the United Nations (document A/57/444).  The letter, dated 23 September, transmits the Ministerial Declaration adopted by the twenty-sixth Meeting of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Group of 77, held at United Nations Headquarters on 19 September.

Introduction of Draft Resolution

VICENTE VALLENILLA (Venezuela), speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, introduced a draft resolution on the high-level dialogue on strengthening international economic cooperation for development through partnership.  He said the draft had emerged as the outcome of vital agreements on financial cooperation contained in the now historic Monterrey Consensus, which established that the high-level dialogue of the General Assembly would play a fundamental role as the focal point in following up on commitments reached at Monterrey.

He said the draft resolution contained specific guidelines for the Assembly’s Monterrey mandate and set up a biennial periodic review for Monterrey commitments.  The Group of 77 had also decided that the dialogue would be held in October 2003 for three days, with a focus on policy dialogue.  The themes of coherence and consistency in international trade and development mechanisms would be discussed and a ministerial communiqué would be adopted, he added.

Introduction of Reports

JOANNE SANDLER, Deputy Executive Director of UNIFEM, introduced the report on the agency’s activities, saying that the framing documents guiding its work –- the Beijing Platform for Action and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) –- created an ambitious roadmap and series of commitments.  The Secretary-General’s call for greater coordination among United Nations agencies was also a call to incorporate gender equality and women’s rights in all development efforts.

She said that the report highlighted UNIFEM’s activities in three thematic areas:  strengthening women’s economic security and rights; supporting women’s leadership in governance and peace-building; and promoting women’s human rights and eliminating violence against women.  As a relatively small and catalytic fund, UNIFEM’s ability to attract and sustain partnerships was critical to its effectiveness, she noted.

KARIN SHAM POO, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, said children should be at the heart of the development agenda if the world was to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, eradicate poverty and build foundations for sustainable development.  She noted that the outcome document adopted by the Special Session on Children “A World Fit for Children” sought to put the physical, social, emotional and spiritual development of children at the forefront of national and global priorities.  Governments had agreed to work with their partners to prepare specific action plans by 2003 to reduce poverty, promote healthy lives, provide basic education, protect children against abuse, exploitation and violence, and combat HIV/AIDS.

She said governments were primarily responsible for implementing the Special Session outcome document, the United Nations would provide appropriate support and assistance and UNICEF would play its part in helping to implement, monitor and report on the follow-up to the Special Session.  The agency had provided specific guidance to its country offices and national committees.  In developing countries, it would seek to contribute to the implementation of Special Session goals through country programmes of cooperation, based on the five priorities of its Medium-term Strategic Plan -- integrated early childhood development, including health, nutrition, water and sanitation, psychosocial care and early learning; immunization “plus”; girls’ education; protection of children from violence, exploitation, abuse and discrimination; and fighting HIV/AIDS.

In most of the world's poorest countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, none of the Millennium or Special Session goals would be achieved unless the HIV/AIDS pandemics and the discrimination that was both its cause and consequence, were tackled, she said.  As part of UNICEF’s battle against the disease, it needed the urgent implementation of ceasefires to protect children from the ravages of man-made wars.  Protecting children from the pandemic and from armed conflict would be the best defensive shield it could provide in achieving the Millennium goals and improving children’s lives, she added.

YIPING ZHOU, Deputy Director, Special Unit for Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries, UNDP, introduced the report on South-South cooperation, saying it confirmed the important role of the United Nations as facilitator of South-South cooperation.  It revealed that the support of a donor or group of donor countries for a South-South initiative could indeed bring about stronger and greater ownership, partnership and impact in development cooperation.  The report also concluded that there was a general lack of awareness of the South’s capacities and the successes of South-South and triangular cooperation.  

He urged Member States to pay special attention to paragraph 25 on the five strategic objectives of the 2001 Tehran Consensus calling for consolidation of the South-South platform, strengthening of southern institutions, the bridging of the knowledge and information gaps, the forging of broad-based partnerships, and the mobilization of global support.  He also urged them to focus on paragraph 26, regarding the Monterrey Consensus, which urged multilateral and bilateral financial and development institutions to step up South-South cooperation, and paragraph 27, calling for strong United Nations support for the South-South decade and for linking South-South cooperation with the Millennium Development Goals.

MASSIMO D’ANGELO, Chief of the Development Cooperation Policy Branch, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, introduced the report on pledging mechanisms, saying it had been devised in close consultation with Member States as well as United Nations funds and programmes.  It was based on the conviction that a substantial increase in funding must occur if operational activities were to play a fundamental role in creating a more peaceful and prosperous world.  Those activities must be provided on a predictable and continuing basis, he added.

Noting that the mechanism for the current annual Pledging Conference had been established in 1977, he said its long-term performance had not achieved the original goal since it had failed to obtain the required support from major donors or to mobilize sufficient resources from individual organizations.

He said the report suggested the promotion of several high-level public events in the context of either the General Assembly or the Economic and Social Council, which could become new vehicles for obtaining resources to fund operational activities for development.  If those events were to produce tangible results, they should have high political and public visibility through the involvement of governments and other sectors.  They should also be subject to accountability, demonstrate the effectiveness of resources obtained and consider the needs of all United Nations events and programmes, not just a few, he stressed.

Statements

Mr. VALLENILLA  (Venezuela), speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, stressed the fundamental importance of coherence and coordination to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operational activities and enable developing nations to fulfil national strategies and priorities.  It was imperative that national governments of developing nations participate in all phases of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of outside assistance as well as activities to ensure national ownership of development programmes and projects. 

Noting that trade among developing nations had increased in recent years, he said that in 1998 and 1999, approximately 40 per cent of their exports were sent to other developing nations, marking a steady and sustained increase.  Intra-regional trade had expanded in all developing regions thanks to greater regional integration, free trade and cooperation.  Regional integration had also spurred foreign direct investment (FDI) in developing countries, he added.

PIA STARBAEK SZCZEPANSKI (Denmark), speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, supported the view that the annual Pledging Conference was no longer effective, noting that the UNFPA had only raised an estimated

0.04 per cent of its total financial contributions through last November’s Conference.  The UNDP and UNICEF had similarly dismal responses.  Moreover, the Conference’s efforts duplicated those of the recently introduced and more effective multi-year Funding Frameworks.

For those reasons, she said, the European Union would not participate in the Pledging Conference scheduled for 5-6 November 2002.  The issue at stake was not selecting the right venue, but rather providing continuous guidance and support to United Nations organizations in enhancing efficiency and effectiveness in operational activities.  Demonstrated performance at the field level, including active participation in the United Nations coordination frameworks, would weigh heavily on donors’ choices for resource allocation, she added.

THERESE AALBERG (Norway), noting that UNIFEM could play a strategic role in promoting gender equality in international development, supported the recommendation by the Consultative Committee encouraging close collaboration between UNIFEM and the UNDP in working towards the Millennium Development Goals and ensuring the achievement of gender equality, both as a Millennium goal and as a cross-cutting issue relating to all development goals.

She said the Special Session on Children had been a milestone in efforts to ensure children's rights due to the comprehensive involvement of governments and civil society, including children and youth, in preparations for the session and the broad participation in the New York meetings.  The long and complex negotiation process leading to the document “A World Fit for Children” had provided a very extensive and forward-looking political agenda for children.  The document was clearly more rights-oriented than the one emerging from the World Summit for Children in 1990.  However, it would require a comprehensive and determined follow-up based on renewed political will, as well as the mobilization and allocation of additional resources at both the national and international levels.

MUHAMMAD HASSAN (Pakistan) said it was disturbing that core resources for development activities fell short of requirements and that overall expenditures were stagnant, forcing cuts in development activities.  Moreover, the trend among donors to pledge special purpose funds at the expense of core activity resources had greatly changed the funding outlook, compelling United Nations development agencies to alter their portfolios to include new, separately funded priorities.

The practice of donor-driven rather than recipient-driven programmes was a prescriptive approach to development that distorted the development goals of the countries concerned and resulted in a considerable waste of scarce resources, he said.  It was necessary to optimize operational activity funding for universal development and poverty alleviation.  While Pakistan agreed with the need to reform and improve pledging mechanisms, it did not completely blame their weaknesses for the decline in contributions.  Several factors -- including the overall drop in official development assistance (ODA), the trend among donors to provide earmarked funding and the trend to link funding with the efficiency of United Nations agencies -- could have led to pledging shortfalls.  Pakistan considered the Pledging Conference an important forum for pledging political will in support of development and urged Member States to actively participate in the November event.

VICTOR ZAGREKOV (Russian Federation) said that enhancing the effectiveness of available machinery for mobilizing resources for operational activities were vital.  Unfortunately, the annual Pledging Conference had lost much of its effectiveness and did not justify the responsibilities entrusted to it.  The recommendations in the report on pledging conferences deserved careful study, especially with the current intensification in the operational activities themselves.  The United Nations must continue working to enhance current fund-raising machinery to draw in more voluntary contributions.

He said his country attached great significance to the strengthening of economic and technical cooperation for developing countries.  In the context of the Secretary-General’s recommendations on partnerships with the private sector, he found promise in plans for technical cooperation with countries with economies in transition.

IFTEKHAR AHMED CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) stressed the need for governments, non-governmental organizations and the private sector to increase contributions to the UNIFEM Trust Fund.  While its core resources had grown by 8 per cent to

$20 million, with increased contributions from seven donor countries, that growth was modest considering that the Fund had hoped to mobilize $35 million by the end of 2003.  Bangladesh supported the recommendations of the UNIFEM Consultative Committee, particularly those calling for the Fund’s greater involvement with the UNDP at various stages of programme and project development.

He cited shortfalls in the report on South-South cooperation, saying that his country would have preferred that it include greater elaboration of the social sector –- including poverty eradication, women’s empowerment, education, basic health services, population and development, and the rights of the disabled -- as to how the United Nations system as a whole could be mobilized to expand South-South cooperation.

JAIPAL REDDY (India), stressing the moral imperative of a rights-based approach to public policy, said that the aims of social, economic and political justice, as well as the principles of equality of status and opportunity were enshrined in the preamble of his country's constitution.  India's laws and policies sought to translate those commitments into reality, including through affirmative action aimed at providing a balanced playing field for women, the impoverished and the most vulnerable.  They also sought to achieve equity in decisions on development and in sharing the fruits of development through local self-government.

He said that the rights-based approach to development cooperation sought to introduce a rights-based approach to public policy and to bring about empowerment through the planning, programming and implementation activities of a donor agency. Movement away from political, economic or social oppression could only be sustainable when it sprang from within a society and was in harmony with local culture and values.  The rights-based approach sought to bring about empowerment through poverty eradication and good leadership, good governance and the empowerment of ordinary people, he added.

MARIA CARIDAD BALAGUER (Cuba) said that neoliberal globalization had exacerbated the income disparity between industrialized and developing nations. Technical and economic cooperation among developing countries was crucial to their ability to face modern problems.  However, technical cooperation for developing countries and economic cooperation for developing countries were not replacements for South-South cooperation.  A lack of finances and resources from donors for South-South cooperation, as well as technical and economic cooperation had thwarted project and programme implementation, she said, noting that Cuba had done its part to share technical information and knowledge with other developing nations in the fields of health, science and disaster aid.

Referring to a recent letter from Cuba to the Administrator of the UNDP, she said her country had serious objections to the agency’s 2002 Human development report.  The letter (document A/C.2/57/3) noted the report’s exclusion of Cuba’s advances in science and technology, but included its poverty indicators, she said, adding that it labelled Cuba as backward in terms of democracy while failing to provide an exact definition or an internationally acceptable indicator of democracy.

OLIVIER CHAVE (Switzerland) said that contributions to operational activities depended not only on the success of United Nations development organizations, but also on external factors.  While the World Bank had regularly succeeded in mobilizing significant additional resources, the United Nations system as a whole had benefited from only modest increases and risked being marginalized.  Switzerland favoured a multilateral development system with a balanced, multipolar architecture, in which the various elements were able to play their role fully.  That implied sufficient and adequate financing for all parts of the system, he added.

Agreeing that the current pledging conference format was ineffective, he recommended strongly the continuation of individual funding sessions convened under multi-year funding frameworks and linked to performance.  They must be held at the beginning of the year to allow for optimal planning he said, adding that in future, such events should be organized in the context of extended two-day joint meetings of the Executive Boards of the UNDP, the UNFPA, UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP).

AHMED AL-HADDAD (Yemen) stressed the need for United Nations institutions to tailor field work to the priorities of the developing countries concerned.  Referring to the Secretary-General’s report on pledging mechanisms, he said the Pledging Conference had become ineffectual and urged an increase in declining development resources. 

Calling for better procedures for holding conferences and greater efficiency in the multi-year funding framework so that pledging events could be used to inform Member States of funding commitments, he said that could be done in the form of announcements.  Pledging mechanisms should include policies for that in order to draw the attention of political decision-makers, the media and political interest groups, as well as donors and beneficiary countries.

While applauding the progress of women in society, as illustrated in the UNIFEM report, he said more efforts were needed to strengthen their economic security, achieve gender equality and promote women’s rights.  Yemen supported the creation of partnerships to protect women against HIV/AIDS, assist women refugees and end violence against women, among other UNIFEM goals.

NDAHAFA NGHIFINDAKA (Namibia), congratulating UNIFEM on the innovative strategies and programmes it had carried out in 2001, noted that significant progress had been made in strengthening women’s economic security and rights, their leadership in shaping governance and peace-building and the elimination of violence against women.  Namibia welcomed the expertise and experience that UNIFEM had brought to various United Nations conferences, including the special session on HIV/AIDS, the World Conference against Racism and the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

Emphasizing the need for adequate resources to enable UNIFEM to fulfil the mammoth task of assisting countries in mainstreaming gender, she encouraged the Fund to continue its efforts to strengthen resource mobilization strategies so as to achieve its goals of reaching $35 million from all sources by the end of 2003, and making the UNIFEM Strategy and Business Plan a $40 million fund by 2003.

MARIA LUIZA RIBEIRO VIOTTI (Brazil) said the lack of political will in implementing the Millennium Goals was putting the agreements reached in Monterrey, Johannesburg and at the Special Session on Children at risk.  Developing countries were making efforts far beyond their abilities to achieve those goals.  That made the efforts of United Nations agencies, funds and Member States even more vital, she said, stressing the need for increased support for technical programmes, capacity-building and human resource development.

While pleased that the decline in development resources had been reversed, particularly in the case of the UNDP, she stressed the importance of increasing core resources for operational activities and for flexible mechanisms to support the goals set forth at global conferences.  She also pointed to the need for greater cooperation in international technical assistance and lauded the technical assistance vehicles set up by the United Nations and the World Bank.

DER KOGDA (Burkina Faso) said the present state of operational activities for development revealed shortcomings which must be addressed and followed up.  A major obstacle was the lack of adequate coordination among the relevant stakeholders, which had a major effect on the effectiveness and extent of operational activities.  The international community must strengthen its follow-up mechanisms to evaluate those activities and fund them better.  They offered the best possible access to basic social services and addressed the needs of the poorest.

Referring to the special session on children, he said the international community must ensure better and healthier lives for children by providing them with quality education and protecting them against abuse, exploitation and HIV/AIDS.  Little time should be wasted discussing and implementing follow-up to the Special Session as children’s problems were vital.

Mr. GERUS (Belarus) cited the successes in enhancing effectiveness in operational activities, noting that the volume of funds in that area, excluding those provided by the World Bank, had hit $7.1 billion in 2001, a 17 per cent increase from 2000.  The UNDP had reported a 9 per cent increase in contributions to $2.6 billion over the same period.  Core resources had also grown, reversing their decline of the last few years, he added.

Despite these advances, however, problems remained in funding for operational activities, he said.  The United Nations systems should ensure an adequate level of core resources and improve the planning of individual countries’ operational activities through the joint efforts of the UNDP, the UNFPA and UNICEF.  The United Nations Development Assistance Fund and country-analysis mechanisms could only be effective if they were based on national priorities, he said, noting that cases had been reported in which outmoded country-assessment guidelines had been used to develop country analyses.

HYUN-JOO OH (Republic of Korea) said the United Nations should ensure that any new pledging mechanism provided adequate resources for operational activities.  Agreeing with the Secretary-General’s report that the international community should hold a series of pledging events, she said that other proposals in the report deserved merit, such as the recommendation to devote a session of the Economic and Social Council to issues of funding.  She also confirmed her country’s commitment to United Nations operational activities and hoped a more effective mechanism could be found during the present General Assembly session.

The following statements were delivered in today’s afternoon meeting.

DIHIHED EDDINE BELKAS (Algeria) stressed the importance of United Nations operational activities in supporting the programmes and projects of developing nations and in adapting such activities to the priorities of the targeted countries or regions.  A good example of that was the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) which countries, as well as United Nations agencies, could use as an operational framework for activities geared towards the African continent.

Commending last year’s 17 per cent increase, excluding World Bank financing, in expenditures for operational activities, he noted, however, that contributions had fallen short of what was required.  Referring to the Secretary-General’s report on operational activities, he said the reforms begun in 1997 should be continued in order to improve programmes and increase funding for such projects. 

AMOS NADAI (Israel), expressing grave concern at the situation of women, particularly in developing countries, noted also that two thirds of the

300 million children without access to education worldwide were girls.  In addition, more than 200,000 women died every year from improper abortions and one in 16 women in the rural areas of developing countries risked death during labour owing to the lack of medical services.

He said that in 1961, MASHAV, Israel’s Centre for International Cooperation, had set up the Golda Meir Mount Carmel International Training Centre, which specialized in gender issues and women in development.  Over the past four decades, the institution had expanded its activities while maintaining its original emphasis on training women and men in sustainable development.  More than 10,000 participants had been trained to date, two thirds of them women.  Many of its programmes were aimed at poverty eradication by promoting the development of small- and medium-sized businesses through training and skills enhancement.  Special attention was also paid to providing assistance to women entrepreneurs.

GINETTE LACHANCE (Canada) said her country was strongly committed to supporting operational activities for development and had consistently provided significant financial contributions to many funds and programmes.  Echoing the views of many preceding speakers, she agreed with the Secretary-General’s report that the current pledging conference to raise funds for operational activities had not been effective.  On the other hand, the multi-year funding frameworks had been successful in attracting large numbers of donors, many of whom had increased their contributions as well as improving the predictability of resource availability.

Encouraging the adoption of a similar approach by funds and programmes that had yet to follow the lead of the UNDP, the UNFPA, UNICEF and the WFP, she also welcomed the report’s suggestion that a series of pledging events be held sequentially under the multi-year funding framework in a single time frame, and in the context of a joint meeting of the executive boards of the UNDP and the UNFPA, and UNICEF with the participation of the WFP.  He also suggested linking the sessions of various funds and programmes that had no multi-year funding frameworks to the joint meeting of the executive boards.  He stressed that the annual pledging should continue to be an integral part of the multi-year funding framework process and dialogue on programme results. 

HUANG XUEQI (China) said that pledging conferences had achieved positive results in the past, reflecting the strength of North-South cooperation in development.  However, core resources had declined significantly in the 1990s, making development programmes difficult.  Factors like the decrease in ODA rather than lack of response at pledging conferences, had caused the decline, he said, calling on donors to show political will and to increase ODA in order to help meet the Millennium goals.

Referring to South-South cooperation, he said that his country had been actively involved in multilateral cooperation since the early 1970s.  China had established a South-South cooperation trust fund in the Special Unit for Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries.  It was hoped that South-South cooperation would concentrate its focus and continue to develop.

TAPAS ADHIKARI (Nepal) said globalization had caused a further deterioration in the predicament of marginalized communities in the least developed countries.  There was a critical need to build up their production and competition capacities and to give them duty-free and quota-free access to the markets of rich nations, as well as concessionary access to those of better-off developing countries.  Nepal urged the global community to do everything in its power to implement the Brussels Programme of Action.

He said that while the United Nations had been instrumental in helping developing countries to compete in international markets, improve their standards of living, expand trade and investment, and develop human resources, the benefits to developing countries were still inadequate.  The United Nations must redouble efforts in that area.  Nepal eagerly awaited the South’s meeting on Science and Technology for Development to be held in Dubai, hoping the meeting would break new ground for bridging the digital divide between rich and poor and close the widening gap among developing countries themselves.

MASASHI MIZUKAMI (Japan) stressed the importance of a pledging system that ensured stable, predictable levels of financing, saying that a high-level meeting, either of the General Assembly or the Economic and Social Council, was unsuitable due to added physical and logistical costs.  Meetings were not necessary in cases where pledges were made without discussion and Japan favoured the creation of a system whereby donors reported pledges to the Secretariat by mail.  Pledges accompanied by dialogue could be part of the proceedings of the executive board or other mechanisms.  Japan, the largest donor of ODA during the 1990s, had never reneged or failed to comply with its pledges, he added.

Regarding South-South cooperation, he said his country had made enormous efforts to increase its participation in bilateral and multilateral assistance through partnerships with Thailand, Singapore, Egypt, Tunisia, Chile, Brazil, Argentina and the Philippines.  Japan had also promoted Asia-Africa cooperation with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the UNDP.  Still, United Nations efforts in South-South cooperation were very limited, he said, stressing the need for success stories for what continued to be one of the most promising modalities for coping with the difficulties faced by many developing countries.

DARMANSJAH DJUMALA (Indonesia) said the international community was entering a period of translating commitments made at major conferences into concrete action.  Part and parcel of that process was the critical need for both human and financial resources, yet both were wanting.  Adequate funding remained a perennial problem for operational activities in the United Nations system.  The rapid erosion of the resources base for those activities was a direct result of declining ODA.

Turning to South-South cooperation, he noted that much had been achieved and many agendas elaborated over the decades, but implementation had been sluggish and its powerful potential as an agent of development had fallen far short of expectations.  Much of the problem lay in a lack of widespread understanding of its real potential, few strong institutions to support its programmes, a lack of South-South flow of information and a dearth of adequate human and financial resources.  Ad hoc approaches employed by various partners, including the United Nations, should be replaced with a new concentration of resources on well-coordinated programmes.

NGO DUC THANG (Viet Nam) said that the first South Summit, held in Havana in 2000, had raised South-South cooperation to a new level, creating a new framework for action in the South to face globalization and development challenges.  Still, such cooperation had been modest and continued to lack the proper institutional mandate and financial resources.  Most South countries were small and poor, and intra-regional cooperation potential had not been effectively mobilized.

He called for the strengthening and full integration into operational activities of the work of the UNDP’s Special Unit for Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries.  The United Nations, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and specialized agencies should step up efforts to find appropriate and effective ways to assist, technically and financially, the South’s development and cooperation efforts.

Regarding pledging mechanisms, he noted that thanks to the multi-year funding frameworks in the last few years, funds had been raised for the WFP, the UNDP, the UNFPA and UNICEF.  That approach should continue and the entire United Nations system should analyse it with a view to adopting the frameworks as a fund mobilization mechanism.  

NASROLLAH KAZEMI KAMYAB (Iran) stressed the need to enhance operational activities for development by a predictable increase in funding, commensurate with the needs of developing countries.  Pledging events had gone through some changes in seeking better results and more interest from both donor and developing countries.  However, progress towards multi-year funding frameworks, which had raised certain expectations, had not brought any major increase in resources for development.  Iran was prepared to consider an effective alternative event that would ensure annual funding commitments, and narrow wide gaps in the international development system.

He said numerous policies, declarations and action plans had been put forward to consolidate South-South cooperation.  There had indeed been a trend towards increased cooperation, but it was obvious that such efforts needed support from the international community.  South-South cooperation was not intended to replace North-South cooperation, but to complement it, he added.

SERHIL SAVCHUK (Ukraine) said that despite clear-cut improvements in some areas of development cooperation, and the financial stabilization of the UNDP and UNICEF, major challenges persisted due to funding shortages.  More funds were needed to strengthen operational activities and to make them predictable.

Regarding pledging mechanisms, he said his country supported multi-year funding frameworks for resource mobilization and the proposal that the Economic and Social Council devote one session of the high-level meeting of the United Nations operational activities to substantive dialogue on funding.  Welcoming UNDP’s measures to mainstream the United Nations Development Assistance Framework and the Common Country Assessment into national development strategies and policies, he called for the broader participation of the relevant United Nations funds and programmes, as well as full leadership and coordination by national governments in the process.

Ms. WHITMORE (United States) said UNIFEM’s work in Afghanistan had brought home the value of that agency to the lives of women.  It had also performed in many other parts of the world with equal effectiveness, which would in future be enhanced by partnership with various other entities, including a vital one with the UNDP.  Without the full participation of women in economic, political and social life, it would be impossible to achieve international development goals, she said, adding that given the strong performance of UNIFEM, that would hopefully not occur.

On South-South cooperation, she said technical cooperation was increasingly working in the areas of governance and human rights.  However, she took strong exception to the report's contention that “certain advances, most notably in the biomedical and life sciences as well as in information technology which might have potentially adverse consequences for the integrity, dignity and human rights of the individual”, were obstacles to development.  Without those advances, the chances of reaching development goals would be zero, she stressed.

PATRICK LEWIS (Antigua and Barbuda), speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said the region's small, vulnerable economies were highly dependent on imports as well as the export of goods and services to finance development.  Consequently, they were highly susceptible to the vagaries of the global economy and the increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters.  More recently, the HIV/AIDS pandemic had further heightened those vulnerabilities.

He underscored UNDP's pivotal role and that of other agencies in helping CARICOM nations achieve economic and sustainable development objectives.  While committed to a results-based approach to development, CARICOM believed that development programmes should be tailored to each country’s needs.  Each member State faced daunting challenges as never before, but UNDP’s assistance had been reduced substantially, concomitant to the decline in the agency's core funding. That had resulted in cutbacks in several UNDP programmes to eradicate poverty and improve the lot of women, children and the elderly.

While many caricom member States were considered middle-income economies, a careful evaluation of that categorization was necessary, he said.  Many of those countries were major recipients of remittances and per capita income should not be the principal criterion for determining a country’s stage of development.  Some CARICOM nations were increasingly called upon to assist weaker economies in the subregion, he added.

ENCHO GOSPODINOV, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said the organization had given high priority in 2002 to the creation of relevant partnerships, forging several with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the WFP, among others, he said.

Emphasizing that accountability was a core concern of the Federation, he said that for several years it had worked with international non-governmental organizations and governments to create a humanitarian accountability project.  Based on mutual accountability, respect and shared responsibilities, the project recognized the importance of national capacity-building for implementation.  The Foundation was pleased to see United Nations debates focused on creating broad partnerships based on national ownership and wide participation in policy design and monitoring, he added.

SHAHID HUSAIN, Organization of the Islamic Conference, said that all its members were from the South and, therefore, took the South-South cooperation efforts seriously.  Agreeing with the Secretary-General’s report that most developing countries had yet to achieve self-reliance and a capacity for greater participation in the world economy, he said that included capacity in prevention and cessation of armed conflict within and among developing countries through conflict resolution and peace-building.

He expressed support for the report’s recommendations for a high-level group of experts, who would align the South-South cooperation agenda with the Millennium Development Goals, and for measures to strengthen the South’s institutions and mechanisms for the concerted, coordinated pursuit of development goals.  He also endorsed the recommendation for collaboration among the UNDP, UNICEF and UNESCO to promote the inclusion of peace education in standard school curricula and suggested the inclusion of other stakeholders, notably the Islamic Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

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