Statement By

H.E. PROF. DR. TUNCA TOSKAY,

MINISTER OF STATE, REPUBLIC OF TURKEY

 

UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Geneva, 27 June 2000

 

 

Mr. President, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the outset, I would like to congratulate you for chairing this important Special Session of the General Assembly.

I also wish to express my appreciation to the Secretary General and to all those who have contributed to the work which we all hope will help to achieve better social standards for the humanity.

And lastly I take this opportunity to thank the Swiss Government for
hosting this Special Session.
Mr. President,
Distinguished Delegates,

Turkey aligns itself with the statement of the EU, delivered by the Portuguese Presidency. On this occasion I would like to express our national views on the implementation of the commitments of the World Summit for Social Development held in Copenhagen in 1995.

The phenomenon of globalisation, which extended its impact on to the whole world in the 90s, is evolving in a rather complex manner in terms of its economic, political and cultural outcome.

Besides the advantages it offers, globalisation also carries some risks and challenges the extent of which varies from one country to the other.

Globalisation may also bring about instability and adverse developments. Depending on the volatility of international capital flows, developing countries become particularly vulnerable to crises unfolding outside their borders.

Opportunities provided by globalisation and technology boost welfare levels of some countries on the one hand, while others, which are deprived of knowledge, capital, technology, qualified manpower needed to capitalise on this global process, are becoming poorer and poorer.

Mr. President, Distinguished Delegates,

The Declaration and the programme of action adopted at the end of the Copenhagen Summit, which placed social development on the global agenda, have established new guidelines of economic, social and cultural development policies for national governments.

Strategies to eradicate poverty, to generate employment and to improve social integration require long term structural transformation rather than short term solutions.

In the past 5 years Turkey has endeavoured to implement economic and social policies in line with the Programme of Action.

High inflation and rapid rise in the public sector deficit have led to macroeconomic stability in Turkey. This environment has narrowed the Government's capacity to implement policies aimed at ensuring social welfare.

In spite of all these difficulties, significant steps were taken to reduce poverty, and unemployment and therefore ensuring social integration.

Mr. President,

With a view to enhancing the level of education in Turkey, the duration of compulsory primary education was increased from 5 years to 8 years in 1997. More funds were allocated to the national education system in order to establish the infrastructure required by this process and to improve education technology.

Social assistance programs for the poor and for those who are not covered by any social insurance schemes were increased.

The portion of the population covered by social security programs rose to 91 percent and 86 percent of the total population are registered with health insurance schemes. The legal framework for the creation of unemployment insurance was introduced in 1999.

In an effort to eliminate disparities in regional development, legislation aimed at promoting special investments and increasing employment in underdeveloped regions while providing tax exemptions and exceptions, was put into effect.

The tax burden on wage-earners and self-employed was reduced markedly and their living standards were increased accordingly.

Mr. President, Distinguished Delegates,

Efforts aimed at protecting working children continued and the ILO Convention no. 138 relating to minimum employment age was ratified by the Turkish Parliament in 1998. The Convention no. 182 on Urgent Action Plan for Prohibition of Worst Forms of Child Labour is in the ratification process.

In order to prevent violence in families, the Law on Protection of Families was enacted in 1998.

As a follow-up of Beijing and Cairo Conferences, a National Strategic Plan and an Action Plan, designed to improve women's health, were developed.

A Disabled Persons Department was established in 1997 to undertake efforts in order to integrate disabled persons in the social life and to improve their quality of life.

I should also add that we were able to achieve some of these goals despite the unfortunate occurrence of two devastating earthquakes which obviously limited our capacity to allocate more funds for social development.

Mr. President, Distinguished Delegates,

Turkey considers that, the following measures are essential in order to accomplish social development. These are:


We believe that these goals are vital for peace, and social stability on our planet and for the expansion of prosperity at the national and international level throughout the world. The spirit of co-operation and solidarity among countries is the key factor for the success of our efforts aiming at promoting sustainable development for all humankind. Turkey will continue to fulfil its commitments to contribute to the achievement of the lofty goals of the Copenhagen Summit. .