Background Release

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL OPENS 2008 SUBSTANTIVE SESSION AT HEADQUARTERS,

30 JUNE, WITH HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT, FIRST DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION FORUM

The Economic and Social Council, which serves as the central United Nations forum for discussing international economic and social issues and formulating policy recommendations, will hold its 2008 substantive session at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 30 June to 25 July.

This year’s high-level segment, which will be held from 30 June to 3 July, will focus on a range of issues on the United Nations development agenda.  During the segment, the Council will hold its first biennial Development Cooperation Forum, which will consider mainstreaming international development goals, aid allocation, aid effectiveness and south-south and triangular development cooperation.  Two roundtable panels will consider bioenergy and long-term solutions to the global food crisis.  The Annual Ministerial Review, which is being held for the second time, will focus on sustainable development and feature presentations from eight developing and developed countries.

At 9 a.m. on Monday, 30 June, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will open the segment, which will also feature Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Nobel-prize winning study group tasked with studying human activity’s effects on the environment, and Lord Stern of Brentford, author of the Stern Review, the influential 2006 report, which concluded that 1 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP) per annum investment was required, in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

An Innovation Fair, showcasing some ground-breaking practices and providing an opportunity for policymakers to interact with innovators from the private sector, foundations and other civil society organizations, will run parallel to the high-level segment.

Focusing on the follow-up to the 2007 Ministerial Declaration on strengthening the efforts to eradicate poverty and hunger, the coordination segment will run from 7 to 9 July.  The segment will also review the Council’s progress in promoting the integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow up to the major United Nations conferences and summits.

The segment on operational activities of the United Nations for international development cooperation will be held from 10 to 14 July.  It will be followed by the humanitarian affairs segment from 15 to 17 July.

During the general segment, which will run from 18 to 24 July, the Council will review the implementation of and follow up to major United Nations conferences, including the International Conference on Financing for Development and the Brussels Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries.  It will also consider the question of mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations system, as well as the work of some United Nations inter-agency mechanisms.  Action on outstanding draft proposals will take place on 25 July, before the Council concludes its substantive session.

The proposed programme of work for the session can be found in document E/2008/L.5, and the annotated provisional agenda, which includes details on available documentation, can be found in document E/2008/L.6.

High-Level Segment (30 June–3 July)

In addition to the first biennial Development Cooperation Forum, which will focus on making development cooperation more coherent and more effective, in several interactive sessions and special policy dialogues, eight developing and developed countries will report during the Annual Ministerial Review on the progress they have made towards the goals and targets of the United Nations Development Agenda.  Ministerial roundtables will address the question of how to put the world onto a sustainable development path.  A thematic discussion on promoting an integrated approach to rural development for poverty eradication and sustainable development will be held, along with the two high-level roundtables on bioenergy and the food crisis.  The high-level policy dialogue with the heads of the international financial and trade institutions will focus on key developments in the world economy and international economic and development cooperation. 

Coordination Segment (7-9 July)

Prominent during the coordination segment will be the follow-up to the 2007 Ministerial Declaration on strengthening efforts to eradicate poverty and hunger.  In this segment, the Economic and Social Council will consider, among other documents, the report of the Secretary-General on the role of the United Nations system in implementing that Declaration.  Four panel discussions will also be held on food security, rural development and the challenges of social welfare, the Council’s role in addressing violence against women and coherence in the Organization’s work on rural employment.  A review of the Council’s progress in promoting the integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow up to the major United Nations conferences and summits will also take place.

Operational Activities Segment (10-14 July)

This segment will include a series of interactive dialogues on operational activities for development in the United Nations system, including panel discussions on the role of the United Nations system in a changing aid environment and on strengthening the responsiveness of the United Nationstocountries’ different development needs. A dialogue with the heads of funds and programmes and a general debate will also be held.  Under this segment, the Council will consider three main reports of the Secretary-General on the management process for the implementation of General Assembly resolution 62/208 on the triennial comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system (document E/2008/49); on the functioning of the resident coordinator system, including costs and benefits (document E/2008/60); and on comprehensive statistical analysis of the financing of operational activities for development of the United Nations system for 2006 (document E/63/71-E/2008/46).

Humanitarian Affairs Segment (15-17 July)

The theme for the humanitarian affairs segment will be building capabilities and capacities at all levels for timely humanitarian assistance, including disaster risk reduction.  Two panel discussions on disaster risk reduction and preparedness, and humanitarian challenges related to global food aid, will be convened.  These will feature high-level participation from affected Governments, relevant United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations and experts.

On the margins of the Humanitarian Affairs Segment, several events, several informal side events, will be held on such issues as the Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) mid-year review, the independent Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) evaluation, the use of military assets in natural disaster relief, internally displaced persons in the context of natural disasters, gender-mainstreaming and the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action.

General Segment (18-24 July)

Under the implementation of and follow up to major United Nations conferences and summits, the Economic and Social Council will review progress made in implementing the Brussels Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries, as well as the coordinated implementation of the Habitat Agenda.  The question of mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations system will also be discussed.  The work of some United Nations inter-agency mechanisms, such as the Ad Hoc Inter-Agency Task Force on Tobacco Control and the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group on Informatics, will be reviewed. 

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For information media • not an official record