Statement by

H.E. MR EDUARDO FERRO RODRIGUES

MINISTER FOR LABOUR AND SOLIDARITY, PORTUGAL

Geneva, 26 June 2000

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I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Central and Eastern European countries associated with the Union - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia - and the associated countries Cyprus and Turkey, and the EFTA country Iceland, have expressed the wish to align themselves with this statement.

I take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the Secretary-General and to the Division for Social Policy and Development for the excellent preparatory work undertaken before this Special Session, as well as to the Chairmen of the Prepcom and of all the Working Groups for their untiring efforts in the negotiating process. A word of gratitude is also deserved by the Swiss Government for hosting this Special Session.

Five years ago at the World Summit for Social Development, Heads of State and Government committed themselves and their countries to the principle of "a society for all", placing the human being at the centre of development. The principle remains valid although in the last five years the world has faced a number of new challenges with impact on social development. Globalization, economic crises and an evolving new economic order all require rapid solutions.

The review and appraisal of the implementation of the Copenhagen Commitments since 1995 have shown that some progress has been achieved; however it has been uneven and further initiatives are required. We welcome the increasingly widespread recognition, including by the International Financial Institutions, of the critical importance of full implementation of the Copenhagen commitments to achieving the international development targets.

In the Vienna Declaration on Human Rights, to which the EU is deeply committed, it was recognized that "democracy, development and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms are interdependent and mutually reinforcing". The creation of a political, legal and economic environment that will enable people to achieve social development is of paramount importance. Sustainable social development can only take place within a political environment of good governance.

The Lisbon European Council of March 2000, designated a new strategic goal for the EU in the next decade: to become a more competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion. The achievement of this goal requires an overall strategy to regain the conditions for full, productive and dignified employment.

The European Union wishes to take the opportunity to briefly underline some of the key issues for the future and to reinforce the need for co-ordinated follow-up of the relevant United Nations conferences and summits of the last decade, particularly of the very recent UNGASS entitled "Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century".

The EU wishes to stress the fundamental contribution of women to social development and their essential role for poverty eradication. The Beijing Platform for Action, supplemented by the initiatives agreed at the abovementioned Special Session, together with CEDAW, remains the cornerstone in the pursuit of gender equality. Gender equality is a men's as well as a women's responsibility. States must shoulder their obligation to end discrimination and violence against women and to ensure the full and equal enjoyment by women of all human rights and fundamental freedoms.

We reiterate our commitment to halving the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by the year 2015; this must remain an overarching target of the global community and we warmly welcome the fact that this Special Session will formally endorse it.

The respect, promotion and realization of the principles contained in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-up are a fundamental prerequisite for social and economic development. Universal ratification and full implementation of the ILO core conventions concerning basic workers' rights are therefore of the utmost importance. The EU considers the achievement of the goal of full employment and decent work for all, as a basic priority for poverty eradication and social inclusion.

The international community needs to identify those key aspects of social policy that underpin economic development in a globalizing world; and to begin to develop a framework of social principles to ensure that the goals of Copenhagen are integrated into national and international policy-making.

Inclusive societies, based on non-discrimination, tolerance, respect for diversity, equality of opportunities, solidarity and participation of all its members, should ensure universal access to basic social services and specific protection measures for disadvantaged and vulnerable persons and groups.

Investment in education and health produces better socio-economic results that any other investment.

The recent Framework for Action for Education for All, adopted in Dakar, has established goals to which the EU is fully committed. It is also engaged to lifelong learning as an essential tool to face the challenges of a rapidly changing world.

Health promotion and disease prevention require the improved performance of health care systems, particularly in fighting easily preventable epidemic diseases, such as polio and measles, and epidemic diseases such as HIV/AIDS and other STDs, malaria and tuberculosis; in providing information and services for sexual and reproductive health; and in making available essential medicines.

The significant increase and more efficient utilisation of the resources allocated to social development require renewed national and international efforts. The EU is committed to the internationally agreed target of 0,7% of GDP for Official Development Assistance. Its Member States will continue to strive to fulfil that target, which has already been reached by some Members. Recognizing the social impact of the debt burden for many countries, the EU will strive to ensure the full and speedy implementation of the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative. Debt relief measures should make available more local resources for poverty reduction and productive purposes. Concerted national and international efforts to facilitate the integration of Africa and the Least Developed Countries into the global economy and to promote their participation in the multilateral trading system need to be reinforced in the coming years.

In order to monitor, evaluate and measure what we have achieved and what is yet to be achieved, we need to consolidate a coherent set of generally accepted indicators at national and international levels. The relevant UN bodies and agencies, specially the UNDP, the Bretton Woods Institutions and other international organisations such as the OECD should further support efforts in drawing up relevant social development indicators. In this context, the Lisbon European Council reaffirmed the need to further develop quantitative and qualitative indicators and benchmarks in the fields of employment and social protection.

While recognizing the primary responsibility of Governments in promoting social development, the EU considers that the participation of civil society, including NGOs and other actors, in a broad based dialogue is a fundamental tool for the full achievement of the Copenhagen goals. The EU also stresses the importance of the corporate responsibility of the private sector in the implementation of these goals. The EU is pleased to acknowledge that, since 1995, dialogue has been established between civil society and UN organisations, as well as the World Bank and IMF.

The EU remains strongly committed to the Copenhagen Programme of Action as it still provides solid ground for national and international policies, in order to achieve the ultimate goal of peoplecentred sustainable development, for a more just and stable world. However, its implementation needs to be strengthened and more resultoriented and this is the challenge for us to take up in this Special Session and beyond.