“The world economy has experienced another year of subdued growth in 2013,” said Pingfan Hong, Acting Director of DESA’s Development Policy and Analysis Division, as the Global Economic Outlook for 2014 was revealed on 18 December 2013. Mr. Hong pointed to continued challenges, but he also shared some new positive trends including improvements in the Euro area and strengthened growth in the US.
“Most developed economies have continued struggling on a bumpy road of recovery grappling with the challenges of taking the right policies,” Mr. Hong said, as the first chapter of the World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2014: The global economic outlook was released on 18 December. Together with UN DESA’s Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development Shamshad Akhtar, Mr. Hong shared the latest trends and forecast for the global economy.
Global economy is improving, but remains vulnerable
While highlighting some of the remaining challenges, both Ms. Akhtar and Mr. Hong said that recent improvements have been observed. “The outlook for coming years, barring any further disruption, is set to improve, driven in part by increased demand in developed countries,” said Ms. Akhtar.
“The Euro area has finally come out of a protracted recession,” Mr. Hong said, also pointing to strengthened growth in the US, as well as to the effects of expansionary policies in Japan. “A few large economies including China and India, have managed to backstop the slowdown experienced over the past two years and started to veer upwards albeit only moderately,” he added.
The report reveals that the global economy is expected to grow at a pace of 3.0 per cent in 2014 and 3.3 per cent in 2015, compared with an estimated growth of 2.1 per cent for 2013.
Inflation will remain tame, but the employment situation will continue to be challenging. While growth in international trade flows is expected to pick up moderately to 4.7 per cent in 2014, the prices of most primary commodities are projected to be flat. The report warns that international capital flows to emerging economies are expected to become more volatile.
“Our forecast is made in the context of many uncertainties and risks coming from possible policy missteps as well as non-economic factors that could stymie growth,” said Ms. Akhtar.
Regional and national trends
The report predicts that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the United States is expected to increase 2.5 per cent in 2014. Western Europe has emerged from recession in 2013, but growth prospects remain weak, as fiscal austerity will continue and the unemployment rates remain elevated. GDP in Western Europe is expected to grow by 1.4 per cent in 2014. In Japan, GDP is forecast to grow by 1.5 per cent in 2014.
Growth in Brazil has been hampered by weak external demand, volatility in international capital flows and tightening monetary policy, but is expected to rebound to 3 per cent in 2014. A slowdown in China has been stabilized and growth is expected to maintain at a pace of about 7.5 per cent in the next few years. India experienced its lowest growth in two decades, along with large current account and government budget deficits plus high inflation, but growth is forecast to improve to above 5 per cent in 2014. In the Russian Federation growth weakened further in 2013, as industrial output and investment faltered, and is expected to recover modestly to 2.9 per cent in 2014.
Growth prospects in Africa remain relatively robust. After an estimated growth of 4.0 per cent in 2013, GDP is projected to expand by 4.7 per cent in 2014. The report emphasized the dependence of Africa’s growth on investment in infrastructure, trade and investment ties with emerging economies, and improvements in economic governance and management.
More detailed regional forecasts from WESP will be released in January 2014.
Key risks for world economy
Mr. Hong highlighted some of the main hazards during the forecasted period. “One key risk for the world economy is associated with a possible chaotic exit from the quantitative easing, or QE, by the US Fed [U.S Federal Reserve],” he said. ”This could trigger significant shock to financial markets and the global economy. Some emerging economies are particularly vulnerable to such a shock and could be pushed into a hard landing,” Mr. Hong added.
Other uncertainties and risks include the remaining fragility in the banking system and the real economy in the euro area and the continued political wrangling in the U.S. on the debt ceiling and budget. Beyond the economic domain, geopolitical tensions in Western Asia and elsewhere remain serious risks. These and other risk factors, unfolding unexpectedly, could derail the world economy far beyond the report’s projections.
Focus on recovery of jobs
“Facing this and other challenges, policies worldwide should focus more on the recovery of jobs,” Mr. Hong said. “We must also increase attention to reducing the spillover effects coming from the large-scale, unconventional monetary policies adopted by major developed countries on developing countries and economies in transition, particularly when major developed countries start to unwind these policies,” he added.
International policy cooperation and coordination are also needed to advance the reforms of the international financial system. Progress in financial regulatory reform has been slow, encountering growing resistance from the financial industry. The report adds that more forceful efforts are needed to address the issues of international tax avoidance and evasion, particularly through tax havens.
“We also reiterate the call for the international cooperation to ensure sufficient resources to the least developed countries,” concluded Mr. Hong.
WESP is produced at the beginning of each year by UN DESA, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the five United Nations regional commissions. The full version of the report will be available 20 January 2014.
For almost as long as the UN has existed, development data has been collected, generating a crucial asset for the international community. Behind this important effort is UN DESA’s Statistics Division, led by Stefan Schweinfest. In DESA News, he shares what it takes to measure an ever changing world and to prepare for development beyond 2015.
“Statistics is one of those quiet areas where the United Nations is actually working very, very well,” says Stefan Schweinfest, as he speaks with DESA News. “We have a lot to be proud of. I think we have collected billions and billions of development data here [...] over the last 67-68 years, and this is a real treasure,” he adds.
With 24 years of experience working with statistics for the UN, Mr. Schweinfest has covered many different areas including national and environmental accounting, statistical capacity building programmes and indicator frameworks. Since 2002, he has served as the main coordinator of the Statistical Commission and he has also been one of the leading forces in the establishment of the United Nations Initiative on Global Geospatial Information Management. On 1 April 2013, Stefan Schweinfest was appointed Acting Director of UN DESA’s Statistics Division.
Tracking progress of Millennium Development Goals
For the past 13 years, one of the key activities of the division has been to monitor the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), adopted in 2000, and to prepare the statistical annex for the annual MDG report of the Secretary-General.
“The MDGs have been good for statistics. They have highlighted the need of solid and good information for policy and decision-making”
“The MDGs have been good for statistics. They have highlighted the need of solid and good information for policy and decision-making,” says Stefan Schweinfest. He also talks warmly about the cooperation with the inter-agency expert group, that brings together “the best statisticians [...] and the best statistics of the entire UN System”, and how their collaborative efforts result in the annual MDG report.
“We definitely [...] have much more information today and better information today than we had 15 years ago or 13 years ago. But we should also bear in mind that there are still about 1/3 of the countries that have difficulties producing about half of the indicators,” Mr. Schweinfest adds, underlining that there is still extensive work to be done.
Statisticians need to be involved from start
When speaking about the new post-2015 development agenda that is being developed, Stefan Schweinfest underscores the need to have statisticians onboard from the start. “One of the lessons learned from the last round was that statisticians need to be involved in the process from the very beginning,” he says.
Mr. Schweinfest points to the Friends of the Chair Group, which the Statistical Commission created this year and which brings together about 20 very dedicated countries and their chief statisticians. The Statistics Division is working closely with them to develop broader measures of progress needed in the context of the sustainable development agenda and to also ensure that a solid measuring framework is part of the new development agenda.
“We are not taking pictures, we are making a movie”
Stefan Schweinfest also talks about the request for a data revolution, which was put forward in the report released earlier this year by the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, entitled “A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies through Sustainable Development”.
“I am very pleased with that type of attention given to my professional area and I understand this to mean that we will have to make a massive concerted effort to help countries to strengthen national statistical systems,” he says. His team is now working to enhance partnerships both within and outside the UN System in order to be able to support countries around the world. A new cooperation agreement on statistics has been signed recently with the World Bank, the International Development Banks and the IMF.
“In statistics [...] there are no short cuts, there are no quick fixes”
“In statistics [...] there are no short cuts, there are no quick fixes,” says Mr. Schweinfest. “What we are trying to measure is development and so we have to have not only one measurement at one point in time, but we will have to have measurements at several points in times, annually, or every three to five years over the next 15 years.”
“I am always saying, we are not taking pictures, we are actually making a movie, so when we talk about sustainable development, we also need sustainable statistics to support sustainable development.”
Powerful analytical tools created
“Being innovative is one of the fundamental challenges of our profession because we are measuring the world and the world around us is changing continuously in so many areas,” says Stefan Schweinfest, as he describes some of the new pioneering work of his division.
One example is the launch of a new initiative on global geospatial information management, bringing together the geospatial community with statisticians. “We believe that this marriage [...] between geospatial information and statistical information will create very powerful analytical tools,” explains Mr. Schweinfest.
Environmental economic accounting is another area developed by the division and the expert team of the Statistics Division is now working with countries and regions around the world to implement this new system. What this offers is the possibility of jointly analyzing the environment and the economy and their interaction.
Gender statistics and big data
Mr. Schweinfest also discusses their global gender statistics programme, where they have been working on indicators on violence against women and where they have also launched a new project together with UN Women, called Evidence and Data for Gender Equality (EDGE).
Yet another area is big data, which is the result of the IT development and its generation of large quantities of data elements. Mr. Schweinfest explains that some of these data may be useful for statistical and monitoring purposes, while others are not. “But we as statisticians have to look at this new big reservoir of information,” he says.
Ensuring measuring system for future development
As the new year approaches, Mr. Schweinfest shares some of the main activities which will take place in 2014. “Clearly the support of the discussions on the new development agenda will be our focus in 2014 and 2015 to ensure that the sustainable development agenda is supported by an adequate and robust measurement system.”
The Statistical Commission is also scheduled to convene again in March, bringing together a large number of countries and statisticians from across the world. On global geospatial information management an inter-governmental meeting as well as a high-level forum in China will also be organized in August and October respectively.
“Statistics is as important an element of a national infrastructure as are roads or bridges”
And in-between these high-level events, Mr. Schweinfest and his colleagues are engaged in organizing and hosting a wide range of workshops and capacity-building seminars around the globe with fellow statisticians participating. When describing the worldwide collaboration, Stefan Schweinfest refers to his peers as his “statistical family”, praising their shared value system and sense of professionalism.
“Statistics may not sound like the most sexy area to work in. Actually, when I mention in a dinner conversation, that I am a statistician, that’s usually the end of the dinner conversation,” he says with a smile.
But without the collection and analysis of data, there would be no solid foundation to build decisions upon and take action from, benefiting future development. “I would say statistics is as important an element of a national infrastructure as are roads or bridges,” concludes Stefan Schweinfest.
The global community took a giant step forward during the High-level Meeting on Disability and Development in September to break down barriers for the more than 1 billion persons living with some form of disability. With a historic outcome document adopted, this year’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December, aims to kick-off an action-filled course towards an inclusive society, embracing all human beings.
About 15 per cent of the global population live with some form of disability, making up the largest and most disadvantaged minority in the world. 80 per cent are of working age and the majority are from developing countries. Many of them live in poverty, face discrimination and are denied opportunities to participate in development.
“All of us suffer when communities are divided; just as all of us benefit when communities are united”
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
“All of us suffer when communities are divided; just as all of us benefit when communities are united,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said as he addressed some 800 representatives that had gathered at UN Headquarters in New York for the high-level event in September. “We must remove barriers to equality of opportunity so that all people can be free from poverty and discrimination,” he added.
In addition to making physical environments, transportation and information accessible to everyone, the challenges at hand also involve removing barriers in attitudes, that fuel stigma and discrimination. Instead, focus needs to be shifted towards every person’s ability. This was also something that Daniela Bas, Director of UN DESA’s Division for Social Policy and Development, underscored as she spoke in conjunction with this high-level event.
Tools for action and change
In order to realize an inclusive society where everyone’s rights are protected and equal opportunities are ensured, the United Nations is working side by side with governments and civil society. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is both a human right and social development instrument available to make a difference. Since its entry into force in 2008, 138 countries have ratified or acceded to the Convention, and 158 have signed it.
Another important tool for transformation became available following the High-level Meeting on Disability and Development in September when a landmark document was adopted. Entitled “The way forward, a disability-inclusive development agenda towards 2015 and beyond,” this document underscores the need for “urgent action” towards the adoption and implementation of more ambitious disability-inclusive development strategies.
“To turn these commitments into reality on the ground, stakeholders must implement more ambitious disability-inclusive national development strategies and efforts”
Under-Secretary-General
Wu Hongbo
“To turn these commitments into reality on the ground, stakeholders must implement more ambitious disability-inclusive national development strategies and efforts,” said UN DESA’s Under-Secretary-General Wu Hongbo as he addressed the meeting. “DESA stands ready to provide cooperation and partnership to Members States and other stakeholders in the elaboration, implementation and monitoring of inclusive and sustainable development policies and programmes, towards 2015 and beyond,” Mr. Wu added.
International Day of Persons with Disabilities: Celebrations and new UN Accessibility Center
Every year on 3 December, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities is commemorated worldwide to promote awareness and mobilize support on critical issues to ensure that persons with disabilities are included in society and development.
Under the theme “Break Barriers, Open Doors: for an inclusive society and development for all,” various activities will take place to underscore the importance of accessibility and inclusion in the contexts of development. With only two months passed since the high-level event, the celebrations this year offer an ideal platform to transfer the outcome document into actions and to mobilise support to national efforts.
The program at UN headquarters in New York will feature “Messages of Inclusion” to be delivered by Member States, UN system and civil society, highlighting how the outcome document can be translated into action. The event will also present a UN Enable Theatre performance by the Broadway Group “Breaking through Barriers,” several panel discussions on emerging issues in the disability-development nexus, and the screening of the documentary “Gold: You can do more than you think”, telling the story of three Paralympic athletes from Kenya, Germany and Australia, who took part in the 2012 London Paralympic Games.
In addition to the commemoration at UN Headquarters, people from across the world are encouraged to take part in a Thunderclap, lending their social media channels to show support for this international day and what it stands for (follow this link to sign up).
The United Nations Foundation and GivingTuesday.org will also join the celebrations to promote volunteerism by taking concrete steps to create enabling environments within communities and across the world for persons with disabilities. Also, on 4 December, the Secretary-General will inaugurate the new UN Accessibility Center, created to make the United Nations more accessible and to facilitate the full participation of persons with disabilities in the work of the organization.
Embracing the abilities of all people
“I make an earnest plea and call upon all of you to look at people with disabilities as differently-abled”
Emmanuel Elisha Ford
Recent events provide additional resources to facilitate change towards a society that includes persons with all kinds of abilities and disabilities. This was also something that a young speaker from last year’s celebration expressed a wish for. Addressing the event on 3 December 2012, 10-year-old Emmanuel Elisha Ford, blind since birth, urged, “I make an earnest plea and call upon all of you to look at people with disabilities as differently-abled.” Determined to achieve his dream of becoming a meteorologist one day, Emmanuel also encouraged nations across the world to make the most of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
And the international community is moving forward in this direction. The new landmark outcome document sets the vision beyond the Millennium Development Goals target date and underscores the need for disability-inclusive development strategies in the post-2015 setting. Taking aim at breaking down barriers and opening up doors, so that every human being can live their life to the fullest potential.
This is the vision of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who in his concluding remarks to the high-level meeting said, “Let us work together so everyone, everywhere has the chance to live their dreams and use the gifts that they have been given. Let us advance disability-inclusive development, inspire change on the ground and ensure a life of dignity for all.”
In preparation for the sustainable development goals and the post-2015 development agenda, UN DESA is involved in many different initiatives moving the processes forward. Recent and upcoming publications released by the department and its partners, also play an important role in securing a solid point of departure for future development.
The General Assembly’s Open-Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals continues its work drafting a set of global objectives that will help set the world on a more sustainable path. Organized by UN DESA’s Division for Sustainable Development, the OWG convened its fifth session on 25-27 November, taking aim at topics including sustained and inclusive economic growth, macroeconomic policy questions, infrastructure development and industrialization.
On the side-lines of this event, UN DESA’s Division for Development Policy and Analysis arranged two special briefings to highlight recent and new publications that provide the global community with research, analysis and recommendations that will help lay a solid foundation for the post-2015 development agenda.
Briefing highlights book on alternative development strategies
“New policy approaches are needed to address severe global development challenges”
“The CDP [United Nations Committee for Development Policy] has taken upon itself the task to examine and draw lessons from past experiences so that we can formulate more effective, comprehensive approaches in identifying durable and equitable solutions to the development challenges the world confronts today,” said Ms. Shamshad Akhtar, UN DESA’s Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, on 25 November, when the new book “Alternative Development Strategies for the Post-2105 Era”, was launched.
Authored by independent development experts brought together by ECOSOC’s independent advisory body CDP, and edited by José Antonio Alonso, Giovanni Andrea Cornia and Rob Vos, this book argues that new policy approaches are needed to address severe global development challenges and to avoid the potentially adverse consequences to livelihoods that are likely to result from existing strategies.
“No one size fits all, no silver bullets”
The flaws in existing economic policymaking systems became evident in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, which coincided with several other crises, including skyrocketing and highly volatile world food and energy prices and ongoing climate change challenges.
In her address, Ms. Akhtar noted that the book provides some important answers to current challenges. “We need to learn from successful national experiences. There is no one size fits all, no silver bullets. However, there are some common elements among those successful policies which provide important lessons for us in formulating an alternative development strategy,” she said.
“We need to learn from successful national experiences”
Shamshad Akhtar, ASG of UN DESA
Giving praise to its rich analysis, Ms. Akhtar also highlighted how the “book stresses that a more cooperative, inclusive and effective international governance system needs to be designed based on the principle of ‘common-but-differentiated responsibilities’” and how the post-2015 development era “should take into account the interdependence among global goals and ensure coherence between these goals and those established at the local, national and regional levels.”
Assessing options for statistics and indicators
The report “Statistics and indicators for the post-2015 development agenda”, released earlier in the summer by the UN System Task Team’s Working Group on Monitoring and Indicators, was presented during a side event on 26 November. Stefan Schweinfest, Acting Director of UN DESA’s Statistics Division, joined forces with the lead author of the report Robert Johnston, to share some of its key findings and recommendations.
The report assesses options for statistics and indicators in a post-2015 setting and provides an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the MDG indicators. It also outlines data innovations in new critical areas such as inequalities, governance, sustainability and population.
It considers national capacities for statistics and makes some key suggestions on how to further foster these when developing a monitoring framework for the post-2015 agenda. The intention is to provide early inputs into the discussion; so that once all goals and thematic areas have been put in place by UN member States, there will be some common ground for the identification of monitoring indicators and data sources.
Gathering knowledge and research findings, these publications provide important inputs as Member States, Major Groups and other stakeholders collaborate in the quest of mapping out the development beyond 2015 and towards the future we want.
New and innovative sources of financing are needed to supplement decreasing Official Development Assistance, but these should be additional to traditional assistance and not a substitute for it: this is one of the conclusions of the 6th High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development. In this video interview, Shari Spiegel, from UN DESA’s Financing for Development Office, explains why development assistance should remain a priority, regardless of the financial crisis.
The biennial High-level Dialogue, which took place this year on 7-8 October in New York, is the major intergovernmental focal point for the follow-up to the 2002 Monterrey Conference on Financing for Development and the 2008 Doha Review Conference. The Monterrey Conference brought together all major stakeholders for the first time to discuss issues relevant to financing for development, given the pressing need to raise additional resources. In this spirit, the recent High-level Dialogue brought together Member States and representatives from major stakeholders, including the IMF, World Bank, UNCTAD, UNDP, the Financial Stability Board, and representatives from the private sector, academics and civil society from around the world. They discussed how to incentivize the global financial system to work for the benefits of equitable sustainable development for all. During this meeting, Member States and UN officials called for maintaining international commitments, as well as for increasing domestic resource mobilization, engaging the private sector, and fostering international trade to sustain economic growth and fuel sustainable development.
Improve access to credit
“We have to create an inclusive financing system that would work for everybody around the globe.”
Shari Spiegel
A range of issues were discussed from the role of private sector financing to Official Development Assistance (ODA), and the impact of the 2007-2008 financial crisis on financing for development. The participants explored the possible responses to this crisis and solutions to increase the stability of the financial system while ensuring that the financial system fulfils its role of intermediating credit. “At the UN we emphasize that ensuring the stability of the financial system is incredibly important, but it has to go hand in hand with access to credit. We need to focus on financing for small and medium-size enterprises, for small entities, and to create an inclusive financing system that would work for everybody around the globe”, explains Shari Spiegel, Chief, Policy Analysis & Development Branch, at UN DESA’s Financing for Development Office.
Building on the Monterrey Consensus
The overall theme of this, the sixth high-level dialogue on the issue, was “The Monterrey Consensus, Doha Declaration on Financing for Development and related outcomes of major UN conferences and summits: status of implementation and tasks ahead.”
The Monterrey Consensus, adopted at the International Conference on Financing for Development in 2002, is a landmark partnership agreement for global development. It covered a number of topics, including domestic resource mobilization, foreign direct investment (FDI) and other foreign flows, trade, official development assistance (ODA), debt relief and systemic issues.
It was followed in 2008 by the Doha Declaration, adopted at the Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development, which emphasized, among other things, the need to urgently meet the agreed ODA target of 0.7 per cent of donor countries’ gross national income (GNI), and underscored the importance of strengthening the World Trade Organization (WTO) with special and differential treatment for developing countries. Today, however, ODA is around 0.31 per cent of national income of developed countries, having fallen 6 per cent in real terms over the past two years.
Need of a follow-up to Monterrey
“Among the outcomes of this discussion, we could see the beginning of an agreement on the need to have a follow-up conference to Monterrey. It would look into how the Monterrey Consensus can be used today to address new global challenges, and how we should build on this consensus to address global challenges”, mentioned Shari Spiegel. “The second thing that came out of the meeting was that there was a real excitement amongst civil society and other participants about the new opportunity the post-2015 development agenda gives us to rethink how we can work together to make the financial system work in the interest of all human beings and help create a better globe for all of us.”
Difficulties to fulfil pledges
“A strong financial commitment to human solidarity today will improve prosperity and security tomorrow.”
Ban Ki-moon
Addressing participants, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon encouraged all countries to fulfil their pledges and meet their development assistance targets. “For many developing countries, and in particular the most vulnerable, predictable levels of ODA remain critical,” Mr. Ban said, adding that he was “deeply concerned” about the recent decline in ODA.
Mr. Ban also emphasized the private sector’s vital role in financing and investing for a more sustainable and prosperous world. “A strong financial commitment to human solidarity today will improve prosperity and security tomorrow,” he noted.
Financing sustainable development and post-2015 agenda
Participants were also part of roundtables and an informal interactive dialogue on the impact of the crisis on the reform of monetary and financial systems and implications for development; mobilization of public and private financing; and the role of financial and technical development cooperation, including new and innovative mechanisms, in leveraging resources for sustainable development.
In a report produced by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and released in July 2012, the UN proposed a series of financial mechanisms to raise $400 billion annually for development needs, which would be additional to traditional ODA.
The informal dialogue was focusing on the link between financing for development and achieving the eight MDGs and advancing the post-2015 agenda.
The sustainable development goals (SDGs) being devised by the General Assembly’s Open Working Group could mark an evolution in United Nations development thinking. The Group will come together for its fifth session from 25-27 November in New York, to discuss sustained and inclusive economic growth, macroeconomic policy questions, infrastructure development and industrialization, and energy.
“Properly conceived, the sustainable development goals offer a transformative moment,” said Nikhil Seth, Director of UN DESA’s Division for Sustainable Development. Past development efforts had often kept to thematic silos. “Discussions on the post-Rio+20 and post-2015 agendas made evident that a truly integrative vision is needed,” he explained. There are essentially two sets of challenges: achieving universal human development and ensuring humanity does not exceed critical ecological thresholds. “The sustainable development goals have the potential of weaving one strong, resilient thread out of these two very closely associated – but until now separate – strands,” said Mr Seth.
There are essentially two sets of challenges: achieving universal human development and ensuring humanity does not exceed critical ecological thresholds.
A proposal for SDGs
At the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June 2012, United Nations Member States had agreed that a set of SDGs should be developed by an Open Working Group. The Group had its first meeting in March 2013. From this first meeting through to February 2014, it will discuss key themes related to sustainable development and how these might be reflected in the SDGs. In its second phase of work, from February to September 2014, the Group will prepare a proposal for SDGs and present it to the General Assembly.
Participation in the 30-member Open Working Group entails an innovative regional rotational procedure that allows for the actual participation of 70 countries. However, all 193 United Nations Member States, as well as representatives of civil society Major Groups, can attend meetings.
Report shows good progress
The good progress made during the Open Working Group’s first four sessions has been summarized in a Co-Chairs’ progress report. It emphasizes the wide support for a single post-2015 United Nations development framework containing a single set of goals – goals that are universally applicable to all countries but adaptable to different national realities and priorities. The advancement and completion of the Millennium Development Goals is seen as the starting point of the SDGs. However, the latter will need to be more comprehensive, balanced, ambitious and transformative, also addressing the challenges ahead.
Furthermore, the report maintains that poverty eradication remains the overall objective of the international community. It underlines that poverty eradication can only be made irreversible if sustainable development is considered in a holistic manner. This means incorporating its social, economic and environmental dimensions.
The Open Working Group covered a wide range of issues in its first meetings, including the following subject areas: (i) conceptualizing the sustainable development goals; (ii) poverty eradication; (iii) food security and nutrition, sustainable agriculture, desertification, land degradation and drought; (iv) water and sanitation; (v) employment and decent work for all, social protection, youth, education and culture; (vi) health and population dynamics.
Involvement of non-state actors is central
Involving non-state actors in the Open Working Group process has been central from the beginning, and there are a number of ways for them to engage. Like all sustainable development processes convened under the United Nations, the Open Working Group interacts with stakeholders through the Major Groups structure. Representatives from each of the nine Major Groups participate as official observers. Beginning with the third session, the Co-Chairs of the Open Working Group also held daily meetings with representatives of Major Groups and other stakeholders before the start of the official part of the meetings. Contributions to the sustainable development goals process can also be made online, through the Thematic Clusters on the Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform.
While reaffirming the need to strengthen the multi-stakeholder approach to Internet governance, the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), which took place from 22-25 October in Bali, Indonesia, concluded with an acknowledgement that surveillance is the major emerging issue of the year. In the context of the recent revelations about government-led Internet surveillance activities, the Forum discussed the need to ensure better protection of all citizens in the online environment.
The theme of this 8th Forum was ‘‘Building Bridges – Enhancing Multistakeholder Cooperation for Growth and Sustainable Development’.The annual IGF has become the unique multi-stakeholder platform for discussions on all policy issues related to the Internet. Nearly 1,500 delegates from 111 different countries participated.
Any Internet surveillance practices motivated by security concerns should only happen within a truly democratic framework.
Surveillance practices and democratic framework
Discussions also explored how to reach a proper balance between actions driven by national security concerns and the respect for internationally recognized human rights, such as the right to privacy and freedom of expression. Several focus sessions and workshops touched upon these issues, thus generating a truly multistakeholder dialogue, focused on the need to rebuild the trust of Internet users, which has been seriously affected by these actions. It was underlined throughout the week that any Internet surveillance practices motivated by security concerns should only happen within a truly democratic framework, ensuring their adequacy, proportionality, due process and judicial oversight.
Mr. Thomas Gass, Assistant Secretary General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs in UN DESA attended the opening ceremony of the Internet Governance Forum and addressed the audience, on behalf of Mr. Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs, underlining the importance of the IGF as the “premier multistakeholder forum for policy dialogue related to Internet governance issues” and reaffirmed the support of the United Nations for the multistakeholder model for Internet governance that the IGF embodies.
Human rights on the Internet
While maintaining the traditional IGF thematic discussions, the 8th IGF introduced new formats and refocused some of the forum’s traditional issues, in an attempt to keep the Forum in line with the evolving landscape of Internet governance discussions. The meeting featured for the first time a focused plenary session dedicated to human rights on the Internet and also included cross-cutting discussions on principles of Internet governance and the multistakeholder governance model of the Internet, principles championed by the IGF inspired by the Tunis Agenda. The Bali meeting also strived to produce some more tangible outcomes or ‘take-aways’ for participants and those following remotely. Each of the plenary sessions addressed specific policy questions and aimed to analyze both convergent and divergent views on the various topics.
The various sub-themes for the Forum included: Access and Diversity – Internet as an Engine for Growth and Sustainable Development; Openness – Human rights, Freedom of Expression and Free Flow of Information on the Internet; Security – Legal and other Frameworks: Spam, Hacking and Cyber-crime; Enhanced Cooperation; Principles of Multistakeholder Cooperation and Internet Governance Principles. 135 focus sessions, workshops, open forums, flash sessions and other meetings took place over the event.
How to best utilize the Internet in development
Throughout the week delegates’ exchanged information and shared best practices with one another on a wide variety of Internet governance issues, as the forum aimed to facilitate a mutual understanding of how to best utilize the Internet in development efforts and also mitigate risks and challenges that might arise as a result of emerging technologies.
The Internet Governance Forum has met annually since the 2006 World Summit on the Information Society to foster a common understanding of how to maximize Internet opportunities and address emerging risks and challenge. The IGF (which is not a decision-making body) is also intended as a space for developing countries to be granted the same opportunity as wealthier nations to engage in the debate on Internet governance, as well as to facilitate their participation in existing institutions and arrangements.
The annual IGF has become the major multi-stakeholder platform for discussions on all policy issues related to the Internet. It is a neutral space that provides all stakeholders an equal footing. Each year it prepares the grounds for negotiations at the highest levels in other institutions.
For more information on the IGF and to access the archived transcripts and webcasts from the meeting, visit the IGF website: http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/
Right before the opening of the 68th session of General Assembly, its President, John W. Ashe, gave a special interview to DESA News. He points out how his background may help him promote the building of Sustainable Development Goals among Member States. He also explains why he is the first PGA to extensively use social media and online communication.
On 18 September 2013, John W. Ashe of Antigua and Barbuda took the gavel as the President of the 68th session of the General Assembly, the main deliberative, policy-making and representative organ of the United Nations. Comprising all 193 Member States of the Organization, it provides the only forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the UN Charter.
Setting the stage!
Following his election as Assembly President on 14 June, John W. Ashe and his team outlined their priorities for the session under a theme entitled, “The Post-2015 Development Agenda: Setting the Stage!”. Under it, he is encouraging Member States and other stakeholders to promote dialogue, reflection and commitment to the formulation of an effective new agenda to overcome poverty and insecurity and ensure sustainable development, to be launched during the 69th session following the 2015 deadline of the current Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Prior to his assumption of the Assembly Presidency, John W. Ashe served simultaneously as his country’s Permanent Representative to both the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, positions he held since 2004. He has served in a leadership capacity on many of the governing bodies of the major UN environmental agreements, including as the first Chairman of the Executive Board of the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). He holds a Doctorate in Bioengineering.
3 High-Level events and 3 thematic debates
During his year at the head of the General Assembly, the President will convey three High-level events and three thematic debates. The first High-level Event will discuss the role of Women, Youth and Civil Society in the post-2015 development agenda. The aim is to heighten dialogue and strengthen approaches intended to improve conditions and development prospects for women and youth, who have been further marginalised by the global crises in food, fuel and finance.
“My vision is of a world without poverty, the creation of the first generation of children to be born into a world where none of them will know hunger.”
John W. Ashe, PGA
A second High-level Event will explore the contributions of Human Rights and the Rule of Law in the post-2015 development agenda, particularly looking at the appropriate framework to ensure that human rights, the rule of law, and good governance practices anchor the evolving policy platforms in a manner that empowers people to contribute to sustainable development.
The third High-level Event will look at the contributions of South-South, Triangular Cooperation and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for Development in the post-2015 development agenda. In the past two decades, dramatic global change and national and regional transformations have led to unprecedented and increasingly complex socio-economic and environmental threats, challenges and concerns. Responding to these new threats, as well as existing challenges, will require new forms of collaboration, innovation and partnership, which in turn can maximize the potential for ICT to contribute to reaching our development goals.
Increase spotlight on partnerships
In addition to the High-level Events, three thematic debates will provide an opportunity for in-depth exploration of key issues in the post-2015 development agenda. Partnerships are the eighth and much overlooked MDG, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has placed renewed emphasis on this area. John W. Ashe intends to increase that spotlight by exploring the role of partnership and its contribution to the post-2015 development agenda. Technology and knowledge transfer, financing and innovative means of implementation will be critical parts of the coming debate.
Another thematic debate will examine how to work towards and ensure Stable and Peaceful Societies in the post-2015 development framework, including by creating an enabling environment for development and progress, diminishing external stressors that contribute to conflicts, ensuring accessible institutions of justice, reducing violence, and enhancing the capacity and accountability of good governance mechanisms and practices that benefit peace and sustainable development.
The third thematic debate will focus on the roles of Water, Sanitation and Sustainable Energy in the post-2015 development agenda. With some 1.4 billion people without reliable electricity, 2.5 billion without decent cooking fuels, 900 million lacking access to clean water and 2.6 billion without adequate sanitation, action is urgently needed to address these persistent challenges. Many initiatives in these fields are now underway but there is a need to harness, share and scale up proven technologies and best practices in the areas of integrated water management, sustainable energy and sanitation services as part of any proposed post-2015 development agenda.
Recently appointed by the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs in UN DESA, Thomas Gass, from Switzerland, describes himself as an unconditional supporter of inclusive development and multilateralism. In his video interview, he explains how his experience in development cooperation and as a Member State representative will be an added value to the UN’s work on setting an inclusive sustainable development agenda in the coming years.
“I believe that 2015 is our next big opportunity to place sustainable development, poverty eradication and other important issues center-stage. And I hope that through my work as coordinator and facilitator within DESA, I will be able to play a catalytic role in this process”, said Thomas Gass, during our interview, a few days after his arrival at UN DESA. A week later, he jumped into the High-level segment of the General Assembly, and was impressed by the positive energy that emerged from this gathering.
A sense of global hope
After a G20 summit where the issues related to development were somewhat eclipsed by the Syrian crisis, Thomas Gass was encouraged to see how poverty alleviation and sustainable development were centrally placed in this high-level segment. He was heartened to hear how many Heads of State started their statement by saying how valuable the MDGs were, even representatives from states, which did not rally around the MDGs when they were first formulated. “It will motivate me to look towards those statements of ambition and of vision rather than to the challenges of negotiations that may come. The GA debate had a sense of global urgency but also interestingly a sense of hope. Most of the speakers said “we can do it”, underlining the UN’s relevance in the area of poverty alleviation and sustainable development.”
“We all need to sing from the same song-sheet.”
Thomas Gass, ASG of UN DESA
“We all need to sing from the same song-sheet, and the Secretary-General report “A life for dignity for all” is that song-sheet. With the resolution that was approved in terms of the process leading up to 2015, we also have instructions from the governments to move ahead.”
From Kathmandu to New York
Thomas Gass took office on 3 September as one of the two Assistant Secretary-Generals of UN DESA. He brings with him wide-ranging experience in bilateral and multilateral development cooperation. From 2009 to 2013, he served as Head of the Mission of Switzerland to Nepal (Ambassador and Country Director of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation), where he established the Embassy of Switzerland in Nepal, and ensured the delivery of a development cooperation programme of up to 33 million dollars a year. He also chaired the Donors of the Nepal Peace Trust Fund, the main instrument for international support to Nepal’s peace process.
Before his posting to Nepal from 2004 to 2009, Mr. Gass was Head of the Economic and Development Section at the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN in New York, where he represented Switzerland’s interests, in particular in the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), its subsidiary Commissions, the General Assembly and the Executive Boards of the major UN Funds and Programmes. During this time, Mr Gass was the Chair of the Donor Group of the UN Global Compact.
In 2006, he was the Vice-President for Western European and Other Group (WEOG) of the Commission on Population and Development, and in 2008 he was the Vice-President (WEOG) of the Executive Board of UNDP/UNFPA. In 2007, he successfully facilitated the landmark TCPR/QCPR Resolution, the periodic review of the General Assembly operational system for development.
Mr Gass also served as Policy and Programme Officer for the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, as Deputy Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Guyana, and as Regional Director for Europe with the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute in Rome.
“I want to listen and understand”
When talking about his ideas for the Department, Thomas Gass is prudent: “I am not a CEO who comes in with a ready-made restructuring proposal. I want to take time to hear all parties, to understand what is at stake, what are the challenges of all our teams before investing my energy to move in one direction or another.”
Inclusive development and multilateralism are key to Mr. Gass. Regarding the upcoming High-level events to be convened by the President of the General Assembly (see article), the new ASG sees them as an opportunity to bring a refreshing perspective on the process leading up to 2015 that will be very structured and systematic. “I hope we will take the opportunity of these events to also bring non-conventional stakeholders to the discussion.” For him, the recent tendency to include civil society in the consultation processes is crucial and reflects an evolution at the country level, both in the North and in the South. Governments know they do not wholly dominate the development of their country. All stakeholders have to share their expertise in order to build adequate and sustainable infrastructure. The UN needs to remain open and keep listening to the voice of those who will promote this approach at the national level.
The goals, including the MDGs and those coming from the Rio+20 process, cannot be achieved without the support of all stakeholders, including the private sector. “To succeed, stakeholders have to find a seat at the table in order to develop an ownership of the objectives and the processes”, explains Mr. Gass.
Negotiator and passionate
As the Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, Mr. Gass would like to keep in touch with substantive issues: “I have a substantive background in management and utilisation of genetic resources for agriculture. I know a lot about the importance of agriculture research to secure food and income for humanity, but I also easily develop passion for many different subjects. I have worked here in the basement of the UN as a negotiator, for example on behalf of the Friends of Mountains, a group of about 45 countries supporting sustainable development in mountain regions. In 2006, as the Vice-President of the Commission on Population and Development, I chaired the negotiation of an extremely interesting resolution on ageing. By learning about the subject, I realized how important and vital it is for humanity to deal with ageing issues in a very deliberate way.”
“I don’t want to lose touch with the field reality that I experienced in Cameroon, in Guyana, in Nepal, and in the Andean countries.”
“I don’t want to lose touch with the field reality that I experienced in Cameroon, in Guyana, in Nepal, and in the Andean countries, where I monitored and developed projects that made a difference for people who depend on the support of the international community to elevate their livelihood”, he added.
For Thomas Gass, this new position is a culmination of several sets of skills he developed during his career. “I see this position more as the result of investments in my different competencies than as a springboard to get somewhere else.” The new ASG brings a very concrete understanding of the challenges of development cooperation, has a sound knowledge of how states interact with each other and demonstrates flexibility in relation to interoperability of organizations, agencies and partners. “I am looking forward to combining efficiently and effectively these three sets of skills, which I developed during my career, and I hope they will allow me to play a useful and catalytic role in enabling the UN to rise to the challenge ahead.”
Born in 1963, Thomas Gass holds a PhD in natural sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and an MSc and engineering diploma in agricultural sciences from the same Institute. He is married and father of three adult children.
For the second time in history, the General Assembly will convene a high-level event on 3-4 October, devoted to international migration and development at the United Nations. This meeting provides an opportunity for the international community to review progress since the first High-level Dialogue in 2006 and promote and advance the debate and cooperation in the field of migration and development.
Governments are increasingly recognizing that partnership and cooperation are needed to leverage the benefits and address the challenges of migration. They also realize that migration is relevant to all three pillars of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental. Thus, this year’s High-level Dialogue, taking place at UN Headquarters on 3-4 October, also provides an opportunity to discuss the inclusion of migration into the post-2015 development agenda.
International migration continues to increase in scope, complexity and impact. With 232 million international migrants worldwide, as new estimates from the Population Division reveal (see Trends in International Migrant Stock: The 2013 Revision under publications), more people are living outside their country of birth than ever before. The demographic transition, economic growth coupled with a globalization of labour markets, the recent financial crisis and the plight of migrants stranded in dire environmental and humanitarian situations is reshaping the face of migration. At the heart of this phenomenon are people, some looking for decent work and a better and safer life for themselves and their families, others migrating to escape poverty, violence, conflict and the effects of environmental change.
With 232 million international migrants worldwide, more people are living outside their country of birth than ever before.
In 2006, the General Assembly convened the first High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development. The meeting placed migration firmly on the United Nations agenda bringing together about 160 high-level Member State representatives in addition to representatives of civil society, international organizations and the private sector. Earlier that year, the Secretary-General had appointed Mr. Peter Sutherland as his Special Representative for Migration. Also, the Global Migration Group (GMG) was formed consisting of 15 United Nations entities and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The group is the main interagency coordination mechanisms on migration. It meets regularly at the working-level, has organized technical meetings and issued joint publications and statements. The group was chaired by UNDESA in 2007 and is currently chaired by the IOM.
Following the 2006 High-level Dialogue, the State-led, voluntary Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) was formed providing a platform for informal, non-binding dialogue among governments and between governments and other partners, such as civil society, the private sector and international organizations. Since 2007, the Global Forum has taken place annually, alternating between developed and developing countries as its chair. Currently, the Government of Sweden is chairing the GFMD.
Enhancing the benefits of international migration for migrants
In response to this progress in dialogue, cooperation and trust-building, Member States decided to hold another dialogue in 2013 and opted on an action-oriented agenda for this meeting: “Identifying concrete measure to strengthen coherence and cooperation at all levels, with a view to enhancing the benefits of international migration for migrants and countries alike and its important links to development, while reducing its negative implications” (A/RES/67/219, OP3a).
Following this theme, the 2013 High-level Dialogue will consist of four plenary meetings and four interactive round tables, addressing:
migration and the post-2015 United Nations development agenda;
human rights of migrants;
partnerships and cooperation in migration, and
labour migration.
Member States will act as co-chairs of the round tables, with each consisting of a panel discussion featuring high-level representatives of Member States, international organizations and civil society.
The President of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General, the President of ECOSOC, (Professor Ian Goldin, Director, Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford) and a migrant voice (Mr. Gibril Faal, Chairman, African Foundation for Development (AFFORD)) will make opening remarks in the plenary. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Migration will also address the plenary.
DESA’s Population Division is assisting the Office of the President of the General Assembly in its organizational and substantive preparations for this event. In addition, Mr. Hongbu Wu, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, will participate as a panellist in round table 3, focusing on partnerships and cooperation in migration.
“The High-level Dialogue is an opportunity to promote concrete actions to improve the lives of migrants.”
John Wilmoth, Dir. Population Division, DESA
A roadmap for the activities
The Secretary-General, in his report to Member States for the High-level Dialogue (see Report of the Secretary-General on International Migration and Development under related links hereunder), proposed an eight-point agenda for action:
Protect the human rights of all migrants;
Reduce the costs of labour migration;
Eliminate migrant exploitation, including human trafficking;
Address the plight of stranded migrants;
Improve public perceptions of migrants;
Integrate migration in the development agenda;
Strengthen the migration evidence base; and
Enhance migration partnerships and cooperation.
The 8-point agenda provides a “roadmap” for the activities of Member States, the United Nations system, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), civil society and other key stakeholders in the follow-up to the 2013 High-level Dialogue.
Mr. John Wilmoth, Director of the Population Division, expressed his hopes for the High-level Dialogue on the occasion of the Population Division’s launch of new global migrant stock estimates last week by saying: “The High-level Dialogue presents an opportunity for Member States, civil society and the international community to advance the debate on international migration and development, and to promote concrete actions to improve the lives of migrants and to enhance the benefits of migration for countries of origin and destination.”
Overall, the Division is hopeful that the 2013 High-level Dialogue will mark the beginning of a new era of dialogue, cooperation and partnerships on migration and development coupled with concrete policy recommendations and follow-up actions.
Ahead of the High-level event on Millennium Development Goals and post-2015 Development Agenda, on 25 September, it’s time to look back to 13 years of actions and efforts, during which UN DESA’s work has been central. To better understand the issues to be discussed this month, let’s watch our interview of Ms Shamshad Akhtar, Assistant Secretary-General of DESA.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight international development goals that were officially established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, and the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. All 189 United Nations Member States represented in 2000, agreed to achieve these goals by the year 2015. National efforts have been supported by the UN system and other international organizations.
A life of dignity for all
Ahead of an upcoming special event organized by the President of the General Assembly next month, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has released a report, A Life of Dignity for All, containing his updates on the Goals and vision for the road ahead. While providing an assessment of progress to date, the report also identifies policies and programmes that have driven success in the achievement of the Goals and can contribute to accelerating it. These include emphasizing inclusive growth, decent employment and social protection; allocating more resources for essential services and ensuring access for all; strengthening political will and improving the international policy environment; and harnessing the power of multi-stakeholder partnerships.
How does UN DESA assess MDGs progress?
The Millennium Development Goals Report
Since 2005 UN DESA has prepared an annual Millennium Development Goals Report, assessing the global and regional progress. The Report uses the most updated data series provided by the partner agencies and members of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on MDG Indicators (IAEG). The latest version of the MDG Report was launched by the Secretary-General in Geneva on 1 July 2013.
Unprecedented progress in poverty eradication has been made globally and in individual countries. The MDG Report 2013 shows that key MDG targets have already been met ahead of time, or are within close reach by 2015. 700 million fewer people lived in conditions of extreme poverty during the two decades since 1990. Over 2.1 million people gained access to improved drinking water sources in the past 21 years. The lives of more than 200 million slum dwellers have been significantly improved over the same period. Remarkable gains have also been made in the fight against malaria and tuberculosis, saving millions of lives.
The MDG Gap Task Force Report
Since its creation by the Secretary-General in 2007, the MDG Gap TaskForce has been measuring progress in implementing global commitments to support the MDGs as crystalized in Goal 8 – “the global partnership for development”. MDG-8 calls for strengthening Official Development Assistance (ODA), improving access of developing-country exports to international markets, enhancing cooperation to achieve sustainable external debt situations in developing countries, and deepening developing-country access to affordable essential medicines and new technologies. In addition to reporting progress in these areas, since its first report in 2008, the Task Force has identified the gaps between commitment and delivery and has called upon the international community to fill those gaps. The 2013 report will be launched by the Secretary General in September.
Accelerating progress is a moral imperative
There is a need to redouble efforts to meet the MDGs by the 2015 deadline, by leveraging all available resources and by adopting policies at national, regional and global levels which promote an enabling international environment. The economic and financial crisis has complicated efforts, progress in improving market access for many developing countries has been slow, and “aid for trade” has not escaped the impact of reduced ODA.
Accelerating progress towards the MDGs by 2015 is a moral imperative and central to the commitments made by world leaders in the Millennium Declaration in 2000. It thus must be a global priority. Meeting the present commitments will put us in the best position to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030 and to put the world on a more sustainable growth path.
The lessons learned from 15 years of MDG implementation will contribute to the definition of an ambitious agenda to complete any un-finished MDG items and to expand the development agenda in response to new development challenges.
How is UN DESA involved in the Post-2015 Development Agenda?
UN DESA is the co-chair of the UN Task Team (UNTT) for the post -2015 development agenda created by the Secretary General in November 2011. From that capacity, DESA has been coordinating the analytical work done by the UN System with representation from over 60 UN agencies and entities. The UN Task Team has launched three reports: “Realizing the Future We Want for All” in July 2012; “Towards a renewed global partnership for development” in March 2013; and “Statistics and Indicators for the Post 2015 Development Agenda” in July 2013.
UN DESA has also been actively engaged in helping policy makers in developing countries conduct integrated macro and microeconomic modelling framework exercises to evaluate possible trade-offs across multiple policy objectives, to assess alternative MDG financing strategies, and to develop an understanding of counter-cyclical policies to mitigate the adverse impact of the global economic and financial crisis.
Ensuring a sustainable financing strategy
The outcome document of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development “The future we want” recognized the need for significant mobilization of resources to promote sustainable development across the three pillars of social, economic and environmental sustainability. For this purpose, Governments agreed to establish an intergovernmental committee of experts. The committee is tasked with proposing options on an effective sustainable development financing strategy. It started its deliberations at the end of August and will be submitting its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly by September 2014. UN DESA established a working group as part of the UNTT, with representatives from across the UN system, to study long-term financing for sustainable development and support the expert committee and the post-2015 development agenda.
Identifying Sustainable Development Goals
Also in response to the Rio+20 outcome document, the Secretary-General created the Technical Support Team (TST) under the umbrella of the UNTT. UN DESA is co-leading the work of the TST who provides technical support to the Open Working Group. This group is preparing a proposed set of Sustainable Development Goals for consideration of the General Assembly as part of the post 2015 process. UN DESA is co-leading the preparation of issue briefs with participation from UN agencies and entities. The issue briefs touch on all the thematic areas that are being discussed in the Open Working Group and that are leading to the identification of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Engaging multiple stakeholders
In the context of the Open Working Group, UN DESA coordinates engagement of Major Groups of civil society including NGOs, Business and Industry, Local Authorities, Women, etc. as defined in Agenda 21, and other stakeholders with the inter-governmental process to define the SDGs and the post 2015 development agenda. Through an on-going dialogue between the co-chairs of the OGW and these stakeholders, as well as online submissions, UN DESA is committed to ensure that the definition of the post 2015 development agenda is part of an inclusive process with wide participation from all sectors.
Many of the world’s one billion persons living with a disability remain excluded from development in areas such as education, employment and healthcare. As a result, they experience higher rates of poverty and unemployment, and lower life-expectancy than the general population. As part of ongoing efforts to break down barriers and to ensure an inclusive society for all, a one-day high-level meeting of the General Assembly on Disability and Development (HLMD) will be held on 23 September 2013.
The High-level Meeting takes place five years after the entry into force of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and two years before the 2015 target date for achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Meeting is held against the backdrop of ongoing international dialogue towards development of a new post-2015 agenda.
Disability remained invisible
Despite the support of the Convention, disability has remained largely invisible in most mainstream development agenda and processes. Even if the commitment to development includes people with disabilities, a considerable gap remains between the commitment and what happens on the ground. The international community as well as individual governments are committed to achieve development goals for all, but a perspective of disability and concerns of persons with disabilities were too often absent in development frameworks and processes. An example of such exclusion is in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), where persons with disabilities and their concerns, now numbering over a billion, were often invisible in development processes both at global and national levels.
Without taking actions such as allocating resources, developing disability-inclusive policies and programmes, as well as monitoring and evaluating progress, disability will be left out of development. These actions would help mainstreaming disability in development by the international community and governments.
An action-oriented outcome document expected
The High level meeting on Disability and Development, to be convened at the level of heads of States and Governments, is expected to result in a concise, action-oriented outcome document in support of the aims of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the realization of the Millennium Development Goals and other internationally agreed development goals for persons with disabilities. Prior to the convening of the HLMDD on 23 September 2013, an outcome document will be drafted by Member States, taking into full account the input from persons with disabilities and their organizations as well as other relevant stakeholders, for adoption by the High Level Meeting itself.
Regional and other forms of consultations took place recently in Brussels (Belgium), Bahia (Brazil), Bangkok (Thailand) and Tunis (Tunisia), as well as in other countries/ regions with the aim to contribute to the High Level meeting. DESA, in partnership with UNICEF, conducted online global consultations from 8 March to 5 April 2013 in all UN official languages as well as other languages. Representatives of Governments, UN agencies and civil society organizations, including organizations of persons with disabilities participated and contributed their perspectives, in the consultations.
Time to translate the commitment into action
Disability-inclusive and participatory approach to such consultations has contributed to the preparation of the outcome document and will make possible the inclusion of disability in the on-going work of the post-2015 development framework.
During the fifth session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2012, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. Wu Hongbo, highlighted that “It is now time to translate the commitment into action to mainstream disability in development. After all, it is our responsibility as members of the international community and citizens of our own countries to bring about positive changes to more than one billion persons with disabilities and their communities worldwide”.
Since its entry into force in 2008, 131 countries have ratified or acceded to the CRPD, and 155 have signed it. The Optional Protocol to the CRPD has 76 ratifications and 91 signatories.
Heads of State and Government will now meet every four years to ensure that commitment to sustainable development remains at the highest level. The High-level Political Forum for Sustainable Development (HLPF) will hold its inaugural meeting on 24 September. It will aim to advance sustainable development by providing political leadership and guidance and setting a focused, dynamic and action-oriented agenda. The forum will replace the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD).
The HLPF will follow up and review progress in the implementation of the Rio+20 outcome document and sustainable development commitments made at the previous summits and conference. It also provides a new opportunity to ensure that all dimensions of sustainable development — economic, social and environmental — are brought together in a coherent way. The HLPF will be a new and different way of supporting the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), as well as the sustainable development goals (SDGs) after they are adopted within the post-2015 development agenda.
“The first meetings will very much set the tone for what the forum will look like in the future, says Nikhil Seth, Director of the Division for Sustainable Development of DESA. We must be bold and conceive a unique platform: a platform which focuses on implementation, a platform which not only reviews but also truly impacts on progress, a platform which rallies actors to not only reflect but also do things together, a platform whose work spans economic, social and environmental dimensions. We need such a platform if we are to rise up to the challenges of the SDGs and the post 2015 development agenda”.
How will the HLPF work?
The new forum will convene Heads of State and Government every four years, under the auspices of the UN General Assembly, to promote the implementation of sustainable development and address new challenges. Their deliberations will result in a negotiated declaration aimed at providing high-level policy guidance and raising the bar for action and results. There will also be an annual eight-day meeting, including three days at the ministerial level, under the auspices of ECOSOC.
“Within the broad guidance given by the GA on the format of the forum, we must create an innovative platform for all countries and the range of sustainable development actors to respond to new challenges, keep the compass on sustainable development commitments and look to the long term”, adds Nikhil Seth.
Direct involvement of Heads of State and Government every four years should ensure that commitment to sustainable development remains at the highest level, bolstered by strategic guidance for integrated and holistic policy-making and implementation.
Starting in 2016, the forum will also include reviews on the implementation of sustainable development by all countries and the UN system. This should promote better accountability and focus efforts toward achieving action on the ground.
The forum will be open to all Member States of the United Nations as well as States members of specialized agencies, notably the Cook Islands, Niue, the Holy See and Palestine.
UN support for the forum
UN DESA acts as the substantive secretariat to the forum, by providing governments with timely analysis, data and other background documentation. Through the Executive Committee on Economic and Social Affairs (ECESA) Plus mechanism, the Department coordinates these inputs from across the UN system, including its various specialized agencies, funds and programmes, regional commissions, convention secretariats and other entities.
DESA’s Division for Sustainable Development is organising two special events on 23 September in the margins of the General Debate of the 68th session of the General Assembly, the outcomes of which will be reported to the inaugural HLPF meeting. One special event will deal with Sustainable Cities and SDGs, the other will focus on the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI) and related voluntary initiatives.
“With the HLPF comes the chance to put in place a different kind of governance”, stresses Nikhil Seth. “A governance that looks to the long term, takes into account not only economic but also social and environmental challenges, engages the range of actors who have a stake in development, and responds to change and new challenges. The forum can instill a new way of thinking and working at the UN”.
Major Groups and other Stakeholder participation
Provisions have also been made for the enhanced participation of the nine Major Groups, building on their participation in the work of the Commission on Sustainable Development. Under the HLPF, specific modalities for future engagement with Major Groups and other stakeholders in sustainable development will be developed as a matter of priority soon after the forum begins its work.
CSD’s last meeting
The HLPF will replace the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), which will hold its last meeting on 20 September 2013. The CSD was created in 1992 to follow up on the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit). Under the CSD, governments convened twenty annual sessions, helping advance sustainable development across the world.
As a way to bring United Nations reports closer to the general public, eight experts from DESA held a Facebook chat on 25 July to promote the recently launched World Economic and Social Survey 2013. Here are some of the questions and issues raised from all around the globe and an overview of the report.
During two hours, on 25 July, eight experts from the Development Strategy and Policy Analysis unit (DSP) of DESA’s Development Policy and Analysis Division (DPAD) sat in a Conference room at UN Headquarters in New York with an unusual goal: discussing with the public online about the recently launched World Economic and Social Survey 2013. The event enabled the team to reach a wider audience, and to get a sense about the thinking and understanding of sustainable development issues across a wide and varied non-specialist audience.
Survey seeks to promote innovative strategies
The World Economic and Social Survey 2013 (WESS 2013) is the annual United Nations survey of global development issues. This year it focuses on three major challenges that will have to be addressed to achieve sustainable development, in particular food and nutrition security, energy transformation and the sustainability of cities. For each of these challenges, particular solutions were identified to achieve sustainable development.
According to the Survey, the vision of promoting economic and social wellbeing while protecting the environment has not been achieved. This is due to gaps and shortfalls in development partnerships, rapid growth of population and urbanization, rising inequality, climate change and unsustainable patterns of production and consumption leading to environmental degradation.
The WESS 2013 establishes that letting things go as they are now in those three areas is not an option. Formulating and adopting a comprehensive but focused set of sustainable development goals (SDGs), as currently debated in the General Assembly’s Open Working Group on SDGs, will be a critical first step towards addressing the challenges.
For example, to address rapid urbanization will require multilevel planning and cooperation at local and national levels and partnerships to mobilize public and private resources. Without innovative strategies to integrate economic, social, and environmental aspects, there is a serious risk that the number of people living in slums and lacking access to basic infrastructure and services such as sanitation, electricity, and health care may dramatically rise from one billion now to three billion by 2050.
Innovative strategies will be needed to attract the major investments to promote sustainable development. “We have to take actions now that will enhance the benefits of cities, while reducing the threats to sustainable development”, said Wu Hongbo, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs at the time of the launch of the WESS 2013.
Facebook brings participants from diverse backgrounds together
The panel of experts comprised the members of the WESS 2013 core team: Willem van der Geest, Chief DSP and Nazrul Islam, Nicole Hunt, Alex Julca, Marco Sanchez-Cantillo, Oliver Schwank, Sergio Vieira and Eduardo Zepeda. The WESS 2013 team engaged with a total of 315 people from across the globe.
Participants were from very diverse geographical and professional backgrounds: young professional from developing countries, seasoned professionals, university students and researchers, and civil society organizers and activists. The team engaged with young professionals, typically in their mid-twenties, from Kenya, DRC Congo, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, Thailand and elsewhere. Seasoned professionals, sometimes presenting their own publications and research results, were online from India as well as across Europe and North America. University students and researchers were online from Europe, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Canada and elsewhere. Civil society organizers and activists were the most varied group, ranging from those advocating training for young women in Africa, to a school teacher from Zambia, to a women’s network in New York.
Issues raised remained largely within the confines of the pre-identified topics (environmental sustainability, food and nutrition security, energy transformation, sustainable cities, sustainable development in general) and included pertinent questions about the relation between MDGs and SDGs, plans and programmes for Africa, the proposed approach to the global commons and desertification, the scope for sustainable development in conflict-zones, and energy transformation. Some participants provided comments and opinions, and even answers, rather than questions.
How does the UN address sustainable development?
Regarding sustainable development, Nahid Khan from Dhaka asked “Bangladesh is a developing country and it has many sustainable problems like transportation, food security, and energy transformation. How does the UN address these problems?”
The experts recognized the challenges that this country is facing in terms of sustainability, and showcased ways in which the UN can help: “One way is by providing ideas and suggested policies that can be helpful. The second way is by providing fund and project implementation expertise through UN funds and agencies such as UNDP. For example, UNDP financed the “Sustainable Environment Management Project (SEMP)” in Bangladesh. It is a big project in support of Bangladesh’s pro-environment efforts”.
Reducing waste or increasing productivity?
João Saraiva Gomes from Portugal was worried that the goal to boost by 70% the agricultural production before 2050 might only partially be achieved. He wanted to know more about the role of food waste as a tool to reach food security “technically what is easier to do: reducing waste or increasing productivity?”
The experts answered that “reducing waste and increasing agricultural productivity are both important. Addressing only one of these two issues would not be sufficient and may not be recommended. For example, reducing food waste at the household level will require important consumption changes that may take some time. You are totally right, changing market quality standards and conservative expiration dates are some of the measures to reduce food waste”.
Youth employment as a sustainable development goal?
On youth unemployment Sayeed Mohammed (from Qatar) asked youth unemployment which is going to remain a pivotal issue. He noted that “..ILO is pushing to make employment and livelihood security as one of the sustainable development goals. How do you see, it is happening?”
The experts noted that “There is widespread agreement that employment is absolutely critical for development. It is the most successful and proven way to reduce poverty. So it is very likely indeed that there will be a strong focus on employment generation, especially for youth – in a post-2015 development agenda and the SDGs.”
Can sustainable development start at home?
On sustainable development in their own region Badmus Quam from Africa asked:
“What plan, policy and social/economic framework do you have for Africa?”
The experts explained that “In our World Economic and Social Survey 2013, we take a global perspective and do not focus on countries or regions specifically. But the challenges for sustainable development that we address are all extremely relevant for Africa – in urbanization, food security, or energy. At the same time, Africa has a socio-economic framework for itself, in the form of NEPAD (the New Partnership for Africa’s Development) under the African Union.”
On sustainable cities, Berta Polo Lorenzo, from Spain, asked a very to-the-point question to the team: “how can citizens improve sustainable development in their home towns?”
The experts answered that “initiatives led by community organizations can be more effective than individual initiatives. But it can start at home and then move to the community level in dialogue with neighbors. Community gardening, reducing and classifying waste, are examples of micro initiatives”. The experts guided Berta to find successful experiences in this area in the journal “Environment and Urbanization”, available online for free.
Understanding the public’s concerns
For Sergio Vieira, “the opportunity to answer interesting questions from people all over the world was both fun and informative. It was helpful to understand their concerns and their motivation in participating in local activities that can contribute to sustainable development.”
“A Facebook chat is teamwork. Answering hundreds of questions in two hours requires true coordination, to make sure that each is addressed by the right person”, said Willem van der Geest.
The System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA), an international standard on statistics, was recently agreed among UN Member States, and is currently being implemented. The aim of this standard is to report on the interrelationships between the economy, the environment and the society through clear, concise and coherent statistics and indicators.
The SEEA became a statistical standard in 2012. It is the second existing statistical standard, after the System of National Accounts (SNA).
One of the main aims of a statistical standard is to provide an agreed set of definitions and concepts for use in collection, compilation, and analysis of data. A benefit of using such a standard is the ability to develop internationally comparable indicators, (e.g., GDP in the case of the SNA).
Information compiled using the SEEA framework relates the environment to the economy, bringing together statistics of supply and use of resources in physical and monetary terms. Policy relevant indicators can also be derived from the SEEA framework. Examples of such indicators include natural resource use intensity by industries, emissions to air, and water use intensity.
Countries that adopt the SEEA and use it in their statistical production processes are able to consistently monitor environmental-economic interactions. The outputs of this monitoring can better inform policy-makers considering initiatives related to the economy and environment.
Implementation of the SEEA does not require a large amount of data; on the contrary, most countries already collect enough data for the compilation of accounts at an aggregated level.
A revolution in statistics
“It is a revolution in statistics! This system is the only one that takes into account the link between economic and environmental statistics (…) and that integrates a perspective of sustainable development while focusing on areas of economics, environment and human activities”, says Alessandra Alfieri, Chief of the Environmental and Economic Accounts Section of DESA’s Statistics Division.
For example, the environmental protection expenditure accounts provide information on all goods and services directed toward environmental protection, such as expenditure on waste management by government and expenditure on protection of biodiversity of non-profit organization.
Change the mindset
The “Global Implementation Programme for the SEEA” International Conference held in New York on 17-19 June showcased experiences from countries that are already working on the SEEA implementation in order to assist countries that are starting or continuing the implementation of this new statistical standard. Representatives from 35 countries attended the Conference, which was chaired by Peter Harper, Chairman of UN Committee of Experts on Environmental Economic Accounting and Deputy Australian Statistician.
Since the SEEA is a new standard, the conference discussions highlighted the need to build the statistical infrastructure and to train people to produce standardized statistics.“The challenge is also to change the mindset, from isolated statistics work to collaboration and integration”, pointed out Alessandra Alfieri. In the past, the integration of economic and environmental data was not possible in many countries due to the lack of a coherent conceptual framework. Different agencies in a country are often, for example, collecting data on water, yet are using different concepts and definitions. One of the major goals of the SEEA implementation, and a point stressed during the conference, is fostering of institutional arrangements for the production of integrated statistics.
Address the countries’ needs
Another major point raised at the Conference was adjusting the SEEA to the regional approach, thereby serving the countries’ and regions’ needs. Country policy priorities and progress towards meeting those priorities have to be evaluated in global processes such as the post-2015 development agenda.
The participating countries emphasized the need to build South-South and North-South cooperation partnerships, in order to let the countries that are most advanced in the SEEA implementation guide their neighbors. For example, some of the regional leaders like Colombia (for the Andean region), Brazil (rest of South America), Mexico (for Central America) and Jamaica (for the Caribbean region) have offered to lead the implementation of the SEEA in their particular regions. On the other hand, Australia plays a significant role in North-South cooperation by helping countries all over the world.
Bring together statistics producers and users
Participants also discussed the role of governance in the implementation process and how to include relevant international, regional and sub-regional agencies in coordination with local governments. “It is important to bring together producers and users of statistics” Alessandra Alfieri said. Results from the work on the SEEA implementation also need to be communicated to provide decision makers with relevant, accurate and comparable statistical information. This critical communication can allow them to implement better public policies. Similarly the general public and media should receive information about the SEEA and its implementation to allow a better understanding of the importance of standardized statistics.
The multidimensional nature of the sustainable development agenda requires an integrated and balanced information system covering economic, environmental, social and human aspects that employs clear, concise and coherent statistics and indicators for monitoring and reporting. The SEEA is one of the fundamental tools that can aid in properly measuring progress towards sustainable development, informing users of the interactions between the economy and the environment.
What’s Next?
Peter Harper, Chair of UNCEEA and deputy of Australian Statistics, said that the next steps would be to “turn the plan that we have been discussing together into action, and reach a better implementation of SEEA while progressing in its results”. Integrated information allows for more comprehensive analysis and gives policy makers the necessary tools for improved policy making.
The participating countries agreed to produce and share training material with the less advanced countries, and a document summarizing conference outcomes will provide the basis for the formulation of recommendations to the UN Statistical Commission at its 45th session in March 2014.
International Youth Day is commemorated every year on 12 August 2013. This year the theme of the International Youth Day is Youth Migration: Moving Development Forward. To better understand this issue, watch the interview with Daniela Bas, Director of Division for Social Policy and Development.
In 2010, there was a staggering 27 million international migrants aged 15 to 24 in the world. Young people compose a significant share of overall international migrant numbers. While migration of young people can often offer valuable opportunities, it can also pose risks and lead to unacceptable situations, including exploitation and discrimination.
For young people, the decision to migrate is often related to their transition to adulthood. Internal or international migration can have a positive impact on young people by opening up new opportunities, a path to participate in higher education, a decent job, a chance to gain professional experience or to pursue personal development.
Vulnerabilities and livelihood struggles
However, for some young people, especially young women and those with unclear administrative situations, the migration process confronts them with particular challenges and confers to them certain vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities can include: discrimination based on gender, migration status, ethnicity or religion; poor working conditions; lack of access to basic social services; risks associated with sexual and reproductive health; and lack or loss of social protection once the migration status of the young migrant changes (from student to graduate, for example).
Despite the plethora of risks and challenges associated with migration, very little is known about the livelihood struggles and opportunities that migration presents for young migrants, leaving the policies and measures needed to address these opportunities and challenges often ill informed or lacking. As such, awareness-raising of the situations of young migrants is needed so that good practices, policies and measures can adequately address the specific needs of young migrants.
In our interview, Daniela Bas explains the different kinds of young migrants, what the UN is doing to help them, how the economic crisis affects them and what young migrants from developing and developed countries have in common.
Commemoration event of IYD 2013 in UN headquarters
The commemoration of the International Youth Day will be held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 12 August 2013. Similar to previous years, the United Nations Focal Point on Youth will celebrate the International Youth Day 2013 with activities that involve youth and youth-led organizations to dialogue on issues that affect their lives. This year the event is being co-organized with the International Labour Organization with support from the MDG Achievement Fund.
The International Labour Organization launched the Youth Employment Video Contest: Youth labour migration “Reaping the benefits, minimizing the risks” to promote decent work for young migrants. The contest invites videos from around the world to feature activities promoting decent work for young migrants. In the commemoration event, the winners of the contest will share their experiences on the contributions they make to their community.
To better highlight the situations youth migrants are facing, the official United Nations event will feature presentations from UN entities on latest research and experiences, screen videos on youth migration and organize an interactive panel discussion where experts, representatives from UN entities, and young people/migrants will discuss various aspects of youth migration.
International Youth Day (IYD) was established by the United Nations in 2000 as a mean of raising awareness on issues affecting young people around the world.
The 2013 High-level Segment of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is taking place on 1-4 July in Geneva. The Secretary-General’s report emphasizes that science, technology, innovation and culture are critical to the achievement of the MDGs and a successful transition to sustainable development. A Thunderclap campaign running since April has helped youth bring their voices to the world’s leaders.
As the participants of the 2013 High-level Segment of ECOSOC were getting ready in Geneva last week, hundreds of Twitter users were signing-up to share a special tweet with all their followers on 1 July. This campaign, called “Thunderclap” aimed at bringing youth voices to the ECOSOC high-level segment.
“Investing in youth will enable us to solve sustainable development challenges such as poor education, lack of access to health care, high unemployment, violence, conflicts and extremism. This involves reaching out, listening to and learning from young people”, said Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in a video message to promote the campaign, a week before the opening of the High-Level Segment.
With a call to “Innovate your Future”, young people have been encouraged to sustain the planet and ask the world leaders at ECOSOC to help. By sharing a single tweet, Twitter users from all over the world and from all backgrounds showed their support to empower youth. “At the United Nations, we believe that young people have the energy and ideas we need to change the world”, added the Secretary-General in his message.
Science, technology, innovation and culture for sustainable development
The ECOSOC Substantive Session is taking place from 1 to 25 July. It is divided in 5 Segments, a High-level Segment, which opens the session during the first week, a Coordination Segment, an Operational Activities Segment, a Humanitarian affairs Segment and a General Segment.
As part of the High-Level Segment, the theme of this year’s Annual Ministerial Review (AMR) is “Science, technology and innovation (STI) and culture for promoting sustainable development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.” These fields are presented as enablers for sustainable development and important elements of the post-2015 development agenda.
STI and culture significantly impact each of the three pillars of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental. STI drives the dynamic transformation of economies through productivity growth, which influences economic growth. Over time, economic growth fueled by innovations in science and technology can increase social cohesion, stability, and democratic governance while also increasing energy efficiency, reducing waste, mitigating climate change and embarking on sustainable development pathways. Culturally-based, local and indigenous knowledge as well as skills and endogenous know-how are core resources for coping with climate change, preventing biodiversity loss and ensuring environmental sustainability.
Five regions to report on Innovation for Development
TheHigh-Level Segment will benefit from the reports of five regional consultations conducted in preparation for the AMR in Western Asia, Latin, Asia and the Pacific, Africa and Europe, all focusing on Science and Technology for Development.
The High-level Segment will also include National Voluntary Presentations from France, Nigeria, Peru, Thailand and Viet Nam, who will showcase their national reports on STI and culture and their experiences in promoting sustainable development and achieving the MDGs. It will also host several panel discussions and a thematic debate on the contribution of the Economic and Social Council to the elaboration of a Post-2015 development agenda.
The High-Level Segment will be opened by H.E. Mr. Néstor Osorio, President of ECOSOC. Also addressing the Council during its opening ceremony will be Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, H.E. Mr. Vuk Jeremić, President of the General Assembly, and H.E. Mr. Ueli Maurer, President of the Swiss Confederation
Coordination to promote employment and decent work for all
Organized on 5-9 July, the Coordination Segment will focus on following up to the 2012 Ministerial Declaration on “Promoting productive capacity, employment and decent work to eradicate poverty in the context of inclusive, sustainable and equitable economic growth at all levels for achieving the Millennium Development Goals” and to the International Conference on Financing for Development.
There will be a dialogue with the executive secretaries of the regional commissions on the theme of “Regional perspectives on the post-2105 development agenda”. In addition, the annual overview report of the UN system Chief Executive Board for Coordination (CEB) will be presented to the Council. The Secretary-General’s report on “the role of the United Nations system in promoting productive capacity, employment and decent work to eradicate poverty in the context of inclusive, sustainable and equitable economic growth at all levels for achieving the Millennium Development Goals” will provide the background analysis for the debate. In addition, the Segment will also feature a session on financing for development.
A resolution to monitor and implement the QCPR
The Operational Activities Segment, hold from 10-12 July, will focus on progress in implementing the General Assembly 67/226 resolution on the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review of UN system’s operational activities (QCPR). The resolution adopts several important reforms measures with an aim to enhance the relevance, coherence, effectiveness and efficiency of UN operational activities for development.
The reports of the Secretary-General show that the UN system has taken some action in implementing the QCPR resolution. At the same time, some time-bound reform measures require urgent action. In particular, the UN development system needs to advance vigorously on several fronts, in particular harmonization of rules and regulations that govern business operations. At the end of the segment, a resolution is expected to be adopted which will provide further guidance on the monitoring and implementation of the resolution.
A Humanitarian Fair
The Humanitarian Affairs Segment (15-17 July) provides an essential forum where Member States, humanitarian organizations and other relevant counterparts discuss the challenges, opportunities and activities related to the strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations. The theme this Segment will be “The future of humanitarian affairs: towards greater inclusiveness, coordination, interoperability and effectiveness”; and it will convene two panel discussions.
The first panel discussion will focus on how humanitarian and development actors must work in ways that seek to reduce and manage the risks posed to people and communities vulnerable to humanitarian crises and the impacts of global challenges. The panel on “Promoting humanitarian innovation for improved response” will focus on how the humanitarian system can create an enabling environment for innovation and how it can ensure the identification and integration of innovations that address operational challenges and opportunities.
For the first time this year, a Humanitarian Fair will showcase, in the corridors of the Palais des Nations, how innovation can contribute to humanitarian response in more than 20 booths from various UN and NGO partners, representatives of the civil society, as well as regional organizations and the private sector.
General Segment to review reports of subsidiary bodies
At the General Segment (18-25 July), the Council will review the reports of its subsidiary bodies and of other UN entities working in the economic and social fields. These bodies include the Council’s functional commissions, regional commissions, expert and ad hoc bodies. It will also consider the report of its Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti and a report of the Secretary General on South Sudan.
A number of system-wide thematic issues will be reviewed, among them, the mainstreaming of a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the UN system, the Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the report of the UN inter-agency task force on tobacco control.
Several important targets of the Millennium Development Goals have or will be met by the 2015 deadline, but progress in many areas is far from sufficient, according to this year’s Millennium Development Goals Report launched today by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
“The Millennium Development Goals have been the most successful global anti-poverty push in history,” Mr. Ban said. “The MDGs have proven that focused global development objectives can make a profound difference.” The eight goals were agreed by all countries as an outgrowth of the UN Millennium Summit in 2000.
The analysis in this report, based on a wide range of statistics, shows that the actions of national governments, the international community, civil society and the private sector are coalescing in the achievement of many of the MDGs. At the same time, many items on the agenda remain incomplete. Redoubled efforts are urgently needed, in particular in regions most behind to jumpstart advancement and achieve maximum gains. The report also reveals that our attention needs to focus on disparities across geographical areas and social groups. The results of this report give us a clear indication where our efforts must be directed in the days remaining before the 2015 deadline.
The Millennium Development Goals Report is an annual assessment of global and regional progress towards the Goals. It is produced by the Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and reflects the most comprehensive, up-to-date data and analysis compiled by over 27 UN and international agencies.
Important MDG targets already met or within close reach
The proportion of people living in extreme poverty has been halved at the global level and the world reached the poverty reduction target five years ahead of schedule. About 700 million fewer people lived in conditions of extreme poverty in 2010 than in 1990. Also, MDG drinking water target was met five years ahead of the target date with over 2 billion people having gained access to improved sources of drinking water since 1990.
Over 200 million slum dwellers benefitted from improved water sources, sanitation facilities, durable housing or sufficient living space between 2000 and 2010, thereby exceeding the 100 million MDG target. Given reinvigorated efforts, the target of halving the percentage of people suffering from hunger by 2015 appears to be within reach.
Remarkable gains have also been made in the fight against malaria and tuberculosis. Mortality rates from malaria fell by more than 25 per cent globally between 2000 and 2010. Between 1995 and 2011, a cumulative total of 51 million tuberculosis patients were successfully treated, saving 20 million lives.
Accelerated progress and bolder action needed in many areas
Environmental sustainability is under severe threat, demanding a new level of global cooperation: The growth in global greenhouse gases is accelerating, and emissions of carbon dioxide today are more than 46 per cent higher than their 1990 level. Forests continue to be lost at an alarming rate. Overexploitation of marine fish stocks is resulting in diminished yields. More of the earth’s land and marine areas are under protection, but birds, mammals and other species are heading for extinction at an ever faster rate, with declines in both populations and distribution.
Worldwide, the mortality rate for children under five dropped by 41 per cent—from 87 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 51 in 2011. Despite this enormous accomplishment, more rapid progress is needed to meet the 2015 target of a two-thirds reduction in child deaths. Most maternal deaths are preventable, but progress in this area is falling short. Globally, the maternal mortality ratio declined by 47 per cent over the last two decades, from 400 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births to 210 between 1990 and 2010. Meeting the MDG target of reducing the ratio by three quarters will require accelerated interventions and stronger political backing for women and children.
Also in other areas progress has not been sufficient: Access to antiretroviral therapy and knowledge about HIV prevention must expand. In 2011, 57 millions primary school age children were still denied their right to primary education. From 1990 to 2011, 1.9 billion people gained access to a latrine, flush toilet or other improved sanitation facility but more rapid progress is needed to meet the MDG sanitation target.
A low debt burden and an improved climate for trade are levelling the playing field for developing countries. However, there is less aid money overall, with the poorest countries most adversely affected. In 2012, bilateral official development assistance to least developed countries fell by 13 per cent, to about $26 billion.
Global attention needs to focus on disparities
Progress towards the eight MDGs has been uneven – not only among regions and countries, but also between rural and urban areas, men and women, and among other population groups within countries. In 2011, only 53 per cent of births in rural areas were attended by skilled health personnel, versus 84 per cent in urban areas. Eighty-three per cent of the population without access to an improved drinking water source live in rural communities. Also, gender-based inequalities in decision-making power persist.
Creating a stable foundation for future development action
The United Nations is working with governments, civil society and other partners to build on the momentum generated by the MDGs, to craft an ambitious, yet realistic, post-2015 agenda. A successful conclusion to the MDGs will be an important building block for a successor development agenda, and volumes of experience and lessons learned from the MDGs will benefit prospects for continued progress.
“Through accelerated action, the world can achieve the MDGs and generate momentum for an ambitious and inspiring post-2015 development framework,” Mr. Ban said. “Now is the time to step up our efforts to build a more just, secure and sustainable future for all.”
The current world population of 7.2 billion is projected to increase by 1 billion over the next 12 years and reach 9.6 billion by 2050, according to a report launched by DESA’s Population Division in June. The report points out that growth will be mainly in developing countries, with more than half in Africa. Watch our interview with John Wilmoth, Director of the Population Division, who gives us some insights about the last figures available.
In our video interview, John Wilmoth is highlighting the most surprising findings of this report, mainly focused on fertility rates, on how to cope with the lack of registry systems in developing countries, and on the challenges induced by the global increase of life expectancy.
The report, World Population Prospects: the 2012 Revision, notes that the population of developed regions will remain largely unchanged at around 1.3 billion from now until 2050. In contrast, the 49 least developed countries are projected to double in size from around 900 million people in 2013 to 1.8 billion in 2050.
“Although population growth has slowed for the world as a whole, this report reminds us that some developing countries, especially in Africa, are still growing rapidly,” said the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Wu Hongbo in a press release on the report in June.
New information available
Compared to previous assessments of world population trends, the new projected total population is higher, mainly due to new information obtained on fertility levels of certain countries. For example, in 15 high-fertility countries of sub-Saharan Africa, the estimated average number of children per woman has been adjusted upwards by more than 5 per cent.
“In some cases, the actual level of fertility appears to have risen in recent years; in other cases, the previous estimate was too low,” said the Director of the Population Division in the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs, John Wilmoth, during a press conference in New York.
“While there has been a rapid fall in the average number of children per woman in large developing countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Brazil and South Africa […] rapid growth is expected to continue over the next few decades in countries with high levels of fertility such as Nigeria, Niger, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Uganda but also Afghanistan and Timor-Leste, where there are more than five children per woman.”
Mr. Wilmoth added that changes in fertility rates over the next few decades could have major consequence for population size, structure and distribution in the long run.
China’s population to start decreasing
The report notes that India is expected to become the world’s largest country, passing China around 2028, when both countries will have populations of 1.45 billion. After that, India’s population will continue to grow and China’s is expected to start decreasing. Meanwhile, Nigeria’s population is expected to surpass that of the United States before 2050.
Europe’s population is projected to decline by 14 per cent, the report states, and Mr. Wilmoth warned that the continent is already facing challenges in providing care and support for a rapidly aging population.
82 years average life expectancy by 2100
Overall, life expectancy is projected to increase in developed and developing countries in future years. At the global level, it is projected to reach 76 years in the period 2045-2050 and 82 years in 2095-2100. By the end of the century, people in developed countries could live on average around 89 years, compared to about 81 years in developing regions.
The report’s figures are based on a comprehensive review of available demographic data from 233 countries and areas around the world, including the 2010 round of population censuses.
Around the globe, women are less likely than men to have access to technology. This is a gap that exists in developing and developed countries alike. With an aim to address this issue and propose ways to empower young women, ECOSOC and ITU are hosting a Google+ Hangout on 6 June featuring Academy Award winning Actor and ITU Special Envoy for Women and Girls in ICT, Ms. Geena Davis.
This year, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is putting a spotlight on “Science, technology and innovation, and the potential of culture, for promoting sustainable development and achieving the MDGs”, as part of its Annual Ministerial Review (AMR) taking place during the Council’s annual meeting in Geneva this July.
Ahead of this major event, the Council is making every effort to bring the voices of youth into the important discussions and decisions to take place in Geneva, through its major online campaign “Innovate Your Future”, featured on Facebook, Twitter and Thunderclap. The campaign seeks worldwide support to help empower youth and shape future innovators.
Turning the spotlight on women and girls
As part of this campaign, ECOSOC is teaming up with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), to host a Google+ Hangout on 6 June at 2pm EDT (6pm GMT), featuring Ms. Geena Davis, founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, the only research-based organization working within the media and entertainment industry to engage, educate, and influence the need for gender balance, reducing stereotyping and creating a wide variety of female characters for entertainment targeting children.
Moderated by Gary Fowlie, Head of the liaison office of ITU in New York, the Hangout “Innovate Your Future: Empower Young Women through Technology”, will gather a number of prominent panelists for a live discussion on the UN Google+ platform, highlighting the potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in advancing gender equality and in contributing to bridging the digital divide between women and men.
In her capacity as Special Envoy and through her pioneering work at the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, Ms. Davis has become a powerful global voice on the importance of gender equality in media and the empowering potential of technology for women and girls.
“The stark gender inequality in media aimed at children is of significant importance to our discussion on women and girls in ICTs, as TV and movies can yield enormous influence on young children as they are developing their idea of their role in society, and thinking about career choices,” Ms. Davis said in her acceptance speech as she was awarded the 2012 ITU World Telecommunication and Information Society Award last year.
Ms. Davis also underscored the opportunities to empower women and girls using ICTs. “Improving media images is just one facet of empowering women and girls. Real and significant change in the status of women and girls is already underway and I believe ICT will lead the way toward equality,” she said. In her capacity as Special Envoy, Ms. Davis is also promoting the ITU Tech Needs Girls campaign, a three-year initiative seeking to raise global awareness of the role ICTs can play in empowering women.
Spurring gender equality in ICTs
Other panelists who will join Ms. Davis on 6 June include Mr. Ahmad Alhendawi, the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth; Ms. Doreen Bogdan, Chief Strategic Planning and Membership, ITU; Ms. Stacy Martinet, Chief Marketing Officer, Mashable; and Ms. Blair Christie, Senior Vice-President, Government Affairs & Global Corporate Communications of Cisco.
In addition to discussing the role of media, other topics for the live hangout will include the promotion of female participation in the ICT sector, establishing access through better infrastructure and the vital role of education, tapping into the potentials within this field.
“Women’s access to ICTs and particularly broadband must be made a key pillar of the post-2015 global development agenda,” Dr. Hamadoun I. Touré, ITU Secretary-General and co-Vice Chair of the Commission, said as a new target was adopted by the UN Broadband Commission to get more women connected to ICTs, mandating ‘gender equality in broadband access by the year 2020’.
Dr. Touré pointed to figures from ITU and other agencies showing a clear ‘gender gap’ in access to technology. “We need to redress that imbalance to ensure that all people are empowered to take control of their own destinies through ICTs,” he said.
Last year, people from across the globe came together at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). They decided on a broad range of measures to achieve a more sustainable future. One year later, the momentum for action remains strong. Tune in for a live Google+ hangout on 13 June with DESA’s Under-Secretary-General Wu Hongbo, to mark the one year anniversary of this milestone event.
Rio+20 was the largest UN conference ever, bringing together 50,000 people representing governments, civil society, media and academia. The Conference adopted the historic outcome document -The Future We Want. Over 1300 voluntary commitments were made since the Rio+20 Conference took place.
Celebrating the one year anniversary, DESA’s Under-Secretary-General Mr. Wu Hongbo is bringing together a high-level panel of participants involved in realizing the commitments made, in facilitating the intergovernmental discussions on sustainable development goals and in ensuring an inclusive process involving all nine major groups.
Mr. Wu encourages everyone to “Find out what actions have been taken since Rio+20”. He invites the online community to watch the live event on 13 June at 11 am EDT and to submit questions in advance using the Twitter hashtag #SDinAction. The event will offer valuable insights into the work currently carried out to ensure a successful path towards the future we want.
Taking place on the UN Google+ page, the event will be moderated by Mr. Nikhil Seth, Director of DESA’s Division for Sustainable Development and former Head of the Rio+20 Secretariat. It will feature panelists including representatives who are actively involved in the General Assembly’s Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, as well as representatives from the Major Groups.
Sustainable development goals
One of the main results of Rio+20 was the agreement to develop a set of sustainable development goals (SDGs). The conference did not elaborate on specific goals, but stated that the SDGs should be limited in number, action-oriented, concise, easy to communicate, aspirational, global in nature and universally applicable.
The inter-governmental Open Working Group mandated to submit a proposal for sustainable development goals for consideration and appropriate action to the 68th Session of the General Assembly was established in January of this year and is co-chaired by the Permanent Representatives of Kenya and Hungary. With representatives from the Open Working Group participating in the hangout, it will offer an update on where we are in the discussions on these goals.
“The SDGs have the potential for accelerating and continuing the work begun with the MDGs. They will also take into account the long-term sustainability of poverty eradication and development outcomes, in all countries across the world,” said Mr. Wu, as the working group met earlier this spring.
Ensuring an inclusive process towards the future we want
Since the first Earth Summit in 1992, it was recognized that sustainable development could not be achieved by governments alone. Reflected in the outcome document from that event, “Agenda 21″, the need to harness expertise and capacity from all sectors of society and all types of people was underscored.
There are today nine major groups representing children and youth; business and industry; farmers; indigenous peoples; local authorities; NGOs; the scientific and technological community; women and workers and trade unions. Side by side with UN agencies, Member States and other international stakeholders, they are working to ensure that we stay on course towards a more sustainable future.
“We have embarked on a historic journey. It will not be easy. In fact, if there is something we can already agree on, it is that this journey will be arduous. Difficult as it is, we will reach our shared destination. We owe this to our children and grandchildren. We have the historic responsibility and the opportunity to contribute to a better world for them. Let us seize that opportunity,” concluded Mr. Wu as he addressed the open working group earlier this spring.
Be sure to watch the hangout event on 13 June at 11 am EDT and listen to the live discussion with Mr. Wu and the representatives from the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, as well as from the Major Groups.
Get engaged. Get involved. And be inspired. Join the debate and make changes happen.
Hundreds of participants are expected to witness the most prestigious international recognition of innovation in public service at the United Nations Public Service Forum, Day and Awards Ceremony, to be held in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, from 24 to 27 June.
To have a strong, efficient, and professional public service is one of the key factors in the development process. One way to promote good practices is to recognize initiatives behind innovation, improvement and implementation of groundbreaking projects in the delivery of public services.
Since 2003, the United Nations Public Service Awards, given each year on 23 June, the day designated by the General Assembly as United Nations Public Service Day to “celebrate the value and virtue of service to the community”, have recognized and promoted the role, professionalism and visibility of public administration and fostered improvements in public administration worldwide.
Nominations are open to public organizations of all kinds, including governments and public-private partnerships, in delivering public services. It rewards the creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions that lead to a more effective and responsive public administration in countries worldwide.
Highlights from 2012
Last year, several initiatives were honored. Among them were the New York 311 initiative and a law that was approved in India to make requests from citizens to local authorities clearer and faster.
The 311 initiative consisted of a telephone number to guide people to get their demands solved. The initiative has had a direct impact on reducing the time needed for solutions and has reduced waste of state capacity when wrongly contacted. Saadia Chaudryl, Call Center Director, said that “when citizens don’t know what agency to call to get help, they call us, and in some cases 311 talks to the agencies for them”.
The Public Service Delivery Management Act, enacted by the Government of Madhya Pradesh, India, provides that public services should be delivered within a certain time frame, and when this does not happen, administrative personnel are fined and citizens can contact higher authorities to get their problem solved. It has had a positive impact on reducing time for delivering public services and made the system more transparent and accountable.
The 2013 Awards
This year, the award puts a spotlight on five categories:
1. Preventing and combating corruption in the public service
2. Improving the delivery of public services,
3. Fostering participation in public policy decision-making through innovative mechanisms
4. Promoting whole-of-government approaches in the information age
5. Promoting gender-responsive delivery of public services.
In each of these categories initiatives are awarded by region: Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Western Asia.
The initiatives that have won this year’s awards have been recently announced, and among them there are projects to increase transparency in the decision-making process in Moldova, to provide children in Peru with ID cards and the creation of a Government Contact Centre in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Each year the winners of the UN Public Service Awards are selected from the finalists in each category and region by the United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration, and this year will be recognized for their achievements on the last day of the Forum at the Awards Ceremony. The event will take place in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, from 24 to 27 June.
The Forum, which this year will focus on the theme of “Transformative e-Government and Innovation: Creating a Better Future for All”, is organized by DESA’s Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM) and the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain, in partnership with UN-WOMEN and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA).
There are over 370 million indigenous peoples living in 90 countries across the globe. Protecting and advancing their rights have been at the heart of Tonya Gonnella Frichner’s mission for almost three decades, serving as an attorney and former member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. In DESA News, she shares past gains and hopes for the future.
With the upcoming 12th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues taking place on 20-31 May, and with the world conference more than a year away, DESA News got an exclusive opportunity to meet with Ms. Tonya Gonnella Frichner.
Ms. Gonnella Frichner has an impressive track record, working as an attorney since 1987 to secure the rights of indigenous peoples worldwide. She is the President and Founder of the American Indian Law Alliance and is a citizen of the Onondaga Nation, Snipe Clan. The city of Syracuse sits on their traditional territory, about 250 miles North-West of New York City.
During the past 20 years, she has sought to make the voices of indigenous peoples heard at some of the major UN Conferences. She also paved the way for the establishment of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in 2000 and the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007. From 2008 until 2010, Ms. Gonnella Frichner served as a member of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous issues and she was its North-American Regional Representative.
Long history of involvement
“I began my work in 1987, after I finished law school and it was the Iroquis Confederacy, the Haudenosaunee, that brought me along and mentored me and who took me to my first meeting at the UN in Geneva,” Ms. Gonnella Frichner said. “The Haudenosaunee have been doing this work for many, many years,” she added, sharing that it was in 1923, when a Cayuga Chief was sent to Geneva for the first time to discuss the situation on his territory.
Ms. Gonnella Frichner described the importance of the nation-to-nation relationship that had been established early on by her community, as European settlers started to arrive at their shores. “That’s when our treaties were established, our diplomacy,” she said. For her community, it was a natural step seeking justice at the United Nations. “In 1977 our people understood that there was a Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but were confused as to why it did not apply to indigenous peoples,” she explained.
In 1992, she was involved in the first Earth Summit and she saw the surge in interest and participation of civil society. “Civil society should have a voice, and should be speaking with governments and should be holding them accountable on different levels,” she said, also pointing to the fact that indigenous peoples have taken a leading role in seeing civil society more involved at the UN.
Paving the way for UN Declaration
Ms. Gonnella Frichner also depicted the 14-year-long process that finally led to the creation and adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007. “There were difficulties along the way, especially around the right to self determination,” she said. Getting the language right and reaching consensus also for the wording around the right to free, prior and informed consent, also involved a lot of work. “The article within the declaration that I am very proud of is the one protecting our treaties, agreements and other arrangements,” she added.
The UN Declaration is a milestone for Ms. Gonnella Frichner’s own Nation and she underscored the importance of its realization. “What our people would like to see is this declaration being implemented on a local and national level,” she added.
The need for a broader and more encompassing forum later led the way to the creation of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and for three years Ms. Gonnella Frichner served as its member. “I was assigned to write a preliminary study on the Doctrine of Discovery and its affect on indigenous peoples,” she said. This Doctrine has throughout history led state actors to assert a sovereign dominant authority over indigenous peoples, ultimately resulting in the violation of their human rights. In 2012, the Permanent Forum addressed this issue as the main theme for its 11th session.
Critical matters for upcoming events and beyond
There are many important items on the agenda for the upcoming 12th Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to be held on 20-31 May. The implementation of the UN Declaration, education, health and culture – these are some of the topics at hand. There will also be a discussion on the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples which will be held at UN Headquarters in September next year.
“My hope is that it will continue its excellent work,” said Ms. Gonnella Frichner, describing the Forum’s important role addressing a number of issues related to social and economic development. “If we look at health, the statistics are very, very high against us and it has been agreed to that indigenous peoples are the most marginalized in the world and the most vulnerable. Whether suffering from diabetes or tuberculosis, the list goes on and on,” she said, adding that these statistics basically are the same in developing and developed countries.
“Education, the statistics are the same. Governments need to provide situations where education as a human right, is available to indigenous peoples. Education is important but including our life ways and our languages must be attached to that as well,” she said.
Ms. Gonnella Frichner also underscored the vital role of culture and the need for it to be part of the domestic policies of governments. “When I think of culture I think of being in a room with 2,000 indigenous peoples all speaking different languages,” she said smiling. “But when we are together, in our meetings, we are speaking one language,” she added. “Our relationship to mother Earth is identical throughout indigenous communities.”
When talking about next year’s world conference, Ms. Gonnella Frichner expressed hope that the participation of indigenous peoples will be at a high-level, pointing to the strong commitment for this event shown by the past and current President of the General Assembly. Indigenous delegates will also gather for a meeting in Alta, Norway this June to look at the issues at hand and to draft a unified statement for the world conference.
Addressing poverty at core of priorities
When we discussed the development agenda beyond 2015 and some of the most important priorities, Ms. Gonnella Frichner emphasized the issue of poverty. “Poverty is the overarching theme if you will, that affects indigenous peoples when it comes to health, education, our youth, our women. It affects everything across the board.” She also underscored the need for an inclusive process, ensuring indigenous peoples participation.
“Development in indigenous communities must be applied with the Declaration in mind,” she said, explaining the importance of using it as a framework to look at development, poverty and its affect on all indigenous peoples within different regions. “It must be applied, seriously, not only on a local, national, but international level,” she said.
Involvement of future generations key
Playing a crucial part in world matters is today’s youth, which makes up for about 40 per cent of the global population, with 67 million of them representing the indigenous youth community. “We have seen indigenous youth take on a very strong role and make very strong statements,” Ms. Gonnella Frichner said, highlighting that one of their main concerns relates to climate change and global warming.
“This world is going to be left to them, they are our future leaders, so our responsibility is to mentor those future leaders, and to bring them into the discussions,” she said. “And that’s not just for indigenous youth, that’s for all youth throughout the world,” she added. “As we say from the community that I’m from, the Haudenosaunee, when our leaders sit in deliberation, when they are in counsel, their decisions are going to be made with the 7th generation in mind,” she explained.
Ms. Gonnella Frichner underscored the importance of this kind of approach. “So that we don’t stick with a quick fix, or something that will only last for 15 years. No it must be until that seventh generation has arrived. The world needs to be intact for them when they arrive and are here to take on the challenges of this world,” she concluded encouragingly.
The 2013 regular session of the Committee on NGOs was held earlier this year and saw a record number of applications from NGOs seeking consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). On 20-29 May, and on 7 June, the Committee will resume its session and make decisions about which NGOs to accept for general, special or roster consultative status.
As the Committee concluded its first session of the year on 8 February, 159 NGOs were recommended to be granted consultative status. The Committee will revisit this recommendation and also review the applications of a total of 246 new and 180 deferred applications by NGOs at the upcoming session.
Navid Hanif, Director of the Office for Economic and Social Council Support and Coordination in DESA, said the number of NGO applications had never been higher. More than 600 of them, from all over the world, were submitted this year, which is double the number compared to last year.
NGOs play vital role for reaching development goals
Mr. Hanif also underscored the crucial role of NGOs and civil society in reaching the Millennium Development Goals and in helping to design Sustainable Development Goals, as well as a post-2015 development agenda. “The concerns of everyone, not least the world’s poor and marginalized, must be heard loud and clear,” Navid Hanif said. “Civil society is well placed to achieve this,” he added.
Established as a standing committee of ECOSOC in 1946, the Committee reports directly to the Council. Comprised of 19 members elected on the basis of geographical representation, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations decides about the general, special or roster consultative status on the basis of an applicant’s mandate, governance and financials, among other criteria. Once accredited, NGOs can attend meetings of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and enjoy different levels of benefits, depending on their status.
Organizations enjoying general and special status can attend Council meetings and make oral statements, or circulate written statements. In addition, those with general status may recommend items for the Council’s provisional agenda. Roster status organizations can attend meetings, but submit statements only if requested by the Council or Secretary-General. Groups with general and special status must also submit a report every four years, which is also analyzed by the Committee. There are currently more than 3700 organizations with ECOSOC consultative status.
“The Committee’s work is seen as essential by many NGOs as ECOSOC consultative status provides important benefits, such as automatic accreditation to many intergovenmental meetings, as well as year-round access to the UN conference facilities in Geneva, Vienna and New York,” Navid Hanif said.
Wide range of work carried out across the globe
While the majority of applications still originate from Europe and North America, an increasing number of applications is being received from what is known as the developing world. This is a reflection of the clear trend towards globalization of civil society and, as the application process is entirely online, increased access to the Internet globally.
Most of the organizations now seeking consultative status work directly with social and economic issues. Representing all corners of the world, they operate focusing on sustainable development, improving living conditions and reducing poverty in rural areas, reaching educational equality, addressing racism and fighting HIV/AIDS. They also support health and social workers, promote women and girl’s rights, protect natural resources and biodiversity and foster civil society partnerships for development as well as the participation of youth.
While the world economy struggles to recover, the challenges and emerging issues of the global slowdown have affected developed and developing countries alike. With a focus to address these pressing issues, UN ECOSOC, the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) held a special high-level meeting on 22 April.
Taking place in the wake of the global economic crisis, the high-level event focused on ‘Coherence, coordination and cooperation in the context of financing for sustainable development and the post-2015 development agenda’. The meeting was addressed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who inaugurated the newly renovated Economic and Social Council Chamber, saying, “let us use this new room for dynamic actions that will have an impact far beyond its walls to help suffering people. Together, we can make our world more just and equitable – and that will make it more peaceful.”
In his opening remarks, ECOSOC President Néstor Osorio called for greater coordination between the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions to achieve poverty reduction, trade growth and job creation. Mr. Osorio also stated that given the current high unemployment, geopolitical tensions and the possibility of a climate shock, there was a need for “more forceful and concerted policy actions at both national and international levels to mitigate major risks and ensure a stronger and sustained economic recovery.”
The Deputy Secretary-General called upon ECOSOC to play a crucial role in promoting dialogue among Member States on the post-2015 development agenda, including the issue of financing for sustainable development.
World economic outlook and pursuit of MDGs
As reported in the World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2013, released by DESA’s Division for Development Policy and Analysis earlier this year, the world economy is still struggling to recuperate. Growth of world gross domestic product (GDP) is forecast to reach 2.4 per cent in 2013, constituting only a slight improvement from the estimated growth of 2.2 per cent in 2012, when the world economy saw a renewed slowdown synchronized across countries at every level of development. This economic downturn has affected the work of sustainable development projects, particularly the pace in reaching the MDG goals.
Since 2000, the MDG framework has helped galvanize international efforts towards the implementation of internationally agreed development goals. The implementation of the MDGs, and particularly MDG 8 on global partnerships for development, gained additional momentum with the outcome of the International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Monterrey, Mexico, in March 2002, which engendered immediate gains for financing the MDGs, particularly with regards to official development assistance.
During the event, the ECOSOC President also highlighted the importance of a “renewed global partnership” beyond 2015, calling for a new development agenda to be “more structural, inclusive and systematic.”
Strategies to effectively finance sustainable development
Clear and practical measures for implementing sustainable development progress were established to better inform policy decisions. The Rio+20 Conference recognized the need for significant mobilization of resources to promote all three pillars of sustainable development. For this purpose, governments agreed to establish an intergovernmental committee of experts to propose options for an effective sustainable development financing strategy. A dedicated working group under the UN System Task Team on the post-2015 development agenda was established with the objective of mobilizing inputs from the UN system in support of the committee’s work.
International cooperation remains important in facing the challenges for global development. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon proposed that a strengthened Ministerial Review should be a central venue for monitoring the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda. He also suggested that the biennial High-level Development Cooperation Forum, which had emerged as a mutual accountability forum within the United Nations system, “could further expand its role as a driver for greater national and global accountability in development cooperation by promoting mutual accountability as an overarching principle in the post-2015 development agenda.”
In her remarks, Ms. Shamshad Akhtar, DESA’s Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, underscored the importance of an effective strategy to finance sustainable development in the follow-up to the outcome of the Rio+20 Conference. She suggested that, “foreign investors will play a significant role and serve to introduce innovation and technology and make sure that countries/companies that are brining FDI, bring in the technology for sustainable development.” She also urged for an increase of official development assistance (ODA) to the level of 0.7 per cent of national income of developed countries.
Effective global governance system
In addition, an effective system of global economic governance would also enhance the global partnership for development through ensuring the participation of all relevant global actors in international policy making and dialogue.
The international community must broaden and strengthen the involvement of developing countries within international economic decision-making while creating partnerships with relevant non-state actors, like the private sector and civil society, in activities and dialogue pertaining to development. An inclusive, flexible and coherent system for global economic governance is necessary at the national, regional and international levels.
Underscoring the importance of coherence, coordination, cooperation, Mr. Osorio pointed to the very basic goal of the international community’s efforts, saying “as long as poverty exists our work will remain unfinished. Let there be no barrier to the heights in which we must soar. In the post-2015 agenda we have committed ourselves to eradicate poverty. We need to think horizontally rather than vertically.”
On 8-19 April, the UN Forum on Forest 10 (UNFF) will gather the world community to focus on some of the pressing issues at stake to secure healthy forests worldwide. Jan McAlpine, Director of the UN Forum on Forest Secretariat, shared some of her hopes for this major event and beyond, in an exclusive DESA News interview.
Forests cover one third of the Earth’s land mass, performing vital functions across the globe. Around 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihood and they are the most biologically-diverse ecosystems on land.
As her team in the UN Forum on Forest Secretariat is getting ready for this major event, Jan McAlpine spoke with DESA News about some of the results she hopes will come out from the Forum in Istanbul, as well as some of the main opportunities and challenges at hand.
“I have a lot of confidence in the countries of the United Nations Forum on Forests,” said Ms. McAlpine, pointing out that 197 countries now belong to this universal body, which this year will focus on economic development and forests. “I fully expect that the forum will come out highlighting key, very important points, that economic development and forests are closely intertwined,” she added.
Understanding vital role of forests
Ms. McAlpine also discussed the extent to which forests are managed, and issues related to financing that is available for forests. “Financing for forests has been on the decline now for 22 years,” she said, stating that that this has not so much to do with the economic downturn, but is rather related to the fact that people around the world do not truly understand what forests contribute.
“Once it is understood, for example, that most of the clean water of the world results from forests cleaning that water so that it is potable, drinkable, then we have a shot at starting to see some pricing go in, where it is understood that there is a direct connection with gross domestic product, exports and income,” Ms. McAlpine underscored.
Ms. McAlpine also put spotlight on the role of women, who in some parts of the world make up for 70 percent of the work force, and how they collect and make use of non-timber products like shea butter, fruits and nuts. “Forests are the pantry, the local grocery store for many parts of the world,” she said, adding that these are issues also expected to be addressed by the forum and to be brought to the attention of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the General Assembly.
Opportunities and challenges promoting healthy forests
Ms. McAlpine outlined the opportunities at hand, also emphasizing the progress made since the UN Forum on Forests was established. “We have improved an understanding, that there are the three elements – the economic, social and environmental aspects of forests,” she said.
“The biggest challenge is that forests are managed and impacted by many, many sectors and by many, many institutions and they do not work together,” she explained. She described how many governments house forests management in the agriculture ministry, where forests often become a small area of attention. “Environment ministries are usually separate from forests,” she said, adding that these different offices then tend to simply look at their own areas of objectives.
“They are not incorporating the sustainable use of forests and forest products and how to balance that out economically,” Ms. McAlpine said, outlining a situation where forests are addressed in silos.
Need for integrated forest data
Ms. McAlpine also pointed to the need to address existing data gaps caused by how different aspects related to forests are captured in isolation. For example, the Convention on Biological Diversity addresses the biodiversity issues relevant to forests, while the Climate Change Convention looks at the carbon issues related to forests and so on.
“This is mirrored in the private sector,” Ms. McAlpine added, “social institutions, statistics, governments, do not integrate this data”.
“How do we as the United Nations working as one with partners, start to identify these data areas which we need to better understand? And how do we integrate it with the policy level. Because ultimately, the United Nations Forum on Forests was developed to look at forest policy comprehensively, everything directly related to and impacting on forests.“
Role of forests makes strong impact
When we talked about memories of forests and what they mean for her, Ms. McAlpine shared her personal story. Her family moved to Africa when she was only three months old and she lived in different countries in southern and central Africa until the age of 19.
Following years in Rwanda and Burundi, the family moved to Northern Congo where they settled in an area with beautiful tropical rain forests. “I remember as a 15-year-old, a vivid moment of trekking on a long, long, walk in an area I couldn’t believe we would ever find,” she said, describing the walk with a guide, who took her to where the local tribe was living.
“They got everything for their living from the forests (…). Seeing how these people depended, interrelated to and interacted with forests appealed to me,” Ms. McAlpine explained, also referring to a book by anthropologist Collin Turnbull, which made a huge impact on her. It portrayed the death of an entire tribe of people who were forced to move from the forests and told to become farmers. “They could not survive the transition from their cultural heritage to living in a very unfamiliar managed environment. And it destroyed their society. They were gone.”
As a nine-year-old in Rwanda, Ms. McAlpine also witnessed the country’s first genocide. She saw first-hand what can happen when more and more pressure is put on the land. “People had gradually gotten rid of most of the trees and then you have soil erosion, you have a lack of soil richness to be able to grow the kind of food you need. The domino starts to fall, leading to chaos and anarchy.”
Ms. McAlpine described how these experiences have shaped her professional life. “My whole career track, I can point back to that experience and that part of the world and seeing the interconnectedness between forests, trees and people”. At the same time, she also expressed thankfulness for now being in a position as the Director of the Secretariat of the UN Forum on Forests, where she can actually make a difference for forests and people worldwide.
“I’m looking forward to the UN Forum on Forests 10 coming up from 8 to 19 April in Istanbul,” she said. Decision-makers will then gather to tackle challenges and, as Ms. McAlpine described it with an analogy to forests, “to see what low hanging fruit can be picked and what needs to be grown and developed over time so that eventually we are on a real trajectory to addressing the synergy needed between economic, social and environmental issues”.
The past 10 years have seen a steady increase in the number of international migrants across the globe, now totaling 214 million people. Ahead of the upcoming Commission on Population and Development, which is set to focus on new trends in migration, John Wilmoth, Director of DESA’s Population Division, highlighted the issues at hand as well as other demographic trends affecting development beyond 2015.
Gathering representatives and experts from a large number of UN Member States, the Commission on Population and Development will meet in New York from 22 to 26 of April. “It is a very important year at the United Nations, for the discussion on international migration in particular, because we’re planning also for the High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development”, said Mr. Wilmoth, referring to another high profile event scheduled to take place in October this year as part of the 68th session of the General Assembly.
Mr. Wilmoth also affirmed the importance of migration as part of the ongoing discussions on the post-2015 development agenda. “Migratory movements both within countries and across international borders are very important examples of population dynamics and illustrate the role of population dynamics in development processes more generally,” he explained.
Increased complexity in size and movements
Mr. Wilmoth described the work preparing for the upcoming Commission, where they intend to start off the meeting by featuring a more general discussion on some of the current patterns and trends, helping Member States to understand the overall situation.
“We work on documenting the size of the migratory flows around the world, the shape and the direction of the trends, and what we observe is that there has been an increase in the complexity, size and changes in the direction of these flows over time,” Mr. Wilmoth explained. He also pointed to the increase in the number of international migrants from around 155 million in 1990, to about 214 million in 2010.
Mr. Wilmoth also highlighted that even though international migrants represent about 3 per cent of the world’s population, the total number of migrants is most likely higher. “If we count internal migrants by any definition, any reasonable definition, we would be at over 10 percent of the world’s population,” he said.
Contributor to social and economic development
“What we have observed over the last decades, is that migration when governed fairly, can make a very important contribution to social and economic development and that is true both in the countries of origin and in the countries of destination,” Mr. Wilmoth said. “I am almost certain that countries would want to consider the relationships between migration and development in particular,” he added.
“In countries of destination, immigrants increase the productive capacity of the economy and contribute to economic growth. In their countries of origin, migration can help to alleviate problems of underemployment and through remittances can contribute to the economic and human development of those areas of the world,” Mr. Wilmoth said.
He also shared his hope that the Commission will encourage countries to think about practical measures to harness the various benefits of migration and to address challenges. “I think it is possible that countries could institute measures that would lower some of the costs of migration,” he said, giving the example of allowing people to have multiple entry visas. This would make it possible for people to migrate in circular patterns or return to their countries of origin without fear of not being able to come back to the host country.
“I hope that countries will find an opportunity to focus on the importance of protecting the human rights of migrants as part of the upcoming Commission,” Mr. Wilmoth added. “Migrants whose rights are well respected are best able to participate in the broader process of social and economic development in their host and origin societies,” he said. “On the other hand, migrants who have an irregular legal status are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, and I hope that the Commission will address this issue as well”.
New patterns of population flows
When discussing new trends in migration, Mr. Wilmoth pointed to the fact that there has been a large increase in the number of migrants who move from less to more developed countries. “In many of the more developed countries, the per cent of the population that is foreign born has increased very significantly in recent decades,” Mr. Wilmoth said, also referring to some of the challenges that this presents for the integration process in hosts societies.
Mr. Wilmoth also described movements taking place between countries of the so-called global South. “There are these new poles of economic activity in the various countries that are growing very rapidly, for example China, Brazil, India, providing an attraction for migrants from other countries of the global South,” he explained. “So there are new patterns taking place in countries that don’t have the same experience of mass immigration as some of the Northern countries,” Mr. Wilmoth added. “For them it’s a particular challenge how to establish a set of migration policies that enables and encourages that movement.”
Population dynamics beyond 2015
As the world community prepares for the development agenda to succeed the MDG framework beyond 2015, Mr. Wilmoth shared some of the important population aspects that need to be secured. “The issues that really matter first are the issues related to population health, which have been well reflected in the MDGs framework that exists,” he explained, also suggesting a broader focus on health spanning the entire life course.
“But we’ve also been talking a lot about population dynamics,” he added. This includes migration, urbanization, population growth, and population ageing, which are often referred to as population megatrends. “These are the big mass movements of population that have very important implications for social and economic development and for human well being across the board,” he said.
“All of these present important opportunities for development, but also challenges to countries as they try to find ways to manage these flows of people,” he added. “In all cases we need to be thinking about policies that focus on managing those trends and possibly affecting them in a desirable way, but also on policies that allow us to adapt to those changes,” Mr. Wilmoth concluded.
The Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA) will meet from 15 to 19 April for the twelfth annual session. The twenty-four CEPA experts on public administration will focus on the role of responsive and accountable public governance in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the post-2015 development agenda.
CEPA was established by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to support the Council’s work promoting and developing public administration and governance among Member States in connection with the Internationally Agreed Development Goals (IADGs). This year, the Committee will focus on the areas of making public governance work for the post-2015 development agenda; stakeholders’ accountability in public governance for development; and creating an enabling environment for development beyond 2015.
To facilitate the discussion, observers of CEPA, academia and NGOs in public administration will be responding to DESA’s Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM), which is calling for inputs. The collection of inputs will be presented to CEPA for consideration in deliberation and report in its recommendation to ECOSOC. This is part of the ongoing discussion on the preparation of the post-2015 development framework in the UN system.
Public governance beyond 2015 and stakeholder accountability
CEPA Members Margaret Saner, Hyam Nashash, and Rowena G. Bethel will present their paper that focuses on the challenges ahead for public administrations in relation to the MDGs and other development goals beyond 2015. It examines how the emphasis on governance over the past few years has been interpreted at the local level. The paper focuses on the successes along with areas for improvement.
Another report by CEPA members Jan Ziekow and Francisco Longo will highlight the important role of accountability as an indicator of democratic governance and as an instrument to improve the performance of institutions and the delivery of services. Accountability plays a dual role in both public and private collaborations. Resources in such collaborative ventures should be well-managed and efficiently used.
Creating an enabling environment
CEPA members Bin Hao and Siripurapu Kesava Rao identified key components in their report, which will address the steps towards a successful post-2015 development agenda. The report underscores the need for an enabling environment, including human capital development in the public sector and performance reporting, monitoring and evaluation of public service delivery.
This need is also reaffirmed by Wu Hongbo, DESA’s Under-Secretary-General, who states, “in the recent Rio+20 Summit, democracy, good governance and the rule of law, at the national and international levels, as well as an enabling environment, were deemed essential for sustainable development. The Rio+20 Summit affirmed that to achieve sustainable development, we need institutions at all levels that are effective, transparent, accountable and democratic.”
Additionally, a conference paper by CEPA member Walter Fust on public-private partnerships in sustainable development and for social networking will be included in the discussion.
The meeting is also assisted by the PaperSmart initiative aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of the organization, and managed by the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM).
“Empowering young people is crucial. Half the world is under 25 years of age. Young women and men everywhere want decent jobs. They want dignity. They want a greater say in their own destiny,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently. With the purpose of leveraging the potentials of youth in solving global challenges, ECOSOC is arranging a Youth Forum on 27 March.
The number of young people in the world has never been higher with 1.2 billion being between the ages of 15 and 24. As a group, they are among those most affected by the economic, social and environmental challenges facing the world today.
“The youth employment crisis is worsening: young people represent 40 per cent of the jobless worldwide,” said DESA’s Under-Secretary-General Wu Hongbo as he addressed the Commission for Social Development in February. “This translates in numbers to almost 74 million unemployed young people, whose ranks continue to grow. These are not just mere statistics. Behind the numbers are lives affected, livelihoods lost and opportunities missed,” Mr. Wu added.
Looking beyond these serious hurdles, the United Nations Economic and Social Council aims to spotlight the possibilities available for the world’s youth to harness. There is a willingness among youth to take the lead in transforming societies. Their hunger for jobs, education and desire to engage in world matters has also put a growing spotlight on global youth issues.
The Secretary-General has given priority to working with and for young people in his 5-year Action Agenda and the international community is also looking to them as potential partners in designing effective responses to development challenges around the globe.
Leveraging the potential of young people
Science, technology, innovation (STI) and culture have the power to transform and improve societies. They propel and sustain development efforts by generating knowledge as well as technological and social innovations that meet the demands of nations across the globe.
In July 2013, UN Member States, policy-makers, civil society, academia and private sector representatives will meet in Geneva for the high-level segment of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). “Science, technology and innovation, and the potential of culture, for promoting sustainable development and achieving the MDGs” will be the main theme for the Annual Ministerial Review (AMR) this year.
To bring the voices of youth into these important discussions and to engage young people on how STI and culture can facilitate change, ECOSOC is gathering youth representatives, young corporate leaders and opinion leaders for a Youth Forum Event on 27 March. Arranged under the theme “Shaping tomorrow’s innovators: Leveraging science, technology, innovation and culture for today’s youth”, the event intends to bring attention to the potential of young men and women as problem-solvers, innovators and actors for development.
Organized by DESA in collaboration with UNESCO, UNICEF, UNDP, ITU, UN-HABITAT and with the support of “New York Tech Meet Up”, the forum will also provide a platform to discuss the development agenda beyond 2015. It will address barriers facing today’s youth, critical areas requiring special attention as well as appropriate actions to move development forward.
Innovating the future
The Youth Forum will highlight a range of topics including on girls and young women in science; youth as an engine for creative economy; and using social media to make ideas happen. Besides Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, ECOSOC President Néstor Osorio and DESA’s Under-Secretary-General Wu Hongbo, other prominent speakers will include Hashem Bajwa, CEO of DE-DE, Matt Mahan, CEO of Causes.com, Mandë Holford, Co-founder of the World Association of Young Scientists, Internet activist and computer engineer Wael Ghonim and Mashable.com’s Chief Marketing Officer Stacy Martinet.
The event will also welcome to the podium 15-year-old Adora Svitak, an internationally published author, teacher, speaker, activist and World Food Programme youth representative. Ms. Svitak will set the stage for the day, following the opening remarks by the Secretary-General, who not long ago also underscored the importance of stepping up efforts for young people, saying “we must support them. And for that, we must step up our efforts. I strongly believe the priorities of youth should be just as prominent in our meeting space as they are in cyberspace,” said Ban Ki-moon.
Prior to the event on 27 March, ECOSOC and DESA will launch a social media campaign calling all youth innovators across the globe to share their ideas for a sustainable future. More details to follow on the ECOSOC Facebook page as well as on the event page listed below.
“I very much look forward to this event, to meet and be inspired by the voices of young people as they share their ideas for the future we want,” says ECOSOC President Néstor Osorio.
The global partnership for development that underpins the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was captured as a standalone goal (MDG8) in 2000. It has played a crucial role in the achievement of the MDGs by facilitating resources and an overall environment conducive to development. A report assessing MDG8 will be released in March and later followed by a chat on Facebook.
As the conversation gears towards the 2015 development agenda, there is great interest to learn from the experience of implementation of MDG8 and ways to strengthen the global partnership for development in the post-2015 era. In this sense, the Secretary-General’s High-level Panel of Eminent Persons will place this important issue at the centre of its upcoming meeting in Indonesia at the end of March.
The UN System Task Team (UNTT) on the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda has prepared a report on global partnership which will be published in early March on the UNTT website. Titled ‘Towards a renewed global partnership for development’ the report presents an assessment of MDG8 and it reviews new challenges for the global economy as well as new trends in development cooperation. The report proposes possible contours, alternative formats and a robust accountability mechanism for a renewed global partnership for the post-2015 era.
Recognizing new challenges
MDG8 served as an important advocacy tool to stress the important role of the international community in achieving the globally agreed development goals outlined in the MDG framework. Based in the context of 2000, when the MDGs were conceived, the focus of MDG8 is primarily in the areas of Official Development Assistance (ODA), debt relief, trade, technology and access to essential medicines. It also gave special attention to the needs of the least developed and most vulnerable countries.
Going forward, a renewed global partnership for development needs to recognize the challenges of the world we live in today and formulate adequate global efforts that corresponds with global challenges in the areas of climate change, rising inequalities, changing population dynamics, and remaining governance and human rights deficits. Fragile countries have seen the least progress in terms of MDG achievement and thus any attention to most vulnerable countries needs to include fragile states.
Sustainability at the core
In the discussion about the characteristics of the post-2015 development agenda, there is broad consensus among all stakeholders that sustainability must be at the core of the new agenda. Larger financing needs can be anticipated which cannot be met by ODA alone. While ODA commitments will continue playing a key role supporting the development efforts of the poorest countries, the recent years have seen the rise of a more multi-polar economy leading to a significant shift in global economic balance. Given the rise of middle-income countries, the face of poverty has changed significantly.
Today, 75 per cent of the poor live in middle-income countries and further progress to eradicate poverty will require greater policy coherence at global and national levels. Based on the emergence of new economic powers, South-South cooperation has increased and a large array of non-governmental actors (including the private sectors, philanthropy and civil society organizations) have engaged in various forms of global partnerships, often focusing on specific sectors, mainly in the areas of health, education and food security.
Reshaping donor-recipient relationships
A renewed global partnership will need to move away from the traditional donor-recipient relationship that characterized MDG8 and consider a wider range of actors and mechanisms to make the most effective contribution to global development. Unlike MDG8, the new agenda should also build a robust accountability mechanism to address, on a continuous basis, possible shortcomings from commitments made as part of a renewed global partnership for development.
When speaking at an event recently, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also described the need for renewed global partnership. “The current global partnership for development needs to be rebalanced and redefined – taking into account emerging economies, South-South partnership, private sector engagement and innovative financing,” he said.
Participate in live chat on Facebook
Looking at the various challenges at hand and the need for consistent global responses with participation from multiple actors, the discussion about the characteristics of a renewed global partnership for development in the post-2015 era is rather complex. The report of the UN System Task Team provides an overview of the key challenges involved and makes recommendations on ways to address some of these questions with clear suggestions about the format and the contours of a renewed global partnership.
In addition to the publication of the report, DESA’s Division for Policy Development and Analysis together with UNDP, invite you to talk to the authors of the report directly through a Facebook chat taking place in mid-March. This will be an opportunity to ask questions directly to members of the UN System Task Team. Check back on the DESA Facebook page to learn when the event will take place and to sign up to join.
On 12 February, the first in a series of Google+ Hangouts was hosted by DESA’s Division for Sustainable Development, outlining key outcomes of the Rio+20 Conference and the actions taken to realize promises made. “The message of inclusion, engagement, integration of decision-making, all that came out very strongly from Rio,” said Nikhil Seth, Director of DESA’s Division for Sustainable Development.
As the first panelist to take the stage in this online discussion, Mr. Seth, who also headed the Rio+20 Secretariat, described the event in Rio de Janeiro as one of the largest UN conferences ever, bringing together 50,000 people representing governments, civil society, media and academia. “The major concern that came out at Rio, was the fact that we are heading towards a set of economic, social and environmental crises,” he said. “The only way to change things is to rethink development. That was the fundamental message from the Rio outcome,” Mr. Seth added.
He underscored the importance of engagement of people in the follow up process. “We need to give it real meaning in the way we work and the way we focus on implementing, to realize the future we want,” he said.
Mr. Seth also highlighted one of the main messages conveyed, namely that people are important, “but equally important is the planet on which the prosperity of these people depends,” he said. The role of young people as “architects of the future we want”, as well as the significance of developing the so called sustainable development goals were other outcomes underlined by Mr. Seth.
Elizabeth Thompson, former Minister for Energy and Environment of Barbados and the Executive Coordinator for Rio+20, outlined some of the main challenges that Small Island Developing States (SIDS) face and what the conference has meant for them. “The Rio conference was very important for SIDS, as one of the outcomes was an agreement to host a UN conference specifically for Small Island Developing States,” Ms. Thompson said, referring to the event scheduled to take place in 2014.
“The challenges that small island developing states encounter are very, very difficult and complex and there are a number of items on the agenda at Rio which treat particularly to their issues – climate change, issues of oceans and the blue economy, marine biodiversity and sustainable energy,” she explained, underscoring particularly the vital role of sustainable energy.
In addition to outcomes related to sustainable agriculture, sustainable tourism, water and sanitation, Ms. Thompson underlined the importance of capacity building in order to make SIDS competitive, as well as partnerships. “I hope that we will see coming out of this, an increasing number of partnerships as part of the mechanism in which the benefits for small islands developing states can be achieved and can be leveraged,” she said.
Supplying real time information
Kimo Goree, Vice-President of the International Institute for Sustainable Development Reporting Services (IISD), shared his perspective covering the conference. IISD provided real time information on the negotiations and most other events taking place in Rio. “IISD continue to track the negotiations after Rio and we’ve been providing reports on the negotiations taking place in the General Assembly and the establishment of the open working group for the development of sustainable development goals,” Mr. Goree added.
“Rio+20 builds on 20 years of involvement via NGOs, now referred to as Major Groups in international discussions on sustainable development,” he said. He shared his experience, dating back to the preparations for the first Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, when Mr. Goree was one of the handful of NGOs participating in a preparatory meeting in Nairobi.
Mr. Goree also explained that it was at that meeting in Nairobi 23 years ago, that a decision was made allowing NGOs to attend. “It set precedent for unprecedented NGO access,” Mr. Goree explained. “NGOs were at the table and not in the streets,” he added.
Commitments for specific actions
“I have seen the value and importance of these big international gatherings in stimulating attention to probably the biggest challenges we as humans face,” said Jacob Scherr, Director of global strategy and advocacy for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). An environmental lawyer and advocate for many years, Mr. Scherr attended the original Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and he also took part in preparations for last year’s event.
“Some of these commitments were real game-changers,” he said, mentioning multilateral development banks, which made a commitment to invest 175 Billion USD to green urban transportation and the pledge of 40 of the world’s largest manufacturers and retailers, to make their supply chain deforestation free within the next eight years. “Microsoft, which has operations around the world, said that they would make their own facilities carbon neutral by the end of next year,” Mr. Scherr further added.
“In addition to the negotiated outcome document, The Future We Want, there were hundreds of these commitments for very specific actions,” he explained. “And those are the ones that we think will be the real legacy of Rio.”
Stay tuned for more hangouts
Moderated by John Romano, Social Media Focal Point within DESA’s Division for Sustainable Development, the discussion also responded to online questions posted via social media.
Some concerned the progress of the Sustainable Development Goals and the possibility for civil society to interact in the process. Others focused on how we could make local actions impact on an international level for the future we want.
After the hangout had concluded, Mr. Seth shared his thoughts saying, “the Google+ format helps you have a conversation. And if we are hoping to change things, if we are hoping to inspire people, we have to talk to them, and listen to their concerns and be responsive to them,” he said, also pointing out that his Division looks forward to hosting more of these events in the near future.
Promoting empowerment of people will be at the core when the Commission for Social Development convenes for its 51st session. “Empowering individuals and social groups requires a comprehensive set of policies and institutions. From education and health care to economic and social policy, activities that seek to empower people are expected to increase opportunities and improve people’s quality of life”, said Ms. Larysa Belskaya, Vice-Chair of the Commission’s Bureau.
Chaired by Ms. Sewa Lamsal Adhikari of Nepal, the Commission will meet from 6 through 15 February in New York with a focus on this year’s priority theme, “Empowerment of people in achieving poverty eradication, social integration and full employment and decent work for all”.
Ms. Adhikari described this upcoming session as crucial, given that the world community is now following up on the Rio+20 Conference, as well as preparing for the MDGs review, post-2015 development agenda and the design of sustainable development goals (SDGs).
She also pointed to the important track record of this functional commission, established by the Economic and Social Council in 1946. ”The Commission has been playing a key role in shaping social policies,” Ms. Adhikari said, pointing to one of its achievements at the World Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995, when it “identified poverty eradication as one of the three mutually reinforcing and interdependent pillars of social development.”
Report features input from expert group meeting
Preparing for this event, the Secretary-General has submitted a report, exploring the linkages between empowerment and poverty eradication, full and decent employment for all, social integration, as well as sustainable development. The report also features input and recommendations from the expert group meeting, which was held in New York last September on the empowerment theme.
Leading up to that meeting, DESA and its Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) opened an online forum on Facebook to collect input and questions on empowerment from across the globe. And the engagement level was high. “The questions were sound, they were provocative, they reflected concerns,” said John Mathiason of Cornell University, commending the engagement and participation on Facebook and Twitter.
“One interesting thing about empowerment is that you got to engage participation. When people both looked at Facebook and made their presentations on Facebook, Twitter and the survey, they were actually demonstrating that you can have empowerment of people who are far away,” Mr. Mathiason added.
Opportunities for civil society to contribute
The Commission plans to organize its work in three main forums: the general debate, panel discussions and side events. There will also be many opportunities for civil society to contribute.
A Civil Society Forum will be convened on 5 February under the theme “Civil society: Promoting empowerment of people to achieve the goals of social development” as it relates to the priority theme of the Commission, as well as to the discussions associated with the preparation of the post-2015 development framework.
Held a day prior to the opening of the Commission, the Forum has set a tradition of bringing together prominent civil society actors, representatives of Member States and officials of the United Nations to reflect on a key issue relevant to the work of the current session. It will present its conclusions to the Commission at its opening session. In addition, more than 30 side-events, covering a range of relevant topics in regard to social development, will be organized during the Commission.
During this session, the Secretariat will make a room available to NGOs for briefings and other events.
Social groups in focus
In addition to the empowerment theme, this session will “provide an opportunity to exchange views on other important key issues, such as disabled persons, youth, ageing, family and others”, Ms. Adhikari said, referring to the provisional agenda which will feature discussions on several different plans related to various social groups. The Commission also plans to review several reports of the Secretary-General on each of these issues as well as on emerging matters.
”This is a very good opportunity for the Commission to highlight and visualize not only the need for vulnerable groups to be empowered, but to contribute directly to the ongoing discussion that the General Assembly, ECOSOC and other relevant bodies of the UN are going to have with regards to the upcoming 2015 agenda for development,” said H.E. Mr. Carlos García González, Vice-Chair of the Bureau.
The work of the Commission can be followed on the website of DSPD, where visitors can find links to all the documentation produced ahead and during the meeting. Statements made by delegates will also be made available online as the meeting takes place.
With the arrival shortly of government representatives and civil society to UN Headquarters in New York, the stage is set for the important work of the Commission to begin. A vital platform for shaping future policies, it will help promote people’s empowerment across the globe.
The importance of empowerment for development has also been underscored by DESA’s Under-Secretary-General Mr. Wu Hongbo. As experts met last September to prepare for the Commission, he stated, “empowerment is critical to poverty eradication and to development. Indeed, I would even say that any long-term solution to poverty must start with empowerment.”
Statistics play a vital role as the world community works to enhance development across the globe. Health, the economy, the environment and the Millennium Development Goals; these are just a few of many areas measured and analyzed. On 26 February, the UN Statistical Commission will convene to assess how this work can be further improved to meet new and emerging challenges.
“We are again looking forward to strong participation from Member States. As in past years, we expect about 140 countries to be represented by their experts from the capital, making the Statistical Commission a truly global forum on official statistics,” said Sabine Warschburger, Statistician in DESA’s Statistics Division, who has been coordinating the preparations for the Commission and its many side events for a number of years.
Established as a functional Commission under the UN Economic and Social Council in 1947, the UN Statistical Commission is the highest decision-making body for international statistical activities, especially when it comes to setting statistical standards, the development of concepts and methods and their implementation at the national and international levels. It also oversees the work of DESA’s Statistics Division.
As the World Statistics Day was celebrated a few years back, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon underscored the important role of the Commission, saying that it “has created international methodological standards and guidelines in virtually every area of statistics. It has played a key role in helping governments strengthen their statistical reporting, making data more available and comparable across countries and regions than ever before.”
Linking socio-economic information with geographic locations
This year, the Commission will discuss 13 agenda items including the implementation of the fundamental principles of official statistics; environmental-economic accounting; environment statistics; national accounts; international comparison programme; international trade and regional statistical development in Africa. An additional 16 items will be presented for information, including education, employment, integrated economic statistics as well as development indicators.
Developing a statistical-spatial framework in national statistical systems is this year’s topic of the Commission’s annual in-depth review, which is usually carried out by a Member State. Previous themes have included population and housing censuses, a review of gender statistics, quality assurance frameworks, climate change, employment, education, industry and social statistics. The National Statistical Office of Australia has this year taken the lead in preparing the in-depth report, containing proposals on future work to develop a statistical-spatial framework.
Statistical-spatial information helps advance all development aims, as it links statistical and socio-economic information to a location, bringing much improved understanding and relevance to the data collected. It thereby promotes informed decision-making and policy analysis both at the local and global level.
Need for measuring well-being, progress and sustainability
One of the most anticipated topics this year is the role of statistics in measuring progress within the field of sustainable development. In the Rio+20 outcome document “The Future We Want”, a call was made for broader measures of progress to complement GDP, while asking the Statistical Commission to work on this together with other UN entities and relevant organizations. This mandate presents an increased responsibility for the statistical community to improve existing frameworks and develop new approaches to capture the complex interaction of the economy, society and environment, and address the need for measures of well-being, progress and sustainability.
To help explore views on how the Commission can best respond to the Rio+20 mandate, the Monday High-Level Forum will be devoted this year to the theme of Official Statistics’ Response to the Rio+20 Mandate for Broader Measures of Progress. It will provide a forum of stocktaking and knowledge-sharing among National Statistical Offices (NSOs) and international organizations.
The Commission will address the implementation of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) Central Framework, which has been adopted as international statistical standard by the Statistical Commission in 2012. It will also consider endorsing the revised Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013) and a plan for its implementation. The main objective of the FDES 2013 is to guide countries to establish and develop their environment statistics, organizing the data into a structure of six different components.
Elements covered are (i) environmental conditions, quality, and their changes due to human influence; (ii) the availability and use of the environmental resources in production and consumption; (iii) the generation, management and disposal to the environment of pollutants and other residuals from production and consumption; (iv) the occurrence and impacts of extreme events and disasters; (v) the quality of human settlements and environmental health; and (vi) the social and economic measures for the protection and management of the environment.
The System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA) together with the FDES will help strengthen the measurement of the environmental pillar of sustainable development and the integrated calculation of the environmental, social and economic pillars.
The financial crisis in 2008/2009 revealed the interconnectedness of all economies and showed the economic and financial vulnerabilities of nations based on their cross-border relations. This topic is now discussed under the item on international trade statistics. It covers emerging policy needs for new statistics on international trade, including statistics on multinational enterprises and foreign direct investment, and indicates new initiatives in the measurement of global value chains and trade in value added.
It also expresses concern at the lack of coordination among the many task teams operating in this field and proposes the development of an overarching framework for international trade and economic globalization to ensure consistency in methodology, data compilation and data dissemination and the development of an appropriate mechanism for coordinating this process.
Regional perspectives and fundamental principles
Over the past five years, the Commission has reviewed the progress made in the area of official statistics in all five regions – Africa; Asia and the Pacific; Europe; Latin America and the Caribbean Countries; and Western Asia. In 2008, Africa had kicked off this regional theme and the cycle was completed in 2012 with Europe being presented, when the Commission decided to keep this important regional perspective. Time has therefore come to put spotlight on Africa again, featuring an exhibition as well as two seminars on the census and vital statistics and on agricultural statistics.
The Commission also intends to submit the 10 Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics to the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly for endorsement, following a global survey on their implementation and the creation of a new preamble.
Big data and more
“In 2012, the Commission session was supplemented by a record number of 60 side events. It’s my understanding that this makes the Statistical Commission one of the largest and busiest events held at UN Headquarters,” said Sabine Warschburger, also explaining that a similar number of side events is expected this year.
One of the events is “Big Data for Policy, Development and Official Statistics”, arranged on 22 February and taking a closer look at the fundamental change to the nature of data caused by the arrival of the Internet, mobile devices and other technologies. In addition to delegates from National Statistical Offices, participants will include representatives from Google, Amazon Web Services, SAS, UN Global Pulse and OECD.
Other side events through learning centres and lunchtime seminars will focus on the newly revised Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics, the SEEA Experimental Ecosystem Accounting, the implementation of the SEEA Central Framework and Trade and Business Registers and will take place on 25, 26 and 27 February.
The vast range of topics and the many side events being arranged, bear testament to the crucial role statistics play for nations worldwide. The Secretary-General has previously also stated, “statistics are a vital tool for economic and social development, including our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. For development to succeed, we need data collection and statistical analysis of poverty levels, access to education and the incidence of disease. Statistics are a central consideration in justifying almost every aspect of budgets and programmes that enable hungry children to be fed or that provide shelter and emergency health care for victims of natural disasters.”
Ambassador Néstor Osorio of Colombia was elected to serve as President of the Economic and Social Council on 28 January. DESA’s Under-Secretary-General Wu Hongbo thanked the outgoing President, Miloš Koterec and congratulated Mr. Osorio on his new role, stating that the Colombian’s leadership came during a period of transition crucial for the future of the planet.
Addressing the event at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Wu further stated, “As we chart a course towards sustainable development, the transition that lies ahead of us is not optional, but is inevitable. Our planet simply cannot sustain nine billion inhabitants aspiring for higher standards of living, if we remain entrenched in our unsustainable consumption.”
Citing that 2013 would be “a very important year” for the Council with regards to development issues, Mr. Wu said, “we are now moving from the collection of proposals and ideas, towards important negotiations. I am confident that His Excellency Mr. Osorio will use his leadership so that ECOSOC takes full advantage of these opportunities.”
The newly elected ECOSOC President also took the stage underscoring the important work for the Council moving forward. “Maintaining an intense commitment to the Rio+20 follow-up work is surely a crucial part of walking the talk we had in Rio. Another involves remaking the Council a more effective body – a major and constructive actor on the global stage,” Ambassador Osorio said, also outlining concrete proposals for reform.
“The ECOSOC plays a crucial role in the pursuit of our goal of making the world a better place. So today I will address the task that has been entrusted to me with the utmost commitment and spirit of cooperation and respect. I am sure I will count on the full support of all of you with the goal of continuing working together to build a better future and prosperity for future generations,” he concluded.
“We have identified three major economic risks,” said Pingfan Hong, Chief of the Global Economic Monitoring Unit of DESA’s Development Policy and Analysis Division, as the World Economic Outlook for 2013 was revealed on 18 December 2012. Mr. Hong pointed to the deterioration of the euro crisis, the US fiscal cliff and a possible hard landing for some large developing countries.
“To mitigate these risks, policymakers worldwide are greatly challenged,” underscored Mr. Hong, also describing how the world economy is still struggling to recover five years after the eruption of the global financial crisis.
The first chapter of the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2013 (WESP) just launched, outlines that growth of the world economy has weakened considerably during 2012 and is expected to remain restrained in the coming two years. “A number of developed economies in Europe and Japan have already fallen into a double-dip recession,” explained Mr. Hong.
The report also predicts that global economy is expected to grow at 2.4 per cent in 2013 and 3.2 per cent in 2014, a significant downgrade from the forecast six months ago. This growth pace will not be enough to overcome the continued jobs crisis faced by many countries. With existing policies and growth trends, it may take at least another five years for Europe and the United States to make up for the job losses caused by the Great Recession of 2008-2009.
Root of economic slowdown
Weaknesses in the major developed economies are at the root of the global economic slowdown. It is stressed that most of them, particularly those in Europe, are trapped in a vicious cycle of high unemployment, financial sector fragility, heightened sovereign risks, fiscal austerity and low growth. Several European economies and the euro zone as a whole are already in recession, and unemployment here increased further to a record high of almost 12 per cent this year.
“The US economy remains sluggish,” Mr. Hong pointed out, referring to the trend seen in 2012 and with a predicted growth for 2013 of 1.7 per cent. Mr. Hong continued saying that “several large developing economies such as Brazil, China and India, which managed to recover rapidly in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, are currently also facing a significant slowdown”.
The economic woes in Europe, Japan and the US are spilling over to developing countries through weaker demand for their exports and heightened volatility in capital flows and commodity prices. Most low-income countries have held up relatively well so far, but are now also facing intensified adverse spillover effects from the slowdown in both developed and major middle-income countries.
The prospects for the next two years continue to be challenging, fraught with major uncertainties and risks slanted towards the downside. Rob Vos, the Director of DESA’s Development Policy and Analysis Division and the team leader for the report, warned: “Each of these risks could cause global output losses of between 1 and 3 per cent.”
Policies for jobs and green growth
The report further assesses that present policy stances fall short of what is needed to spur economic recovery and address the jobs crisis. While policy efforts have tried to redress sovereign debt distress, the combination of fiscal austerity and expansionary monetary policies has had mixed success so far in calming financial markets and even less so in strengthening economic growth and job creation.
Fiscal policies need to shift focus from short-term consolidation to robust economic growth with medium to long-term fiscal sustainability. They should also be internationally coordinated and aligned with structural policies, supporting direct job creation and green growth. The report also recommends that monetary policies be better coordinated internationally. It also underlines the need to secure sufficient development assistance to help the poorest nations accelerate progress towards poverty reduction goals and invest in sustainable development.
Recession and high unemployment in Europe
Several European economies are already in recession. To address the situation, a number of new policy initiatives have been taken by the euro area authorities in 2012, including the Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) programme. But there has been no significant initiative towards boosting growth in the short run or tackling the ever-mounting crisis in the labour markets.
The euro area economy is expected to grow by only 0.3 per cent in 2013 and 1.4 per cent in 2014 and because of the dynamics of the vicious circle, the risk for a much worse scenario remains high and could be triggered by deeper fiscal cuts and delayed implementation of the OMT programme.
The unemployment rate continued to climb to a record high during 2012. In Spain and Greece, more than a quarter of the working population is without a job and more than half of the youth is unemployed. Only a few economies in the region, such as Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, register low unemployment rates of about 5 per cent. Unemployment rates in Central and Eastern Europe also edged up slightly in 2012.
United States sees weakened economy
The US economy also weakened during 2012, and growth prospects for 2013 and 2014 remain slow-moving. On the up side, the housing sector is showing signs of recovery, and further support is expected from the new round of quantitative easing recently launched by the Federal Reserve (Fed). The unemployment rate stayed above 8 per cent for the most part of 2012, but dropped to just below that level from September onwards.
The lingering uncertainties about the fiscal stance continue to hold back business investment and external demand is also expected to remain weak. Growth of GDP (gross domestic product) in the US is forecast to decelerate to 1.7 per cent in 2013 from 2.1 per cent in 2012. Risks remain high for a bleaker scenario, emanating from the “fiscal cliff,” which would entail a drop in aggregate demand by as much as 4 per cent of GDP during 2013 and 2014, as well as from spillover effects.
Economy slows in Japan and weakens in developing Asia
Economic growth in Japan in 2012 was up from a year ago, mainly driven by the reconstruction work following the earthquake-related disasters of 2011. And for 2013 and 2014, Japan’s GDP is forecast to grow at 0.6 per cent and 0.8 per cent, respectively. The Japanese government took additional measures to stimulate private consumption, however exports faced strong headwinds from the slowdown in global demand and appreciation of the yen. Japan’s economy is also expected to slow as a result of the phasing out of incentives to private consumption and a new measure that increases the tax on consumption, reduces pension benefits and cuts government spending.
Economies in developing Asia have also weakened during 2012, as the region’s growth engines, China and India, have shifted into lower gear. Deceleration in exports has been a key factor behind the slowdown, however, both economies also face a number of structural challenges, hampering growth. Average growth in East Asia is forecast to pick up to 6.2 per cent in 2013 and GDP growth in South Asia is expected to average 5.0 per cent in 2013, up from 4.4 per cent in 2012.
Moderate growth in Africa and decelerated GDP expected in Western Asia
Economies in Africa are forecast to see a slight moderation in output growth in 2013 to 4.8 per cent, down from 5.0 per cent in 2012. Major factors behind this continued growth route include the strong performance of oil-exporting countries, continued fiscal spending on infrastructure projects, and expanding economic ties with Asian economies. However, Africa remains plagued by numerous challenges, including armed conflicts in various parts of the region. Growth of income per capita will continue, but at a pace insufficient to accelerate poverty reduction.
Contrasting trends are found in Western Asia, where most oil-exporting countries have experienced robust growth supported by record-high oil revenues and government spending. Social unrest and political instability, notably in the Syrian Arab Republic, continue to elevate the risk assessment for the entire region. On average, GDP growth in the region is expected to decelerate to 3.3 per cent in 2012 and 2013, from 6.7 per cent in 2011.
Weaker export demand decelerate growth
GDP growth in Latin America and the Caribbean decelerated notably during 2012, led by weaker export demand and lower prices of non-food commodities in the region’s exports.
In the outlook, subject to the risks of a further downturn, the projection is for a return to moderate economic growth rates, led by expected improvements in economic conditions in Brazil. For the region as whole, GDP growth is forecast to average 3.9 per cent in the baseline for 2013, compared with 3.2 per cent in 2012.
Firm commodity prices hold up growth
Economic growth in the Russian Federation and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was robust in 2012, although it moderated in the second half of the year.
Firm commodity prices, especially the prices of oil and natural gas, held up growth among energy-exporting economies, including the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan. In the outlook, GDP for the CIS is expected to grow by 3.8 per cent in 2013, the same as in 2012.
More findings on the world economy will be revealed on 18 January 2013 when the full report of the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2013 will be launched. The report is produced by DESA, the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the five United Nations regional commissions.
Describing the way forward, tackling the grim economic situation, Mr. Hong said, “some countries have indeed strengthened their policy stance, but we need more concerted policy actions, at both national and international levels. We also need policies to focus more on promoting jobs creation.”
The Rio+20 Conference, which took place in June last year, launched various processes as a result of the outcome document “The Future We Want”. Activities are now under way to make sure that commitments are put into actions. On 30 November, the General Assembly’s Second Committee also adopted an important resolution on sustainable development, providing specific timelines for implementation.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has previously highlighted that the Rio+20 outcome document contains many good recommendations. “What is important at this time is to implement them,” he has said, also stressing the importance of “ensuring the three pillars of our goals: social equity, economic development and environmental sustainability”.
At Rio+20, Member States agreed on the new high-level political forum for Sustainable development. As a result of the Second Committee resolution adopted on 30 November, discussions will begin this month on the format and organizational aspects of this forum. They are likely to continue through May.
The resolution also recommended that the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) holds its last session just prior to the first high-level political forum. It also officially adopted the Ten-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production; the beginning of work of the Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that will submit a report to the 68th session of the General Assembly and calling for the work of the OWG to view to propose options for effective sustainable development financing strategy and requests that the OWG updates the General Assembly on the progress of its work before the beginning of the 68th session of the General Assembly.
In addition to the agreements in the Agenda 21 resolution, DESA will produce a synthesis report with views of Member States on the Sustainable Debvelopment Goals and a Secretary-General’s report is also being requested on lessons learned from CSD, to inform negotiations on the high-level political forum. Finally, the resolution welcomed that preparations are now underway for the third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) that will be held in Samoa in 2014.
Adressing sustainable challenges of Small Island Developing States
At Rio+20, Member States also decided to convene the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in 2014, reaffirming their recognition of SIDS as a special case for sustainable development. The Government of the Independent State of Samoa has offered to host the conference in 2014, and negotiations were recently concluded in the General Assembly on the first modalities resolution for the conference preparations. As a result, SIDS-led national, regional, and inter-regional preparations will take place throughout 2013.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has appointed DESA’s Under-Secretary-General Wu Hongbo as the Secretary-General of the SIDS conference. Mr. Wu has begun mobilizing the full support of DESA, including the SIDS Unit within the Division for Sustainable Development. The President of the General Assembly will launch the intergovernmental preparatory process at the end of 2013, with the first committee meeting to occur early in 2014.
The objectives of the conference, laid out in the modalities resolution, are to: a) assess progress to date and the remaining gaps in implementation; b) seek a renewed political commitment; c) identify new and emerging challenges and opportunities for the sustainable development of SIDS and means of addressing them, including through collaborative partnerships; and d) identify priorities for the sustainable development of SIDS to be considered in the elaboration of the post-2015 UN development agenda. The resolution also calls for “a concise, focused, forward-looking and action-oriented political document.”
Platform for follow up and continued knowledge-exchange
The Rio+20 Conference was an action-oriented conference focusing on implementation of sustainable development. Member States, the United Nations system, and Major Groups and other stakeholders are together leading the way forward to the future we want.
Rio+20 mandated DESA to establish and maintain a comprehensive registry of voluntary initiatives for sustainable development, whose partners have requested registration with the United Nations Secretariat. The present registry is available on the United Nations Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform (SDKP). This platform was launched after Rio+20 as a platform for follow-up activities to the Conference. The database is searchable by thematic areas and can be filtered by various “Action Networks”, including the Rio+20 voluntary commitments, partnerships for sustainable development and green economy policies.
Key initiatives for implementation of sustainable development resulting from Rio+20 include Voluntary Commitments, Partnerships for Sustainable Development, and Green economy policies and initiatives. All voluntary initiatives are expected to announce and achieve concrete time-bound deliverables that advance sustainable development.
Other major networks included in the “SD in action” registry are the Secretary-General established Sustainable Energy for All initiative, which aims to drive actions and mobilize commitments to positively transform the world’s energy systems; the Every Woman Every Child initiative, launched by the Secretary-General during the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Summit in 2010, aiming to save the lives of 16 million women and children by 2015; the initiative by United Nations Global Compact in calling for commitments to action from the private sector to take action in support of UN goals and issues; and the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative, which aims to get institutions of higher education to commit to teach sustainable development concepts, encourage research on sustainable development issues, green their campuses, and support sustainability efforts in their communities.
In addition to the Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform website, DESA has also launched complementary social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter, for civil society to engage in the follow-up to Rio+20. Visitors can “like” the Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter via the Twitter handle @SustDev.
The Rio+20 Conference was a major step in moving towards the future we want. Mr. Wu has also highlighted the far-reaching vision of the conference, emphasizing, “it is our responsibility to help turn that vision into reality.”
“Persons with disabilities have a significant positive impact on society, and their contributions can be even greater if we remove barriers to their participation. With more than one billion persons with disabilities in our world today, this is more important than ever,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his message on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) on 3 December.
Commemorated with events and festivities at UN Headquarters in New York, the theme of this year’s celebrations was “Removing barriers to create an inclusive and accessible society for all.” Following the opening ceremony with a joyful musical performance by students from the New York Institute for Special Education (NYISE), the event included statements by key Government representatives, a panel discussion and the United Nations Enable Film Festival (UNEFF).
Panelists and audience members were invited to discuss strategies to ensure full integration of persons with disabilities in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and setting targets for a post-2015 development agenda. Specific issues of exclusion and accessibility, including removing barriers to education, employment, transportation and sports were also discussed.
The Day’s events culminated with the United Nations Enable Film Festival that included the screening of disability-related films from a wide range of countries and organizations. The films featured diverse stories that challenged stereotypical assumptions about persons with disabilities. They also helped raise awareness about a variety of barriers including lack of accessibility in the physical environment; to information and communication technologies, as well as hurdles resulting from legislation and policy; or from societal attitudes and discrimination.
The event was organized by the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in DESA’s Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD), collaborating with the Governments of the Philippines, Spain and Brazil, as well as the New York Institute for Special Education (NYISE), WHO, UNICEF, the International Disability Alliance, Rehabilitation International and others.
Emmanuel’s dream
Among the speakers at the IDPD event, Emmanuel Elisha Ford, a young student from NYISE, shared his personal experiences of discrimination and made an urgent plea on behalf of all persons with disabilities. Emmanuel, who was born prematurely, is blind and was also diagnosed with cerebral palsy. He related his story about when his mother had enrolled him in a swimming programme to help exercise his arms and legs to enable him walk better, the instructor refused to let him into the pool. Furthermore, when he and his mother tried to get a taxi on the street, they had to wait for a very long time because most drivers were not willing to serve them because he was in a wheelchair. Emmanuel said that he was “hurt and disappointed.”
Despite these obstacles, Emmanuel has a great dream. “I would like to be a meteorologist and even though people tell me that they’ve never seen a blind meteorologist, I am determined to achieve my dream. To everyone listening, be aware, this is an alert, it is very important that we prepare now, because stormy weather is in forecast for people with disabilities. If we do not prepare now, things will deteriorate and more people with disabilities will suffer and die. Please heed the storm warning and put in place laws to protect and respect people with disabilities,” he announced in a concerned tone.
Emmanuel called for laws to protect and respect the 1 billion persons with disabilities in the world today, who constitute approximately 15 per cent of the world’s population. He concluded his statement calling on all participants to take the opportunity of this IDPD event to address the exclusion of persons with disabilities by highlighting the need to ensure their equal access to services and opportunities and by identifying obstacles and barriers to accessibility, worldwide.
Enjoying rights and realizing potentials
The Director-General of UNESCO, Ms. Irina Bokova, stated in her message for the Day that “persons with disabilities remain marginalized today in education systems, and children with disabilities represent one third of all out-of-school children.” She stressed the importance of equal human rights for persons with disabilities, saying, “We have a responsibility to ensure that all persons enjoy equal rights and that women and men are empowered to participate fully in social, political, economic and cultural life.”
According to United Nations Enable website, there is a growing body of evidence and experience indicating that when persons with disabilities are empowered to participate fully in society by removing barriers to their inclusion, their community can better achieve progress and development for all. These barriers are, therefore, a detriment to the development of society as a whole, as well as to achieving the MDGs.
All panelists at the IDPD event concurred that empowerment of persons with disabilities was a key element for development at community, national and international levels, and called on world’s leaders to aim for the development of an entirely inclusive and equitable society. Mr. Srinivas Tata, representing the UN Regional Commissions noted that the investment in persons with disabilities was critical in achieving the future we want. He stated “You cannot treat persons with disabilities as expenditure; they are investment,” Mr. Richard Morgan from UNICEF also added that focusing on this least advantaged group is “a single most effective development strategy.”
Preparations kick off for High-level meeting on disability and development
This years IDPD marked the official opening of preparations for the High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on disability and development, which will take place on 23 September 2013 at UN Headquarters in New York.
Some of the panelists underscored the importance of collecting and using available evidence-based data to inform the high level meeting. Ms. Adriana Telles Ribeiro from the Government of Brazil proposed a showcase of best practices and success stories of policy and practices in regard to promoting inclusion and accessibility. She added that it was crucial to showcase these examples in that “they be not only from developed countries but also from developing countries.” Mr. Werner Obermeyer from WHO also suggested that the meeting must ensure the relevant and specific indicators to uncover patterns or trends experienced by persons with disability. “We all know that what is measured gets done,” he said.
Panelists also shared their thoughts on the topic related to the outcome document of the high level meeting. Mr. Obermeyer stated that the impact of the meeting should be to bring a real change in the quality of life of people with disabilities over the longer term. Mr. Tata further suggested that there should be clear guidelines for roles that the different stakeholders should play in regard to the meeting. He urged for a strong and clear mandate about inclusion and accessibility to strengthen the work of all agencies.
Mr. Morgan also provided another critical input, referring to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRDP) by which development programmes and policies should be evaluated. “Every policy, every development programme, every bit of development cooperation has to be subject to that test and needs to pass that test of systematic consideration and inclusion. With costs not being a reason for exclusion. But rather, cost efficiency being sought in order to make the necessary investment in the inclusion and for the rights of persons with disabilities.”
Like many organizations striving to build an inclusive society for all, UNICEF, UN Women and the International Disability Alliance have hosted an online consultation for the post-2015 development agenda on the World We Want 2015 web platform. Running through 5 December, the discussion sought input and feedback on inequalities related to disability.
“I make an earnest plea and call upon all of you to look at people with disabilities as differently-abled,” concluded Emmanuel Elisha Ford in his statement, also encouraging the world community to make the most of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the opportunity offered by next year’s high-level meeting of the General Assembly on disability and development.
“As a strong partner in development, the cooperative movement works with the United Nations every day to empower people, enhance human dignity and help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement as the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) 2012 came full circle on 19-20 November with events and festivities at UN Headquarters in New York.
Some 150 representatives gathered for this two-day event themed “Promoting Cooperatives Beyond 2012″. A range of sessions, including on global food security, sustainable livelihoods, jobs creation and youth empowerment, were arranged to highlight the important role of cooperatives worldwide. Forthcoming initiatives to strengthen cooperatives beyond 2012 were also discussed.
The event was organized by DESA’s Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) and consisted of panel discussions, a youth forum, and the official closing ceremony that culminated with the IYC Short Film Festival. The panel discussions and youth forum were organized in collaboration with various partners, including the International Labour Organization, the Permanent Mission of Mongolia to the UN, Desjardins Group, and Rabobank.
Seven winning films were presented from countries including Brazil, Canada, Peru, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago and USA. The films focused on various themes, including cooperative stories about chili farmers, women crafters, food coops and cooperative housing. These films put spotlight on cooperatives as a member-owned enterprise model that places people at the heart of business.
Movement energized by international year
Participating in the events, Dame Pauline Green, President of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), shared some of the year’s major accomplishments with DESA News.
“This year has been fantastic,” Ms. Green said, emphasizing how the year has brought the cooperative movement together, creating a sense of cohesion. “They see themselves now as a global movement, looking up at the worldwide cooperative family, owned by a billion people, employing 100 million people in every village, town and city across the world”.
Ms. Green also underscored the importance of building on the achievements of the international year. “We absolutely have to keep the momentum of this year. We owe it to the next generation of cooperators, this is like a watershed moment for the global cooperative movement,” she said. Ms. Green also explained that with the impact of the global economic crisis still being felt by many, this is the right moment to show the potential of cooperatives serving different types of economies around the world.
Ms. Green described how the international year has brought people back to understanding that by working collectively, they can secure their communities, build cooperative businesses together and support the real economy on the ground. “The member-owned businesses are keeping their communities whole, keeping them going, giving hope and aspirations to people,” she said. “We’ve got to grow our movement across the world going forward, not just now when the economy is in crisis.”
Bank cooperatives show resilience
Also keeping the economy going are the 53,000 credit cooperatives and credit unions in operation around the world. In recent years, they have withstood tests brought by market failures and tough economic times. This is discussed in a new book just released by one of the main supporters of the IYC 2012, Rabobank, a cooperative and one of the 30 largest financial institutions in the world with headquarters in the Netherlands.
The book, “Raiffeisen’s Footprint – The Cooperative Way of Banking”, provides reflections on the cooperative business model and the governance structure of cooperative banks. It also features a series of case studies of cooperative banks in times of crisis.
“Cooperative banks have proven very resilient during the crisis,” said Bouke de Vries, Head of Financial Sector Research in Rabobank and one of the main contributors to the book, who also attended the events in New York.
“In the European countries, the cooperative model has done well right across the board. And now the challenge is, with the government crisis and the Euro crisis, all cooperative banks and commercial banks face enormous difficulties, and I really hope that the cooperative model will prove resilient again,” Mr. de Vries said.
Working for and with youth
With nearly 75 million young people unemployed and about 152 million young workers living in households below poverty line, youth development is an urgent concern and where cooperatives are believed to be able to play a vital role.
“We have the hope that cooperatives will bet on youth so that they can self-employ themselves, create cooperatives, create employment,” said José Antonio Chávez Villanueva, Chair of the ICA Youth Network Executive Committee. “This is an answer to the unemployment and the integration of youth into society.”
Mr. Villanueva chaired one of the interactive dialogues of the Youth Forum which was held as part of the IYC closing events. The Forum discussed benefits and challenges of youth engagement in cooperatives, with particular emphasis on issues of empowerment, employment and civic engagement.
During this session, it was stressed that there is a need for communities to listen to their youth and to take them seriously in decision making processes. Lack of awareness, resources, capacity and supportive environment were pointed out as some of the biggest obstacles for cooperatives in effectively engaging young people. Panelists agreed that more rigorous actions on global youth employment and entrepreneurship strategies were needed. An international cooperative youth statement was also delivered highlighting the role cooperatives can play to empower youth across the globe.
Ms. Monique Leroux, CEO of Desjardins Group, delivered the keynote address in the youth forum encouraging young people to be bold and be ambitious for themselves. She added, “You need to dream big and not be afraid to share your dreams with others… The co-op model belongs to all of us, but it will be your heritage. It will be yours to pass on to the next generation as we are doing with you.”
Pauline Green also emphasized the importance of working with young people, saying that “the critical thing that cooperatives have to do is to start looking how we develop with young people. How we bring young people into our family, how we maximize the value of the young to the young,” pointing to different events across the globe where young people are crying out for freedom and economic justice. “They want to be visible in the economy and I think the cooperative movement can do that for them, but to do that, we need to engage them,” Ms. Green explained.
Going forward, going green
In addition to focusing on young people, Ms. Green also highlighted cooperatives in Africa as another priority area going forward. “The other [priority for cooperatives] is to look after people particularly in the African continent, which I believe has the strong potential for development growth,” she said. “We have to start working with cooperative farmers at grass roots level, to build an African cooperative economy in agriculture. That’s the future, and we’ve got to drive it.”
Addressing the closing ceremony, Shamshad Akhtar, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development in DESA, also talked about the route going forward and the opportunities for societies going green with the help of cooperatives.
“The cooperative movement is in an excellent position to promote the priority theme of a green economy – especially considering that energy cooperatives are already key providers in many countries. The successful experiences of cooperatives in operating renewable energy sources, such as wind farms and solar fields, can guide and inspire others,” Ms. Akhtar said.
As an eventful year came to a close, Ms. Akhtar concluded, “I would like to congratulate the one billion strong members of the cooperative movement who are strengthening economic vitality and upholding social responsibility.”
Efforts towards building a new global development agenda are intensifying with only three years left to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) expiration date in 2015. While it is still too early to speak of specific goals, many stakeholders agree on a number of issues that were not adequately reflected in the MDGs and have become more pressing ever since.
“We hope to bring views from all corners of the world together because what we are striving for is an agenda that will take us to a shared, secure and sustainable global development for all, our generation and all future ones,” said Rob Vos, Director of DESA’s Division for Development Policy and Analysis, as the department together with UNDP held an online Facebook chat with more than 900 participants.
During the two-hour chat themed “Keeping the momentum beyond 2015 – Moving forward towards a new global development agenda”, members of the UN System Task Team on the Post-2015 Development Agenda answered a wide range of questions on topics including on poverty, disability rights, hunger eradication, social justice, democratic governance and sustainable development.
The live chat was one of the many activities currently taking place to secure an inclusive development agenda moving forward after 2015. Efforts to gather and include perspectives from all corners of the world are also being carried out in other ways.
Thematic consultation to secure an inclusive agenda
Seeking to ensure that the vision of the world we want to live in takes into account the perspectives from a broad base of civil society and marginalized groups, eleven thematic consultations have been established by the United Nations Development Group. Online discussions are being held on issues that include: inequalities; governance; growth and employment; health; education; environmental sustainability; food security and nutrition; conflict and fragility; population dynamics; energy; and water.
These themes have been selected because they are part of the Rio+20 Outcome Document “The Future We Want”. These themes have also been included in the work of the UN System Task Team on the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda. DESA is currently engaged in ten of the eleven thematic consultations (to the exclusion of the one on education).
The thematic consultations are co-lead by two or more UN agencies and they receive support from other UN agencies, civil society organizations, private sector representatives and academia. The web portal – World We Want 2015 – jointly owned by representatives from the United Nations and civil society, is serving as the online platform for all eleven thematic consultations.
Enabling informed decisions moving forward
The consultations include initiatives as diverse as calls for papers, online consultations and discussions, expert group meetings, newsletters and panel discussions. Each thematic consultation will organize one global thematic meeting to summarize and discuss their findings. Governments in the global South and North have been contacted to host these final meetings.
The thematic consultations serve several purposes. First and foremost will be the analytical inputs they provide to the ongoing process. With in-depth discussion on a specific thematic area and how it links to other areas they provide analytical thinking on ways to incorporate important issues into the global development agenda beyond 2015. The thematic consultations will inform Member States’ decisions on the content of the post-2015 development agenda.
These thematic consultation solicit inputs from all stakeholders to help create ownership of the new agenda amongst people from all strands of life. They will feed into other ongoing consultation processes through the use of reports that consolidate the findings.
Different formats for each discussion
Each thematic consultation follows a design most suited to the topic that the consultation focuses on. One example is the consultation on population dynamics, which is jointly led by UN DESA, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and UN Habitat, with support from the International Organization of Migration, the International Labor Organization and UN-Women and in partnership with the Government of Switzerland.
This consultation kicked the process off with an Expert Group Meeting in New York in mid-November 2012. Roughly 40 experts and practitioners assembled for two days to discuss how to phrase the discussion on population dynamics in the post-2015 development agenda. During the meeting experts were also interviewed on camera on population dynamics issues. These short clips will be featured on the population dynamics website shortly.
The outcomes of this Expert Group Meeting will not only shape the global meeting on population dynamics to be held in early 2013 but have also helped to initiate several online consultations that have just been launched.
Keeping Member States updated
Member States briefings are also being organized to inform missions in New York about the outcomes of the ongoing discussions. The thematic consultation on health held a Member State briefing on 29 November 2012; organized in collaboration with the Missions of Botswana and Sweden.
The consultation on peace and conflict has chosen to host three regional meetings focusing on different aspects of peace and conflict in addition to the high level global meeting that will be organized in Finland in February 2013. The first meeting in Indonesia at the end of October 2012 focused on disaster risk and resilience. At the end of November there will be a meeting in Liberia to address the issue of conflict and fragility. The final regional meeting on organized violence and citizen security will take place in Panama in January 2013.
The thematic consultation on growth and employment started with a high-level global meeting held in Tokyo, Japan in May 2012, which culminated in a outcome report, available at http://www.worldwewant2015.org/employment. Drawing on this report, the consultation is currently in the process of setting up a newsletter with articles and opinion pieces from academia, civil society, policy makers and UN experts. Other outreach measures will include online discussions inputs by experts and a briefing for Member States.
With all these different processes in place, the online discussions are supporting the broad and inclusive consultations that stakeholders including Member States, civil society organizations, citizens and academia have called for, and which the United Nations is committed to support.
“As the time for achieving the Millennium Development Goals draws near, the international community is working to accelerate their progress. This is our priority, first and foremost,” said DESA’s Under-Secretary-General Mr. Wu Hongbo in a statement to the General Assembly’s Third Committee, adding that preparations for the Post-2015 UN development agenda will build on lessons learned from the MDGs. The new agenda “… will also draw on input from the full range of partners, and will hold at its core sustainable development, including its social dimensions,” Mr. Wu said.
The world community has a unique opportunity to get involved in the post-2015 process by participating in the online discussions, sharing knowledge, opinions and ideas. All thematic consultations can be accessed via the World We Want Platform where you can sign up to receive regular updates and to contribute to the ongoing e-consultations.
Following up on the social media initiative “Building the Future We Want”, held in the lead up to ECOSOC’s Special Ministerial Meeting on 24 September, the Vice President of the Council, Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba, took time to address some of the questions related to Rio+20 follow-up, the green economy, youth involvement, peace and development.
“I would like to thank all of you for your online participation in our social media campaign, “Building the Future We Want”. We are very happy that this campaign led to so many comments and that participants followed the Ministerial Meeting on 24 September,” said Ambassador de Alba, referring to the high online engagement on the Facebook page of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), from people from all corners of the world.
Next steps following up on Rio+20
Addressing one of the questions regarding Rio+20 and the next steps of the UN to implement sustainable development and tackle climate change, Ambassador de Alba said, “the main responsibility we have as a follow up is to try to get a better balance in the integration of the three chapters of sustainable development, the economic, the social and the environmental chapter.”
He also described the number of processes established in Rio, which aims to find that balance and to remedy what is described as a somewhat fragmented agenda. He also underscored the importance of introducing the environmental dimension into development programmes of the UN, as well as to draw attention to the social agenda.
De Alba also emphasized the need to ensure that the post 2015 agenda builds upon the MDGs but also includes sustainable development, “so that the post 2015 agenda will both cover the continuation of the Millennium Development Goals that were agreed in 2000, but will include the sustainable angle and the sustainability input,” he said.
“In addition to that, we are also working on the green economy and trying to facilitate and support the actions by different countries to move towards an economy that would be greener and an economy that would make better use of sustainable energy,” he explained, underscoring also the need to address climate change and to dramatically reduce the levels of emissions.
Bridging the digital divide
Another online question brought up the issue of new technology and what possible mechanisms could be put in place by the United Nations and international private and public stake holders to bridge the digital divide.
“To get a greener economy and a much more efficient use of energy, we will also need to make better use of new technologies,” responded de Alba, and highlighted that there are a number of initiatives being developed within the private sector.
“I will highlight for instance a declaration that has been agreed by very important private companies, dealing with information technologies that will come to support actions by the United Nations, reducing the cost of communications and helping the development processes, both at the national, regional and the international level,” he continued.
Importance of involving youth
“There are a number of opportunities for young people to get engaged. Young people have been identified since 1992, as one of the main constituencies that have to be involved into the discussions and the decision-making processes dealing with sustainable development,” said Ambassador de Alba in response to a question on how proceedings on sustainability and development can be made more inclusive for young people from around the world.
Ambassador de Alba also highlighted climate change negotiations as one area where young people are especially involved, where the aim is getting a new treaty that will complement or replace the Kyoto protocol by 2015. “That new instrument will obviously aim to increase dramatically the commitments to reduce emissions, but more specifically to make better divisions of the shared responsibilities of countries,” he explained.
“From 2015 we expect a greater number of countries to commit to legally binding instruments to reduce emissions, and young people are playing a very important role in setting up that agenda”.
Inter-linkage between peace and development
How can the UN ensure that peace and security goals are included in the post-2015 agenda? This was another question posted by the Global Peace Index to which de Alba responded that he sees the linkage between peace and sustainable development as fundamental. “I cannot conceive peace without development or development without peace. And when you look into areas of conflict, you will see that very frequently, this inter-linkage, is at the origin of the conflict, and frequently also, it is part of the solution,” he said.
Concluding the Q&A session addressing online input, Ambassador de Alba thanked the online community and also underscored the importance of continuing this dialogue. He also called for suggestions and new ideas on how things could be done. “New ideas that could help us advance a common agenda,” he explained, emphasizing the importance of an inclusive decision-making processes. “In other words, the UN of tomorrow is a UN which needs to open its door to a greater level of influence and participation. And I hope through this campaign, in building the future we want, we will be able to do it in that spirit.”
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) around the world face unique challenges in the context of sustainable development, including vulnerabilities to climate change such as a rise in sea-levels. “If we don’t address climate change, islands may not exist,” said the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Seychelles, Mr. Jean-Paul Adam, in an exclusive interview with DESA’s Division for Sustainable Development.
Discussing different challenges that SIDS face to implement sustainable development, the opportunities that partnerships bring and the upcoming international conference on sustainable development of SIDS in 2014, Jean-Paul Adam, the world’s youngest foreign minister when appointed in 2010, shared his views and hopes for a sustainable future.
“One of the biggest challenges is first of all the scale of islands,” Mr. Adam said, pointing to the fact that everything is smaller and that international institutions often are designed for larger communities. As an example, Mr. Adam highlighted that it is the measurement of the GDP per capita that determines development assistance. Since SIDS often show high GDP rates, they will not be able to benefit from development assistance.
“We don’t have economies of scale, we can’t decide to build half a runway just because we are a small country,” he explained, underscoring that this is a big challenge due to the higher costs involved for infrastructure projects. “And then you have climate change, which is happening at the same time. This is existential for islands,” Mr. Adam said, describing countries in the Pacific and Indian Ocean, badly affected by rising sea-levels.
“We also need to think about the acidification of the ocean and the effect that this has on fish stocks and what this means for food security,” he said. The Seychelles supplies 20% of all tuna on the European market. With climate change and acidification of oceans, these stocks will be affected. Mr. Adam also underscored the importance of a healthy environment for tourism, which is an important source of income for many small island developing states. “We are being affected by things that are outside of our control, and this affects us in a fundamental way,” Mr. Adam said, adding “if we don’t address climate change, islands may not exist”.
In addition to the issues raised by Mr. Adam, other challenges that SIDS face include difficulties in benefitting from trade liberalization and globalization; heavy dependence on coastal and marine resources for livelihood; heavy dependence on tourism; energy dependence and access issue; the limited freshwater resources; limited land resulting in land degradation and vulnerable biodiversity resources. The Seychelles also has to tackle the problem with piracy, which affects their tourism.
Role of partnerships in supporting SIDS efforts
Talking about how partnerships among different stakeholders can serve as an effective mechanism to support the efforts of SIDS, Mr. Adam described a number of initiatives launched and ways to support SIDS. “There are a lot of things that can be done that doesn’t actually cost that much more money, but it is simply more about effective targeting of certain resources. Resources that often already exists,” he said.
Mr. Adam also described the role of the Seychelles as co-chairs of the Global Island Partnership together with Grenada and Palau and its work linking up different concerns of islands, the creation of protected marine areas as well as a debt for adaptation swaps initiative. “Islands can get rid of some of their debts in turn for climate change adaptation,” he explained.
DESA is also working to help facilitate knowledge-sharing and partnerships between SIDS. One way of doing this is through the creation of the SIDS Network (SIDSNet), which is operated by the department.
Hopes for upcoming international Conference on sustainable development of SIDS in 2014
Addressing the 2014 SIDS Conference, which is envisioned to be a landmark conference to advance significant support for Small Island Development States, Mr. Adam shared his country’s expectations, also taking into account what has been advanced from the Mauritius Conference in 2005 and Rio+20 in June this year.
“I think that islands do share a certain amount of frustration with the pace of support that is available to them under the international system, because there are so many issues that have been flagged, not only since 2005, but since Barbados,” he explained, pointing to a relatively limited amount of practical progress and a lack of concrete measures.
Although Mr. Adams recognized that the global awareness has improved when it comes to the situation of small islands, he also underscored the importance of implementing commitments made at earlier conferences. “We need to have the green fund operational and we need islands to be able to benefit from this by 2014,” he said, referring to the UNFCCC, the Green Climate Fund, which was launched in 2011 to assist developing countries to combat climate change.
Small islands with big ideas
Mr. Adam also put spotlight on some of the renewable energy initiatives. He highlighted the SIDS DOC and its benefits for starting some initial projects within renewable energy. “It is clear that the energy-mix that exists currently is not sustainable for the climate,” he said. He added, “islands use very, very tiny amounts of energy compared to what the world needs. Why not use islands in a way as laboratories for developing renewable energy economies?”
“We are small islands but we must have big ideas,” he said, sharing plans of small islands states in making a few of them 100% renewable energy economies. “That’s achievable in just a few years,” Mr. Adam explained. “The UN Conference on Trade and Development did study that showed that islands are 12 times more vulnerable to the volatility of the energy prices than other types of countries,” he added.
“There is a real economic argument to invest in renewable energies in these islands,” he said also describing that the technology is still in some ways experimental and very expensive. “Once the technology is in place, you have something that is sustainable for the long-term.” Mr. Adam also underscored that these initiatives do not need to be investments in terms of grants, but can also be private sector investments.
“There needs to be the right mechanisms established that can be replicated in developing countries,” Mr. Adam emphasized. “Look at the islands as the place to try some of these things. It is easier to start small and go big,” he said encouragingly.
SIDS and the sustainability challenges they face are currently in focus at the meetings of the General Assembly’s Second Committee. The world community is thereby moving closer to fulfilling commitments made and realizing a sustainable and secure future for the small island developing states across the globe.
Watch out for a livechat on DESA’s Facebook page on the post-2015 development agenda on 27 November from 9:00 to 11:00 am. This event offers a unique opportunity for the online community to share opinions, questions and concerns about the post-2015 process. Join the discussion and contribute to an ambitious development agenda!
With only three years left to 2015, it is time to discuss what will happen after the final target date for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Outlining a new development agenda requires an open and inclusive process – one that involves all stakeholders from across the globe and all spheres of life.
“Only a truly global conversation can help to keep the momentum of the MDGs beyond 2015 and to ensure that the agenda really addresses the concerns of the people. Let your voice be heard in the process of formulating a new development agenda beyond 2015,” said Mr. Selim Jahan, Director of the Poverty Division, Bureau of Development Policy at the United Nations Development Programme.
Organized by the UN System Task Team on the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda, the event will feature the core team behind the report “Realizing the Future We Want for All”, offering civil society organizations, NGOs and other stakeholders as well as the online community, a unique opportunity to discuss some of the key recommendations made in the report.
It stresses among other things the important role of the MDGs in advancing the development agenda and in improving the lives of people around the globe. Any post-2015 development agenda must therefore build on the lessons learned from the MDGs. At the same time, the new agenda also needs to respond to emerging and pressing challenges while keeping a focus on human development. As outlined in the report, these include issues such as deepening inequalities, shifting demographics, the knowledge gap, peace and security issues, governance and accountability deficits at the global, regional and an increasing environmental footprint.
“Business as usual is not an option. These challenges cannot be properly addressed if we would continue along trodden development pathways. We need deep transformative changes if we want to realize a future that can truly be shared by all and is sustainable for next generations. We do need a bold vision for the global post-2015 development agenda. It will be challenging, but without it there may be no future for most of us” explains Mr. Rob Vos, Director of the Division of Development Policy Analysis at the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, one of the key messages of the report.
Moving forward, the report recommends that any new development agenda beyond 2015 should build on the values and principles outlined in the Millennium Declaration, which is as relevant today as it was in 2000. It should also build on the three fundamental principles: respect for human rights, equality and sustainability.
Join Rob Vos and other members of the UN System Task Team on 27 November from 9:00 to 11:00 am on DESA’s Facebook page. Let your voice be heard and take part in the conversation on the global development agenda beyond 2015!
Nearly 870 million people around the globe suffer from chronic malnutrition. To address the challenges of food security and to secure a future free of hunger, the UN Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly’s Second Committee, in collaboration with FAO, IFAD and WFP, will be organizing a special joint meeting on “Food security and nutrition: Scaling up the global response”.
Taking place at UN Headquarters in New York, the special joint meeting will bring together experts and representatives of Governments from around the world providing a unique opportunity to discuss food security and nutrition and to identify steps to build a future free of hunger. The event aims to promote coordinated international action and to address both the immediate issue of high food prices and long-term issues of production, trade and consumption of food.
“I wish to emphasize the need to focus global political and policy attention on the plight of the more than one billion of the world’s citizens that struggle with acute hunger and malnutrition,” said the Chair of the Second Committee, George Wilfred Talbot of Guyana, in an address before the Committee. He also encouraged ministerial level participation adding “it is imperative that the global response to the crisis be scaled up as a matter of urgency.”
Addressing challenges of food insecurity and malnutrition
Recent natural emergencies around the world have devastated crops and contributed to a recent spike in food prices. At the same time, 22 countries, mostly in Africa, are in a protracted food crisis, and in the Sahel, drought threatens millions of people with hunger.
The most recent assessment by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) indicates that prices remain high and are expected to remain volatile. This situation puts pressure on the poor, most of whom spend over half of their income on food. According to the World Bank, the 2011 food price increases pushed 50 million people into poverty, undermining progress to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Extreme weather and climate-related disasters can also have detrimental impacts on nutrition. Empirical evidence shows that children born during a drought are likelier to suffer from malnourishment. These events underline the need for Member States to take urgent and effective action to tackle the root causes of high food prices, hunger and malnutrition.
At the Special ECOSOC Ministerial Meeting in September, ECOSOC President Miloš Koterec also focused on the effect of rising food prices on the prevalence of hunger. “Income inequality has been increasing dramatically in much of the rich world,” he said. “Food prices have climbed by tens of percentage points in recent years, after a century of steady decline. For the world’s poorest, this can make the difference between feeding a child or sending her to school.”
Engaging the online community
Ahead of the special joint meeting on food security and nutrition, people with access to Facebook and Twitter have been invited to post questions for the experts and government officials who will participate in the gathering. The aim of the ‘Building a Future Free of Hunger’ campaign is to give the widest possible audience a chance to shape the conversation at the meeting. During the event, which will be broadcast live via UN Webcast, participants will answer selected questions from the online community.
The overall campaign is part of the UN’s continuing efforts to build a future free of hunger, address the underlying causes of food insecurity, and build momentum to scale up the global response.
At a recent event honouring the latest winner of the World Food Prize, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also stressed that innovative approaches and technologies as well as a strong political will from countries are essential to combat hunger. He also highlighted a number of UN initiatives including the Movement to Scale Up Nutrition and the Zero Hunger Challenge, aiming to ensure access to food, end childhood stunting and double the productivity and income of smallholder farmers.
“In our world of plenty, no one should live in hunger. No child should have his growth stunted by malnutrition. No child should have her opportunity for a better life curtailed even before she is born, because her mother was undernourished,” Ban Ki-moon said.
DESA News got an exclusive interview with the department’s new Under-Secretary-General, Mr. Wu Hongbo, who took office on 1 August, bringing over 30 years of experience from leadership roles in international relations and diplomacy. Prior to joining DESA, Mr. Wu was the Ambassador of China to Germany.
A veteran diplomat with broad diplomatic experience, Mr. Wu will guide DESA’s normative, analytical and capacity development work, especially as it advances towards a post-2015 development framework with sustainable development at its core.
Sharing first impressions
With energy and enthusiasm, Mr. Wu talked about his first weeks in DESA, getting to know his staff and the many and varied issues handled by the department. “We have over 500 staff, all of whom are very dedicated, talented and intelligent and hard-working. They have rich experience and knowledge and I am very much impressed by the quality of the staff,” he said. Mr. Wu also praised the atmosphere, saying that it is characterized by “coordination, cooperation and harmony”.
Discussing the responsibilities and mandates of DESA, Mr. Wu noted “DESA covers very extensive ground. I think almost all the social and economic development areas are wholly or partially responsibilities of this department,” he said. “We are facing a lot of challenges. Together, all of us in DESA can make a difference for the future.”
Vision and priority areas for DESA
Well-informed of the Rio+20 outcome document, Mr. Wu said, “One thing is very clear. We as an international community are at a very critical juncture in our social and economic development”. He discussed the importance of pushing forward on implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), but at the same time pointed to the emergence of new challenges. “During the past few years, we have witnessed a lot of new challenges, for instance shortage of energy, the food crisis, shortage of clean water and drinking water, which all point to an essential issue: whether we are going to have sustainable development or not.”
Mr. Wu underscored that sustainable development – with its three interlinked dimensions of social and economic development, and environmental protection – is foremost on his list of priorities for the department. “It is also the top priority of the Secretary-General and the United Nations,” he added.
Regarding specific tasks of the department, Mr. Wu elaborated on the three integral components of DESA’s work: analytical, normative; and capacity development. “In these three areas we have strong and rich experiences, and we have a lot of expertise.”
Mr. Wu discussed the importance of ensuring high-quality analytical reports of the department, providing “Member States with policy advice that would ensure future sustainability”. In terms of DESA’s normative work, Mr. Wu explained, “we are talking about economic global governance, we are talking about the changing situation, we are talking about a lot of challenges.” He also underscored DESA’s strength when it comes to normative work as well as the importance of capacity development, linking policy plans and capabilities at the country level.
Keeping the momentum beyond 2015
DESA is fully engaged in promoting and supporting the emergence of a solid and ambitious post-2015 development agenda. DESA has established a department-wide task force and is also leading, jointly with UNDP, the UN System Task Team on the Post-2015 UN development agenda, established by the Secretary-General. DESA News asked Mr. Wu how he believes the world community can keep the momentum beyond the MDGs target date.
“Certainly it is a rather complex issue. I think the awareness of the need for sustainable development, post-2015, is there.” Mr. Wu said. However, he also explained that when talking with Prime Ministers and other stakeholders, the question is often raised how the outcome document of Rio+20 can be implemented. “I think the point has been stressed by many PRs from developing countries, the vulnerable countries in particular, that efforts should not be relaxed, we should push forward strongly, to implement as much as possible the MDGs.”
Mr. Wu also shared that he is sometimes asked questions on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), where representatives seek a clearer picture of the way forward. “SDGs will be at the core of the post-2015 UN development agenda”, he said.
Mr. Wu emphasized the importance of informing Member States in a timely manner and providing them with sufficient materials and information. DESA and other agencies involved in the development agenda have a vital role to play.
“If you want to keep the momentum of the Member States and the international community in forming sustainable development for the future, we need successful coordination of efforts within the UN system,” he said. In this context, Mr. Wu praised the fact that there is both a UN system wide Task Team, as well as a departmental task force on the development agenda already in place.
“I believe the momentum for sustainable development is there. We will do our best to push this programme and the process forward,” said Mr. Wu.
Mr. Wu expressed confidence in the world community’s ability to keep the momentum beyond the MDGs target date. “If we do our job well, I think we will be successful,” he said, adding, “I think all DESA colleagues share my wish, that what we are doing today, in the next few years, will serve the well-being and the happiness of our future generations.”
“Our times demand (…) a new constellation of international cooperation – governments, civil society and the private sector, working together for a collective global good”. In line with this statement of the UN Secretary-General, DESA and its UN partners continue to enhance their services to civil society and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) across the globe.
Civil society and non-governmental organizations play a vital role as partners to the UN in implementing development goals and assisting people at the local level in countries all over the world. They are also important collaborators and contributors to major UN Conferences and summits. This was last seen in June at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, when some 17,000 representatives registered to participate in the conference.
The relationship between DESA, civil society organizations (CSOs) and NGOs is not a new one. It dates back to the late 1940s, when the UN had 41 organizations in consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). This number has increased considerably over the years and the department’s NGO Branch, which is part of DESA’s Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination, is now serving some 3,500 organizations around the world in consultative status with ECOSOC.
The NGO Branch provides organizations with information about events and opportunities to collaborate with the UN and it also handles intergovernmental support, servicing the Committee on NGOs, as well as conference registration through the web platform CSONet.org.
“Engaging with the UN system is now less complicated thanks to CSONet. Amidst diverse demands, timely and accurate information gets things done,” says Joseph Cornelius Donnelly, Head of the International Delegation to the UN, CARITAS Internationalis. “We are at UN Headquarters to bring the living voices of those we serve to Member States and UN colleagues. Effective advocacy is strengthened by this tool. Every voice counts! It’s imperative to know clearly where, when, what and how to speak, meet, consult at the UN,” explains Mr. Donnelly.
“We offer a central platform, giving NGOs and civil society the necessary information to be able to connect with the UN, the international development community and other relevant stakeholders,” says Andrei Abramov, Chief of the NGO Branch. “We also have a response system,“ Mr. Abramov explains, “if an organization has an inquiry, it is our goal to respond within 48 hours”.
Mr. Abramov also highlights the online newsletter, reaching 6,000 subscribing organizations every month with relevant information updates. The related Twitter account has some 1,500 followers, many of them civil society professionals with a key interest in the daily meetings at UN Headquarters.
New tools to serve important relationship
It is not only the number of organizations that have changed over the years. With the creation in 2008 of its integrated Civil Society Organizations (iCSO) System, DESA and other UN agencies have considerably developed its services towards civil society. Developed by DESA, this interactive database has been designed to share knowledge with up-to-date information and to provide a powerful communication tool facilitating interaction between CSOs and the UN.
Through the iCSO system, organizations register their information and also access information about other organizations and their projects. They can also sign up for ground passes to access the UN compounds in New York, Geneva and Vienna and the system also allows the organizations with an ECOSOC consultative status to submit their quadrennial reports.
Database represents NGOs from 180 countries
In the beginning of 2009, when the online database had just been launched, there were 12,000 organizations listed. Since then, 14,000 organizations have gone online and registered to participate in the database, making the current number of organizations totaling more than 26,000 from 180 countries. With 6,344 registrations, Africa is the continent with most organizations represented, followed by Asia with 4,438 NGOs listed. The majority of organizations are active within the economic and social fields, followed by sustainable development.
The Branch has a long history of using technology for facilitating NGO access to the UN. In 2002, it launched the Paperless Committee system, the first web-based portal to be used by Member States in official UN events. The initiative earned the Branch a UN 21 Award in 2008. It allows the Committee to review hundreds of applications of reports by NGOs annually. A “2.0” version was introduced last year.
Over the past three years, the event registration system has been further developed and a growing number of UN offices are using it to facilitate the collaboration with civil society and NGOs. As the documentation is now available online, it has also resulted in a paperless work process, in line with the UN’s “PaperSmart” initiative.
Another benefit with this system is that it makes conference preparations easier. “Prior to major conferences like Rio+20, we know how many people to expect and what to prepare for,” explains Andrei Abramov. In 2011, approximately 15,000 representatives registered for some 20 UN events in New York, Geneva and Bonn. The figure for 2012 will be much higher, with over 10,000 participants taking part in Rio+20 alone.
Serving grass root organizations in Africa
In Africa, thanks to an increasing availability of internet access, developing a tool that allows NGOs to register online via a website has become more and more relevant. In the past, the NGO database was in fact just a static directory with irregular updates. The accuracy of the data was a real issue. Having linked its database (2,044 NGOs) to the platform developed by DESA, the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA), expects that a growing number of NGOs will register on-line and update their details.
The database is fully operational since 1 September and now requires to be publicized widely. As a result of the partnership with DESA, OSAA has provided the translation in French of all the content of the iCSO platform. That service will be much appreciated by a large number of NGOs for which French is their main language of communication. From what used to be a static directory, OSAA’s new database has been turned into a dynamic and state of the art search tool, helping the most demanding in search of NGOs active in Africa.
“The world is keen to know about the work of civil society organizations in African countries and this system gives access to updated and accurate information about NGOs working close to people’s needs in Africa,” explains Mieko Ikegame, Chief of Coordination of OSAA’s Advocacy and Policy Development Unit.
Ms. Ikegame also underscores that this system gives local African organizations an increased access to the international development community. “When preparing our mandated Secretary-General Reports, we will be able, for example, to use this platform to reach out to stakeholders at the grass root level so that their voices could be reflected in these UN documents, says Ms. Ikegame.
As the world community faces new and emerging challenges, the UN will continue working side by side with civil society across the globe. Developing effective and user-friendly tools for knowledge-exchange and information-sharing is part of this effort, promoting enhanced collaboration for the collective good and for a sustainable future.
On 24 September, ECOSOC arranged a special meeting under the theme ‘Building the Future We Want ’ focusing on sustainable development. “Rio+20 has given us a solid platform to build on, and the tools to build with. Now is the time to follow up, to get down to work, to get practical. There is no time to waste,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The gathering was a follow up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), held in Brazil in June, during which world leaders acknowledged the importance of an inclusive, transparent, strengthened and effective multilateral system to better address the urgent global challenges of sustainable development.
To help shape the conversation at the meeting, DESA and the Department of Public Information launched a global forum on Facebook and Twitter on 12-24 September, collecting input and questions from the online community. The forum generated a high level of participation and engagement for which the ECOSOC President ECOSOC President, Miloš Koterec extended special thanks.
DESA’s Under-Secretary-General Wu Hongbo, also addressed the meeting saying that ECOSOC – through its work to promote international dialogue on global trends and policymaking on a range of issues, including population and development, as well as the environment – is well-placed to continue its leadership position in the area of sustainable development.
Attended by Government ministers and other relevant actors from around the world, the meeting was centred on an expert panel discussion and an interactive dialogue on strengthening the multilateral system for sustainable development, and a better integration of related economic, social and environmental dimensions.
With less than three years to the deadline, significant progress has been made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Meanwhile, the UN is now working closely with different international stakeholders to ensure a sustainable development path beyond 2015.
The international community is ramping up activities as the 2015 target date approaches for achieving the development goals, set out in the Millennium Declaration, on poverty alleviation, education, gender equality, child and maternal health, environmental sustainability, HIV/AIDS reduction and a ‘Global Partnership for Development’. These include discussions among governments, civil society, academia and research institutions, and the private sector on how to advance the UN development agenda beyond 2015.
“Nothing but a truly transformative agenda will match the challenges ahead and the aspirations of all people for development that is inclusive, equitable and sustainable” said Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. Wu Hongbo, reflecting on the work and the opportunities ahead.
The Department of Economic and Social Affairs, headed by Mr. Wu, is fully engaged in promoting and supporting the emergence of a solid and ambitious post-2015 development agenda. DESA has established a department-wide task force to this end, as well as to support the role of DESA in leading, jointly with UNDP, the UN System Task Team on the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda.
The UN System Task Team
Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon established the UN System Task Team in September 2011 to coordinate system-wide preparations for a post-2015 UN development agenda. The team is mobilizing analytical work and outreach within the UN system and beyond.
The Task Team is made up of more than 60 UN agencies, Secretariat departments and other international organizations, including the IMF, World Bank and WTO. Co-chaired by DESA and UNDP, its mission is to assess ongoing efforts within the UN system, consult external stakeholders and define a system-wide vision and road-map to support the deliberations on the post-2015 UN development agenda.
In June, the Task Team delivered its first report to the Secretary-General, “Realizing the Future We Want for All”. Striving for a more holistic outlook, the team advises to keep the Millennium Declaration as the point of departure, and retain a clear focus on human development, while building on the lessons learned from the MDGs and addressing new challenges. In line with the outcome document of the Rio+20 Conference, it also underscores the central role of sustainable development.
The Task Team outlines a vision for the development agenda starting with the core values of sustainability, equality and human rights. The vision then unfolds into four key dimensions that could serve as the basis for defining specific global goals and targets: inclusive social development; inclusive economic development; environmental sustainability; and peace and security.
Getting on a sustainable development path
The Report of the Task Team will serve as a reference for the further broad and inclusive consultations that will take place in the coming years on the post-2015 UN development agenda. Much activity is already scheduled during the forthcoming session of the General Assembly, moving towards a post-2015 UN development agenda, with sustainable development at its centre.
By the start of its 67th session, and as agreed at the Rio+20 Conference in June 2012, the General Assembly will launch an intergovernmental open working group to develop a proposal on sustainable development goals, or SDGs, as an integral part of the post-2015 UN development agenda.
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is continuing to play a leading role in the discussions, gathering government representatives from all over the world on 24 September for the ECOSOC Ministerial Meeting, featuring an expert panel discussion, followed by an interactive dialogue on strengthening the multilateral system for sustainable development.
The Secretary-General’s High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, established in July to provide further support to the multi-stakeholder consultations, will hold its first meeting on the margins of the Assembly’s high-level debate in September.
And later this fall, the General Assembly will consider the second annual report of the Secretary-General on accelerating progress towards the MDGs, including his recommendations on ways to advance the UN development agenda beyond 2015.
The MDGs have played an important role in advancing the development agenda and in improving the lives of people around the globe. With the target date on the horizon, the UN is intensifying its collaboration with global partners to build on the momentum and to build consensus around an ambitious post-2015 development agenda, with sustainable development at its core.
Photo credit: iStock photo used for UN Task Team Report Cover
What do Jiří Ježek and Chantal Benoit have in common? They both live with disabilities. In the upcoming Paralympics Jiří will cycle with a prosthetic leg and Chantal will shoot hoops from a wheelchair. This is just one example of how people living with disabilities can flourish when they are empowered and when barriers for their inclusion in society are removed.
On 12-14 September, just two weeks after the Paralympics, the UN will host the Fifth Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) to review good practices and challenges in the implementation of the Convention, which will help build a more inclusive, accessible and supportive international framework to promote the development and human rights of all persons with disabilities.
Adopted on 13 December 2006 and entering into force on 3 May 2008, the Convention is the fastest ever negotiated human rights treaty. It is intended as an international tool with an explicit social development dimension. Parties to the Convention are required to promote, protect, and ensure the full enjoyment of human rights by persons with disabilities, and ensure that they enjoy full equality under the law.
The two and a half-day session will gather hundreds of delegates from Governments, UN system organizations, academics and civil society, including representatives of organizations of persons with disabilities, to discuss ways to improve the lives and well-being of persons with disabilities. The theme of this year’s session is “Making the CRPD count for Women and Children”. The following are the sub-themes of the Conference: “Technology and Accessibility”, “Children with Disabilities” and “Women with Disabilities”.
1 billion people worldwide live with a disability, lacking access and support
It is estimated that there are currently over 1 billion people worldwide living with a disability. They face barriers to full participation in society such as difficulties with physical accessibility, transportation and lack of access to information and communications technolgies. It is widely understood that inaccessible environments can impede or enable, perpetuate exclusion or foster participation. Unfortunately for many people living with disabilities, their environments create barriers for their participation in society and development.
States Parties and individual experts will be given the opportunity to share their experiences of how improved accessibility can benefit all in society. The meeting will also discuss how accessibility and universal design can be incorporated in national development policies and programmes and how innovative solutions, such as public-private partnerships, can play an important role.
Children and women with disabilities are more marginalized
Children with disabilities are among the most marginalized and excluded members of society. They are less likely to attend school, to have access to appropriate medical and social services or to participate fully in their communities. Children with disabilities can experience double discrimination based on their identity, their gender or their minority status and face a significantly increased risk of physical abuse. They are also less able to advocate for themselves when it comes to fighting this discrimination and accessing services.
There are social costs related to the exclusion of children with disabilities from educational and employment opportunities. Adults with disabilities are often poorer than adults without disabilities but education has been found to decrease the divide. It is unknown exactly how many children have a disability worldwide due to systematic under-reporting and a lack of reliable data. It is estimated that as many as four in five children with disabilities live in developing countries.
Women with disabilities are also a highly vulnerable group. They often lack access to essential services, necessary to enjoy of their basic human rights. In many cases, they also have limited access to education and employment. Women with disabilities experience higher rates of gender-based violence, sexual abuse, neglect, maltreatment and exploitation than women without disabilities. It is widely recognised that the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women with disabilities is vital for their human rights, but also for the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals.
A future we want for all
The international community is increasingly recognizing the necessity and importance of including disability to obtain inclusive, equitable and sustainable development. Some important steps are being taken to build a positive future for people living with disabilities. The Rio+20 outcome document, “The future we want”, has five specific references to disability, promoting sustainable development policies supporting equal rights and accessibility.
Discussions around new emerging international development frameworks have already started within and beyond the United Nations. On 23 September 2013 the General Assembly will also convene a High-Level Meeting on Disability where world leaders will have a unique and historic opportunity to discuss the way forward and initiate a disability inclusive development agenda towards 2015 and beyond.
Stories of Paralympians and persons with disabilities have made headlines before, but to name a few other examples, Albert Einstein had a learning disability and didn’t speak until age 3. Ludwig van Beethoven was deaf. Thomas Edison also had a learning disability and couldn’t read until he was twelve. Franklin D. Roosevelt had Polio and author Helen Keller was both deaf and blind. British physicist Stephen Hawking managed to author “A Brief History of Time”.
These stories tell the same simple truth: disability is by no means an inability. These individuals all achieved greatness when they were fully included in society and they demonstrate that by breaking down barriers, and with the right opportunities, exceptional things are possible.
“Empowerment has many meanings. I think ultimately it is about people and the human potential that is within us all,” says Daniela Bas, Director of DESA’s Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD), as her team prepares for an expert group meeting on this topic. Ahead of the September meeting, they seek people’s input and questions on empowerment.
On 10-12 September 2012, DSPD is gathering experts in New York to focus on the theme “Promoting people’s empowerment in achieving poverty eradication, social integration and full employment and decent work for all”. The meeting is part of the preparations for the 51st session of the Commission for Social Development, scheduled to take place in February 2013.
“We have a unique chance to contribute, and to help shape future policies that can have a major impact on people’s empowerment across the globe,” says Ms. Bas, highlighting that there are two ways in which the online community can contribute with ideas and questions.
There is an online survey on empowerment, which runs through 5 September. Just launched and available until 7 September, is also an online forum on Facebook, where people are invited to share questions on empowerment. They can also send in queries via Twitter using @UNDESA and #EmpowerPeople. Questions should focus on the theme of the expert group meeting and must also be linked to social groups including people living in poverty, youth, older persons, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and families.
At the meeting in September, experts will respond to selected questions from the online community. This part of the event will also be available on 12 September on DESA’s Youtube channel.
“Your input matters. Empower yourself and inspire the world,” encourages Daniela Bas.
Only a week into her new role, DESA’s Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Ms. Shamshad Akhtar, met with DESA News. “With fast changing global events, magnified by recurring crises, the UN has a unique role to play in nurturing stronger multilateral framework, based on cooperation, innovative solutions and solidarity to safeguard our planet,” she said.
Shamshad Akhtar was appointed by the UN Secretary-General as Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development and she took office on 9 July. Ms. Akhtar has previously served as Governor of the Central Bank of Pakistan, Vice President of the Middle East and North Africa Region of the World Bank and she has also held prominent positions within the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
When meeting in her office, Ms. Akhtar shared her initial thoughts on this new assignment, highlighting what great opportunities lay within the UN framework and also underscoring the role of the UN Secretariat, which can cultivate, facilitate and nurture stronger ownership of the strategic development agenda at the inter-governmental platform. Being associated with the development business and looking at the growing empirical evidence, she is convinced that “upfront ownership and cross fertilization of good practices is critical for countries to achieve ground results.”
When asked how she viewed the UN job when approached, Ms. Akhtar said that “the emerging debates on global sustainability led by the UN and the Secretary-General’s vision in this context, along with the futuristic agenda to modernize the UN, offers a good opportunity for those engaged in the development business.”
Experiences gained from crisis mitigation and prevention
Ms. Akhtar brings vast experience to DESA. At the World Bank, she spearheaded its response to the Arab Spring and prior, she was engaged in the Asian financial crisis on behalf of the Multilateral Development Banks. Talking about some of the most important lessons learned, she highlighted the critical importance of “governance”, whose failure was at the heart of both the political and economic crises in these regions.
When faced with such unprecedented crisis, the first order of priority of the affected countries and international community is to focus on crisis mitigation. But as we learn from one crisis after the other, the preferred approach is to build defense mechanisms for crisis prevention. Ms. Akhtar elaborated that “economic history is full of recurring crisis, albeit of different dimensions and nature, and learning from these episodes is critical to develop better strategies for crisis mitigation and prevention, as economic losses and human aggravation is substantive.”
Underlying most crises, she pointed out, is the failure of governance, be it political, economic, social or legal/regulatory. Responding to a question, she also outlined the difference between recent events in the Arab world, where the underlying issue triggering a struggle for political change, was the lack of fundamental rights and respect for citizens. In this part of the world, based on public sector driven social contract, citizens were denied access to information, rights and basic services despite the hydrocarbon wealth in the region.
The Asian financial crisis on the other hand, occurred due to a failure of regulatory and supervisory governance which allowed special interests to overexpose the financial institutions. Ms. Akhtar explained that these events have brought about a new awakening among economists and development thinkers. “The significance of getting the governance frameworks right and strengthened would go a long way as the crises have a huge financial, economic and human cost.”
Opportunities and challenges ahead
When discussing opportunities and challenges ahead, Ms. Akhtar also stressed the need to see how the department is positioned to deliver the medium term strategy outlined by the Secretary-General. “The key thing for us is to take stock as to whether we are well positioned to deliver that mandate,” she said. “DESA’s leadership and team can be proud of playing a critical role for UN’s success in steering the Rio summit. It has been a complex process but more challenges will emerge as we delve into the nuts and bolts of the broad development agenda at hand. For DESA it is an opportunity to illustrate its capabilities and capacities further to support the post 2015 agenda.”
Ms. Akhtar highlighted the benefits of strategizing to become more results-oriented and creating synergies among UN agencies with staff of different backgrounds and expertise, coordinating and collaborating. “DESA has a very important role to play in this post 2015 agenda. Not only by contributing in the thinking process, intellectually, but also making sure we are nurturing partnership with various players or developing institutional arrangements to coordinate this work.”
Potentials for new financing and green growth
In light of DESA just releasing the World Economic and Social Survey, presenting innovative ideas to raise new funds for development, Ms. Akhtar shared some of her views on this topic. “There has been a range of innovation in financing for development, but it is important to recognize that a large proportion of people and businesses are outside the ambit of the financial system. In addition, the climate change agenda requires not only extensive financing but also that the costs of innovations are shared,” she said.
Ms. Akhtar also discussed the benefits seen globally of extending the coverage of microfinance. She mentioned that there are some interesting innovations under way such as public-private partnerships in raising debt and equity for financing micro-businesses, tapping guarantee mechanisms to leverage funding, as well as the use of technology and risk management frameworks to reach out to clients. Experiments are yielding good results as large proportions of clients are women. Ms. Akhtar also highlighted the instrumental role of SMEs in promoting employment. “We need to be more proactive in reaching out and deepening and broadening the access to small and medium enterprise financing,” she said, adding that “only very small formal credits go to these businesses.”
She also addressed another dimension of financing, connected with the climate change agenda. “I can not but underscore the significance of mobilizing sustainable financing for developing countries, or for that matter developed countries, and innovative approaches to financing a green growth agenda,” she said. “I say this, because some of these propositions are very expensive and its affordability out of range given the fiscal situation across a number of countries. If we were to promote solar technology, which is very important in promoting green growth, it is very critical for us to look at more innovative mechanism of financing in this area.”
Biggest award is seeing results
Ms. Akhtar has won two consecutive awards as Asia’s Best Central Bank Governor from Emerging Markets and the Banker’s Trust and she has been named one of the top ten professional women of Asia by the Asian Wall Street Journal. Although it brings satisfaction to be recognized professionally, Ms. Akhtar confessed that the most important thing is seeing the ground results of your efforts.
“To me, the biggest reward is when you see people getting micro finance. I am very fortunate that I travel to see the villages. I sat with communities and with practitioners and policymakers and I have seen the benefits of the work that we did and its advantages and benefits to the poor people and to the economic system.”
Concluding our interview, Ms. Akhtar shared her hopes for the uplift of the world community, “I think it is a very exciting period for all of us who are engaged in the development business. Our task is to focus on economic, social and environmental sustainability with the objective of reducing poverty, alleviating stress on the basic services and making sure people are fed properly. We cannot achieve these goals unless we equip countries to manage and implement development programs at high governance standards and ensuring programs that benefit people.”
“We need a top-to-bottom review so our programmes and policies are working with and for young people. We don’t have a moment to lose. We have the world to gain,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon earlier this year. Many activities are currently under way to address and involve youth, including International Youth Day on 12 August.
This year’s theme is “Building a Better World: Partnering with Youth”. The theme relates to the announcement that the Secretary-General made in January, where he committed to “address the needs of the largest generation of young people the world has ever known” by making “working with and for women and young people” a priority in his Five-year Action Agenda.
Ban Ki-moon also revealed the development of a System-Wide Action Plan on Youth as well as the appointment of a Special Advisor on Youth and a UN Volunteer youth initiative. Five thematic areas were highlighted developing these initiatives: employment, entrepreneurship, political inclusion, citizenship and protection of rights, and education, including on sexual and reproductive health.
Enhancing partnerships for and with youth crucial
The need to enhance partnerships both with and for youth was underscored in the outcome document of the General Assembly’s High-Level meeting on Youth last year and it has been the topic of many events and discussions throughout 2012.
A special event was for example arranged by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in February on “Breaking new ground: Partnerships for more and better jobs for young people”. The Council President Miloš Kotorec then described the tough situation for many of today’s young people, affected by the global jobs crisis.
“These are alarming trends. Alarming because young people are our future promise…our innovators, our academics, our entrepreneurs, and our political leaders. The future rests squarely on their shoulders. It will be through their agency and their vision that we will successfully emerge from the wrenching economic crisis we are now experiencing. For this reason, we need to offer them hope, and more importantly, we need to offer them solutions,” Mr. Koterec said.
With this in mind, International Youth Day 2012 aims to highlight the many ways the UN, Member States, the private sector and other stakeholders can partner with and for youth, with a focus on the five thematic areas described.
Action plan developed based on youth input
One example of how the UN is partnering with and for youth is in the development of the System-Wide Action Plan (SWAP) on Youth. In order to prepare this plan, the Intern-Agency Network on Youth Development, led by the permanent co-chair of DESA’s Social Policy and Development Division (DSPD), has established three newly established thematic sub-working groups.
These groups are clustered around the priority areas identified by the Secretary-General: (1) employment and entrepreneurship; (2) health and education, including education on sexual and reproductive health; and (3) participation, including political inclusion, active citizenship and protection of rights. The aim of the thematic sub-working groups is to lead the development of the SWAP in their respective areas and to coordinate input from youth and other stakeholders.
Youth input to the development of the SWAP is of utmost importance, which has also been emphasized by the Secretary-General. To ensure that young people’s input is reflected in the elaboration of the SWAP, the Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development has launched an online consultation with youth-led organizations and other stakeholders. The inputs received will feed directly into the work of the sub-working groups preparing the plan. The link to this survey is also provided below.
Global online initiative calling on young people
In the lead-up to International Youth Day 2012, the UN will undertake a global online initiative, calling on young people around the world to commemorate the International Day by organizing events in partnership with civil society, Member States, the private sector, academia and philanthropists, especially in the areas of employment, entrepreneurship, political inclusion, citizenship and protection of rights, and education, including on sexual and reproductive health.
DSPD-Youth has developed a world map to mark International Youth Day events and also invites everyone who will be organizing an event to contact the Division at youth@un.org so that these events can be added to the map.
During the second week of August, DSPD-Youth will conduct an online campaign by organizing six live Google+ Hangouts, covering the following topics: 1) employment; 2) entrepreneurship; 3) political inclusion; 4) citizenship and protection of rights; 5) education; and 6) education on sexual and reproductive health; and how they relate to partnering with and for youth.
The aim of the Hangouts will be to share information and good practices, and to provoke discussion on the role of the UN, Member States and Civil Society on how to better ensure and develop partnerships between and with young people, the UN, Member States and the private sector in these important areas. DSPD-Youth invites young people around the world to join these discussions and submit their questions using Twitter and Facebook.
It is the intention that the outcomes of the activities leading up to and taking place on the day, will feed directly into the work of the Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development, developing the System Wide Action Plan on Youth (SWAP).
“In 2012 as I approach the end of my term, the need for accelerated progress in sustainable development has moved to the top of the global agenda. The High-level Segment has achieved results. We now have a powerful international jobs road map, one which is affirming the world’s remarkable commitment to ending poverty and achieving the Millennium Development Goals,” said Sha Zukang.
Mr. Sha, who retired from his post as DESA’s Under-Secretary-General on 31 July, delivered these remarks as ECOSOC’s High-level Segment was closing on 10 July. He continued praising the achievements saying, “the Declaration sets out unequivocally our collective resolve to place full employment front and centre of policy making. We need a strong ECOSOC, a strong United Nations, but above all we need a steadfast commitment to solving global problems together so we can achieve a sustainable future, a future we all want.”
After the Ministerial Declaration was adopted, ECOSOC President Miloš Koterec also summarised the importance of the segment by remarking, “we have come a long way in the adoption of the text. Unemployment is the biggest challenge of our time. When you see young people on the streets yearning for work, then you realize how important it is for us to get our act together”.
With three years remaining until 2015, the 2012 progress report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) released today highlights progress in many important areas including poverty reduction, access to safe drinking water and reduced levels of child mortality. “‘There is now an expectation around the world that sooner, rather than later, the Goals can and must be achieved,” stated Sha Zukang, UN DESA’s Under-Secretary-General.
A decade has now passed since the historic Millennium Declaration was adopted on 8 September 2000. The Millennium Declaration embodied an unprecedented willingness on the part of governments, the private sector and civil society to help lift millions of people out of poverty. The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) helped to define the United Nations in the 21st Century and built the roadmap upon which we have been traveling towards the alleviation of poverty ever since.
The 2012 report is the eighth of a series launched in 2005 and provides both comprehensive statistics and clear analysis in order to assess achievements and remaining challenges. With just three years to go until the 2015 deadline, expectations are building and the world is watching.
Achievements made ahead of 2015 deadline
Progress towards the achievement of the MDGs has been made ahead of the deadline in many important areas. The 2012 progress report outlines gains in poverty reduction and access to safe drinking water, and an improvement in the lives of slums dwellers in urban areas. The report also highlights important gains towards gender parity in primary education, a decline in levels of child mortality, a downward trend of tuberculosis and global malaria deaths and an expansion of treatment for HIV sufferers.
For the first time since records on poverty began, the number of people living in extreme poverty has fallen in every developing region, including sub-Saharan Africa. Preliminary estimates indicate that the proportion of people living on less than $1.25 per day fell in 2010 to less than half the 1990 rate and during the same period over two billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources. The share of slum dwellers in urban areas declined from 39 per cent in 2000 to 33 per cent in 2012, improving the lives of at least 100 million people.
The ratio between the enrolment rate of girls and boys grew in 2010 for all developing regions and many more of the world’s children are enrolled in primary level education than ever before. In terms of child mortality, despite population growth, the number of under-five deaths worldwide fell from more than 12 million in 1990 to 7.6 million in 2010.
The target of halting, and beginning to reverse, the spread of tuberculosis is on track and projections suggest that the 1990 death rate from the disease will be halved by 2015. For malaria, estimated incidence of malaria has decreased globally by 17 per cent since 2000. Finally, progress has been witnessed by those living with HIV. At the end of 2010, 6.5 million people were receiving antiretroviral therapy for HIV or AIDS in developing regions. This total constitutes an increase of over 1.4 million people from December 2009.
Remaining challenges and areas for renewed focus
A lot has been achieved and significant strides have been made, however some impediments to reaching all the MDGs by 2015 remain. The 2012 report spells out what we intuitively knew, that recent natural disasters and the global financial crisis has slowed progress and that inequality remains. A particular area of concern includes the slow decrease in levels of vulnerable employment, defined as the share of unpaid family workers and own-account workers in total employment.
Women and youth are more likely to find themselves in this type of insecure and poorly remunerated positions than the rest of the employed population and this category of work accounted for an estimated 58 per cent of all employment in developing regions in 2011. Another area of lacklustre improvement is maternal health. Although improvements in maternal health and a reduction in maternal deaths and adolescent childbearing can be seen, decreases are far from the 2015 target.
The urban/rural divide has been a consideration regarding levels of progress towards the MDGs with urban areas often faring better. For instance, use of improved sources of water remains lower in rural areas and despite a reduction in the share of urban populations living in slums, the absolute number has continued to grow from a 1990 baseline of 650 million. An estimated 863 million people now live in slum conditions.
Lastly, and perhaps most concerning is the fact that hunger remains a global challenge. The most recent FAO estimate of undernourishment set the mark at 850 million living in hunger in the world in the 2006/08 period, 15.5 per cent of the world population. Additionally, progress has also been slow in reducing child under-nutrition, with close to a third of children in Southern Asia deemed underweight in 2010.
The 2012 report presents an assessment of where actions and interventions have delivered successful outcomes to Millennium Development Goals and highlights the areas where progress needs to be accelerated if the targets are to be met by the 2015 deadline.
Development after 2015
The Millennium Development Goals have guided governments, private industry and civil society for over a decade, they have given purpose and a benchmark with which to assess progress. It is clear the way forward is to again summon the collective will witnessed in the 2000 Millennium Declaration and continue to boldly pave the way beyond 2015.
Emerging challenges will need to be tackled such as ensuring food security, gender equality, maternal health, rural development, infrastructure and environmental sustainability, and a global response to climate change.
As the deadline nears, it’s not just about expecting governments to push for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals or hold leaders to this high standard, it’s about understanding, and remaining committed, to the fundamental value of global goals and a shared purpose for the betterment of all.
The financial needs of developing countries have long outstripped the willingness and ability of donors to provide aid. In 2011, aid flows declined in real terms for the first time in many years. With a focus on new and innovative ways to finance development and address this challenge, the “World Economic and Social Survey 2012”, will be launched on 5 July at 11 am EST.
This year’s edition of the World Economic and Social Survey (WESS), titled “In Search of New Development Finance”, analyses current and proposed mechanisms for innovative development finance and highlights mechanisms that can 1) increase the scale of development financing available and 2) provide stable and predictable financing to enhance sustainable development.
Such innovative sources should be complements to, not substitutes for, traditional forms of development aid. The report finds that new sources of financing are technically feasible and could raise significant resources for development. To realize the potential of these new development financing mechanisms, however, greater political will and an international agreement are needed. The report also stresses that how the money is allocated is as important as how it is raised.
Innovations in financing for health
The report searches for new sources as a complement to aid and also notes that a number of innovative initiatives have been launched during the past decade, most of which have been used to fund global health programmes aimed at providing immunizations and AIDS and tuberculosis treatments to millions of people in the developing world.
It finds that while these initiatives have successfully used new methods to channel development financing to combat diseases, they have hardly yielded any additional funding on top of traditional development assistance. The report also warns that in some cases these global funds have bypassed broader national health priorities in developing countries and contributed to the fragmentation of international support to health systems in low-income countries.
In the area of health, the report concludes that instead of an array of disease-specific funds, it would be better to focus on finding new resources for more general budget support for health systems in developing countries in need and to consolidate the existing disease-specific disbursement mechanisms into a single “global fund for health”.
Climate change generates new mechanisms
According to the report, the potential for innovative development finance is particularly high in the area of fighting climate change. Innovative development finance mechanisms have raised about $1 billion for climate change, and has the potential to increase substantially in the coming years. For example, the European Union will be shifting to auctioning emissions allocations, potentially generating some $20-35 billion in annual revenues. However, with the exception of Germany, European Union members have so far been unwilling to commit to allocating a specified proportion of these revenues to international programmes, in part due to domestic financial pressures. $3-5 billion per year could be raised if other countries were to match Germany’s commitment. Other mechanisms with the potential to raise more substantial resources are discussed below.
Increasing finance for climate change-related issues in recent years has given rise to a proliferation of separate climate funds, with limited coordination among them. The WESS stresses that it is important to avoid further fragmentation as traditional and innovative financing increase.
As in the case of health, a more effective approach would be to consolidate disbursement mechanisms. The report concludes that the international agreement to establish the Green Climate Fund could serve as the starting point for such a consolidation.
New funding options identified
The report also highlights a number of technically feasible and economically sensible options to obtain considerable new funding, all which will be revealed at the launch of the report on 5 July at 11 am EST.
Without disclosing any of the details, Rob Vos, Director of UN DESA’s Division for Development Policy and Analysis and the lead author of the report, says, “Realizing the potential of these mechanisms will require international agreement and corresponding political will, both to tap sources as well as to ensure allocation of revenues for development.”
The WESS sums up that the design of appropriate governance and allocation mechanisms is crucial for innovative financing to ultimately meet development needs and contribute to financing the post-2015 development agenda. It also concludes that realizing this potential requires strong political will to follow through on available proposals as well as transparency in the allocation and management of those resources.
The WESS 2012 will be featured in a panel discussion arranged as one of the side events of the Development Cooperation Forum on 5 July.
“Rio+20 has been a great success,” said Rio+20’s Secretary-General, Sha Zukang, as the UN Conference on Sustainable Development concluded on 22 June in Rio de Janeiro with $513 billion pledged in funding to achieve a sustainable future. In his closing remarks, Mr. Sha listed major outcomes of the conference which gathered some 40,000 participants including more than 100 Heads of State.
“I have not the slightest doubt that the outcome document you have adopted will provide an enduring legacy for this historic Rio+20 Conference: The Future We Want,” said Mr. Sha, referring to one of the key elements of the Conference – the outcome document entitled “The Future We Want” – which Member States agreed upon ahead of the high-level meeting.
In addition, nearly 700 concrete commitments have been registered at the Conference from governments, business, industry, financial institutions and civil society groups, amongst others.
“Sustainable development is the only option for humanity, for our shared planet, and for our common future. Let the spirit, partnership, and commitment of Rio be with us all as we continue our shared journey to a sustainable future,” concluded Mr. Sha.
To grasp the background and stakes of Rio+20, it is useful to have a look at the Stockholm-to-Rio continuum of the Conferences, and to go through some key milestones in the long march that gave birth to international agreements on sustainable development. How did we move from Environment to Sustainable Development, what are the consequences of this move, and where are we going now?
1972 – Principles and Institutions
The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held from 5–16 June in Stockholm, Sweden, was the first major international meeting addressing environmental issues in the context of human development. The Conference adopted a Declaration of 26 Principles. Principle 5 stated that “non-renewable resources of the Earth must be employed in such a way as to guard against the danger of their future exhaustion and to ensure that benefits from such employment are shared by all mankind.” The Meeting adopted an «Action Plan for the Human Environment” and led to the foundation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), as well as to the establishment of Environment departments. The world counted barely 10 ministries of environment in 1972 and ten times more a decade later. Two Heads of Government have attended the Conference: Prime Ministers Olof Palme of Sweden and Indira Gandhi of India, who famously declared that “Poverty is the worst form of pollution.”
1987 – Agenda for Action and Sustainable Development
The World Commission on Environment and Development, chaired by Norwegian Premier Gro Harlem Brundtland, was convened by the UN General Assembly in 1983 to formulate a long-term agenda for action. Its final report, entitled Our Common Future, introduced and popularized the concept of sustainable development to meet today’s needs without threatening the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The Brundtland Report stressed that “a world in which poverty is endemic will always be prone to ecological and other catastrophes.”
1992 – The Earth Summit
The UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) was held from 3-14 June in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It culminated in its three last days with the Earth Summit attended by 108 Heads of State and Government. The Summit adopted a set of 27 principles entitled the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. Principle 15 called for a precautionary approach to protect the environment under uncertainty. The Summit also adopted Agenda 21, a comprehensive action plan to implement sustainable development. Significant binding Conventions on climate change (UNFCCC) and biodiversity (CBD) were open to signature in Rio and later came into force for the States who ratified them. The Summit called for the negotiation of a convention on desertification and drought, adopted a non-binding Statement of Forest Principles and recommended that the General Assembly establishes a Commission on Sustainable Development to monitor post-UNCED progress. Nearly 20,000 people took part in the Conference and Summit, including various economic and social sectors of civil society, giving birth to a new multi-stakeholder implementation paradigm. The Summit had enormous media coverage.
1994-1997 – Follow-up Conferences
In 1994 in Barbados, a global conference attended by 125 States and territories (46 of which were small island developing States and territories) adopted the United Nations Programme of Action on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, also called Barbados Programme of Action.A special session of the UN General Assembly called Earth Summit +5 was held in New York from 23 to 27 June 1997 to appraise implementation of Agenda 21, and other commitments made at the Earth Summit and adopted a “Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21.” Based upon the Earth Summit Forests Principles and a chapter of Agenda 21, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) established in 2000 the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF), a subsidiary body aimed at promoting “the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests and to strengthen long-term political commitment to this end”.
2002 – Review and sectorial plans
The World Summit on Sustainable Development was held from 26 August to 4 September 2002, in Johannesburg (South Africa) to review the results of UNCED a decade later and reinvigorate the global commitment to sustainable development. Attended by nearly one hundred world leaders, it adopted a Declaration and a Plan of Implementation including agreements on oceans and fisheries protection, sanitation, freshwater, energy and poverty. The Johannesburg process also initiated a new type of voluntary multi-stakeholder initiatives called “Partnerships for Sustainable Development.” Some 300 such partnership agreements were launched during the Summit. Participation of the civil society was also massive.
2005-2007 – Adoption of non binding instruments
An international meeting was held in Mauritius in 2005 to review the Barbados Programme of Action. The 129 participating Member States unanimously adopted the “Mauritius Strategy for the further implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States.” After years of intense negotiations, the 7th Session of the UN Forum on Forests adopted in 2007 the “Non-Legally Binding Instrument on All Types of Forests”, the first international instrument for sustainable forest management ever adopted by UN Member States.
2012 – Rio+20 – Focus areas and voluntary commitments?
The UN Conference on Sustainable Development, to be held in Rio de Janeiro from 20 to 22 June 2012, aims at bringing about real change by setting a new development agenda and galvanizing progress towards a sustainable future — the Future We Want. The Conference focuses on two themes: a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication and the institutional framework for sustainable development. The Conference will adopt an outcome document expected to notably highlight seven areas needing priority attention, including decent jobs, energy, sustainable cities, food security and sustainable agriculture, water, oceans and disaster preparedness.
Following the strides made on poverty eradication through the Millennium Development Goals, Rio+20 is expected to agree to defining sustainable development goals that would mobilize the international community, promoting action and monitoring progress. At Rio+20, governments, major groups and other civil society sectors, including business and industry, are also expected to launch new voluntary commitments and initiatives for sustainable development which will be compiled in a registry of commitments as part of the legacy of the Conference. More than 50,000 people are expected to participate to the Conference and over 500 side events are planned.
A report entitled «World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2012» notes that despite some scattered signs of improvement in recent months, the global economic situation is still challenging. Projections are revised downwards as compared to forecasts presented in the WESP 2012 Report in January. Global employment remains the most pressing challenge. The report will be launched on 7 June.
Released by UN DESA’s Development Policy and Analysis Division (DPAD), the WESP report notes that the debt crisis in the euro area (especially in Greece) remains the biggest threat to the world economy. An escalation could trigger severe turmoil in the financial markets and a sharp rise in global risk aversion, leading to a contraction of economic activity in developed countries.
Following a marked slowdown in 2011, WESP warns that global economic growth will likely remain tepid in 2012 with most regions expanding at a below-potential pace. A further sharp rise in energy prices may also stifle global development.
Four major weaknesses continue to conspire against robust economic recovery:
i) Deleveraging by banks, firms and households, which continues to restrain normal credit flows and consumer and investment demand;
ii) Unemployment remains high, a condition that is both cause and effect in preventing economic recovery;
iii) Fiscal austerity responses to rising public debts deter economic growth and make a return to debt sustainability all the more difficult; and
iv) Bank exposures to sovereign debt perpetuate fragility in the financial sector, which in turn spurs continued deleveraging.
Even if further deepening and spreading of the debt crisis in the euro area can be avoided, economic activity in the European Union is expected to stagnate in 2012.
The jobs crisis continues
Global employment remains the most pressing challenge. Employment-to-population ratios remain below 2007 levels, except in Brazil, China and Germany.
In the United States, despite recent improvements, the unemployment rate remains well above pre-crisis levels, at over 8 per cent. In the euro area, it increased to a historic high of 10.9 per cent in March 2012. It reached alarming heights in the debt-ridden euro area countries: in Spain it had jumped to 24.1 per cent in March 2012 (up 8.6 in 2007), 21.7 per cent in Greece (up from 8), 13.5 in Portugal (up from 8.5), and 14.5 per cent in Ireland (up from 5). In developing countries, in contrast, employment rebounded more strongly.
Policy recommendations
Breaking out of the vicious cycle of continued deleveraging, rising unemployment, fiscal austerity and financial sector fragility requires more concerted and more coherent efforts on several fronts of national and international policy making.
On the fiscal front, it is essential to change course in fiscal policy in developed economies and shift the focus from short-term consolidation to robust economic growth with medium- to long-run fiscal sustainability. Premature fiscal austerity carry the risk of creating a vicious downward spiral, with enormous economic and social costs.
Fiscal austerity has already pushed many European countries further into recession. This is particularly relevant for the debt-ridden euro area economies. Euro area countries have fallen back into recession, following fiscal retrenchment over the past two years. Clearly, the efforts at regaining debt sustainability through fiscal austerity are backfiring in low growth and high unemployment.
“Worldwide, more than 400 million new jobs will be needed over the next decade. That means that policy-makers must get serious, now, about generating decent employment,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the high-level thematic debate on The State of the World Economy and Finance and its Impact on Development, held on 17 May. “It is time to recognize that human capital and natural capital are every bit as important as financial capital,” he added.
The event lasted two days and was organised around four thematic roundtable discussions, each focusing on different issues, such as combating unemployment, debt sustainability and managing inflation, improving trade and investment, and increasing transparency and predictability in the financial sector. It was organised to attract heads of governments, finance ministers, as well as heads of organizations, regional and central banks, so that they can share experience and offer views on ways to resolve the economic crisis and improve global financial situation. Set up as an informal setting, the high-level debate encouraged a lively exchange of differing ideas on global economic and financial issues. “Let us face the facts: the old model is broken. We need to create a new one – a new model for dynamic growth,” said Ban Ki-moon.
In his opening statement, Mr. Ban particularly emphasised the importance of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) to establish sustainable development goals that build on the Millennium Development Goals after 2015, and especially the framework for more sustainable consumption and production. “This is the moment for world leaders to rise above their differences; the moment to show political will and true global leadership. The choice is between the crises of yesterday – or the opportunities of tomorrow. This is a once-in-a-generation moment. Let us seize it.”, said Mr. Ban in conclusion of his remarks.
Among the speakers at the event were the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso; the President of Columbia University, Joseph Stiglitz; Paul Volcker, the former head of the United States Federal Reserve; Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al-Madani, President, Islamic Development Bank; Haruhiko Kuroda, President, Asia Development Bank, and the Deputy Secretary-General of OECD, Rintaro Tamaki.
It has become something of a given that significant new national or international issues that are addressed by government must include a component of multi-stakeholder involvement. That multi-stakeholder model was invented at the United Nations’ 1992 ‘Earth Summit’ and formalized in Agenda 21. For Rio+20, Major Groups have been invited to present general policy inputs for the “zero draft” document.
Major Groups included a vast number of non-governmental actors whose input was becoming increasingly critical in defining policies and mechanisms related to sustainable development issues.
Each major group was given its own chapter in Agenda 21 defining its role, areas of influence, obstacles and responsibilities in achieving sustainable social patterns. Those roles could involve being consumers of resources, producers, innovators, communicators or role models who could pioneer new techniques and motivate others to move towards more sustainable practices.
A social dimension
One of the most visionary aspects of Agenda 21 and the 1992 Summit was the premise that, in addition to the environmental and economic dimensions that needed to achieve integration, a social dimension also needed to be addressed. Without access to adequate clean water, energy, nutrition, education, individual rights and information or participation in local democratic decision making, people around the world would not be able to focus on the longer term requirements of a sustainable future.
The understanding was that enabling every single sector to take action would not only benefit itself, but benefit the broader society as well. And it could help build public constituencies in favor of sustainability-friendly policies and programs that could motivate political leaders to act as well. In general, the “Major Groups” approach has proven to be a functional and definitely useful example of wide-ranging civil society participation
Since 1992, these groups participated in each annual meeting of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), and in subsequent Review processes, such as the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. They attend many types of intergovernmental meetings and have opportunities to speak at most plenary meetings. They hold consultations with bureau representatives on process, and with governments on substantive issues. They receive official documents and distribute their own. They organize side-events and build coalitions through meeting among themselves.
A growing stakeholder’s involvement
Over the past two decades, similar models of multistakeholder involvement have been adopted by various UN agencies and programmes, and by other intergovernmental processes, if in less intensive forms, such as the World Bank, the IMF and the G20. There has been a broad movement toward increased stakeholder participation that has taken place at the local, sub-national and global governance levels – not to mention the growth of stakeholder consultations with business and industry.
The Rio+20 process has continued the involvement of the Agenda 21 major groups, and in some ways expanded it. This past November, for the first time in a General Assembly Conference-level negotiation, the accredited major groups organizations were invited to present general policy inputs – at the same time as governments – to the planned Rio+20 ‘zero draft’ document. Nearly 500 organizations did so. And in February, the DESA Division of Sustainable Development accepted specific additional text comments to the emerging Conference draft document, and integrated them into an informal parallel document – brackets and all – so that interested governments could have easy access to those groups suggested positions.
Towards a Sustainable Development Council
Major groups generally hope that an acceptable way can be found to strengthen the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and to start the process toward the establishment of a Sustainable Development Council that would maintain and hopefully upgrade the active participation that they had in the Commission on Sustainable Development.
On the ‘green economy in the context of poverty eradication and sustainable development’, there is a significant range of opinions and concerns among major group organizations. Many organizations expressed concerns that this new notion could ‘water down’ the unanimously agreed principles of sustainable development, in a way that could result in regarding natural resources merely as commodities, and would open the door to any business using ‘green’ terminology without meaning.
Most major groups will be trying to communicate to the public that a sustainable future is possible; that there are a large number of proven, effective programmes and technologies already at work; and that sustainable societies would provide affordable, achievable and attractive communities to live in.
Major groups all agree on one point: the success at Rio+20 is essential.
The author of this article, Michael Strauss, has been involved with media relations for Major Groups over the last two decades.
Where data exist, they show that levels of hunger and malnutrition among indigenous peoples are much higher than among the non-indigenous population. Indigenous peoples and their right to food and food sovereignty will be one of the focus of the Eleventh Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), to be held at UN Headquarters in New York from 7 to 18 May 2012.
Understanding what the right to food means to indigenous peoples goes beyond merely examining statistics on hunger, malnutrition or poverty. It encompasses indigenous peoples’ own particular conceptions of food, hunger, and subsistence. It has to be understood as a collective right, where food procurement and consumption of food are part of culture, as well as of social, economic and political organization. In addition, subsistence activities such as hunting, fishing and gathering are essential not only to their right to food, but to nurturing their cultures, languages, social life and identity.
The few available data on indigenous peoples’ nutrition shows that inappropriate development efforts often intensify the marginalization, poverty and food insecurity of indigenous peoples. Addressing the lack of disaggregated data on the situation of indigenous peoples, including on the extent if hunger and malnutrition, has been indicated as a key priority by the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues.
Traditional food jeopardized
The realization of indigenous peoples’ right to food depends crucially on their access to and control over the natural resources in the land and territories they occupy or use. Industrial development, especially mining and logging, as well as urban sprawl have polluted land, water and air. The creation of reserves, national parks, private lands and over-fishing have further reduced the areas and resources available to indigenous hunters, fishers and gatherers. Changing environmental conditions due to climate change that jeopardize traditional food species further exacerbate food insecurity.
Recent practices violating indigenous peoples’ intellectual property rights – such as “bioprospecting” or “biopiracy” – pose a threat to indigenous peoples’ genetic resources and traditional knowledge. Indigenous peoples want to be consulted about the ways their knowledge is used, and to equitably share in any benefits.
Food as a social indicator of existence
Over the years indigenous peoples have expressed deep concerns over the obstacles and challenges their communities face in fully enjoying their right to food. Indigenous peoples have urged the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food to address these issues as a separate question to his work. The Declaration of Atitlán drafted at the First Indigenous Peoples’ Global Consultation on the Right to Food in April 2002 in Guatemala stated that the denial of the Right to Food for Indigenous Peoples is a denial of their collective indigenous existence, because it not only denies their physical survival, but also their social organization, cultures, traditions, languages, spirituality, sovereignty, and total identity.
The Population Division of UN DESA launched on 5 April the 2011 Revision of the World Urbanization Prospects. “Urban areas are expected to absorb all future population growth between 2011 and 2050. They will effectively have to cope with the equivalent of the world population of 1950 by the year 2050″, said Mr. Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development.
While the world population is expected to increase by 2.3 billion, the population living in urban areas is projected to gain 2.6 billion, representing the entire future population growth and even drawing some rural population into urban areas.
“We need to focus on the absolute numbers instead of growth percentages. Why? Because people drink water, not percentages. People need sewage systems. People need housing. It is absolute numbers that count in many aspects” said Mr. Gerhard Heilig, Chief of the Population Estimates and Projections Section. Because of the expected increase in urban population, a lot of new infrastructure will have to be built, just to keep up with the growth rates.
According to the Report, five out of every six new urban residents will be either in Asia or in Africa, where the growth is expected to be the greatest. Special focus should be put on the mega-cities of 10 million inhabitants or more, where evidence shows most rapid growth. While in the 1970s, there were only two such cities; in 1990, there were already ten. Today, there are 23 mega-cities, and in 2025, we expect to have 37. There seems to be a process of urban concentration: cities with more than 1 million inhabitants will increase their share of the urban population, while cities with less than 1 million inhabitants will have a declining share of the urban population of the world.
The significance of the 2011 Revision of the World Urbanization Prospects is largely due to the availability of the new census data. While the previous 2009 revision relied on data from the 2000 census, the 2011 revision relies on information collected from the 2010 census, allowing for more accurate projections.
March was a milestone in the countdown to Rio+20 while we crossed the cape and threshold of 100 days before the Conference. This is also when negotiations have really intensified on the Zero Draft of the Rio+20 Outcome Document released in January, based on 6000 pages of input from various stakeholders.
Rio+20 Secretary-General Sha Zukang went to Brazil in early March to discuss logistical and substantive aspects with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Environment and other officials involved with the Rio+20 preparation. He addressed the Senate and the Brazilian Commission for Rio+20 (set-up to coordinate the conference in the Host Country). In a statement, Mr. Sha summarized his expectations for the Rio+20’s successful outcomes in June:
“We hope over 120 heads of State and Government will attend.
We hope the Conference will adopt a focused political document, building on the Rio Principles, Agenda 21 and Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.
We hope to see specific commitments and initiatives for achieving coherence, integration, but in particular implementation. Rio+20 will define the action and implementation agenda for the next 10 or 20 years.
We hope to see innovative partnerships launched by Member States, the UN system, business and other sectors of civil society.”
Later in March, the Zero Draft was negotiated in detail at the United Nations Headquarters by Government representatives with the participation of the Major Groups (totaling over a thousand stakeholders). This marathon of talks began with a round of informal-informal consultations in the week of 19 March, and continued in the framework of the Third Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference on 26-27 March. A fairly high number of changes were proposed that significantly expanded the draft Rio+20 Outcome Document.
At the end of the session, Mr. Sha commended the participants: “Your dedication shows to the world how much you care about this conference, and about the opportunity it brings. There is no doubt that you want to make the best of Rio+20 and ensure that world leaders renew political commitment at Rio.” He mentioned upcoming challenges on the road to Rio: “Looking ahead, I am also keenly aware of the complexities of the negotiations yet to come. It will be an arduous process. The compilation text is long; the days of negotiations are limited.”
The next negotiating round will be held in New York from 23 April to 4 May. By then, meetings will be held with key country groupings in order to streamline the text.
In the next weeks, the communications campaign “The Future We Want” will intensify and the Rio+20 website exceeded the milestone of one million visitors on 23 March.
Achieving effective outcomes in local public administration has become increasingly challenging due to ever more complex and unpredictable environment in which governments operate, often with insufficient resources. The focus of the eleventh annual session of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA) will be on local government strategies for more results-oriented public governance.
The goal of this session is to assist stakeholders developing public service capacity building for local-level development, as well as increase transparency, accountability and citizens’ engagement. In the second year of its multi-year agenda of “Public Governance for Results”, the theme of this session is “Local public governance and administration for results”. It will be held from 16-20 April 2012.
Intergovernmental Governance and Regimes
What must be met in order to make the most of representative democracy at the local level? A report by Jan Ziekow, a member of CEPA, indicates that “the position of representative democracy at the local level is, in this respect, more difficult than representation at the national level. At such higher levels, interconnections and interdependencies are not as closely knit as for local representatives. The status given to representative democracy at the local level in a particular national context depends very much on culture, tradition, values, social structure, and legal and administration systems and thus it varies greatly.”
The report suggests that a careful balance of the competencies of local authorities and administrations together with a carefully balanced decoupling of local councils from state institutions grants legitimacy, financial power and autonomous self-government to municipalities. It also suggests that a representative democracy that relies solely on institutions legitimized by elections is under constant pressure of proving its legitimacy.
Public Service Capacity Building for Local-level Development
A case study of the Singapore Public Service reveals that “Singapore faced dire economic challenges at its birth as an independent State. The city-State lacked a hinterland it could exploit, and its historical role as an entrepôt was being threatened by its neighbours’ nationalistic economic policies. The country needed to create jobs. Given those challenges, it is understandable that the foremost priority of the Singapore Public Service was to pursue economic growth for the nation.
The Public Service indubitably achieved its mission. Per capita income trebled between 1965 and 1977. By the mid-1970s, the problem of high unemployment had transformed into the challenge of full employment. Singapore is, today, globally renowned for being a wealthy city-State with an excellent public education system, efficient public transport, safe streets and a highly capable and honest bureaucracy.”
Singapore managed to do this by basing their approach to governance on six principles: pragmatism, the avoidance of welfarism, constant re-evaluation, holistic approach to government, honesty, and development of human capital in the public sector.
Transparency, Accountability, and Citizens’ Engagement
Economics is no longer the sole factor to be considered in measuring progress towards development: “This twenty-first century has seen something that is genuinely new: the globalization of values. There is a growing awareness that the problems are global and that on issues such as drinking water, environment, non-renewable resources, endemic diseases, climate change, biotechnologies and health and food security, all countries are affected and the solutions require new forms of worldwide coordination,” argues Ms. Oyhanarte in her report.
“Major development assistance decisions are still based primarily on macroeconomics, but national per capita production is no longer the sole factor to be considered in measuring progress towards development.”
Citizen’s engagement – orderly, concerted action by individuals and organizations – is considered to be one of the best local development management tools. However, to be effective, transparency and access to information have to be in place.
The knowledge of good practices in transparency and citizen’s engagement can be used as a model for the development of joint management and multi-stakeholder partnerships. This creates a network of stakeholders and has a positive impact on the drafting of a public agenda that gives priority to the MDG’s post 2015.
As part of the preparatory process for the 2012 Annual Ministerial Review (AMR), The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) organised an exclusive event on 27 February 2012 in New York: “Breaking new ground: Partnerships for more and better jobs for young people”. “Youth joblessness leaves a deep scar that persists well into middle age. It is time for policy makers to become more focused on the structures that perpetuate unemployment.
Governments must open up labour markets that lock out younger workers. They should also strengthen human capital, in particular through education. We don’t have a moment to lose. We have a world to gain.”, said Deputy Secretary-General, Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro, in her opening remarks at the ECOSOC exclusive event, organised in cooperation with the International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP) and the United Nations Global Compact.
After an opening plenary, two leadership dialogues took place, on “Innovations in promoting youth employment” and “Building new business models for youth employment”.
The goal of this session was to strengthen the partnership between governments, the private sector and the philanthropic community in advancing youth employment and decent work. The themes explored included issues affecting policy setting for youth employment and innovations for promoting youth employment. The outcome of the deliberations will be submitted to the United Nations Member States during the Economic and Social Council’s High-level session in July 2012.
The world is counting down to one of the most important events of our times, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development. “Rio+20 needs to show how we can move faster towards sustainable development, before it is too late”, says Rio+20 Secretary-General Sha Zukang in an exclusive interview for DESA News. “My message is: come to Rio ready to commit.”
World leaders and stakeholders of the nine Major Groups will gather in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro on 20-22 June with the ultimate goal of securing a sustainable future for our shared planet. Leading the preparations for this milestone event is Sha Zukang, who is also UN DESA’s Under-Secretary-General. In the midst of intense preparations, he shares his visions and hopes for the conference and the remaining work leading up to it.
With less than 16 weeks to Rio+20, what is your message to different stakeholders around the world preparing for this historic conference?
“As noted by the Secretary-General, we need to make Rio+20 a great advance for human well-being. How is this done? By delivering actions, not more words. Rio + 20 needs to show how we can move faster towards sustainable development, before it is too late. It needs to secure strong political commitment at the highest levels of government and among all sectors of business and civil society, and re-energize the global partnership for sustainable development. My message is: come to Rio ready to commit. I encourage Major Groups and other stakeholders to announce at Rio+20 over one thousand new voluntary commitments for a sustainable future.”
There are a few preparatory meetings prior to the Conference, what do these sessions need to accomplish for a successful Rio+20?
“These sessions need to achieve convergence on all elements of the zero draft of the outcome document so that heads of state and government can adopt it at Rio+20. The outcome document must provide a clear direction to guide action for sustainable development. The convergence of views needs to provide clarity on such issues as sustainable development goals, a sustainable development council, the strengthening of UNEP and a road map for the green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication.”
Were you pleased with the zero draft of the outcome document and do you think it will serve as a catalyst for a successful conference?
“I am pleased with the zero draft document that the Co-Chairs have shared with Member States. It is a balanced text that seeks to take into account the diversity of views expressed in the more than six thousand pages of inputs from Member States, Major Groups, international organizations and other stakeholders. The zero draft represents the middle ground on which an ambitious outcome document can be built. I am encouraging all parties to be bold and to push the envelope as far as politically feasible to deliver an outcome document that heads of state and government would be proud to come to Rio to support.”
We know that there are challenges ahead, but what are the main advantages the world has now in creating a sustainable future?
“It is not a question of advantages but of dire necessity. Sustainable development is not optional. Over one fifth of humanity is severely deprived, lacking basic goods and services, including food, water and energy. Yet, on the other hand, some 20 percent of the world population is consuming 80 per cent of the natural resources. Collectively, the seven billion people on Earth are consuming each year more than 1.3 times the natural resources than the Earth can replace. This unsustainable consumption pattern must stop. The future we want is a world free from these deprivations where humanity as a whole lives within the planetary boundaries of one Earth. The long term survival of humanity requires us to commit to a sustainable future at Rio+20 and to launch concrete actions and initiatives to take us there.”
What makes Rio+20 different from other major international conferences?
“The Secretary-General has called Rio+20 a once-in-a-generation opportunity. Indeed, this will be an international conference like none other before. We are expecting some fifty to sixty thousand people to come to Rio de Janeiro for the Conference. The main difference will be the sharp focus on renewing political commitments and on implementation. In addition, the Conference will be characterized by the size and the unprecedented and strong engagement of the Major Groups of society – the non-state actors whose role is fundamental in building the future we want.
Furthermore, Rio+20 will differ from UNCED in 1992 in that Major Groups are now a part of the official proceedings, intervening and taking part in round tables alongside Member States and international organizations. At Rio 1992, Major Groups were largely confined to a global forum for civil society in Flamengo Park. The large gap between non-state actors and Member States has now been largely bridged.”
What would you like to say to citizens around the world aspiring to contribute to a sustainable future for themselves and generations to come?
“The Rio+20 Conference concerns every woman, man and child on this planet and also those yet to be born. This is your Conference, even if you are not physically present in Rio. Join the global conversation. Connect with the Conference through social media and our website. Make your opinions known to your official delegations and to your favourite Major Groups organizations. Launch initiatives of your own for sustainable development, no matter how big or small. Pitch in to build the sustainable future we all want.”
High unemployment is the Achilles Heel of the recovery. In fact, most developing and transition economies are still seriously challenged by high unemployment – especially among the youth. These and other matters will be addressed by the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) at the annual meeting in New York on 12-16 March, chaired by Professor Frances Stewart.
Given the renewed economic volatility expected in the year to come and the persistent development challenges confronting the world economy, the main issues to be addressed by the fourteenth session of the Committee fall under the overall theme: “Confronting emerging development issues.”
Providing advice on critical matters
As a subsidiary body of the UN Economic and Social Council, the CDP provides independent advice on critical issues on the international development agenda. The Committee is also responsible for reviewing the list of least developed countries (LDCs) every three years. Comprised of a diverse group of experts, the 24 members on the Committee have been nominated by the UN Secretary General and appointed by the Council for a period of 3 years. At its plenary session, the CDP drafts its annual report which reflects its discussions on studies prepared by members with the assistance of the Secretariat. The report is then considered by the Council at its substantive session in July.
As a contribution to the Council’s deliberations on the implementation of the millennium development agenda, the 14th session of the CDP will analyze the promotion of productive capacity and the generation of employment (the topic of this year’s Annual Ministerial Review). It will also address the future of the international development agenda beyond 2015 and conduct the triennial review of the list of the LDCs.
Macroeconomics for development
In the Committee’s view, policy approaches of the recent years were based on an incomplete view of macroeconomic policies, which stressed nominal balances and paid limited attention to output and employment and to the real economy. Thus, nominal macroeconomics must be replaced by macroeconomics for development, with particular attention to counter-cyclical policies to minimize the volatility of growth. Effective sectoral policies are also necessary for the generation of decent jobs, the promotion of a dynamic structural transformation of the economy and for sustaining growth.
MDGs agenda beyond 2015
Exploring the UN’s future development agenda, the CDP argues that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have been the benchmark for global development policy since 2000. The current set of MDG targets will expire in 2015. Although progress has been made, many targets will not be met, while the MDGs do not incorporate some important objectives. A pertinent question then is what is the most effective way to take the MDG agenda forward after 2015? This is a political debate as well as a technical one. Thus, the Committee considers essential to take into account lessons from the past experience and to make recommendations for the future, which are not only helpful in charting future direction but also likely to be politically acceptable.
The triennial review
Finally, during the triennial review of the list of LDC, the Committee will consider which low-income countries would be eligible to join in the category and which countries currently in the list could be eligible for graduation. The LDC category was created due to the recognition of the need to alleviate the problems of underdevelopment of those developing countries that were persistently falling behind and to attract special international support measures for helping them to address those problems.
Graduation implies that LDC-specific support may no longer be available for countries that leave the list. Thus, as a follow up to the Fourth UN Conference on LDCs in Istanbul in May 2011, CDP will also review the existing transition mechanisms as specified in General Assembly resolution 59/209. The aim is to identify how existing provisions can be further strengthened and better monitored in order to facilitate a smooth transition from the category.
“Today we have the largest generation of young people the world has ever known. They are demanding their rights and a greater voice in economic and political life,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as the “World Youth Report”, published by UN DESA’s Division for Social Policy and Development, was launched on 6 February.
Entitled “Youth Employment: Youth Perspectives on the Pursuit of Decent Work in Changing Times”, the report gathered responses from over one thousand young people around the world in an extensive online survey. It reveals that the greatest concerns among youth are the quality and relevance of their education, job vulnerability, labour migration, delayed marriage, and the rural divide, as well as age, gender and racial discrimination.
The report also shows that youth are seeking to innovate in areas such as green technologies and communications. “Young people are, in general, more conscious of global issues like climate change and social equity. I think that promotion of green economies among youth is a winning solution,” says Michael, a 23-year-old and a member of the World Esperanto Youth Organization.
The Secretary-General also urges, “We need to pull the UN system together like never before to support a new social contract of job-rich economic growth. Let us start with young people”.
UN DESA’s Statistics Division plays a vital role in collecting and analyzing data from around the world. Leading this work is Professor Paul Cheung, known worldwide for his contributions to the development of official statistics. “Statistics are crucial to economic and social development,” he says in an interview for DESA News.
Professor Cheung, recognized for his pioneering research in the fields of manpower, population and social planning, highlights the importance of statistics and their contributions to global development. “It is clear that without solid information we cannot measure where we are and what needs to be done, with respect to the MDGs or in other domains. If the world cannot get the right numbers, it cannot come out with the right solutions,” he says. Professor Cheung moreover gives praise to official statisticians around the globe, spotlighting the fact that this community “has worked steadfastly in the past six decades in building a global statistical system that the world relies on.”
Thanks to the work of the Statistics Division, important data is being collected helping the world to make informed decisions. What do you see as the main challenges in the work gathering and analyzing data from around the world?
“Indeed, an informed policy debate should be supported and facilitated by timely, consistent and relevant data at all levels. For the international users of data, an important quality dimension has to be added: data have to be comparable across countries. This is achieved by the United Nations Statistical Commission who has the unique mandate to set international statistical standards and methodologies in the various statistical fields. Based on the international standards, countries from all over the world can then produce and submit reliable and comparable data to the United Nations Statistics Division. Just imagine if there was no common standard in the compilation of ‘national income’ or ‘Gross Domestic Product (GDP)’. We would have all kinds of economic data with no common assessment platform.
Since 1946, the United Nations Statistics Division has collected billions of data records from all around the globe. In this context, I want to pay tribute to the professional community of official statisticians around the globe. This community has worked steadfastly in the past six decades in building a global statistical system that the world relies on. “Service, Professionalism and Integrity” were the key themes of our first World Statistics Day celebrated on 20 October 2010 (twenty-ten-twenty-ten) in which over 140 countries participated with high-level events, involving some heads of states and government. We are proud to be part of this global statistical community and the very existence of this global professional statistical family, which transcends political, economic and cultural differences among countries and works hand-in-hand to build common standards and databases, is perhaps our biggest achievement of all.”
What do you think is the most important contribution of statistics in promoting global development?
“In his address on the occasion of the first World Statistics Day, the Secretary-General observed that ‘Statistics permeate modern life. They are the basis for many governmental, business and community decisions.’
Statistics are crucial to economic and social development. They serve as reference points in public debates and contribute to the progress of our nations. They are indispensable to academic research and the development of businesses and the civil society. Statistics ultimately serve everyone in society.
A good example of the contribution of statistics in global development relates to the Millennium Development Goals. When the MDGs were established after the adoption of the Millennium Declaration, specific goals and targets were established and statistical monitoring was urgently required to assess the pace with which the world is progressing towards the MDGS. The member states and international agencies have worked very hard and very closely together to develop and harmonize their statistical tools in order to provide the data for the monitoring. We are happy to report that, as a result of this joint effort, we are able to produce a yearly assessment of the MDG progress. We are now working towards the final assessment of the MDGs when it reaches the target year of 2015.
It is clear that without solid information we cannot measure where we are and what needs to be done, with respect to the MDGs or in other domains. If the world cannot get the right numbers, it cannot come out with the right solutions. This is why we are committed to participate actively in the discussion on the post-2015 development agenda, in order to advise policy decision makers on which targets are actually measurable and for which indicators data can reliably be produced.”
What do you hope the 43rd Session of the Statistical Commission will accomplish this year?
“The 43rd session of the Statistical Commission will be held from 28 February to 2 March 2012. We are again looking forward to strong participation from member states. As in past years, we expect about 140 countries to be represented by their experts from the capital, making the Statistical Commission a truly global forum on official statistics. It has been said before that ‘Official Statistics’ is an area where the United Nations truly works well. The normative work of the Commission over the past 65 years is an important example of how the United Nations Member States can effectively act in unison, especially at times where the ability of the international community to act together in other areas is sometimes limited.
As mentioned before the core business of the United Nations Statistical Commission is to adopt international methodological standards and guidelines in virtually every area of statistics. This year the Commission has again a busy programme with over 30 technical reports to look at. In particular, the Commission will look at the proposals for a new Framework on the Development of Environmental Statistics and for the System of Environmental and Economic Accounting, which are highly relevant in the context of the Rio+20 Summit. This Commission session will also review the lessons learnt from the 2010 census round, where as of 1 January 2012, 180 countries and areas have conducted a census, enumerating 87 per cent of the world population. Censuses have helped countries collect enormous amounts of demographic and social data. Moreover, the Commission will address the issue of how coordination in statistics within the UN System can be improved further. Finally, given its overwhelming success, it is also expected that the Commission will approve a five-year cycle for the celebration of World Statistics Day.”
There will be a high-level forum on “Measuring the Unmeasurable: Challenging the Limits of Official Statistics” on 27 February. Can you highlight some examples of the “unmeasurable” and how your division tries to tackle these challenges?
“In order to remain relevant in a rapidly changing world, the statistical community has to continuously examine and push its own boundaries. Phenomena, which are not easily measurable today, may become important tomorrow, so we have to be prepared. In the past years it has become customary to explore ‘cutting edge’ issues in the format of a ‘high level forum’, which allows brainstorming and free-flowing exchange. In these discussions, we have to balance the desire to explore new ideas which may require new measurement tools and the need to preserve the credibility and reputation of official statistics.
This year’s event will focus on issues such as the measurement of happiness, well-being and ecosystem services and other difficult concepts. These are complicated topics with no clear measurement yardsticks. How to take the complex interaction between the environment and the economy into account and how to capture the level of well being in a country, which may include a high degree of subjectivity, will be discussed among the chief statisticians of the world.”
Last year, the Statistics Division arranged many seminars and workshops around the world focusing on a variety of issues including statistics on the MDGs, energy, environment and on population and housing censuses. Can you describe this type of work?
“Capacity building is a fundamental pillar of the work of our Division. In 2011 alone, more than 2600 official statisticians around the world participated in one of our events (conferences, expert groups, workshops and fellowship programmes). Specifically, over 35 training workshops and seminars were organized in the developing countries to assist the countries to gain the requisite knowledge. In this effort we always work closely with member states and with our partners in the international statistical agencies. To give an example of such cooperation, we launched in 2011 the China International Statistical Training Center which operates in collaboration with ‘UN Statistics’. Through this center, we have organized 8 international training activities. More are being planned.
Through our training activities, we are able to understand the needs of national statistical systems and how they are performing. This will allow us to direct more resources to those countries in need. In 2011, the global statistical community has adopted a Busan Plan of Action on Statistical development at the High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness. In this document, we highlighted the areas that would require greater injection of resources as we bring the global statistical system forward. We will be working with the development partners in implementing this Plan of Action. The UN Statistical Commission will discuss this Plan of Action in its forthcoming session.”
A new UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (GGIM) was created and inaugurated last year. Are there any special events or projects that the Committee will focus on during the coming year?
“The resolution of the UN Economic and Social Council to create a UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management came at a time when few new bodies are being created. This bold decision reflects the Council’s conviction that promoting greater and wider use of geospatial information globally is essential, especially in a context where we are discussing how to manage the resources on this planet responsibly.
The Committee, which will hold its second formal meeting in August 2012 in New York, is in the process for formulating its priorities and deciding on its work plan for the coming years. The setting of global standards on geospatial information, the evolution of an ethical statement on the production and use of geospatial information, and the pooling of information and platforms are clearly the main issues to be tackled. As new technologies have deeply transformed the availability and accessibility of geospatial information and its potential uses, we are working very closely on these issues with our partners in the international organizations and in the private sector. A second high-level forum on GGIM, to be hosted by the Government of Qatar in Doha, is now planned for 4-6 February 2013. This Forum will bring together all the stakeholders in an inclusive fashion to discuss the priority issues facing the geospatial information community before they are being formally addressed by the inter-governmental Committee.”
As the global economy remains fragile at the outset of 2012, the need to eradicate extreme poverty is clearer than ever. UN DESA renews its commitment to work with stakeholders to promote sustained, inclusive and equitable growth, and reach the Millennium Development Goal of halving extreme poverty by 2015.
Heralded at the 1995 World Summit for Social Development, poverty eradication continues to be an overarching objective of national and international development efforts. There has been significant success in recent decades in reducing poverty. In 1980, for example, 1.5 billion people were living below $1 per day; by 2005, the number had been cut to 850 million.
However, there is still more that needs to be done. Rising income inequality, worsening environmental conditions, poor job creation and weakening social stability all pose serious and ongoing challenges to accelerating poverty eradication. Moreover, the financial crisis, volatility of energy and food prices, climate change and loss of biodiversity has increased vulnerabilities and inequalities, particularly in developing countries.
Adopting action-oriented recommendations
To help address these critical issues and kick-off the development efforts slated for this year, the Commission for Social Development (CSD) will convene in New York for its fiftieth session from 1-10 February, focusing on the priority theme “Poverty Eradication”. The Session will be chaired by His Excellency Mr. Jorge Valero (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela) with expected participation of 46 Member States and accredited NGOs.
Taking into account poverty’s interrelationship with social integration, full employment and decent work for all, the session will complete the biennial cycle by adopting action-oriented policy recommendations on poverty eradication. The work of the Commission is expected to focus on the structural barriers to poverty eradication. This focus is seen as an effective means of ensuring that proposed policy guidance emphasizes inclusive growth, building up the asset base of the poor, and opening up social and economic opportunities for large numbers of people, in particular the most disadvantaged.
Creating jobs, reducing inequalities and providing social protection
In concert with ECOSOC resolution 2010/10, the promotion of macroeconomic and social policies which focus on creating jobs, reducing inequalities and providing social protection, are expected to be part of the discussion. Investing in agriculture, rural development and climate change adaptation and mitigation measures are also elements expected to be addressed in the discussions.
The scale of investment required to eradicate poverty exceeds the capacity of Governments, civil society organizations or the private sector working alone. Discussions in the session are also expected to address truly transformational public-private partnerships in the formulation and implementation of development programmes.
Addressing youth poverty and unemployment
In conjunction with the primary theme, the Commission will also discuss the emergent issue on youth poverty and unemployment, underscored at the World Summit for Social Development and the Twenty-fourth Special Session of the General Assembly. Young people between 15 and 24 years of age, particularly from developing countries, are not only disproportionately affected by unemployment over the past decades, but are now faced with an onslaught of difficulties as a consequence of the financial crisis. Unemployment among disadvantaged youth, young women, indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities perpetuates a vicious cycle of poverty and social exclusion.
Poverty eradication is the centerpiece of sustainable development
The anti-poverty objectives and expected outcomes of the fiftieth session will make a significant contribution towards this year’s events dedicated to the International Year of Sustainable Energy, culminating in the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, in June 2012. In the closing remarks of the 2nd Intersessional Meeting for Rio+20 in December 2011, DESA’s Under-Secretary-General and the Secretary-General for Rio+20, Mr. Sha Zukang, encouraged, “Our minimalist ambition at Rio+20 should be to eradicate poverty. This should be a centerpiece of our efforts to achieve sustainable development. To start with, this will require that stability and inclusive growth be restored to the global economy.”
“While some nations escape the poverty-trap, many more desperately need help. In 2012, ECOSOC must therefore carve out its niche as the forum for frank, free-flowing discourse on development cooperation,” said H.E. Mr. Miloš Koterec, its newly elected President at the handover ceremony on 10 January in New York.
Mr. Koterec also gave an overview of what ECOSOC would be focusing on in 2012. “As we look ahead, two other themes will surely compete for the Council’s attention in 2012: sustainable development and the post-2015 development architecture. What have we learned from our past endeavors? At the last Rio summit, we dreamed big. This time around, ambitions may be more modest. If Rio+20 is to make the right impact, it must instead set its sights on changing the terms of debate — from neutralizing human influence on the planet to better managing and mitigating its impact.”
He also discussed ECOSOC’s role in shaping the post-2015 development framework. Influencing requires “visionary thinking: setting, not following the agenda; retaining the best aspects of the Millennium Development Goals, like for example simplicity and time-bound targets while adopting a sharpened focus on outcomes and delivery.” For which he concluded, “the Council is well positioned at the heart of the action.”
As the International Year of Forests 2011 draws to a close in February 2012, the Director of UN Forum on Forest Secretariat, Ms. Jan L. McAlpine, shares her thoughts about an eventful year. Thanks to the year, she says a clear message has been conveyed that “all 7 billion people on earth have their economic, spiritual and physical health tied to forests.”
In an interview with DESA News, Ms. McAlpine, who leads the work of the UN Forum on Forests Secretariat, talks about the highlights of the year and the work of the Secretariat promoting the management, conservation and sustainable development of forests around the world. She underscores “that people play a critical role in ensuring the well being of the forests that sustain us everyday,” and the need for a cross-sectoral and cross-institutional strategy to achieve sustainable development.
When you look back at the International Year of Forests, are you pleased with the year and how the importance of forests has been showcased?
“The International Year of Forests (Forests 2011) is truly a testament to the rising visibility of forests in global policy discussions. Increased awareness of our relationship to forests and trees is reshaping the landscape at the policy level and in the public consciousness. I am most grateful for the support given to the Year by Mr. Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, who has pointed out the importance of using Forests 2011 to turn interest in forests into action.
Throughout history forests have had a direct impact on the lives of forest-dependent communities, but the Year has sent a clear message that we can no longer ignore: all 7 billion people on earth have their economic, spiritual and physical health tied to forests.
Forests provide livelihoods to more than a quarter of the earth’s population, home for 300 million people around the world and account for a third of wood and non-wood products. Where forests are sustainably managed and utilized, they can contribute significantly to alleviating poverty and creating forest-based enterprises and services.
I often like to point out that forests are a cornerstone of the entire landscape, including wetlands, agriculture, mountains, drylands, rivers, biodiversity and people. In order to achieve sustainable development, we need to utilize an approach which integrates these diverse parts of the landscape in a cross-sectoral, cross-institutional strategy.”
Do you have any personal highlights from the year that you would like to share?
“Inspiring projects celebrating the Year have come from UN Member States from all corners of the world, driving actions from policy makers to consumers, NGOs, civil society, businesses, youth, and scientific community to promote sustainable forest management.
One inspiring initiative that stands out as a true highlight is Rwanda’s announcement at the launch of Forests 2011, of its plan for achieving border-to-border landscape restoration. Speaking as an official emissary of President Paul Kagame, H.E. Mr. Stanislas Kamanzi, Minister of Environment and Lands, Rwanda, announced Rwanda’s commitment to achieving country-wide restoration over the next 25 years.
We’re talking about restoration of degraded soil, water, land and forest resources in small central African country whose environment and people were devastated by civil war in the 1990s. By the year 2015, Rwanda and its partners, which include the UNFF Secretariat, IUCN and GEF, will have designed a plan to achieve sustainable agricultural production, low carbon economic development, adequate water and energy supplies and new opportunities for rural livelihoods. Such a bold commitment to reverse deforestation and forest degradation will no doubt inspire surrounding countries to follow suit.
Another personal highlight was the unprecedented collaborative spirit that made this year a truly collective effort. The year would not have been possible without the efforts and support of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF).
What kind of message do you hope that people around the world will carry with them as a result of the International Year of Forests?
“The most important message that anyone can take away from Forests 2011 is that people play a critical role in ensuring the well being of the forests that sustain us everyday, from the freshwater we drink, to the clean air that we breathe. Forests are a mirror of evolving human needs, one that is dynamic and ever-changing. While we often use statistics to convey the magnitude of forests’ significance for humanity, the true value of forests will be understood in the context of the impact they have on the lives of real people. From mitigating climate change to providing medicine, homes, raw materials and ensuring the livelihoods of billions of people around the world, forests are at the center of our existence.”
In your travels this year, have you come across any forest initiatives that you would like to highlight as good practice?
“As I went around the world this year, I was repeatedly confronted with the dynamic relationship of people with their forests. Throughout the year we’ve been focusing on people as a great way to introduce environmental and social issues that brought to light the stories of indigenous peoples and forest dependent communities in places like the Democratic Republic of Cong, Indonesia and Sao Paulo, Brazil. These are the people who are most marginalized by the world economy. Forests act as a safety net for the rural poor, and thus play a key role in reducing poverty.
In May, I traveled to New Zealand for the Pacific forestry conference, ANZIF 2011, where I was honoured with a Maori welcome, followed by the official opening by Sir Tumu Te Heuheu, paramount chief of Ngati Tuwharetoa. It was a privilege to be the guest of the New Zealand government and Ngati Tuwharetoa in Rotorua, New Zealand. I got to see firsthand the way people integrated their cultural and spiritual beliefs into their lives, which epitomizes the concept of sustainable development. There, I saw a society that had defined and internalized this concept for hundreds of years.”
Both the International Forest Film Festival and you personally, have been recognized with prestigious awards. Can you share some more details about them?
“In September this year the German Forest Association presented me with the Fernow Award at a commemorative event in the historic town hall of Aachen. The award was in recognition of the work of the UNFF Secretariat and our activities related to the Year, as well my own three decades of work in environmental, trade and social issues. The award recognizes outstanding achievements in international forest issues and is reflective of the success of the Secretariat and the promising paradigm shift that we’ve facilitated on behalf of forests.
When Lisa Samford, Executive Director of Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival (JHWFF), and I conceived of the first ever International Forest Film Festival, we never anticipated the response we would receive: 165 film submissions from over 30 countries. It was with Samford’s creativity and the tremendous support of JHWFF that we were able to bring forest issues to a global audience through the powerful medium of film.
The winner of Best of Festival, “The Queen of Trees,” is one I always come back to when I consider my favorites. The film offers an intimate portrait of the symbiotic relationship between a sycamore fig tree and the fig wasp. It is a tale of sacrifice and rebirth from within the microcosm of a single tree, whose influence is felt throughout the African bush, impacting hundreds of other plant life, animals and people.”
I would also single out “Hope in a Changing Climate” about a barren landscape in China’s Loess Plateau that is brought back to life. The film has been instrumental in shaping the way people think about their role in land management and its benefits.
On 5 June, the International Forest Film Festival was awarded the International Association for Environmental Communication’s (AICA) prize in the category “Communicating with citizens improves the environment.” I was invited to CinemAmbiente, Europe’s leading environmental film festival, to accept the prize which was previously awarded to Participant Production for Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”
There is also an ongoing art contest for children carried out in partnership with the Gabarron Foundation, what are your hopes with these efforts?
“Our Secretariat’s collaboration with the Gabarron Foundation and Queen Sofia’s Children’s Art Museum in Spain for the 2011 International Children’s Art Contest is a unique opportunity to communicate a message of hope for forests, by looking at them through the eyes of children. The theme is “Celebrate the Forests,” and we believe that art, and especially children’s art, is an important medium to reflect this vision.
The artwork from this contest will undoubtedly help to inspire children and adults alike to conserve forests for present and future generations. Winners will be announced in February 2012.”
Can you tell us a little bit about the Forest Heroes Programme and Awards?
“From an oyster fisherman’s discovery of the positive role of forests in maintaining clean water for his oyster beds to two young girl scouts mounting a campaign that requires the source of palm oil for girl-scout cookies be only from sustainable sources, global actions have reshaped the way we think about forests.
The International Year of Forests is all about people’s actions to present the bigger picture of what forests have to offer. We launched the first International Forest Heroes Programme and Awards to identify and honor the countless individuals, who are dedicating their lives to nurturing forests in quiet and distinctly heroic ways.
The Secretariat received ninety nominations from forty-one different countries across five geographic regions: Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and North America. Fifteen finalists were short-listed for the for the award, and five winners – one from each region – will be announced at the International Year of Forests 2011 closing ceremony in February 2012 at UN Headquarters in NY.”
When working to promote the management, conservation and sustainable development of forests around the world; what do you find rewarding and where do you see main challenges? What are your hopes for the future of forests and is there any message that you would like to convey to UN Member States?
“One of the key challenges is figuring out how to integrate poverty alleviation and food security in the way we treat policy and address issues on forests. You’ve probably heard us state, on several occasions, the overwhelming fact: 1.6 billion people rely on forests for their livelihoods, food and multitude of wood and non-wood products they provide. We are constantly rediscovering the extent to which forests contribute to national development, poverty reduction and food security. What is missing is a cross-sectoral, 360 degree perspective on forests, one that factors in the simple truth that forest priorities will always come down to the crucial relationship between forests and people.
Strategies to enhance the contributions of the world’s forests to social development, livelihoods and poverty eradication are vital at a time when unsustainable practices and economic crises continue to threaten healthy forests and the people who depend upon them. Yet, sustainable forest management is not “one size fits all.” It is a multilayered and evolving concept, carried out through diverse methods and strategies. As the Year comes to a close, the challenge will be to go beyond business as usual and develop a plan of action for a sustainable future for all.”
About the UN Forum on Forest Secretariat
The UNFF Secretariat is a world body with a facilitative and catalyzing role in engaging and strengthening cross-sectoral linkages with various partners within the UN system, and outside. Since its creation in 2000, the UNFF has promoted a 360-degree perspective of all things forests, recognizing the need to widen the debate on forests well beyond the deforestation and aforestation, to a broader sense of its economic, environmental and social values.
On 17 January, the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2012 (WESP) will be launched in multi-city locations around the world. The first chapter of the report on the “Global economic outlook”, pre-released on 1 December 2011, reveals that persistent high unemployment, the euro area debt crisis and premature fiscal austerity have already slowed global growth and factor into the possibility of a new recession.
The forecast has been significantly downgraded compared to six months ago and predicts that the global economy will “muddle through” with the growth of world gross product (WGP) reaching 2.6 per cent in the baseline outlook for 2012 and 3.2 per cent for 2013, down from 4.0 per cent in 2010.
2012 is projected to be a make-or-break year in terms of proceeding with slow economic recovery or falling back into recession. “Failure of policymakers, especially those in Europe and the United States, to address the jobs crisis and prevent sovereign debt distress and financial sector fragility from escalating, poses the most acute risk for the global economy in the outlook for 2012-2013,” states the report.
“The developed economies are on the brink of a downward spiral enacted by four weaknesses that mutually reinforce each other: sovereign debt distress, fragile banking sectors, weak aggregate demand and policy paralysis caused by political gridlock and institutional deficiencies.”
Slower growth in developed countries affects developing countries
Developing countries and economies in transition are expected to continue to stoke the engine of the world economy, growing on average by 5.4 per cent in 2012 and 5.8 per cent in 2013. This is well below the pace of 7.1 per cent achieved in 2010. And even as economic ties among developing countries strengthen, they remain vulnerable to economic conditions in the developed economies. From the second quarter of 2011, economic growth in most developing countries and economies in transition started to slow notably.
Persistent high unemployment in the US at a rate of more than 9 per cent and low wage growth are further holding back aggregate demand and, together with the prospect of prolonged depressed housing prices, this has heightened risks of a new wave of home foreclosures, especially in the US.
Growth in the euro zone has slowed considerably since the beginning of 2011 and the collapse in confidence displayed by a wide variety of leading indicators and measures of economic sentiment suggest a further slowing ahead. Even with an optimistic assumption that the debt crisis can be contained within a few countries, growth is expected to be only marginally positive in the euro area for 2012.
Japan was in another recession in the first half of 2011, caused largely, but not exclusively, by the disasters of the March earthquake. Among the major developing countries, growth in China and India is expected to remain robust, however. Brazil and Mexico are expected to suffer more visible economic slowdown. Low-income countries have experienced only a mild slowdown.
A 64 million jobs deficit
The rate of unemployment averaged 8.3 per cent in developed countries in 2011, still above the pre-crisis level of 5.8 per cent recorded in 2007. Almost 1/3 of the unemployed in developed countries had been without a job for more than one year, affecting about 15 million workers. Prolonged unemployment tends to have long-lasting detrimental impacts on both the affected workers and the economy at large, as skills of unemployed workers deteriorate, leading to lower earnings for affected individuals and lower productivity growth.
In developing countries, the employment recovery has been much stronger. For instance, unemployment rates are back to pre-crisis levels or below in most Asian developing countries and in Latin America employment has recovered in most countries. However, developing countries continue to face major challenges owing to the high shares of workers that are underemployed, poorly paid, have vulnerable job conditions and lack access to any form of social security. At the same time, open unemployment rates remain high, at well over 10 per cent in urban areas.
The UN estimates that there was an employment deficit of 64 million jobs worldwide in 2011. This is the number of jobs needed in order to restore pre-crisis employment levels and absorb the new labour entrants.
Fiscal austerity part of the problem
The harsh fiscal austerity measures implemented in developed countries and elsewhere in response to relatively high levels of fiscal deficit and public debt are further weakening growth and employment prospects, making fiscal adjustment and repairing financial sector balance sheets more challenging.
The sovereign debt crises in a number of European countries worsened in the second half of 2011 and further weakened the balance sheets of banks sitting on these assets. Even bold steps by the Governments of the euro zone countries to reach an orderly sovereign debt workout for Greece were met with continued financial market turbulence and heightened concerns of debt default in some of the larger economies in the euro zone; Italy in particular.
The possibility of failure of the bipartisan “supercommittee” of the US Congress to reach agreement on medium-term budget cuts was already contemplated in the baseline assumptions of the UN forecast. Downside risks have heightened, however, in particular what could happen with regard to two stimulus measures expiring on 1 January 2012, namely, the 2 per cent payroll tax cut and emergency unemployment benefits. If not extended, GDP growth in the US would slow further in 2012.
The EU and the US form the two largest economies in the world and they are deeply intertwined. Their problems could easily feed into each other and spread into another global recession. Developing countries, which had rebounded strongly from the global recession of 2009, would be hit through trade and financial channels.
More vigorous, concerted policy responses needed
Existing national policies and the Cannes Action Plan of the G20 do not add up to a scenario of stronger employment growth and do not sufficiently address the downside risks.
The WESP calls on developed country governments not to embark prematurely on fiscal austerity policies given the still fragile state of the recovery and prevailing high levels of unemployment. Even with high levels of public indebtedness, many countries still enjoy very low borrowing costs and have fiscal space left for additional fiscal stimulus.
The report further recommends more forceful international coordination of additional stimulus measures across countries and refocused policies to stimulate more direct job creation and investment in infrastructure, energy efficiency and sustainable energy supply, and food security, paving the way for unwinding indebtedness and enacting needed structural reforms over the medium run.
Read the first chapter of WESP 2012 on the “Global economic outlook”, pre-released on 1 December 2011:
“Raise your voices, share your ideas, and reach for your goals. They are our goals too. Together we can realize them,” said Deputy Secretary-General Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro, calling on the international community of persons with disabilities as the international day was officially commemorated in New York on 2 December.
The theme for the day was “Together for a better world for all: Including persons with disabilities in development” and the Director of UN DESA’s Division for Social Policy and Development, Daniela Bas urged, “To ensure people with disabilities do not remain invisible, we must strengthen the foundation of development policies at all levels.”
The event featured a vocal performance by students from the New York Institute for Special Education, two panel discussions on the themes “Towards inclusive development: improving data and statistics on disability” and “Mainstreaming disability in the global development agenda: experience in other development issues”, and the United Nations Enable Film Festival.
“Sustainable development is not a luxury, it is an imperative,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at the launch of the UN campaign for Rio+20 on 22 November featuring a global conversation on the future we want. The campaign aims at engaging people to contribute ideas for new visions of a sustainable future.
“Opportunities like Rio+20 do not come along often,” the Secretary-General further stated. “The Rio+20 conference offers us a unique chance to discuss the challenges which we face and the solutions we can pursue…. It’s a chance to visualize and plan for the future we want.”
The new campaign, Rio+20: The Future We Want, was launched to promote next June’s Rio+20 conference and the need for sustainable development by engaging people in a global conversation on the kind of communities they would like to live in twenty years from now.
The campaign will work through public participation to envision how societies in all parts of the world can build a future that promotes prosperity and improves people’s quality of life without further degrading our planet’s natural environment.
It aims to encourage people everywhere to engage in a global conversation that will be collected and melded into visions of the future to be exhibited in Rio de Janeiro at the conference. Rio+20 will bring together world leaders and thousands of participants representing all sectors of society, including academia, agriculture, business and industry, indigenous peoples, mayors and local authorities, non-governmental organizations, trade unions, women and youth.
“Rio+20 is our best chance to define pathways to a sustainable future,” said Rio+20 Secretary-General and DESA’s Under-Secretary-General Sha Zukang. “World leaders, along with thousands of participants from the private sector, NGOs and other groups, will come together to shape how we can reduce poverty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection on an ever more crowded planet.”
Mr. Sha also said that focusing on building green economies is especially important now, as the world faces a global economic crisis. “The green economy can help accelerate progress towards sustainable development and poverty eradication and re-orient public and private decision-making so that it reflects, and respects, natural capital.”
The UN also unveiled its new website – www.un.org/sustainablefuture – linking the Rio+20 Conference and The Future We Want project. The website also serves as a platform for informing the public about several key sustainable development issues, including cities, disasters, energy, food, jobs, oceans and water. A wide range of actions and results on these key issues will be presented at Rio+20.
“With today’s launch of Rio+20: The Future We Want, we are launching a global conversation about our future. Through this conversation, we are looking to engage people everywhere on what this future should look like, and what we need to do to realize this vision,” said Kiyo Akasaka, UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information.
“We need to do more to take sustainable development out of the realm of the abstract and make it real to people. We need to show, now more than ever, that it is possible to have development that generates prosperity for everyone and an improved quality of life while protecting our natural environment.”
For the campaign, the UN is working with a non-governmental organization, The Future We Want, to develop the exhibit for Rio. Through electronic and non-electronic formats, especially for those without Internet access, the project asks everyone to join the global conversation and voice their ideas for a better future. The online contributions, together with people’s videos, photos, letters, essays and drawings offering different perspectives on a sustainable future, will form the basis on the exhibit.
The Conference will take place in Rio de Janeiro on 20-22 June 2012.
Every year the UN honours winners of the UN Public Service Awards, highlighting excellence in public service delivery. In 2011, the Ministry of Public Administration of Mexico won first place for the Latin America and Caribbean region in two categories. DESA’s Division for Public Administration and Development Management, which administers the programme, interviewed Vice Minister Uriel Marquez Carrazco to discuss the winning initiatives.
The Ministry of Public Administration of Mexico won the first place in Category 1, “Preventing and Combating Corruption in the Public Service” for the initiative “The Guillotine of Administrative Regulations,” an innovative regulatory reform, and in Category 3, “Fostering Participation in Policy-Making Decisions through Innovative Mechanisms,” for the initiative “The Most Useless Bureaucratic Procedure Contest,” a programme to involve citizens in the identification of useless regulations, government transactions and red tape.
Vice Minister Marquez Carrazco travelled to the Awards Ceremony and Forum, which was held in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania, this past June. This interview will be the first in a series of interviews with winners of the Awards to highlight their winning cases and the impact of the UN Public Service Awards (UNSPA) programme at the national, regional and international levels.
How did you first hear about the UNPSA programme?
“Through the Internet, someone read about the programme and suggested that we apply to share our initiatives with others in the world.”
The winning cases were extraordinary in the number of regulations cut and procedures simplified, what can you tell us was the source or driving force behind them? What do you feel is unique about the programme?
“The objective of the regulatory reform is not only to cut redundant regulations, but actually to make it easier for the private sector to do business. The initiative was initiated in 2008, and it was incredibly important to implement this during the financial crisis, since too many regulations resulted in a high cost for administration and business operations. The President gave an order to simplify regulations to increase economic activity. As a result of this initiative we advanced 35 places in the World Bank index of doing business and many new jobs were created. Therefore, the ultimate goal of these initiatives is to improve internal government efficiency, but most importantly to have a greater impact on economic performance and social well-being.”
What difference does it make for the ordinary citizen that regulations have been simplified?
“With a decrease in the amount of administrative operations and amount spent, 60 million pesos saved from the reduction of expenses could be directed to yearly social transfers, as well as infrastructure and high-impact projects. Every three months, the administration deals with 40 million transactions. We had a 4 per cent increase in citizens’ satisfaction. According to Transparency International in Mexico, the measure of corruption in public administration has decreased by 30 per cent thanks to these initiatives. We conducted 29,000 interviews with citizens to check the quality of services, and the level of corruption reported was only 2 per cent, as well as very low levels of discrimination were reported. An example of just one improvement is the case of a child who is about 9 years old and has a critical health problem. In the past, due to cumbersome bureaucratic procedures, this child had to wait many days before he could get his medication, but thanks to the new system, which has been made available online, he can get his medication immediately and on a regular basis.”
Did your institution become more prone to innovation and did your institution promote other innovations?
“Public administration is leading the improvement of performance and it is responsible for 239 agencies in Mexico so it is a huge task. By winning this Award, we have been able to demonstrate to other government institutions that what we are doing at the federal level is very valuable because it has been recognized and is seen as a best practice by the UN. It has helped us to move from a bureaucratic culture to one that focuses on results. We are now able to teach other agencies that we must be innovative and that we can change for the better. Before the local agencies would not pay much attention to us, but after winning the Award, they respect us for our achievement and are willing to undertake innovative projects that improve the quality of life for our citizens. In fact, as a result of winning the Awards, there are 30 projects from Mexico that will be submitted for the 2012 UNPSA. Now when we convene meetings with the agencies, we write on the invitation: “Regulatory reform in Mexico, best practice as recognized by the United Nations Awards.” This gives us a lot of credibility.”
Did it enhance the morale of civil servants and thus encourage a positive environment for change?
“Yes, of course. Everything is about developing a people-minded organizational culture and about changing people’s mindsets. We can now ask civil servants to work hard because we have shown that our work has had a very high impact on the society and economy. We are now moving towards integrating 155 procedures to open a business and have a one-stop-shop for that. Another initiative is the integration of scholarships in one portal. One million scholarships will be hosted in one website so that each student can register their preference, age and we will also avoid giving to the same person two scholarships.”
Has the United Nations Public Service Awards significantly contributed to increasing attention by outside partners and institutions to your innovation? Has your innovation been replicated in other parts of your country or abroad? Are you sharing your experience with others? If yes, where and when?
“Yes, at the beginning of the programme we did not get much attention at the local level, but the Award has helped us be even more effective locally. We have held 9 seminars with different states where we have invited municipal employees to learn about how to improve procedures and services to the citizens. The State of Puebla and the State of Sonora have now adapted our initiative. We have supported them in this process. We are also sharing our achievements with other countries, including: the Dominican Republic, where 120 officials attended an event at which we presented what we did; two major events in Mexico City where we invited all countries from Latin America; a meeting with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) where we presented our initiatives, which will be included in the Observatory on Innovations that they are setting up; and at a meeting of the Center for Administrative Development in Latin America (CLAD). We will also be going in 2012 to Colombia, El Salvador and Costa Rica to share our experience.”
How did you feel when you found out your institution won? What crossed your mind?
“It was very emotional. I was head of unit with only 36 employees and we had a very hard task to improve the performance of 239 agencies. We had to work a lot for weeks and weeks, staying at work late at night to implement these initiatives and to fight a bureaucratic culture and encourage others to take risks. We were fortunate because we had support from the President and the Minister of Public Administration. Getting recognition was really very important because it did not only give a clear message on the significance of the initiatives, but also validated our hard work and acknowledged our efforts. After winning, our work has been much easier and now we have gained trust and we are sought after for help because people have respect for us.”
What was the best part, or two best things, you experienced going to the forum itself in Tanzania and receiving the Award? What did you learn?
“Societies face similar problems around the world, and it was inspiring to listen to other government officials from other countries, to learn from them, and to have the opportunity to share with others the energy and desire to constantly do better for the benefit of our citizens. It was indeed a great honour to be there.”
What is the future looking like for the programme?
“It is part of a strategic programme for improving government performance. The next steps are to implement different projects; more one-stop shop windows or portals for critical economic and social development services, the integration of inter-agency processes, particularly in health, social and economic development, and the use of e-government tools in areas such as infrastructure and disaster response initiatives. Our emphasis is that a problem must be solved by more than one agency, it’s an inter-agency process, and we need to encourage openness and cooperation.”
How has the award changed the lives of people there — and also your life, we learned that you have been promoted to the position of Vice-Minister?
“Prior to winning the Award I was Head of Unit of Policies for the Improvement of Public Management at the Ministry of Public Administration. So, I was very pleased when, upon my return from Tanzania, I was designated as Vice-Minister. Because I strongly believe in developing human resources at all levels, I proposed, after I was appointed Vice-Minister, that a number of my team members be promoted to higher levels. One of the staff in my team was appointed Vice-Minister of the State of Puebla to help replicate the initiative. Moreover, the Minister now takes into account our opinion on the achievements of civil servants working in the various agencies. In sum, we believe that this UN Public Service Awards programme is extremely important because it goes beyond the academic discourse and focuses squarely on how to solve the problems our societies are facing. Therefore, the Awards programme is instrumental for finding and sharing compelling solutions to common problems.”
INITIATIVES AT A GLANCE
The Ministry of Public Administration devised an innovative regulatory reform to reduce, standardize and simplify existing rules across the Federal Government with a view to improving public governance, curbing corruption, reducing administrative costs and increasing social transfers to vulnerable groups, as well as improving private sector competitiveness and promoting economic growth. As a result of this initiative, the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) has ranked the Mexican economy the second most competitive in Latin America. In addition, Mexico gained nine spots this year from its World Bank 2010 ranking to number 38th globally, placing Mexico as the best country to do business in Latin America. So far 15,688 regulations and 2,189 overlapping procedures/services have been eliminated. The initiative has produced significant savings of $4,500 million dollars in 2009 and $ 2,500 million dollars in 2010, which is equivalent to 10 per cent of the total administrative costs. There has been a 45 per cent reduction of regulations of the Federal Government; a 69 per cent reduction of regulations inside the government; a 28 per cent reduction of regulations applied to businesses and citizens.
In September 2008, the Federal Government of Mexico launched a contest to reward citizens who denounced the most absurd bureaucratic procedure they had faced and who proposed the best solutions to cut red tape and bribery. The submissions for the “most useless procedure/transaction” contest spin tales of lengthy lines; unfriendly bureaucrats; the elicitation of bribes and requirements lacking common sense. The innovativeness of this initiative rests in the fact that the government involved citizens in cutting red tape and curbing corruption. At the same time, the government began a series of reforms, including the elimination of unnecessary rules, placing limits on the issuance of new rules, granting limited exceptions in attempts to issue provisions, and providing assurance, through transparency, to citizens concerning such reforms. This involved generating quality standards, automation and integration of internal processes of all agencies with a vision centered on the citizen, across all areas. Based on a thorough assessment of the existing regulations, and procedures/services, 29 per cent of the total procedures/services were eliminated during phase one of the initiative. During the second phase, regulations were simplified and standardized. Every 3 months the administration reviews 300 procedures on quality of customer service, information, corruption index, installation access, discrimination and overall satisfaction. During the third phase, modern technologies were adopted to provide easy access to public services through automation, reengineering, and one shop window projects.
Cooperatives account for 100 million jobs worldwide and serve 1 billion members, putting people before profit. “Cooperatives contribute to food security, rural development, and other social services,” said General Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, as the International Year of Cooperatives was launched on 31 October.
Owned by people and democratically run, cooperatives improve livelihoods and strengthen economies worldwide. During 2012, their contribution to societies and development will be in the spotlight under the theme “Cooperative Enterprises Build a Better World“.
Sha Zukang, DESA’s Under-Secretary-General and Rio+20 Secretary-General, also highlighted their importance for the environment: “One of the two themes of Rio+20 is a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication. Cooperatives have an important role to play in the transition to a green economy. They offer a business model with comparative advantage in creating socially inclusive… and environmentally sound… economic practices,” he said.
The General Assembly’s Second Committee has many pressing issues to address this fall including poverty eradication, agriculture development and energy efficiency. A new agenda item on “People’s empowerment and a peace-centric development model” has also been introduced. DESA News spoke with Ambassador Abulkalam Abdul Momen, who leads this important work.
On 3 October, Ambassador Momen opened his first official meeting as the Chair of the Economic and Financial Committee, also known as the Second Committee. Pleased with the way the work has started and with a very optimistic outlook, Ambassador Momen shares his thoughts on the tasks ahead this fall. He highlights sustainable development and the Monterrey Consensus as some of the areas where he would like to see more consensus and talks about expected resolutions on price volatility, transition of landlocked countries and on coral reefs. He also gives praise to the Member States for their inventiveness when they addressed critical issues during the general debate.
The Committee addresses many important issues including macroeconomic policy questions, IT for development, food security and sustainable development; is there any matter that you see as more pressing and in need of more attention?
“We do discuss all of these issues. And in addition, we have a special focus this fall on the LDC-IV follow up and on Rio+20. There is also a new item this year on “People’s empowerment: A Peace model”. Critical for people’s empowerment is their participation in governance, to eliminate poverty and hunger and empower them with jobs and education. If we can empower people, they will be capable of making decisions that will bring lasting peace and prosperity. We will also need to include ‘the excluded’, to eliminate all forms of discrimination, provide education, enhance manpower development and to end terrorism in all forms.”
Are you pleased with the way the work of the Committee has started?
“Yes, I am very pleased with the work and it started smoothly due to very good consensus and understanding within the Bureau members and of course, the Secretariat.”
What did you think about the general debate and the issues addressed by Member States?
“I was very impressed. The representatives are addressing many relevant issues and I have also noted that they are coming up with new ideas and innovative ways to address critical issues and challenges, for example on the financing of LDC IV program of action and escalation of food prices.”
Are there any particular issues where you want to see more consensus among Member States?
“I would love to see more consensus, specifically on sustainable development. Creating a sustainable institutional framework would enable us to move forward in a cohesive way to achieving sustainable development goals through building blocks and bridges. The commitments that have been made over the years need to be materialized on the ground and these are the ‘building blocks’ essential for sustainable development. There has to be consensus on a holistic approach between the major pillars of sustainable development like (1) economic sustainability, (2) environmental sustainability and (3) social sustainability. Secondly, on the LDC-IV follow up, I want continuous monitoring and follow up. Thirdly, and long overdue, is a framework for monitoring and following up on the Monterrey Consensus.”
What do you see as the main challenges for the Committee and its work this session?
“Reaching consensus on the Monterrey framework, COP 17 and getting a legally binding agreement on climate issues. Transfer of technology is also a challenge and how we can pass this on from the private sector to the Least Developed Countries.”
Sustainable Development; promotion of new and renewable sources of energy; green economy – are all matters of high priority. Can we expect that the work of the Committee will help push these matters forward?
“We are working towards pushing these matters forward. We have many resolutions coming up including on price volatility, transition of landlocked countries, COP 17 and a new resolution on coral reefs. There will also be a new resolution on agricultural development and people’s empowerment. It is also interesting that we are working with ECOSOC on ‘brainstorming job-rich growth model for development’ and cyber crime prevention. This is the first time that the Second Committee and ECOSOC are jointly arranging a Special event on the ‘current global economic challenges’.”
Other important items before the Committee under “Sustainable Development” include “International Strategy for Disaster Reduction” and “Protection of global climate for present and future generations of humankind”; what outcomes can the international community hope for?
“I am always an optimist. I have no doubt that humanity can meet these challenges. We need to keep the general public aware of these issues. There are also some misconceptions about the scientific findings on climate change and a need to get the facts right. We will work more towards facing these challenges together and on raising public awareness.”
How will the Committee assist in the preparations for Rio+20?
“We are very much involved. The Committee works with others to minimize duplicity. We welcome the Secretary General’s High-powered panel on Global Sustainability and look forward to their recommendations and focus.”
How far have we come in implementing what was decided at the UN Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey 2002; and in Doha 2008 respectively?
“Much more is needed. These are critical issues. Other issues are lagging behind because of this. Without adequate, predictable and timely financing, many programs and goals will remain unimplemented. If we fail to implement, we may lose credibility. Implementation is very important. ”
There are a number of side events arranged by the Committee; can you highlight some of them?
“We are organizing Special events in six areas; (1) Alternative development strategies for job creation; (2) Financing for development; (3) The follow-up to the LDC IV Conference; (4) Peoples-empowerment: a Peace Model for sustainable development; (5) Food and energy security and energy efficiency; and (6) Means of implementation for sustainable development. We are also organizing together with ECOSOC a joint panel discussion for the first time in history on ‘Investing in productive capacities for job-rich growth’.
Although GDP growth rates in many countries are relatively comfortable and the profit margin for a few sectors, for example, in the USA is very lucrative, unfortunately not that many jobs are being created. We therefore want to have a brainstorming session on job-rich growth model. During the current economic and financial crises, one after another, many traditional global leaders and leaders of international financial institutions, however, remained rather quiet and they failed to come up with effective policy prescription either to enhance or regain global confidence or to guide them with a roadmap. Therefore, it created a vacuum and the UN and ECOSOC should come forward to take up these challenges and enhance global confidence. Secondly, without implementation of internationally agreed programs and goals on the ground, we cannot achieve goals neither can we enhance hopes and dreams of teeming millions. To implement programs and goals, in addition to leadership commitment and hard work, we need adequate, predictable and timely financing. As to how to get there, we are organizing these brainstorming events.”
Having served as the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN since 2009 and also as the President of the UNICEF Executive Board in 2010, Ambassador Momen has a diverse background within the economic and business fields with a Doctor’s degree from Northeastern University and three Master’s degrees from Harvard, Northeastern and Dhaka Universities besides a Law degree. He has chaired the Department of Economics and Business Administration at Framingham State University, served as Expert Economic Adviser to the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF), Ministry of Finance and National Economy, and held a number of positions within the Government of Bangladesh.
On 24 October, UN DESA officially launched its presence in social media. Pouring in from across the globe including India, Australia, Iran, Italy, USA and Sudan, the response has been very positive. “We are honored to work with you and know that only together can we truly change anything,” stated one NGO working to eradicate poverty through education. Another Facebook user in Nigeria commented, “this is simply good.”
Whether you want to browse the latest economic reports; access MDGs statistics; show your support for Rio+20; know more about the rights of persons with disabilities; youth employment; public service awards or where fertility peaks in the world, UN DESA is the online hub to visit.
Online users can now like UN DESA on Facebook, follow the work of the department on Twitter and access a wealth of information on the department’s Slideshare platform.
“We look forward to sharing our knowledge and our work with you in this new and interactive platform,” said Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary-General of the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), in a welcome message on UN DESA’s Facebook page.
With the ambition to raise awareness and showcase the expertise of its divisions, the launch was kicked-off with a 10-day special highlighting each of the teams within UN DESA that make this extensive work happen. This 10-day special will run through 4 November on Facebook and Twitter.
In the long term, the department hopes to add value to online communities, to facilitate knowledge transfer and exchange and to enable the world community to make informed decisions in the field of economic and social affairs.
So far, UN DESA’s social media presence has been appreciated by a variety of online communities from around the world. Since its launch, the group of people who have joined the department on Facebook, or are following UN DESA on Twitter, has increased considerably.
“Thank you for creating this community. I think it will prove to be a wonderful foundation,” said one of the new members of UN DESA’s online Facebook community.
“The economic challenges are great. And the policy frameworks responding to these economic challenges are not up to the mark. In fact, in many countries, they are going in the wrong direction,” said Joseph Stiglitz, recipient of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics as he briefed a meeting held by the Second Committee and ECOSOC on 24 October.
Professor Stiglitz shared his fairly pessimistic view about the global economy and he also explained some of the outcomes of the crisis. “One of the big changes that have emerged in the aftermath of the crisis is the recognition by the IMF that under certain circumstances capital controls are a good thing. A position that the UN has taken and that I took when I was at the World Bank a decade ago. Now it seems to have become part of the conventional wisdom,” he said.
“The global economic situation and sovereign debt crisis” was the theme of the meeting organized by DESA’s Development Policy Analysis Division and the Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination in cooperation with Project LINK –– Expert Group Meeting of DESA on the World Economy.
In just a few weeks, a baby who will be the 7 billionth inhabitant of planet Earth will be born. In view of this milestone, DESA News interviewed Hania Zlotnik, who heads UN DESA’s Population Division, the unit in charge of preparing the official UN population projections that provide the basis for estimating the day when the world population will cross the 7 billion mark.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is commemorating this event by leading the “7 Billion Actions” campaign which will culminate on “7 Billion Day” on 31 October. The campaign spotlights both the challenges and opportunities that the large current population of the world entails. The latter revolve around the 1.7 billion young people aged 15 to 29, whose energy and fresh ideas will contribute to shape the world’s future and the increasingly well trained population of women and girls whose opportunities for learning, working and having a say in their countries’ future are on the rise.
Behind the scenes, producing all the data on which the campaign relies, is the team of six demographers working for the Population Estimates and Projections Section of the Population Division. On 3 May, the Division released the 2010 Revision of World Population Prospects, whose medium variant projects a world population of 9 billion in 2043 and 10 billion in 2083.
DESA News met with Hania Zlotnik at the Population Division, which she has led as Director since 2005 and where she has worked for close to 30 years in demographic research. Our discussion focused mainly on the different challenges posed by an ever growing population. “There is still considerable uncertainty about what the future population of the world will be. Although the speed of population growth has declined markedly since it peaked in the late 1960s, it is still too high, suggesting that it is still possible for the population to keep on adding a billion every 12 to 13 years as it has done over the past 25 years unless fertility decline accelerates in the countries where fertility remains high,” she said.
Ms. Zlotnik explains that the decline in mortality during the 20th century is one of the reasons behind the rapid population growth experienced since 1950. At the same time, she also highlights that fertility started declining in the 1970s and that population growth has been dropping, so that population today is lower than it might have been.
Fertility needs to decline further
Given that the world now has a large number of young people, Hania Zlotnik notes that it is very important for the future of humanity that the young people of today have on average fewer children than their parents did, especially because they expect to live much longer than their parents.
According to Ms. Zlotnik, the world today has three groups of countries. Those having low fertility, where people are having so few children that the population is expected to decline in the future, account for 42 per cent of the world population. They include nearly all countries in Europe but also several in the developing world, such as China, Brazil, Thailand and Tunisia.
Then there are the countries where fertility is such that each generation gives rise to another generation that is at most half as big as the first. They account for 40 per cent of the world population and belong to the group of intermediate-fertility countries. The remaining 18 per cent of the world population lives in high- fertility countries, where successive generations are increasing by well over 50 per cent. Most least developed countries have high fertility.
“The potential for continued population growth is particularly marked in the high-fertility countries. Because the low-fertility countries as a group are projected to see their populations decline at some point in the future, all the population growth expected by 2100 is generated by the high and the intermediate-fertility countries”, adds Hania Zlotnik.
So far, fertility has declined markedly in over 80 per cent of the world population. The question is whether it will do so also in the 18 per cent that is lagging behind and if the intermediate-fertility countries will emulate those populations that have today fewer than two children per woman. The medium variant of the UN population projections assumes that in both cases fertility will drop to levels close to those of low-fertility countries by the second half of this century, which result in a world population of 10.1 billion in 2100.
Close ties to the MDGs
To be able to achieve the projected reductions of fertility, three courses of action need to be pursued with urgency. Women have to have easy access to effective contraceptive methods so that they are able to have children when they want and to have the number of children that they and their partners want. Because education empowers people to make decisions and acquire the means to realize them, the drive to ensure universal education is also beneficial in this regard. Lastly, it is crucial to empower women in other aspects of life so that they have opportunities and options beyond marriage and childbearing.
“That is why population outcomes are so intimately tied to success in achieving the MDGs, which include the reduction of the unmet need for contraception, the achievement of universal education, particularly among girls, and the empowerment of women” says Ms. Zlotnik. In addition, several of the health-related MDGs are easier to attain if women have fewer children and extend the intervals between pregnancies.
“We know that if women have children at intervals of three years or more, both women and children fare better. There’s clear evidence that both child and maternal mortality are higher the closer the pregnancies, because women’s bodies do not have time to recover from one pregnancy before they have another and they cannot provide enough care to a small child when a new baby arrives.” Another relevant measure is postponing marriage. “We know that in the areas where adolescent fertility is very high, it is because marriage occurs early.”
Hania Zlotnik points out that the changes involved in reducing fertility are good in themselves because they improve the lives of women, their children and their families. But they are also important in the efforts to reduce population growth.
Importance of supportive governments
Ms. Zlotnik also stresses the importance of supportive governments who are ultimately responsible for strengthening health care systems, making contraceptives available and taking the lead in changing norms about childbearing and child rearing. She highlights the case of Bangladesh, one of the least developed countries, where despite the many challenges it faces, fertility has been reduced by two-thirds since the 1960s.
“The Government of Bangladesh established a core group of women to visit women at home, especially when they had just delivered their babies, to talk with them about how to take care of their babies and also about the spacing between their children. These visiting women were trained to offer information and advice about contraceptive methods and to distribute contraceptive supplies. That is how they achieved important increases in contraceptive use among women who were largely illiterate and with low levels of empowerment.”
Hania Zlotnik noted that the number of children under 15 in the least developed countries would have been 22 per cent lower today if they had achieved the same fertility reduction as Bangladesh. That is, by reducing fertility in the past, the least developed countries as a whole would be in a better position today to invest more per child and improve the human capital of future generations.
Ecological constraints on the rise
It is the poorest populations that lack access to services and to the support networks that would otherwise enable them to act in a way consistent with the decisions they would like to make about their lives. Ms. Zlotnik adds that there are other challenges exacerbated by population growth, “especially for the poor who are bearing the brunt of the ecological constraints that the world system is beginning to experience.”
The ecological limitations are not necessarily linked directly to population, she clarifies, but they have become more evident as a result of the recent global crises, which have resulted in increasing food prices and food scarcity in some countries. These developments further underscore the need to reduce fertility rates, so as to increase the degrees of freedom that low-income countries have to assist those in need.
As Hania Zlotnik points out, “if their populations were to grow more slowly, they would find it easier to cope with existing constraints.” Despite these challenges, Ms. Zlotnik also highlights the positive aspects of welcoming the seven billionth inhabitant of planet Earth. “We can celebrate that even as the population reaches seven billion, more people are living better today than ever before in human history. That is a success story.”
Over one billion people are members of cooperatives, a serious enterprise model that puts people at the heart of all business. Owned and controlled by the members they serve, they are great tools for empowering people. On 31 October, the International Year of Cooperatives 2012 will be launched at the UN in New York, setting off initiatives and events across the globe.
“Cooperative enterprises are built on collective action and the principle of participation. They embody the ideal that by working together, we can accomplish more than going it alone. This approach to social and economic enterprise is a good model for the inclusive society that DESA and the United Nations is working to help build,” said Sha Zukang, DESA’s Under-Secretary-General, earlier this year as preparations were made prior to the launch.
With the theme “Cooperative Enterprises Build a Better World“, the International Year of Cooperatives seeks to promote growth and the creation of cooperatives worldwide. It will also encourage individuals, communities and governments to acknowledge the role cooperatives play in helping to achieve internationally agreed upon development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has underscored their significance by stating: “Cooperatives are a reminder to the international community that it is possible to pursue both economic viability and social responsibility.”
Generating employment and reducing poverty
It is estimated that cooperatives account for more than 100 million jobs around the world according to statistics from 2009. Agricultural cooperatives also play a significant role in food production and distribution, thereby promoting food security and rural development. In India alone, some 150,000 primary agricultural and credit cooperatives serve more than 157 million agricultural/rural producers.
The upcoming year is intended to raise public awareness of how cooperatives contribute to poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration. In connection with the International Day of Cooperatives on 2 July, the Secretary-General further emphasized their importance: “Through their distinctive focus on values, cooperatives have proven themselves a resilient and viable business model that can prosper even during difficult times. This success has helped prevent many families and communities from sliding into poverty.”
Importance for youth and sustainable development
The Secretary-General has also underscored the opportunities that cooperatives offer young people, saying that this model “enables young people to create and manage sustainable enterprises.” He has further invited young people “to explore the benefits of pursuing cooperative enterprise and other forms of social entrepreneurship,” as well as encouraged the community of cooperatives “to engage with youth, in a spirit of dialogue and mutual understanding. Let us recognize young women and men as valuable partners in strengthening the cooperative movement and in sustaining the role of cooperatives in social and economic development.”
Cooperatives are also recognized for their contributions when it comes to sustainable development and the strive towards a more environmentally healthy planet. The cooperative community, through the International Co-operative Alliance among others, has for instance taken actions to increase awareness on issues including renewable energy and climate change.
Events marking the launch
In just a few weeks, the event marking the start of the year highlighting the role of cooperatives around the world will be kicked off by the UN General Assembly in New York. UN DESA is leading the preparations in collaboration with the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC).
Member States, observers, organizations of the UN system, Cooperatives and NGOs in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council are all invited to participate in the activities that will be arranged in and around UN headquarters during two days.
To enable interactive discussions among the various stakeholders, a roundtable discussion will be held on 31 October, from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, on the theme “Cooperative Enterprises Build a Better World: Contributions to Sustainable Development”.
The official ceremony will thereafter take place at 3:00 pm in a plenary session of the General Assembly. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the President of the General Assembly Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser will then launch the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC).
Following these events, the spotlight will remain on the invaluable involvement of cooperatives worldwide, putting people at the heart of business.
“We cannot afford to leave the poor even further behind,” stated Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as the MDG Gap Task Force report was released on 16 September. Although support has increased significantly since 2000, the report shows that donors need to further intensify their development assistance if we are to attain the MDGs by 2015.
Leaders from rich and poor countries have pledged to work together to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through efficient resource management, improved political accountability, debt relief and removal of trade barriers. Prepared by the UN MDG Gap Task Force, the report concludes that much more must be done to achieve these goals. Wealthy donor nations in particular need to make good on their commitments. The gap between what was promised, and what has been delivered has to be closed.
Daniela Bas was only six years old when doctors found a tumor pressing on her spine. Beating the odds, she survived but became paraplegic in less than 20 days before surgery. Now, Daniela heads UN DESA’s Division for Social Policy and Development, where one of the tasks is to promote the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its implementation worldwide.
“I was very lucky,” says Daniela Bas, about having defeated a very rare disease that affects only two or three children in every million and which hardly any child survived in the 1960s. “Probably life knew that I had a mission,” she adds.
Daniela also refers to her parents and the fact that they always stood by her. Coming from a small town on the Italian countryside, the mentality and culture were different in those days. “Because I was paraplegic, I was a ‘handicapped’. The label was there. People started treating me as a ‘handicapped’, except my parents.”
To them, she was exactly the same child in her heart, feelings and personality. She might not be using her shoes anymore. She was wearing them, but it was the tires of a wheelchair that helped her move forward. But the way she commuted was the only thing that had changed.
Her parents also made sure that she could attend the primary school she was supposed to, only five months after she had become paraplegic, despite rules in those days not allowing children with a disability to attend ordinary school. However, three years later in the 1970s, regulations changed and Daniela was legally accepted in ordinary school.
“I think overall in Europe, things have improved. It took about 40 years. When it comes to developing countries, we have to be aware that even if we have the convention, it will take time before we see improvements,” says Daniela.
International expert and broadcaster Daniela graduated in international relations, writing her dissertation on employment of people with physical disabilities and the elimination of architectural barriers. With knowledge of several foreign languages and after completing an exam, she joined the UN’s CSDHA/Disabled Persons Unit in Vienna as a Junior Professional Officer in 1986. In the 1990s, this office moved to New York and later on became DESA’s Division for Social Policy and Development, of which Daniela now is in charge.
“I have to thank the United Nations for being so motivated. It is because the UN started promoting equal opportunities also for people with disabilities decades ago that I am here,” she says.
For about 10 years, Daniela worked for the UN in the area of social development and human rights. She left the organization in 1995 and held a number of other significant assignments including as Special Adviser on “Fundamental Rights” to the former Vice President of the European Commission; as the Italian representative to the European Commission on “Tourism for All”; as Management Board Member of the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency in Vienna, and as journalist and broadcaster for Italian Radio RAI and Radio24/Sole24 Ore and TV channels.
Concept of reduced mobility
“When I talk about disability, and this is my very personal point, I prefer to talk about reduced mobility. Because that can embrace 80 per cent of the population. For one reason or another in our lives we will have some sort of reduced mobility, temporary or permanent,” says Daniela.
During her years working as a journalist, Daniela focused mainly on leisure and tourism, as these are topics that appeal to people. “In all my broadcast, I was talking about social issues through tourism, trying to convey a message, to educate people and my listeners to this concept of reduced mobility.”
Also behind this choice of focus, is probably Daniela’s passion for travel. “For me, travel means freedom. I can move. And I have met many people with disabilities around the world, who have inspired me.”
Focus on the person
Over the years, Daniela has seen progress within the UN on matters relating to disabilities. “The UN has changed its definitions during the past decades from ‘handicapped’, ‘disabled person’, to nowadays ‘a person with a disability’. We are focusing on the person. I think this is a huge achievement.”
Daniela also mentions other signs of improvements in society. When looking at fairy tales from the old days, the “bad guys” of the stories were often portrayed with some sort of disability. The cat in Pinocchio was blind, Captain Hook in Peter Pan had a hook instead of an arm and the wicked queen in Snow White probably had scoliosis. Nowadays, the stories are different and characters with disabilities are portrayed in a positive way. “This tells us that things have improved and that all the efforts of the UN during the last decade are paying off,” says Daniela.
Working for change and advancing rights
Three months ago, Daniela returned to the UN and her area of expertise as the Director of UN DESA’s Division for Social Policy and Development. Daniela highlights that through DESA’s work, three disability-focused instruments have been adopted at the international level.
First there was the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons in 1982; then the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities in 1993; and lastly the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006. Pakistan is the latest country to ratify the convention, making 103 the total number of countries which have ratified so far.
“I hope the convention will help countries as well as the UN system to promote the rights of persons with disabilities in all aspects of society and development,” says Daniela. She also hopes that the convention will bring about raised awareness about disability as a development and human rights issue as well as the situation of persons with disabilities on the ground. “Persons with disabilities should enjoy equal opportunities and a better quality of life. It takes decades, because it requires a cultural change.”
Daniela also underscores UN DESA’s cooperation with civil society and the possibilities created when we all work together. Member States, civil society, UN agencies and NGOs at grassroots level all play a part in affecting people and bringing about change.
Meeting to evaluate progress made in the implementation of the convention
Next on the agenda for Daniela and her team is one of the largest meetings of the international community working on disability taking place in New York on 7-9 September. The Fourth session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will then be held under the theme Enabling Development, Realizing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Member States, the UN and civil society will discuss on-going progress and will share good practices on the effective implementation of the convention around the world.
At the end of this DESA News interview with Daniela Bas, it is clear that nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it. And as said in a quote by Goethe, included on Daniela’s personal website: “Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it”.
Is it fair to compare the recent plunge in stock markets with the early stages of the crisis in 2008 and are we heading towards a double-dip recession? These and other frequently asked questions on the current economic turmoil are addressed by UN DESA’s Development Policy and Analysis Division (DPAD).
Q1: Many observers draw a parallel between the recent plunge in stock markets and the early stage of the global financial crisis in 2008. Is that a fair comparison?
To some extent it is. The precipitous sell-off in global stock markets, the heightened market volatility, growing fears for a spreading sovereign debt crisis in Europe and escalating risks of a double-dip recession all have elements of resemblance to the situation in the first half of 2008, just before the global financial crisis erupted.
In some respects, the current situation may be even worse. In 2008, the main concern was with stress in the private financial sector. Now facing both public debt distress and continued financial sector fragility and the two are interwoven. In late 2008, many governments were able to mobilize large-scale resources to combat the crisis. Now most developed countries face greater fiscal constraints and political resistance to more government intervention.
In other respects, things are better now. Banks have disposed of a large proportion of toxic assets and have increased their capital. Households and firms have also managed to scale back their debts.
Q2. Are we heading towards a double-dip recession?
This may well be true for the advanced economies. Unemployment rates remain high and are a drag on the recovery of output. The economy of the euro zone has come to a virtual standstill already with growth in France and Germany faltering and the debt-ridden economies of Greece and Portugal have never been out of recession over the past three years. Economic growth in the United States has also decelerated significantly in the first half of the year, to less than 1 per cent, while Japan had already entered in another recession by the end of 2010.
The global economy need not enter into a double-dip recession, however, as growth in developing countries is still strong. Even so, their economic expansion is also slowing, in part because of the weakness in the advanced economies.
Q3: Is fiscal austerity the answer?
As such, it is not. The high unemployment and lack of private consumer and investment demand in advanced economies would in fact call for some additional fiscal stimulus. True, this may add to government debt, but so would a sliding economy that eats into government revenue and pushes up debt ratios.
For most advanced economies, the focus should be on measures stimulating jobs growth more directly in the short run and lay out credible plans for reducing budget deficits and debts over the medium run once economies are going again. Not all economies are in a position to do so, especially where the debt situation is beyond limits, such as in Greece and Portugal. Their plans for fiscal sustainability have greater urgency, but can only be effective with further external financial support and stronger growth in the euro zone because else an even deeper recession would defeat attempts at fiscal consolidation.
In short, national policies need to be coordinated internationally. During the financial turmoil of the past weeks, investors have been mostly concerned with faltering economic activity, not with fears for debt defaults per se.
Q4. Will the US dollar weaken following the downgrading of the credit rating for US sovereign debt?
The downgrading has exacerbated uncertainty in foreign exchange markets. So far, however, investors do not seem to have given up hope in the dollar and also their confidence that the United States will honour its debt obligations seems unscathed. In fact, over the past weeks they have bought more US Treasury bills as a sign these are still a ‘safe haven’ amidst all uncertainty and interest rates have fallen.
What happens next remains to be seen. No doubt we will see continued exchange rate volatility among major currencies in the short run. Over time, the tendency of the US dollar to fall is likely to resume if its external deficit persists.
Q5. What will happen to growth and poverty in the developing countries?
For now, growth rates are still up in developing countries and also employment has returned (on average) to pre-crisis levels. The slowdown in Europe and the United States will hurt their exports. Further declines in commodity prices will be a mixed blessing: some economies will see inflationary pressures ease with lower food and energy prices; others, depending on commodity exports, will see bleaker growth prospects. The uncertainty and related volatility in commodity prices and capital flows will be damaging to all, however, as it will affect long-term investment decisions and complicate macroeconomic policies.
Many developing countries showed resilience during the global crisis, but fiscal space is running out for a number of them to counteract another major drop in external demand. Many countries have already shifted to more restrictive policies in order to counteract high domestic inflation. But poverty reduction will be better served by a stable external environment and by policies focusing on making economic growth more inclusive through agricultural development, industrial diversification, and social development programmes.
For more information:
UN DESA’s Development Policy and Analysis Division (DPAD):
Indigenous peoples make up more than five per cent of the world’s population. Although their societies have contributed much to scientific and cultural knowledge, their ways of life continue to be threatened by the pace and scale of global development.
The UN International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on 9 August was commemorated with a panel discussion on the theme Indigenous designs: Celebrating stories and cultures, crafting our own future, highlighting the need to protect the rights and support the aims of indigenous groups. It was also stressed that the world cannot afford to lose the cultural wealth of indigenous societies, a point beautifully illustrated by the film Kalimantan’s Craft; Harmony of Culture and Nature.
The world’s population aged 60 or older is expected to double by 2050, to a record of 21 per cent – representing two billion people. Member States are expressing concerns about the status of older persons revolving around their social and economic situation, their participation in development and their relationship to human rights.
There is a call for increasing the visibility on the world agenda on the issue of human rights protection for older persons. In December 2010, the General Assembly established an open ended working group open to all Members States of the UN with the purpose of strengthening the protection of the human rights for older persons and identifying possible gaps and how best to address them, including more instruments and measures (resolution A/RES/65/182).
Furthermore, the aim is to perceive older persons as active members of society and not only recipients of charity and welfare. It should also be noted that at age 80, women outnumber men by two to one, and are the most vulnerable, facing more social stereotypes, participating less in society and benefiting from fewer available opportunities.
While there is a prevailing culture aimed at youth, older people have gone through a progressive exclusion and marginalization. This has led us to a situation, where there is no specific instrument which relates to the human rights of older people. What exists refers to the universal human rights treaties that do not include older people as a specific segment of society.
Another important gap to be covered with respect to the rights for older persons, refers to the social security coverage. This would worsen in the future if no action is taken; estimates predict an increase of the percentage of older persons living in less developed countries from 63% to 78% by 2050.
Consensus on concerns, but not on the response
Its first working session concluded on 21 April 2011, following a four-day series of panel presentations and discussions on the current situation of the human rights for older persons. Expert panelists from different backgrounds, experiences and origins, analyzed the existing international and regional human rights framework and mechanisms, offering information about recent developments and identifying a number of gaps in the protection systems.
The session showed agreement among Member States, NGOs, UN agencies, intergovernmental organizations and independent experts about the specific human rights challenges faced by men and women as they grow older, pointing out that there is no specific instrument devoted to this segment of the population and few existing instruments have explicit references to age.
Concerns were raised about the age discrimination, neglect and violence, and in response, the empowerment of older persons was observed as a central dimension in constructing their human rights and their participation in development.
Some delegations, experts and NGOs stressed the importance of a dedicated binding instrument that would offer effective protection to older persons, including immediate obligations with regard to non-discrimination and guarantees of non-retrogression of all protected rights.
As a conclusion, there were several proposals in response to the voice of concern around the rights of older persons; including a new international convention on the human rights of older persons and a special rapporteur to study and report on the situation of older persons. Other measures mentioned were effective monitoring of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA), more effective implementation of existing instruments, strengthening national data collection, desegregation and update and improving national monitoring mechanisms.
Addressing more specific issues and rights
The second working session will take place in New York on 1-4 August and will focus on more specific issues and rights. There will be panel discussions and interactive dialogues on the following topics that appear consistently and repeatedly around the world: discrimination and multiple discrimination, right to health, violence and abuse, social protection, age and social exclusion.
In addition, there will be several side events organized by NGOs on topics such as “Disability Rights, Access to Palliative Care, and Lessons from the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities process”; “The right to health: in conversation with older people”; and “violence against the elderly”.
Gathering world leaders, UN agencies and a record number of participants representing civil society and the private sector from around the globe, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has worked hard for the past month focusing on some of the most pressing challenges facing the world today.
“The world is in danger of sleepwalking through one of the greatest injustices of our times. Despite all the promises to the world’s children – the pledges made and targets set by the international community – today nearly 70 million children are denied a place at school,” said Gordon Brown, Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, at the opening of ECOSOC’s High-level segment taking place in Geneva on 4-8 July.
He continued: “So for me it is absolutely essential that we build on recent successes of getting many more millions of children into school through smart aid and debt relief. And it’s essential too that national governments do their bit to make sure that all children, rich and poor alike, have a chance at getting an education, just as Western Cape Province has done so successfully in South Africa”.
The high-level segment was chaired by the President of the Council Lazarous Kapambwe, Permanent Representative of Zambia. Numerous ministers, together with other high-level officials, prominent speakers, several heads of UN agencies and over 1,400 participants from civil society and the private sector attended the meeting.
It focused on the Annual Ministerial Review (AMR) with the theme “Implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to education”. The 2011 AMR emphasized the catalytic effect of education on the broader development agenda, including poverty reduction and the Millennium Development Goals. The meeting also offered an occasion to galvanize political support for the fundamental role of education in support of sustainable development for the upcoming Rio+20 Conference.
Ministerial Declaration adopted
The 2011 ECOSOC Ministerial Declaration was adopted, addressing educational access, quality, funding, partnerships and the challenges in achieving the internationally agreed education objectives, as well as issues related to secondary and tertiary education, information technology and lifelong learning. While not specifically reflected in the Declaration, several speakers expressed strong support for establishing a global fund for education to mobilize resources, and strengthen the global partnership to accelerate progress towards the 2015 education goals, with a specific focus on educational access, equity and quality.
“The Declaration is a model document in other ways, too. It navigates the considerable education challenges of the moment, while casting a thoughtful eye to emerging issues on the horizon – areas like secondary and tertiary education, information technology and lifelong learning,” stated Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General of DESA.
National presentations, innovation fair and panel discussions
National voluntary presentations were given by the Ministers of Education from 11 countries, offering country-based information on success factors in working to achieve education for all, quality education and other education objectives. Several high-level interactive panel discussions were held on a broad range of education, economic and social development issues.
An Innovation Fair ran throughout the week, offering a wealth of information on practical initiatives to advance education and development. The UN postal administration also launched the second series of six ECOSOC stamps on the theme “Education for All”. A series of Ministerial roundtable breakfasts and side-events also took place.
Discussions on achievements on gender issues
The Coordination Segment on 11-14 July focused on two main themes: the follow-up to last year’s Ministerial Declaration on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and the follow-up to the Conference on Financing for Development.
The Council heard for the first time the views of the whole UN system on progress achieved in the gender field, a year after the decision by the General Assembly to establish UN Women. A panel discussion, moderated by the Executive Director of UN Women Michele Bachelet, discussed the leadership role that UN Women is called to play in promoting coordination, coherence and accountability of the UN system in this field, which does not relieve other entities of their commitments to gender equality goals. Another panel discussion focused on combating gender-based stereotypes that contribute to perpetuate discriminations in all spheres of society.
The Council adopted two resolutions: one on the mechanisms to promote system wide gender mainstreaming; and a second resolution focusing on progress made by the system in the 8 cross-cutting issues identified by the Council in its 2010 Ministerial Declaration.
Global economic governance in the focus
On Financing for Development, the discussions focused on global economic governance, particularly the role and effectiveness of the UN system and the need to forge institutional linkages between the G20 and the UN. The Council also addressed the specific needs of Least Developed Countries and considered how financial support mechanisms and South-South cooperation can contribute to tackling the development challenges of these countries.
In addition, in a resolution entitled “Recovering from the World Financial and Economic Crisis: A Global Jobs Pact”, the Council encouraged the full use of the Global Jobs Pact as a framework for enhanced and coherent policy measures in the area of decent work. It also requested the Secretary-General to report on the implementation of the Pact by the UN system to the ECOSOC AMR of 2012, which will be devoted to productive capacities, inclusive growth and employment.
Moreover, the Council discussed the annual overview report of the UN system Chief Executive Board for Coordination (CEB) and it also had a special meeting to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the right to development. This meeting provided an opportunity for the Council to interact with the human rights pillar of the UN, as both the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the President of the Human Rights Council took part – an unprecedented encounter in the history of ECOSOC. The discussions showed how much the development and the human rights agenda are interconnected and called for advancing them both in a collaborative manner.
Call for implementation of Management and Accountability System
In the 2011 Operational Activities segment on 14-18 July, Member States and UN representatives focused on expectations for the 2012 quadrennial comprehensive policy review (QCPR) of the General Assembly; progress in strengthening the UN Resident Coordinator system; and ways to strengthen the architecture of funds and programmes through the definition of “critical mass” of core resources. The Executive Heads of the funds and programmes also discussed future challenges and opportunities facing their entities.
Member States adopted a resolution calling for immediate action by UN entities to implement the Management and Accountability System of the Resident Coordinator system; strengthening of links between UNDAFs and agency-specific programming documents; and review of existing funding modalities in support of the Resident Coordinator system. It also provides guidance to the Secretariat for preparations for the 2012 QCPR of the GA.
The latest DESA report on funding of UN operational activities for development provides detailed analysis of core and non-core contributions and expenditures for the year 2009, as well as long-term trends. Moreover, the report provides for the first time an analysis of country programmable resources of the UN development system. Prior to the 2011 Operational Activities Segment of ECOSOC, DESA released a funding update on estimated core and non-core contributions for the year 2010.
Reaffirming the importance of humanitarian principles and coordination
“Working in partnership to strengthen coordination of humanitarian assistance in a changing world” was the theme of the Humanitarian Affairs segment on 19-21 July. It consisted of two panels, one on ensuring that the humanitarian financing system is predictable, effective, accountable, flexible and adequate to meet the evolving needs and challenges for the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and the other on strengthening resilience, preparedness and capacities for humanitarian response.
Twelve side-events were organized by humanitarian and development partners. The Council also decided to hold a special meeting on the humanitarian situation in the Horn of Africa. The main outcome was the adoption by consensus of a resolution which reaffirmed the importance of humanitarian principles and humanitarian coordination. It also made considerable progress within the normative field, reaffirming the opportunities from continually engaging in inter-governmental discussions.
Other issues of significance include the addition of language on commemorating 20 years of General Assembly resolution 46/182, calling for the ERC “to lead” efforts to strengthen coordination, encouragement to Member States to cooperate with OCHA, a reference to safe access to fuel and firewood and other basic humanitarian services, a revised paragraph on improving funding and several references on working with local and national levels in preparedness and response.
Meeting the needs and challenges of assistance delivery
As in previous years, OCHA/PDSB organized two formal panel discussions and coordinated several informal side events, which were well attended and featured presentations by high-level government officials, UN agencies, the International Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement, the private sector, academia and NGOs.
The first panel on “Preparing for the future – predictable, effective, flexible and adequate humanitarian financing and its accountable use to meet the evolving needs and challenges for the delivery of humanitarian assistance” stressed the need to systematically fund preparedness measures and better address the transition from emergency relief to recovery and development. However, more emphasis should be put on mobilizing new and innovative resources and to promote effective, predictable, flexible and adequate funding through enhanced partnerships and strengthened mechanisms.
At the session on “Strengthening resilience, preparedness and capacities for humanitarian response”, participants converged that more needs to be done to improve support to regional, national and local partners in improving their preparedness enabling them to respond to humanitarian needs. While this needs the buy-in of national and local government, partnerships need to be built at the international level to support these efforts – including with UNDP, the World Bank, regional organizations, the private sector as well as individuals.
Member States and the UN pledges assistance to Horn of Africa
Due to the growing humanitarian emergency in the Horn of Africa, the Emergency Relief Coordinator and the ECOSOC Vice-President for Humanitarian Affairs decided to hold an ad-hoc special event. After the presentations, appeals for solidarity and urges for swift action to address the humanitarian needs in the region were made by Valerie Amos, Cheik Diarra (Special Advisor on Africa), Antonio Guterres and Kristalina Georgieva (EU Commissioner). Member States and UN agencies expressed solidarity and commitment and offered assistance to those affected by the crisis.
Please note that this article was written when the General segment was still in session, why it has not been covered in this story. For more information on this segment including reports: http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/julyhls/gs2011.shtml
“The Facebook generation is showing a growing resolve to change our world – and a capacity to make things happen. They are bringing their energy and courage to some of the most difficult issues we face,” said the UN Secretary-General at the opening of the High-level Meeting on Youth on 25 July.
With the theme “Youth: Dialogue and Mutual Understanding”, the meeting was held as part of the International Year of Youth. It is expected to result in a call for strategies to give young people everywhere a real chance to find decent work and urge countries to take effective measures to protect young people from terrorism.
Monique Coleman was appointed the first UN Youth Champion for the International Year of Youth, kicked off in August 2010 and culminating in the High-level Meeting on Youth on 25-26 July. Touring the world, she has strived to ensure that young people’s initiatives are not neglected or overlooked. “The most important thing to me is to put actions to our words,” says Monique in an interview for DESA News.
Tell us about what you have done and plan to do in the future as the UN Youth Champion and beyond
”The GimmeMo Tour is the biggest initiative I’ve made for the International Year of Youth. At the end of January, I set out to tour for six months around the world. I’ve been going to each continent and all different regions from developing countries to developed countries to really try to raise awareness about the International Year of Youth, the issues that young people face and to highlight and bring attention to the wonderful organizations that are making a difference in their respective communities.
The other thing I’ve been trying is to share this information, what I experience and what I see by imploring social media technology, by using my Facebook page, as well as the Year of Youth Facebook page and Twitter. I have a website that’s completely devoted to empowering young people. Another aspect is speaking to high-level government officials and to be a bridge between the young people I am representing and their respective governments.”
What do you see as some of the biggest problems the youth of today face?
“It varies from place to place, the biggest issue I think is that in developing countries and in developed countries there are totally different issues. I think one thing that is difficult is when you’re dealing sometimes with developing countries that have shaky governments. I think the big issue is when young people don’t have access to help and resources.
One of the concerns that the people I’ve met with have is feeling that their messages don’t make it all the way to the UN, or the government or a high level position where policy actually comes into play. That’s essentially what I think one of the roles of the youth champion is: to bridge that gap between the UN, government and the people.”
For the high-level meeting in July, the General Assembly will discuss many of the issues the youth faces. How do you think we can bridge the age gap and get the UN, governments etc to listen to the youth?
“We have to remember who the audience is and there are tangible ways to engage young people. At that meeting specifically, I think it is important to give young people a platform to actually speak. I’ve met so many incredible youth that are leaders of youth organizations and have such high level positions in their respective countries and I think hearing young people at a conference specially devoted to them is essential.“
From your experiences on tour, what do you think some of the biggest issues that need to be discussed at the General Assembly meeting?
One thing that really needs to be discussed is the situation with young people on the streets. Unemployment as a whole is an issue that needs to be addressed, but not just in the idea of unemployment, but vulnerable employment and the fact that many young people have to take jobs because they have no choice. They are not privileged enough to be unemployed because they can’t find time off to find decent work. I think work should be a big point on the agenda as well as participation, girls and the rights of girls and girls being able to advance in their communities.
What can governments and member states do to bridge these gaps and fix these problems?
“What I’m trying to do is really reach a person on an individual level and really empower people not to wait for someone else to make a decision and not to wait for a policy to be put in place before they start taking actions themselves. I think it is very important for governments and members of state to support community activities and to support the activities that people are doing, but I think it is our job to actually initiate them, especially young people.”
What have you done so far on tour and off to help fix these problems?
“The main thing I’ve been doing has been initiating conversation. The theme of the year is very buoyant, which is ‘Dialogue and Mutual Understanding.’ I think everything starts at the conversation level, just having a dialogue about it. I’ve had the ability to do events at the US Embassy in India and Indonesia. We did a web chat and implored social technology to stream it live. The dialogue and conversation that comes out of it is really interesting and usually in that situation young people can figure out who their allies are.
I’ve also been volunteering, putting action to the things that are already happening instead of trying to come in and invent something new. When I go to a place, I ask them what are the issues, its varied from here, we deal with trafficking and girls being swooned into prostitution, here we’re dealing with clean drinking water and here we’re dealing with sanitation.”
Working with the International Year of Youth and your GimmeMo Tour targeting the youth, you need to take a different strategy. How have you approached this? Do you find this effective?
“The main thing I’ve been doing is treating young people like people. And not like they are going to arrive somewhere, but that they are already there to give them ideas of things they can do today. I think a lot of the times people approach young people as if they don’t care. I approach young people as if they all care, and are excited ready, willing and anxious to make a difference and give them the benefit of the doubt that if presented with an opportunity to be great, they would take it.
And another major strategy is to put myself out there. I’m candid, very honest and very open about my own life, my own struggles, my own insecurities, the challenges that I face, and my triumphs. I definitely wear my heart on my sleeve and am not afraid to be honest about anything. If it was a strategy, that‘s my main tactic, sheer authenticity.”
What are some of the biggest strives you think the youth, yourself and governments have made?
“Well, I think two places that really stand out, and they’re both developed, are Australia and Greece. Their governments have really put people in positions to make change specifically for the youth. In Australia, the Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth is Peter Garrett, a former rock and roller activist turned politician. It’s such a perfect fit because his passion that he sang about, has now put him in a place where he can do something about it. In Greece, I’ve spent time in Thessalonki and they are a candidate for the European Youth Capital in 2014, so a lot of initiative is happening in their government. They have created very high-level positions specifically in the direction of youth.
The youth and the organizations they have created are endless. You can’t talk about the power of the youth without mentioning the power that youth have when they come together for change. I think we’re all watching some of the biggest strides you could have made in front of our eyes presently.
As for me, I’m just a girl, suitcase, hotel, just really trying to let other people know they can do anything and that change is in their horizon if you keep moving forward. I think the only way to really make a difference or do anything is to actually put yourself out there. You can do this, you can do anything. If you’re a nurse in a small town but you have a specific passion or there are children from Africa that can benefit from your knowledge, you can explain all the things that you want to do. I’m hoping to simply just inspiring by being me.”
Released on 7 July, the Millennium Development Goals Report 2011 will present the most updated assessment of progress towards the MDGs. It will be a key resource for the political debates at ECOSOC and the General Assembly in September, when Member States will assess what has worked and what needs to be done to bridge existing gaps.
Since they were first adopted, the eight Millennium Development Goals have raised awareness, generated important development gains and shaped a broad vision that remains the overarching framework for the development activities of the United Nations.
At the 2010 Summit last year, world leaders met again to reaffirm their commitment to the MDGs. They put forward an ambitious action plan to fight poverty – a roadmap outlining what is needed to meet the goals by 2015. But, as said by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, “the Action Agenda will only deliver results when concrete steps are taken”.
Based on the latest available data, the report presents an assessment of where actions and interventions have delivered the necessary results and highlights the areas where progress needs to be accelerated if the targets are to be met by the 2015 deadline.
Achievements and remaining challenges
Already the MDGs have helped lift millions of people out of poverty, save countless children’s lives and ensure that they attend school. They have reduced the burden of maternal deaths and increased access to clean water.
But a number of challenges remain. At the 2010 Summit on the MDGs, world leaders acknowledged the challenges posed by multiple crises, increasing inequalities and persistent violent conflicts.
They called for intensified collective action and the expansion of successful approaches and stressed that accelerated action on the goals requires economic growth that is sustainable, inclusive and equitable – growth that enables everyone to benefit from progress and share in economic opportunities.
And, in the words of Sha Zukang, DESA’s Under-Secretary-General, the achievement of the MDGs will also “require a rejuvenated global partnership, expeditious delivery on commitments already made, and an agile transition to a more sustainable future”.
Looking behind average figures
Given the way the MDG framework is designed and targets are defined, average figures may indicate progress even when disparities persist. Even where growth is strong, the benefits are not always evenly shared. Progress often bypasses the poor and marginalized populations, and is slower for rural populations than for urban dwellers. The gap between urban and rural areas often widens, as does the difference in living standards between the prosperous and various marginalized groups.
The report, while providing an assessment of trends overall, looks behind the average figures to highlight differences among various groups of the population and identify the segments that are lagging behind and for whom most urgent interventions are needed.
Rigorous international collaboration to measure goals
Progress towards the eight Millennium Development Goals is measured through 21 targets and 60 official indicators. The report is the result of an intensively collaborative effort, led by the Statistics Division of DESA. It involves 27 international organizations and agencies and a group of representatives of national statistical systems, who meet every year to review the tools to compile and analyse the necessary data. These data are drawn from national statistics provided by Governments to the international statistical system and adjusted for comparability.
The Millennium Development Goals Report 2011 is the seventh of a series launched in 2005, in conjunction with the MDG Summit. The report has quickly become, as Assistant Secretary-General Jomo Kwame Sundaram noted, “the authoritative reference for the international community to monitor progress – or otherwise – towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals as well as its targets and indicators. The vast inter-agency team behind this Report are to be commended for this vital resource for everyone seeking to enhance progress towards meeting these basic needs”.
The MDG Report 2011 will be available at the official UN website for the MDG Indicators on 7 July. Earlier editions of the report as well as underlying data series on all official MDG indicators are also available at the same site: http://mdgs.un.org
67 million children around the world are not in primary schools. About 53 per cent are girls and around 28 million of these children live in conflict-affected countries. In some places, human rights are violated, depriving boys and girls of basic education. On 4 July, the webcast debate “Face to Face” on “Education, human rights and conflict” will address these issues.
Starting at 3 pm in Geneva, the debate will take place as part of the High-level Segment of the Economic and Social Council. It is organized by DESA, UNICEF, UNESCO and the UN Department of Public Information and coincides with the release of the 2011 Education for All Global Monitoring Report of UNESCO on “The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education”.
“I believe that Rio+20 is one of the most important events of this decade. It is an event for the whole world; it is about tomorrow, about the future. And sustainable development should be our common future. History has given all of us an opportunity to make a difference. Let us do it, together,” says Sha Zukang, Secretary-General of Rio+20, in an exclusive interview.
A career diplomat with extensive experience in multilateral organizations and international conferences, Sha Zukang has been the Under-Secretary-General for DESA since 2007. In addition, Mr. Sha serves as Secretary-General of the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development. Exclusive for DESA News, Mr. Sha shares his experience, vision and hopes as he leads the work culminating in this milestone event taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 4-6 June 2012.
What is your vision as Secretary-General of the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development?
“I am a strong advocate of sustainable development and I think, if there is a future for our civilization, it will be through achieving sustainable development across the globe.
As a conference dedicated to sustainable development, I hope Rio+20 will re-launch our world on a sustainable trajectory. That, in short, is my vision.”
What message would you like to convey to governments and organizations around the world, as we prepare for Rio+20?
“I believe that Rio+20 is one of the most important events of this decade. It is an event for the whole world; it is about tomorrow, about the future. And sustainable development should be our common future. History has given all of us an opportunity to make a difference. Let us do it, together.
Rio+20 can be captured in 1, 2, and 3:
- One focused political document on the outcome;
- Two themes – a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication and the institutional framework for sustainable development; and
- Three objectives – renew political commitments, assess gaps in implementation and identify new and emerging challenges.
Overall, I would like to see governments and organizations produce two kinds of results – at the political level, renewing their political commitment to sustainable development; at the action level, launching concrete initiatives in support of implementation. These initiatives could be country-led, supported by multi-stakeholders; or led by UN organizations; or by business and civil society.
Rio+20 should be a milestone event, with broad participation at the grass root level. We owe it to ourselves and to future generations.”
What are the chances for success in Rio? Are you optimistic?
“A large international conference like Rio+20 is often a difficult and complicated process, because it is seeking to address broad, inter-linked challenges. But I am optimistic. I see enthusiasm and passion for Rio+20 on the rise. Governments are becoming more engaged. They are setting up national coordination committees or task forces. Businesses are also engaged. They have set up a dedicated mechanism for Rio+20. And civil society groups are active. Many are preparing to launch initiatives in the lead-up to Rio or at Rio.
Equally important, Rio+20 offers a timely opportunity to take sustainable development forward. Rio+20 can, and I hope, will live in history as an event that provided the momentum to re-launch the world on the pathway to sustainable development.
While gaps remain on how to proceed, Governments agree that the current international environmental governance is fragmented and there is need for a better balance between governance for the three pillars of sustainable development. While there is concern over green economy, in the area of trade, aid and capacity building, countries agree that a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication can be an important avenue to accelerating sustainable development.”
What in your view are the new challenges?
“During preparatory discussions, delegates identified a number of new, emerging challenges.
Though many are long-known challenges, they have taken on new dimensions. One example is the need for enhancing disaster preparedness, in view of the increased frequency and severity of natural disasters.
Others include energy (energy access, energy efficiency, renewable energy), water (water stress and shortage), land degradation (soil loss), population dynamics, urbanization, sustainable agriculture, ocean and fisheries (the blue economy) and others.
I think Rio+20 will need to address these new challenges. Agreement is needed on measures and commitments that can accelerate implementation in meeting them.”
How is your job as Conference Secretary-General?
“Not easy. It is hard work, but I am not afraid of hard work. I do work hard. However, there are lots of frustrations. Lack of funding is an important one.
Despite frustrations, I also have a strong team working with me and supporting me, which makes this job more enjoyable.”
Over 600 participants are expected to attend the 2011 UN Public Service Day, Awards Ceremony and Forum on 20-23 June. With a focus on “Transformative Leadership in Public Administration and Innovation in Governance: Creating a Better Life for All”, the event will feature workshops, an exhibition and celebrate excellence in public service delivery.
Taking place in Tanzania’s largest city Dar es Salam, this is the first time the UN Public Service Awards (UNPSA) will be commemorated concurrently with Africa Public Service Day. To mark this special event and leading up to the Awards Ceremony on 23 June, a series of capacity-building workshops and a ministerial roundtable will also be held at the Mlimani City Complex.
This global event is managed by DESA’s Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM), under the leadership of its Director, Haiyan Qian. DPADM organized the Awards Ceremony and Forum in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC), the President’s Office of the United Republic of Tanzania, hosting the event, and in partnership with UN Women and supported by the UN Development Programme in Tanzania.
Programme grows dramatically
The UNPSA team led by the Public Administration Capacity Building Branch of DPADM and a devoted group of staff from across the division’s branches and UN Women, which has been involved this past year for its first collaboration with DPADM on the Awards Ceremony and Forum, are all excited by the growth and expansion of the overall programme. UNPSA Coordinator Adriana Alberti says the programme has grown dramatically over the last two years, with 2011 showing the number of nominations increasing by 44.4 per cent compared to 2010.
“Olympics” of public service excellence
The team works all year round, starting with the Call for Nominations in the third quarter, to raise awareness and encourage countries to nominate best cases and examples of innovations in governance and delivery of public services. By showcasing and sharing what works with each other, countries can compete in a kind of “Olympics” of public service excellence, from water services to the administration of elections, and share what they know best for possible replication and adaptation. The four-day Forum also creates a unique opportunity to explore issues of governance in a critical and organic way, presenting trends and allowing for discussion on best practices and ways forward.
The winners of the prestigious United Nations Public Service Awards, which are selected from the finalists in each category and region by the Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA) at its annual session, are recognized for their achievements on the last day of the Forum. This also coincides with UN Public Service Day and Africa Public Service Day. It was the General Assembly, which designated 23 June as UN Public Service Day to “celebrate the value and virtue of service to the community”.
Briefing sessions and new categories
This past fall DPADM for the first time held a series of informative sessions, both in English and Spanish, for representatives of Permanent Missions to the UN, to brief them on the programme and encourage them to notify their governments to increase nominations and participation. Attendees included representatives of Argentina, Bangladesh, Barbados, Canada, Egypt, El Salvador, France, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Iraq, Mexico, Namibia, Norway, Oman, Panama, Peru, Qatar, Romania, South Africa, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sudan, Trinidad and Tobago and USA. Eight new countries were also nominated this year, including Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Dominica, Somalia, Tajikistan, Trinidad and Tobago, and Ukraine.
In addition, two new categories were created this year in partnership with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and with UN Women: “Preventing and Combating Corruption in the Public Service” and “Promoting Gender-responsive delivery of Public services”. There are five categories in total.
A platform for exchange and exploration
Drawing together world leaders, policy-makers, innovators in governance, representatives of international and regional organizations, members of academia, non-profit organizations, the private sector, the UN Public Service Forum puts governance and innovation squarely in the spotlight. Every year it focuses on a specific critical area and explores its different dimensions and components in an organic way. It provides a platform to explore, discuss and learn about: (i) Emerging challenges, issues and trends in public governance; (ii) Innovative practices to address these challenges; and (iii) Capacity development strategies, approaches and tools – how can we learn from these practices and what tools are available or can we develop to move forward?
Five capacity-building workshops will be arranged including: Leading with Integrity and Inventiveness in Public Governance; Engaging Citizens and Civil Society Organizations to Promote Effectiveness, Accountability and Transparency in Reconstruction and Recovery Strategies after Natural Disasters; African e-Leadership Capacity-Building; Leading Innovations in Gender-Responsive Service Delivery; and Special Meeting of Awards Programmes Coordinators.
Public governance app to be launched
Besides highlighting many first time winners, the awards ceremony will also feature the launch of DESA’s first App developed for mobile devices. It is an interactive publication “UN Innovations in Public Governance” showcasing all winners from the beginning of the programme in 2003 including the current ones of 2011. The App will be available as a free download on the iTunes store for iPhone and iPad.
The UN Public Service Awards is the most prestigious international recognition of excellence in public service. It rewards the creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions that lead to a more effective and responsive public administration in countries worldwide. Through an annual competition, the UN Public Service Awards promotes the role, professionalism and visibility of public service. It is held every year on 23 June, United Nations Public Service Day.
”This forum can play a dynamic role in…helping indigenous peoples around the world achieve the self-determination they deserve. Your success can build momentum towards the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples planned for 2014,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the opening of the 10th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues on 16 May.
Under-Secretary-General of DESA Sha Zukang also spoke in his capacity as the Secretary-General of Rio+20, highlighting the important role indigenous peoples play when it comes to sustainable development: “Rio+20 is a tremendous opportunity for indigenous peoples to share their wisdom with all of us. Indigenous peoples have a unique understanding of Mother Earth as a living entity, where all beings are interconnected and interdependent.”
The 10th Session was led by newly elected Chair Ms. Mirna Cunningham and continued until 27 May.
2011 has been described as a critical year for the environment. This is the time when the world has to get ready for the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Brazil. At the UN, preparations are well under way and on 2-13 May crucial issues for a greener and healthier planet will be addressed.
There are many pressing issues facing the world today and there is a need to resolve them, and to do it fast. Starting on 2 May, the 19th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-19) will take place in New York to tackle some of the critical challenges at hand.
The Chair of CSD-19 and the Minister of Environment and Forests of Romania, László Borbély, states the following in his message prior to the meeting: “The next 10 years are critical for sustainable development. Recent crises created a new sense of urgency. In our globalized world, the impacts of local crises that occur in one geographic area have effects at regional or global scale. The themes of the current CSD cycle provide an opportunity to initiate coordinated and coherent action on several increasingly challenging dimensions.”
The topics on the agenda for the Commission to act on this year include transport, chemicals, waste management, mining and the ten year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production.
Call for leaded gasoline phase-out and mass transit schemes
Current trends within transportation development are not sustainable and the need to reduce pollution levels and cut emissions has been widely recognized. If the global community does not act on these issues, it may result in environmental and health problems. Transportation is also expected to be a major force behind a growing world demand for energy. Urgent action is therefore needed to promote integrated transport plans and to accelerate the phase-out of leaded gasoline. The international community also needs to forge partnerships to strengthen infrastructure and to support the use of non-motorized transport. Moreover, there is a call for innovative mass transit schemes and the effective use of public transportation. At previous CSD sessions, countries have stressed the importance of efficient and affordable transport systems for poverty alleviation and the need to mitigate harmful externalities to health and the environment.
Need for safe handling of chemicals and waste
Within some of the world’s most important industrial areas, there has been gross chemical contamination, gravely affecting people’s health and genetic structures as well as the environment. The use of chemicals is essential to meet the social and economic goals of the world community, and these can be used with a high degree of safety when best practices are followed. However, much remains to be done. Two of the major problems are the lack of sufficient scientific information for risk assessment and shortage of resources for evaluation of chemicals for which data are available.
Another potential threat is hazardous waste. Effective control through the whole process – from its generation to its disposal – is very important. To prevent the creation of hazardous wastes and to rehabilitate contaminated sites are also key elements, requiring knowledge, financial resources and technical and scientific capacities. CSD will also discuss solid waste, which includes domestic refuse and non-hazardous waste.
Three priority areas for mining
The main constraints to sustainability in the mining sector stems from the ever-increasing demand for mined resources, the consumption of resources to extract and process metals and the increasing pollution generated. Given its importance to revenue and employment in some developing countries, the sustainability of this industry remains crucial.
To improve sustainability, three priority areas have been identified: Address the environmental, economic, health and social impacts and benefits of mining throughout their life cycle, including workers’ health and safety; Enhance the participation of stakeholders, including local and indigenous communities and women; Foster sustainable mining practices through the provision of financial, technical and capacity-building support to developing countries and countries with economies.
Shifting to green consumption and production
Transitioning to more sustainable patterns of consumption and production is also crucial. DESA’s Division for Sustainable Development has been a co-leader to implement and contribute to a 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production, also referred to as the Marrakesh Process. The 10-year plan will now be presented before CSD.
The Commission has many important issues to address and the result of its work will feed into next year’s important conference Rio+20, taking place on 4-6 June in Brazil. Although many challenges remain to be solved to make our planet greener and healthier, efforts undertaken around the world ignite hope.
CSD-19 Chair László Borbély also states: “We should not forget that the core of sustainable development is human development and progress. By improving the quality of life, by using natural resources in a sustainable manner and by promoting a healthy environment, we will succeed in preserving the Earth’s life-support systems for present and future generations.”
Today, there are over 370 million indigenous people in about 90 countries worldwide. They have unique cultures and ways of relating to other people and the environment with social, cultural, economic and political characteristics that are distinct from the dominant societies in which they live. Despite cultural differences, the various indigenous peoples around the world share common problems related to the protection of their rights as distinct peoples.
Indigenous peoples look to the international community to promote, protect and respect their ways of life and their right to traditional lands, territories and natural resources. However, these rights continue to be violated. Indigenous peoples are among the most disadvantaged and vulnerable populations today. The international community has recognized this and is working to protect their rights.
The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is one of three UN bodies mandated to deal specifically with indigenous peoples’ issues. The Forum acts as an advisory body to the Economic and Social Council to discuss indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights.
The first session of the Forum was held in May 2002 and it continues to meet annually for two weeks each year. According to its mandate, the goal of the Forum is to: provide expert advice and recommendations on indigenous issues to the Council; raise awareness and promote the integration and coordination of activities related to indigenous issues within the UN system; and prepare and disseminate information on indigenous issues.
The Forum will meet this month for the tenth session to review recommendations and implementation made at previous sessions. Since the last session, fourteen new members have joined the Forum, while only two have served previously. Hundreds of participants are expected to attend the event to discuss topics related to Economic and Social Development, the Environment and Free, Prior and Informed Consent.
Recommendations and Implementation
At the first nine sessions, the Forum made hundreds of recommendations to the UN System and Member States as well as to indigenous organizations. Roughly half of the Forum’s proposals have been acted upon. During this time, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted while the UN Development Group issued Guidelines on Indigenous Peoples Issues. The international community has made some progress and become increasingly involved in recognizing the rights of indigenous peoples. However, these rights are not always implemented. This gap between recognition and realization has been called the implementation gap and will be one of the key points emphasized by the Permanent Forum.
Water
Water is a human right and a necessity to sustain life. In recent years, there has been a stronger and growing demand for access to safe drinking water and sanitation to be considered as a human right. In 2010, the General Assembly adopted a resolution that called upon States and international organizations to provide financial resources, build capacity and transfer technology to improve efforts to provide safe, clean accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all.
At the tenth session, the Permanent Forum will devote a half day discussion on the right to water and indigenous peoples. This discussion is expected to highlight some of the issues that indigenous peoples currently face as well as bring forward input into current UN processes involving water rights.
A regional focus on Latin America and the Caribbean
Each year the Permanent Forum devotes a half day discussion to a specific region. This year, the Forum will discuss indigenous peoples’ issues in the Latin America and Caribbean region. This will include the participation of indigenous peoples from the region in an active engagement of the UN system. Some of the issues that are expected to arise include constitutional reforms, intercultural and plurinational states, the criminalization of protest and the cocoa leaf.
In July 2010, the Forum conducted a mission trip to Colombia, at the invitation of the Colombian government, to observe the situation and threats to indigenous people. The Forum looked specifically at victims of abuse related to the armed conflict and in danger of extinction and the Awá people. Many of the Awá people are displaced and facing many hostilities, while others are at risk of losing their land due to a lack of education. At the conclusion of this visit, the Forum made about 60 recommendations to the Government as well as the UN system.
Looking to the Future
The General Assembly has decided to organize a World Conference on Indigenous Peoples in 2014 on the realization of the rights of indigenous peoples, including pursuing the objectives of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Permanent Forum will play a key role in determining the modalities of the World Conference.
“The unique capacity of civil society to forge grand coalitions that transcends borders, running from the grassroots to the international level needs to be put to the service of the development cause of LDCs”, stated Ambassador Cheick Sidi Diarra, Secretary-General of the Fourth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (UN LDC IV) at an Interactive Civil Society Hearing on 1 April.
The General Assembly hearing was held in preparation for UN LDC IV, taking place on 9-13 May in Istanbul. Discussions focused on the results of the 10-year action plan adopted in 2001 and on how to further strengthen new measures for sustainable development of LDCs.
When Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed the special high-level meeting on financing for development last month, he urged that the course charted for should be truly sustainable, equitable development. “The world is still reeling from the financial and economic crisis. The path to recovery has been slow, fragile and uneven. Rising debt levels, growing inequality and social exclusion are real concerns,” he stated.
Indeed, a lot has happened since the first UN International Conference on Financing for Development that took place in Monterrey, Mexico in March 2002. The conference resulted in the Monterrey Consensus, embracing main areas for financing for development including mobilizing domestic and international financial resources; international trade; increasing international financial and technical cooperation; external debt and addressing issues to enhance the coherence of the international monetary, financial and trading systems.
At the Doha Conference in Qatar in 2008, heads of state and government and high representatives reaffirmed their commitment to the Monterrey Consensus resulting in the Doha Declaration. They declared that “we once again commit ourselves to eradicate poverty, achieve sustainable development as we advance to a fully inclusive and equitable global economic system.”
In the Doha Declaration, the countries also recognized that “mobilizing financial resources for development and the effective use of all those resources are central to the global partnership for sustainable development, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).”
Remaining challenges and solutions discussed
On 10-11 March of this year, the special high-level meeting of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) with the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) addressed many of these issues including aid for trade, debt relief, the role of the UN system in global economic governance and new challenges in the wake of the global financial crisis.
The least developed countries were also considered and a number of policy proposals were presented to resolve the challenging issues at hand. In addition, matters facing middle-income countries were discussed and the Secretary-General stated accordingly, “it is the middle-income countries that, to date, have led the recovery. Their impressive performance follows decades of admirable efforts to diversify exports and gain higher market shares for high-technology goods.”
He continued, “Yet, despite notable reductions in poverty levels, many middle-income countries face rising inequality, the persistence of extreme poverty, and a lack of adequate social security systems. Further efforts are needed to improve safety nets and economic security.”
The Secretary-General also observed that while there have been advancements, many difficult challenges still remain. Success has been seen when it comes to reducing extreme poverty, improving school enrolment and child health, reducing child mortality and enhancing access to preventive care of a number of tropical diseases. However, progress on the MDGs has been uneven. There have been slow improvements towards reaching full and productive employment and decent work for all, in advancing gender equality and in improving maternal and reproductive health.
Regarding the global partnership for development, the reviews found major gaps in the delivery of international development cooperation commitments, including aid levels and effectiveness, conclusion of the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations, debt relief and resolution mechanisms.
Planning for the future
The global efforts within financing for development is an ongoing and continuous process and as the Secretary-General concluded in his statement to the special high-level ECOSOC meeting, “in a volatile and changing world, we must not disappoint the many millions of people who look to us, and our organization, for help and reassurance. Let us respond to the full spectrum of their aspirations – economic, social, environmental and democratic. Let us listen to their voices, today and tomorrow”.
Achieving effective outcomes in public administration has become increasingly challenging. This is a result of the rise in demand for public goods and services following natural disasters caused by climate change and devastation due to conflict. Disasters and conflicts cause tremendous destruction to global economic, political and social infrastructures and negatively impact the living conditions of world populations.
National governments and international organizations face increased difficulties in achieving internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This occurs when states’ capacities are weakened by degradation and when appropriate public policies are either inadequate or nonexistent. The challenges resulting from these disastrous circumstances are often overwhelming to the existing capacities of local governments, and when not addressed, they bring the inefficiencies of public institutions to light, thus threatening their legitimacy.
The Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA) will focus on strategies for more results-oriented public governance to assist stakeholders world-wide in addressing post-disaster and post-conflict challenges. Among the topics for discussion will be how to encourage governments to place greater emphasis on the result potential of their economic and social policies. This will better prepare them towards accomplishing the imperative improvements to the quality of life for populations, in the aftermath of conflict and disaster, for all.
Improvements in the various quality of life indicators requires formulating, implementing and assessing more successful strategies and systems for the delivery of public goods and services. The Committee will also discuss how effective social protection policies could be implemented to minimize the socio-economic impacts of conflict and disaster. States could address the poverty and vulnerability of citizens by minimizing their exposure to risks through the provision of basic services in critical areas, such as education, health care, water, nutrition and shelter.
Committee of Experts on Public Administration
The Committee will meet this month (4-8 April 2011) for the tenth annual session of discussions. CEPA is comprised of twenty-four specialists in public administration from all world regions, who are currently working in academia, government or public service. The overall theme of the session will be: “Public governance for results to improve the quality of human life for all, by supporting the implementation of the internationally agreed development goals including the Millennium Development Goals.”
Professor Susan Woodward, Rapporteur of the ninth session of CEPA, noted: “Of particular importance to CEPA this year are the rising number of devastating natural disasters, particularly due to climate change, which have moved from rare emergencies to regular, repeated occurrences in vulnerable countries, and the need of their public administrations to find ways to anticipate, plan for, and manage on a recurring basis, for which regional and international mechanisms and funding will be essential.”
The Committee will first focus on existing conceptual and operational frameworks for governance, with due attention to implications of multi-stakeholder systems to achieving better governance. Next, they will address the needs of populations in post-conflict and post-disaster countries and other vulnerable people. The Committee will also examine and debate social protection policies and programmes designed to reduce the poverty and vulnerability of citizens.
What have we learned?
In one of the main discussion papers of the upcoming meeting, entitled “Public governance for results: State capacity for post-conflict and post-disaster reconstruction and social protection policies,” recognition is made of the increased pervasiveness and institutionalized nature of humanitarian interventions in the case of natural disasters and complex emergencies. Studies of international assistance have revealed an “aid-institutions paradox.” The paradox is based on the idea that aid undermines or destroys local institutions and capacity, rather than assists in building them.
Most of the policies, programmes and projects of external assistance dominate the governance process in post-conflict countries. The criteria and results of those programmes are defined by donors and external actors and are internationally imposed, rather than locally formulated and proposed. When this occurs, local actors are not engaged in these processes. They do not become familiarized with the principles of good public governance, specifically including: transparency, accountability and professional integrity of public service and citizen participation, which become lost from not being emphasized.
An important lesson to recognize is that donors and external actors must continue to work more closely with local actors in order to render assistance adapted to the specific local contexts. This will give ownership to local actors and foster a greater sense of responsibility for outcomes among them.
Progress to date
The Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM) has included a new component to their flagship publication, the biennial “United Nations e-Government Survey”, to assess the provision of public information to promote awareness of environment preservation issues by governments.
DPADM has also produced several analytical papers including: “Enhancing public administration effectiveness in Africa through strengthening local leadership capacity”, “Strategies for attracting and retaining the best talent in the public service in Africa” and “Public administration in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.”
Progress has also been made in improving knowledge-sharing, training, advocacy, partnership-building and advisory assistance. In 2010, the United Nations Public Administration Network (UNPAN) served as the de facto global network and portal for public administration and governance. The UNPAN Online Training Centre is available to deliver capacity-building courses on public administration free of charge.
To address the issue of post-conflict and post-disaster countries, the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery of the United Nations Development Programme has now begun to specialize in the early recovery of countries, which encompasses post-disaster, post-conflict and conflict prevention.
Many strides have already been made to create improved public governance, including capacity building conferences, workshops and seminars in different parts of the world. These programmes and activities will be continued throughout 2011.
“Rio+20 is humanity’s chance to commit to a transition to a green economy, to lift people out of poverty. We cannot wait another 20 years,” said Sha Zukang, Secretary-General of the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development and Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, at a news conference in New York on 8 March, following a preparatory meeting for Rio+20.
Mr. Sha said he hopes Member States will be able to agree on a “green economy as a pathway to sustainable development” and come up with a “tool kit” for implementation of agreed principles. He has earlier cautioned: “If we continue on our current path, we will bequeath material and environmental poverty, not prosperity, to our children and grandchildren”.
Education is a fundamental factor in achieving success and growth in different aspects of life. Education equips people with the knowledge to achieve all of the Millennium Development Goals by providing the skills to increase income, create employment opportunities, reduce hunger and poverty and enhance socio-economic development.
In the case of women, educating women and girls has proven to lead to higher earnings, improved child and family health and reduced fertility rates.
In 2000, world leaders adopted the United Nations Millennium Declaration where the second Millennium Development Goal (MDG-2) is to “Achieve Universal Primary Education,” ensuring that children across the globe will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling by 2015.
In an effort to improve education, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) will follow the six goals of “Education for All” of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). These goals are: (1) expand early childhood care and education, (2) provide free and compulsory primary education for all, (3) promote learning and life skills for young people and adults, (4) increase adult literacy by 50 per cent, (5) achieve gender parity by 2005, gender equality by 2015 and (6) improve the quality of education.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has prioritized the issue of equal access to education, empowerment of women through girls’ education and gender equality, education in emergencies and post-crisis education, early childhood development and school readiness and enhancing quality in primary and secondary education. To reach these goals, UNICEF has been working on a series of initiatives, including back on track education, back to school campaigns, child-friendly schools, school readiness, essential learning, learning plus and life skills based education.
Importance of Education
Education provides people with the ability to access tools that improves people’s lives. According to the Millennium Development Goals Report 2010, poverty and unequal access to schooling does not stop the high adolescent birth rates. In fact, unequal access to education jeopardizes the health and opportunities for social and economic advancement for girls and women.
The report also notes the social progress made from education. In particular, contraceptive use is four times higher among women with a secondary education than among those with no education. For women in the poorest households and among those with no education, negligible progress was seen over the last decade.
Children who receive early childhood care and education are more likely to develop basic cognitive and language skills, and be better socially and emotionally equipped. A proper education broadens opportunities for young people and helps develop the skills necessary to stimulate sustainable economic development.
Problems with Education
Some of the education implementation problems across the globe are due to the limited access to education, high drop out rates, grade repetition and poor quality of education. Today, at least 72 million children of school age are still denied the right to education due to financial, social or other challenges, including high fertility rates, HIV/AIDS and armed conflict.
In a report by UNESCO, titled “Education for All—Global Monitoring Report 2010: Reaching the Marginalized”, the publication estimated that achieving MDG-2 of universal primary education and goals of “education for all” across 46 low-income countries by 2015 would require an additional $24 billion per year in addition to the estimated existing national spending on basic education of $12 billion in 2007.
There is a fear that progress made in past 10 years will stall or be reversed as a consequence of the slower economic growth. In fact, many of the world’s poorest countries are not on track to meet the 2015 education targets.
In countries in which accessibility is not a problem, quality of the education available still remains a challenge. Of the students enrolled in school, millions drop out or leave school without having gained the most basic literacy and numeracy skills due to poor quality of education. To ensure schooling is useful, it is necessary to enforce proper infrastructure and a relevant curriculum.
Teachers are necessary to facilitate learning and education; therefore it is vital to make sure there is not a shortage of teachers. Furthermore, a shortage of teachers can be a major barrier to delivering education. To further ensure quality, teachers need to be well trained and motivated.
Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon elaborates on the importance to financing “Education for All” stating, that “aid for education produces great returns for poverty reduction, economic growth, child survival and democracy.”
For example, the abolition of primary school fees in Burundi resulted in a threefold increase in primary-school enrolment since 1999, reaching 99 percent in 2008.
Looking to the future
This year’s theme of the High-level Segment (HLS) of the ECOSOC Substantive Session in Geneva is education. The 2011 Annual Ministerial Review (AMR) will focus on the theme of “Implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to education”. The theme aims to bring governments and civil society together to assess progress and challenges to ensure the MDG-2 is met by 2015.
To prepare for the 2011 AMR, ECOSOC is hosting events on the national, regional and global level. The activities include a philanthropy meeting on “partnering with the philanthropic community to promote education for all”, global preparatory meetings, regional preparatory meetings for Asia and the Pacific as well as the Arab region, national workshops and two e-discussions.
The e-discussions focus on “Building a future for today’s youth: improving access to education” and on “Education: Closing the Gap.” The e-discussion on closing the gap will provide an open multi-stakeholder forum for academia, policy-makers and practitioners to discuss the achievement of education and learning for all. The forum also offers stakeholders a venue to formulate concrete, actionable recommendations for consideration by the ECOSOC AMR.
The e-discussion on improving access to education is organized by DESA and the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) on Facebook. It intends to provide a platform for the youth to express themselves, mobilize governments and the international community, demonstrate a link between education and the MDGs, and highlight the role of UNAI and its member institutions.
ECOSOC hopes to finalize the session with a Ministerial Declaration on “Implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to education”.
More people live outside their country of birth today than at any time in history. In 2010, the number of international migrants was estimated at 214 million, up from 195 million in 2005. Females account for 49 per cent of the total. Six out of every 10 international migrants (128 million) reside in a developed country, and the majority of those (74 million) come from a developing country.
Impact of the economic crisis
The recent economic and financial crisis reduced, but not halted, the growth in the number of international migrants. In developed countries, the number of international migrants increased by 10.5 million from 2005 to 2010, down from 12.8 million from 2000 to 2005. In developing countries, the number of international migrants almost doubled from 2000-2005 (4.0 million) to 2005-2010 (8.2 million) partially as a result of the increase in the number of refugees.
Migrant workers have been hard hit by rising levels of unemployment, partially because they are concentrated in economic sectors, such as construction, manufacturing and tourism, that have been seriously affected by the economic downturn. Despite rapidly rising levels of unemployment among migrants, the arrival of new migrants has continued. Large-scale returns of migrants have not taken place, because the majority of migrants are well integrated in their countries of residence.
In 2009, remittances to low- and middle-income countries fell for the fist time since 1980 reaching $316 billion dollars; $20 billion less than in 2008. Yet, remittances have been more resilient to the effects of the crisis than other types of financial flows.
An increasing number of Governments of both countries of origin and countries of destination of international migrants are committed to finding effective ways of leveraging the beneficial aspects of international migration for development. In 2010, multilateral projects on international migration and development totalled some 250 million US dollars. Policies to maximize the developmental impacts of international migration range from lowering the transfer costs of remittances and leveraging remittances for development to encouraging expatriate communities to invest in their home countries, lowering the costs of migration and promoting circular migration.
Protecting the rights of migrants
The recent financial and economic crises have contributed to a resurgence of xenophobia and thus underscored the importance of taking effective measures to protect the rights of all migrants. By June 2010, 82 Member States had ratified at least one of the three international instruments relative to migrant workers, namely, the 1990 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, the 1949 International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention concerning Migration for Employment (Revised) (No. 97) or the 1975 ILO Convention concerning Migration in Abusive Conditions and the Promotion of Equality of Opportunity and Treatment of Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) (No. 143). Combined, those Member States hosted 32 per cent (69 million) of all international migrants worldwide.
International migration and development at the United Nations
The issue of international migration and development remains high on the agenda of the United Nations. In 2006, the General Assembly convened the High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development, the first high-level event at the United Nations exclusively devoted to international migration. Participants recognised that international migration, development and human rights were intrinsically interconnected and that international migration, supported by appropriate policies, could be a positive force for development in both countries of origin and destination.
Since the High-level Dialogue, activities of the United Nations system that seek to maximize the opportunities of international migration for development and to limit its negative impacts have multiplied. In 2006, the Secretary-General established the Global Migration Group (GMG), which aims to coordinate the work of 14 United Nations entities, the World Bank and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The GMG has been tasked to promote the wider application of all relevant international and regional instruments and norms relating to international migration, and to encourage the adoption of more coherent, comprehensive and better coordinated approaches to the issue of international migration.
As follow-up to the 2006 High-level Dialogue, the General Assembly decided in 2008 to organize an informal thematic debate on international migration and development in 2011 and to hold a second High-level Dialogue on international migration and development in 2013.
The 2006 High-level Dialogue also established the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), an informal, state-led, voluntary and non-binding process providing a platform for Governments to share good practices and lessons learnt. The Global Forum is linked to the United Nations through the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on International Migration and Development. The Global Forum, which has held four annual meetings since 2007, has attracted delegates from over 150 Member States and numerous observers from the United Nations and other international organizations.
Improving the evidence base: data on migrant stocks by age and sex
In response to the growing demand for policy-relevant data on international migration, the Population Division has produced, for the first time, estimates of the number of international migrants by age and sex, for every country in the world. The publication International Migrants by Age, Population Facts, No. 2010/6 provides some highlights of these estimates.
Recognizing the role that forests play in everything from mitigating climate change to providing wood, medicines and livelihoods for people worldwide, the United Nations kicked off on 2 February a year-long celebration to raise awareness of the value of this important resource.
In his speech at the launch ceremony, Sha Zukang, the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, noted that political interest in forests has been rising, and stressed that that interest should be translated into action. “We have to make sure that the billions of dollars pledged towards forests and climate change financing is actually released and applied to sustainable forest management,” Mr. Sha said.
During the Copenhagen World Summit for Social Development in 1995, leaders from across the globe recognized poverty eradication as an ethical, political and economic imperative and identified it as one of the three pillars of social development. Since then, the world has come together to eliminate poverty. As a major step towards this objective, the Millennium Declaration set the target of halving the proportion of people living on less than $1.25 a day between 1990 and 2015.
There has been some success in reducing global poverty levels. World Bank data show that the number of people living on less than $1.25 a day in developing countries declined from 1.9 billion to 1.4 billion between 1981 and 2005 and the proportion of people living in extreme poverty dropped from 52.0 to 25.7 per cent during the same period.
Furthermore, at the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals, held in New York last year, it was predicted that, at the global level, the target would be met. Nonetheless, in some regions the likelihood of achieving the expected objectives will not be feasible.
Beyond income poverty
The absolute number of people living in poverty has gone up in several regions including Sub-Saharan and Northern Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Central Asia totaling 1 billion people who are living in extreme poverty. In fact, today’s poverty situation is even more serious if we consider its wider definition.
In one of DESA’s flagship publications, Rethinking Poverty: Report on the World Social Situation 2010, it was highlighted that poverty is not simply a lack of adequate income. In short, poverty is the deprivation of one’s ability to live as a free and dignified human being with the full potential to achieve one’s desired goals in life.
The report further explains that the poverty line approach limits the field of vision to individuals and households below the prescribed poverty line, ignoring the fact that there is a large share of the population above the poverty line who are highly vulnerable to poverty. Many households enter and exit poverty as defined by a poverty line as their circumstances and fortunes fluctuate, such fluctuations being a hallmark of deprivation.
In response to the flaws of the monetary based approach, several new measures and approaches are being considered. For example, The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched a new poverty index that takes into consideration deprivations in health care, education and living standards.
The index highlights that the number of people living in multidimensional poverty considerably exceeds those who live on $1.25 a day or less. The new index estimates that about 1.7 billion people live in multi-dimensional poverty while 1.3 billion are suffering from income poverty. This shows that even though countries might have succeeded at reducing income poverty, they are still unable to ensure access to education, health care and food.
While these approaches are presenting more complex data and provide alternative points of entry for developing a framework for a social analysis of deprivation, they all have features that tend to significantly limit their usefulness for this purpose. As a result, the 2010 DESA report stresses that there is the need for more research and reflection to develop a wider analytical framework that incorporates the social exclusion approach to poverty reduction efforts.
Emerging challenges
Reducing poverty requires sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth. Unfortunately, recent economic changes have failed to enable the right environment for this growth to happen. In fact, in many low-income countries, the slow rate of economic growth constitutes the main challenge to poverty reduction. Without an adequate rate of economic growth to raise the average level of income, opportunities for redistribution and fiscal space for social policy are limited.
Moreover, the economic crisis led to an increase of unemployment rates across the globe. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimated that globally the number of jobless persons is estimated to have reached 210 million in mid-2010, up from 178 million in 2007. High unemployment levels directly affect income and social integration. Adequately remunerated jobs provide income security, access to social protection, better health and educational status and, ultimately, a way out of poverty. Even though the current economic situation has slightly improved, lack of job recovery continues to hinder poverty reduction.
Today, people living in poverty are not only left out of the job market and of the economic growth process, but they are also often excluded from social and political opportunities, a situation that further increases inequalities at every socio-economic level. Furthermore, poverty and inequality are often passed on from one generation to the next, and the deprivations children suffer at birth and throughout childhood often lead to an adulthood constrained by similar circumstances. Children in families at the lower end of the income distribution scale tend to have poorer health, shorter life expectancy and less education translating into lower income in adulthood.
Additionally, countries affected by conflict, weather-related disasters and other impacts of climate change are even less likely to experience economic growth. For example, it has been estimated that civil war reduces economic growth by at least 2 per cent a year, and thus, a seven-year war could reduce a country’s wealth by 16 per cent. Also, the effects of climate change are impacting the less fortunate at a greater rate than those living in developed nations.
People living in poverty, especially in marginal environments and areas with low agricultural productivity, depend directly on genetic, species and ecosystem diversity to support their livelihoods. If these natural resources become scarce due to changes in climate, they will be unable to satisfy their basic needs reducing their chances of getting out of poverty.
Evidently, polices and measures that were considered effective to eliminate poverty a few years ago do not necessarily take into consideration the impacts that the aforementioned challenges are having on poverty. With less than five years remaining before the target date of 2015, there is the imminent need to create an effective response plan based on national and international renewed efforts that consider poverty as a multi-dimensional issue.
Uniting efforts to eliminate poverty
Despite advances in poverty reduction, the global community continues to recognize that eradicating poverty is the greatest global challenge that the world faces today, and a core requirement to achieve sustainable development. As a consequence, in December 2007 the General Assembly proclaimed the Second United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (2008-2017).
This second decade aims at supporting the internationally agreed development goals related to poverty eradication and stresses the importance of reinforcing the positive results that some countries have achieved with regard to poverty reduction while it recognizes poverty as a multi-dimensional issue; in 2008, the General Assembly decided “full employment and decent work for all” as a theme for the decade. To achieve the expected objectives of this decade, the UN called for a more coherent and integrated UN system-wide response and is working closely with social partners, NGOs, civil society, and other actors in order to support national governments to implement internationally agreed development goals.
Continuing with the efforts to make the decade an important element to aid the process of poverty eradication, the United Nations Economic and Social Council decided that the priority theme of the Commission for Social Development for the 2011-2012 review and policy cycle would be poverty eradication taking into consideration its relationship with social integration and, full employment and decent work for all.
During the forty-ninth session of the Commission for Social Development, taking place from 9 to 18 February 2011, Member States will gather to evaluate and assess the implementation process of the Copenhagen World Summit for Social Development and other further initiatives adopted since then and provide the necessary recommendations. The commission is also intended to review and consider issues affecting the most vulnerable groups including persons with disabilities, youth and older persons, and discuss emerging challenges with a special emphasis on social protection.
The Second United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty and the forty-ninth session of the Commission for Social Development are important UN led actions to reiterate the urgency of eliminating worldwide poverty. However, to win the battle against poverty, all relevant stakeholders, including member states, civil society and non-governmental organizations must come together and take definite actions.
In today’s global economy, no nation is self-sufficient. They rely on one another to complete a wide range of international transactions including selling, buying or exchanging of goods and services. Global trading has become a key pillar of today’s economy and its fluctuations can impact national and international policies and processes. As a result, having the right numbers on global trade has become a decisive need for the world’s economic growth and development.
Recognizing the need to discuss the best ways to meet the ever rising information demand of global trade statistics of different stakeholders and to adapt to the changes in the global landscape, key policy makers, economists and statisticians will convene from 2 to 4 of February in Geneva at the Global Forum on Trade Statistics.
The importance of global trade statistics
Growth and setbacks shown in international trade statistics will be accompanied by corresponding changes in economic growth, economic and social development, and employment levels. Decision makers, therefore, rely upon this trade information to set policies and make informed decisions. In fact, based on trade data projections, business leaders change market strategies, political decision makers modify their agenda, and nations re-negotiate multilateral agreements.
In the last forty years, the world has witnessed changes in almost every socio-economic aspect. Developing countries, such as China, Brazil and India, have become major superpowers leading to a change in global production, consumption and investment. The digital revolution is virtually erasing national boundaries, facilitating information and knowledge exchange among countries, people and communities. Trade statistics reflect these developments in the transaction of goods and services, evidencing some of the most important changes in modern history.
Changes and trends
Today, it’s very common for business operations related to production of goods or delivery of services to move to lower wage countries across the globe in order to reduce costs. Such business models have led to the creation of the global value chain research, which explains global manufacturing from the chain of the various business operations. The new concept has gained attention and importance in recent years.
Such research shows that business decisions are not only influenced by the objective of lowering production costs, but also by, for instance, moving the assembly of the final product closer to the consumer market. Due to the emergence of the global value chains, a particular issue affecting statistical data compilation arose, namely a significant increase of international transactions of intermediate goods, such as product parts. Inside current global chains, unfinished products may cross several borders several times during the production process inflating, to a certain extent, the volume of international recorded transactions.
This resulted in a higher volatility of the observed global trade. In other words, in times of economic growth, trade was increasing two or three times as fast as GDP, while during the last economic crisis, global trade contracted by about 12.5% whereas the global level of GDP decreased only by about 2.5%.
The recent global economic crisis led to a significant decline in imports by developed countries. With the value chain-dominated production structure, changes in orders and inventories spread rapidly from one market to another, also affecting the developing countries.
In fact, the crisis was a clear testament of the global nature of production and services delivery. For instance, according to the publication “Global Value Chains in a Post-Crisis World” the fall in U.S. demand for Japanese final goods was accompanied by a significant drop in demand for intermediate goods in China and South-East Asia.
These changes and developments have created a world economy that is integrated, interdependent, and specialized where tracking inputs, outputs, exports and imports is becoming more challenging.
The international trade data shows the huge increase of trade in intermediate goods, yet it does not give information over the business practices and underlying strategic decisions as the link to the enterprise statistics is mostly missing. A few countries have started linking trade and business statistics including the Netherlands, Italy, Canada and Austria and can serve as models for other countries to apply these practices.
Towards a trade information system
The international statistical community recognized the need to adjust both international merchandise trade statistics (IMTS) and statistics of international trade in services (SITS), and adopted new international recommendations during the UN Statistical Commission at its 41st session in 2010. These new recommendations (IMTS 2010 and SITS 2010) encompass robust elements that aim at providing more information on trade transactions, such as the better utilization of customs procedure codes and the separate recording of special transactions.
IMTS 2010 also mentions the application of trade by enterprise characteristics which would allow examining the impact of globalization on businesses and recommends countries to integrate their trade register with their business register and to take steps towards an integrated system of economics statistics for data compilation and analysis.
The ultimate objective of the Global Forum on Trade Statistics is to stress the importance of implementing the 2010 recommendations and establish a shared vision that enhances the current national statistical systems on three different fronts including institutional arrangements, statistical data production, and data dissemination and analysis.
To achieve the new vision by 2020, countries must overcome some challenges such as the tendency by national institutes to preserve the status quo, the lack of adequate resources to develop or upgrade the required business registers and enterprise surveys, and the confidentiality issue of micro-level business data.
H.E. Lazarous Kapambwe, Permanent Representative of Zambia to the UN was elected on 18 January to serve as the next President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
“I represent the region that is lagging behind the most in terms of development in all socio-economic sectors and I pledge to do my best to ensure that Africa’s challenges as well as all other regions are tackled in the best way possible by the Council,” Mr. Kapambwe told ECOSOC.
The Earth Summit, the first UN Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, shifted paradigms. For the first time, during this unprecedented UN meeting, governments and leaders from across the globe re-thought economic development and fully recognized the integral and interdependent nature of our home, the Earth. The summit’s shared message was to ensure a healthy planet by drastically changing our attitudes and behaviours. State leaders acknowledged the urgency of a deep change in consumption and production patterns.
During the Rio Summit, Agenda 21, a programme of action for sustainable development, was adopted. The document, which contains the Rio Declaration, further reaffirmed that sustainable development was delimited by the integration of the economic, social and environmental pillars.
Since the adoption of the Rio Declaration, progress has been made. In 2002, during the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), leaders met to renew the global commitment. Today, the concept of sustainable development has been incorporated in the agendas of every government and the private sector, and it has also been included in many UN declarations. More and more green jobs are being created, alternative sources of energy are being developed and used, and production and consumption patterns have being modified.
However, efforts have fallen short of what was expected two decades ago, and the consequences are evident. Five million infants still die every year of preventable diseases. Two billion people live in poverty, many lacking access to basic services like health and primary education. Small island states are at high risk of environmental catastrophes, and even their own survival is a stake. Climate change and food and energy insecurity are threatening the world’s stability. The weakened economic situation experienced since 2008 has drastically affected growth, and thus, nations have had to respond to new emerging challenges.
Today, more than ever before, there is a need to revive the enthusiasm and spirit experienced in 1992, and Rio+20, the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, will be the perfect place to renew commitments and prepare for new and emerging challenges.
About Rio+20
Recognizing the need to revitalize the discussions on sustainable development and to effectively prepare for emerging challenges, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in 2009 agreeing to hold the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) in 2012 in Brazil.
The summit’s three objectives are to secure renewed political commitment to sustainable development, assess progress and gaps in the implementation of agreed commitments, and address new and emerging challenges.
In order to focus the discussion and successfully reach the goals, the conference will consider two themes: “A green economy within the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication,” and “the institutional framework for sustainable development.”
It is expected that during the preparatory process and at the conference all sectors will bring innovative ideas and solutions focusing on the advancement of a green economy, which is the key for rapid progress on sustainable development.
In his statement to the Expert Meeting on the Green Economy in Geneva in October 2010, Mr. Sha Zukang, in his capacity as Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development said: “A green economy provides the missing entry point to accelerated progress, it offers new avenues and opportunities for pursuing the integration of the social, economic and environmental pillars of sustainable development.”
Focusing on green economy also ensures that the discussion moves forward from just a low carbon economy. In fact, green economy is characterized by low inputs, low emission, low wastes, higher efficiency in resource uses and better product designs, as well as creating jobs that can lift people out of poverty.
In that sense, Rio+20 is expected to become the new historic UN meeting where solutions to the emerging challenges of the last 20 years will be explored. However, to meet the summit’s expectations and to reach its goal, the preparatory process becomes one of the most vital elements of the conference.
On the Road to Rio+20
To make Rio+20 an unprecedented success, it is crucial to facilitate the broadest possible participation from all the key stakeholders. As a result, the Rio+20 Secretariat has invited formal contributions from national delegations, UN system entities, and thousands of registered civil society organizations from all over the world.
The preparatory process will also include three meetings of the Preparatory Committee where procedural and substantive matters will be discussed and agreed upon. The first meeting was held in New York from 16-18 May 2010. The second one is intended to take place from 7-8 March 2011. The last meeting will be held in Brazil in 2012 to discuss the outcome of the Conference, immediately preceding UNCSD 2012.
Although DESA is in charge of organizing the 2012 conference, it has been recognized that to achieve the anticipated results, it is necessary to engage the entire UN family.
According to Mr. Sha, DESA needs the broad engagement from other secretariat departments, regional commissions, funds and programmes and specialized agencies – in other words, the entire UN family – in order to provide effective, efficient and coordinated support for the preparation and organization of UNCSD 2012.
So far there are clear signs of collaboration for the preparatory process among members of the UN family. For example, DESA, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) have organized a series of expert meetings in green economy.
It has also been realized that the only way to achieve comparable engagement to the Earth Summit from civil society is through outreach efforts. Consequently, at the Headquarters in New York, DESA and the Department of Public Information (DPI), jointly with other UN system entities and agencies, are creating communications campaigns for Rio+20.
To revive the Rio spirit there is a need to unite efforts across the board. Member States, the UN family, and civil society must actively participate in the preparatory process and at the conference. Without joint efforts, rekindling the Earth’s Summit enthusiasm will be a significant challenge.
During his statement to the Executive Committee of Economic and Social Affairs (ECESA) Plus meeting, on 12 November Mr. Sha said, “We had gotten off to a good start and we will continue along the path of collaboration. It is no exaggeration to say that it takes the whole UN family to support a successful UN Conference on Sustainable Development.”
World economic recovery will be uneven in the coming years. Prospects for advanced economies are marred by persistent high unemployment, withdrawal of stimulus measures, and continued financial fragility. Sovereign debt distress and tensions over exchange rates risk affecting global stability, which could also affect the till now much more robust performance of most developing countries.
According to the UN report the “World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2011”, to be released worldwide on 18 January, the expected economic expansion will be 3.1 per cent in 2011 and 3.5 per cent in 2012, which is far from optimal to enable economic revitalization.
The economy of the United States is expected to grow by 2.2 per cent in 2011; a slowdown from the 2.6 per cent growth in 2010. Economic recovery in the Euro area is forecasted to come to a virtual halt, with output expanding at a mere 1.3 per cent in 2011 and 1.9 per cent in 2012. In a more pessimistic scenario, the UN report predicts that Europe could well see a double-dip recessionn, while the economies of the United States and Japan might virtually stagnate and possibly also fall back into recession during 2011.
The global economy is being held up by robust recovery in developing countries since the third quarter of 2009. But the weakening economic landscape of developed nations is expected to moderate growth in developing countries from 7.0 per cent in 2010 to 6.0 per cent on average during 2011-2012.
Risks and Uncertainties
Rob Vos, Director of the Development Policy and Analysis Division of DESA emphasized that “We are not out of the woods yet and greater risks are looming.”
Factors affecting the economic recovery include the diminished cooperative spirit among major economies, reflected in uncoordinated monetary responses leading to turbulence and uncertainty in financial markets. At the same time, fiscal stimulus is being withdrawn in many economies, which in the present context threatens to keep unemployment high and drag the recovery in the near outlook.
Between 2007 and 2009 at least 30 million jobs were lost, and this number could even be greater, as it does not consider increases in precarious employment in the informal sector and rates of underemployment. Unemployment rates in most developed economies, except a few such as Germany and Australia, have stayed high and hardly come down.
In the Unites States, for instance, the unemployment rate may increase to 10 per cent at the beginning of 2011, up from 9.6 percent in the third quarter of 2010. Some European countries are facing even more daunting prospects, such as in Spain where the rate jumped to 20.5 per cent in 2010 and where more than 40 per cent of the youth are without a job. The report predicts that unemployment rate will come down in the Euro zone at a snail’s pace. With many without a job, household consumption will remain sluggish and drag output growth down. Vice versa, weak output growth will limit the creation of jobs.
Besides the lack of job creation, volatility in currency markets resulting from uncoordinated monetary expansions has increased tensions over currencies. This is adding more uncertainty to the already unstable macroeconomic landscape. The report explains that the strong quantitative easing (in simple terms, printing more dollars) in the United States, is putting downward pressure on the value of the world’s reserve currency, causing ripples in currency markets worldwide. The UN warns that heightened tensions over currency and trade could potentially trigger renewed turmoil in financial markets.
Key challenges ahead
Providing more fiscal stimulus in the short run is the first of five key challenges that needs to be addressed according to the report. It provides evidence that most developed countries still have ample fiscal space and hence could provide such stimulus to regain the momentum of the recovery. Such action should be adequately coordinated among the major economies to ensure a reinvigoration of global growth that will also provide external demand for those economies which have exhausted their fiscal space. Absent of a new net fiscal stimulus and a faster recovery of bank lending to the private sector, growth is likely to remain anaemic in many countries in the foreseeable future.
The report sees a redesign of the fiscal stimulus as the second challenge. Thus far, stimulus packages in developed countries have focused mostly on income support measures, with tax-related measures accounting for more than half of the stimulus package. Expanding public investing on renewable clean energy is a measure that the report cites as an adequate vehicle to aid economic recovery as this type of stimulus provides significantly greater employment effects. Monitoring closely the way in which income growth and productivity gains are shared in society, providing job-search training, and enhancing social protection policies are some of the other ways in which nations can redesign their fiscal spending.
As indicated, uncoordinated monetary expansion has been a cause of damaging exchange rate instability. The third challenge, therefore, is to avoid damaging international spillover effects, reaching cross-border agreements about the magnitude, speed and timing of quantitative easing policies will reduce the likelihood of increased global imbalances.
The fourth challenge is to ensure that there is sufficient financing for achieving the MDG’s and also to increase investments for sustainable development in low-income countries. The report highlights that these countries have reduced fiscal space while facing large development deficits. Apart from delivering on existing aid commitments, donor countries should consider mechanisms to delink aid flows from their business cycles so as to prevent delivery shortfalls in times of crisis, when the need for development aid is most urgent.
Governments in major economies have become more focused on domestic policy challenges than on the spillover effects of their actions. Consequently, the fifth challenge will be to find effective ways to strengthen international policy coordination. According to the report, the focus in recent policy debates on exchange-rate realignment is too narrow and bilaterally focused.
In this regard, there is some urgency in making the G20 framework for sustainable global rebalancing more specific and operational. The report suggests that establishing concrete “current-account target zones” might be a meaningful way forward. Having clear and verifiable targets for desired policy outcomes would help make parties accountable, while the possible loss of reputation through non-compliance would be an incentive to live up to policy agreements.
Such target zones would also highlight the need for both surplus and deficit countries to contribute to sustaining global effective demand. The target zones should not, however, be seen as an end in themselves, but rather as a guide towards a sustainable growth path for the world, which should encompass the proposed actions to address all five key challenges.
As stated by Mr. Vos, “The road to recovery will be long and bumpy.” However, if a cooperative spirit among developed economies is revived, economic responses are coordinated, and fiscal stimulus is resigned, a more optimistic scenario for the world economy could become within range.
The United Nations climate change talks in Cancún concluded on 11 December with a package of decisions to help countries advance towards a low-emissions future, delivering a victory in the battle against one of today’s biggest challenges.
The outcome is an “important success for a world much in need of it,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, following the conclusion of the two-week meeting. “Governments came together in common cause, for the common good, and agreed on a way forward to meet the defining challenge of our time.”
Over 650 million people in the world have a disability; they make up approximately 10% of the world’s population and are the world’s largest minority. According to UNDP, around 80% of persons with disabilities live in developing countries. Worldwide trends, including the combination of population growth, population ageing and medical advances mean this group continues to grow.
The commitment of the United Nations to the rights of persons with disabilities was codified into an international human rights convention in 2006. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), adopted in 2000, call on all stakeholders to take action towards achieving eight key developmental goals by 2015. The goals focus on reducing extreme poverty, improving health and education and environmental sustainability to improve the lives of the world’s poorest populations. The Goals are also an expression of fundamental human rights, encompassing universally accepted human values and rights for all.
Although the MDGs do not currently make any specific mention of disability, the United Nations has since reiterated the commitment of the international community to promote the inclusion of disability in Millennium Development Goal processes where persons with disabilities are both development agents and beneficiaries.
The International Day of Persons with Disabilities
In this context, the theme of the 2010 United Nations’ International Day of Persons with a Disability, celebrated annually on 3 December, is “Keeping the promise: Mainstreaming disability in the Millennium Development Goals towards 2015 and beyond”.
The Day aims to promote a better understanding of disability issues with a focus on the rights of persons with disabilities and the gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of the political, social, economic and cultural life of their communities. Events will be held worldwide to commemorate the Day with a particular focus on ways to ensure that society and governments will make the MDGs more inclusive and will promote development for all.
Mainstreaming disability in the MDGs
The MDG country reports provided a mixed picture suggesting some progress in mainstreaming disability in development in the context of theMDGs, but also raised concerns that disability remains largely “invisible” in the national development priorities. Despite recent progress, comparative studies on disability legislation show that only 45 countries have anti-discrimination and other disability-specific laws.
In addition, there remain significant gaps between policy and implementation. Persons with disabilities often face complex, multifaceted and multi-layered challenges. In addition to the difficulties stemming from the disability itself, issues such as poverty and gender discrimination may further hinder their integration into society.
In support of efforts by Governments and civil society to achieve the Goals, at the global, regional and country levels, the United Nations works in four activity areas: monitoring; analysis; awareness-raising campaigning and mobilization; and operational activities.
The Inter-Agency and Expert Group on MDG Indicators undertakes analysis to monitor progress towards realization of the Goals at the global and regional levels, which plays an important role for inclusion of disability in all MDG processes.
The impact of the multiple crises
Recently, successive crises have hit the world and contributed to a slowing in development progress in general. The United Nations have urged Member States not to use lack of resources as an excuse for failing to meet their targets. The organization has also called on numerous occasions for pro-poor policies to be implemented along with protection measures to ensure those with the least are not disproportionately affected.
However, cuts in public spending announced by many developed countries could lead to decrease in health and social services and the reduction or cutting of benefits and allowances and these fiscal austerity measures are especially likely to affect people with disabilities.
Furthermore, analysis of food crisis suggests that the underlying problem is one of poverty more than scarcity of food and people with disabilities are among those most at risk of being unable to afford to eat. In turn, malnourishment in itself increases the risk of members of affected populations developing disabilities in the first place.
With regard to natural disasters, including those climate change causes, the poorest and most vulnerable often suffer a disproportionately negative impact and persons with disabilities are at risk of becoming ‘invisible’ and excluded from relief efforts. In addition, these disasters can cause debilitating injuries and illnesses which then leave many people with long term disabilities.
Similarly, wars and conflicts remain not only a major cause of disabilities, but also leave persons with disabilities exceptionally vulnerable, through loss of care givers and poor access to aid and relief efforts. The United Nations has urged member states to use these crises as opportunities for a ‘fresh start’ – for example, after a natural disaster, a conflict or a recession to rebuild structures that are designed to be accessible to persons with disabilities.
The importance of data and statistics
The General Assembly has called on Governments to build a knowledge base of data and information about the situation of persons with disabilities, which could be used to facilitate disability-sensitive development policy planning, monitoring, evaluation and implementation. Particular attention is paid to the realization of the Millennium Development Goals for persons with disabilities. It has also urged Governments to cooperate and to avail themselves of the technical assistance of the Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
The consensus is that focusing on the inclusion of disability in the current MDG indicators would be more effective in promoting the inclusion of disability data than proposing any new indicators related to disability. This will require identifying those indicators that could be meaningfully disaggregated by disability. Inclusion of disability into the specific Goals could be based on whether the goal is “overarching” and/or the availability of disability disaggregated data. Goals 1, 2 and 3 would meet these two criteria.
However, such an approach has some limitations, as available data may not always be adequate to reflect the relevance or importance of an issue. In such a case, when the scope of data and evidence are limited, efforts to identify additional data could be made to bridge the gap.
Within the United Nations system
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities sets out legal obligations on States to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities, it does not create new rights. It was adopted on 13 December 2006, and entered into force on 3 May 2008.
The Convention is a legally binding treaty, intended as a human rights instrument with an explicit, social development dimension. It adopts a broad categorization of persons with disabilities and reaffirms that all persons with all types of disabilities must enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The Convention reinforces and works in synergy with pre-existing international texts such as the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities and the World Programme of Action, neither of which are legally binding treaties.
United Nations Voluntary Fund on Disability provides funding targeted towards building the capacity of non-governmental organizations to take part in the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Fund is administered by the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, within DESA.
The United Nations Climate Change Conference opened in Cancún, Mexico on 29 November, bringing together 193 nations and calling for a balanced and concrete outcome to meet one of today’s biggest challenges.
Addressing the media, Christiana Figueres, Executive Director of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said that “Cancun can launch a new era in the pace of global action on climate change, where each year brings increasingly effective answers to keep humanity on track to a safer future”. She added that Cancun will not solve everything and the outcome needs to be pragmatic, but Cancun also needs to keep ambition very much alive.”
E-government is becoming the norm in countries around the world. Information and communications technologies, like the Internet and mobile networks, have evolved from being just an office tool to a transformation agent for the public sector. However, many challenges lie ahead. Governments must now shift their strategies from being supply-driven to focusing on the needs and demands of the end-users.
The purpose of e-government is to meet citizens’ needs anywhere, anytime. It is intended to reach as many users as possible while integrating service delivery across the public sector. Ultimately, e-government programmes are intended to enhance citizens’ lives. However, many difficulties are on the road as access to Internet, especially for the most vulnerable groups, remains a major hurdle.
About the United Nations E-Government Survey
The survey provides a benchmarking tool for the 192 Member States of the United Nations to assess their country’s e-government development. The survey tracks the progress of the implementation of e-government programmes, and it measures and compares Member States’ e-government development via the Global e-Government Development Index.
Over the years, the UN E-Government Survey has been referenced by several noteworthy publications, including the World Bank’s ICT at a Glance report, OECD’s Governance as a Glance 2009 publication, the World Economic Forum’s report on Global Information Technology 2009-2010, the European Commission: Europe’s Digital Competitiveness Report and the Economist EUI: E readiness rankings 2009: The usage imperative.
The survey has also been mentioned in Vinnova (the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovative Systems): eGovernment of Tomorrow: Future scenarios for 2020, the National University of Singapore/Institute of Systems Science Report on Enterprise Architecture as Platform for Connected Government, and in the White Paper entitled “e-Government success: a Global Benchmark and Segmentation” by CS Transform.
Expert Group Meeting on e-Government Survey: Towards a More Citizen-Centric Approach
The Expert Group Meeting on ‘e-Government Survey: Toward a more Citizen-Centric Approach’ will be held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in December 2010. The purpose of the meeting is to provide a forum for discussion to allow experts in public administration to review and examine the Survey’s methodology. They will review the methodology in light of current trends in e-government programmes.
The experts will also discuss some of the major challenges and emerging issues such as user take-up and training, universal accessibility of Internet or mobile connectivity, accessibility of services by vulnerable groups and multi-channel service provision. The experts will provide advice and recommendations on how to integrate these issues into the next edition of the UN e-Government Survey which will be launched in 2012.
E-government – enhancing citizen’s lives
E-government programmes and services for citizens should increase value, promote awareness and transparency, and improve user experience. Incorporating e-government services and solutions improves the ability of the public sector to address citizens’ needs and promote development.
Simultaneously, the digital revolution enables users to evolve from information consumers to advisers and producers of solutions. This demonstrates that sound e-government solutions not only aid the policy-making process, but also enhance the lives of citizens.
For instance, Angola recognized that government services could not be conceived any longer without the integration of digital tools. Consequently, the country stepped up its efforts and created “Projecto Portal do Governo,” an Internet platform that brings all government public information and services under the same portal. Currently, the system has 157 services, information on 31 government programmes and 28 official government forms. The platform not only provides useful and much needed information but also allows citizens to comment on issues, and contact government officials directly. This has enabled the development of a two-way communication system between citizens and the public sector.
While countries recognize that e-government is a critical driver for wealth, enables growth and facilitates policy-making, not all nations have the infrastructure, budget and capacity to keep up with the demands of the digital revolution. Although there have been significant advances in e-government since the first e-Government Survey in 2003, countries still face numerous challenges hindering the development and/or advancement of their e-government programmes.
Citizen-centric approach – the future of e-government
Taking into consideration the challenges for increased user take-up, countries now must re-think their strategies. Governments should gauge how they are enabling participation and promoting inclusiveness, creating a holistic approach to service, and how they are providing a two-way communications system that allows citizens to be aware, understood, and ultimately, participate in the process. Once countries are able to integrate the aforementioned components into their e-governments solutions, they’ve embraced a citizen-centric approach.
A citizen-centric approach to e-government is the ultimately way in which governments will not only meet users’ demands but also engage them as decision-makers.
As a result, the 2012 Survey will reflect the changes in the e-government landscape, and will move beyond measuring supply-driven e-government services. In the preparation for the survey, new and fresh ideas are being considered for improving the set of indicators to assess user take-up and to evaluate if governments are taking the necessary steps to overcome the most pressing challenges.
Violence against women is widespread in every corner of the globe: from the bedroom to the battlefield. Women and girls suffer many forms of violence, including genital mutilation, rape, beatings by their partners, families or killings in the name of honour. It is shocking that in women’s lifetime, up to 76 per cent are subject to physical and/or sexual violence within intimate relationships.
Discrimination in law, social practice and attitude, impunity and apathy are the underlying causes of violence against women and girls. In many countries, laws, policies and practices discriminate against women and girls, denying them equality with men, politically, economically and socially. Social roles reinforce the power of men over women’s lives and bodies, while traditions and customs can subjugate women and leave them vulnerable to violence.
Leadership of Corporate Sector
This year’s commemoration of the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November will take place under the umbrella of the Secretary-General’s Campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women and will focus on: “The Leadership of the Corporate Sector in Empowering Women and Ending Violence against Women and Girls.”
In many cases, the private sector has shown to be effective in preventing violence against women through raising awareness, generally at the workplace and in the community. These private sector initiatives aim to eliminate violence against women by adopting measures such as employment-based codes of conduct and zero tolerance policies, distributing awareness-raising materials to employees, clients, and customers, and providing technical assistance to other organizations.
The private sector has also played a key role by contributing financially to foundations and organizations focusing on initiatives to end violence against women and girls. Examples of this commitment include Avon Products Inc., which in 2008, announced a public-private partnership with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), part of UN Women, and committed $1 million USD to the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. In 2009, Avon committed an additional $250,000 USD to the Trust Fund.
The major challenge worldwide is to translate commitments into practice. Innovative and groundbreaking campaigns, as well as policy and practice changing initiatives, are some of the areas in which the corporate sector can focus their efforts to raise awareness among employees and customers and change their attitudes.
Since the UNiTE campaign was launched in February 2008, the Secretary-General of the United Nations has made urgent calls on governments, civil society, the media, the private sector and the entire United Nations system to join forces in addressing this global issue. This year’s commemoration will acknowledge the continuing corporate leadership in addressing this issue, and it will also provide an important opportunity for sharing experiences and discussing strategies for enhancing the leadership role in addressing violence against women and girls.
UN trust fund
In October this year, the United Nations Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) announced US$10 million in grants to 13 initiatives in 18 countries. The UN Trust Fund is the only multilateral grant-making mechanism exclusively devoted to supporting local and national efforts to end violence against women and girls. Established in 1996, the Fund is managed by UNIFEM.
“Violence against women destroys families, fractures communities and hampers progress on development goals,” said Inés Alberdi, Executive Director, UNIFEM. “But it is a problem with a solution. Only by intensifying support and increasing investment to national and local efforts can we ensure women and girls are safe from violence and can lead healthy, productive lives,” she added.
The Secretary-General’s campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women includes a specific target of raising US$100 million annually for the UN Trust Fund by 2015.
Tasks of UN Committee
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women regularly reviews the status and progress of each of the 186 countries that have accepted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which was adopted in 1979.
“Significant progress has been achieved with respect to women’s human rights but we know that much more needs to be done throughout the whole world,” said Zou Xiaoqiau, the vice chair of the 23-member Committee during the recent meeting in October.
Ms. Zou expressed alarm over the fact that violence against women is prevalent in many parts of the world, pointing out that the scourge is on the rise with one in three women around the world being beaten, coerced into sex or abused. Characterizing the statistics as “frightening,” she noted that many rapes go unreported due to stigma and trauma.
Asked why sexual violence against women was on the rise, she cited several different reasons, saying that in some countries, stereotypes were deeply rooted and women were considered objects. Incidents of sexual violence against women, especially in situations of armed conflict, were often politically charged. The Committee had therefore started discussing, in cooperation with UNIFEM, general recommendations for women in such situations.
She also welcomed the creation of UN Women, the first UN super-agency on female empowerment, headed by former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.
Michelle Bachelet’s address to the 3rd Committee
“Although Member States set the goal of universal ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) for 2000, ten years later, it still has not been reached. We all agree that much more needs to be done to close the gaps between women’s rights in the law, and their enjoyment in practice,” Ms. Bachelet told the Third Committee in her first address as Head of UN Women.
“One area that has clearly moved to the centre of global and local attention is ending violence against women,” she added, noting that two reports on the subject were put before the Third Committee, during the 65th session of the General Assembly. The first focused on the intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and the second addressed trafficking in women and girls
“These are indicative of the scope and range of actions taken by Member States and other stakeholders…,” Ms. Bachelet recognized, “Yet, notwithstanding this attention, violence against women continues in all parts of the world, and trafficking in women persists. The reports highlight key actions and strategies that should be in place and effectively enforced. …I pledge UN Women’s enhanced support at national level to strengthen implementation of your recommendations,” she added.
History of International Day
In October 1999, at a meeting of the Third Committee, the representative of the Dominican Republic, on behalf of 74 Member States, introduced a draft resolution calling for the designation of 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
The draft expressed alarm that endemic violence against women was impeding women’s opportunities to achieve legal, social, political and economic equality in society.
On 17 December 1999, the General Assembly designated 25 November as the annual date for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women in commemoration of the Mirabal sisters as it marked the day when these political activists from the Dominican Republic were assassinated in 1960, during the Trujillo dictatorship. This day also marks the beginning of the 16 days of Activism against Gender Violence.
The General Assembly declared 2011 as the International Year of Forests (Forests 2011) to raise awareness on sustainable management, conservation and development of all types of forests. This October, in preparation for the Year, the official website and the International Forest Film Festival were launched, along with other advancements in preparation for Forests 2011.
The Year provides a means of bringing those voices together and building momentum towards greater public participation in forest activities around the world. To help facilitate achievement of the objectives of the Year, the secretariat of the United Nations Forum on Forests is undertaking many communication activities.
Launch of Forests 2011 Website
The site, launched in early October, provides a global platform to celebrate people’s action to sustainably manage the world’s forests and will serve as the central hub of information for all things related to Forests 2011.
The site currently features a slide show, a calendar of activities, information on the International Forest Film Festival and national plans for the year. Throughout 2010, additional multimedia features will be added, including videos, slide shows, fact sheets, searchable events calendars and more. These will help create an interactive environment that will draw people in and inform them about events and issues throughout Forests 2011.
International Forest Film Festival
The United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) Secretariat, in collaboration with the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, launched the International Forest Film Festival (IFFF) in early October. The IFFF is currently open for submissions, and a call for entries has been sent out.
The festival aligns with the theme of Forests 2011: “Forests for people”. Using narratives and stories, told through the powerful medium of film, the IFFF will spread the message of Forests 2011 in a new and significant way. Film categories such as “This is My Forest” highlight people’s personal connection to their local forests, and “Forest Heroes” showcase individuals with profound dedication to forests. The deadline for submissions is 30 November 2010.
The IFFF will showcase a selection of forest films as part of the global launch of Forests 2011 taking place at the Ninth Session of the UN Forum on Forests at UN Headquarters in New York, and subsequently at other festivals and events around the world.
Forests 2011 Logo
The logo, designed to convey the theme of “Forests for People,” was launched in July 2010. Governments, the United Nations system and various stakeholders have expressed interest in using the logo, and it is being distributed by the UNFF Secretariat to approved parties. The logo is already being featured on Web sites, in meetings and on brochures.
Its design captures some of the multiple values of forests and the need for a 360-degree perspective: forests provide shelter to people and habitat to biodiversity; are a source of food, medicine and clean water; and play a vital role in maintaining a stable global climate and environment. All of these elements taken together reinforce the message that forests are vital to the survival and well-being of people everywhere, all 7 billion of us.
International Year of Biodiversity 2010
There is a clear synergy between the International Year of Biodiversity, which took place this year, 2010, and the forthcoming Forests 2011. A variety of activities will take place between late 2010 and early 2011. These will include the organization of a “bridging event” as part of the closing ceremony of the International Year of Biodiversity in December 2010 (Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan) as well as plans to build on the successes of the International Year of Biodiversity and carry the momentum forward into Forests 2011.
Launch of the International Year of Forests 2011
The Official launch of Forests 2011 will take place at the United Nations Headquarters during the high-level segment of the Ninth Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (2 and 3 February 2011), in which Heads of State and Ministers are expected to participate. The programme will include high-level panel discussions, media activities, film screenings, the issuance of the United Nations commemorative stamp series for Forests 2011, and other public events.
Continuing Preparations for Forests 2011
The International Year of Forests, 2011 offers a unique opportunity to raise public awareness of the challenges facing many of the world’s forests and the people who depend on them. Great success stories and valuable lessons on how to promote sustainable forest management already exist. Forests 2011 provides a means of bringing those voices together.
As the year draws nearer, preparations are continually underway. From events to posters to contests and more, the UNFF Secretariat is working to make sure that Forests 2011 continues to build momentum towards greater public participation in forest activities around the world.
This year’s United Nations Day, celebrated on 24 October, focused on the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and followed on the MDG Summit, which adopted a global action plan to achieve the eight goals by their 2015 target date.
“I am determined to press ahead as the 2015 deadline approaches,” declared Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “Despite our problems, despite polarization and distrust, our interconnected world has opened up vast new possibilities for common progress. Let us commit to do even more to realize the great vision set out in the UN Charter.”
More than one billion people in the world live on less than one dollar a day. In total, 2.5 billion struggle to survive on less than two dollars per day. Every year, eleven million children die, most under the age of five and more than six million from completely preventable causes like malaria, diarrhea and pneumonia.
Against this scenario, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (17 October) will be commemorated on Monday, 18 October, with the theme “From poverty to decent work: bridging the gap”. The Day presents an opportunity to acknowledge the efforts and struggles of people living in poverty, to hear their voices and concerns and to recognize that poor people are at the forefront of the fight against poverty.
Through its resolution 47/196, of 22 December 1992, the General Assembly declared 17 October as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and invited all States to devote the Day to presenting and promoting, as appropriate in the national context, concrete activities with regard to the eradication of poverty and destitution. The resolution further invites intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to assist States, at their request, in organizing national activities for the observance of the Day, and requests the Secretary-General to take, within existing resources, the measures necessary to ensure the success of the Day’s observance.
Back in time
The observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty can be traced back to 17 October 1987. On that day, over a hundred thousand people gathered at the Trocadéro in Paris, where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948, to honour the victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger. The gathering proclaimed that poverty is a violation of human rights and affirmed the need to come together to ensure that these rights are respected.
These convictions are inscribed in a commemorative stone unveiled on that day. Since then, people of all backgrounds, beliefs and social origins have gathered every year on 17 October to renew their commitment to the eradication of poverty and to show their solidarity with people living in poverty. Replicas of the commemorative stone have been unveiled around the world and serve as a gathering place to celebrate the Day.
During the implementation of the first Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006), several United Nations summits and conferences resulted in negotiated outcomes focused on national, regional and international efforts for poverty eradication. These include the UN Millennium Declaration, the Monterrey Consensus of the International Conference on Financing for Development and the 2005 World Summit Outcome.
Despite these commitments to poverty eradication, the progress made in reducing poverty world-wide has been uneven. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has emphasized that “With the right investments and concrete action, we can build upon the gains, fulfil our commitments, and ensure that every man, woman and child has the opportunity to make the most of their potential.”
Expanding decent work opportunities
In December 2007, the General Assembly proclaimed the Second UN Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (2008-2017) with the theme of “Full employment and decent work for all”, reiterating that eradicating poverty is the greatest global challenge facing the world and a core requirement for sustainable development, especially for developing countries. The proclamation recalls the outcomes of the World Summit for Social Development and the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly.
The Second Decade aims at supporting, in an efficient and coordinated manner, the internationally agreed development goals related to poverty eradication, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It stresses the importance of reinforcing the positive trends in poverty reduction in some countries and extending such trends to benefit people worldwide. It further highlights the importance of achieving inclusive growth, including full and productive employment and decent work for all.
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), the number of workers in vulnerable employment worldwide is estimated to be more than 1.5 billion, equivalent to over half (50.6%) of the world’s working population.
The ILO estimates that the global unemployment rate reached 6.6% in 2009, up 0.9% from 2007. Youth have been disproportionately affected by the global economic and financial crisis and the global youth unemployment rate rose from 11.8% in 2007 to 13.4% in 2009.
The observance this year will share ways in which to promote decent work, taking into account the existing efforts and experiences of people living in poverty, as well as youth, their families and those working in the informal sector.
During the recent MDG Summit, Member States committed themselves to accelerate action against poverty. The Secretary-General reminded the international community that “there is more to do for the mother who watches her children go to bed hungry” and that it must stay true to its “commitment to end the dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty.”
“Let us make this historic World Statistics Day a success by acknowledging and celebrating the role of statistics in the social and economic development of our societies and by dedicating further efforts and resources to strengthening national statistical capacity,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a letter to World Leaders in July 2010.
For the first time this 20 October, the observance of World Statistics Day (WSD) will bring the world’s attention to the importance of statistics in decision-making. The United Nations General Assembly designated this day to acknowledge the crucial role of statistics in policy-making, transparency and accountability.
The WSD was established by a resolution of the General Assembly in June this year under the theme “Celebrating the many achievements of official statistics,” acknowledging their importance for national socio-economic development and as a basic pillar of democracy.
The date 20 October 2010 was chosen as the year rounding in ’0′ has always been an important year in official statistics. In many countries, this is the year when the population and housing census is conducted. It is also the base year for the trend analysis in economic statistics or in compilation of national accounts or input-output tables. In 2010, some 3 billion people will be counted in some 60 countries. The date, 20-10-2010 brings into focus the importance of this year.
The United Nations resolution asserts that it is essential for countries to count with national statistics capabilities in order to produce reliable and timely statistics and indicators that may serve as the basis for informed decisions based on the core values of service, integrity and professionalism. The document recognizes the long history of official statistics and the facilitating role played by the United Nations since the creation in 1947 of the Statistical Commission, which was tasked with promoting the development of national statistics and improving their comparability, coordinating the statistical work of specialized agencies, developing central statistical services of the Secretariat, advising the organs of the United Nations on general questions relating to the collection, analysis and dissemination of statistical information and promoting the improvement of statistics and statistical methods generally.
The resolution also highlights the fundamental importance of sustainable national statistical capacity to produce reliable and timely statistics and indicators measuring a country’s progress, which are an indispensable basis for informed policy decision making and for monitoring the Millennium Development Goals. The celebration of the World Statistics Day (WSD) will acknowledge the service provided by the global statistical system at national and international level, and hope to help strengthen the awareness and trust of the public in official statistics. It serves as an advocacy tool to further support the work of statisticians across different settings, cultures, and domains.
A Worldwide Celebration
The first ever World Statistics Day on 20 October 2010 is expected to be celebrated in nearly 100 countries and by 40 international organizations. Special events to mark the Day often include conferences, symposia, round-tables, press conferences and exhibits
Activities at national level will highlight the role of official statistics and the many achievements of the national statistical system. International, regional and subregional organizations will complement national activities with additional events.
The President of Peru, Alan Garcia Pérez, will host a conference to celebrate World Statistics Day in the President’s residence Palacio de Gobierno. In Italy, a message from the President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, will be issued to mark the Day.
In Morocco, the King will participate in the observance of the event. Commemorative WSD stamps will be issued in China and Mauritius.
The UK’s Royal Statistical Society will launch on 20 October a major statistical literacy campaign to sensitize the public on the benefits of statistics.The International Association for Official Statistics (IAOS) is organizing a special conference in Santiago, Chile to commemorate the WSD.
At the same time, many countries will use WSD to raise public awareness about their censuses, through press events or promotional materials in schools.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of China and the United Nations will organize at the United Nations Pavilion of the World EXPO Shanghai 2010 a ceremony featuring high-level officials of China.
The United Nations will hold a press launch of major statistical reports. One report will be on the current situation of women worldwide, 15 years after Beijing’s World Conference on Women called “World’s Women 2010”. This publication was released by DESA’s Statistical Division and will be launched in New York and Shanghai.
United Nations bodies will organize joint conferences, meetings or receptions to mark World Statistics Day in Geneva, Vienna, Santiago, Washington and Montreal.
While expressing deep concern that progress has fallen far short of what is needed, the United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) held in New York from 20-22 September ended with confidence that with renewed global commitment the targets to slash hunger, poverty, disease and a host of other social ills can still be achieved by 2015.
“This Summit has laid a solid foundation for the progress we need in our quest to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the internationally agreed deadline of 2015,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during the closing session of the MDG Summit. “The Summit outcome document sends a clear sign that you remain committed to the goals even in a difficult international environment,” he added.
Following on a proposal by the UN Secretary-General, the General Assembly decided to convene the MDG Summit (High-level Plenary Meeting) on 20-22 September 2010, with the primary objective to accelerate progress towards all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.
The 2010 MDG Summit will see world leaders gather at United Nations Headquarters in New York to examine what needs to be done to meet each of the eight MDGs by 2015.
“Our world possesses the knowledge and the resources to achieve the MDGs,” states the Secretary-General in his report preparing for the September summit. However, achieving the MDGs remains a complex global challenge, especially for equal progress to be made across each of the eight goals.
Great progress has been made, but as the 2010 MDG Report indicates, it is not even. The report specifically points out concern for the slow progress in improving maternal health conditions and the development of women and children. These issues will be more thoroughly explored during the summit.
Making it happen by 2015
The September High-level Meeting will consist of six plenary meetings and six interactive round-table sessions which will be held in concurrence with the plenary meetings. The six roundtable sessions will convene within the framework of “Making it happen by 2015”, with at least fifty seats in each meeting, and co-chaired by two Heads of State or Government.
The six roundtables will specifically address development goals and have been divided into the discussions of the challenge of poverty, hunger and gender equality, meeting the goals of health and education, promoting sustainable development, addressing emerging issues and evolving approaches, addressing the needs of the most vulnerable and finally, widening and strengthening partnerships.
Actors and their roles
According to the Report of the Secretary-General Keeping the promise: a forward-looking review to promote an agreed action agenda to achieve the MDGs by 2015, the “MDGs represent a pact, not just among governments, but among all development stakeholders. Each actor must focus on the best use of its assets, acting efficiently, effectively and collectively to fulfil specific roles”.
More specifically, these roles include the need for developing countries to establish policies and institutions to accelerate progress, the importance of civil society actors to ensure government accountability, the help of private business to create work to support the goals as well as private philanthropists to foster innovation. The roles of developed countries are to fulfil commitments and finally, the multilateral system, and especially the UN, needs to improve coherence and effectiveness.
The MDGs are an eight-point road map with measurable targets and clear deadlines for improving the lives of the world’s poorest people.
The MDGs also embody basic human rights — the rights of each person on the planet to health, education, shelter and security. The Goals are ambitious but understood to be achievable and, together with the comprehensive United Nations development agenda, the world’s efforts to eradicate poverty are feasible.
Only five years remaining
Five years remain before the 2015 deadline for the achievement of the MDGs, and as the Director of DESA’s ECOSOC Support and Coordination Division Nikhil Seth explains, “The Summit provides us with a critically-important occasion to address major and interconnected development challenges and to give the MDGs a final push,” noting the event a “historic opportunity”.
Coming amid mixed progress and new crises that threaten the global effort to halve extreme poverty, “the summit will be a crucially important opportunity to redouble our efforts to meet the Goals,” he said, referring to the targets adopted at the UN Millennium Summit of 2000, aimed at slashing poverty, hunger, disease, maternal and child deaths and other world issues by a 2015 deadline.
“Our challenge today is to agree on an action agenda to achieve the MDGs” Mr. Ban added on the importance to efficiently and effectively utilize the time remaining.
The high-level summit coincides with the launch of the MDG Gap Task Force Report, which again, highlights the year’s gaps and trends in MDG progress and provides leaders with areas of focus. The report will be released on 17 September.
It is anticipated that this summit will bring about one of the most significant opportunities yet to ensure development success worldwide with the expectation that world leaders will recommit to promises and accelerate progress. As the Secretary-General urges, “Time is short. We must seize this historic moment to act responsibly and decisively for the common good.”
“The world’s indigenous peoples have preserved a vast amount of humanity’s cultural history. Indigenous peoples speak a majority of the world’s languages, and have inherited and passed on a wealth of knowledge, artistic forms and religious and cultural traditions. On this International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, we reaffirm our commitment to their well-being”, said Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on 9 August during the observation of the Day.
This year’s observance at UN Headquarters in New York marked the midpoint of the Second International Decade for the World’s Indigenous People and focused on indigenous filmmaking. It was organized by the Secretariat of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in cooperation with the NGO Committee on the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People. The event featured four short films by indigenous film makers from Sweden, Alaska, Russia and the Caribbean.
The International Day of the World’s Indigenous People was first pronounced by the General Assembly in December 1994, to be celebrated every year during the first International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People (1995 – 2004). In 2004, the Assembly proclaimed a Second International Decade, from 2005 – 2015, with the theme of “A Decade for Action and Dignity”.
A main achievement of the Second Decade was the adoption by the General Assembly in 2007 of the Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous People. This and the Second International Decade has also provided impetus for some governments, such as Japan, Canada and Australia, to recognize the existence and rights of indigenous people and even offer apologies to them for past injustices. Other recent achievements include the creation of consultative institutions for indigenous people and the formation of their own political parties, like in Russia, Nepal and Ecuador.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon stressed that “the landmark UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples lays out a framework for Governments to use in strengthening relationships with indigenous peoples and protecting their human rights”. Since then, more Governments worked to redress social and economic injustices, through legislation and other means, and indigenous peoples’ issues have become more prominent on the international agenda than ever before, he explained.
However Mr. Ban noted that “indigenous peoples – more than 370 million in the world – still experience racism, poor health and disproportionate poverty. In many societies, their languages, religions and cultural traditions are stigmatized and shunned”. He added that in some countries indigenous peoples are 600 times more likely to contract tuberculosis than the general population. In others, an indigenous child can expect to die 20 years before his or her non-indigenous compatriots.
The need for recognition
Under-Secretary-General and coordinator of the decade Mr. Sha Zukang voiced that “the promotion of films, along with other indigenous art forms, is also encouraged and supported by the Declaration and the Second Decade. “These initiatives not only address the social, political and economic rights of indigenous communities. They also draw attention to the need to protect cultural manifestations – in technological, visual and performing art forms”, he said.
Mr. Sha added that “these signs of progress are promising. But we must recognize that many objectives of the Second Decade are in danger of going unfulfilled. Most countries have yet to recognize their indigenous communities. International financial institutions and development organizations need to meet with indigenous groups more frequently and more formally”. Nevertheless, he noted that in places where indigenous people do have recognition, their level of direct political participation, particularly for women, is very low.
Mr. Sha announced that an upcoming report of the Secretary-General will present more information about progress and gaps toward fulfilling the goals and objectives of the Declaration and the Second International Decade. The report will be launched this year in time for the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly.
Revitalizing traditions and customs
In a statement read by Assistant-Secretary-General Jomo Kwame Sundaram for the Chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Carlos Mamari Condori indicates that there are several articles in the UN Declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples that confirm their right to practice and revitalize their cultural traditions and customs. “Films and especially films written, produced and directed by indigenous peoples are perhaps the most expressive medium for communicating messages about who indigenous peoples were, who indigenous peoples are and who indigenous peoples are striving to become”, he said.
Mr. Mamari highlighted the greater demand for indigenous stories from international audiences and explained that “the motivation behind the involvement of indigenous film makers throughout the world in filmmaking, video production and television transmission can be seen as basic issues of self determination and cultural maintenance” and the right to revitalize their traditions and customs.
“Indigenous filmmakers need a lot of encouragement and support… Filmmaking is a very technical process and therefore it is crucial to cultivate indigenous peoples’ talents in areas of development and production around the world,” said the Chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. He called on governments, intergovernmental organizations, the industry and other relevant actors to strongly support indigenous filmmakers around the world.
Under the theme “Dialogue and Mutual Understanding” the International Year of Youth was kicked off at UN Headquarters on 12 August – the International Day of Youth – and counted with the presence of Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and a wide range of performances, videos and exhibitions produced by youth.
“The energy of youth can spark economies….The idealism and creativity of youth are some of the most important resources any country has”, said Mr. Ban. “I urge young people everywhere to look beyond the borders of your own country. Engage with the world. Be a global citizen. Exchange visits and communications across cultures are all building blocks of world peace and mutual understanding”, he added.
The International Year of Youth, commencing on the United Nations annual Day of Youth, 12 August 2010, celebrates and focuses on the importance of youth around the world. The contributions of youth to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are fundamental for success and Youth Conferences with the United Nations reflect the role youth play in achieving development. Youth are the future of the UN, and the future of all development. Events surrounding this year aim to make young people more visible in the international development agenda.
In efforts to capture the energy, imagination and initiative of the world’s youth in overcoming the challenges facing humankind, from enhancing peace to boosting economic development, the United Nations proclaimed the International Year of Youth, which will commence on the 2010 International Day of Youth on 12 August under the theme “Dialogue and Mutual Understanding,”. The theme was chosen by the General Assembly out of appreciation for the value of dialogue among youth from different cultures as well as among different generations.
“Young people are the most important capital in the world’s history to change the future of humanity,” emphasize International Year of Youth campaign workers.
“On International Youth Day, let us renew our pledge to support young people in their development,” urged Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon at the 2009 Youth Day Celebration. “They deserve our full commitment — full access to education, adequate healthcare, employment opportunities, financial services and full participation in public life,” he said.
The year is designed to encourage young people to dedicate themselves to fostering progress, including the attainment of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which seek to improve the livelihoods of all humanity by slashing extreme poverty and hunger, decreasing maternal and infant mortality, improving access to education and health care, along with other more specific goals, by 2015.
Youth and the MDGs
Population statistics indicate that currently, 1.7 billion people — more than one-fourth of the world’s six billion people — are between the ages of 10 and 24, making this group of young people the largest ever to be entering adulthood and the largest underrepresented segment of the world’s population.
In an on-line consultation with more than 350 youth about development, most of the respondents said that they knew little or nothing about the MDGs. They also stressed that they do not have access to adequate resources for implementation and requested tools including internet access, access and training to information communication technologies (ICTs), business training and civic education, information sharing, and especially encouragement, funding and resources from government and institutions.
The International Year of Youth, and the theme to promote dialogue among youth and with the world, draws attention towards these needs. With only five years before the deadline set by the international community to achieve the development goals agreed in the year 2000, and such a large global young people population, it is recognized that a youth-oriented focus on these goals is required and essential for the efforts to be effective and progressive on a long term basis. Youth are the future.
Celebrations at the United Nations and around the world
The 2010 International Youth Day on 12 August will be celebrated at United Nations headquarters in New York with the global launch event of the International Year of Youth, where a photo exhibit entitled “Visual Voices – Youth perspectives on Global Issues” will be inaugurated in the UN visitors lobby and will be open to the public until early September.
The UN Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development is coordinating the activities for the Year, with DESA’s UN Programme on Youth leading this effort, striving to increase the effectiveness by strengthening collaboration and exchange among all UN entities working on youth. The UN Framework Approach for the International Year of Youth was adopted in February 2010 to provide a concrete framework for the efforts and to set strategic objectives. The Framework identifies the need to create awareness by increasing commitment and investment in youth; mobilizing and engaging youth by increasing youth participation and partnerships; and connecting and building bridges to increase intercultural understanding among youth.
The UN Programme on Youth is also providing activities for young people to get involved, including consultations on Facebook, where young people already contributed nearly 500 suggestions for the Year’s slogan “Our Year. Our Voice”. Each month, online consultations on topics related to the Year are held and contributions are included in the UN Programme on Youth’s monthly electronic newsletter “Youth Flash”.
Around the world, celebrations will continue to take place, including the 5th World Youth Congress in Turkey, the first Youth Olympic Games in Singapore and the World Youth Conference in Mexico. Local and regional level events are also being organized by young people as an opportunity for discussion and reflections regarding the role young people play in achieving development with special emphasis on the MDGs.
The International Year is about advancing the full and effective participation of youth in all aspects of society. All sectors of society are encouraged to work in partnership with youth and youth organizations to better understand their needs and concerns and to recognize the contributions that they can make to society.
The progress achieved during this year will lay the foundation for further work in youth development, including the implementation of the World Programme of Action for Youth and the achievement of the MDGs.
In the framework of the 2010 Substantive Session, the Ministerial Declaration was adopted at the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) High-Level Segment on 2 July, calling for greater investment in women and girls in order to strengthen and advance gender equality and women empowerment. Under this premise, the 54 member Council supported the creation of the United Nations Entity for Women.
The new entity called UNWomen will focus on two key roles, said Asha-Rose Migiro, Deputy Secretary-General. “First, to support inter-governmental bodies in their formulation of policies, global standards and norms; and second, to help Member States to implement these standards, standing ready to provide suitable technical and financial support to those countries that request it, as well as forging effective partnerships with civil society”.
UNWomen will fuse the four agencies and offices currently related to women and girls worldwide: the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues, the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), and the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW).The body is the result of years of negotiations and will be based in New York, set to become operational in January 2011.
Apart from the High Level Segment, the ECOSOC Members also took part in the Dialogue of Regional Commissions and in the Coordination, Operational Activities, Humanitarian Affairs and General Segments during the Substantive Session from 28 June to 23 July.
Coordination Segment
Under Secretary-General of DESA Mr. Sha Zukang remarked that “the discussions, which built on the debates from the Council last year, emphasized the need to coordinate UN system-wide efforts on global public health. The health-related MDGs cannot be achieved by the 2015-target date without concerted action by all stakeholders”.
A panel on “Operationalizing the United Nations system’s short and long-term responses to the economic and financial crisis: Progress towards implementing the Social Protection Initiative and the Global Jobs Pact”. The panel focused its discussion on two of the Joint Crisis Initiatives being carried out by the CEB, namely the social protection initiative and the Global Jobs Pact.
The Council adopted a resolution on the follow-up to last year’s Ministerial Declaration on Global Public Health. Main highlights of the resolution included the need to place gender equality at the centre of the response to global health goals, and the importance for the UN system to continue coordinated action to respond to communicable diseases. The meetings also highlighted the ravaging effects of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and the Council welcomed the decision of the General Assembly to convene a high-level meeting on NCDs in 2011.
Operational Activities Segment
The Operational Activities Segment represented a successful attempt to reinforce the synergy between policy dialogue and country-level realities. The strong representation of experts from capitals greatly enriched the Council’s work and once again attested to the continued commitment of Member States to the 2007 General Assembly Triennial Comprehensive Policy Review (TCPR) of UN system’s operational activities.
The panel discussions and general debate revealed important achievements made by the UN development system in pursing coherence, efficiency and effectiveness in its operational activities and showcased innovative approaches, including the “Delivering as One” pilot at country level. But there continues to be many challenges. The quality and quantity of funding for operational activities for development, as well as the fragmented architecture of funding, remain important issues.
With the conclusion of the GA’s consultations on system-wide coherence, there was strong expectation that the Council and GA would follow-up on the newly adopted GA resolution 64/289 on system wide coherence. The Council adopted the outcome, calling for further measures to ensure the quality of the work of the UN development system at country-level, the use of national expertise and capacities, and continued pursuit of efficiency.
Humanitarian Affairs Segment
The Humanitarian Affairs segment consisted of two panels, one on strengthening preparedness for humanitarian emergencies and the other about the challenges of conducting humanitarian operations in unsafe environments, with the case of Haiti, and a general debate. The main outcome was the adoption of a resolution which addressed issues related to operating in high-risk environments, vulnerability and global challenges, humanitarian leadership capacity, needs-assessments, education in emergencies, and emergency rules and procedures.
General Segment
The General Segment concluded the Session and reviewed the reports of its subsidiary bodies and other UN entities working in the economic and social fields, including the Council’s functional commissions, regional commissions, expert and ad hoc bodies. During the segment there was also a briefing on cybersecurity and a panel on Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
During the Joint Special Event organized by ECOSOC and the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), Deputy Secretary-General Ms. Asha-Rose Migiro said that fostering economic development in countries emerging from conflict can only help to promote political and social stability, stressing the strong ties between poverty eradication and security. The President of ECOSOC, Mr. Hamidon Ali, added that more than half of the 34 countries farthest away from reaching the MDGs are either in the midst of or are emerging from conflict.
On 2 July, the General Assembly voted unanimously to create a dynamic new entity to merge four United Nations offices focusing on gender equality.
“I welcome what will be an historic move by the General Assembly today in establishing UN Women, an entity designed to accelerate progress in meeting the needs of women and girls worldwide,” said the Deputy Secretary-General. “UN Women will give women and girls the strong, unified voice they deserve on the world stage. This is a positive and exciting moment for all the UN family and, I believe, for the world,” she added.
The annual Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Report, released by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 23 June 2010 in New York, reveals that the world has made huge strides in reducing extreme poverty, tackling HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and boosting access to clean drinking water, but is still not progressive enough in critical areas including improving maternal health and reducing child mortality.
“This report shows how much progress has been made. Perhaps most important, it shows that the Goals are achievable” expresses the Secretary-General in the foreword of the 2010 report. However, MDG targets number four and five, reducing child mortality and improving maternal health, have been indicated as the two slowest moving goals, and there is uncertainty as to whether these 2015 targets will be met if not given more attention.
“For too long, maternal and child health has been at the back of the MDG train,” Mr. Ban said at the 14 April 2010 launch of an initiative of a joint action plan among governments, businesses, foundations and civil society organizations for mothers in developing countries, “but we know it can be the engine of development.”
Continuing this conversation at the press conference on 23 June 2010 Mr. Ban expressed, “Mothers are the foundation of our society. When mothers are healthy families are healthy,” and “by focusing on the needs of the most vulnerable, we lay the foundation for a more sustainable and prosperous tomorrow.” Women and children in underdeveloped countries are certainly among the most vulnerable.
Current progress and needs
As indicated in the report, MDG targets number four and five set out to reduce the under-five mortality rate by two thirds, and reduce the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters while also achieving universal access to reproductive health by 2015.
Current data indicates that child deaths are falling but not quickly enough to reach the target date, with the highest rates of child mortality still found within sub-Saharan Africa. Four preventable diseases – pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria and AIDS – account for almost forty-three percent of all deaths, and revitalizing efforts against these diseases could save millions of children.
Similarly, the world health organization’s (WHO) preliminary data on the maternal health of women shows signs of progress as well as a reduction in maternal mortality; however the rate of reduction is still short of the 5.5 per cent annual goal necessary to meet the 2015 target.
Importantly, as with the causes of infant mortality, the vast majority of these maternal deaths are avoidable. Haemorrhage has been indicated as the leading cause, at almost 40 percent for all maternal mortality, and can be prevented or managed through a range of interventions administered by skilled health-care providers and adequate equipment and supplies.
The 2010 MDG Report reveals that much progress has been made, especially as the rural-urban gap in skilled care during childbirth has narrowed. More women are receiving skilled healthcare during pregnancy than ever before, yet the numbers indicate this increase has still only resulted in one in every three rural women in developing regions receiving the recommended care during pregnancy.
Part of the discrepancy in the MDG target results, and the lagging of maternal and child health goals, is due to the fact that women and children tend to suffer disproportionately in time of crisis or hardship, as evidenced during the recent financial and economic crisis and food crisis, as well as from the impacts of climate change. The MDG resources need to reach these most vulnerable peoples in order for continued progress.
Mr. Ban announced that an estimated 60 billion dollars of extra funds is required in order for these goals surrounding mothers and children to be met. Encouraged by positive responses from world leaders on these issues, Mr. Ban indicated that it was his desire to stress this need at the G20 Summit in Toronto, taking place 26-27 June 2010.
MDG Advocacy Group to speed up progress
In continued efforts to speed the progress of the MDGs, and encourage adequate additive funding for mothers and children and all vulnerable peoples, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon also announced the newly established “MDG Advocacy Group” at a press conference on 23 June 2010. Mr. Ban explained that this group is made up of “a real collection of superheroes defeating poverty.”
More specifically, this Group is a collection of seventeen current and former political leaders, business people and thinkers from around the world who will work to galvanize support for achieving the Goals. Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero will co-chair the group, and the first meeting is set to take place in July, 2010, just two months before the world’s leaders will gather at UN Headquarters in New York for the September High-Level Summit also aimed at accelerating progress towards the MDGs.
“The world is still making progress in reducing poverty” Mr. Ban voiced, and “we must not fail the billions who look to the international community to fulfil the promise of the Millennium Declaration for a better world. Let us keep the promise”.
The MDG assessment report is based on data from more than twenty-five UN agencies and International organizations and indicates clearly which areas are improving and where obstacles are being faced. The world continues to make advances towards the MDGs despite the global economic downturn, but the rate of improvement remains too slow and countries must step up their commitments as the 2015 target deadline is fast approaching.
Accountability for commitments is essential and a focus on implementing promises is urgently needed if acceleration of progress is to happen. The Development Cooperation Forum (DCF), a universal and respected forum, encourages participatory multi-stakeholder dialogue on major development cooperation issues. With a particular focus on the MDGs, this year’s forum aimed to also contribute to the forthcoming MDG Summit.
“This year’s Forum came at a critical juncture,” explains Under-Secretary-General Mr. Sha Zukang regarding the 2010 DCF. “The financial, food and energy crises have threatened development progress. In many countries, especially those in the South, the impacts of the crises will be long-lasting,” funding is imperative, “especially with competition for climate change financing.”
“Accountability, therefore, among development partners needs to be much stronger. These issues were paramount in the June Forum,” said Mr. Sha.
The 2010 DCF took place on 29 and 30 June 2010 in New York as part of the United Nations Economic and Social Council’s (ECOSOC) High-level Segment. In reviewing global trends in development cooperation, and under the theme “Development Cooperation in Times of Crises: New Commitments to Reach the MDGs,” the 2010 DCF addressed issues including the costs of the economic and financial crisis and the impact of climate change on the quantity and quality of aid.
Bringing together Ministers and high-level experts on development cooperation from governments, parliaments, local governments, civil society organizations and the private sector, the forum aimed to foster discussions on issues that can significantly improve the impact of development cooperation on the internationally agreed development goals and to give a clear political message to the United Nations High-level Plenary event on the MDGs, the “MDG Summit”, to be held in September 2010.
The objective of the DCF is to provide policy guidance and recommendations to promote and improve the impact of development cooperation. Accountability of the stakeholders is a particular focus.
The 2010 DCF and the MDGs
The Millennium Development Goals 2009 Report revealed that major advances in the fight against poverty and hunger have begun to slow or even reverse as a result of the global economic and food crises. The global economic landscape has changed fundamentally since the first DCF and the multitude of crises that have occurred have threatened to stall the projected development progress.
Mutual accountability and transparency, according to the trends and progress in the international development cooperation report of the Secretary-General, are two key ways to strengthen the International Agreed Development Goal (IADG) results. Providers need to commit to individual targets to improve aid quality, giving priority to country groups such as Sub-Saharan Africa and fragile states which are lagging behind on progress towards the IADGs. Most areas of the global partnership for development are not living up to expectations and without progress across the board development cooperation will have limited impact.
The Advisory Group of the Under-Secretary-General stresses that “the DCF has a key role as a forum for debate on whether development cooperation partners are honouring the commitments they made and achieving the results that have been agreed and clearly defined. Developing countries should hold developed countries to account on aid and aid effectiveness in the spirit of mutual accountability.”
DCF Beginnings and Expectations for Continued Progress
The DCF was established in 2005, after the World Summit mandated ECOSOC to organize the forum as a focal point within the United Nations system for consideration of global development cooperation issues. The DCF is set to continue to convene biennially.
During its first 2007-08 cycle, the DCF established a strong reputation for analysis and promoting balanced debate among stakeholder groups on development cooperation. Some key messages of the first ministerial-level DCF in 2008 were reflected in outcome documents of the Doha Review Conference on Financing for Development and Accra High-level Forum on Aid effectiveness.
President of ECOSOC, Mr. Hamidon Ali explains that “the Doha Declaration re-emphasized the importance of the DCF as the focal point within the United Nations system for holistic consideration of issues of international development cooperation, with participation by all relevant stakeholders. The DCF has a unique opportunity to act as a global, independent platform to hold all answerable for the commitments made”
In order to make the 2010 DCF successful, Mr. Sha explains that “turning our ideas into concrete actions is imperative.”
Through mutual accountability and new commitments to development goals, it is strongly believed that the MDGs can be achieved. The forum, as well as the forthcoming MDG Summit is critical in ensuring results.
On 11 June, the General Assembly elected, by acclamation, H.E. Mr. Joseph Deiss of Switzerland as President of the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly. A former leader of Switzerland who was instrumental in his country joining the United Nations eight years ago calls on Member States to return to the goals set out in the UN Charter and guide their work by the principles of peace, friendship and cooperation.
“New global challenges have also emerged – climate change, economic and financial crises, terrorism and global crime, extremism of all kinds – in addition to the perennial problems of war and poverty. They all require collective and urgent responses. More than ever before, we need to act together to be effective,” said Mr. Deiss.
Empowering women to participate fully in economic life across all sectors and throughout all levels of economic activity is essential to build strong economies and establish more stable and just societies. It also propels countries to achieve their internationally agreed goals for development, sustainability and human rights as well as improve the quality of life for women, men, families and communities.
The 2010 Annual Ministerial Review (AMR) will try to assess the progress made towards achieving some of these goals which are part of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other goals and targets agreed at major UN conferences and summits over the past 15 years, which together constitute the United Nations Development Agenda (UNDA).
The AMR will be held during the High-Level Segment of the substantive session of ECOSOC from 28 June to 1 July 2010 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The central focus of the review will be on “Implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to gender equality and the empowerment of women”. It is expected that the AMR could also contribute to the Beijing+15 global review, assessing the progress made in the Beijing Platform for Action, adopted in 1995.
The AMR session consists of three main elements: A global review of the United Nations development agenda, a thematic review, and a series of national voluntary presentations of both developing and developed countries on their progress in implementing internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The current global and national trends and challenges and their impact on gender equality and empowerment of women are going to be at the forefront of the session. The major trends and challenges that have affected economic and social conditions worldwide, especially in developing countries include imbalances and systemic weaknesses in the global economy, food insecurity, climate change, humanitarian crises, armed conflicts, and international development cooperation.
Women in conflict, post-conflict and post-crises situations
Women tend to suffer disproportionately in time of crisis or hardship, as evidenced during the recent financial and economic crisis and food crisis, as well as from the impacts of climate change. Also, women frequently have fewer and less effective economic and social safety nets. Periods of transition and crisis provide, however, an opportunity to redefine economic and social policies and related institutions, to advance gender equality and empowerment of women.
Evidence shows that women and girls tend to suffer significantly more during times of conflict and unrest. The use of sexual and gender-based violence as a deliberate tactic of warfare has increased alarmingly in recent years. One trend, which have been observed in some conflicts, is increasingly organized and widespread sexual violence, including rape, sex trafficking, forced marriages, and other human rights abuses.
In times of crisis, all forms of gender-based violence, in particular sexual violence tend to exacerbate and access to health care, education and livelihood can also be severely affected. In addition, for women and girls, the occurrence of sexual violence often continues well after “peace” has been established.
One way to mitigate and address the situation is involving women in decision-making process in conflict, post-conflict and post-crises situations. In many crisis situations, women continue to be excluded from decision-making processes and recent evidence point to an inadequate recognition of and financing for their needs.
Conflicts, natural disasters and other crisis situations have profoundly different impacts on women, girls, boys and men, who also bring different perspectives and solutions to the issue at hand. The participation and inclusion of women in the aftermath of a crisis is not only effective but can also prove to be essential. For overlooking the needs and priorities of women and girls, including in terms of physical security, access to basic services and control of productive assets and income, can have devastating consequences.
However, crises may provide important opportunities for positive transformation of gender roles and women’s political, economic and social empowerment. In post-crisis situations, it is important to build on and expand these opportunities and redress gender inequalities and gender-based discrimination of the past, including through legislative change, policy development, institutional and economic reforms and allocation of resources.
Ensuring women’s participation
Today there is an increased recognition of the importance of gender equality and empowerment of women to effective crisis response, as well as to sustainable economic growth and development.
The United Nations Security Council urges Member States, UN bodies, donors and civil society to ensure that women’s empowerment is taken into account during post-conflict needs assessments and planning, and factored into subsequent funding disbursements and programme activities, including through developing transparent analysis and tracking of funds allocated for addressing women’s needs in the post-conflict phase.
The AMR also calls for women’s increased participation in peace processes, the elimination of sexual violence in armed conflict, the protection and promotion of women’s human rights and mainstreaming of gender equality perspectives in the context of armed conflict, peacekeeping, peacebuilding and reconstruction. There are good and promising practices which need to be implemented effectively in post-conflict and crisis situations.
The United Nations Millennium Declaration emphasizes the role of democratic and participatory governance in assuring the rights of men and women to “live their lives and raise their children in dignity, free from hunger and from the fear of violence, oppression, or injustice”. It also notes that good governance within each country is a prerequisite to “making development a reality for everyone and to freeing the entire human race from want”.
With that vow in mind, the United Nations Public Service Awards (UNPSA) continues to recognize excellence in public service. One of the most prestigious international awards, UNPSA rewards the creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions to a more effective and responsive public administration in countries worldwide.
This year, on the occasion of the celebration of the United Nations Public Service Day, the UN Public Service Awards Ceremony and a Forum will take place in Barcelona, Spain from 21 to 23 June 2010on the theme “The Role of Public Service in Achieving the Millennium Development Goals: Challenges and Best Practices”. The day has also been marked as the United Nations Public Service Day by the General Assembly in order to “celebrate the value and virtue of service to the community”. Incidentally, 23 June is also Africa Public Service Day.
The award is given in four categories, namely: improving transparency, accountability and responsiveness in the Public Service; improving the delivery of services; fostering participation in policy-making decisions through innovative mechanisms, and advancing knowledge management in government. Also handed out each year is a Special Award—UNPAN Member Excellence Award on Knowledge Sharing.
Some of the recipients of 2010
A total of twenty-two recipients from fourteen countries are being awarded this year. One of them is the “Women Friendly City Project” by the Women Policy Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Government in the Republic of Korea who won the first prize in the first category. In 2007, Seoul City launched the “Women Friendly City Project”, comprising 90 sub-projects. This initiative was intended to promote “substantial” happiness among women. In the beginning it facilitated special consideration to women in the areas of employment, prosperity, convenience and safety. The areas covered have now been expanded to include roads, transportation, culture, and housing.
The second prize in the same category will go to the “State-Wide Attention on Grievances by Application of Technology”, helmed by the Chief Minister’s Office of the Government of Gujarat in India. The SWAGAT initiative is a transparent system through which citizens can air their grievances regarding government’s provision of public services. It gives citizens direct access to meet the Chief Minister personally to present their case. Administrators are held accountable for responding to both the citizen and Chief Minister. This open and transparent system allows citizens to derive satisfaction from the fairness of the process, even if the decision is not in their favour. Status tracking of applications may also be viewed online and the updated status can be seen at any time.
Another recipient of the award in the category “Improving the delivery of public services” is “Online registry facilitating document access for citizens” by the Centre for Administrative Services of Tunisia. The Unified Civil Status System is a component of Tunisia’s public sector management reform programme, which is aimed towards improving the quality and responsiveness of public services. This new system provides a centralized database for the civil status of all Tunisian citizens (birth, marriage, death, etc.) as well as for foreign residents and visitors. The public is assured of the protection of their personal data, in accordance with the laws of the country.
The goal of the 2010 UNPSA
The scope and breadth of UNPSA is thus, wide-ranging. One of its major highlights is to inspire innovative institutions from around the globe working in the area of governance and public administration to improve the quality of life of citizens.
The event is expected to increase knowledge of public administration strategies and trends, enhance sharing of knowledge and practices, and create greater understanding of the key success factors in promoting an effective, transparent, accountable, participatory and citizen-centric public administration through the discussion of key recommendations and policy options.
In addition, for the first time, the UN Public Service Day and the Awards Ceremony will be held outside of the United Nations headquarters. The Directorate General for Participation of the Government of Catalonia of Spain, winner of the UNPSA in 2008, will co-sponsor and host this major event.
The global economy is slowly rebounding from the worst of the recession but the recovery remains too anaemic to create enough jobs to replace those lost so far, says the updated 2010 World Economic Situation and Prospects, released on 27 May.
Speaking at a Headquarters press conference to present the updated report, Rob Vos, Director of Development Policy and Analysis, said “growth was projected at 3 per cent in 2010 and 3.1 per cent in 2011, if countries continued their fiscal and monetary stimulus activities.”
World gross product started to grow again in the early months of this year after it contracted by 2 per cent last year amid the most severe international recession since World War Two.
In developing countries, the lack of adequate transport infrastructure and affordable transport services contribute to poverty and pose major obstacles to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Similarly, the increasing production and consumption of chemicals in those countries strain their capacity for sound management.
Both transportation and chemicals are essential for sustainable development in developing countries and thus both thematic issues will be on the forefront at the 18th session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-18), which will take place from 3-14 May at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The review session will also focus on waste management (hazardous and solid waste), mining, and the 10 year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production.
Major obstacles to transportation
Inadequate transport infrastructure and lack of access to affordable transport services are often cited as factors that perpetuate poverty while posing major obstacles to countries’ progress towards the achievement of the MDGs, particularly in rural areas. According to World Bank estimates, more than 1 billion people living in rural areas still do not have access to adequate transportation and 98 per cent of them are in developing countries.
Within the developing countries, rural communities are particularly affected by transportation problems. Physical isolation is a strong contributor to poverty and the marginalization of rural communities. Small-scale and subsistence farmers, women and children are particularly affected. A disproportionate burden is placed on rural women, especially those living in regions of sub-Saharan Africa, who spend a major part of the day in travel and transport just to meet household subsistence needs.
Rural roads are characterized by light traffic (fewer than 50 vehicles per day) and include engineered roads and bridges, as well as trafficable tracks and trails. The main purpose of people taking trips in rural areas is to buy provisions, sell crops/products, pursue education, process agricultural products, fetch water, collect fuel wood, access medical care, visit family and friends, commute to places of work and obtain official documentation. The most commonly used transport modes remain motorcycles, bicycles, barrows, carts, small boats and walking, often with goods loaded on the back or head. Owing to low population densities in remote rural areas, adequate public transport services are rarely available.
However, as demonstrated by the success of the large-scale rural roads project sponsored by the Government of India and the World Bank, basic rural transport infrastructure and services can significantly improve rural farm and non-farm incomes. The impact of rural road programmes on rural employment and income generation can be ensured through the use of appropriate technologies, local contractors, local workers and local materials. Disaster relief and food-for-work types of transport infrastructure project can also contribute to rural poverty reduction. For example, in Sri Lanka, through the Community bus project in Ratnapura district, people in three villages enjoy newer bus and improved road conditions as they continue to benefit from cheaper and more reliable access to the local school, health centre and market.
Transport and mobility are essential preconditions for sustainable development. Globally increased urbanization and motorization over the past several decades have resulted in an unprecedented rise in emissions, leading to degradation in living conditions worldwide and accelerating the process of climate change. Global population growth contributes further to these trends. Appropriate policy interventions can establish affordable, economically viable, socially acceptable and environmentally sound transport systems.
It is crucial that multimodal systems emphasizing low-energy modes of transport are developed and that increased reliance is put on public transport systems. Transport is the largest end-use of energy in developed countries and the fastest growing one in most developing countries. Furthermore, adequate, efficient, and effective transport systems are important for access to markets, employment, education and basic services critical to poverty alleviation.
Chemical consumption increase demand for sound management
The increasing production and consumption of chemicals in developing countries and countries with economies in transition strains those countries’ capacity for sound management of chemicals. Sound chemicals management is frequently given low priority in development plans and is consequently under-resourced. In developing countries, two of the major problems in terms of chemical usage for sustainable development are lack of sufficient scientific information for risk assessment, and lack of resources of assessment of chemicals for which data are at hand.
One of the obstacles in reaching the goal of sound management of chemicals in developing countries is the widening gap in capacity between developed countries and others. For developing countries and countries with economies in transition, thus, one of the most important instruments for the prevention and control of illegal international traffic in chemicals is information-sharing.
While the responsibility to protect citizens from chemical risks rests mainly on national Governments, awareness of transboundary and global dimensions of the issues began to emerge by the early 1980s. These concerns were triggered by evidence of ozone depletion, the transboundary impact of acid rain and trade in hazardous materials, often to bypass strengthened regulations and restrictions in developed countries.
The possibility of dumping wastes in developing countries, many of which did not have appropriate technical, financial or institutional resources to manage the impact, led to a new round of action, this time at the international level, to regulate international trade in hazardous substances. Over time, these policy initiatives led to the incorporation of relevant provisions in trade agreements, and provisions for capacity-building, technological cooperation and information-sharing.
Countries need to make greater efforts to integrate fully the objectives of sound management of chemicals into national budgets and development cooperation. The link between chemical safety and sustainable development needs to be fully reflected in the funding decisions of bilateral development cooperation agencies.
In many instances, national legislation and policies on chemicals need to be reviewed, updated and strengthened. Where appropriate legislation is in place, there is a need to reinforce coordination mechanisms with international support and training on enforcement and compliance.
Recommendations
Integrated urban and rural transport planning, as well as supportive fiscal and regulatory policies, paired with the development of new technologies and greater international cooperation, are key factors for achieving a transport sector that meets the requirements for sustainable development.
In the field of chemicals management, national legislation and policies need to be updated. Lack of public awareness of potential health and environmental risks and lack of resources and human capacity to manage and reduce risks are challenges of increasing urgency. There is also an urgent need to strengthen cooperative action on emerging policy issues such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, and e-waste to achieve a sustainable chemical sector.
The current global financial and economic crisis is putting tremendous pressure on governments to do more with less. Although financial markets stabilized in 2009 due to massive and internationally coordinated government intervention, the real economy is still in a state of shock with high rates of unemployment and tremendous squeeze on government revenues in many countries. E-government – once a bold experiment and now an important tool for public sector transformation – has progressed to the point where it is now a force for effective governance and citizen participation, both at national and local levels.
With the Millennium Development Goal time horizon of 2015 quickly approaching, it is no longer a question of whether we can afford information and communications technology in health, education, environmental protection and a multitude of other areas, but where to deploy them first and how rapidly gains can be realized.
The “2010 United Nations e-Government Survey: Leveraging e-government at a time of financial and economic crisis” presents various roles for e-government in addressing the ongoing world financial and economic crisis. The public trust that is gained through transparency can be further enhanced through the free sharing of government data based on open standards.
The United Nations global survey of e-government presents a systematic assessment of the use and potential of information and communication technology to transform the public sector by enhancing transparency, efficiency, access to public services and citizen participation in all countries and at all levels of development. By studying broad patterns of e-government around the world, the report identifies leading countries in e-government development. It also suggests a way forward for those that have yet to take advantage of its tremendous power.
E-government at times of financial and economic crisis
Governments are deploying new information and communications technology in response to the global financial crisis. The effect of the crisis on the public sector has been profound. For governments, currently, the most critical issue is how to rebuild trust in a system of financial weaknesses and governmental responses that have proved so highly untrustworthy. Electronic government technologies have the potential to deliver creative options for policy-making processes as well as for the debates that surround them. E-government can act as a means of enhancing the capacity of the public sector, together with citizens, to address particular development issues.
According to the survey, the watchword of e-government is ‘citizen-centric practice’. For a country to be assessed favorably in relation to other countries, there needs to be solid evidence of an approach to e-government development that places citizens at the centre. On-demand access to information, services and social networks on the Internet through a personal computer is no longer considered cutting-edge in developed regions but a norm that many people take for granted.
The same may soon be true of the more advanced middle income countries. Cellular telephones and personal digital assistants have the potential to play the same role for developing countries if governments are able to come to terms with the changing face of technology and innovate with a citizen-centric mindset. For example, alerts sent through short message services (‘text messages’) are being used to notify citizens that a request for assistance has been processed.
The value of e-government will increasingly be defined by its contribution to development for all. Citizen-centricity, inclusiveness, connected government, universal access and use of new technologies such as mobile devices are the benchmarks against which electronic and other innovative forms of public service delivery will be assessed.
E-service delivery and the MDGs
The world economic crisis has savaged government finances. The situation calls for greater agility, efficiency and reach of public services, especially in the sectors of health, education, gender, environment and employment, which are important in their own right and central to achievement of the MDGs.
Poverty eradication is one of the most urgent and compelling development goals. The World Bank estimates that an additional 53 million people in developing countries will fall into poverty on top of the 130 million to 155 million who became poor due to the impact of the food and oil crisis in 2008. Therefore, enhancing employment opportunities is an important and urgent issue for the international community.
E-service delivery can contribute to efforts to address poverty, employment and the impacts of the financial and economic crisis. Governments can provide online public information services to job seekers and online vocational and technical training and entrepreneurial skills development for those who have lost or are at risk of losing their job as well as to vulnerable groups.
In addition, they can provide ICT-based assessment, tracking and monitoring of the activities of the unemployed through the various parts of the employment services system, which is useful in the current situation. These potential solutions need to be innovative and geared towards pro-poor services for poverty eradication and employment, especially in rural areas, where the majority of populations in developing countries live.
Women and e-government
Including women in economic development is an issue high on the current agenda of the international community. Access to the labour market has much to do with economic empowerment for women. Women are often in vulnerable employment and overrepresented in insecure, part-time and short-term jobs, including particularly, in the agricultural sector. As regards to women’s unemployment, the MDG Report 2009 highlights its critical importance and notes that the crisis may hold back progress towards gender equality by creating new hurdles to women’s employment.
E-government can be effectively leveraged for women’s economic empowerment and employment in the crisis. Employment-related e-government solutions include online provision of information on job opportunities for women, in particular for women who can use skills for the global digital economy beyond the limits of their local economy; online skills training for female jobseekers; and online distance learning.
E-government can also enhance information service delivery for much-needed women’s economic empowerment. It can help women to weather the crisis by disseminating information on income-generating opportunities, and by alerting women to other relevant information services.
Women need information about microenterprise loans and other forms of capital for female entrepreneurship, as well as local, regional and global market information and market pricing information. Indeed, uninterrupted flows of microfinance are key to the economic empowerment of women, especially in a time of decreased lending.
E-government can provide information about financial and other forms of assistance provided by governments, international donors and nongovernmental organizations. In addition to these information services, women need to know about online business training and support for women-headed microenterprises, online marketing assistance and online financial services.
A number of conditions would facilitate the delivery of information to women, including: public access like mobile Internet kiosks, especially in rural areas; free access to training on the use of technology; technological solutions that promote targeted access to women, such as voice recognition for people with little or no formal education, graphic interfaces and touch screens; and the provision of information that rural women in developing countries need in an accessible language and format.
Further recommendations
Short of devaluing currencies or defaulting on public debt, governments are finding themselves with few options as they try to balance diminished revenues and increased expenditures. E-government can play there a very important role. Just as technology has always been an important determinant of productivity in the broader economy, so too is the application of information technology in the rate and quality of public service delivery. In a time of economic stress, improved communications and faster response times can make a critical difference to those most at risk.
For example, social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, as well as blogging software and mobile technology, allow governments to tap into the collective knowledge of society quickly and directly. In this way, citizens move from being passive consumers of government services to advisers and innovators contributing ideas that are in better accord with their individual and group needs.
Global collaboration is needed to succeed. With the leadership of United Nations Member States, e-government can become a global priority, creating opportunities for all.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls Member States to promote development while respecting the values and traditions of indigenous peoples at the opening of the annual forum, held in New York from 19-30 April.
“The loss of irreplaceable cultural practices and means of artistic expression makes us all poorer, wherever our roots may lie,” Mr. Ban told the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York. This year’s theme at the forum was “Development with Culture and Identity.”
Indigenous peoples are the caretakers of some of the world’s most diverse territories. However, in many countries, they face discrimination and conflict on a daily basis. The United Nations has continually provided opportunities for indigenous peoples to have their voices heard at the international level. One of the major achievements in recent years was the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which was voted for in the General Assembly in 2007.
The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) was established by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) resolution 2000/22 on 28 July 2000. To substantiate this work, the Permanent Forum was called upon to provide expert advice and recommendations on indigenous issues to the United Nations system and to raise awareness and promote the integration of relevant activities within the UN system.
The Permanent Forum is comprised of sixteen independent experts who serve for a term of three years as Members and may be re-elected or re-appointed for one additional term. Eight of the Members are nominated by Governments and the other eight are nominated directly by indigenous organizations in their regions. The Members nominated by Governments are elected by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) based on five regional groupings of States normally used at the United Nations.
Each year UNPFII meets for 10 days in New York. The meeting focuses on important matters related to indigenous peoples such as economic and social development issues, environment, cultural issues, health and human rights. This year’s session, which will take place from 19-30 April, has a special theme entitled “Indigenous peoples: development with culture and identity; articles 3 and 32 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”.
UNPFII takes on the plight of indigenous peoples
One of the most common issues faced by indigenous peoples across the world are the barriers which prevent them from becoming custodians of their own land. Developmental activities continue to impose large infrastructure projects on their lands without their free, prior and informed consent. As a result, poverty, inequality and massive environmental devastation ensue. This has often been cited as a gross violation of their human rights.
Indigenous peoples can be hesitant towards such Western concepts as “globalization” and “development”. For many indigenous peoples (as noted in previous sessions of the UNPFII) globalization is viewed as “an aggressive attempt to shape national economies to mimic the economic system of the industrialized countries and which is grossly unjust and has promoted further inequality and environmental devastation within a short period of time”.
Furthermore, indigenous peoples’ own governance, economic, social, education, cultural, spiritual and knowledge systems and their natural resources have sustained them through generations. Rupturing the fabric of their social life through these violating tendencies often harms indigenous communities.
Guarani people and their fundamental rights
As part of its human rights agenda, the Permanent Forum will engage in separate dialogues with the Governments of Bolivia and Paraguay to follow-up to the missions undertaken by the Forum to both countries in early 2009.
The missions focused on the situations of forced labour faced by Guarani people of the Chaco regions of both countries. The region’s complex political economy coupled with the highly concentrated nature of land ownership has complicated matters for indigenous peoples. The lands that are in the middle of the dispute have either been recognized or are being claimed by the Guarani peoples.
In the case of Bolivia, these lands are often in the middle of vast estates containing important reserves of hydrocarbons and are crossed by gas pipelines owned by oil companies. This is a source of extensive wealth but unfortunately the Guarani people receive little or no benefit from it. Furthermore, the situation has intensified the amount of tension between the Government and local authorities. With the country’s richest resources in question, local authorities in cooperation with big landowners are fighting for control of the resources and looking for higher degree of autonomy from the Government.
In both Bolivia and Paraguay, landowners operate with inexpensive indigenous labour. As a result, forced labour, child labour, poor working conditions, the loss of and consequent lack of access to lands, the non-existence of social services, and restrictions on the right to freedom from association and discrimination are some of the discriminatory predicaments arising from this situation. The reports and recommendations of the missions undertaken by the Permanent Forum concentrate on these issues and more. This year’s session will address such concerns.
Special side events at UNPFII
Like every year, this session of UNPFII will have some special side events where different indigenous organizations take part to discuss issues that affect them at the local level. For instance, the United States Agency for International Development is one of the participants who will conduct a Panel Discussion on USAID in Latin America. They will display and discuss the programmes that benefit Indigenous Peoples in Latin America with a period for questions and feedback from the audience to determine how programmes are utilized.
Another side event is the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Roundtable Discussion on Indigenous Peoples and Biodiversity. This particular event will highlight the emerging issues on indigenous peoples and biodiversity conservation and sustainable use on the occasion of the International Year on Biodiversity.
Indigenous peoples of the North American region
This year’ session will devote a half day to discuss some major issues pertaining to North America. In the USA and Canada, Indigenous peoples face discrimination and live with legacy of historical abuse related to colonization and forced assimilation policies. Some challenges faced by indigenous peoples of North America include disproportionately high levels of unemployment, lack of access to clean water supply, physical and social isolation, substandard and crowded housing and attacks on indigenous peoples’ cultural identity.
Assimilation tactics of the past, such as residential schools and adoption programs, have negatively impacted on indigenous peoples’ cultures, languages and traditions. Since 2006, several efforts by the Canadian government in particular have attempted reconciliation between the indigenous peoples and the Government.
The discrepancies between the lives of aboriginal and other North American women are quite daunting. Indigenous women in North America face disproportionately high rates of physical and sexual violence, and are often five times more likely to experience violent death than other North American women.
In Canada, approximately 500 aboriginal women have been murdered or reported missing over the past 15 years. Indigenous women are also overrepresented in North American prison systems and experience incidences of a range of health issues or illnesses, including diabetes, tuberculosis, HIV infection, obesity and hypertension at rates several times higher than those in the non-aboriginal population.
In addition, environmental concerns are widespread among indigenous peoples in the North American region. Rapid industrialization of the land and water has altered the natural relationships that have sustained indigenous peoples and their communities for centuries. As a result of these changes, health problems related to toxic chemicals and pollution have increased significantly.
The Special Rapporteur
Every year, the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous People, Professor James Anaya, holds individual meetings with representatives of indigenous peoples and organizations. This year, too, representatives of indigenous peoples and their organizations are expected to request a meeting with regard to matters that fall within the Special Rapporteur’s mandate and areas of work, including specific situations of alleged violations of indigenous peoples’ human rights.
The United Nations launched a new effort today to expand its partnership with the private sector and philanthropies in the battle for complete gender equality and the empowerment of women.
“To the private sector, we look to you to exercise even more leadership for gender equality starting from the top,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a special event at UN Headquarters, attended by some 300 representatives of foundations, private companies, academia and civil society organizations.
Improving health and reducing mortality are major objectives of development, according to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). However, the health-related MDGs focus on the causes of a small share of deaths worldwide and are relevant mainly for low-income countries. Ensuring health improvements on all fronts are therefore crucial.
The 43rd session of the Commission on Population and Development, which takes place from 12-16 April, will focus on “Health, Morbidity, Mortality and Development”. The Commission will look at the significant reduction in mortality that has occurred over in the last five decades and notes that the reduction, and the increase in life expectancy, is associated with a shift in the cause of death from communicable to non-communicable diseases.
A major topic of this year’s Commission will be the link between income and health. Previous reports of the Commission have observed that there is a persistent association between increasing incomes and better health. However, at the country level, health improvements have begun to occur without major changes in income. Such achievements can be repeated by combining an intersectoral approach to disease prevention with measures to strengthen health-care delivery in a sustainable manner, particularly by ensuring that health systems have comprehensive primary health care at their core.
The unprecedented decrease in worldwide mortality is a great human achievement. Some of the factors contributing to this decrease include higher calorie intake made possible by rising agricultural productivity, better hygiene facilitated by improvements in sanitation and access to safe drinking water, the development of insecticides, and the many breakthroughs in medical technology leading to cost-effective public health interventions and effective treatments. All of them have contributed to reduce the incidence of disease at younger ages and prevent death when disease strikes.
Communicable and non-communicable diseases
A major factor in the remarkable increase in longevity has been the control of the spread of communicable diseases and the use of effective medicinal drugs to treat them. This has resulted in a transition in terms of causes of death from being preponderantly communicable diseases to being dominated by non-communicable diseases.
By the 1970s, even in the absence of sustained economic growth, the major infectious and parasitic diseases that had affected humanity for centuries were being successfully controlled or treated. Most communicable diseases are preventable, treatable or curable with low-cost interventions.
However, progress towards achieving a complete eradication of communicable diseases is falling short and the MDGs do not address all those diseases. The key interventions to combat the major communicable diseases include HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, neglected tropical diseases, communicable causes of child mortality and maternal conditions.
On the other hand, non-communicable diseases still cause 60 per cent of deaths worldwide and 72 per cent of those in middle-income countries, and their share of the burden of disease is expected to increase in the future. Among them, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes and depression represent the leading threats to human health and development.
Non-communicable diseases pose a major economic and social burden because most are chronic and require long-term treatment. Yet, up to 80 per cent of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and over a third of cancers could be prevented by eliminating shared risk factors, especially tobacco use, unhealthy diets and physical inactivity.
In addition, advances in biomedical and behavioural management have substantially increased the ability of interventions to prevent and control these diseases, especially when effective treatments, self-management support and regular follow-up are provided. Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the world since it is a risk factor for all the major non-communicable diseases.
Strategies to strengthen health systems
The Commission’s reports include a number of recommendations, calling for strengthening of health systems, especially the training of health workers. Shortages of health workers are severe in many low-income countries but also exist in high-income countries because of the increasing burden of chronic disease among their ageing populations. There is a need for concerted efforts at both the national and international level to train an adequate supply of health workers, ensuring that training produces the variety of skills needed and that it is oriented to the contexts in which health workers are required.
Devising incentives for health workers to take jobs and remain in underserved areas, especially the rural areas of developing countries, is also necessary. Donor funding can assist Governments of low-income countries to implement national plans on health workforce retention and development. High-income countries should follow responsible recruitment practices in order not to exacerbate the shortage of health workers in low-income countries.
A key strategy is to strengthen health systems to ensure that they can deliver the services that communities require, including not only curative care and the treatment of acute conditions but also preventive care, health promotion and the long-term management of chronic conditions. A comprehensive primary health-care approach offers a flexible framework to achieve these objectives.
To be comprehensive, primary healthcare must integrate individual and population-based care, blending the clinical approach with epidemiology, preventive medicine and health promotion. It should be the basis of a district health system, with capacity to treat most cases and adequate referral support from secondary- and tertiary-care facilities. It should ensure a holistic approach to health maintenance, disease prevention and the management of chronic conditions through interdisciplinary practice and continuity of care.
In conclusion, ensuring health improvements on all fronts, including mortality trends, cause of death, the burden of disease, health and development, the role of primary health care, the need for health workers, prevention and treatment of communicable diseases and maternal conditions, prevention of non-communicable diseases and preventing injuries are, therefore, crucial.
It has been 15 years since Governments from around the world adopted The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995. Among the 12 critical areas of concern specified in the Platform, much has been achieved. However, many issues such as gender stereotypes, unequal responsibilities and violence against women still stand in the way of full gender equality and global empowerment of women.
Beginning of this month, the Commission on the Status of Women will undertake a fifteen-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Countries both large and small will be able to share their experiences and good practices on the topic of women’s rights. The review is seen as an important step in overcoming the remaining obstacles and new challenges faced by women, including those related to the Millennium Development Goals.
The Platform for Action covered 12 critical areas of concern: poverty, education and training, health, violence against women, armed conflict, the economy, power and decision-making, institutional mechanisms, human rights, media, the environment, and the girl child. All area will be discussed at the review and a number of issues have been identified which are affecting the progress of the Beijing Platform for Action.
Gender stereotypes
Negative gender stereotypes continue to lie at the heart of many challenges and violations of rights faced by women, including violence against women and lack of access to education. In all countries gender stereotyping remains a major obstacle to gender equality. The prevalence of negative gender stereotypes based on societal beliefs and attitudes affects women and constrains their opportunities and choices.
Stereotypical assumptions about women in the labour market, for example, have lead to occupational segregation and a gender wage gap in many countries.
Combating such stereotypes requires States to adopt a range of strategies, from revising school curricula, to holding training programmes which dispel stereotypes on women’s leadership abilities, to instigating awareness-raising campaigns for the general public on women’s rights.
Unequal responsibilities
It has become increasingly apparent that women are far more likely than men to be living in poverty. Women’s unequal access to economic and financial resources has a negative impact on their well-being and a ripple effect on their families and the economic growth of their communities.
Women continue to be responsible for most domestic and caregiving work in many countries. This unequal sharing of responsibilities has a negative impact on educational and employment choices, and limits women’s involvement in public life.
The role of men and boys
Limited involvement by men and boys in the promotion of women’s rights has continued to restrain gender equality. Building support for social change can only be achieved when men and boys are actively engaged, for instance, in measures to eliminate violence against women and overcome stereotypes.
Furthermore, the provision of positive male role models serves to instill in both men and boys the respect for women’s and girls’ rights and the ability to challenge stereotypical behavior.
Violence against women
Over the last decade, violence against women has become a priority issue at global, national and regional levels. A growing number of States have strengthened and adopted comprehensive legal, policy, and institutional frameworks to end violence against women and girls. Despite these advances, violence against women is arguably a global pandemic. The problem remains universal, with women and girls affected by violence in every region and every country.
Implementation and challenges
Multiple global crises, including the economic and financial crisis, the food and energy crises and the challenge of climate change have had an adverse impact on the achievement of internationally-agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, and have raised doubts about current approaches to development. It is, therefore, an opportune time to rethink and modify policy approaches, strategies and actions to ensure a more equitable, gender-sensitive and sustainable pattern of growth and development.
Although the link between the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals is increasingly recognized at a policymaking level, further work is needed to translate this awareness into concrete action.
Recent evidence demonstrates that progress for women and girls under the Goals, as well as overall progress in implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, has been very uneven and has produced inadequate results, including in areas of poverty reduction, provision of full employment and decent work, education, including literacy, and maternal health.
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) share economic difficulties and development imperatives with other developing countries. However, as small island states, they also have their own unique vulnerabilities and characteristics, which make their pursuit of sustainable development particularly complex.
Forty-three SIDS and territories all through the world are monitored by DESA, in terms of their sustainable development. Such development should be seen in relation to both the needs and aspirations of human beings, and their responsibility towards present and future generations.
Status quo of Small Island Developing States
Small Island Developing States are low lying, remote and small in land area and population (usually less than 1.5 million). These countries are often categorized by three regions: the AIMS (Africa, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and South China Sea), the Caribbean, and the Pacific.
SIDS are confronted with many challenges, like small population, limited resources, remoteness, susceptibility to natural disasters, vulnerability to external shocks, and excessive dependence on international trade, all of which have the potential to hinder the sustainable development of these States.
In addition, the growth and development of SIDS are also stymied by high transportation and communication costs, disproportionately expensive public administration and infrastructure due to their small size, and little to no opportunity to create economies of scale.
“By almost any conceivable measure, Small Island Developing States are among the world’s hotspots in terms of sustainable development. SIDS’ vulnerability was most recently demonstrated by the impacts of the global financial, food and fuel crises, as well as devastating earthquakes, a tsunami, floods and tropical storms. Unfortunately, greater resilience due to improved economic and governance capacities has in many cases been more than offset by greater exposure to natural and man-made shocks, including those related to climate change,” said Alexander Roehrl, Sustainable Development Officer.
However, small islands also have many valuable resources, including high levels of endemism and biodiversity. The wealth of local eco-systems acts as a magnet for tourists, and it is no surprise that tourism is the main source of income for many SIDS. Unfortunately, the relatively small number of the various species that populate these islands puts them at risk of extinction, and increases their need for protection.
“Tourism is the main source of national income for many SIDS, which makes them highly reliant on international tourism trends and on the global economic situation. However, if not closely regulated, expanding tourism infrastructures can negatively affect local eco systems, which are among the main tourist attractions in the first place.
Undoubtedly, one of the question for SIDS is to maintain tourism revenues without depleting local eco-systems, while at the same time diversifying their sources of national income in order to reduce their vulnerability to exogenous factors, such as tourism trends,” said Alexander Voccia, Associate Expert in Sustainable Development.
Sustainable development for SIDS
Due to their small size, development and environment are closely interrelated and interdependent for SIDS. Recent human history contains examples of entire islands rendered uninhabitable through environmental destruction owing to external causes. Thus, it is generally agreed that environmental consequences of ill-conceived development can have catastrophic effects. The efforts currently underway in Haiti are a clear example of the importance of taking into account long-term development perspectives – even in the face of sudden catastrophes.
“While the immediate disaster relief and humanitarian assistance continue by well-placed UN agencies after the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti a month ago, and where over two-hundred thousand people are estimated to have lost their lives, it is important to plan to meet the medium- to long-term sustainable development challenges that Haiti will be facing.
This is where DESA could make the most significant contributions. The DESA Haiti Task Force is preparing coordinated responses in this regard and DESA’s Division for Sustainable Development is also working with UNCRD’s Disaster Management Office in Kobe (Japan) to see how their preventive and post-earthquake information and capacity building advisory and activities could be applied,” said Hiroko Morita-Lou, Chief of the SIDS Unit.
Unsustainable development threatens not only the livelihood of people but also the islands themselves and the cultures they nurture. Climate change, climate variability and sea level rise are issues of grave concern. Similarly, the biological resources on which SIDS depend are threatened by the large-scale exploitation of marine and terrestrial living resources.
While the wealth of natural resources available to SIDS is well recognized, the short and long-term challenge for SIDS is to ensure that these resources are used in a sustainable way for the well-being of present and future generations. Development initiatives for SIDS should be seen in relation to both the needs and aspirations of human beings, and their responsibility towards present and future generations.
Sharing a common aspiration for economic development and improved living standards, SIDS are determined that the pursuit of material benefits should not undermine social, religious and cultural values or cause any permanent harm to either their people or their land and marine resources, which have sustained island life for many centuries.
These unique development challenges, as well as a framework for overcoming them, are reflected in the internationally agreed development goals for SIDS.
The Barbados Programme of Action (BPoA) and Mauritius Strategy of Implementation (MSI) and further actions
Adopted during the first Global Conference on Sustainable Development of SIDS in Barbados in 1994, the BPoA represents a basis for action in 14 agreed priority areas and defines a number of issues related to environmental, social and economic development planning that should be focused upon by SIDS with the cooperation and assistance of the international community.
In 2005, The International Meeting to Review the Implementation of BPoA for the Sustainable Development of SIDS was convened in Mauritius. The meeting was concluded with the adoption of a pro-active Strategy to further implement this programme of action, called Mauritius Strategy of Implementation (MSI), and of a political declaration, i.e., ‘The Mauritius Declaration’. The MSI sets forth actions and strategies in 19 priority areas.
This year, member States will undertake a five-year review of the MSI. In February, the Pacific Regional MSI+5 Meeting was convened in Vanuatu. This month, the AIMS Regional Meeting in Maldives and Caribbean Regional Meeting in Grenada will take place.
The United Nations launched a new effort today to expand its partnership with the private sector and philanthropies in the battle for complete gender equality and the empowerment of women.
“To the private sector, we look to you to exercise even more leadership for gender equality starting from the top,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a special event at UN Headquarters, attended by some 300 representatives of foundations, private companies, academia and civil society organizations.
A ‘society for all’ is a society where men and women, young and old, rich and poor, people with disabilities, indigenous peoples, minorities, and other excluded and disadvantaged groups and individuals are all equal participants. This is a society that is stable, safe, just and tolerant, respects diversity and promotes equality of opportunity and participation.
At the World Summit for Social Development, held in Copenhagen in 1995, Governments made a commitment to foster more inclusive societies where everyone has a stake and responsibilities.
The Commission for Social Development (as mandated by the Economic and Social Council) selected the theme of “Social Integration” for its 2009-2010 review and policy cycle, with a focus on the relationship between poverty eradication, full employment and decent work for all. At its forty-seventh session in 2009, the commission reviewed the theme, and at its forty-eighth session from 3-12 February 2010, the commission will complete the biennial cycle by adopting action-oriented policy recommendations.
We are not living in a society which is for all
The past decades have brought the unprecedented economic growth in human history. While such progress should have meant a better standard of living for all humanity, it has instead resulted in widening inequality and insecurity in most, if not all societies.
Poverty, discrimination, the food and energy crises, and the current global economic and financial crisis, pose significant challenges to governments and societies around the world. Rising unemployment, especially among youth, cuts in social spending and diminished access to credit have contributed to newly-emerging segments of the population falling into poverty, and further exacerbating inequality.
Faced with diminishing resources and growing hardship, people are less able to invest in the nutrition, health and education of their children, thus reinforcing the intergenerational transmission of poverty and exclusion. Socio-economic instability has lead to growing social tension and unrest, jeopardizing social cohesion.
Much has been done to promote social integration
Strategies to promote social integration have been adopted and implemented by many Governments around the world. Good examples of such a practice are policies targeting specific social groups, such as older persons, youth, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples; anti-discriminatory laws, regional framework for social integration and inclusion, basic social services for all, affordable social protection, conditional cash transfer as well as participatory planning and budgeting.
Statistical analysis of participatory budgeting in Brazil has shown that it increases the share of public expenditure devoted to health care and has resulted in major reductions in child mortality and improved access to basic services. Local governments in other parts of the world have experimented with various innovative approaches as well.
Employment strategies have been implemented in many countries to improve employability at different stages in life in an effort to enhance economic inclusion. Policy examples of this include removing discriminatory barriers to employment, such as those based on race, ethnicity, age, disability or gender, offering employers incentives to hire young, older and disabled workers, and facilitating self-employment.
In some regions, the demographic changes pose major policy challenges for the provision of adequate income support and appropriate health-care services for older persons. Other regions have a vast majority of young population. Some countries are experiencing increasing urban/rural gaps, or rapid urbanization. Consistent and disaggregated data is necessary to enable evidence-based analysis and policy-making to reflect the needs of these specific groups.
Regional, national and local social integration strategies have been developed to tackle the most urgent priorities. For most of the developing world, achieving the provision of basic services for all, including education and health care, is central to advancing social integration. In some countries, priority has been given to policy and regulatory frameworks designed to overcome entrenched discrimination, in others, Governments have focused on improving the situation of specific, vulnerable groups. Attempts have been made in many countries to transform policy and planning processes and make them more inclusive and participatory.
A lot more needs to be done to achieve a society for all
“There is no ‘one-size fits all’ approach to achieve social integration” said Makiko Tagashira, Social Affairs Officer, Social Integration Branch of DESA’s Division for Social Policy and Development.
“Every society is different, and it is important to take into consideration the historical, cultural and contextual backgrounds of one’s own society, when developing social integration strategies. Looking at the local level, there emerge a number of innovative initiatives towards social integration, and we have many encouraging cases to learn from,” Ms Tagashira said.
“A lack of understanding of the conception of social integration, however, remains a challenge, and there is a need for raising awareness of the importance of social integration among Governments, policy-makers and other stakeholders in civil society,” she said.
“It actually takes a long time to change people’s mindset, due to cultural and historical backgrounds and social norms of a given society. While Governments plays a key role in promoting social integration, the responsibility rests with the whole. Full participation of civil society is essential. Governments are responsible for creating an enabling environment to promote social integration for the people, and with the people and by the people.”
“During this 48th session of the Commission for Social Development, action-oriented resolutions are expected to be adopted. Topics such as formulating social integration policies and strategies concomitantly at the normative, institutional and programmatic levels will be addressed. This is the first time, since Copenhagen, that a resolution on social integration will be adopted at the intergovernmental level. This would be a corner stone in the realization of achieving a society for all.”
Official statistics are playing an increasingly important role within both governments and societies. High quality statistical data is now readily-available at national, regional and global levels for use in such areas as public debate, policy formulation and business decisions.
The forty-first session of the Statistical Commission will be held at United Nations Headquarters, New York from 23 to 26 February 2010. During this session, various statistical items in economic and social spheres will be discussed, such as international trade statistics, development indicators and employment statistics.
An increasing role for official statistics
National statistical systems, which have been charged with the compilation and the dissemination of official statistics in the past, have evolved to become an important national institution. At the same time, the role of Chief Statistician has been recognized as the unbiased source of statistical knowledge and analysis.
The commitment to producing high quality official statistics is manifested in many ways, be it through a population census, household or enterprise survey, or administrative data systems; through gross domestic product, prices or Millennium Development Goals measurement; or through birth and death statistics. The national statistical system has become an indispensable national institution.
The adoption of the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics by the Statistical Commission in 1994 was a milestone in the codification and the promotion of the basic values in official statistics. Relevance, impartiality, professional standards and ethics, accountability and transparency are among the core values of these principles.
At the national level, these values are often written into statistical laws that guarantee the independence of the statistical system and offer support for professional integrity. Many of the basic values of a functional statistical system are irrevocably linked to quality of official statistics, and thus the quality of the information available to the governments, the economies and the public.
Statistical systems at national levels
At the national level, official statistics have served development in many specific areas of the economy, the demography, social and health matters, and the environment. They have done so by providing basic data for planning and monitoring purposes, without which development in these fields would be severely hindered, and progress or success of policies could not be measured.
One of the best known achievements of official statistics is the population and housing census. An overwhelming number of countries and areas have been carrying out such a census every 10 years, in order to answer some of the most basic questions of any society: How many are we? Who are we? How do we live? In the year 2010, many countries around the world will indeed be conducting their population census.
A global statistical system
The long and outstanding collaboration of national statistical systems has also led to the formation of a global statistical system, whose members use a common language to share their experiences and to advance official statistics at the global level.
One of the major achievements of the global statistical system has been the development of international methods and standards. This has ultimately enabled an international data collection and sharing platform through the application of such methods and standards at the national level and the subsequent production of comparable data at the regional and international levels.
Recent achievements for the global statistical system have included the adoption of the 2008 System of National Accounts, the completion of the International Comparison Project, the agreement on the Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses, the approval of methodological guidelines of various sectoral statistics and the fourth revision of the International Standard Industrial Classification for all economic activities.
The World Statistics Day
2010 will welcome the first World Statistics Day on 20 October, to celebrate the many achievements of official statistics. It will highlight the co-operation of statisticians around the world.
World Statistics Day aims at raising awareness of the many contributions of official statistics premised on the core values of service, integrity and professionalism. The Statistical Commission of the United Nations will endorse the observance of the first World Statistics Day.
The Malaysian diplomat H.E. Mr. Hamidon Ali was elected on 19 January to serve as the next President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). “The Council should continue to provide a forum to enhance understanding of the implications of all crises on development efforts and to promote and enhance a coordinated response of the United Nations system,” Mr. Ali said, underlining that the challenge is to keep the focus and follow-up on current and future crises and to promote initiatives to mitigate their impact and prevent more disastrous consequences.
The state of the global economy is slowly beginning to improve with the support of massive fiscal stimuli, but the recovery is uneven across regions and conditions for sustained growth remain fragile. Uncertainties and risks still exist, as well as policy challenges, which need to be addressed.
The global economic landscape has begun to show signs of improvement. Since the second quarter of 2009, global equity markets have rebounded, risk premiums on lending have fallen and international trade and global industrial production have noticeably recovered. An increasing number of countries are starting to register positive quarterly growth of gross domestic product (GDP).
According to the World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2010, to be launched worldwide in the 3rd week of January, a mild growth of 2.4 per cent in the baseline scenario is expected for the global economy in 2010, compared with a rate of 7 per cent below where it might have been if pre-crisis growth had continued.
However, the speed of recovery is uneven among different economies: although still below their potential growth, developing countries, especially those in Asia, are expected to show the strongest growth in 2010, led by the economies of China and India, which are expected to grow at 8.8 and 6.5 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, the Russian economy, which is leading the turnaround among economies in transition, is expected to grow at 1.5 per cent in 2010 after a severe decline by 7 per cent in 2009.
Compared with developing economies, the major developed economies are not expected to provide a strong pull to global growth in the near future. The United States is expected to grow by 2.1 per cent in 2010, following an estimated downturn of 2.5 per cent in 2009, while the European Union and Japan will see a much weaker recovery, with GDP growth of no more than 0.6 and 0.9 per cent respectively.
But the circumstances for sustained growth remain fragile. Credit conditions are still tight in major developed economies, the rebound in domestic demand remains tentative at best in many economies and is far from self-sustaining, and high unemployment rates and the large output gap in most countries continue to pose challenges for policy makers worldwide. Further, the global macroeconomic imbalances could widen again to form a source of renewed financial instability.
Sustainable global rebalancing
Continued fiscal stimulus will be necessary to keep up global aggregate demand, amidst further pressures on financial institutions to cleanse their balance sheets and restore lending capacity. For policymakers, the immediate challenge will be to determine how much longer the fiscal stimulus should continue. Given the risk of a double-dip recession resulting from premature withdrawal, the stimulus should continue at least until there are clearer signals of a more robust recovery. Although it is difficult to establish when and where the recovery has become robust, substantial improvements in employment conditions and reduction of output gaps will likely be meaningful indicators for establishing the turning point.
Three forms of rebalancing of the global economy would need to take place over time, in order to avoid a return to the unsustainable pattern of growth that led to the global crisis in the first place. First, the pressure on Governments to buoy global demand would need to diminish gradually through renewed impulses from private demand. Second, the composition of aggregate demand would need to be rebalanced to lend greater weight to investment in support of future productivity growth, and especially to initiate the transformative investments needed to meet the challenge of climate change. Third, demand across countries will need to be rebalanced, which would involve a shift towards external demand (net exports) in major deficit countries, such as the United States and a few others, and towards domestic demand in the major surplus countries, especially those in Asia.
Close policy coordination is required to achieve these three rebalancing acts, since they are strongly interdependent. Consumer demand in the United States, as one of the key drivers of pre-crisis growth, is expected to remain sluggish in the outlook, making a rebalancing across countries necessary. From the perspective of global imbalances, it would also be undesirable to have to rely again on this source of growth for the recovery. Public and private investment to address climate change can also be an integral part of the rebalancing efforts.
Strengthening policy coordination
The framework for “strong, sustainable and balanced growth” launched by the G20 leaders at the Pittsburgh Summit could prove an important step in the right direction. As part of this framework, G20 members with significant external deficits (mainly the United States) have pledged to undertake policies to support private savings and undertake fiscal consolidation while maintaining open markets and strengthening export sectors.
As elaborated in detail in the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2007, a successful framework for international macroeconomic policy coordination should consist of at least four components: developing a consensus on common goals through international consultations with outside mediation, addressing commitment problems by issuing multi-year schedules for policy adjustments, enhancing the context for mediation and the perceived legitimacy of the mediator, and initiating systemic reforms in the field of international monetary and financial affairs.
To strengthen global governance, further progress is needed on four fronts: extension of multilateral surveillance by the IMF well beyond the traditional emphasis on exchange rates, to address broader macro-financial surveillance and to monitor the “sustainable rebalancing” process of the global economy as outlined; more pervasive progress on governance reform of the IMF to add legitimacy to the institution’s enhanced role in this respect and also for mediating multi-annual agreements; strengthening accountability through clear and verifiable targets for desired policy outcomes, including a mechanism for penalizing non-compliance; and close coordination with other areas of global governance, including those related to development financing and the multilateral trading system, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Reforming the global reserve system
The present global reserve system, which uses the United States dollar as its major reserve currency, suffers from a number of systemic flaws that have been well documented since its creation. The key deficiencies could be addressed by either evolving the present reserve system into a full multi-currency reserve system or, preferably, by moving to a reserve system based on SDRs.
Policy actions will make the difference
The effectiveness with which policy makers address these three challenges will ultimately determine whether the global economy will recover or once again slide into recession.
WESP 2010 provides in-depth analysis of policy responses from governments and financial institutions. This and further analysis and forecasts are backed up by detailed macroeconomic statistics.
More than 370 million indigenous people live on this planet. Among them, each group has its own distinct culture and identity, which are formed and developed on the land where they have been living and struggling through generations.
Indigenous peoples are the aboriginal residents of Mother Earth. From the Arctic cold to the tropical heat, they can be found in every inhabited climate zone. They speak around 5,000 languages and numbering more than 370 million, they make up 6 percent of the world’s population.
Throughout history, indigenous peoples have suffered from invasions, conquests, marginalization and assimilation. Their lands have been usurped, their natural resources excavated, their cultures subordinated, their identities destroyed, and their rights as human beings violated. Today, they are facing issues such as losing their traditional lands and languages. However, working together with the United Nations, indigenous people are finding their own way towards a self-determined development.
“Our roots are deep in the lands where we live. We have a great love for our country, for our birthplace is here. The soil is rich from the bones of thousands of generations. Each of us was created in these lands and it is our duty to take great care of them, because from these lands will spring the future generations of our peoples. We walk about with great respect, for the Earth is a very Sacred Place”.
Sioux, Navajo, and Iroquois Declaration
Becoming the agent of a development with culture and identity
Many times in history, indigenous people have been treated as either “primitives” or “savages” who needed to be civilized and assimilated, or were seen as obstacles in the way of economic development because the land they occupied was often rich in resources.
Indigenous people have suffered when countries have forced them to assimilate to a dominant cultural context. Models of development that continue to follow assimilationist policies have further alienated indigenous peoples, generating further poverty and a myriad of social inequalities. Today, there are plenty of testimonials about the negative impacts of development or models of development where indigenous peoples might have achieved certain western standards of living, but now experience the loss of identity and cultural impoverishment.
From the views of indigenous peoples, development should take an approach which prioritizes the preservation of their culture and identity, by respecting their aspirations, values, their way of life and their uniqueness. Indigenous peoples want to become agents of their own development and have the foresight to promote a development paradigm that is self-determining. This corresponds to recently-evolved conceptions towards development in the international community: “human development”, “sustainable development” and “human-rights based approach to development”. This development paradigm includes economic growth, sustainable development of the environment and affirmation of the social, economic and cultural rights of indigenous peoples.
In today’s rapidly transforming societies, it is crucial that indigenous peoples’ vision of development be explored and given further consideration. While important issues such as sovereignty, self-government and self-determination are core values in the Western world, they are seldom contemplated in relation to indigenous peoples. However, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides a strong basis from which indigenous peoples can affirm their rights and define their aspirations in the debates with states and corporations around development with culture and identity.
Certainly, Articles 3 and 32 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (which was adopted in 2007) affirm their right to self-determination and the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for development.
Working together with the Untied Nations
Significant changes began to take place in 1923, when Haudenosaunee Chief Deskaheh travelled to Geneva to speak to the League of Nations, to defend the right of his people to live under their own laws, on their own land and under their own faith. This historic event inspired those in generations to come to try and improve the status of indigenous people.
A similar journey was made by Maori religious leader T.W. Ratana. Ratana believed that the Treaty of Waitangi (which was brokered between Maoris and white settlers in New Zealand in 1840 and gave Maori ownership of their lands) had been broken. Ratana first traveled to London with a large delegation to petition King George, but was denied access. He then sent part of his delegation to Geneva to the League of Nations and arrived there later himself, in 1925, but was also denied access.
In 1982, the Working Group on Indigenous Populations (WGIP) of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights was established by a decision of the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
On 13 September, 2007, the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the General Assembly. It is the most comprehensive statement of the rights of indigenous peoples ever developed. It was highlighted as the overarching framework for development regarding indigenous peoples’ issues with the right to self-determination being the key to debates on development. The UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity gives attention to the linkages between culture, development and identity.
The work of committed international bodies combined with the active involvement and lobbying by indigenous peoples within the United Nations system has resulted in the creation of several UN entities that address indigenous peoples’ issues, such as the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples, Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the UN Human Rights Council, as well as the increasing use of UN Treaty Bodies to raise complaints against States.
Indigenous peoples have also expanded lobbying and advocacy efforts and constructive engagements to other UN bodies, such as the International Labor Organization, the World Bank, the UN Development Programme and the UN Development Group, and bodies dealing with the protection of traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions, cultural heritage, etc.
Lobbying and advocacy at a national level has likewise resulted in important developments for indigenous peoples in enactments of constitutional provisions and national laws that recognize indigenous peoples’ rights, gaining political power, establishment of indigenous autonomous regional governments, increasing networking at national, regional and global levels.
United Nations International Expert Group Meeting this January
Recommended by the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) at its eighth session in May 2009, authorized by the Economic and Social Council at its regular session on 30 July 2009, the United Nations International Expert Group Meeting on Indigenous Peoples- Development with Culture and Identity: Articles 3 and 32 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples will be held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 12-14 January 2010, which is also the special theme of the ninth session of the UNPFII.
This meeting will discuss ways for indigenous peoples to realize development with culture and identity under the collaboration of multiple interest holders. With a focus on the preservation of their communities, lands, resources and their human rights, the meeting will also propose options and further plans to build the necessary conditions for development, such as empowering and strengthening indigenous peoples’ organizations and governance systems. The final report and recommendations of the meeting will be submitted to the ninth session of the UNPFII.
Articles 3 and 32 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Article 3:
Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of the right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
Article 32:
Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for the development or use of their lands or territories and other resources.
States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or other resources.
States shall provide effective mechanisms for just and fair redress for any such activities, and appropriate measures shall be taken to mitigate adverse environmental, economic, social, cultural or spiritual impact.
Singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder is joining the prestigious roster of United Nations Messengers of Peace to advocate for the Organization’s work, with the artist – blind since birth – championing people with disabilities. “I recognize that he has consistently used his voice and special relationship with the public to create a better and more inclusive world, to defend civil and human rights and to improve the lives of those less fortunate. Stevie Wonder is a true inspiration to young people all over the world about what can be achieved despite any physical limitations,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a news conference on 3 December 2009.
The report reveals that the global economy is expected to grow at a pace of 3.0 per cent in 2014 and 3.3 per cent in 2015, compared with an estimated growth of 2.1 per cent for 2013.
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