ECE's 56th Session: transport, environment and health, and the Millennium Declaration (Geneva 7-11 May 2001)

On the subject of transport, environment and health, the Commission decided, among other matters, that further preparatory work was needed to be able to decide whether to start negotiations on a framework convention on the subject to be carried out by a tripartite task force to be established within the framework of the London and Vienna follow-up processes. The Commission expressed support for the initiative to create a task force on guidelines on energy pricing which could greatly contribute to addressing the issues of energy market, liberalization and harmonization of energy taxes. The Commission also expressed support for the “blue corridor” project as a way to promote environmentally friendly transport of goods in a major east-west pan-European corridor.

On the matter of follow-up to the United Nations Millennium Declaration, the Commission decided to carry out annual reviews of the objectives contained in the Declaration as they apply to ECE region. It decided to hold a dialogue with relevant stakeholders—such as NGOs, representatives of academia, and the business community—to raise awareness and promote public-private partnerships in support of follow-up to the Declaration. It also decided to promote joint follow-up to the Declaration through inter-agency cooperation.

ESCAP's 57th session ends with call to bridge poverty gap (Bangkok, 19-25 April 2001)

The 57th annual ESCAP Session focussed on the theme, “Reducing Disparities: Balanced Development of Urban and Rural Areas and Regions within the Countries of the Asia and Pacific region”. A major conclusion reached during the session was that the emerging trends of the information revolution and economic globalization will reinforce existing disparities between urban and rural areas, and create new ones. Therefore, ESCAP member countries adopted a resolution calling for regional cooperation in information and communication technologies for development, and the introduction of ICT and environmentally sound technologies in rural areas, which would facilitate sustainable development significantly. ESCAP members felt that ICT was central to the creation of a global knowledge-based economy and pledged to strengthen the Commission's activities in this area.

During a Ministerial Roundtable, which was one of the special features of this year's session, member States stated that young people who are not receiving the right education may turn into a lost generation in economic and social terms. Some of the suggested solutions to these problems were education for change, preparing people for the knowledge society, decentralization and devolution of authority, capacity building and the creation of social and economic safety nets to ensure the minimum level of security for those who can not participate in development.

Another special feature of this year's Commission session was the regional preparation for the special session of the UN General Assembly on HIV/AIDS. Two former heads of governments (Thailand and of Zambia) made an emotional appeal to Governments to further south-south collaboration in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The Commission adopted a resolution calling for action to fight HIV/AIDS in order to cope with drain on human resources as over 50 per cent of new infections were occurring among young people below the age of 24 years

Under restructuring of ESCAP, member States affirmed ESCAP's strong emphasis on poverty alleviation, in line with the goal of the Millennium Declaration to halve absolute poverty by 2015. Out of the world's 1.3 billion people living in absolute poverty, about two thirds live in Asia. The session also adopted a resolution calling for the integration of Asian and Pacific developing countries and economies in transition into the international trading system, and to strengthen the positions of developing countries in the context of the quickening pace of globalization. They also endorsed the Commission's focus on emerging social issues including population, ageing, migration, trafficking of women and children, abuse and exploitation of children and youth, and disabled people.

ECA's 25th Conference of African ministers agree to merge plans into a single initiative (Algiers, 8-10 May 2001)

More than 40 African Ministers of Finance and Planning have agreed to consolidate parallel plans for Africa's recovery into a single initiative around which the continent will rally in its quest for development.

During the 2001 Joint Conference of African Ministers of Finance and Ministers of Planning and Economic Development, organized by ECA and hosted by the Government of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, deliberations were dominated by a discussion of three new development initiatives: (1) the Millennium Partnership for the African Recovery Programme (MAP), proposed last year by Algeria, Nigeria, and South Africa; (2) the Omega Plan, proposed by Senegal; and (3) the Compact for African Recovery, developed by ECA, which envisioned its role as a support to Africa speaking with one voice.

The resolution adopted by the Conference assigns ECA a role as facilitator, requesting the Commission to assist the technical workshops of experts being organized by the MAP and Omega groups in Abuja, Nigeria (May) and Dakar, Senegal (June), respectively, and to convene a joint meeting following the two workshops to arrive at a consolidated programme. This programme would be presented to the Heads of State of the initiating countries for their review and approval in advance of the OAU Lusaka Summit in July 2001.

ESCWA 21st Ministerial Session Recommends Improving Economic Cooperation and Integration (Beirut, 8-11 May 2001)

Member States of ESCWA endorsed a major agreement on International Roads in the Arab Mashreq that was initiated by the Commission that is bound to ease the flow of traffic and economic exchange between Arab states. The agreement was signed by eight out of ESCWA's 13 members and would remain open for signing until 31 December. The ministers also endorsed the commission's work programme that outlined the region's priorities for the next biennium and approved several resolutions aimed at strengthening the integration of member countries in the world economy.

Participants also approved a resolution to boost economic sectors in Palestine that have suffered extensively as a result of the conflict. The ministers decided also to set up a consultative committee for scientific and technological development and technological creativity. Other issues of importance that were debated during the session included the Commission's efforts to combat HIV/AIDS and avoid its spread in the region. The need to use a more sustainable water policy and to find alternative energy resources was also discussed.

ESCWA's role in promoting intergovernmental cooperation to ensure concrete achievements concerning the region's priority economic issues was  broached. The ministers discussed priorities related to statistics, liberalization of foreign trade and economic globalization in the countries of the ESCWA region and highlighted the role of information technology and development.