GOVERNMENTS’ PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ESSENTIAL PUBLIC SERVICES STRESSED BY SPEAKERS IN SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION DEBATE

Commission for Social Development                          

Forty-Second Session                                       

4^th & 5^th Meetings (AM & PM)

GOVERNMENTS’ PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ESSENTIAL PUBLIC SERVICES

STRESSED BY SPEAKERS IN SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION DEBATE

Aware that vulnerable people, especially in developing countries, faced a raft of socio-economic struggles, speakers in the Commission for Social Development today stressed that governments had the primary responsibility of ensuring the effective delivery of essential public services, such as access to food, health care and education, to all people.

Concluding its general discussion on the session’s priority theme, improving public sector effectiveness, delegates emphasized that in providing quality public services there was no substitute for active and efficient government intervention.  The provision of social services was the foundation of the State’s obligation to its people, and reform of public sector structures should be carried out with the overall objective of meeting the needs of all segments of society, especially the most vulnerable, speakers noted.

Highlighting the link between an effective public sector and tangible social development, Switzerland’s representative said it was up to States and governments to set framework conditions to ensure a focus on human rights, access to education, health care, natural resources, and other vital social services, particularly for minorities.  While decentralization, privatization, opening up markets and partnerships were all viable options, governments had to choose the best paths for their respective societies.  The international community also had a responsibility, however, to enhance public-sector efficiency.  Working together, developed and developing countries could promote good governance and transparency in all sectors and at all levels.

Describing his country’s efforts to improve its public sector, China’s representative said that, as his country had moved from a planned to a socialist market economy, the Government had carried out public sector reforms to meet growing socio-economic development.  To achieve balanced socio-economic development, the Government had increased its investment in public service networks.  Prudent policies had also been adopted to encourage private enterprises to enter public service areas.  Through competition and complementarity, Chinese society could enjoy the enhanced benefits of better services.

Noting that the Republic of Korea had been undergoing a reform of its public sector in the wake of a financial crisis, that country’s delegate said her Government had used a period of economic hardship as an opportunity to rid the public and private sectors of “chronic irregularities”.  In the process of

restructuring, ensuring the welfare of the people most severely affected by the economic crisis had been the Government’s priority.  Creating jobs and enhancing productivity had become imperative, not just for economic recovery, but also for the welfare of everyday people.

Comparing the ability of impoverished nations to provide adequate social services to the “chicken and egg” argument, the representative of the Philippines stressed the need for international cooperation to improve public sector effectiveness.  The heart of the public sector’s role, especially for developing countries, was eradicating poverty, which was the starkest manifestation of the lack of social development.  Strengthened international cooperation would provide the critical support needed for genuine social development.  

Mali’s Minister for Social Development, Solidarity and Elderly Persons noted that the development policies of the last two decades, which had focused on budgetary discipline, had severely hampered her country’s ability to serve its people.  Budget deficits, together with mounting debt burdens, had limited progress in the area of social development.  In developing countries, individuals were daily incapacitated by natural disasters, armed conflicts and poverty.  “In reality, developing countries had been asked to do more with less”, she said.

Noting that there were no “quick fixes” or models that could be universally adopted, India’s representative said each country, in its pursuit of increasing public sector effectiveness, would have to find its own equilibrium.  Instead of a segregated public and private sector approach, the delivery of public services through a “partnership” approach was gaining ground.  Governments, especially those wedded to strong democratic traditions, could neither have a completely minimalist nor entirely dominant role.

Also participating in today’s discussion were the representatives of Iran, Jamaica, Guatemala, Indonesia, Libya, El Salvador, South Africa, Thailand, Senegal, Russian Federation, United States, United Republic of Tanzania, Viet Nam, Sudan, Azerbaijan, Ghana and Nigeria.

Representatives of the United Nations Office on Crime and Drugs, the World Bank, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also spoke.

The Permanent Observer for the Sovereign Military Order of Malta also made a statement, as did representatives from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, the Triglav Circle and the International Council of Psychologists.

The Commission will meet again at 10 a.m. Friday, 6 February, to begin its discussion on the review of relevant United Nations plans and programmes of action pertaining to the situation of social groups.

Background

The Commission for Social Development met this morning to continue its forty-second session.  [For background information on the session, see Press Release SOC/4636 of 3 February 2004.]

Statements

NASROLLAH KAZEMI KAMYAB (Iran) said there was no doubt that an efficient public sector paved the way for a society’s advancement towards sound and balanced development in the social, economic and environmental fields.  It also ensured that marginalized or vulnerable communities had equitable access to basic social services and protections.  Polices aiming at enhancing the efficiency of the social sector should be strengthened by the joint efforts of respective governments, judiciary and parliaments, he said, stressing that in the absence of a solid regulatory foundation -– legal and judiciary procedures to support implementation and enforcement -- public sector efficiency could not be achieved.

Furthermore, relevant policies needed to be integrated in a country’s long-term and strategic planning initiatives, he said.  At the same time, formulation and enforcement of anti-corruption laws, raising public awareness, enhancing transparency of public sector work, public opinion polling and establishing a system of incentives for workers in the sector were among the ways its efficiency could be enhanced.  He added that, without creative, dedicated and well-educated managers, efforts to improve the sector would remain elusive.  His Government had taken various steps to improve the performance of its public agencies and institutions by adopting, among other things, a series of performance-based indicators for its ministries and public-sector servants, and formulating anti-corruption and anti-discrimination measures.

Turning to the Secretary-General’s report, he said Iran concurred that international trade agreements, including Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and those related to the liberalization of such services as health care, had wide implications for the effective functioning of the public sector.  And since trade played a pivotal role in generating resources for social development, it was clear that countries without an equitable share in international markets would find it hard, if not impossible, to improve their respective public sectors.

He went on to say that the Secretary-General’s proposals on observance of the tenth anniversary of the Year of the Family could be strengthened with more United Nations involvement, particularly through consultations and elaborating the consequences of poverty, drugs and unemployment on the stability of families.  On disabled persons, he said Iran would prefer a more holistic approach to the issue by addressing root causes, as well as measures through which it could be dealt effectively.

KANG KYUNG-WHA (Republic of Korea) said the priority theme was of particular relevance to her Government, which was currently in the process of implementing far-reaching public sector reforms to better serve the people.  Social welfare was a major component of services provided by the public sector.  In late 1997, the Republic of Korea had been hit by a foreign currency crisis that plunged the nation into economic hardship.  The Government had used the crisis as an opportunity to rid the public and private sectors of chronic irregularities that had hampered their effectiveness.  In the process of restructuring, the Government had made ensuring the welfare of the people most severely affected by the economic crisis a priority.  It had introduced the National Basic Livelihood Security System, a framework for ensuring access across all socio-economic classes to a minimum standard of living.

She said the focus now had shifted from expanding the coverage and benefits of welfare to improving the effectiveness of welfare programmes and to enlisting the voluntary involvement of public sector workers in the reform process.  The active participation of civil society was being sought throughout the process as key to the successful implementation of social welfare programmes.  A new consensus was emerging in the Republic of Korea, in which distribution of growth, welfare and economic development were seen to be complementary, rather than at odds with each other.  In the wake of the 1997 financial crisis, the country had experienced a widening gap between rich and poor amidst massive lay-offs and increasing wage differences between industries.  Creating jobs and enhancing productivity became imperative, not just for economic recovery but also for the welfare of everyday people.

The expansion of the social welfare sector had meant the creation of new employment opportunities, she continued.  The complementary conceptualization of welfare and growth had strengthened the basis for the Government to secure increased financing for the welfare sector in coming years.  Greater power over the delivery of services would be transferred to local governments that managed frontline service workers.  Each government must mobilize its resources and capacity to solidify the public sector and enhance its ability to provide quality social services.  The international community could help in building national and local capacity through the sharing of information and experiences.

ZHANG YISHAN (China) said improving public sector effectiveness was a real and positive way to enhance social development and briefed the Commission on his country’s efforts in that area.  He said that since 1978, China had maintained a steady rate of economic growth and marked improvement in the welfare of its people.  Along with this, the country had moved from a planned to a socialist market economy; and to meet growing socio-economic development needs, the Government had carried out public sector reforms, including, among others, placing a high priority on transforming the sectors’ functions and rationalizing its structures so that limited public resources could be put to better use.

In order to achieve coordinated and balanced social and economic development, China had also continued to increase its investment in the public service networks, he said.  Active and prudent policies had also been adopted to encourage private enterprises to enter public service areas.  Various methods had been introduced, including franchise management and public bidding.  Through competition and complementarity, better services would be produced so that the society and general public could enjoy enhanced benefits.

He added that China had also taken steps to prevent abuse of power and corruption by building up its legal system and strengthening legal supervision, among other things.  With all that in mind, China would stress, however, that international cooperation could also play a key role as all States worked to improve public sector effectiveness and exchanges of views between relevant United Nations agencies and civil society groups was crucial.

FAITH INNERARITY (Jamaica) said the effective functioning of public sector institutions was central to meeting society’s needs.  With the implementation of structural adjustment programmes and the introduction of deregulation, liberalization and privatization policies, “downsizing” of public institutions had become a popular prescription for developing countries.  The triumph of the free market and advent of globalization were seen by many as requiring “leaner” governments.  Growing inequities within and between countries, financial crises, increasing poverty and social instability were factors that had combined to foster new thinking on the role of government, as well as the need to include a social policy agenda while pursuing fiscal policies.  There was much greater consensus that a good macroeconomic policy framework, while necessary, was not in and of itself a sufficient condition for development.

The current global context made it even more imperative to develop policies to promote strong and effective State institutions, she said.  Equality, social justice and access of the poor to services were inextricably linked with the performance of the State apparatus.   The Government of Jamaica had since the early 1990s accelerated action on programmes to reform the public sector.  The overall focus of the reform had been on improved accountability, transparency and increased access to better quality services, while the underlying objective had been to strengthen and position the public sector to effectively respond to local need and changes in the global environment.

In spite of national and global achievements, many challenges remained, she said.  The Commission’s task was not only to have meaningful deliberations on critical issues, but also to recommend concrete actions to support the way forward.  Diverse country experiences and the type of policies adopted must be suitable to local conditions.  However, that did not negate the fact that there were broad guidelines -- such as equity, accessibility, quality, productivity, accountability and transparency that were essential elements of any reform process.  “The bottom line of government accounting and accountability should be the profit and progress of humanity as a whole”, she added.

PIERRE HELG (Switzerland) said as the international community stressed the need to improve the effectiveness of public sectors and public works, all should remember that it was up to the respective States and governments to set framework conditions to ensure a focus on human rights, access to education, health care, natural resources, and other vital social services, particularly for minorities.  Decentralization, privatization, opening up markets and partnerships were all viable options, but governments must choose the best paths for their respective societies.  Governments must also make sure that their efforts in the area were carried out in light of the need to ultimately ensure implementation of the major United Nations international conferences and meetings of the past decade.

Economic players from the private sector working in public forums must also do their utmost to see that those commitments were met, he continued.  There also remained a broad scope of action to be taken by the international community in order to enhance public sector efficiency.  Among other things, developed and developing countries must step up -- together -- to promote good governance and transparency in all sectors and at all levels.  With that in mind, he proposed that the Commission seriously consider setting up a working group that could be responsible for reporting on and monitoring good practices to ensure public sector efficiency, and to contribute to the development of criteria for measuring such efficiency, all with an eye on the Millennium Development Goals and international human rights goals.  The Commission should also endeavour to set out clear-cut guidelines for all United Nations activities in the area.

RUDY ALBERTO GOMEZ (Guatemala) said his country was pursuing reconstruction of its public sector to address numerous social demands, including stability of consumer prices, promotion of a rural development strategy, the improvement of public investment, full employment, education, health and housing.  The reform involved a profound transformation.  Meeting the challenge of effectiveness was not limited to public employment, but also encompassed what the State had to do.  A culture of public effectiveness, centred on accountability and clearly defined roles, must prevail.  Another factor was the need for democratic participation so that the public was able to identify with State institutions.  The country needed a comprehensive vision on a medium-term basis.

A means to evaluate public policies was also needed, he said.  Institutions had to define their priorities.  The Government of Guatemala had committed to budgetary reform and rationalizing spending.  That was made possible by strict control of public spending and by modernizing the tax and customs administrations.  In view of constraints on economic resources, the new Government was promoting a systematic policy to reduce waste and direct expenditures to the sectors in the greatest need.  Sound financing of public expenditures had not yet been obtained, however.  The current Government had made it clear that social investment in education and health would be the basis for the country’s sustainable development.  Institutional modernization should be based on efficient management and user-oriented services.

IAG WESAKA PUJA (Indonesia) said that his country, standing proudly as the world’s third largest democracy, believed that the government had the primary responsibility for providing all segments of society with comprehensive and quality social services in order to improve social development and social justice.  Indonesia was currently in the midst of building and strengthening its institutions for good governance, and the challenge was to ensure that democracy worked and delivered real benefits to the people of the country.  Enhancing public sector efficiency was, therefore, a vital priority.  He added that all governments had the duty to create the necessary social development policies, including those for the public sector, to ensure that the needs of their respective populations could be met in a timely, cost-effective, reliable, accountable and equitable manner.

The resources available for enhancing social services and public works in many developing countries were often limited, he said.  Such constraints made international cooperation an invaluable asset for many governments, and Indonesia believed that such cooperation, coming from the United Nations system, international financial institutions and the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as from Member States was critical for developing countries, particularly in the area of financing and human resources development.  He added that the Commission could provide governments with a forum in which they could exchange ideas and explore various ways to create an enabling international environment to facilitate public sector improvements.

Turing to the issue of ageing, he said Indonesia was committed to the implementation of the 2002 Madrid Plan of Action on Ageing and the 1999 Macao Plan of Action on Ageing for Asia and the Pacific.  The country recognized the need to create an enabling environment for older persons and had taken strides to strengthen family-oriented initiatives and to promote the participation of communities and older persons themselves in creating a more comprehensive network to address their concerns.  On persons with disabilities, Indonesia believed that equal opportunity required not only institutional strengthening and capacity-building, but also cooperation and partnerships at national and international levels to support disabled persons.

MARIE YVETTE L. BANZON (Philippines) said the heart of the public sector’s role, especially for developing countries, was eradicating poverty, which was the starkest manifestation of the lack of social development.  It had been said that efforts by developing and least developed countries to eradicate poverty was a “chicken and egg” situation.  To address the problem, strengthened international cooperation would provide the critical support needed for genuine social development.  While the task of improving the public sector remained primarily incumbent on governments, it could only be accomplished when all actors, including civil society, the international community, the United Nations and international organizations contributed to an environment conducive to a better quality of life for all.

Given the importance of an effective public sector, the Philippines had embarked on a programme to re-engineer bureaucracy and improve governance, she said.  The programme embodied the overall strategy of the Government for improving service delivery and strengthening institutional capacity.  It also rationalized the distribution of functions among government agencies and boosted public and private partnerships.  Programmes to ensure prudent spending, reform accounting and auditing procedures and eliminate corruption had been implemented to enable the public sector to respond to the needs of communities.

She said the dynamics of globalization presented issues that were increasingly hard to ignore.  Many challenges had been identified with the movement of capital and progress in technology and information, but by far the most serious challenges were those associated with human mobility.  Migration had a human face and the international community had a moral imperative to urgently address its related problems and to allow people, as they moved across borders, to fully enjoy their human rights.  The reluctance of many countries to convene an international conference to discuss migration and development needed to be discussed more openly.  International migration needed to be seen through a social lens, not only because of its effect on the social fabric of countries involved, but also because it was about the well-being of people.  The international community was, at best, inching its way towards concrete action to address the issues of international migration.  The Commission should be a venue for further dialogue among governments on the issue, she added.

AHMED Y.Y. GZLLAL (Libya) said that while all were aware that the responsibility for social development fell to States, it was important to recognize that creating an equitable international environment was critical to that aim.  Opening markets of developed countries to developing country products was key in that regard, as well as promoting international cooperation on global social issues, such as eradicating disease and fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic.  Strengthening transfer of technology initiatives and the reduction of poverty -- in line with the Millennium Development Goals -- were equally critical, he added, recalling the Secretary-General’s recent assertion that international steps towards fulfilling those important objectives had been meagre.

Libya, he went on, had developed a broad range of social sector initiatives which had taken into consideration, among other things, gender equality and enhancing the role of women in development.  It had been successful in providing free health care and education, job creation and the provision of housing and clean water.  At the same time, however, sanctions on the country had negatively effected economic development and the Government had, therefore, moved to step up its efforts to improve Libya’s public sector.  Among other things, Libya had focused on the principle of sharing gains and moved to increase foreign investment, which would give rise to cooperation and overcome many obstacles to development.  Highlighting the importance of such initiatives as New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), he added that developed and developing countries must also cooperate to ensure social development for all.

N’DIAYE FATOUMATA COULIBALY, Minister for Social Development, Solidarity and Elderly Peoples of Mali, said that the concept of development policies, some 20 years ago, had been based on the streamlining of the public sector.  The implementation of that policy had led to budgetary disciplinary measures to reduce the public sector.  For developing countries, budget deficits, together with mounting debt burdens, had limited progress in the area of social development.  In reality, developing countries had been asked to do more with less.  She was heartened that the debate focused on ways to enhance the efficiency of public institutions in order to contribute to the implementation of international objectives.  The improvement of public sector efficiency was a condition of social development that required greater international cooperation.

Agriculture was the driving force of Mali’s development, she said.  In Mali, economic and social development was driven by agriculture, with some 80 per cent of the population living in rural areas.  Unfortunately, the African cotton sector was encountering great difficulties on the world market, due to subsidies for European and American cotton growers.  Mali had undertaken the necessary reforms to ensure the wise use of public resources.  With the establishment of a comprehensive democracy, local leaders had been given greater responsibility.  The Government had also been combating corruption.  Equality of access to social services and improvement in the quality of services were a constant concern to the authorities.  The Government, to promote high quality work, had committed to a transparent recruitment policy.  Incentives had been created to increase the retirement age.  Within the framework of modernization, reform of the status of the civil service was under way.

In developing countries, individuals each day were incapacitated by natural disasters, armed conflicts and poverty, she said.  Of the over 500 million disabled people worldwide, half of them lived in the developing world.  Mali supported the international impetus for drafting an international convention for the promotion and protection of rights of people with disabilities.  She hoped the trend would be further strengthened.

ANA HAZEL ESCRICH (El Salvador) acknowledged the crucial responsibility of governments to ensure the implementation of the 1995 Copenhagen World Summit on Social Development and stressed that that could only be accomplished through good governance.  El Salvador’s efforts to improve its public sector and relevant services had included, among other things, promoting dialogue with the citizens and management in both public and private sectors, and ensuring the rule of law.  All the Government’s initiatives responded to wide-ranging changes under way in the country, which was striving to modernize and reform its institutions with respect to democracy and to ensure economic and social development.

Still, the social sector faced expected challenges as the country emerged from years of armed conflict and continued to struggle with the effects of recent earthquakes and other natural disasters.  But, El Salvador continued to work for the betterment of its people, reducing poverty and making investments in social services.  It had made strides in the areas of education and health, although increased spending in the sector was not enough.  She stressed that the Government had also worked to reduce inflation, current government spending and external debt.  El Salvador also placed a priority on inter-ministerial coordination to promote enhanced social services.

The Government also believed that proper administration of resources for development was necessary in efforts to improve the public sector.  While many reforms had been achieved, many challenges remained, she said.  One challenging area was that of social justice.  Real judicial reforms were necessary and the Commission was an ideal forum in which and the fight against corruption and judicial enhancements could be discussed.  Such a dialogue could also highlight best practices and ways in which limited resources could be used to improve the public sector.

DUMISANI S. KUMALO (South Africa) said the session came at a time when South Africa was celebrating 10 years of democracy.  Parallel to the process of delivering services was the obligation to transform a public service that was previously fragmented to suit the objectives of the former apartheid system.  The nationwide campaign -- called “Batho Pele”, or “People First” -- aimed at enhancing the quality and accessibility of government services.  The principles of Batho Pele formed the basis of the Government’s approach to service delivery.

Continuing, he said South Africa was part of a continental transformation of public systems taking place under the African Union, which included:  institutional development; knowledge and policy innovation; and partnership support.  The bulk of the work was being done under the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), which was aimed at addressing in a comprehensive manner the socio-economic programmes of the continent.  Africa’s experience confirmed the central role of the State in implementing programmes and policies aimed at those that most needed help.  South Africa’s Government had chosen collective planning and implementation of programmes and services by all Government departments and stakeholders to meet the key development and service challenges facing the country, he said.

The delivery of services was at the core of eradicating poverty and inequality, thereby restoring dignity, safety and security of all citizens, he said.  The delivery of social grants to South Africa’s people had proven to be more efficient as a result of the transformation of Government services.  Currently, social grants being administered by the Department of Social Development targeted pensioners, poor families with children, war veterans, children in foster care and aid for families taking care of children in need, including those orphaned by HIV/AIDS.  While coordinated budgeting and planning was well under way, there remained the challenge of including local government within the budgeting and planning cycles of Government as a whole.  Although most poor communities were able to participate in the formal political process, they lacked locally organized power to assist in establishing priorities in service delivery needs.

The current session of the Commission had a major responsibility towards ensuring that the review of the Copenhagen Summit remained the focus, he added.  The issue of the forthcoming review would be an important milestone, as it would provide an opportunity to measure progress on the delivery of services both nationally and internationally.

LUCI HBRKOVA, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, drew the Commission’s attention to the world body’s two international conventions -- against Transnational Organized Crime, and against Corruption -- which could help Member States defend their economic and social development agendas from the ravages of those offences.  While most development actors were reluctant to address the issue, believing that law enforcement experts were better suited to the task, criminal activities such as drug trafficking, bribery, misappropriation of funds and trafficking of women and children were, in fact, serious challenges to social development concerns, such as ensuring good governance and the rule of law.

The Convention on Transnational Organized Crime, which entered into force last September, placed a legal obligation on Member States to take specific measures to cooperate to thwart the activities of criminal networks, money laundering and obstruction of justice.  That instrument’s Protocol on Trafficking in Human Beings required actions to make that practice a criminal offence, to prosecute offenders and to protect victims.  Meanwhile, the Convention against Corruption, adopted by the General Assembly this fall, was the first legally binding global instrument on that scourge.

She said that adoption and ratification of those conventions was a beginning, but only a beginning.  It was important for Member States to ensure that their criminal justice and legal systems were sufficiently robust to face those challenges.  Tackling organized crime meant having effective criminal intelligence systems, machinery to trace and size proceeds of criminal acts and programmes to protect witnesses.  Tackling corruption meant having effective strategies to counter graft, as well as transparent national accounting and comprehensive asset discloser by officials.  Those goals could not be achieved without effective political leadership at the national level, and civil society support, together with cross-boarder cooperation.

JUDITH A. EDSTROM, Sector Manager, Social Development, World Bank, said key institutional constraints stood in the way of addressing the multidimensional nature of poverty, including an absence of good governance, public sector effectiveness, accountability and participatory processes.  A public sector that effectively ensured that citizens had needed public services was central to fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals.  In 2000, the Bank had issued its governance strategy entitled “Reforming Public Institutions and Strengthening Governance”.  The strategy focused both on public sector effectiveness and stemming corruption, which was identified as a major inhibitor of development and a crippling tax on the poor.  The strategy reflected attention to the “demand” side of reform and included pragmatic initiatives that sought “entry points” and “good fit” for governance reform in the areas of anti-corruption, public expenditure management, civil service reform, judicial reform, tax policy and administration, decentralization, e-government and public service delivery.

As governments undertook their national development or poverty reduction strategies, they had to consider those governance reforms in a regulatory framework, which integrated economic and social sector concerns, she said.  The Bank now lent some $5 billion a year for institutional reform.  Lending to projects supporting core public sector reform accounted for some 12.3 per cent of Bank lending in fiscal year 2003, up from 0.06 per cent in 1980.  The Bank’s 2004 World Development Report argued that services could be improved by strengthening the relationships of accountability among clients, providers and policy makers.  That could be done by putting poor people at the centre of service provision, by enabling the poor to monitor and discipline service providers, by amplifying their voice in policy-making and by strengthening the incentives for providers to serve the poor.  Solutions must be tailored not to some imaginary “best practice”, but to the realities of the country, town or village.

The Bank had invested significant resources in strengthening its tools for institutional analysis and assessment to underpin country programmes, she said.  The Bank’s strategic directions with regard to social development were based on the pillars of inclusion, cohesion and accountability.

ENCHO GOSPODINOV, of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said public sector engagement remained indispensable for the world’s most vulnerable populations.  The experiences of the Federation revealed, among other things in this area, that in many countries around the world the poor could not send their children to schools or pay for health services without public sector support.  Disasters often aggravated socio-economic vulnerabilities and poor communities could not provide much-needed food, aid, shelter or sanitation on their own.

There was no viable alternative to the public sector for providing social services, and governments, therefore, had the obligation to safeguard the well-being of their citizens in health and education and in the provision of food and shelter, he continued.  The Federation strongly believed that services needed to be as efficient as possible.  Internally mobilized resources, however meagre they were, and externally provided assistance should be carefully deployed for the benefit of all people.  Every penny counted in building a future, of and for, much-needed skilled and healthy people, who would, in turn, attract investment, especially in the developing world.  Organizations responsible for dispensing public funds must remain transparent and accountable for their decisions and actions and stakeholders must be consulted before final decisions were made.

He went on to say that it was also imperative for governments in the developing world to work in partnership with other governments, United Nations agencies, other international organizations, and civil society to make a difference in the lives of the most vulnerable.  National red cross/red crescent societies had been, and would continue to be, willing partners to governments.  Along with the primary responsibility of acting as auxiliary to the public authorities of respective countries in the humanitarian field, the Federation’s role had evolved somewhat to encompass health and social needs.  Virtually all the Federation’s national organs had programmes in the social service delivery field, which were either managed in direct partnership with government agencies or which operated within the purview of government programmes, with a view to meeting the needs of disadvantaged or vulnerable groups.

SONIA ELLIOT, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), said the HIV/AIDS pandemic remained one of the most serious threats to mankind today.  It was eroding human security and productivity, undermining economic development and social safety nets, reversing decades of gain in education, health and life expectancy, placing a strain on national institutions and resources and threatening social cohesion.  The role of the public sector and public policy in addressing persistent challenges was significant.  For too many countries, however, building a functioning public sector was a significant challenge.  The resource challenge was particularly relevant to global efforts against AIDS, since in the most affected countries there was a lack of critical mass of resources not only for the delivery of effective services, but also to expand the scale of those services.

In the education sector, there was a strong case for increasing investment in basic education to help reduce the risks of people, especially young people to HIV/AIDS, she said.  The 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS had dedicated significant attention to the manner in which the public sector in its varied roles and functions could respond to the pandemic.  There was a call for governments to adjust and adapt policies, including social protection polices, to address the impact of HIV/AIDS on economic growth.  The UNAIDS was committed to supporting governments in building and strengthening public sector effectiveness to address HIV/AIDS.

LAXANACHANTORN LAOHAPHAN (Thailand) agreed with other speakers that governments bore the primary responsibility in promoting national socio-economic development and providing social services, and that effective public sector reform was a must for fulfilling that obligation.  But, she also stressed that, while efforts in that regard were being pursued at the national level, at the international level public sector issues must also be addressed.  To that end, a favourable international economic environment was crucial, particularly to help developing countries bolster public services towards poverty eradication and sustained social development.

There was a real need for sound and coherent macroeconomic policies, enhancement of international trade flows and the promotion of good governance and the rule of law, she continued, adding that cooperation was needed to help smaller countries combat myriad transborder threats to development, such as HIV/AIDS and drug trafficking.  International cooperation should also be promoted in the area of human and institutional capacity-building.  And while there was no single model for an effective public sector, Thailand believed it would be useful for countries to continue to exchange experiences and best practices.

Turning to Thailand’s experience with public sector reform, she said the Government had placed a priority on pursuing social and economic development, as well as implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.  “Lifting people out of poverty is our national agenda”, she added, saying Thailand worked to ensure its people’s access to public services, health, education and housing.  The country’s five-year strategic plan for the development of its bureaucracy (2003-2007) called for changes not only to the administrative framework of the public sector, but also its overall process and methods of work.  The objective was to achieve a public sector with better service quality, higher performance and more democratic governance.  She added that a new approach had also been implemented to promote effective leadership and management in the public sector.

A. GOPINATHAN (India) said effective governance had been recognized as one of the most crucial determinants for rapid and sustained growth and socio-economic development.  Governance related to the management of all such processes that, in any society, defined the environment which enabled individuals to raise their capability levels, on the one hand, and provide opportunities to realize their full potential, on the other.  Effectiveness applied to the State, to the civil society and to the market, each of which was critical for nurturing human development.  The issue of improving public sector effectiveness had to be addressed at multiple levels.  Governments, especially those wedded to strong democratic traditions, could neither have a completely minimalist nor entirely dominant role.

Effective governance in the globalized world had to be built on the basis of a participatory approach, where governance became a joint endeavour of government agencies and the civil society, he said.  Instead of a segregated public and private sector approach, the delivery of public services through a “partnership” approach was gaining ground.  A key challenge for his Government was to provide adequate social security and social safety nets to vulnerable sections of the population affected by the process of industrial restructuring necessitated by globalization.  Effective governance in India’s national context faced new problems and challenges, including creating a citizen-friendly administration and developing result-oriented systems.

Increasing public sector effectiveness through privatization and decentralization was closely related to the efficient use of resources, particularly in developing countries, he said.  Even where the “welfare State” concept of government was generally accepted, private initiatives had gained importance in areas where the public sector was earlier considered necessary.  The philosophy of privatization rested on the principle that the States should take over the mantle of a facilitator, instead of being a producer of goods and services.  There were no models, however, that could be adopted universally, nor any quick fixes to the major challenge.  Increasing public sector effectiveness would have to find its own equilibrium in each country.

AWA GUEYE KEBE, Minister for Family, Solidarity and Social Development of Senegal, said the success of policies to combat poverty and improve the living condition of the people of any country would require a strong and effective social sector.  With that in mind, Senegal had increased its support of social services at all levels, with total expenditures to reach as high as 40 per cent by next year.  Spending on primary education would also be significantly increased, and funds for the health-care sector would increase to about 10 per cent of the Government’s overall budget by next year.  She added that consultations between public- and private-sector actors had also begun, in order to promote competition in some areas.

Efforts to ensure the rule of law and transparency were also under way in such areas as improving the financing of social projects, intensifying the fight against corruption and making relevant information on those and other initiatives known to the public.  Furthermore, considering that good governance was a question of attitude, Senegal had started a series of programmes aimed at changing people’s attitudes at the grass-roots level.  Initiatives focused on the transfer of powers and decision-making to local authorities for matters in the social arena, like property management and civil disputes, had also begun.

She went on to say that local taxation had also been promoted in an attempt to improve the lives of people at the community level.  Poverty eradication studies were also under way to strengthen decentralization and local development in all communities.  Senegal had also placed a high priority on improving the lives of women, children, elderly, disabled, and people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS.  The Government had convened an inter-ministerial council on persons with disabilities, stressing improving their mobility, among other things.  Finally, she said that Senegal would continue to work towards development and African unity and would encourage other African nations to make use of the positive benefits of NEPAD, particularly towards creating a digital development fund in order to bridge the information technology gap throughout the continent.

ANDREY NIKIFOROV (Russian Federation) said the development of market relations and the liberalization of economic policy had lead to a diminished regulatory role on the part of the State.  The economy was only one part of a State system, however.  The transition to market relations had been completed in the Russian Federation.  Now, the country faced the challenge of reconciling economic and market growth with social services.  Economic growth must exist to enhance the well-being of its citizens.  An important part of the State’s policy was fighting poverty and enhancing the protection of the socially vulnerable.  The challenge was providing legislation for the reforms.  The adoption of a new labour code and a code for pensions was a major step forward. 

Large-scale privatisation must not lead to a diminished effectiveness of the State sector, he said.  Gross domestic product (GDP) had increased and in real terms the average monthly pension had almost doubled.  There had been a step-by-step reorganization of the entire public sector system with a view to aligning it to the changed economy.  A major priority was the enhancement of State services.  The priority of social policies was equalizing economic opportunity and strengthening social mobility through education and entrepreneurship.  There was also a need to strengthen cooperation among civil society structures in providing social services.  In 2004, the Government would focus on the reform of the health-care system, pension reforms and reorganization of the social insurance system.  Plans were under way to create a uniform, nationwide database for the social insurance system.

The Russian Federation favoured expanding international cooperation in the social sphere, he said.  The technological aspects of globalization must not eclipse the importance of social progress.  A balanced integration of economic and social policy was needed at all levels.

SICHAN SIV (United States) said that in 1995, at the Copenhagen World Summit for Social Development, world leaders had agreed that eradicating poverty was the greatest global challenge.  The United States was helping nations fight poverty and better meet the most urgent needs of their families.  At the 2002 International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Monterrey, Mexico, United States President George W. Bush had called for a new compact for global development that would link greater contributions from developed countries to greater responsibilities from developing ones.

To that end, the work of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which had held its inaugural board meeting earlier this week, would reflect the notion that the international community had learned important lessons on development, he continued.  Global actors now understood that a growth-based approach to development assistance worked best, and that true partnership between donors and developing countries increased the impact of development aid.  Measurable, tangible results mattered, he added, stressing that that was why the Corporation would support poor countries that had adopted growth-promoting governance and economic policies, and that invested in their people.

He went on to say that the Commission’s theme this year on improving public sector effectiveness “got to the heart of the matter”.  To make such improvements, governments must uphold the rule of law, eradicate corruption and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms.  They must invest in the education and health of their people, open markets, implement sound fiscal policies and provide strong support for private enterprise.  Experience had shown that when governments improved the public sector, economies grew, productivity increased and people were lifted out of poverty.  By tying increased assistance to performance, the Millennium Challenge Account would help nations break the cycle of poverty that plagued so many parents and children throughout the world.

AUGUSTINE MAHIGA (United Republic of Tanzania) said that in times of globalization when the liberation of market forces reigned supreme and privatization of enterprises was the conventional economic creed, it was necessary to define and reaffirm the irreducible role of the public sector in providing and regulating basic social services.  The guiding benchmark for gauging public sector effectiveness should be the establishment by governments of a framework and guidelines for its involvement in the provision of social services.  Equally important was the extent to which governments remained responsive and accountable to their people on the social dimensions of globalization by allowing enough space for equitable provision of vital social services.

He said the starting point in the debate on improving public sector effectiveness should be availability of resources.  Effectiveness, important as it should be, was a secondary management issue.  Developing countries faced a double challenge in resource mobilization for public investment in social services.  The first challenge was internal constraints in optimizing revenue generation and supervisory mechanisms to ensure accountability in managing public revenue.  The second challenge was the built-in constraints in the international economic structures and rules on trade, debt, investment and aid conditionalities that militated against viable and sustainable development.

The attainment of the Millennium Development Goals required heavy investment in support infrastructure and services for effective delivery of social services in the areas of education, health care, water and sanitation.  The increased role of the public sector was inevitable, as was the need to strengthen public-private sector partnership.  Issues of good governance, especially the fight against corruption, should be high on the agenda.  The capacity of local level governance structures must also be enhanced, so that they could track expenditures for effective delivery of social services at that level.

NGO DUC THANG (Viet Nam) said the public sector played an important role in providing equitable, adequate and accessible social services to all, especially people living in poverty.  National governments should constantly strive to improve public sector effectiveness through sound social and economic development policies.  Experience has shown that there was no “one size fits all” solution.  Approaches to improving public sector effectiveness should take into account the country’s specific socio-economic and cultural context.  In Viet Nam, improving the effectiveness of the public sector was considered a crucial instrument for carrying out the State’s national five-year plan for socio-economic development for the period 2001-2005.

In the past years, with the improvement of the public sector’s effectiveness, Viet Nam had made some progress in economic, social and cultural development, he said.  The economic growth rate was expected to be at some 8 per cent for the period 2004-2005.  Longevity had been improved, illiteracy eradicated and primary education universalized.  From 2001 to 2003, some 4.3 million jobs had been created, reducing unemployment to some 5.8 per cent.  Viet Nam had reduced the number of poor households by some 50 per cent and had been noted by the United Nations as the first country to achieve the Millennium Development Goal in poverty eradication.

Mr. MADAMI (Sudan) said that as his country began to finally see the beginnings of peace take shape, it had initiated an important series of programmes aimed at rehabilitating and enhancing the social sphere, by promoting quality social services and creating an enabling environment to achieve social development.  He added that Sudan was not only interested in physical and material social development, but was making strides to ensure spiritual development.  He also stressed that the Millennium Development Goals were also paramount and Sudan looked forward to continued international assistance in that regard.

Despite many difficulties, the Sudan had, nevertheless, been able to bring about many significant changes in the social development field, such as structural adjustment reforms and other creative programmes aimed at poverty eradication and meeting the needs of the country’s vulnerable populations.  He went on to say that Sudan had established a coordinating committee to oversee efforts towards the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family. It had also taken a special interest in older persons and had adopted an initiative to integrate elderly people into the family, thus providing them the necessary environment to continue to play their important role in Sudanese society.

YASHAR ALIYEV (Azerbaijan) said the primary goal of government social policy was to establish an effective system of social security and adequate social services for promoting the well-being of the entire population.  The effective functioning of the system depended on various internal factors, ranging from a high employment level to the development of democratic institutions.  The strategic objectives of institutional reform in Azerbaijan included redefining the role of the State in the changing socio-economic environment, improving the transparency of the public administration system and promoting judicial reform.

Among the country’s priority goals was the reform of national labour legislation and the remuneration system, he said.  Providing the unemployed with job opportunities and high-quality vocational training was also among the Government’s goals.  While the country’s literacy rate was high -– about 98.8 per cent –- there were concerns about the quality of education.  To improve basic education services, the Government envisaged the implementation of several measures, including improved remuneration for teachers.  A reform of the health sector had been launched in 1998.  Significant steps were also being taken to improve the living standards for refugees and internally displaced persons.  Without the involvement of the State, social development would be impossible, he added.

MARY IMELDA AMADU, Director of Social Welfare of Ghana, said just one year before the international community’s comprehensive review of the Copenhagen Plan of Action, the world faced increased disparity between nations, deprivation, deepening poverty, social exclusion, and civil strife as never before.  It was clear that it was time to back the commitments made at Copenhagen, as well as the Millennium Summit, with urgent action in order to overcome the broad challenges to social development.  With that in mind, enhancing the effectiveness of the public sector was paramount, particularly in facilitating the provision of basic and essential services to all the peoples of the world.

She said that since the mid-1990s, Ghana had pursued two major development frameworks -– “Vision 2020” and the First Medium-Term Development Plan -– in a bid to improve its peoples’ living standards.  Besides reviewing the role of the public and private sectors in its drive for national development, Ghana’s national framework focused on economic growth, employment generation, human development, rural development, urban development and the development of an overall enabling environment.  She added that a weakening world economy, coupled with a high debt rating, had subsequently led Ghana to also develop a growth-oriented Poverty Reduction Strategy to, among other things, promote the productive sector, encourage private investment and maintain the provision of public services on the basis of sustainable revenue.

The provision of social services, particularly education and health care, had also received due attention, she said.  Ghana’s Constitution enjoined the nation to educate every child from pre-school level through primary level.  The Government was also phasing out the “cash and carry” health-care system and replacing it with a more humane and effective system of health-care financing. Consideration was also being given to a national health-insurance scheme, administered at local levels, to facilitate access to quality health services.  A concerted effort was under way to ensure good governance, transparency, justice for all, accountability and zero tolerance for corruption in both public and private sectors.

ADEKUNBI A. SONAIKE (Nigeria) said the role of the public sector was important in developing countries, where the government provided most of the essential services.  For many years, Nigeria’s Government had been the sole provider of infrastructure.  To meet the challenges of socio-economic development, the Government had elaborated a programme of economic reforms known as the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy, or NEEDS.  The programme was people-centred and aimed at strengthening governance, enhancing transparency, intensifying the fight against corruption and developing infrastructure.  It also accorded high priority to food security, agricultural development and promotion of small- and medium-scale enterprises.

Inadequate financing, however, continued to be a major obstacle to the development of African countries, such as Nigeria, she said.  The international community’s various debt-relief and debt-management initiatives had not solved the problems facing them.  The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative had not provided adequate responses to the problems of those countries, let alone to the heavily indebted middle-income countries like Nigeria, for whom no special debt-relief mechanism existed.

International financial institutions should take full account of the role and specificity of the public sector when making recommendations on macroeconomic policies, she said.  The cooperation of the government with the private sector, as well as with non-governmental organizations enhanced social development at both the national and international levels.  The international community’s support for African countries, in accordance with the principles of NEPAD, would go along way in improving public sector effectiveness.

THELMA KAY, Chief, Emerging Social Issues Division, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), said that the regional body continued to assist its 61 members and associate members to achieve their social and economic development goals.  The ESCAP also emphasized the importance of the Copenhagen Plan of Action, as well as the Millennium Development Goals and other global and regional mandates.  It had recently completed a restructuring exercise, which, in the area of social development, had focused its attention on health and development, gender and development, population, disability and ageing.

She went on to say that the family was at the core of social, cultural and economic development in the region, and in one instance ESCAP was working with non-governmental organizations in Thailand to organize a large-scale seminar and exhibit on the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family.  The Commission was also the lead agency in Asia for promoting the full participation and equality of persons with disabilities.  In October 2002, regional governments had adopted the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action towards an inclusive, barrier-free and right-based society for persons with disabilities in Asia and the Pacific.  That initiative provided guidelines and targets for action by governments, non-governmental organizations and international organizations over the next decade.

On emerging social issues, she said that international migration, particularly for employment, had expanded so rapidly that some government policies had not been able to cope with the trend.  As a result, a number of social problems had emerged, particularly since there was now the potential for migrants to be exploited for labour and for particularly vulnerable women and girls to fall victim to traffickers.  Regional commissions had a natural role to play in promoting and facilitating dialogue and agreement on migration issues, and ESCAP was prepared to work with governments in tackling the social aspects of the international phenomenon.

JOSÉ ANTONIO LINATI-BOSCH, Permanent Observer for the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, said public sector responsibilities stemmed from the imperative for the State to protect the basic needs of citizens.  Joint participation of both the public and private sectors should be encouraged to the benefit of national communities.  The domain of the public sector was broad and improving its effectiveness was highly desirable.  To reach a high level of quality and productivity, highly professionalized administration, transparent management, and democratic responsibility was imperative.

Turning to the International Year of the Family, he said that for Western civilization, the family was, according to three monotheistic religions, a natural law institution, as well as an institution of divine law.  At the United Nations, it was important to proclaim that the family was not only an object of legal regulations, but also an entity united by spiritual sentiments and love.

CECILIE GOLDEN, of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said actions to improve efficient delivery of different social services by the public sector obviously needed to be adapted to particular needs of individual countries.  Accessibility was one of the consultative elements of public sector effectiveness, and was also at the core of the Plan of Action adopted by the World Education Forum in Dakar four years ago.  The UNESCO continued to strive towards education for all, and the agency had played a constructive and collaborative role in the development of new commitments, such as the First Track initiative.

She went on to say that communication and information in public services was an important tool in promoting access to and participation in public life.  Public service broadcasting, particularly in developing countries, could be instrumental in promoting access to education and culture, developing knowledge and fostering interactions among citizens. Further, the importance of ensuring complementarities of various social services was also reflected in UNESCO’s holistic approach to development and poverty-eradication strategy.

The organization’s three interrelated objectives to that end were broadening the focus of national and international poverty-reduction strategies through introduction and mainstreaming of education, culture, sciences and communication; supporting the establishment of effective linkages between national poverty-reduction strategies and sustainable development frameworks; and contributing to national policy frameworks with a view to promoting participatory approaches.  On international cooperation to enhance public-sector effectiveness, she said a section dealing specifically with International Polices and Cooperation in Social Sciences had been established within UNESCO, which was hosting the Management of Social Transformations Programme (MOST).  That initiative was currently focusing on the betterment of research and its link to policy formation.

GEMMA ADABA, of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, said the institutionalization of social dialogue between employers, trade unions and government representatives was key.  All too often workers were faced with the loss of their jobs and livelihoods, and unsatisfactory voluntary retirement packages in the absence of any real consultative process.  When they protested, trade unions were criticized for holding the clock back on progress and modernization.  The trade union movement was not against public sector reform, but against reforms that were made without consultation with those who would be affected by the process.  Her organization had engaged in sustained advocacy in support of an approach to public-sector reform based on institutionalized social dialogue.  The discussion on public-sector effectiveness provided an opportunity to review the role of governments relative to the private sector in providing an enabling environment for economic growth with equity.

BARBARA BAUDOT, Coordinator of the Triglav Circle, said that the debate on public-policy effectiveness was open to considerable ambiguity, and her group felt that such policies could only be effective if they were practical, achieved their objectives, brought about positive change, brought about results, and contained particular objectives.  At the same time, it was important to realize that a universal approach to the question of the effectiveness of public policies, particularly those designed for the delivery of essential social services, could and should be established through a framework inspired by moral and political principles.

She said that it was important to ask three questions when taking that approach:  Do public policies promote equity, mutual respect and sustainable livelihoods?  Is public sector policy driven by altruistic motivations?  And, is public policy guided by a meaningful vision of life?  With that in mind, she stressed that looming darkly over modern Western life was the perception that economic progress was the measure of well-being and the foundation of happiness.  But, only by viewing human destiny in a wider, more spiritual context could the ideals of a good society be established.  And by aspiring to that end, it would be possible to create public policies that would reduce the glaring inequities and disparities that existed between people and overcome the obstacles to harmonious relations between people and nature.

FLORENCEDENMARK, of the International Council of Psychologists and representative of the American Psychological Association, addressed the Commission as the Chair of the NGO Commission on Ageing, located in New York.  She said that since the number of persons 60 and over would be nearly 1.2 billion by 2025 –- a nearly six-fold increase since 1950 -– it was important to consider the challenges posed by such a sizeable demographic shift when discussing ways to improve public sector effectiveness.  Because so many actions leading to policies originated at the grass-roots level, her group supported a “bottom-up” participatory approach to programme and policy development.

That approach could only be implemented via local municipalities and non-governmental organizations and other civil society partners working together in an atmosphere of transparency, she continued.  For all countries, the foremost challenge lay in identifying and supporting new opportunities for older persons, and the benefits that arose from viewing them as a resource rather than a burden.  To fulfil their potential, older persons must have access to adequate resources to meet basic needs and they must be incorporated in decision-making processes.  She said that the 2002 Madrid Plan of Action was a blueprint for one sector of society.  Implementing that plan would go far towards improving the effectiveness of the public sector and benefit everyone, as the international community worked to “Build a Society for All Ages”.

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