ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL CONCLUDES GENERAL CONSIDERATION OF OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL CONCLUDES GENERAL CONSIDERATION

OF OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT

Importance of South-South Cooperation Highlighted by Report

Of High-Level Committee on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 7 July (UN Information Service) -- The Economic and Social Council this afternoon concluded its general consideration of operational activities for development under item 3 of its agenda.

The meeting was addressed by the United Nations Development Programme's Policy Adviser for the Special Unit for Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries, François Ekoko.  In the course of subsequent interventions, the main focus of discussion was the need to ensure increased core funding for the United Nations operational activities.

Mr. Ekoko, who introduced the report of the High-Level Committee on the Review of Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries, said that a number of important points had been made therein, such as the need for further clarification in the use of the concept of South-South cooperation, and the importance of coordination and efficiency, as well as regional and subregional integration as an effective way to bring about South-South cooperation.

For the first time ever, said Mr. Ekoko, the Committee had asked the High-Level Committee Bureau to become proactive in promoting and guiding efforts of South-South cooperation, and to that effect, had invited the Bureau to organize inter-session consultations with Member States and the Special Unit.  The name of the Special Unit had also been changed to the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation.

Reiterating the pre-eminent importance of ensuring adequate core resource funding for the operational activities of the agencies of the United Nations system, the delegates participating in this afternoon’s discussion also highlighted issues such as the value of triangular cooperation as a component of South-South cooperation and the importance of ensuring that country-level programming was the primary modality of the United Nations operational activities.

At the conclusion of the discussion, representatives of the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Food Programme, and the United Nations Population Fund, as well as the Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs made brief concluding remarks on the operational activities segment of the Council’s agenda.

Addressing the Council this afternoon were representatives of Algeria, Tunisia, Romania, Jamaica, Kenya, Iran, Cuba and Indonesia.  A representative of the non-governmental organization, Partners in Population for Development also addressed the Council.

The Economic and Social Council will meet again at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 8 July, to begin consideration of its coordination segment.

Statements

FRANÇOIS EKOKO, Adviser for the Special Unit for Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), introduced the report of the High-Level Committee on the Review of the Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries.  The thirteenth session of the High-Level Committee had been held at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 27 to 30 May.  Two main documents had resulted from the session, one on the decisions taken and another on the report of the session.  A number of important points had been made such as the need for further clarification in the use of the concept of South-South cooperation.  Delegates had indicated that South-South cooperation encompassed technical cooperation and other forms of cooperation.  They had also reiterated the importance of South-South cooperation as a complementary strategy to North-South cooperation.  The necessity to use South-South cooperation to achieve the Millennium Development Goals had also been underlined.

Coordination and efficiency issues had also been touched upon, and regional and sub-regional integration as an effective way to bring about South-South cooperation had been encouraged.  On the issue of resources, the majority of delegations had reaffirmed the need for more resources in order to carry out such cooperation.  For the first time ever, the Committee had asked the High-level Committee bureau to become pro-active in promoting and guiding efforts of South-South cooperation, and to that effect, invited the bureau to organize inter-session consultations with Members States and the Special Unit.  Another historical decision had been the name change of the Special Unit, which was now to be known as the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation.  The name change would have no consequence on the Special Unit’s mandate or the scope of its activities.

ALI DROUICHE(Algeria) said that the necessary changes in mandates and missions and the way in which United Nations agencies worked in the field required that the acute financing problems hampering their activities be urgently addressed.  The roles played by United Nations Funds and Programmes, as well as their expertise, put them in a unique position as valuable sources of advice and support.  However, without the necessary resources, they would not be able to carry out the mandates given to them by the outcomes of international conferences such as the Millennium, Monterrey and Johannesburg Summits.

The international community, he said, had laid at Monterrey the foundation for a global partnership for development, which should also facilitate the elaboration of new financing strategies and modalities for the operational activities of the United Nations system.  Moreover, the reports submitted by the Secretary-General should form the basis of the 2004 triennial comprehensive policy review, in particular in relation to capacity-building, strategic frameworks, evaluation activities, financing and coordination, as well as regional and subregional activities.  It was also important to reiterate that the fundamental characteristics of development in the United Nations system, which had led to success, were neutrality, multilateralism, universality, and their voluntary and non-refundable nature.

JYOTI SHANKAR SINGH,(Partners in Population and Development), said Partners in Population and Development had been established as an intergovernmental alliance of the developing countries with a record of substantial success in reproductive health/population programmes and with a commitment to share with other developing countries their knowledge and experience.  The activities and programmes undertaken by the Partners over the past several years were dedicated to promote and ensure the early implementation of the goals and objectives of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).  The importance of South-South cooperation was stressed and the comments made by China on this topic earlier in the day were welcomed.  At all levels, national, regional and international efforts must be focused on the population and development goals, with particular focus on resource allocation.  The relationship between the Millennium Declaration and the ICPD goals and objectives was stressed.  The Partners fully shared the view of the Secretary-General that the overall Millennium goals of poverty eradication and gender equality were closely linked to the ICPD goals, particularly those relating to reproductive heath.

MOHAMED FADHEL AYARI (Tunisia) said that international development cooperation, particularly within the United Nations system, was now more important than ever given the phenomenon of globalization; urgent, global reaction was required of the United Nations.  Despite the multiyear financing frameworks, core resources were stagnant, and even in decline.  The development of other types of financing had the capacity to erode core-funded programming.  Thus, it was hoped that slight recent increases in core funding would be followed with more substantial increases.  Moreover, it was recalled that the General Assembly had supported the creation of a World Solidarity Fund.  Of particular importance was the completion of formalities to set up the Trust Fund.

The task of the High-Level Committee, which now needed to be set up, would be to manage the fund, he said.  He also said that his country supported the draft resolution that was to be submitted by Morocco on the behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China.

STAFFORD O.NEIL (Jamaica) said that in order to maximize its level of support for development, the United Nations system must strengthen its approach to coordination, harmonization, planning and evaluation of its operational activities.  Jamaica therefore welcomed recent reforms to improve internal coherence within the United Nations system and encouraged the United Nations Development Group to work towards the timely completion of these reforms.  There was an urgent need to correct the pattern of humanitarian financing which was often too little to meet the needs of affected populations and which was often driven by publicity rather that in proportion to real need.  In addition to urging increased humanitarian financing, Jamaica urged the donor community to ensure that contributions to humanitarian emergencies were additional to contributions for long-term development assistance.  A large part of the burden on developing countries could be reduced by ensuring that cumbersome administrative and reporting burdens were lifted.

External support was needed to help to develop capacity.  Such support must not be limited to existing capacity and must focus on promoting new skills.  It was hoped that every effort would be made to ensure the strictest complementarity between individual efforts by United Nations agencies at capacity-building and the avoidance of duplication.  The United Nations was also urged to develop clear benchmarks and indicators for capacity-building.  The informal inter-agency network being established was urged to give regular feedback on progress in this area.

STAFFORD O.NEIL  (Kenya) said that the outcomes and commitments of the major United Nations conferences and summits in economic and social fields had reaffirmed the need for a results-based global partnership, aimed at a closer integration of development cooperation activities of the United Nations system, governments, bilateral and other development partners.  Welcoming the ongoing reform of the United Nations system in operational activities with regard to simplification and harmonization of rules and procedures, it was hoped that this would lead to more efficiency and effectiveness in utilizing donor funds, as well as the elimination of burdensome reporting normally required from developing countries.

Assuring the United Nations Development Programme of its full support as one of the 15 pilot countries selected for the simplification and harmonization project, he reaffirmed that in order for the operational activities of the United Nations system to make an impact, a substantial increase of funding on a continuous and predictable basis was required.  Developed and developing countries should increase their voluntary contributions to the core resources of the United Nations system.  Finally, recognizing that South-South cooperation was an important element of international cooperation, Kenya emphasized the validity of triangular cooperation and recognized the contribution of pivotal countries in the promotion of South-South cooperation.

ALI A. MOJTAHED SHABESTARI (Iran) said that in light of recent important conferences and the new dimensions envisaged in the Millennium Declaration, a new approach towards the operational activities of the United Nations was now an imperative.  The international community must bring about higher Official Development Assistance levels and effectively ensure that the operational activities of the United Nations system were fully funded for the attainment of the internationally agreed upon goals including those in the Millennium Declaration.  An overriding issue was the need for urgent action to fill the gap between the commitments and implementation.  Although after a long period of declining core resources, the contribution to regular resources of some United Nations funds and programmes had recently begun to increase slightly –- there was still not only a huge gap but also a long way to go to achieve the targets for resource mobilization identified in the programming arrangements of United Nations funds and programmes.  In this context, Iran called again on the developed countries, as well as the United Nations system and other multilateral organizations to undertake what was needed to live up to their commitments in the agreed decisions.

Promoting a country-driven collaborative and coherent response by the United Nations system and supporting fully the national priorities of recipient developing countries had constituted the major objectives for operational activities.  In this context, the major responsibility lay with the national government for coordination of all assistance and development activities.  To this end, programme countries must fully participate in all phases of designing, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and projects.

NORMA GOICOCHEA ESTENOZ (Cuba) said that there was a well-recognized international consensus on the importance of Official Development Assistance (ODA), but that a huge gap between internationally agreed objectives and the true political will of donor countries had become evident.  As cited in the Secretary-General’s report, there was a decline and/or stagnation in core resourcing for United Nations funds and programmes.  At the same time, there was an increase in earmarked resourcing.  There was also an increasingly frequent tendency to make aid bilateral and subject to conditions.

The next triennial comprehensive policy review, she said, should analyse the sustained downward tendency to financing and its impact on development activities, as well as the compliance of the donor community with internationally agreed objectives and the supply of resources for technical cooperation for developing countries.  The United Nations should take a positive step forward to address the problems of developing countries, with special recognition for some groups such as small island States.  Until agreement was reached under the new triennial comprehensive policy review, Cuba considered that international activities should be based on broad government agreement.  Systematic information should also be provided to the Council about results in the implementation of its recommendations.  The report of the Joint Inspection Unit should be viewed with interest by the Council, which should adopt resolutions to carry out its recommendations. 

ESTI ANDAYANI (Indonesia) said implementation of projects was not possible without funding.  Indonesia echoed the concerns in the report of the Secretary-General that a reduction in core funding seriously hampered the ability of the international community to accomplish integrated development goals.  Core resources were the bedrock of operational activities.  Indonesia therefore supported the efforts of the United Nations system to ensure sufficient funding, and to create a steady and reliable base for operational activity resources.  Without predictable, continuous, and assured funding, the progress towards the Millennium Development Goals would fall short of expectations.  Country-level programming must be the primary modality of United Nations operational activities, and national governments must be mobilized to empower the United Nations system.  Indonesia supported the emphasis in the reports on making sure that countries learned from the successes and failures of previous activities, and encouraged multilateral agencies to use the wealth of experience and knowledge that already existed in developing countries.

Making sure that attention was paid to the lessons learned from development experiences would also keep a focus on the human dimension of development.  In this light, her delegation believed that South-South cooperation efforts would not only build a lessons-learned approach into development programming, but would also allow for developing countries to explore how policies could be modified in accordance with local and regional needs.

THORALF STENVOLD (Norway) said that his country was gravely concerned about a potential change of systemic proportions, which could leave the United Nations marginalized in the area of development activities.  An increase in core funding of United Nations development activities was primarily a donor country responsibility.  Finally, harmonization and simplification was not an end in itself, but a means to place the developing countries firmly in the driver’s seat and to increase development effectiveness.  Only by working together in a coherent United Nations, also at the country level, would better results be provided.

Concluding Remarks by Representatives of UN Funds,

Programmes and Agencies at End of ECOSOC's Operational Activities Segment

A Representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said the plenary discussions had gone against the normal practice, following two days of panels and the discussion, but ECOSOC had benefited from this format.  The draft resolution was still being worked out, but the general outline was ready.  The many issues raised by Member States would be taken up in the context of the ongoing reform of harmonization and simplification of UNICEF.  He reiterated the point that core resources were the bedrock of the operational activities of the United Nations for international development.  He welcomed that emphasis had been put on evaluation, capacity-building and the Millennium Development Goals, and the link between these goals and the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers during discussions.  This indicated that the triennial policy review would be both important and interesting.

A Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) commended the Council President’s remarks on the necessity for complementarity between the United Nations system and the World Bank.  Those concerns voiced regarding a possible subordination of UNDP programming to the OECD/DAC were unsubstantiated due to the nature of UNDP’s programmes.  UNDP was also grateful for the delegate of Pakistan’s suggestion for the harmonization of non-core funding at the country level with Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), and acknowledged, in accordance with Morocco and Tunisia, that the World Solidarity Fund’s Trust Fund had indeed been established.  It was important that those resources allocated to the Trust Fund not represent a diversion of Official Development Assistance (ODA).  As soon as these resources became available, the governance and awareness functions of the Fund would be set up.

A Representative of the World Food Programme (WFP) said that many delegates had underscored the importance of harmonization and simplification.  In this connection, he reiterated the steps currently being taken by WFP for these purposes.  Today more than 500 million people suffered from chronic malnutrition and poor people died everyday from the lack of food.  One of the objectives of the Millennium Declaration had been to reduce the level of poverty by 50 per cent.  This would require an increase of funds and resources.  The process went beyond harmonization, which on its own would mean close to nothing without additional resources.

KUNIO WAKI, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said that the statements had been very encouraging, particularly with regard to the importance placed upon the provision of core funding.  There had also been much progress in the area of harmonization and simplification.  He was to depart tomorrow for Africa, in order to discuss the harmonization of projects in terms of the fight against HIV/AIDS and drought, among other issues. 

PATRIZIO CIVILI,Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, concluded the afternoon’s discussion by thanking delegations for their constructive comments during the debate.  Preparations for next year would build on the views expressed during these last few days.  He hoped the triennial policy review would be the most productive and important review.

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