Opening Coordination and Management Meeting, Economic and Social Council Adopts Three Draft Resolutions, Including Texts on Conferences in Asia, Latin America
Elections Held to Fill Vacancies in 11 Subsidiary Bodies
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) used the first day of a periodic management meeting to advance its wide-ranging work on economic, social and environmental issues by adopting several draft texts, accepting reports and filling vacancies on nearly a dozen of its own subsidiary bodies.
The first day of its two-day Coordination and Management Meeting also gave the Council and delegates an opportunity to discuss food security and sustainable consumption and production. Delegates commended the work of the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Committee on World Food Security after Committee Chair Gerda Verburg laid out details of its work during the morning session. Council Vice President Oh Joon (Republic of Korea) later moderated a panel discussion that identified ways to best carry out five programmes meant to encourage sustainable consumption and production over the next decade. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) had helped organize the panel discussion.
The Council uses the management meetings to tackle the nitty-gritty work of running a 54-nation body that serves as the Organization’s central platform for reflection, debate and innovative thinking on sustainable development.
At today’s meeting, the Council adopted by consensus a draft decision that would accept an offer by the Government of the Republic of Korea to host the Twentieth United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific on Jeju Island in the Republic of Korea from 6 to 9 October 2015. The conference would not create any additional costs for the Organization’s 2014-2015 programme budget, as the text called for the Republic of Korea Government to defray any additional costs.
Before the panel discussion, Arab Hoballah, Chief of the Sustainable Consumption and Production Branch of UNEP’s Division of Technology, Industry and Economics and representative of UNEP’s 10-year Framework of Programmes Secretariat, introduced the Secretary-General’s note which transmitted the progress report on the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production patterns. Jamil Ahmad, Deputy Director of UNEP’s New York Office, introduced the report of UNEP’s United Nations Environment Assembly, which was held in June 2014 in Nairobi.
A primary objective of the 10-year framework of programmes was to speed up a shift to sustainable consumption and production around the world by separating economic growth from environmental degradation, creating decent jobs and eliminating poverty, Mr. Hoballah said. To achieve that, five programmes had been launched to implement the 10-year framework. They focused on sustainable public procurement; sustainable tourism; sustainable buildings and construction; sustainable lifestyles; and education and consumer information.
In other business, Amr Nour, Director of the Regional Commission’s New York Office, introduced the Secretary General’s report on regional cooperation in the economic, social and related fields.
The Council adopted by consensus a draft resolution that endorsed the establishment of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The text asked the Executive Secretary to follow up on its implementation and also gave a go-ahead for St. Maarten’s associate membership in ECLAC.
The Council then adopted by consensus a draft resolution by which it endorsed the establishment of the Intergovernmental Committee on Technology for Development in the Economic Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). It decided to rename the Commission’s Technical Committee the Executive Committee and asked the Executive Secretary to follow-up on implementation.
The Council began its meeting by holding elections to fill empty slots on 11 of its subsidiary bodies, including the International Narcotics Control Board Commission on Population and Development, Commission for Social Development, Commission on Science and Technology for Development, Committee for Programme and Coordination, Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting, Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, Committee on Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters, Executive Board of the World Food Programme (WFP), Programme Coordinating Board of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and the Governing Council of UN-Habitat.
Also speaking today were representatives of the Netherlands, Pakistan, United States, Dominican Republic, Switzerland, Republic of the Congo, Italy, Mexico, South Africa, Brazil and Germany.
The Council will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 18 November, to continue its Coordination and Management Meeting.
Elections, Nominations & Appointments
The Council elected Hao Wei (China) by secret ballot to the International Narcotics Control Board for a five-year term of office beginning on 2 March 2015. The other candidates were Jaanus Harro (Estonia), Baba Koumare (Mali) and Emilis Subata (Lithuania).
No candidate obtained a required majority in the first round of voting. The second round was a face-off between the top two contenders, in which Mr. Hao defeated Mr. Koumare 29 to 15.
An additional vacant seat would arise from the resignation of a member, whose term was to expire on 1 March 2017. The election for that seat would be held at a later date.
The Council elected Israel by acclamation to the Commission on Population and Development, filling an outstanding seat for the Western European and other States for a term beginning at the Commission’s first meeting of the forty-ninth session in 2015 and expiring at the close of the fifty-second session in 2019.
Turning to the Commission for Social Development, the Council elected, by acclamation, Benin, Burundi and Namibia to that body to fill vacancies for the African States for the term beginning on the Commission’s first meeting in the fifth-fourth session in 2015 through the fifty-seventh session in 2019. Also elected by acclamation for the same period were Iran, Iraq and Qatar from the Asia-Pacific States.
The Council elected, by acclamation, Hungary to the Commission on Science and Technology for Development for the term beginning from the date of election to 31 December 2016, and Bulgaria and Poland for a four-year term from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2018, to fill vacant seats for Eastern European States. Also elected by acclamation for the same period were Cuba, Dominican Republic and Peru from the Latin American and Caribbean States for a four-year term as well as Canada, Turkey and the United Kingdom from the Western European and other States.
Moving on to election of the Committee for Programme and Coordination, the Council nominated Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United States for election by the General Assembly for a three-year term from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2017.
The Council then elected Germany to the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting for a three-year term from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2017. An additional vacancy would arise as Cameroon had withdrawn from the incoming three-year term.
For the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Council elected Chen Shiqiu (China) by acclamation to fill a seat vacated by his compatriot Cong Jun for a period beginning the date of election to 31 December 2016.
The Council took note of the Secretary-General’s appointments of Kim S. Jacinto-Henares (Philippines), Nasser Mohammed Al Khalifa (Qatar) and Xiaoyue Wang (China) to the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters for the term from the date of election to 30 June 2017. Those seats had become vacant due to the resignation of Satit Rungkasiri (Thailand), Khalid Abdulrahman Almuftah (Qatar) and Tizhong Liao (China).
The Council elected, by acclamation, Hungary to the Executive Board of the World Food Programme for a three-year term from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2017, as well as Sweden to complete the term of Switzerland from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015.
For the Programme Coordinating Board of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the Council elected, by acclamation, Iran from the Asia-Pacific States, and Canada and Denmark from Western European and other States, for a three-year term from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2017, as well as Netherlands to complete the term of Luxembourg from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015.
The Council elected Indonesia, Iran, Iraq and Japan to the Governing Council of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) from the Asia-Pacific States for a four-year term from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2018. Also elected for the same period were Guatemala from the Latin and Caribbean States and Finland from the Western European and other States.
Implementation of and follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits; Implementation of General Assembly resolutions 50/227, 52/12B, 57/270 B, 60/265 and 61/16
GERDA VERBURG (Netherlands), Chair of the Committee on World Food Security of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), introduced the note by the Secretary-General (document E/2014/84) transmitting the report on the Committee’s main decisions and policy recommendations.
The representative of the Netherlands said agriculture and food security was a core business for the Netherlands. The fight for food security was very important. Even though progress had been made, there was much work to be done. One in nine people worldwide did not have enough to eat. Special attention had to be paid to the role of women in agricultural development.
The representative of Pakistan said food security was a major challenge for many countries and 85 million people were chronically hungry. Millions of people suffered from malnutrition. The reasons for food insecurity and malnutrition were very complex. Poverty eradication was an important part of the post-2015 development agenda. Fighting to eradicate hunger and malnutrition was essential.
The representative of the United States welcomed Ms. Verburg’s work and hoped there would be greater collaboration between FAO and the Council on food security issues. It was important to encourage investment, which contributed to global food security.
The representative of the Dominican Republic said the Committee’s work was very important to achieve consensus on investment in agriculture. Investment in small-scale agriculture was very important as were efforts to help small-scale producers stay out of poverty.
The representative of Switzerland thanked Ms. Verburg for her role in helping strengthen the collaboration among United Nations organizations in their work in food security.
The representative of the Republic of the Congo welcomed the Committee’s achievements in food security and nutrition. The elimination of poverty was the main challenge of sustainable development. Sustainable agriculture and food security were very important.
The representative of Brazil commended the Committee’s work and its efforts to coordinate its work with other global initiatives on food security.
Ms. Verburg thanked the delegates for their recognition of the Committee’s work. Hunger and malnutrition were important issues. It was also worthwhile to pay attention to the problem of over-nutrition, or obesity. It was important to scale-up nutrition initiatives, but also to support and stimulate outcomes from the initiatives. Otherwise, papers would be created without solving problems. Regarding gender, she noted that most farmers in Africa were women and it was crucial to give women equal opportunity in agriculture. The sustainable use of water was another important issue. The agricultural process needed sustainability and transparency from farm to plate.
The Council then acknowledged the Secretary-General’s note containing the Committee’s report (document E/2014/84) and his report on mainstreaming of the three dimensions of sustainable development throughout the United Nations system (document E/2014/66).
Economic and Environmental Questions: Cartography
Considering the report of the fourth session of the Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (document E/2014/46), the Council adopted by consensus a draft resolution in the report titled, “A global geodetic reference frame for sustainable development”, and a draft decision titled, “Report of the Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management on its fourth session and provisional agenda and dates for the fifth session of the Committee”.
The Council then considered a draft decision titled, “Dates and venue for the twentieth session of the United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific” (document E/2014/L.32), submitted by Council Vice President Oh Joon (Republic of Korea).
A Secretariat official said that under the terms of the draft decision, the Council would decide to accept the offer made by the Government of the Republic of Korea to host the Twentieth United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific on Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, from 6 to 9 October 2015.
By the decision’s text, the Government of the Republic of Korea would need to defray the additional costs, directly or indirectly involved, in accordance with paragraph 5 of Assembly resolution 40/243. As a result, the adoption of draft decision E/2014/L.32 would not carry any financial implications for the 2014-2015 biennium programme budget.
The Council then adopted that draft without a vote.
Social and Human Rights Questions
The Council took note of the report of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on its fiftieth and fifty-first sessions (document E/2014/22) and the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (document E/2014/86), introduced by IVAN SIMONOVIC, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights.
Economic and Environmental Questions: Sustainable Development
ARAB HOBALLAH, Chief of the Sustainable Consumption and Production Branch, Division of Technology, Industry and Economics, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and representative of UNEP’s 10-year Framework of Programmes Secretariat, introduced the Secretary-General’s note (document E/2014/93) containing a progress report on the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production patterns.
Economic and Environmental Questions: Environment
JAMIL AHMAD, Deputy Director of UNEP’s New York Office, introduced the report of UNEP’s United Nations Environment Assembly, held in Nairobi from 23 to 27 June 2014 (document E/69/25).
Panel Discussion
The Council then held a panel discussion on “assessing progress and identifying opportunities for the implementation of the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production”. Moderated by Council Vice President Oh Joon (Republic of Korea), it featured presentations by Sebastiano Cardi, Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations; Yanerit Morgan, Deputy Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations; Thembela Ngculu, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of South Africa to the United Nations; and Mr. Hoballah of UNEP.
Mr. CARDI said that sustainable consumption and production was one of the critical issues facing the world today. It was not just another overarching theme, but indeed an extremely critical concept as the post-2015 development agenda commenced. It was necessary to bridge the gap between countries at different stages of development and curb unsustainable trends. Italy considered interaction between stakeholders, Government, business and civil society a vital element of the 10-year framework. As current president of the Council of the European Union, Italy would host a workshop on the matter, in close cooperation with UNEP. Successive summits and conferences in Johannesburg and Rio had recognized that the shift towards sustainable consumption and production patterns was important for sustainable development, he said, stressing the importance of embarking on a collaborate path in that direction. Italy would continue to support implementation of the 10-year framework.
Ms. MORGAN said that Mexico served as Chair of the Executive Committee of the Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Council of Government Experts on Sustainable Consumption and Production during its first two-year period and a committee member. From that regional and global position, her country was learning about the opportunities and challenges involved in changing consumption patterns. Mexico had decided to develop a national action plan, not only because it saw environmental challenges, but also because it saw it was important to take up opportunities to make resources more efficient.
She said Mexico also had a national centre for clean production, involving various institutions promoting energy efficiency. It had also been working with UNEP to try to empower citizens to live responsible and sustainable lifestyles. There was a strong commitment from many governmental and non-governmental actors alike to ensure that the 10-year framework would be inclusive and empowering in the coming years. The framework was practical for achieving sustainable consumption and production patterns through a transformative development agenda. There was a need for better dissemination of programmes aimed to implement the framework and stronger partnerships with more resources.
Mr. NGCULU noted that together with the United Republic of Tanzania, his delegation had served on the Board of Directors of the 10—year framework. Africa had long recognized the importance of shifting to sustainable consumption and production partnerships and had adopted programmes toward that end prior to the Rio+20 Conference. He participated in the meeting in Namibia in May 2014, which was an important milestone for the 10-year framework and showed its power to drive the shift toward sustainable production and consumption partners. He was also encouraged to see support of green businesses in six African countries. Namibia offered important opportunities to boost support for action on the ground in Africa. He welcomed the establishment of a new programme on sustainable food systems, which had been created to meet emerging demand. That programme would be vital for Africa as it would help eradicate poverty; he urged other countries to support it. His delegation looked forward to working with the Council as the 10-year framework expanded in 2015 and beyond.
Mr. HOBALLAH said that one of the programme’s main objectives had been to accelerate the shift towards sustainable consumption and production (SCP) in all countries. In this regard, decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation, creating decent jobs, and contributing to poverty eradication and shared prosperity would be required. To achieve that, five programmes had been launched for the implementation of the 10-year framework and there had been a call for other programmes to be introduced. Current programmes focused on sustainable public procurement; sustainable tourism; sustainable buildings and construction; sustainable lifestyles; and education and consumer information. Notably, UNEP had succeeded in achieving a proper gender balance in the various regions. In order to add value, it must be ensured that everyone worked together towards a common objective.
The 10-year framework of programmes did, however, face certain challenges, he said, including empowering national focal points, ensuring more active participation from the private sector and securing the right resources in order to scale up implementation. In the next six months, UNEP would launch two remaining programmes: one on buildings and construction in early 2015, and another on sustainable food systems in the second quarter of that year. It would also allocate funds to successful projects and conduct a comprehensive upgrade of the Global Sustainable Consumption and Production Clearinghouse, due to begin shortly.
In the ensuing interactive discussion, Brazil’s representative said that it was demand which drove production, and by providing relevant and credible information on sustainability directly to consumers, that would contribute to creating economies of scale, reducing costs for sustainable production, and supporting a cycle that could transform economies. Germany’s representative noted the importance of attracting the private sector to engage in the 10-year framework and asked about plans with regard to the production side of that equation.
Responding, Mr. HOBALLAH said that legal barriers currently were being addressed at the national level in order to encourage industry stakeholders. Once the necessary legislation framework was in place in a country, and cooperation with the private sector was achieved, then sustainable procurement could take place.
Mr. NGCULU said it was clear that Member States were committed to the Rio+20 outcomes and wanted to see their implementation. It was important to mobilize resources for UNEP’s trust fund for sustainable consumption and production programmes, and he appealed to Member States to make voluntary contributions since without the funds, the programmes could not be implemented.
Regional Cooperation
AMR NOUR, Director of the Regional Commissions New York Office, introduced the Secretary General’s report (document E/2014/15) on regional cooperation in the economic, social and related fields. He said the heads of the United Nations regional commissions had engaged with the Council on the priorities of their respective regions in carrying out the post-2015 development agenda. The regional commissions took initiative to seek Member States’ perspectives and had identified key priority areas in each region for urgent action. Critical aspects of the post-2015 development agenda reflected priorities identified through regional consultations. However, some key issues identified at the regional level had not yet reached the global level. He expressed hope that preparatory meetings being held ahead of the July 2015 Third International Conference on Financing for Development, in Addis Ababa, would bring a fresh perspective towards a transformative agenda. Consultations were held on the review and monitoring framework for the post-2015 development agenda. A key message was that the monitoring and review framework should be an important part of the agenda. In all, the four regional consultations resulted in a number of resolutions, five of which required action from the Council. He looked forward to the Council’s endorsement on those texts.
The Council then took action on the recommendations contained in the addenda to the Secretary-General’s report on regional cooperation in the economic, social and related fields (document E/2014/15).
The first addendum to that report was titled “matters calling for action by the Economic and Social Council or brought to its attention: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and Economic Commission for Africa” (document Add.1/Rev.1).
The Council adopted by consensus a draft decision, contained in that addendum, by which it endorsed the establishment of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and asked the Executive Secretary to follow up on implementation to that effect and approved the granting of Saint Maarten associate membership in ECLAC.
The second addendum to that report was titled “matters calling for action by the Economic and Social Council or brought to its attention: Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia” (document Add.2).
The Council adopted without a vote a draft resolution, contained in that addendum, by which it endorsed the establishment of the Intergovernmental Committee on Technology for Development in the Economic Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), decided to re-designate ESCWA’s Technical Committee as the Executive Committee and asked the Executive Secretary to follow up on implementation to that effect.
After that action, the Council took note of the Secretary-General’s report on regional cooperation in the economic, social and related fields (document E/2014/15) as a whole.
It also took note of the report on the economic situation in the Economic Commission for Europe region (Europe, North America and the Commonwealth of Independent States), 2013-2014 (document E/2014/16); the overview of economic and social conditions in Africa, 2013-2014 (document E/2014/17); the note by the secretariat of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) containing the summary of the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2014 (document E/2014/18); the United Nations Secretariat’s note titled, “Latin America and the Caribbean: economic situation and outlook 2013-2014” (document E/2014/19), which updated the analysis in the report, “Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2013” issued by ECLAC; and the summary of the survey of economic and social developments in the Arab region, 2013-2014 (document E/2014/20).
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* The 48th and 49th Meetings were covered in Press Releases GA/EF/3399
and GA/EF/3409, respectively.