Economic and Social Council

 Distr. GENERAL
1 February 1993
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
Organizational session for 1993
26 January, 2-5 February and
 29-30 April 1993
Item 5 of the provisional agenda

  High-Level Advisory Board on Sustainable Development

             Report of the Secretary-General

   1.  The United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development in paragraph 38.18 of Agenda 21 stated that
intergovernmental bodies, the Secretary-General and the United
Nations system as a whole may benefit from the expertise of a
high-level advisory board consisting of eminent persons
knowledgeable about environment and development, including
relevant sciences, appointed by the Secretary-General in their
personal capacity. In this context, the Secretary-General has
been requested to make appropriate recommendations to the
General Assembly at its forty-seventh session.

   2.  In his report (A/47/598 and Add.1) on institutional
arrangements to follow up the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development, the Secretary-General presented
his views on the functioning and responsibilities of the
Board. In its resolution 47/191 the General Assembly  endorsed
the view of the Secretary-General that the High-level Advisory
Board should consist of eminent personalities broadly
representative of all regions of the world, with recognized
expertise on the broad spectrum of issues to be dealt with by
the Commission on Sustainable Development, drawn from relevant
scientific disciplines, industry, finance and other major
non-governmental constituencies, as well as various
disciplines related to environment and development, and that
due account should also be given to gender balance.
Furthermore, the Assembly decided that the main task of this
Board was to give broad consideration to issues related to
implementation of Agenda 21, taking into account the thematic
multi-year programme of work of the Commission on Sustainable
Development, and provide expert advice in that regard to the
Secretary-General and, through him, to the Commission, the
Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly.

3.   In paragraph 60 of his report, mentioned above, the
Secretary- General noted that the areas covered in the work of
the existing Committee for Development Planning and the type
of expertise available in its membership were potentially
similar to those of the High-level Advisory Board and proposed
that a single body should be established to provide high-level
advice on all questions relating to environment and
development. The Assembly took note of the views of the
Secretary-General in this regard, and requested him to submit
appropriate proposals to the Economic and Social Council at
its organizational session for 1993, including the possibility
of organizing expert rosters.

4.   Pursuant to the provisions of the General Assembly
resolution referred to above, the Secretary-General intends to
set up in the near future a High-level Advisory Board on
Sustainable Development, consisting of 15 to 25
internationally recognized personalities to be appointed by
him in their personal capacity.  The Board would meet for a
period of two to three days in advance of the sessions of the
Commission on Sustainable Development.  Members of the Board
might also, at the  request of the Commission, take part in
its sessions, particularly its high-level meeting.  Members of
the Board would be nominated for a period of two years - with
a Chairperson and a Vice-Chairperson to be elected by the
Board itself on a rotating basis. The Under-Secretary-General
for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development would act
as its Executive Secretary.

5.   The Board will serve as a high-level source of advice for
the Secretary-General in formulating policy proposals,
elaborating innovative approaches and courses for action and
identifying emerging issues to be brought to the attention of
relevant intergovernmental bodies, particularly the Commission
on Sustainable Development and the Economic and Social
Council, including the high-level segments of these bodies, as
well as to the attention of the Administrative Committee on
Coordination.  The Board's deliberations might be based on
conceptual papers prepared by the Secretariat and, as
appropriate, inputs from ad hoc meetings of experts organized
by the Secretary-General and/or held upon request of the
Commission on Sustainable Development or the Economic and
Social Council (see also paragraphs 11-12 below).

6.   In more specific terms, the Board would have the
following functions:

     (a) To provide high-level advice, proposals and
recommendations on issues and themes to be addressed by the
Commission on Sustainable Development and its high-level
meetings;

     (b)  To bring to the attention of the Secretary-General
and through him, to the relevant intergovernmental bodies,
emerging problems related to sustainable development and
possible ways and means for resolving them;

     (c) To provide the Secretary-General and, through him,
the Administrative Committee on Coordination, with its views
on the expectations and concerns of major constituencies and
groups on sustainable development issues and on the
contribution of the United Nations system in addressing them;

     (d)  To contribute to the building of partnerships
between the United Nations and the scientific, business and
academic communities and major non-governmental groups;

     (e)  To promote knowledge and understanding of and
mobilize support for United Nations activities in the area of
environment and development throughout the constituencies and
groups represented by its members.

7.  Generally, the agenda of the Board's meetings would be
related to the multi-year thematic programme of work of the
Commission on Sustainable Development.  At the same time,
should there occur, during  inter-sessional periods, major
developments that might have a significant impact on
international cooperation in the area of environment and
development, the Secretary-General could propose adjustments
to the Board's agenda to ensure the forward-looking nature of
its deliberations.  Moreover, should such developments require
the urgent attention of intergovernmental bodies, the
Secretary-General could call special meetings of the Board to
elicit its views for their consideration.  The views of the
Board would be conveyed to the Commission on Sustainable
Development and other relevant intergovernmental bodies in the
form of information notes and/or annexes to reports of the
Secretary-General.

8.  The Secretary-General notes that the mandate of the
Committee for Development Planning, whose functions are to be
subsumed under those of the High-level Advisory Board, has
evolved over the years from provision of assistance to the
Economic and Social Council in evaluating United Nations
activities relating to economic planning and programming
towards consideration of world development trends and
prospects and formulating recommendations in the areas of
development and international economic and financial
cooperation. Indeed, over the past few years, it had been
suggested in the Committee for Development Planning itself
that there was need for strengthening the capacity of its
membership to deal with sustainable development issues.  The
Secretary-General also recognizes that issues related to
implementation of Agenda 21 are extremely broad and may
necessitate specialized expert advice which the Board, given
the high level and limited composition of its membership, may
not always be able to provide on its own.  He notes further
that the functions of the Board, as outlined in para 6 and 7
above, extend beyond the provision of expert advice strictly
speaking.

9.   In order for the Board, as well as the Commission on
Sustainable Development and the Economic and Social Council,
to avail themselves of such technical expert advice as may be
necessary on the wide array of issues falling within their
competence, the Secretary-General proposes to establish a
roster or rosters - drawing, as appropriate, from existing
rosters held by organizations of the UN system - of experts
with recognized competence in the respective scientific and
technical areas involved.  In order to encompass as broad a
spectrum as possible of the relevant expertise and knowledge
available throughout the world, such a roster or rosters would
be flexible and open ended in nature.  In establishing and
maintaining the roster and liaison with the experts placed
thereon, the Department for Policy Coordination and
Sustainable Development of the United Nations Secretariat will
cooperate closely with other parts of the Secretariat.

10.  Such a roster would thus reflect the complex and
multidisciplinary nature of issues to be addressed in the
course of UNCED follow-up. Moreover, experts on the roster
(some of whom might be current members of the Committee for
Development Planning) could be effectively used to provide
competent advice on the general economic and development
issues currently addressed within the Committee for
Development Planning.  At the same time functions related to
criteria for identifying least developed countries currently
vested in the Committee's mandate could be entrusted by the
Economic and Social Council to other competent organs.

11.  Consultations with experts on the roster, for the purpose
of exploring pressing and/or emerging problems and elaborating
proposals on innovative and practical approaches to resolving
them, taking into account the multi-year thematic programme of
work of the Commission on Sustainable Development, could be
organizaed in a flexible manner, dependin on the nature of a
particular issue, through either correspondence or, as the
need arose, small ad hoc expert meetings.  Such a flexible
approach would provide significant advantages in terms of
mobilizing expeditiously and economically the expertise that
may be required for the purposes of follow-up to the United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development.

12.   If the need arose to obtain scientific or technical
expert advice on a particular theme or issue to be addressed
by the Commission in accordance with its programme of work the
Secretary- General could organize small ad hoc working groups
drawing upon the experts on the roster in order to prepare
relevant studies or research papers.  These could be presented
by the chairpersons of these working groups to the High-Level
Advisory Board with a view of to assisting it in its
deliberations. Experts on the roster could also, upon request,
prepare studies and reports for consideration by the
Commission on Sustainable Development or the Economic and
Social Council.

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Date last posted: 5 December 1999 15:45:34
Comments and suggestions: DESA/DSD