The Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, headed by Mr. Nitin Desai, provides support for the central coordinating and policy-making functions vested in the Economic and Social Council and its subsidiary bodies, as well as for the Second and Third Committees of the General Assembly. Ensuring the integration of economic, social and environmental concerns in policy development and implementation is a crucial objective underlying the structure and mandate of the Department.
The World Summit for Social Development was convened by the General Assembly at Copenhagen from 6 to 12 March 1995 to address the urgent and universal need to eradicate poverty, expand productive employment, reduce unemployment and enhance social integration. The Summit provided an impetus for the world's Governments to give priority to the social aspects of global development and the social impact of international relations, while reaffirming their commitment to individual, family and community well-being as the fundamental concern of their policies.
The Summit was the largest gathering ever of Heads of State and Government: in all, 187 countries participated in the deliberations, which produced the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and Programme of Action, and 117 of them were represented by Heads of State or Government. In addition, 2,315 delegates representing 811 non-governmental organizations joined the meeting, demonstrating eloquently the vitality and diversity of people's initiatives and establishing the foundation for a renewed and strengthened partnership between Governments and the actors of civil society. The preparations for the Summit and the actions initiated in pursuance of its mandate have brought into play virtually the entire spectrum of departments, agencies, programmes and offices of the United Nations system and fostered coordination between them and with Member States and non-governmental organizations.
The observance of the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty (1996) will provide an excellent opportunity for the implementation of the commitments made at Copenhagen. Countries are invited to elaborate specific targets during the Year and to prepare national strategies for the struggle against poverty.
The International Year of the Family (1994) has led to a remarkable evolution of the political approach to the family as an object and agent of social policy throughout the world. A greater recognition has been accorded at the global, national and individual levels to the importance of supporting families and bringing about positive changes in the family as an integral part of the efforts to achieve peace, human rights, democracy, sustainable development and social progress, as well as lasting progress on behalf of women, children and other traditionally less advantaged members of society. A large number of local, national and international activities in support of the family were arranged by Governments in more than 150 countries and by various non-governmental, community and intergovernmental organizations in observance of the Year. Those efforts were effectively augmented by supportive action of 34 bodies and agencies of the United Nations, including the regional commissions.
The International Conference on Families, held in October 1994 during the forty-ninth session of the General Assembly, marked the first occasion on which the Assembly devoted a discussion exclusively to the family. The Conference itself conveyed the growing conviction that it is in the best interests of individuals and societies to promote democratic families and family-friendly societies. I will submit to the Assembly at its fiftieth session a detailed report on the observance of the International Year of the Family, along with specific proposals on its long-term follow-up.
The High-level Advisory Board on Sustainable Development, which was set up following the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in June 1992, to provide independent advice to the Secretary-General on environment and development matters, held its third session from 17 to 21 October 1994. The Board examined four issues: (a) sustainable food security for a growing world population; (b) the need for mutual reinforcement between international trade and environment policies; (c) value-based education for sustainability; and (d) ways of forging new alliances for sustainable development. The Vice-Chairperson of the Board apprised the Commission on Sustainable Development, at its third session, of the conclusions reached in its deliberations and on its discussions with me. The Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable Development of the Administrative Committee on Coordination met in February and July 1995. The Inter-Agency Committee has received strong support from Member States, which have expressed their particular appreciation for the fact that the follow-up to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and the work of the Commission on Sustainable Development bring together the entire system in a coordinated and cooperative manner.
Since the adoption of the Barbados Declaration and Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States in May 1994, efforts have intensified to follow up on the work programme regarding the specific economic, social and environmental concerns of those States. There is increasing interest among the organizations of the system, including the regional commissions, as well as a number of concerned non-governmental organizations, in joint and coordinated activities in this regard. In May 1995, the Department organized a meeting of those organizations and representatives of the Alliance of Small Island States to discuss the status of implementation of the Barbados agreements. The achievement of the goals set out in those agreements, as with Agenda 21 itself, continues to be impeded by financial constraints, as well as by difficulties in the effective transfer of technology for sustainable development.
The Office of the Special Coordinator for Africa and Least Developed Countries, as requested by the Secretary-General's Panel of High-level Personalities on African Development, organized a high-level brainstorming workshop on non-governmental organizations and African development on 16 and 17 January 1995. The Office prepared a pamphlet on the conclusions and recommendations of the Panel, as requested by the General Assembly in its resolution 48/214 of 23 December 1993. In addition to disseminating information to countries and organizations, the Office coordinated activities related to the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s, adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 46/151 of 18 December 1991, including the sixth meeting of the Working Group of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Africa's Critical Economic Situation, Recovery and Development.
My report on the development of Africa, including the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s, prepared for the 1995 high-level segment of the Economic and Social Council, identifies key policy issues critical to African development and offers concrete recommendations on what African countries and the international community can do to improve the lives of the people of Africa. It also analyses the progress made and difficulties encountered in the implementation of the New Agenda.
The Office of the Special Coordinator provided substantive assistance to donor and African countries in the negotiations on the establishment of a diversification facility in the African Development Bank, which led to General Assembly resolution 49/142 of 23 December 1994, requesting those States participating in the African Development Fund to consider making an initial adequate contribution to finance the preparatory phase of commodity diversification projects and programmes in African countries. The Office organized regular briefings on areas of concern and, together with UNDP and the Governments of Japan and Indonesia, organized the Asia-Africa Forum at Bandung, Indonesia, in December 1994, as a follow-up to the Tokyo International Conference on African Development. The Office also organized, together with the Department for Development Support and Management Services and UNDP, an international workshop on informal sector development in Africa at United Nations Headquarters. The Office participated in a number of intergovernmental and other meetings, including those of OAU.
The Interim Secretariat of the Convention to Combat Desertification opened the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, for signature in Paris on 14 and 15 October 1994. As at July 1995, the number of signatories had reached 106 and 2 countries had ratified the Convention. Consistent with General Assembly resolution 49/234 of 23 December 1994, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the Elaboration of an International Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, held its sixth session in New York, from 9 to 19 January 1995, and adopted a work programme for the interim period leading to the first session of the Conference of the Parties, which will be held within 12 months of the entry into force of the Convention. The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee established two working groups to lay the groundwork for the first session of implementation of the resolution on urgent action for Africa, through the exchange of information and the review of progress made thereon, and through the promotion of action in other regions. It initiated this phase of its work at its seventh session, held at Nairobi from 7 to 18 August 1995.
"Awareness days" are being held in 20 affected countries in the various subregions of Africa to sensitize key actors at the local level and to enable them to participate fully in the Convention's implementation. Seminars are also being held at the subregional level in southern, eastern and western Africa to facilitate the preparation of relevant action programmes. A number of activities were held in various countries in observance of World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, 17 June, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 49/115 of 19 December 1994, including seminars, exhibitions and the launching of publications.
The first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was convened from 28 March to 7 April 1995 at Berlin. The meeting aimed at setting in motion the processes needed to promote the effective implementation of the Convention -- only four years after multilateral negotiations were first launched on the issue of global warming and its impact on the climate. It is to the credit of the international community that the Conference of the Parties, fully aware of the contribution that the implementation of the Convention can make towards sustainable development, has agreed by consensus to forge ahead with concrete efforts aimed at bringing emissions of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere within safe limits.
The Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis, headed by Mr. Jean-Claude Milleron, is the principal unit in the United Nations for the generation and elaboration of economic, demographic, social and environmental data and the analysis of national and regional development policies and trends. It also provides technical support to projects in statistics and population undertaken by developing countries.
A cornerstone of the Department is its wide-ranging programme of statistical publications, which continued during the year. In addition to the Statistical Yearbook, other annual reference volumes published included the Demographic Yearbook, Industrial Commodity Statistics Yearbook, National Accounts Yearbook and Energy Statistics Yearbook. Publications with a more frequent periodicity included the Monthly Bulletin of Statistics, Commodity Trade Statistics and the Population and Vital Statistics Report. As part of its contribution to the Fourth World Conference on Women, the Department completed the 1995 edition of The World's Women: Trends and Statistics. This second edition, which was a collaborative effort among 12 United Nations offices and agencies, not only presents an array of new data, but also underlines the work that still must be done to develop gender statistics that are comprehensive and of adequate quality.
The year has seen further progress by the Department in the development and implementation of new statistical concepts and methodologies in other areas. The 1993 System of National Accounts was the result of collaboration between the United Nations, EU, IMF, the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Since the adoption of the System, the Department has been working in close cooperation with the regional commissions and other international organizations on its implementation in selected developing countries. During the past year, the Department conducted seminars on the 1993 System of National Accounts in concept and practice, and on the use of the System of National Accounts for transition economy countries.
The Department, in cooperation with international organizations and countries, has completed a draft revision of the international concepts and definitions for international trade statistics. In addition, the Statistical Commission, at its twenty-eighth session, held in New York from 27 February to 3 March, approved an international compilation of environmental indicators that will be assembled by the Department. Close collaboration with the Commission on Sustainable Development and its secretariat will ensure comparability with its programme on indicators of sustainable development. In the area of integrated environmental and economic accounting, the framework developed by the Department is now being tested through several country projects with the support of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and UNDP. The Statistical Commission also designated the period 1995-2004 as the 2000 World Population and Housing Census Decade. In this area, the Department continued its work on civil registration and vital statistics.
The work of the Department in the area of population was given fresh impetus towards the end of 1994 with the success of the International Conference on Population and Development, held at Cairo from 5 to 13 September 1994. The Department, in cooperation with UNFPA undertook substantive preparations for the Conference. Following the Conference, the General Assembly decided, in its resolution 49/128 of 19 December 1994, that the revitalized Commission on Population and Development should be charged with monitoring, reviewing and assessing the implementation of the Programme of Action adopted at Cairo. The Department provides the secretariat for the Commission. At its twenty-eighth session, from 21 February to 2 March, the Commission affirmed the Department as the body with competence to cover the monitoring and appraisal of the broad range of areas covered by the Programme of Action. The Department was also charged by the Secretary-General with the preparation of the report on international migration and development called for by the General Assembly in its resolution 49/127 of 19 December 1994. The report, which was submitted to the Economic and Social Council at its 1995 substantive session, not only addressed the substantive issues involved but also included aspects related to the objectives and modalities for the convening of the United Nations Conference on Migration and Development.
The Department completed its 1994 revision of World Population Prospects, the official United Nations population figures for all countries of the world. Reflecting the high international standing of these data, the World Bank announced that henceforth it would rely exclusively on the United Nations for population statistics. Studies in the field of population by the Department address such subjects as contraception, women's education and fertility behaviour, abortion, urbanization, population policy, international migration policies, the status of female migrants and the spread of HIV/AIDS. Much of the work undertaken in the course of these studies contributed to the deliberations on the Cairo Programme of Action.
As a further dimension of its responsibility for monitoring the world economic and social situations, the Department produced the World Economic and Social Survey 1995. In addition to an analysis of the world economic situation and its short-term prospects and discussions of major global policy issues, the Survey examined some longer-term dimensions of economic and social changes in the world. As part of the continuing effort to improve the Survey, the 1995 edition devoted greater attention to a discussion of economic and social policies around the world. In a parallel effort to provide both the academic community and the general public with information on issues that would form the backdrop to the World Summit for Social Development, the Department published The World Social Situation in the l990s prior to the Summit.
The Department carried out development projections and perspective studies under Project LINK, an international economic research network of more than 70 country teams. During the past year, the Department convened two meetings of this network -- one in Salamanca, Spain, and the other in New York -- to assist in the preparation of short-term economic forecasts for the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council. As part of its longer-term analysis, the Department prepared an update of the "Overall socio-economic perspective of the world economy beyond the year 2000" for the General Assembly at its fiftieth session. The Department has continued its work on the debt crisis, sources of finance for development, coercive economic measures and economic assistance to countries affected by sanctions imposed by the Security Council. It has produced reports on each of these subjects for the Assembly at its fiftieth session.
As mandated by the General Assembly in response to the new development thinking that has evolved in recent years, the Department has been expanding its research and analysis on micro-economic issues, focusing on ways in which increased reliance on market forces can contribute to the attainment of development objectives. This work has included studies relating to employment, technology and the use of market-based mechanisms both to meet environmental objectives and to provide public services. The Department has continued to provide operational and technical assistance to developing countries and economies in transition, primarily in the areas of population and statistics and mostly with financing provided by UNDP and UNFPA. Such arrangements applied to more than 100 technical cooperation projects over the past year, with additional assistance on such matters as country strategy notes being provided through resident coordinators on a pro bono basis.
The Department has sustained its efforts to provide information and analysis through means other than official documents and publications. In order to promote exchanges with others with shared interests, the Department convenes seminars, issues a series of working papers and continues to increase its dissemination of information by electronic means. In 1995 the United Nations Statistical Yearbook was again issued on CD-ROM, as well as in its traditional paper form. Version III of Women's Indicators and Statistics Database (Wistat) was similarly made available in CD-ROM format, while Statbase Locator (an inventory of international computerized databases) was released on diskette. In addition, selected information from the 1994 revisions of World Population Prospects and World Urbanization Prospects released during the year is available on-line to users of the Internet, through the Department's Population Information Network, which was used extensively during the International Conference on Population and Development. All the official documents of the Conference, as well as the statements made in the plenary, were made available on the Network, which handled more than 28,000 requests while the Conference was taking place.
As part of its effort to improve the availability of economic and social information, the Department, in cooperation with the regional commissions, continues to work on a new system that will encompass the collection, processing, storage, exchange and dissemination of economic and social information. Entitled the United Nations Economic and Social Information System, phase II of the project commenced in 1995 and focuses on implementing the System's core components in selected pilot areas, such as national accounts and the development of prototype techniques.
The Department for Development Support and Management Services, headed by Mr. Chaozhu Ji, is responsible for providing technical assistance to developing countries and economies in transition in the broad fields of integrated development and public management, thereby assisting Governments in establishing an enabling environment for development.
In the planning and management of mineral resources, the Department organized international round-table conferences on foreign investment in exploration and mining in India and Pakistan in 1994. These were to familiarize foreign investors with the new mining policies and regulations in those countries, to encourage investment in development of the mineral sector, to acquaint better the Governments with the mining industry's expectations and with the elements of a successful mining investment promotion drive, and thus to arrive at mutually satisfactory and rewarding policies for mining investments. The conferences culminated in concrete joint venture investments in both countries. The Department has also prepared the Environmental Guidelines for Mining Operations in response to the need stressed in Agenda 21 for the adoption of environmental guidelines for natural resource development.
The water resource activities at the individual country level have been extended into subregional and regional initiatives through the use of joint programming with the regional economic commissions. This work has brought the added benefit of preparing the ground for several recently launched Global Environment Facility initiatives in international waters and the Okavango and Lake Chad basins. The detailed implementation experience has also provided the empirical basis for the ongoing global freshwater assessment initiated at the request of the Commission on Sustainable Development.
Information exchange dealing with both mineral and water resources is facilitated by the substantive services the Department provides to the Committee on Natural Resources. Dissemination of ideas is also fostered by the Natural Resources Forum, the quarterly technical journal produced by the Department.
The Department is collaborating with the African Energy Programme of the African Development Bank in a wide-ranging effort to address the serious problems within the African energy sector. In 1994 the Department undertook a study of energy institutions in 17 African countries to characterize better the strengths and weaknesses of the sector at the country, subregional and regional levels. A key recommendation that emerged from the exercise was that an African energy unit should be established, based within the African Development Bank and supported by OAU, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Department for Development Support and Management Services. A programme of action is now being elaborated in conjunction with the African Energy Programme of the African Development Bank.
The Department executed a $7 million project in Zimbabwe funded by the Global Environment Facility, which provides a model for other countries with sufficient solar energy. The project addresses the issue of global warming by providing a sustainable model of solar electricity dissemination in Zimbabwe's rural areas where an expanded commercial market is being developed for affordable domestic solar electric lighting systems through the provision of low-interest financing from existing institutions to allow householders to purchase home solar systems.
The United Nations International Conference on Coal Methane Development and Utilization will be held in Beijing in October 1995. A primary objective of the Conference is to assist Governments in developing a legal and regulatory context for the promotion of domestic coal-bed methane resources. The Conference will review the status and potential of ongoing coal-bed methane recovery projects in China. Coal mines in that country characteristically have high seepage rates of methane gas, with consequent danger of atmospheric pollution and a grave risk to the safety of miners and the productivity of the mines. To help address this problem, the United Nations is assisting China through a $10 million programme designed for recovery of coal-bed methane prior to, during and after mining operations. Funded by the Global Environment Facility and executed by the Department for Development Support and Management Services, the programme addresses all types of gas recovery and the feasibility of various options for gas utilization. Another project is developing the geothermal resources of the Tibet region, with $3 million in trust funds contributed by the Government of Italy. This project is leading to institution-building and human resource training both in China, during the execution of the project, and overseas. The project is also oriented towards important investments to be realized in the near future.
Under the joint programming exercise, initiated in June 1994, pilot projects implemented by the Department together with the regional commissions include a geothermal project in conjunction with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), a capacity-building project in central Asian countries to deal with transboundary management of water resources and a small-scale mining proposal from ECA designed to train artisanal miners.
The Department has taken several steps to strengthen support to Governments in the area of social development policy and poverty alleviation, consistent with priorities enunciated at the World Summit for Social Development. Africa is an area of particular concern. To limit the potential for negative effects of national economic adjustment programmes on vulnerable groups and on delivery of services in social sectors like health and education, the Department has developed a system for monitoring the social effects of such programmes. This has been introduced in projects in Algeria, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Senegal and Tunisia. In June 1995, the Department collaborated with the Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development and UNDP to organize a workshop at Headquarters on the development of Africa's informal sector. Experts from Governments, the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations and academic institutions discussed experiences and perspectives.
In the fields of public administration and finance, the Department is assisting Governments in developing administrative and managerial systems at the central and local levels, in strengthening financial management capabilities, in undertaking public enterprise reform and encouragement of private enterprise and in improving related informational technology. For example, in Viet Nam, the Department is currently providing technical services to the Government's comprehensive public administration programme and in particular to the component on improvement of civil service management.
The Department has completed the establishment of a computerized information system to assist key agencies of government. This public sector planning and management information system facilitates econometric analysis, national budget preparation and modelling, the preparation of debt programmes and investment programme planning and monitoring. The system has already been demonstrated in several countries and is ready for installation upon request.
Laying the groundwork for a session of the General Assembly on making Governments work better was the focus of a meeting of more than 50 experts worldwide organized by the Department from 31 July to 11 August at Headquarters. The themes for the experts' discussions included policy development, administrative restructuring, civil service reform, the role of public administration in promoting social development, financial management, post-conflict rehabilitation and reconstruction of government machinery, public/private sector interaction and the role of public administration in the management of development programmes. Recommendations from the meeting will be reviewed at a resumed session of the Economic and Social Council later this year.
The outbreak of localized conflicts throughout the world has highlighted the interdependence and interaction between peace and improvement of the human condition, as today Governments must often begin to reconstruct their human and administrative infrastructures even before conflict has ceased. The Department's work in assisting Rwanda to restore its technical, human and institutional capacities and rehabilitate its judicial system, in strengthening Yemen's water and sanitation facilities, in preparing a reconstruction and development plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina and in providing support to the rejuvenation of Haiti's public administration -- these are all examples of this recognition being acted upon by the United Nations.
To help stimulate a better exchange of ideas on post-conflict reconstruction strategies, the Department organized a colloquium in June in Austria, with support from the Government of Austria and in cooperation with the Austrian Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution. This informal gathering brought together representatives from several Governments, plus a number of United Nations departments and agencies, non-governmental organizations and academic institutions. The conclusions of the meeting and other documentation, including an inventory of possible post-conflict peace-building activities, have been published.
In the area of cartography, the Department continues to implement the recommendations presented by the Thirteenth United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific, which requested the United Nations to support surveying, mapping and charting activities in the Asia and Pacific region and to facilitate the participation of the least developed countries and the small island developing States of the region in the work of the Conference.
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