COMMITMENTS OF COPENHAGEN SUMMIT CONSTITUTE INTERNATIONAL CONTRACT FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, CHILE TELLS ASSEMBLY
Press Release
GA/9134
COMMITMENTS OF COPENHAGEN SUMMIT CONSTITUTE INTERNATIONAL CONTRACT FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, CHILE TELLS ASSEMBLY
19961016 Plenary Begins Review of Follow-Up to 1995 SummitCommitments made at last year's World Summit for Social Development constituted a new international contract to achieve social development, the representative of Chile said this morning, as the General Assembly began its review of follow-up to the 1995 Copenhagen Summit.
The representative of Chile, who had been instrumental in coordinating the Summit, said those commitments had paved the way for a new era of cooperation based on the security of the individual. The United Nations had taken such steps as revitalizing the Commission for Social Development, establishing inter-agency task forces to coordinate follow-up and enhancing relations between the United Nations and the Bretton Wood institutions.
Nevertheless, the Social Summit could not be seen as a success unless social development was achieved in Africa and the least developed countries, he said. Nor would it be successful without progress towards gender equality. Resources must be the mobilized at both the national and international levels.
Summit participants had agreed that development was not solely a matter of economic growth, the representative of Ireland said, on behalf of the European Union and associated States. Development also required democratic governance, empowerment of individuals, social justice and the equitable distribution of wealth and income. However, to eradicate poverty, financial resources must be mobilized, bearing in mind the commitment by donor countries to contribute 0.7 per cent of gross national product (GNP) to official development assistance (ODA).
The representative of Costa Rica, speaking for the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said that while the resources and organizational ability to eradicate poverty existed, the political will to pursue that goal through a global partnership was lacking. She appealed to all Member States to honour their commitments, particularly with respect to the provision of adequate resources, to ensure full implementation of the goals of the Social Summit.
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Statements were also made by the representatives of Bolivia (for the "Rio Group"), Burkina Faso, India, Mexico, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Republic of Korea, Japan and Slovenia.
The Assembly will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its consideration of follow-up to the Social Summit.
Assembly Work Programme
The General Assembly met this morning to begin its review of progress towards implementing the outcome of the 1995 World Summit for Social Development.
As part of its commitment to support follow-up to recent international conferences, the Assembly will consider the Secretary-General's report on the implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the Copenhagen Summit (document A/51/348). In the Declaration, governments pledged to work to eradicate poverty, support full employment and foster stable, safe and just societies.
When the Assembly endorsed the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action in December 1995, it decided that a revitalized Commission for Social Development would have primary responsibility for coordinating review of follow-up efforts. The Economic and Social Council would provide guidance and coordinate the United Nations system-wide activities to implement the Summit outcome. Combined with the work of the Assembly, a "three-tiered intergovernmental process" of implementation was set in motion.
The Commission for Social Development, at a special session in May, drafted recommendations on how it would fulfil its new mandate, says the report. Adopting those recommendations in July, the Economic and Social Council set out the framework for the Commission's future functioning and accepted the programme to guide its work through the year 2000 as follows: productive employment and sustainable livelihood (1997); promoting social integration and participation of all people (1998); social services for all and overall review of Summit outcome implementation (1999); and contribution of the Commission to the overall review of implementation of the Summit outcome (2000).
In addition, the report continues, the Council decided that the Commission would be expanded from 32 to 46 members elected from among Member States or members of specialized agencies as follows: 12 from African States; 10 from Asian States; nine from Latin American and Caribbean States; five from Eastern European States; and 10 from Western European and Other States. The Council also decided that the Commission would meet annually in New York for eight working days, beginning next year.
To effectively supports implementation of the Social Summit goals and those of other international conferences, several inter-agency task forces were established by the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) in October 1995. The mandate of the Task Force on the Enabling Environment for Economic and Social Development, chaired by the World Bank, derived in major part from the Copenhagen Declaration. The Task Force, which began its work in
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March, shares many of the goals set in Copenhagen, including the creation of an enabling environment for social development, the inclusion of social development goals in structural adjustment programmes and the increase in resources for social development. Social Summit commitments are also part of the work of the Task Force on Employment and Sustainable Livelihoods, which began its work in January, and the Task Force on Basic Social Services for All, which met in February.
When the Assembly endorsed the Copenhagen Declaration in December 1995, it also requested that the Resident Coordinators of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) support the implementation of social development programmes, the report continues. Resident Coordinators have already begun to encourage Summit follow-up at the country level within existing inter-agency groups. In March, the UNDP launched an initiative releasing assistance to foster an enabling environment for poverty eradication. Already, 42 proposals amounting to nearly $5.5 million have been approved under that initiative.
Both Summit participants and the United Nations recognized that follow- up would require funding at the national and international levels, says the Secretary-General. While in Copenhagen, developed and developing countries reached consensus on the importance of the 20/20 concept for directing 20 per cent of donor assistance and 20 per cent of developing countries national budgets to social programmes. Later, governments and multilateral organizations met in Oslo in April to coordinate implementation of the 20/20 concept and to review ways to reorient existing funds while mobilizing additional resources.
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in support of Social Summit recommendations, are working to provide special assistance to heavily indebted poor countries by reducing their external debt burden to sustainable levels, the report states. The World Bank is contributing new external finances for social development amounting annually to $2 billion for education, $1 billion for health, $150 million for population programmes and $180 million for nutrition. While the focus of the IMF is to establish economic frameworks to support social development, the Fund is devising methods to more directly support the Summit's goals, including measures to protect the most vulnerable in society. The United Nations System-Wide Special Initiative on Africa, launched in March, leads the response to the Summit's call to quicken development in Africa and the least developed countries.
In Copenhagen, donor countries reiterated the goal of committing 0.7 per cent of gross national product (GNP) to official development assistance (ODA) while agreeing to increase the share of that assistance spent on social development, the report recalls. Currently, ODA amounts to 0.3 per cent of the GNP of the donor community as a whole. In March, representatives of 30
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donor countries met in Tokyo to consider new funding for the International Development Association (IDA). They endorsed a $22 billion package, including $11 billion in new contributions, which will allow lending to low income developing countries over the next three years.
New and innovative means of generating funding, distinct from ODA or United Nations regular and peace-keeping budgets, are being sought to finance social development, including private investment, says the Secretary-General, adding that the Economic and Social Council asked him to prepare a report, in cooperation with the UNDP, which will help in devising resourceful funding methods. The report, including reviews of the feasibility, cost and benefits of initiates, will be considered, along with related views of governments, at the Council's 1997 substantive session.
While the support of the United Nations and other international actors is essential for the full implementation of the Summit's goals, national governments have acknowledged that the primary responsibility is theirs, says the Secretary-General, adding that he already wrote to the heads of State or government who took part in the Summit, stressing the importance of fulfilling commitments made in Copenhagen, particulary the commitment to eradicate poverty.
According to the report, many countries, responding to the Secretary- General, said concrete national programmes, with strong support from the United Nations, were needed to implement the Copenhagen Declaration. Governments, the majority of which also view the eradication of poverty as a top priority, have launched initiatives to simulate job creation and growth, while some have adopted national targets to reduce the level of poverty by a certain year. The leaders of the "Group of Seven" industrialized countries recently agreed to support job growth and other core Summit objectives by, among other things, carrying out practical reforms of tax and social systems to ensure that "work pays" and to enhance their economies' ability to create jobs.
The private sector, non-governmental organizations and other actors of civil society have been called on to support governments in their efforts, the report states. Activities, such as seminars, conferences and policy discussions, have been organized by non-governmental organization and other bodies. The Commission for Social Development at its special session in May emphasized the importance of those organizations' involvement in planning, implementing and evaluating social policies at the national level.
Statements on Social Development
EMILIA CASTRO DE BARISH (Costa Rica), speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said humanity had begun to realize that
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poverty was not an inevitable part of the human condition. While the resources and organizational ability to eradicate poverty existed, the political will of all Members of the United Nations to pursue that goal within a framework of global partnership was lacking. Many developing countries had been compelled to undertake structural adjustment at enormous social costs. In the absence of an external environment that supported their national development efforts, many developing countries continued to languish in poverty, backwardness and stagnant economic growth. Every year, between 13 and 18 million people, mainly children, perished from hunger and poverty- related causes. As long as the developing countries remained at the periphery of international decision-making, that unfortunate state of affairs would continue.
A major constraint on the efforts of developing countries was the critical loss of financial and human resources to combat poverty and underdevelopment, she said. Without adequate levels of investment to promote development, those countries had come to rely on ODA. However, ODA levels had plummeted, dropping 25 per cent during the past four years. The continuing crisis of excessive external indebtedness was daunting, especially for the heavily indebted poor countries. The Group of 77 appealed to all Member States to honour their commitments, particularly with respect to the provision of adequate resources, to ensure full implementation of the goals of the Social Summit.
EDGAR CAMACHO OMISTE (Bolivia), spoke on behalf of the "Rio Group" -- Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Costa Rica (for the countries of Central America), Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. He said the 10 commitments of the Summit placed the economic and political aspects of social development at the centre of consideration. The promotion of economic and social adjustments to address the structural causes of poverty had been a focus of all recent international development efforts. The eradication of poverty had become the fundamental international goal in support of social development.
At a recent Rio Group meeting, the resolve of those governments to overcome poverty had been restated, he said. The Group had appealed to international financial institutions to provide funding and technical assistance to support their pursuits. Its members supported the "20/20" initiative, by which donor countries would commit 20 per cent of ODA and developing countries would commit 20 per cent of their national budgets to social development programmes. The Group also believed that observance of the International Year of Older Persons would promote social integration.
GAETAN RIMWANGUIYA OUEDRAOGO (Burkina Faso) said it had been recognized that combating poverty was the primary responsibility of governments. However, the international community was also duty-bound to discharge its
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responsibilities in that area. Programmes to combat poverty worked better when they were implemented with increased solidarity, cooperation and the national will for self-reliance. The IMF and the World Bank must make progress in their efforts to eliminate poverty. Recipient populations must not be crippled by growing debt. The General Assembly must give the Commission for Social Development the means to function and discharge its mandate.
The mobilization of resources through non-governmental organizations was not sufficient to meet established social development priorities, he said. All nations must be empowered to fulfil the goals of the Summit within the agreed timetable. Burkina Faso supported the 20/20 initiative and had agreed to participate in a test project. Despite limited resources, Burkina Faso had undertaken efforts to combat unemployment and to address other goals of the Summit. Its social development policies were focused on health, education and employment, as well as the empowerment of women.
PRAKASH SHAH (India) said that the Copenhagen document was visionary, incorporating major commitments for national action and international cooperation. It was essential that machinery be put in place to translate these commitments into action. While enthusiasm for the free market was being pushed around the globe, practical experience required an approach that blended economic growth with social justice. The imperatives of the market must be balanced with concern for social and environmental needs. Otherwise, the poor and weak would be excluded from growth and prosperity. Any long-term strategy must place people at the centre of the development process. Every effort must be made to empower every disadvantaged class and group, particularly women.
International cooperation was essential to accelerate economic and social development at the national level, he said. There must be a substantial increase in the resources available for international cooperation in social development. The entire United Nations system should be involved in the process, including the Bretton Woods institutions and the specialized agencies -- particularly the International Labour Organisation and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). India supported the current three-tiered structure for follow-up activities. It also welcomed the decision to hold a special session of the General Assembly in the year 2000 to review implementation of the Programme of Action.
The onus for poverty eradication through an increased flow of external resources rested with the international community, he said. It must be understood that accelerated growth rates in the developing countries would then generate greater trade and employment for the developed countries.
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GUSTAVO ALBIN (Mexico) said the adoption of a broad and integrated approach to overcoming poverty was the most significant accomplishment of the World Summit for Social Development. Social development was the responsibility of each country and was essential for the strengthening of the international community. The alarming rise in poverty had prompted action at the highest level of government. The Copenhagen Declaration constituted a framework for cooperation at the national and international levels.
He said Mexico's current social policy had been taking up most of its financial resources. Nevertheless, additional efforts were needed. The main challenge was to meet the needs of 22 million Mexicans who lived in poverty.
The agencies of the United Nations must cooperate to translate the commitments made in Copenhagen into practical programmes, he said. Economic structures must be aimed at meeting the needs of all members of society. The cause of economic development with social justice had been fundamental to the Summit. To promote progress in the human condition, the participation of everyone was essential.
ANWARUL KARIM CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) said it was encouraging that the Commission for Social Development had called on the international community to seek to mobilize additional financial resources that were both adequate and predictable for poverty eradication. However, it was disquieting that the development partners had not yet met assistance targets set in 1990 in the Paris Programme of Action on the least developed countries. Bangladesh had proposed establishment by the Secretary-General, in consultation with the heads of the World Bank, the IMF and the World Trade Organization (WTO), of a high-level task force aimed at making the entire multilateral system more responsive to the war against poverty. It had also proposed establishment of an independent commission of eminent personalities to submit recommendations on such crucial issues as the cancellation of outstanding debts, providing a more human face to structural adjustment, matching the ODA targets set at the 1981 Paris Conference, and the implementation of the Programme of Action.
It was encouraging that the "Group of Seven" industrialized countries had firmly committed itself to further integration of the less and least developed countries into the global economy. Bangladesh had designated its Ministry of Planning as the focal point for the implementation of the Programme of Action adopted at the World Summit, which included the eradication of poverty among its goals. Regional efforts were also in progress. He welcomed the initiative on convening of a "micro-credit summit", aimed at helping 100 million families come out of poverty by the year 2005.
JARGALSAIKHANY ENKHSAIKHAN (Mongolia) said the mobilization of additional financial resources for social development could be made possible through the use of such innovative schemes as socially responsible structural
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adjustment, the 20/20 concept, and debt swaps. Mongolia stressed the importance of honouring the commitment to the 0.7 per cent target for ODA by those countries which had not yet done so. In addition, reducing and cancelling the debt of developing countries would help free resources for social development. A realistic assessment of the underlying causes of the debt burden should be borne in mind when addressing the issue. Also useful was the inclusion of a set of vulnerability factors in the criteria for determining the sustainability of a country's debt burden, currently being developed by the IMF and the World Bank.
Following the Summit, Mongolia's National Preparatory Committee was entrusted with a renewed mandate to ensure nation-wide coordination of the follow-up on the Summit, and, in 1994, the Government adopted a poverty alleviation programme. Prior to that, a study on social conditions in the country revealed that poverty had increased dramatically since 1989, reaching alarming proportions by 1993. Mongolia's poverty programme aimed at reducing the number of people living in poverty from 26 per cent to 10 per cent by the year 2000. Most of the programme's activities were being carried out at the local and grass-roots level, directly by the local governments, or through non-governmental organizations and cooperatives. A poverty alleviation committee had also been set up to coordinate the programme's activities at the national level.
PARK SOO GIL (Republic of Korea) said his country had undertaken programmes to raise the standard of living of its citizens by guaranteeing a stable livelihood, expanding social and welfare services, and improving its social insurance system. The Republic of Korea placed particular emphasis on the needs of vulnerable groups. As part of its international commitment to social development, his Government was working to expand the scale of its ODA and to provide technical training for more than 30,000 people from developing countries.
The establishment of an appropriate framework within the United Nations to address the issue had been an initial step in the right direction, he said. To ensure that goals were realized, coherent policies were needed, as well as a partnership involving the United Nations, the international community and donors. The United Nations system must convey the outcome of international conferences to people at the country level through national capacity-building efforts. The gender perspective must be incorporated into Summit implementation. The active involvement of civil society must be ensured.
JUAN SOMAVIA (Chile) said the Copenhagen Declaration represented a new social contract at the international level to achieve social development. That international consensus was part of a commitment to address social and economic development as the great challenge of today. The commitments made had paved the way for a new era of cooperation based on the security of the
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individual. In their implementation, those high ideals must not be forgotten. However, the cold war had been replaced by a cold peace of insensitivity between and within countries. The developed countries were entering a time of introspection and suspicion, as were the wealthier segments in developing countries.
The efforts by the United Nations to revitalize and strengthen its work in the economic and social fields complemented its follow-up to the Summit, he said. The UNDP had decided that the commitment to eradicate poverty would be its first priority. It would lead the fight against poverty, as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) had led the fight for the rights of the child. A significant step had been taken to improve coordination between United Nations agencies through the establishment of inter-agency task forces. The Commission for Social Development had also been revitalized, and closer relationships developed between the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions. Both the World Bank and the IMF had adjusted their work to incorporate social development objectives.
The implementation of Summit commitments demanded a mobilization of resources at the national and international levels, he said. While resources were becoming increasingly limited, some efforts to reverse that trend were under way. The 20/20 concept was making progress, and there were efforts to ease the debt burden of the most impoverished countries.
The participation of civil society in follow-up was also vital, he said. The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions had recently begun work to implement Summit commitments, while the Inter-Parliamentary Union had also mobilized its members around the Summit goals. With those two examples alone, 126 national trade unions and more than 100 national parliaments had been mobilized behind the Copenhagen commitments. At the national level, there was not doubt that greater efforts were needed. National plans to eradicate poverty must be undertaken, and regional actions were also important.
The Summit could not be seen as success unless there was successful social development in Africa and the least developed countries, he said. The special commitment made to Africa and other least developed countries had given their situation political priority. Nor would the Summit be successful without progress towards gender equality. The Assembly should adopt a resolution calling on governments to raise the percentage of women serving in their missions to the United Nations.
Even at this time of human coldness, part of each person continued to act on the basis of ideals and values, he said. Not heartless robots, feeling and commitments were part of the human condition. Commitment to social development was an attempt to overcome the social isolation of our times.
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JOHN H.F. CAMPBELL (Ireland) spoke on behalf of the European Union, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and the Slovak Republic. He said Summit participants had agreed that development was not solely a question of economic growth, but also encompassed the legal and constitutional framework of States. It required democratic and open governance, empowerment of individuals, social justice, and the equitable distribution of wealth and income. Development also demanded full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It could not be achieved unless women enjoyed full equality with men, both in law and practice. Nor could it be achieved if society discriminated against any of its members on any grounds.
The Copenhagen Declaration had recognized that the formulation and implementation of strategies, policies, programmes and actions for social development were the responsibility of each country. Given the diversity of situations and the particular conditions of each country, there could be no single strategy for social development. However, the need to take account of differing conditions could not be used as a pretext to circumvent commitments made at the Summit or at other international conferences. The Copenhagen action programme proclaimed the ultimate goal of social development as improving and enhancing the quality of life of all people. Achieving that aim required democratic institutions, increased and equal opportunity, the rule of law, and respect for cultural diversity. Governments could not excuse a failure to fulfil one aspect by pleading the inability to achieve another. Lack of development could not be a reason for denying full equality to women, or for denying the rights of minorities and or indigenous peoples.
Eradication of poverty was the greatest challenge facing national governments and the international community, he said. To confront that challenge, economic and administrative systems must be altered so everyone might have access to resources and opportunities. Measures must be taken to ensure the democratic participation of those who lived in poverty. As women constituted the majority of those living in poverty, any anti-poverty programme which failed to mainstream the gender perspective would be unsuccessful. National poverty-eradication plans must address the structural causes of poverty. Ireland and governments of the European Union were actively engaged in the development of national anti-poverty strategies.
Support for national poverty-eradication plans was a key task for the United Nations, he said. Poverty-eradication plans could be incorporated into the various United Nations mechanisms working to achieve social and economic development. Bilateral and multilateral efforts were essential to create an environment in which governments could take the lead in eradicating poverty. To eradicate poverty, financial resources must be mobilized, bearing in mind the commitment by donor countries to the target of 0.7 per cent of the GNP for ODA. To achieve full employment, States and civil society must cooperate.
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Special priority should be given to ensuring productive employment for youth, women, persons with disabilities, and disadvantaged groups and individuals.
HISASHI OWADA (Japan) said one of the most important achievements of the Copenhagen Summit was the agreement to place people at the centre of the development process. Genuine development could only be achieved through a comprehensive approach, with activities in such areas as financial resource mobilization through ODA, investment and trade, and ensuring basic education, health care and empowerment for all groups in society.
Today more than 1 billion people lived in absolute poverty, while over 120 million were unemployed, and many citizens were excluded from the social and political process, he said. The three basic issues of poverty, employment and social integration were interrelated. If one of them was not successfully addressed, that would adversely affect the solution of the others.
In carrying out the Summit's Programme of Action, it was essential to ensure the participation of people, governments and other actors in civil society, he said. That would include setting up such targets as universal access to basic education, reduction in infant mortality rates, reduction in malnutrition among children and the attainment by all people of a higher level of health. The Summit commitments must be implemented at both the international and national levels. Japan had allocated 23.2 per cent of her bilateral assistance in 1994 to projects related to social infrastructure, while 33 per cent went to basic human needs.
He said Japan was gratified to see that the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Commission for Social Development, as a three-tiered system mechanism for implementing the Summit goals, had begun their work. The role of the Economic Council must be to provide overall guidance, maintain system-wide coordination and review any progress being made. The Assembly should strengthen its policy makers on social development, while the Commission would assist the Council in monitoring progress. Other agencies and institutions in the United Nations system should also be brought into that integrated scheme of cooperation. The participation of the Bretton Woods institutions was also essential.
DANILO TURK (Slovenia) said that ethical and practical conditions must be met in implementing the commitments made at the Social Summit. The ethical conditions concerned the readiness of decision makers at all levels to take the commitments seriously. Since those objectives could be inconvenient or in conflict with other priorities at the local, regional and international levels, special efforts must be made to implement them.
Policy-making would require persistence and imagination, with its most important expression being at the local and national levels, he said.
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Activities at the international level were a supplement to national efforts. Also needed was a set of internationally accepted statistical indicators, as well as an agreed methodology for their use. As Denmark had stated, better statistics was essential for a meaningful debate on the solutions to social problems. Related developments now taking place in the United Nations Statistical Commission were encouraging.
The eradication of poverty required a better understanding of its structural causes, he said. Some of those were specific to a given society, while others resulted from global factors. Eradicating poverty required a narrowing of the income gap, as well as popular empowerment. The empowerment of women was of particular importance in that respect, as was the need to develop appropriate policies to address the situation of women.
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