COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT TO MEET AT HEADQUARTERS FROM 4 TO 13 FEBRUARY; MEMBERS TO DISCUSS PUBLIC SECTOR EFFECTIVENESS

Background Release                             

COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT TO MEET AT HEADQUARTERS FROM 4 TO 13 FEBRUARY;

MEMBERS TO DISCUSS PUBLIC SECTOR EFFECTIVENESS

The forty-second session of the Commission for Social Development will meet at Headquarters from 4 to 13 February to discuss “Improving public sector effectiveness”.

Also on the agenda at this annual gathering will be the issue of international migration and migrants from a social perspective, as well as the modalities for the review and appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing 2002.

During the two-week session, the Commission will organize panel discussions on each of the three themes, starting with “Improving public sector effectiveness” on Wednesday, 4 February, followed on Monday, 9 February by the “review and appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing 2002” and finally by “Emerging issues, trends and new approaches to issues affecting social development:  international migration and migrants from a social perspective” on Tuesday, 10 February.  Also, more than a dozen side events have been scheduled to take place at United Nations Headquarters in conjunction with the forty-second session of the Commission for Social Development.

Other items to be discussed concerning relevant United Nations action programmes pertaining to the situation of social groups are the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family and the equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities.

The Commission for Social Development is a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations.  Since the convening of the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995, the Commission has been the key UN body in charge of the follow-up and implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action.  In that regard, it is in a unique position to stimulate and strengthen international cooperation on issues such as the persistence of poverty, the worsening of inequalities, and the problems of social cohesion and social integration that exist in various parts of the world.  It is also one of the intergovernmental bodies that have the ability, if not the duty, to promote the coherence of and links between economic and social policies.

Composed of 46 members elected by ECOSOC, it meets once a year in New York, usually in February.

Report of Secretary-General

The Secretary-General’s report Improving public sector effectiveness (document E/CN.5/2004/5) suggests that the public sector be treated from the perspective of public institutions and public activities to deliver effectively social services.  It notes that the call for effectiveness of the public sector came in the context of policy shifts over the past two decades.  In accordance with the view that smaller government is better, public institutions were asked to accomplish more with reduced means.  Retrenchment in social expenditures and cutbacks in public services with greater emphasis placed on the private sector, particularly in developing countries, resulted from that policy.

Though those trends have been partially reversed since the mid-1990s, the report points out that most developing countries continue to face extremely difficult situations.  Therefore in a context of dramatically insufficient resources allocated to the public sector they probably would not be able to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

The report analyzes also what constitutes an effective public sector.  Accessibility, in its social and geographical dimensions, quality and productivity are the three categories that permit an assessment.  And, while discussions of public sector effectiveness elicit comparisons with the private sector regarding efficiency and productivity, says the report, one should not forget that in contrast to the private sector, public service aims to increase availability and accessibility rather than generate financial profit.

In considering means to improve public sector effectiveness, the reports reviewed the levels and method of financing, methods of delivery and the issue of privatization as a way of maximizing the efficiency of service delivery.  The issues of social dialogue and participation, the competency and commitment of public servants are also reviewed.

Among the recommendations is the need to strengthen international cooperation in the elaboration of norms and guidelines.  Least developed countries should benefit from a favourable international economic environment.  International financial institutions should take into account the specificity of public sector when making recommendations on macroeconomic policies.  Basic principles of good governance and government should be fully applied to all aspects of public sector.  Diversified methods and criteria should be used in assessing the effectiveness of public social services.  When making decisions about the allocation of public resources, clear objectives and priorities should be determined.  

The report also recommends that greater consideration should be given to alternative approaches to delivery of social services.  The relationship between public and private service should be reviewed and rethought.  Social dialogue should be promoted, and finally, public servants should be hired and managed on a merit-based and transparent system.

Additional reports

The Commission for Social Development will also consider the Secretary-General’s interim report on the Preparation for the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family(document E/CN.5/2004/3).

The report provides an overview at all levels of significant aspects of the preparations for the anniversary and notes the “many achievements recorded”.  Several governments have formulated “family sensitive” policies and improved national capacity for their implementation.  The family has been increasingly recognized as an object and agent of social policy in many countries, and mechanisms devoted to family policy and research have been developed or strengthened.  Overriding priority issues have been identified.

The report also notes that the preparations for the tenth anniversary have encouraged broad participation and partnerships of administrators and planners working for governments, as well as members of family organizations, community groups and other actors to improve family policies through efforts to raise awareness on conditions of families.  Problems were identified, priorities set, resources determined, policies established, programmes implemented and outcomes evaluated.

Taking into account the family related problems that confront planners and administrators in designing or redesigning policies, the report made four recommendations:

-- Strengthen cooperation and mechanisms for consultation and advocacy at the national and local levels in order to promote greater consensus on policy content, concepts and an integrated perspective on the family;

-- Enhance international cooperation in the area of family research to assist in policy formulation and evaluation;

-- Promote training and advisory services for the analysis, formulation and evaluation of integrated strategies, policies and programmes; and

-- Continue to support the United Nations Trust Fund on Family Activities to assist in national capacity-building and development cooperation.

Also before the Commission is the report of the Secretary-General (document E/CN.5/2004/4), transmitting the Views of Members States on the proposals contained in the report of the Special Rapporteur on Disability(document E/CN.5/2002/4). They were asked to express their opinions regarding the suggested supplement to the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with disabilities.

From the replies received, the report concludes that the majority of Members States favoured the adoption of the proposed supplements to the Rules.  They acknowledged that although the Standard Rules have played an important role in the elaboration of national policies and legislation in the disability field during the past 10 years,their extensive application had led to experiencing shortcomings and areas in need of further elaboration.

The proposed supplement to the Standards Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for persons living with disabilities addresses the shortcomings of resolution 48/96 of 20 December 1993.  It brings into focus the specific needs of the most vulnerable among persons with disabilities by drawing Members States’ attention to areas such as:  fundamental concepts; adequate standard of living and poverty alleviation; housing, including the issue of residential institutions; health and medical care; emergency situations; access to the social environment; communication issues; personnel training; gender; children with disabilities and the family; violence and abuse; older persons; developmental and psychiatric disabilities; invisible disabilities; suggested further initiatives in national policy and legislation.

Sixteen replies coming from 40 countries, including those in the European Union, were received as of 1 November 2003.  Limited from a geographical perspective, the largest contributions came from Europe along with three Member States from Latin America and Caribbean region, two from Africa and two from Asia.  Replies were received from Argentina, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Cyprus, CzechRepublic, Honduras, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malta, Oman, Philippines, Russian Federation, Serbia and Montenegro, Trinidad and Tobago as well as from the European Union on behalf of its 15 members and 10 accessing countries.

The Commission is also expected to consider a Note by the Secretariat on the Modalities for the review and appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing. (document E/CN.5/2004/6)

The note reviews progress in defining the modalities for the review and appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action.  It suggests that the Commission for Social Development consider the bottom-up approach for the review and appraisal at national, regional and international levels.  That approach is defined as an open-ended, participatory process that seeks to link local and national activities to United Nations regional intergovernmental bodies and global processes of review and appraisal.

It is expected to offer governments several advantages, including:  broadening the sources of information available to policy makers by complementing statistical and other data with qualitative information; the provision of policy-relevant information when statistics or other data do not exist and cannot be gathered on short notice; the establishment of priorities for policies and programmes that reflect peoples’ interests; monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of policies and programmes and their reorientation, if needed; and an opportunity for people, in particular those who are excluded or marginalized, to articulate their conditions and their needs.

The note stresses that the review and appraisal process should focus on ageing specific policies as well as on efforts aimed at mainstreaming an ageing dimension into national development strategies.

Commission Membership

The Chairman for the forty-second session of the Commission is Mr. Jean-Jacques Elmiger, (Switzerland).  Other members of the bureau are:  Ms. Ivana Grollová (Czech Republic), Mr. Mwelwa C. Musambachine (Zambia), Mr. Prayono Atiyanto ,(Indonesia) and Mr. Carlos Enrique García González, (El Salvador).

The current members are:  Argentina, Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Bulgaria, Central African Republic, China, Comoros, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Libya, Malta, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Suriname, Switzerland, Turkey, United Republic of Tanzania, United States of America, Viet Nam, Zambia.

For more information, please visit the Web site of the Commission:  www.un.org/esa/socdev/csd/csocd2004

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