ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL ADOPTS DECISIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED

TO NARCOTIC DRUGS, INDIGENOUS ISSUES, HAITI

 

Concludes General Discussion on Social, Human Rights Questions

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 25 July (UN Information Service) -- The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) this afternoon adopted five decisions and five resolutions on a wide range of issues, including narcotic drugs, indigenous issues and Haiti.

The Council adopted a resolution on the need for a balance between demand for and supply of opiates used to meet medical and scientific needs; a resolution on improvement of drug abuse data collection by Member States in order to enhance data reliability and the comparability of information provided; a resolution on support to the counter-narcotic measures and programmes of Afghanistan; and a resolution on the strategy for the period 2008-2011 for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 

It then adopted a decision on the report of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs on its fiftieth session and provisional agenda and documentation for the fifty-first session of the Commission, and a decision in which it took note of the report of the International Narcotics Control Board.

Subsequently, the Council adopted a decision entitled "international expert group meeting on indigenous languages"; a decision on the venue and dates of the seventh session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues; and a decision on the provisional agenda and documentation for the seventh session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

Moving on, the Council adopted a resolution entitled Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti where it decided to extend the mandate of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group until the substantive session of the Economic and Social Council in July 2008; and requested the Ad Hoc Advisory Group to continue to cooperate with the Secretary-General and his Special Representative in Haiti.

Commenting on the resolutions and decisions were Brazil and Haiti.

The Council also heard the introduction of a draft resolution on the economic and social repercussions of the Israeli occupation on the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, and the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan.  Sudan introduced the draft.

Luxembourg, speaking also on behalf of Benin, Montenegro and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, introduced a draft decision in which it invited ECOSOC to take note of the requests to the Secretary-General by the four countries in order to become members of the Executive Council of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

At the beginning of the afternoon, the Council resumed its general discussion on social and human rights questions.  In the course of the general discussion, it was observed that the humanitarian challenges facing the world were such that no one actor, Government, international organization, non-governmental organization, or Red Cross or Red Crescent Society could meet them alone.  The interest was not to duplicate the work being done by concerned international organizations and others, but to bring the humanitarian consequences of these challenges to the forefront.  With regard to indigenous issues, a speaker said that no project affecting lands and natural resources which existed in indigenous territory should be implemented without the free and informed consent of indigenous peoples.

Speaking in the general discussion were representatives from United States, China, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Cuba, International Federation of the Red Crescent and Red Crescent Societies, United Nations Children’s Fund on behalf of the Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice, Judicial Commission for the Independence for Indigenous Andean People, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the International Narcotics Control Board.

The representatives of Algeria and Morocco requested during the session of the Council that their statements made during the morning session of 23 July 2007 be made available verbatim.

ECOSOC will resume its meeting on Thursday, 26 July at 10 a.m., when it will continue to take action on several issues.

Action on Resolutions and Decisions on Narcotic Drugs, Indigenous Issues and Long-Term Support for Haiti

In a resolution contained in document (E/2007/28) entitled “Report of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs” on the need for a balance between demand for and supply of opiates used to meet medical and scientific needs, adopted without a vote, the Council urges all Governments to continue to contribute to maintaining a balance between the licit supply of and demand for opiate raw materials used for medical and scientific purposes, supporting traditional and established supplier countries, and to cooperate in preventing the proliferation of sources of production of opiate raw materials; and requests the International Narcotics Control Board to continue its efforts to monitor the implementation of the relevant Economic and Social Council resolutions.

In a resolution contained in the same document on the improvement of drug abuse data collection by Member States in order to enhance data reliability and the comparability of information provided, adopted without a vote, the Council stresses the importance of carrying out training programmes of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and other relevant intergovernmental organizations to support the adoption of sound methods and harmonize indicators used for statistics on drug use; and encourages Member States to use the Guide to Drug Abuse Epidemiology.

In a resolution contained in the same document on the support to the counter-narcotic measures and programmes of Afghanistan, adopted without a vote, the Council calls upon the Government of Afghanistan to intensify the efforts of its counter-narcotic programmes and to hold accountable those responsible for or complicit in opium poppy cultivation and production and trafficking in narcotic drugs; encourages the international community to continue to support the implementation of the National Drug Control Strategy of Afghanistan; calls upon the Government of Afghanistan to intensify its efforts to eliminate corruption at all levels of government, including by the prosecution of offenders; and calls upon Member States and invites international organizations to strengthen their support to the States in the forefront of the fight against drug trafficking from Afghanistan.

In a resolution contained in the same document on the strategy for the period 2008-2011 for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, adopted without a vote, the Council approves the strategy for the period 2008-2011 for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, contained in the annex to the present resolution; urges Member States and other partners to provide sufficient, stable and predictable funding to the Fund of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme; recommends that a sufficient share of the regular budget of the United Nations be allocated to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to enable it to fulfil its mandates; and requests the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to continue to improve its evaluation mechanisms and project cycle management.

In a decision contained in the same document on the Report of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs on its fiftieth session and provisional agenda and documentation for the fifty-first session of the Commission, adopted without a vote, the Council takes note of the report.

In a decision contained in the same document on the Report of the International Narcotics Control Board, adopted without a vote, the Council takes note of the report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 2006.

In a decision contained in document (E/2007/43) entitled “Report of the Forum on Indigenous Issues” on the international expert group meeting on indigenous languages, adopted without a vote, the Council decides to authorize a three-day international expert group meeting on indigenous languages and requests that the results of the meeting be reported to the Permanent Forum at its seventh session.

In a decision contained in the same document on the venue and dates of the seventh session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, adopted without a vote, the Council decides that the seventh session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues shall be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 21 April to 2 May 2008.

In a decision contained in the same document on the provisional agenda and documentation for the seventh session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, adopted without a vote, the Council, among other things, adopts the draft agenda for the eighth session of the Permanent Forum and the report of the Permanent Forum on its seventh session.

In a resolution (E/2007/L.18) on the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti, adopted without a vote, the Council decides to extend the mandate of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group until the substantive session of the Economic and Social Council in July 2008; requests the Ad Hoc Advisory Group, in accomplishing its mandate, to continue to cooperate with the Secretary-General and his Special Representative in Haiti, the head of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, the United Nations Development Group, relevant United Nations funds and programmes and the specialized agencies, the Bretton Woods institutions, regional organizations and institutions, including the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the Organization of American States and the Caribbean Community, the Inter-American Development Bank and other major stakeholders; also requests the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti to submit a report on its work, with recommendations, as appropriate, to the Economic and Social Council at its substantive session of 2008; and decides that the work of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group will be reviewed at its substantive session of 2008, with a view to considering whether to continue its mandate, based on the Council’s consideration of the report of the Advisory Group and the situation then prevailing in Haiti, with due account being taken of the activities of the entities of the United Nations system active in peacebuilding.

Introduction of Draft Resolutions and Decisions

JEAN FEYDER (Luxembourg), speaking also on behalf of Benin, Montenegro and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, introducing draft decision E/2007/L.17, said that the draft decision meant that the Economic and Social Council was invited to take note of the requests to the Secretary-General by the four countries in order to become members of the Executive Council of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.  Luxembourg hoped that the Council would adopt the draft decision. 

NADIA MOHAMED K. OSMAN (Sudan), introducing draft resolution L.26, on economic and social repercussions of the Israeli occupation on the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan, said that as emphasized in the Secretary-General’s report, the Israeli occupation continued to deepen the hardships for the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.  It provided confirmation of the repercussions and the unlawful construction of the construction of the wall.  Such illegal policies prolonged the conflict.  The report commented on the negative effects also with regard to the Palestinian people in the occupied Syrian Golan.  The call for the immediate release of the retained tax revenues by Israel was expressed.  There was a concern about the continuing deterioration of the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian Territory.  Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory were illegal and the wall was contrary to international law.  Sudan was looking forward to the adoption of the draft resolution by consensus.

General Comments and Explanations of Vote, Before and After the Vote

JOSE RICHARDO DA COSTA AGUIAR ALVES (Brazil) said there had been historical links between Haiti and Brazil for a long time, and Brazil’s participation in the resolution adopted on the Ad Hoc Advisory Group was a reflection of its aspirations for cooperation between the two nations, covering a huge range of projects, including education, health, and the maintenance of infrastructure.  Haiti was the first country for cooperation with Brazil both in terms of their number and the funds dedicated to them.  Brazil welcomed the adoption by consensus of the draft resolution, which constituted an endorsement of the progress that had been achieved in Haiti, both with regards to the economy and the solidity of institutions.  The Ad Hoc Group would, it was hoped, continue to contribute, as it had done since it was set up. 

LEO MERORES ( Haiti) said that it thanked Canada and all the other co-sponsors for the support on the resolution that had just been adopted to extend the mandate of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group.  Some progress had been achieved, and Haiti felt that it was on the right road.  Haiti thanked Brazil for its statement and the leadership role Brazil was playing.  The historic links of friendship between the two countries were mentioned and reiterated again.

General Discussion on Social Development, Crime, the High Commissioner for Refugees, Human Rights and Indigenous Issues

RICHARD T. MILLER ( United States) said, with regard to the Commission on Social Development, the United Nations had held a series of international conferences and world summits over the past 15 years, some of which had been very broad-based in scope, covering virtually every agenda item which the Council considered.  In terms of the subordinate machinery of the Council, most of the Commissions and Committees focused on specific issues.  Two which had been problematic in the past were the Commission on Sustainable Development, which the Council had spent a lot of time reforming in order to produce a functional body which was producing value-added today.  The same could not be said with regard to the Commission on Social Development. 

The Commission had produced a text, and the Council was asked to endorse this text.  This presented a certain problem, the United States said, as it had not been discussed.  That pointed out a general problem concerning the methods of work and the methods of the subordinate bodies, as the Council was put in the position of adopting documents to which it had only given cursory attention.  The text included broad language on a wide range of topics including education and HIV/AIDS, and the language that was in the document was not the same as that used in the Council’s own resolution on HIV/AIDS, for example.  The Council thus had internal inconsistencies.  It was hoped that a way could be found, when the Council was asked to endorse substantive resolutions of significance, to give it the opportunity to discuss these in depth, and ensure that they were consistent with the rest of its work.

LUI GUIMING ( China) said that, on the issue of social development, China promoted sharing in its socio-economic achievements by senior citizens and youth.  Countries should enhance interactions between employment and economic growth.  The international community should create a good environment to promote cooperation.  On the report on the work of the International Narcotics Control Board, it gave a good overview of the anti-drug landscape in the world.  The Board had made contributions by sharing information.  China expressed its appreciation to the Board and would like to maintain its cooperation with it.

SUMEDHA EKANAYAKE (Sri Lanka) said, with regard to the statement made today by the Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees, that, in her remarks, Sri Lanka had been put in a basket of several countries in connection with different humanitarian situations.  That was not the first time.  Sri Lanka wished to express its serious concern with regard to the equating and clustering of countries and putting them in different baskets as a means of expressing the nature of different humanitarian situations in the world.  Such an approach would not be helpful in carrying out inter-agency and partnership approaches that Sri Lanka had chosen.

The well-structured public services of Sri Lanka, which had been functioning under difficult circumstances due to terrorist acts in the areas dominated by the terrorists, as well as in the areas cleared by the security forces, played a vital role, and in fact the primary role in coordinating and providing humanitarian assistance.  The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian partners were requested to pay due respect and acknowledgement to the above-mentioned well-established structures and practices of Sri Lanka, which was a vibrant democracy and not a failing State.  Humanitarian partners should also do away with the practice of equating Sri Lanka’s situation with other contexts.

BILAL HAYEE ( Pakistan), speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, wanted to comment on the statement of the representative of the United States.  Pakistan had made an intervention before the adoption of the document on social development to point out mistakes that it had observed.  Those amendments were then adopted.  There had been an agreement on the text, which had been adopted by consensus.  There was no record that any State had dissociated itself from the consensus.

LYDIA GONZALES ( Cuba) said Cuba did not wish to participate in the general debate, but Cuba -- in line with the results of the Commission on Social Development -- was fully prepared to support the conclusions of that meeting.

YULIA GUSYNINA, of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said IFRC and its worldwide network of National Societies would meet with the Governments of all States party to the Geneva Conventions and the International Committee of the Red Cross in November this year in the thirtieth International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, the theme of which was “Together for Humanity”.  That theme had been chosen as the IFRC believed that the humanitarian challenges facing the world were such that no one actor, Government, international organization, non-governmental organization, or Red Cross or Red Crescent Society, could meet them alone.

The interest was not to duplicate the work being done by concerned international organizations and others, but to bring the humanitarian consequences of these challenges to the forefront, the IFRC said. The approach would take account of relevant work done in the Council, its functional Commissions and related agencies.  In each case, there was a good basis for looking at effective partnerships in the future with resultant support and assistance for the most vulnerable: those who experienced the most challenging humanitarian consequences. 

JENS MATTHIAS, of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), speaking on behalf of the Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice, said that the Panel welcomed the draft resolution on crime prevention and criminal justice.  In particularly, the Panel supported the draft resolution’s focus on comprehensive national action plans on crime prevention and child justice reform that set specific targets for the reduction of detention of children, including through the use of restorative justice, alternatives to imprisonment and diversion strategies to reduce unnecessary exposure to the criminal justice system for children who had committed minor offences, while ensuring accountability. 

The Panel welcomed the explicit support expressed in the draft resolution for the work of the Panel.  The Panel also acknowledged the draft resolution’s request to Panel members to provide assistance to Member States in the area of child justice.  It had sought to increase its cooperation by establishing a permanent secretariat based in Geneva.  Child justice reform should be in compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other relevant United Nations standards and norms.

MELODY VAURY, of the Comisión Jurídica para el Autodesarollo de los Pueblos Originarios Andinos - CAPAJ, said the Commission had participated in all sessions of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples, and their recommendations had been submitted for the consideration of the Council in documents E/2007/43 and E/2007/12.  No project affecting lands and natural resources which existed in indigenous territory should be implemented without the free and informed consent of indigenous peoples.  It was of particular importance to note that the resolution that the Human Rights Committee had adopted at its last session in March recommended that ancestral lands of indigenous peoples be recognized, and their rights not be undermined in this regard. 

INGEBORG BREINES, of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said that UNESCO welcomed the adoption of the Programme of Action of the Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People, and in particular the call addressed to all actors to “implement the Action Plan of the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity”.  An illustration of the kinds of actions that UNESCO would pursue during the Second Decade were explained and illustrated in UNESCO’s recent publication.  The booklet included, among other things, the challenges involved for UNESCO and the recommendations specifically addressed to the Organization in the United Nations Programme of Action.

The recommendations, which had a strong focus on culture and education, would be addressed through a number of ongoing and new sectoral and intersectoral programmes in areas such as intercultural education, linking indigenous knowledge systems, cultural mapping, approaches to building mutual consent with indigenous peoples on issues regarding their future development, indigenous languages, HIV/AIDS prevention, and information and communication technologies for intercultural dialogue or sacred sites.  The collaboration with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Indigenous Fellowship Programme was ongoing.  UNESCO stood ready to discuss with the Secretariat of the Forum the possibility of undertaking mid-term and end-of-term reviews of its contributions to the goals of the Second Decade. 

PHILIP O. EMAFO, President of the International Narcotics Control Board, said he wished to assure Bolivia that the Board had no reason whatsoever to discriminate against the Government and people of that country, and believed in dialogue, through which all could work together to eliminate the trade in illicit drugs.  The Government of Bolivia was commended for its eradication of some hectares of coca bush, and the Board urged the Bolivian Government to continue this.  The active component of the coca bush was under Schedule, and the coca leaf was regarded as a narcotic drug under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.  The Government of Bolivia had made it possible for the Board to meet with it in September, when these issues would be discussed, and the right decisions would be made.

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For information media • not an official record