Review of regional action taken in support of the Agenda

Social Policy Section
Social Development Division, United Nations ESCAP

Review of Regional Action Taken in Support of

the Agenda for Action on Social Development

in the ESCAP Region, and the Follow-up of the

World Summit for Social Development

MEETING PAPER NO 3, PART 1 OF 2

I. INTRODUCTION

The Manila Declaration on the Agenda for Action on Social Development in the ESCAP Region emanated from the Asian and Pacific Ministerial Conference in Preparation for the World Summit for Social Development, held in 1994. By that Declaration, the ministers called on the United Nations and other international organizations to assist in the early implementation of the Agenda for Action.

The Agenda for Action requests governments of developed countries and international financial institutions to enhance substantially their contribution to the promotion of social development in the region. It calls on international and regional organizations to intensify efforts to provide technical advice and other assistance in the planning and implementation of national efforts to attain the goals contained in the Agenda. It calls on the United Nations and its system at the country level to increase support for the strengthening of national capacity and mechanisms for the implementation and follow up of the Agenda. In order to strengthen policy and programme development it requests the United Nations to promote cooperation and assistance in research on critical social issues in the region. It also requests the United Nations to assist in the establishment of regional and subregional data banks on social development.

By its resolution 51/4 of 1 May 1995, the Commission requested the Executive Secretary of ESCAP to ensure effective coordination of the activities of all concerned United Nations bodies and specialized agencies, as well as non-governmental, private voluntary and community-based organizations in facilitating and monitoring the implementation of the Agenda.

In April 1997 the Executive Secretary invited United Nations bodies and agencies to provide input to a report on the regional support provided in the implementation of the Agenda for Action. The input would focus on current and planned social development activities, particularly in the areas of poverty alleviation, expansion of productive employment and enhancement of social integration. It would also focus on the specific targets set for the 10 major social issues identified in the Agenda: population, health, education, employment, shelter, the environment, disasters, crime, social protection and the family. The present report highlights the submissions received from the following United Nations bodies and agencies: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), International Labour Organization (ILO), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), World Health Organization (WHO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Meteorological Organization (WMO), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). The report also reflects the submissions of the following regional and subregional intergovernmental organizations: Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asian Productivity Organization (APO), South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), and the Forum Secretariat.

II. REGIONAL ACTION TAKEN IN SUPPORT OF THE AGENDA FOR ACTION

A. The United Nations system

1. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

(a) Technical assistance

ESCAP has taken a lead role in the Asian and Pacific region in launching the Agenda for Action and catalysing national and regional action for its implementation. The secretariat has carried out technical assistance activities in national capacity-building and institutional strengthening in order to enable coherent national plans of action to be formulated and implemented. It has endeavoured to galvanize cooperation among various United Nations bodies and agencies, subregional and regional intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in support of national efforts to implement the Agenda.

To promote overall planning and programming, ESCAP has conducted national workshops in selected least developed and Pacific island developing countries. It has organized regional seminars to assist countries in formulating national action plans and programmes for the implementation of the Agenda. Following a regional workshop, it prepared two publications: Policy and Programme Perspectives in Implementing the Agenda for Action on Social Development in the ESCAP Region (ST/ESCAP/1714) and Guidelines for Implementing the Agenda for Action on Social Development in the ESCAP Region (ST/ESCAP/1700). These were disseminated widely for the guidance of planners and social development programme managers in the region. Funding support for these activities was received from the Government of the Netherlands and ADB. At the request of the Governments of Brunei Darussalam, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and others, the secretariat provided advisory services on formulating poverty alleviation and social integration policies, strategies and programmes through its regional adviser on poverty alleviation and social integration. Advisory services were also provided to the Pacific island developing economies through the regional adviser on social development, who is based at the ESCAP Pacific Operations Centre (ESCAP/POC) in Vanuatu.

Since the adoption of the Agenda for Action, ESCAP has undertaken research, country and regional studies and organized meetings which have addressed the goals of poverty alleviation, employment expansion and social integration, as well as the targets set for the 10 major social issues identified in the Agenda for Action.

Poverty alleviation. Human resources development is a crucial element in the alleviation of poverty. ESCAP has created a regional platform for identifying and exchanging innovative practices in human resources development through the networking of centres of excellence for research and training in the delivery of human resources development services in education, health, employment creation and income generation. The profiles of these centres will be published. They will also be posted on the ESCAP home page on the Internet. An ESCAP human resources development course for poverty alleviation is being developed to increase the capacity of the public sector and NGO personnel to plan and deliver social services for the poor.

ESCAP executed a UNDP-funded project known as "SAARC seven sisters: district development coordination and improved poverty project design". The project demonstrated that enhancing the participation of the beneficiaries in the design and implementation of poverty alleviation programmes, as well as increased coordination among the agencies implementing such programme, will increase the effectiveness of the programmes. Committees of agents and beneficiaries of poverty alleviation programmes at district level were created to coordinate and design programmes to suit the needs of the poor, avoid duplication, and forge linkages by identifying gaps and solving problems. These committees have had a significant impact in their districts. The participating governments of Bangladesh and Pakistan have recognized such committees as institutions for coordinating poverty alleviation programmes in their districts.

Given that the largest numbers of the poor in Asia and the Pacific reside in rural areas, activities are being implemented in sustainable agricultural development, the promotion of macroeconomic policies, target-oriented policies, rural credit, and income generation for rural poverty alleviation. The impacts of economic reforms and changing conditions on rural poverty alleviation are being examined so that suitable measures can be developed to address them. To raise the income of the rural poor, innovative technologies and methodologies for non-farming activities are being developed in eight developing countries. At its fifty-second session, held in April 1996, the Commission focused attention on the theme topic of rural poverty alleviation and sustainable development.

A regional project on integrated rural energy and environment development, executed by ESCAP under the UNDP Programme for Asian Cooperation on Energy and Environment, will examine the role of energy in poverty alleviation. The linkage between energy use, the environment and rural development, especially in terms of social, economic, environmental and security impacts, will be studied. Projects on integrating irrigation, drinking water and time-saving agro-processing devices, and on rural energy supply from renewable sources for agricultural productivity and rural development are also being implemented.

Recognizing the importance of physical infrastructure in improving access to health care, education and employment and in enhancing the general living conditions of the rural poor, a pilot project on participatory planning of rural infrastructure is being implemented in collaboration with UNCTAD, ILO, ICAO, the Universal Postal Union, the International Telecommunication Union and the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity in the Lao People's Democratic Republic. This pilot project will increase the capability of institutions at the village and district levels in local transport and communications planning, operation and maintenance. Best practices studies are being undertaken with financial support from UNDP to identify mechanisms and linkages by which transport and communications programmes can contribute to poverty alleviation and improve the quality of life of rural people.

An ESCAP-UNDP pilot project on the integration of non-motorized transport into the transport system of Dhaka is being implemented in cooperation with the World Bank. It will benefit the large section of the poor who are involved as operators and users of non-motorized transport. The project focuses on improving the traffic management capability of the government and involves the community in order to ensure that their needs and priorities are reflected. It also encompasses training, technology improvements for non-motorized transport, and improving the working environment of non-motorized transport operators through insurance schemes, regulatory reforms and technical inputs. To facilitate sharing and learning from the project experiences, selected clusters of countries are involved at each stage of the planning and implementation of the project.

Employment. To further the expansion of productive employment, ESCAP has been facilitating regional cooperation in technological capacity-building through regional seminars, forums and study tours on the promotion of small and medium-sized industries and through enhancing partnerships in technology transfer. These activities aim at increasing awareness of the issues, problems, and constraints faced by small and medium-sized rural industries, and at introducing science and technology in rural areas.

Assistance is provided in the formulation of policies and programmes to strengthen the role of the informal service sector in poverty alleviation. A regional seminar examined the problems and constraints faced by the informal sector and policies and programmes for enhancing the productivity and income of informal sector workers.

Studies on the informal financial sector in selected Pacific island countries were sponsored by ESCAP/POC with support from the Government of France. The series of country reviews will elucidate the role and future options of the informal financial system in the Pacific island developing countries.

A project will be implemented in 1998 to encourage government, the private sector and NGOs to collaborate in promoting the employment of youth and in documenting innovative cooperative initiatives in this area. ESCAP/POC is providing advisory services to Pacific island countries in planning youth policies and programmes, including skills training and livelihood schemes; and in the evaluation of micro-credit schemes and the role of banks in small-scale business development.

A publication on national legislation in support of people with disabilities will encourage legislative action to prevent discrimination against them in employment. ESCAP is cooperating with ILO in the development and field testing of guidelines for strengthening the inclusion of people with disabilities in mainstream employment.

Population and health. ESCAP has responded to the mandates of the International Conference on Population Development, held in Cairo in September 1994, through advocacy, intercountry research, technical assistance to strengthen national capacity and information dissemination in Asia and the Pacific. The population and family planning programmes are geared towards a comprehensive approach encompassing the promotion of gender equity and empowerment of women, environmental protection, reproductive health, and alleviation of poverty with increasing collaboration among governments, the private sector, NGOs, and civil society. It has strengthened the monitoring and information systems related to reproductive health and family planning by specifying appropriate indicators that can be generated accurately and quickly. It has addressed the social and economic development issues pertaining to the ageing of the population; assisted in planning and analysing national social and demographic surveys such as in Cambodia and Viet Nam; published data and information on subjects covered specifically in the Agenda for Action in its periodicals, e.g. Population Headliners and the Asia-Pacific Population Journal; and continued to serve as the secretariat for Asia-Pacific POPIN, a regional information network comprising information centres and libraries in 25 countries dedicated to the exchange of population, family planning and reproductive health data and information.

ESCAP, in collaboration with the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), has implemented a project to assist some governments in the development and implementation of programmes and policies for drug demand reduction and HIV/AIDS infection prevention, with a focus on community-based approaches and strengthening cross-border strategies for collaboration in this field. At a China-Myanmar cross-border meeting, held in March 1996, the Kunming Communiqué was adopted which recommended the formalization of cross-border collaboration for drug demand reduction and HIV/AIDS prevention through planning, data collection, training, implementation of local action plans, exchange of information and personnel, and establishment of joint working groups.

Women in development. ESCAP is promoting the Jakarta Plan of Action for the Advancement of Women in Asia and the Pacific and the critical areas of concern in the Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women, held at Beijing in 1995. Activities have included advocacy and information dissemination, including through video-tapes and seed funding, and support for the establishment of national information centres in the Central Asian republics. Assistance is focused on promoting women's participation in economic development in the areas of education, training, development of the entrepreneurial skills of girls and women, improvement of the status and conditions of women workers, increasing women's access to credit and financial resources; improving the status of women in extreme poverty and assessing conceptual and methodological issues related to poor female-headed households. ESCAP/POC also focuses on incorporation of gender concerns in sectoral project planning and identification of priorities for assistance.

To promote the participation of women in the labour market, the secretariat has launched a project aimed at improving the access of women to formal credit and financial institutions in selected countries. Through case studies and workshops, it will evaluate the obstacles faced by women in obtaining credit from formal financial institutions; identify special features of successful credit programmes; and formulate recommendations to improve women's access to formal financial institutions. In recognition of the key role of women in contributing to economic growth and poverty alleviation, the experience, findings and recommendations will be published for dissemination throughout the region.

In collaboration with UNESCO, assistance is being provided to NGOs and community-based organizations in order to strengthen their capacity to provide literacy training to rural women in South Asia, Indo-China and the Pacific.

To more accurately assess and address the socio-economic situation of women and to enhance their integration into development, projects on gender statistics have been launched to increase the availability and improve the quality of data disaggregated by sex. Publications and country statistical profiles on women and several national statistical booklets on men and women have been published. Particular attention is being paid to direct measurements of gender equity, time-use, violence against women and maternal mortality. Assistance has also been given to Cambodia and Viet Nam through training for in-depth analysis from a gender perspective of population data from recent country surveys.

Environment. ESCAP has assisted in the formulation of national strategies and plans for conservation and management of the environment since the adoption in 1995 of the Regional Action Programme on Environmentally Sound and Sustainable Development 1996-2000. The Regional Action Programme area on sustainable development policy improvement refers specifically to the target area of concern in the Agenda for Action. In addition to assistance in the formulation of national plans, the secretariat has also promoted environmental education, information and state-of-the-environment reports, including local-level reports, through workshops, publications and other projects and regional networks such as the Asia-Pacific Forum of Environmental Journalists.

The secretariat has promoted the collection and exchange of information and data on toxic chemicals and hazardous wastes in the region. Technical assistance is provided in the formulation of plans for the implementation of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (1989) and various conventions on the control of chemical emissions. Manuals have been prepared on integrated plans for the control and management of hazardous wastes and greater re-use and recycling of toxic wastes. Assistance is provided in the protection, maintenance and rehabilitation of non-living and living resources found in the coastal and marine environment in order to improve the sustainable use of these resources by the people whose livelihood depends on them.

The secretariat has developed guidelines and a manual on land-use planning and practices in watershed management and disaster reduction, and it has promoted the exchange of expertise and information on appropriate land-use planning and practices in order to reduce damage from water-related disasters and to enhance productivity.

Crime. In collaboration with the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFEI) and the Asia Crime Prevention Foundation, the secretariat has been assisting countries in strengthening community-based policies and programmes for the prevention of juvenile delinquency and strategies for the social reintegration of juvenile delinquents, including improving treatment for offenders, vocational and educational training, and prison management.

Through regional workshops, country studies and expert consultations, and studies dealing with the de jure and de facto rights of women in Asia and the Pacific, the secretariat promotes national policies and strategies to protect the human rights of women and eradicate violence against them.

In the light of the rising incidence of sexual abuse and exploitation of young women and men, ESCAP has developed a project to promote awareness and establish a network of concerned human resources personnel and civil society, and to strengthen the human resources development capabilities of social and health personnel in the reintegration and rehabilitation of young victims or potential victims of such crimes.

Shelter. In connection with the Regional Action Plan on Urbanization, ESCAP has supported national efforts to alleviate poverty through the formulation of appropriate policies and institutional reform, and by supporting local authorities, NGOs and local communities in the improvement of settlements. In its human settlements policy development, the Second Asia-Pacific Urban Forum, held at Bangkok in March 1996, aimed at building partnerships between government, civil society, the media, and the private sector to improve the management of urban shelter and infrastructure development. Emphasis was placed on formulating enabling policies and institutional frameworks by which the poor could be actively engaged in taking decisions, have access to resources and bring political influence to bear in meeting their needs and priorities. The Forum centred on the role of United Nations and other agencies in addressing major urban issues in the subregion and the scope for cooperation within and between subregions. A Forum paper entitled "Living in Asian cities" was presented at the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), held in Istanbul, Turkey in June 1996.

To enhance partnerships between local governments, NGOs and community-based organizations, the secretariat has initiated pilot programmes in four cities of the region. These projects focus on community-based approaches involving local institutions and community leaders in conducting surveys and preparing action plans. A project on community-based financing for low-income households has also been initiated to facilitate the extension of housing finance to low-income communities. The project draws on experience with community-based savings and credit schemes. These projects will assist governments in the formulation of national policies and programmes to provide adequate shelter for all.

In cooperation with the Regional Network of Local Authorities for the Management of Human Settlements (CITYNET), policy seminars were held to promote NGO/city cooperation focusing on participatory urban management, urban finance, privatization, and waste management. Case studies and training materials on "Healthy Cities" in the ESCAP region were published. Assistance was given to the International Union of Local Authorities - Asia-Pacific Chapter (IULA-ASPAC) in addressing issues of urban poverty and environment.

The secretariat has been organizing national workshops on the use of the training modules contained in the United Nations Training Package on Women, Water Supply and Sanitation to promote women’s role and participation in achieving universal access to safe drinking water supply and adequate sanitation. The energy projects of ESCAP-UNDP also contribute to shelter improvement related to drinking water supply, and innovative time-saving production devices.

Through pilot projects in Bangkok, Beijing and New Delhi, assistance is being provided to promote the building of barrier-free environments to facilitate the free movement of people with disabilities and older persons. Interdivisional collaboration to promote user-friendly public transport systems for people with disabilities is being strengthened.

Recognizing the significance of increasing urbanization and the pressures on the urban poor, the 1997 ESCAP Human Resources Development Award on the theme “Empowerment of the urban poor” will focus on outstanding efforts to improve the quality of life of the urban poor.

Social protection/family. The secretariat has assisted in the formulation of policy and programme recommendations for enhancing social security for the poor, based on the broader concept of social protection and provision of social safety nets, including through skills and assets development. It has also assisted in the preparation of country and regional studies on the subject. Towards Social Security for the Poor in the Asia-Pacific Region (ST/ESCAP/1673) has been published, which also covers alternative modalities such as community and traditional systems of support for the social protection of the poor. A project on the role of the family in social protection has been formulated and funding is being sought for its implementation.

ESCAP has advocated policies and programmes to incorporate the concerns of a growing proportion of older persons in the development mainstream. It has developed a policy framework for lifelong preparation for old age in Asia and the Pacific, which was adopted by a meeting of senior officials in May 1996. It has also organized regional seminars to strengthen government and NGO cooperation in fostering the active involvement of the elderly in social and economic development. In addition, the secretariat has prepared a bibliography and other publications on policies and programmes, national focal points and mandates in the field of ageing.

Regional cooperation to promote the inclusion of disabled persons in the mainstream of development is undertaken within the Agenda for Action for the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons (1993-2002). Advisory services were rendered to the Pacific island countries to enhance the participation of disabled persons. Support was provided to India and Malaysia on developing their respective multisectoral collaborative action plan for the integration of disabled persons into development.

(b) Monitoring the implementation of the Agenda for Action

In pursuance of Commission resolution 51/4, the secretariat prepared a report on steps taken in the implementation of the Agenda for Action. The report was submitted to the Committee on Poverty Alleviation through Economic Growth and Social Development at its third session, held at Bangkok in 1996. By resolution 51/4, the Commission also requested the secretariat to convene meetings at a high political level on a biennial basis to review and assess the progress achieved in attaining the goals and targets of the Agenda. The current Ministerial Conference will undertake that review and propose means to enhance regional cooperation in attaining those goals and targets. A questionnaire was sent out to all members and associate members on the actions they have taken to implement the Agenda. The findings of the questionnaire are reported in document E/ESCAP/SD/SOSD/2-E/ESCAP/SD/MCSD/2 for deliberation at the Conference.

The secretariat closely involves United Nations organizations, such as UNDP, ILO, UNESCO and WHO and other intergovernmental organizations and NGOs in its regional cooperation activities in support of the implementation of the Agenda for Action. It invites these organizations to share reports and substantive inputs on their specialized areas of expertise, and collaborates with them on the preparations for workshops and seminars organized by ESCAP at the national and regional levels. The Regional Inter-agency Committee for Asia and the Pacific (RICAP) Subcommittee on Poverty Alleviation provides a forum for inter-agency coordination and exchange of experience with respect to the goal of poverty alleviation in the Agenda for Action.

In support of effective partnership with NGOs, the secretariat issued a publication entitled Enhancing the Role of NGOs in the Implementation of the Agenda for Action on Social Development in the ESCAP Region (ST/ESCAP/1625). The publication reviews the contributions of NGOs in addressing the major social issues raised in the Agenda for Action and provides policy and operational guidelines for strengthening governmental and non-governmental relations in the social development endeavour.

An NGO forum on social development in the Asian and Pacific region, in preparation for the Fifth Asian and Pacific Ministerial Conference on Social Development, was convened in September 1997 in Kuala Lumpur. The forum was organized jointly with the International Council on Social Welfare. The report of the forum, including an NGO statement, is to be submitted to the Conference for information.

NGOs have been mobilized as active collaborators or participants in workshops, seminars, training and other forums of ESCAP. The secretariat has endeavoured to promote stronger government and NGO cooperation in policy and programme development, as well as implementation and monitoring of Agenda activities at the national level. Such activities include projects on government-NGO cooperation. ESCAP has drawn on the technical expertise and resources of NGOs in such areas as population, human resources development, policies and programmes for older persons and disabled persons, and human settlements.

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