ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL HOLDS DIALOGUE WITH FUNCTIONAL COMMISSIONS

ON ROLE OF UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM IN PROMOTING DECENT WORK FOR ALL

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 10 July (UN Information Service) -- The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) this morning held a panel discussion with the functional commissions on the role of the United Nations system in promoting full and productive employment and decent work for all, hearing from Chairpersons and representatives of eight functional commissions.

The panellists included Alexei Tulbure, Chairperson of the Commission for Social Development; Olivier Belle, Chairperson of the Commission on the Status of Women; Ivan Piperkov, Chairperson of the Commission on Population and Development; Boen Purnama, Chairperson-Designate of United Nations Forum on Forests; Frances Nhema, Chairperson of the Commission on Sustainable Development; Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Chairperson of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues; Mabel Gomez-Oliver, speaking on behalf of the Chairperson of the 37th Statistical Commission and Kong Cho Ha, speaking on behalf of the Chairperson of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development.

Hilario G. Davide, Jr., Vice-President of ECOSOC, in introductory remarks, said this year marked the launch of the Council’s two new functions, as mandated by the 2005 World Summit: the Annual Ministerial Review and the Development Cooperation Forum, both launched during the 2007 substantive session.  One of the Council’s great interests was to plot the course on how the functional commissions could effectively contribute to the Annual Ministerial Review and the Development Cooperation Forum.  This panel discussion was an excellent opportunity to make policy-oriented assessment drawing from the wealth of ideas from the commissions and the members of the Council toward the collective achievement of the United Nations development agenda.

Alexei Tulbure, Chairperson of the Commission for Social Development, said that the increased attention in the late 1990s towards the eradication of poverty, and the setting of targets for reducing it, could be directly related to the outcome of the Copenhagen Summit and its follow-up work by the Commission for Social Development.  The Commission’s work on poverty had gone beyond contributing to the global development agenda alone.  Since the World Summit for Social Development, the Commission had paid considerable attention to the contribution it could make to the social development of developing countries and to the need to better link the global debate and its actual implementation.  The work of the Commission had helped identifying and promoting good practices related to both poverty alleviation and full employment and decent work.

Olivier Belle, Chairperson of the Commission on the Status of Women, said that there was progressive development -- almost every country had established policies for gender, at least on paper.  On the eradication of poverty and hunger, this was a critical area of concern for the Commission, and it had urged countries to support sectors providing employment opportunities for women, and to support strategies enhancing their employment.  On full and productive employment and decent work for all, the Commission promoted gender equality and the empowerment of women, obviously.  While women had achieved progress in employment in many countries, gender discrimination had persisted in employment, and this was a problem for all the functional commissions.

Ivan T. Piperkov, Chairperson of the Commission on Population and Development, said that because population trends were related to development and conditioned to a certain extent economic growth, the work of the Commission helped to shed light on some of the processes that either facilitated the reduction of poverty or constrained advances in that regard.  During recent years the Commission had dealt with crucial population issues that were relevant for the attainment of the goals on poverty reduction and decent work.  In 2006, the Commission focused on international migration and development.  Next year, the Commission would focus on “population distribution, urbanization, internal migration and development”, a theme that had close interrelations with the generation of employment and its spatial distribution.

Boen Purnama, Chairperson-Designate of United Nations Forum on Forests, said the United Nations Forum on Forests was established in 2000, with full membership of the United Nations to promote sustainable forest management worldwide, and strengthen political commitment to this end.  The eradication of poverty and hunger was directly linked to this.  The role of the United Nations system in promoting full and productive employment and decent work for all and other collaborative initiatives was vital.  The Forum had agreed on four global objectives on forests, focusing on, among others forest resources, protected areas, increasing the area of sustainable managed forests, and mobilising resources for forests.  The basic tenet of the Forum was that the principle of sustainable forest management was at the core of sustainable development.

Kong Cho Ha, speaking on behalf of the Chairperson of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, said that the Commission acted as a forum for the examination of science and technology questions and their implications for development, the advancement of understanding of science and technology policies, particularly with respect to the developing countries, and the formulation of recommendations on science and technology matters within the United Nations system.  There had been a steady expansion of digital opportunities; the number of people using information and communications technology around the world had more than doubled since 1998, when the World Summit on the Information Society was first proposed.  However, disparities and inequality in access were also evolving:  the digital divide was taking on new forms, including great differences in the speed and quality of access to information and communications technology.  The key issue, however, was to enable all people, particularly the poor, to benefit from these technologies and improve their quality of life.

Frances Nhema, Chairperson of the Commission on Sustainable Development, said that the Commission in its first two-year cycle considered the thematic clusters of water, sanitation and human settlements.  In its second, it considered industry for development, air pollution and climate change, among others.  It had clearly considered the important goals of full and productive employment and decent work for all and human development in these contexts, and had determined the importance of investing in water, sanitation, and human settlements, as these contributed to the eradication of poverty and hunger.  The Commission had highlighted the importance of supporting national measures to enhance entrepreneurship and employment generation, among others, as well as the need to upgrade programmes to provide education and training to women and the disadvantaged, including the urban poor, in order to increase their opportunities for employment.

Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Chairperson of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, said a major effort promoted this year by the Forum was the articulation of indicators of well being and poverty of indigenous peoples.  The results of participatory indicator-setting workshops were presented to the Forum, which made the Forum realize that the development of indicators for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which were sensitive to the realities and perspectives of indigenous peoples was crucial if they wanted to represent accurately whether or not MDGs were achieved for indigenous peoples.  Out of 35 MDG country reports, approximately one third of them reviewed sufficiently included indigenous peoples.  Another 55 per cent addressed indigenous issues to varying degrees, while the remaining 18 per cent did not mention indigenous peoples at all.  Governments with indigenous peoples should incorporate the issues and challenges specifically faced by them directly into the framework of the MDG reports by including indigenous peoples in the context of the overall report; including indigenous peoples in the context of meeting each specific goal; including indigenous peoples’ effective participation; and improving the collection and disaggregation of data regarding indigenous peoples.

Mabel Gomez-Oliver, speaking on behalf of the Chairperson of the 37th Statistical Commission, said that the Statistical Commission had continued its technical work in the areas of national accounting, environment and social statistics, leading up to future statistical norms in these fields.  The Commission’s review of its working methods three years ago was generally considered to have improved its efficiency.  The Statistical Commission was very conscious of its relationship to the Council and the other functional commissions, with a standing agenda item on statistical implications of the Council’s policy decisions.  The area of development indicators was of course where it had most contributed to the Council’s work in the past, and could potentially most contribute in the future, especially for the Annual Ministerial Review and the Development Cooperation Forum.

During the general debate, speakers said, among other things, that better coordination with other institutions should be ensured.  On the issue of natural resources, it was asked what work was done to free the important natural resource of water from the market economy so that to could become a human right, especially for indigenous people.  A concern was voiced several times on the need for more fluid institutional commissions.  The functional commissions should take the promotion of full employment as an effective way of alleviating poverty.  They should also be complementary to each other.

Within the context of the general debate following the panellists’ presentations, representatives of the following states took the floor: Portugal on behalf of the European Union, Switzerland, Bolivia, El Salvador, China, Algeria and Haiti.  A representative of the International Labour Organization also spoke.

The Council will resume its session this afternoon at 3 p.m., when it will open the segment on operational activities of the United Nations for international development cooperation.  Under this segment, it will hold a high-level interactive panel discussion on the contribution and effectiveness of the United Nations development system.

Introductory Statement to Dialogue

HILARIO G. DAVIDE, JR. ( Philippines), Vice-President of the Council, said this year marked the launch of the Council’s two new functions, as mandated by the 2005 World Summit: the Annual Ministerial Review and the Development Cooperation Forum, both launched during the 2007 Substantive Session.  The Council could now deliberate intensively how, through these new functions, the Council could serve as a quality platform for high-level engagement among Member States in partnership with the international financial institutions, the private sector and civil society.  There were many facets of a quality platform -- one of them was the subsidiary machinery of ECOSOC, particularly the functional and regional commissions.

One of the Council’s great interests was to plot the course on how the functional commissions could effectively contribute to the Annual Ministerial Review and the Development Cooperation Forum, Mr. Davide said.  Some of the functional commissions had already established standing agenda items on strengthening their linkages with the Council, and other commissions were actively considering doing the same.  To facilitate the contributions of the commissions, the Council needed to take some urgent steps, one of which was early decision on the annual theme so that the commissions could effectively contribute to the Council’s deliberations.

Today, the Chairpersons of the functional commissions should focus on each commission’s role in advancing Millennium Development Goal One on poverty reduction, promoting the goals of full and productive employment and decent work for all, and strengthening the linkages between the normative work of the United Nations and its operational activities.  This panel discussion was an excellent opportunity to make policy-oriented assessment drawing from the wealth of ideas from the commissions and the members of the Council toward the collective achievement of the United Nations development agenda and toward greater contributions of the commissions to the new functions of the Council.

Statements by Representatives of Functional Commissions

ALEXEI TULBURE, Chairperson of the Commission for Social Development, said that the World Summit for Social Development held at Copenhagen in 1995 had created a breakthrough in setting comprehensive global social policies.  The Programme of Action, adopted at that Summit, set three core goals towards that end, namely the eradication of poverty, the expansion of productive employment and reducing unemployment and promoting social integration.  The increased attention in the late 1990s towards the eradication of poverty, and the setting of targets for reducing it, could be directly related to the outcome of the Copenhagen Summit and its follow-up work by the Commission for Social Development.  The Commission’s work on poverty had gone beyond contributing to the global development agenda alone.  As part of its annual review of the situation of various social groups, the Commission’s work had consistently sought attention to the plight of the many disadvantaged and vulnerable people in society, many of whom were living in poverty.

Starting in 2006, the Commission for Social Development had embarked on a new approach to its organization and methods of work, Mr. Tulbure said.  As endorsed by last year’s session of ECOSOC, the Commission was now being organized in a series of two-year action-oriented implementation cycles on the three core themes of Copenhagen.  The main findings from the discussions of last February were, among other things, that there was an emerging consensus that economic growth alone did not automatically lead to the creation of jobs, as had been previously assumed.  Second, social security systems should be improved to assist those in most need of support.  Third, the Commission reiterated that macro-economic policies should reflect and fully integrate employment growth and poverty reduction goals.  Fourth, social protection could have positive macro-economic effects.  It could provide stable income, which helped smooth the impact of cyclical swings of the economy.  Fifth, the Commission addressed at considerable length the challenges posed to the global employment agenda by the large youth cohorts working age as well as by population aging.

For all groups, labour mobility was an important and growing phenomenon, but particularly among young people throughout the world, Mr. Tulbure said.  High youth unemployment in developing countries had too often contributed to a breeding ground for conflict, exploitation and violence by young people.  Since the World Summit for Social Development, the Commission had paid considerable attention to the contribution it could make to the social development of developing countries and to the need to better link the global debate and its actual implementation.  The work of the Commission had helped identifying and promoting good practices related to both poverty alleviation and full employment and decent work.  In this first year of the Annual Ministerial Review, it was clear that the synergies between the theme of the Review and that of the Commission were great.  The Annual Ministerial Review outcome would be an essential building block for the Commission’s outcome.  There was thus a high level of coherence between the themes of the Annual Ministerial Review and of the Commission in its current cycle.  The Commission for Social Development was a natural partner for ECOSOC in supporting its work on poverty and employment.

OLIVIER BELLE, Chairperson of the Commission on the Status of Women, said as the Council was reforming its work, so was the Commission, in particular with regards to national implementation.  While the Commission itself was checking every year the implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action, it had also become a type of fora where each Member State came to explain what was being done, with input provided by the Commission.  There was progressive development -- almost every country had established policies for gender, at least on paper.  On the eradication of poverty and hunger, this was a critical area of concern for the Commission, and it had urged countries to support sectors providing employment opportunities for women, and to support strategies enhancing their employment.  The Commission had, in 2007, recognised the importance of increasing investment in the girl child.

On full and productive employment and decent work for all, the Commission on the   Status of Women promoted gender equality and the empowerment of women, obviously.  While women had achieved progress in employment in many countries, gender discrimination had persisted in employment, and this was a problem for all the functional commissions, Mr. Belle said.  With regards to the inter-connection between the Commission and the work of the new ECOSOC, the contribution of the Commission could be more efficient if it were to know in advance the themes that would be dealt with in the Annual Ministerial Review and the Development Cooperation Forum.  There was a need for time in order to be able to contribute to United Nations work.

IVAN T. PIPERKOV, Chairperson of the Commission on Population and Development, said that the Commission on Population and Development was in charge of reviewing the implementation of the Programme of Action adopted by the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the recommendations for its further implementation.  Because population trends were related to development and conditioned to a certain extent economic growth, the work of the Commission helped to shed light on some of the processes that either facilitated the reduction of poverty or constrained advances in that regard.  During recent years the Commission had dealt with crucial population issues that were relevant for the attainment of the goals on poverty reduction and decent work.  In 2005, the Commission examined the contribution that the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action could make to the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, concluding that slower population growth among developing countries could buy more time for societies to combat poverty, protect the environment and improve educational levels.

Furthermore, slower population growth would also lead to a less rapid increase of the working age population, making it easier to reduce unemployment and underemployment, Mr. Piperkov said.  The impact of the HIV pandemic and its relationship to poverty and development were examined by the Commission in 2005.  The Commission noted that, although the pandemic affected both rich and poor countries, the hardest-hit countries were among the poorest in the world.  Furthermore, HIV infection was often a cause of poverty among families coping with the disease.  In 2006, the Commission focused on international migration and development.  International migration was seen mainly as a response to the uneven distribution of working opportunities among countries at different stages of development.  International migration to high-income countries had increased markedly over the last decade.  Lastly, in 2007 the Commission examined the implications of changing age structures for development.  Most developing countries found themselves still in a favourable stage of the transition to an older population, because their populations of working age were growing relative to those of children and elderly.

The Commission underscored the importance of improving employment opportunities so that developing countries could prepare themselves better for a rapid population ageing that most would experience over the course of this century, Mr. Piperkov said.  Next year, the Commission would focus on “population distribution, urbanization, internal migration and development”, a theme that had close interrelations with the generation of employment and its spatial distribution, since the search for better jobs was one of the major causes of migration to the cities, both from rural areas and from other cities.  The Commission on Population and Development took very seriously its role in reviewing the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action and in finding ways of developing synergies between its goals and relevant Millennium Development Goals.  It considered the interactions between the population dynamics or population processes and the reduction of poverty as crucial.

BOEN PURNAMA, Chairperson-Designate of the United Nations Forum on Forests, said the United Nations Forum on Forests was established in 2000, with full membership of the United Nations to promote sustainable forest management worldwide and strengthen political commitment to this end.  The eradication of poverty and hunger was directly linked to this.  The role of the United Nations system in promoting full and productive employment and decent work for all and other collaborative initiatives was vital.  The Seventh Session of the Forum had met last April, and agreed on a number of important policy decisions, including a Global Financial Mechanism that would finance a framework for sustainable forest management, and others.  The Forum had kept the implementation of the United Nations Development Agenda at the forefront of its work, and had specifically been mandated to enhance the contribution of forests to the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals.

The United Nations Forum on Forests had agreed on four global objectives on forests, focusing on, among others, forest resources, protected areas, increasing the area of sustainable managed forests, and mobilising resources for forests, Mr. Purnama said.  The basic tenet of the Forum was that the principle of sustainable forest management was at the core of sustainable development.  With regard to the link between the Forum and poverty, Member States had agreed that they should encourage sustainable developments of forests, and this contributed to poverty eradication and the development of rural communities.  National forest programmes and other strategies should be integrated into national strategies for sustainable development and poverty reduction strategies.  Member States had also agreed to raise the profile of the Forum in national development plans.  The Forum had addressed the issue of poverty eradication in six of its resolutions, and it had concluded that the approach to sustainability of natural resources and societal needs should be comprehensive and holistic.

KONG CHO HA, Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovations of Malaysia, speaking on behalf of the Chairperson of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, said that the Commission on Science and Technology for Development had been established in 1992 to provide the General Assembly and ECOSOC with high-level advice on relevant science and technology issues through analysis and appropriate policy recommendations and options.  In this context, the Commission acted as a forum for the examination of science and technology questions and their implications for development, the advancement of understanding of science and technology policies, particularly with respect to the developing countries, and the formulation of recommendations on science and technology matters within the United Nations system.  At its last session, held this past May, the Commission had assessed progress in implementing recommendations and commitments of the World Summit on the Information Society.  That assessment showed that there had been a steady expansion of digital opportunities.  The number of people using information and communication technologies around the world had more than doubled since 1998, when WSIS was first proposed.

However, disparities and inequality in access were also evolving:  the digital divide was taking on new forms, including great differences in the speed and quality of access to information and communication technologies, he said.  The World Summit on the Information Society succeeded in articulating a global vision and framework for building an inclusive, development-oriented and people-centred information society.  Technology had the potential to enhance productivity, make businesses more competitive, and generate employment.  It also helped empower individuals, reduce poverty and increase their participation in society.  The key issue, however, was to enable all people, particularly the poor, to benefit from these technologies and improve their quality of life.  Addressing this complex issue called for innovative and creative ideas at all levels, including targeted policies, sustainable financing mechanisms, and effective partnership among all stakeholders.

The 2005 World Summit on the Information Society also emphasized the crucial importance of science, technology and innovation for advancing development and achieving the internationally agreed development goals, especially in such areas as poverty alleviation, health, education and environment, he said.  More recently, the World Summit on the Information Society also highlighted the key role that information and communication technologies could play in development.  The Commission recognized that the current North-South gap in the generation and application of technologies to economic and social development constituted a technology gap that must be bridged if developing countries were to participate effectively in a globally inclusive knowledge society.  The Commission would, in collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, continue assisting developing countries in undertaking science, technology and innovation policy reviews.

FRANCES NHEMA, Chairperson of the Commission on Sustainable Development, said this discussion would contribute to the outcomes of the newly reformed Council.  The Commission on Sustainable Development, in its first two-year cycle considered the thematic clusters of water, sanitation and human settlements.  In its second, it considered industry for development, air pollution and climate change, among others.  It had clearly considered the important goals of full and productive employment and decent work for all and human development in these contexts, and had determined the importance of investing in water, sanitation, and human settlements, as these contributed to the eradication of poverty and hunger.  Recognising the interlinks between water, sanitation, hygiene and health and the positive impacts of these on poverty and hunger, the Commission had called for a recognition of these and further efforts to implement the Millennium Development Goals.

The Commission had highlighted the importance of supporting national measures to enhance entrepreneurship and employment generation, among others, as well as the need to upgrade programmes to provide education and training to women and the disadvantaged, including the urban poor, in order to increase their opportunities for employment.  Access to energy was critical in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and ensuring access to modern energy services for cooking and heating could have benefits including improved health, better education and more opportunities for women and children.  Access to electricity in rural areas would contribute significantly to poverty-reduction goals.  It was important to accelerate industrial development in order to increase poverty reduction.  Globalisation would continue to pose a challenge in this regard, and there was an urgent need to secure re-training and support for uneducated workers.  Climate change could exacerbate poverty, and its impact could impede the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, and there was a need for enhancing, among others, the technical capabilities in developing States in this regard.

VICTORIA TAULI-CORPUZ, Chairperson of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, said that until now, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues had responded in various ways to the themes and priorities set by ECOSOC.  The Permanent Forum had devoted its 2005 and 2006 sessions to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and at this year’s session in May, it had focused on the implementation of its recommendations related to the MDGs.  The Forum had examined each MDG and its significance for indigenous peoples and articulated what measures were needed for each MDG to be implemented for and with indigenous peoples, so that they were not forgotten in these processes and did not continue to suffer from marginalization in the countries where they lived.  On the first MDG on eliminating extreme poverty and hunger, the Forum expressed concern that unless the MDGs processes took into account the particular situation of indigenous peoples, they may lead to accelerated loss of indigenous peoples’ traditional lands and natural resources, forced displacement and forced assimilation, with an overall negative impact on their livelihoods.

A major effort promoted this year by the Forum was the articulation of indicators of well being and poverty of indigenous peoples, Ms. Tauli-Corpuz said.  The results of participatory indicator-setting workshops were presented to the Forum, which made the Forum realize that the development of indicators for the MDGs which were sensitive to the realities and perspectives of indigenous peoples was crucial if they wanted to represent accurately whether or not MDGs were achieved for indigenous peoples.  Out of 35 MDG country reports, approximately one third of them reviewed sufficiently included indigenous peoples.  Another 55 per cent addressed indigenous issues to varying degrees, while the remaining 18 per cent did not mention indigenous peoples at all.  With few exceptions, the reports were produced without any reference to input from indigenous peoples’ organizations.  Reports that did address indigenous peoples did so in the context of the MDGs on poverty, education, gender equality, child mortality and maternal mortality.  Governments with indigenous peoples should incorporate the issues and challenges specifically faced by them directly into the framework of the MDG reports by including indigenous peoples in the context of the overall report; including indigenous peoples in the context of meeting each specific goal; including indigenous peoples’ effective participation in the planning process for future interventions; and improving the collection and disaggregation of data regarding indigenous peoples.

Indigenous peoples had been facing special challenges in terms of employment and decent work for decades, Ms. Tauli-Corpuz said.  They had suffered systematic displacement from their traditional lands and territories due to development projects, the designation of so-called protected areas or conflict, all of which had devastating effects on their livelihood.  Therefore, indigenous peoples had often been obliged to seek employment by migrating within their countries or internationally, often facing extraordinary and additional challenges as indigenous persons.  A lot of analytical and research work was still needed in this area so that informed and effective policies and programmes could be established, and the Forum intended to continue its efforts to mobilize all relevant actors.  The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues continued to strive towards the full implementation of its mandate to end marginalization, exclusion and poverty in the lives of the world’s indigenous peoples.  It was pursuing this with the partnership and support of ECOSOC, its functional commissions, Member States, the UN system and indigenous peoples themselves.

MABEL GOMEZ-OLIVER (Mexico), speaking for the Chairman of the thirty-seventh Statistical Commission, said this year’s session marked the sixtieth anniversary of the Statistical Commission, showing that the crucial importance of a solid information base for policy analysis and policy decision-making was recognised from the very beginning of the United Nations.  The Commission continued to be a vibrant body: a record number of 134 countries and 32 international agencies participated in this year’s session and in a series of special events.  It was in this function the Commission could best contribute to the Council’s ambitious agenda for the integrated and coordinated follow-up to the UN summits and conferences.  The Statistical Commission had continued its technical work in the areas of national accounting, environment and social statistics, leading up to future statistical norms in these fields.  The Commission’s review of its working methods three years ago was generally considered to have improved its efficiency.

The Statistical Commission was very conscious of its relationship to the Council and the other functional commissions, with a standing agenda item on statistical implications of the Council’s policy decisions.  The area of development indicators was of course where it had most contributed to the Council’s work in the past, and could potentially most contribute in the future, especially for the Annual Ministerial Review and the Development Cooperation Forum.  The Commission had been working hard to follow up on the Council’s mandate to serve as the inter-Governmental focal point for the further harmonisation and rationalisation of indicators.  The common goal was to build strong national statistical systems as the foundation of a strong global statistical system which was capable of supporting the Council’s important development agenda, and the Statistical Commission remained committed to making its technical contribution in this regard.

Discussion

Speakers raised a number of issues and questions, including a comment on strengthening the dialogue within the United Nations system.  It was asked how the capacity of the partners could be improved in order to identify best practices.  Another member raised a question with regard to the presentation of the Chairman of the Commission on Social Development on whether efforts were under way to enhance the implementation at the national level, what had been done in the field so far and what was planned.  Better coordination with other institutions should be ensured.  On the issue of natural resources, it was asked what work was done to free the important natural resource of water from the market economy so that to could become a human right, especially for indigenous people.

A concern was voiced several times on the need for more fluid institutional commissions.  There was a need for an ongoing relationship during the year between the various commissions and with ECOSOC.  A follow-up to this should be ensured so that one could see what was being done.  Another speaker mentioned that to realize full employment and decent work, the technical commissions of the United Nations should play an important role.  They should take the promotion of full employment as an effective way of alleviating poverty.  Each country had its own characteristics.  Developing countries should be helped with formulating concrete plans.  The technical commissions should be complementary to each other.  On the subject of the digital divide, this was seen as a problem of governance.  It was asked what work the Commission had done on this subject and what could be done to ensure better governance so that that the international community and the developing countries could benefit from a consensus on this matter.  A speaker asked in which sectors one could find indigenous people in Latin America and whether their conditions had improved.

Closing Remarks by Chairpersons of Functional Commissions

Mr. TULBURE, Chairperson of the Commission for Social Development, said it had been an important and interesting discussion, with some general remarks and questions, and some more specific.  On how the Commission was dealing with the issue of implementation at national levels of different processes, there were different ways of helping Governments to implement different social strategies, and it was very important to continue the work and concentrate on the implementation phase when dealing with the issue of social development.  The Commission had recently launched a number of development nodes, which it believed would help countries in reviewing various aspects of national development strategies in order to implement the internationally agreed development goals.

Every year, at the beginning of the session of the General Assembly, the problems of social development and human rights were discussed in the Third Committee, and that was a perfect environment for cooperation and discussions.  On coordination, this was extremely important -- all Member States should be represented.  Regional assemblies were also important, and there were mechanisms for interaction between these and the United Nations and other international bodies, and the possibilities were many and various in this regard.

Mr. BELLE, Chairperson of the Commission on the Status of Women, said that the European Union asked how the methodology of the Commission could be used for the concept of decent work.  There were agreed conclusions whereby full access could be given and the concept of decent work would be promoted.  Another tool was a conference paper on decent work and how it was seen within a gender perspective.  On the subject of the position of women in Latin America and their role in parliament, laws were necessary to improve the situation of women.  This was one aspect of the work that needed to be done.

According to the information currently available, many strategies were attempting to help women, Mr. Belle said.  But the laws needed to be implemented.  The issue was then how these laws were enforced.  Women could make a clear contribution to society and the economy.  Financial and economic power was as significant as political power.  On the coordination need amongst the various commissions, the Commission on the Status of Women took note of it and would see how it could be improved.

Mr. PIPERKOV, Chairperson of the Commission on Population and Development, said on the interconnection between the different functional commissions, of course the Commission on Population and Development was in close contact with the others, and they worked together on many programmes as they related to different themes within the competence of those bodies.  On parity between genders, that was a theme which was present in all the agendas of the commissions, and was part of the implementation of the Programme of Action.

Mr. PURNAMA, Chairperson-Designate of the United Nations Forum on Forests, said that on the need of coordination on thematic issues, it would put ECOSOC in a strategic position.  The issue was strongly cross-sectoral.  With regard to the topic of climate change, it was another priority of the United Nations Forum on Forests and would be linked to best practices.  On the issue of best practices, sustainable forest management was an important factor for poverty eradication.  It was important to identify the status of the poverty level in each country to take note of the best measures for poverty eradication there.

Mr. NHEMA, Chairperson of the Commission on Sustainable Development, said when discussing issues of water, climate change, sanitation and industrial development, the question that was asked today was whether they were sustainable.  There was communication between all the commissions, and input was taken from them.  The Commission on Sustainable Development was perhaps a cross-cutting commission.  There was a lot of information at hand, and this had not been implemented in terms of what had been agreed in the Rio Declaration.  The way forward should be to determine how to implement all the decisions taken in various contexts on how to implement sustainable development.

Mindsets needed to be changed.  With regards to climate change, at one point there was a search for more data to determine whether there was climate change and what were its causes, and one would like to believe that this data was used to change habits.  It was therefore important for all to consider their mindset and whether they were ready to implement changes.  The Commission on Sustainable Development was helping a lot of countries to upgrade their systems to be able to prepare better for change.  The Commission had discussed capacity building, but without financial and institutional work in place to support this, it served no purpose.

Mr. CHO HA (Malaysia) speaking on behalf of the Chairperson of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, said that all agreed that science and technology were important, especially information and communication technology as a tool for the continued global development, enhancing productivity, making business more competitive and generating employment.  The Commission on Science and Technology for Development would continue its efforts to encourage the effective participation of non-governmental organizations, especially from developing and least-developed countries.  On the issue of the digital divide between nations, it could be seen between rich and poor, educated and uneducated and the urban and rural communities.  It was a multidimensional issue.  The digital divide had taken on to different levels where speed and quality of access were becoming an issue.  The cooperation with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was also important.

Ms. TAULI-CORPUZ, Chairperson of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, said a study on how the lives of indigenous peoples were contributing to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals would be coming out soon, and that would be very important for the Forum.  On how employment of indigenous peoples had changed, the Forum did not have this data, but it would ask the International Labour Organization for it.  On how trade liberalisation impacted on decent work, there was a study done by the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and this was on the impact on rural development, and one of the things that came out of it was that small scale workers and entrepreneurs had lost livelihoods due to dumping of products from rich countries.  On coordination, the Council should also invite the functional commissions to take part in the Development Cooperation Forum, as their efforts could also be of interest and relevance in that context.

Ms. GOMEZ-OLIVER ( Mexico), speaking on behalf of the Chairperson of the Statistical Commission, thanked the speakers for the questions and comments.  They would be conveyed to the Chair of this Commission.  The comment on methodology on decent work was an important issue.  It would be vital to have contributions from Member States.  The issue of going more in depth amongst the United Nations system would be taken up by the Commission and put on its agenda for its future work.

Concluding Statement on Conclusion of Coordination Segment

Mr. DAVIDE ( Philippines), Vice-President of the Council, in concluding remarks, said the substantive session of the coordination segment had focused on the role of the United Nations system in promoting full and productive employment and decent work.  There had been rich and extensive deliberations on this issue during the two panel discussions that examined various dimensions of the work of the United Nations system related to the promotion of these goals.  The Coordination Segment also discussed the coordinated and integrated follow-up of United Nations conferences and summits in the economic and social fields.  The United Nations system role emerged as essential for promoting both a multi-dimensional and multi-stakeholder approach to employment issues.

In the general debate, three key messages were highlighted.  The International Labour Organization was commended for its Toolkit, and the United Nations system was requested to ensure that it was widely used across the system.  Other international development institutions should pay greater attention to employment implications when providing policy guidance.  Countries were taking measures to promote the agenda of employment and decent work.  The Council for the first time considered the issue of coordinated and integrated follow-up of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields during the coordination segment, and the message was to ensure that the Council’s system worked as one and provided effective support to the new functions of the Council.  It was hoped that the Council would soon be able to agree on its multi-year programme of work in order to give the system clarity and improve the institutional and substantive architecture in the economic and social fields.

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For information media • not an official record