Go Between 2001: no. 88 September-November
UN UPDATE
KOFI ANNAN, UN AWARDED NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
The Nobel Committee in Oslo has awarded this year’s peace prize jointly to the United Nations and the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, citing “their work for a better organized and more peaceful world.”
“The end of the Cold War has at last made it possible for the UN to perform more fully the part it was originally intended to play,” the Committee said. “Today the organization is at the forefront of efforts to achieve peace and security in the world, and of the international mobilization aimed at meeting the world’s economic, social and environmental challenges.”
“Through this first Peace Prize to the UN as such, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes in its centenary year to proclaim that the only negotiable route to global peace and cooperation goes by way of the UN,” the Committee added.
The Committee commended the Secretary-General in his efforts. “Kofi Annan has devoted almost his entire working life to the UN. As the Secretary-General, he has been pre-eminent in bringing new life to the organization. While clearly underlining the UN’s traditional responsibility for peace and security, he has also emphasized its obligations with regard to human rights. He has risen to such new challenges as HIV/AIDS and international terrorism, and brought about more efficient utilization of the UN’s modest resources. In an organization that can hardly become more than its Members permit, he has made clear that sovereignty cannot be a shield behind which Member States conceal their violations.”
Mr. Annan, born in Ghana in 1938, became the first leader to be elected from the ranks of UN staff when he was appointed UN Secretary-General in 1997. He was unanimously reappointed to a second five-year term by the 189 Member States in June 2001, six months before his first term was set to expire on 31 December 2001.
Responding to the news of the Nobel Prize, Mr. Annan said, “It’s a wonderful feeling and a great encouragement for us and the organization, for the work we have done until now. It’s a great recognition for the staff. At the same time,” he continued, “it is a great responsibility at such a difficult moment but reinforces us in pursuing the search for peace.”
Established by the Swedish philanthropist Alfred Nobel in 1901, the award, worth approximately US$946,000, will be shared in equal parts between the UN and the Secretary-General. The first Nobel Peace Prize honoured Jean Henry Dunant, the Swiss founder of the Red Cross.
Seven previous Nobel Peace Prizes have been awarded to UN officials or organizations.
--1950: Ralph Bunche, acting UN mediator in Palestine, for his mediation of the 1949 armistice between Israel and the Arab states.
--1954: The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), for its “untiring and sometimes thankless effort to bring assistance to the refugees.”
--1961: Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold, awarded posthumously following his death in a plane crash on a peace mission to Congo, “in gratitude for all he did, for what he achieved, for what he fought for: to create peace and goodwill among nations and men.”
--1965: The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), for realizing that “the children of today make the history of the future.”
--1969: The International Labour Organization (ILO), for promoting “social justice.”
--1981: The office of the UNHCR, for the second time, for assisting a tremendous number of refugees “despite the many political difficulties with which it has to contend.”
--1988: UN peacekeeping forces, for “reducing tensions” and making “a decisive contribution toward the initiation of actual peace negotiations.”
With its headquarters in New York, the UN has 50,000 employees worldwide, six regional branches, and field offices around the world. It was founded in 1945 and now has 189 Member States.
SG BOOSTS PREPARATIONS FOR JO’BURG SUMMIT
In a move to catalyze the preparatory process leading up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has designated Jan Pronk as his Special Envoy to work with political leaders at the highest levels to discuss new approaches for reaching the goals of sustainable development made at the Earth Summit 10 years ago in Rio de Janeiro. Mr. Pronk, currently Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment for the Netherlands, has agreed to take on the task while continuing his present duties. This follows a number of regional preparatory meetings currently underway as Go Between goes to press (see pages 37-39).
Mr. Annan has also asked Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, to act as Secretary-General of the WSSD, which is to be held in Johannesburg (South Africa) from 2-11 September 2002. As well, he has established a high-level Advisory Panel of distinguished experts (see Focus page).
SECURITY COUNCIL AND GA CONDEMN ATTACKS ON US
Addressing a meeting of the UN Security Council on the morning of 12 September 2001, Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed “deep shock and revulsion at the cold-blooded viciousness” of the terrorist attack on the United States on 11 September. “A terrorist attack on one country is an attack on humanity as a whole. All nations of the world must work together to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” he said.
Members of the Security Council departed from tradition to stand while unanimously adopting resolution 1368 (2001), declaring that any act of international terrorism was a threat to international peace and security, and stating the Council’s readiness to take all necessary steps to respond to the attacks of 11 September and to combat all forms of terrorism in accordance with its UN Charter responsibilities.
The Council called on all States to work together urgently to bring to justice the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of the terrorist attacks. It also called on the international community to redouble its efforts to prevent and suppress terrorist acts, through increased cooperation and full implementation of the relevant international anti-terrorist conventions and Council resolutions.
Council members expressed shock and grief and offered their deepest condolences and support for the American people and government. Many agreed that the whole world, and not just one country, had been plunged into an unprecedented time of peril, fear and uncertainty.
The representative of the Ukraine, Valery P. Kuchinsky, noted that the magnitude of the events was far beyond terrorism as the world had so far known it. “With the new technologies and changed nature of the world, a handful of angry people is enough to cause havoc,” he said. He proposed that 11 September be designated an international day to combat terrorism.
The current President of the Council and the representative of France, Jean-David Levitte, said that these “monstrous acts are a challenge to the international community as a whole,” and emphasized that a global strategy was needed to deal with terrorism, “for which the Council should play a significant role.”
In the afternoon, Mr. Annan addressed the first plenary meeting of the 56th session of the General Assembly, calling on “all the nations of the world” to unite “in their solidarity with the victims of terrorism, and in their determination to take action–both against the terrorists themselves and against all those who give them any kind of shelter, assistance or encouragement.”
The Assembly then adopted its first resolution (A/RES/56/1) of the new session, Condemnation of Terrorist Attacks in the United States, condemning “the heinous acts of terrorism which have caused enormous loss of human life and destruction in the cities of New York, host city of the UN, Washington DC and elsewhere,” and urgently calling for international cooperation to bring to justice the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of the “outrages.”
SECURITY COUNCIL ANTI-TERRORISM MEASURES
As the General Assembly prepared for its five-day debate on terrorism, the Security Council approved a broad anti-terrorism measure proposed by recently appointed US Ambassador John Negroponte in the wake of the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington DC.
Reaffirming the “inherent right of individual or collective self-defence” as recognized by the Charter of the United Nations, as well as the need to “combat by all means…threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts,” the Security Council adopted resolution 1373 (2001) on 28 September, invoking UN Charter Chapter VII, which makes the measure mandatory for all 189 Member States.
By the terms of the text, the Council decided that all States should prevent and suppress the financing of terrorism by freezing terrorists’ funds and making criminal the provision or collection of such funds. The resolution further calls on countries to refrain from supporting terrorist groups; to prevent would-be terrorists from using their territories to commit acts of terrorism; to create strict laws and sentences related to terrorism; and to cooperate with each other by sharing intelligence, helping in each other’s investigations and using border controls to restrict terrorists’ movements.
Before granting refugee status, the Council said, countries should make sure asylum-seekers have no connection with terrorist acts and that claims of political motivation are not recognized as grounds for refusing requests for the extradition of alleged terrorists. The resolution also highlighted the connection between terrorism and international issues such as money laundering; organized crime; illegal drugs; and the smuggling of nuclear, biological, chemical and other weapons, and emphasized the need to enhance international cooperation to ensure security.
The Council took the additional step of establishing a committee to monitor the resolution’s implementation, calling on all countries to submit a report on the subject within 90 days.
Some NGOs monitoring the work of the UN expressed concern about the resolution, highlighting in particular the lack of a concrete definition of “terrorism” in a resolution that mandates sweeping measures to combat it. “In light of the differing opinions among the international community as to what constitutes terrorism, we are extremely concerned that the open-endedness of the resolution is vulnerable to abuse,” said the International Women’s Human Rights Law Clinic. Such concerns were not allayed by Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock (UK) who responded that “for most of the time, if something looks like a terrorist and makes noise like a terrorist, it’s a terrorist–and we now know what to do about it in terms of what is set out in this resolution.”
The Women’s Caucus for Gender Justice further expressed concern that parts of the resolution could lead to justification for “independent actions by States, acting singly or in concert but outside the direction and command of the UN, against alleged perpetrators of terrorism and/or States allegedly supporting such acts; and serious curtailment of civil, political and human rights of citizens and persons, in particular of refugees, immigrants and other individuals presumed to have such status or be from targeted minority groups.”
NGOs also stressed the pertinence of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in this instance. “The ultimate goal of the Court is to try the perpetrators of crimes against humanity and other international crimes. The approval of the Rome Treaty [establishing the Court] and the speed with which States are ratifying that treaty attests to the importance of substituting justice for force as a primary means to ensure peace and security.”
Contact: Women’s Caucus for Gender Justice, 33-53 Vernon Blvd. Fl.1, Long Island City NY 11101, USA, telephone +1-718/ 626 2681, fax +1-718/626 3528, e-mail <caucus@iccwomen.org>, website http://www.iccwomen.org Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) is available online at: http://www.un.org/Docs/scres/2001/res1373e.pdf
GA SPECIAL SESSION ON CHILDREN POSTPONED
The United Nations General Assembly, in recognition of the terrorist attacks that occurred in the United States on 11 September 2001, postponed to May 2002 the Special Session on Children originally scheduled to be held in New York from 19 to 21 September 2001. Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) strongly supported the postponement of the Session and said that UNICEF regretted the circumstances that had caused it (see Focus page).
WORLD FOOD DAY, FAO POSTPONES FOOD SUMMIT
“I believe it is important to recognize that hunger deserves at least the same attention as poverty when we look at global development priorities. And sadly, at the dawn of the third millennium, we are still far from ensuring that all people on the planet have enough to eat, when and where they need it,” said the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General Jacques Diouf to mark World Food Day held on 16 October 2001.
Established in 1979, World Food Day aims to raise people’s awareness about the problems of hunger and food insecurity with activities that heighten public understanding of global hunger, strengthen solidarity and focus attention on achieving food security for all. Captured in this year’s theme is the fact that hunger is the most critical manifestation of poverty. Eliminating hunger is the first step towards reducing poverty and ensuring food for all.
FAO said in order to make progress in the fight against hunger, governments, the private sector and the international community will need to focus their efforts in rural areas, where 70% of the poor and hungry live, and direct more investments to those regions.
As World Food Day activities took place in more than 150 countries, Mr. Diouf also announced that the World Food Summit: five years later, scheduled to take place in November 2001, would be postponed in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the US. “Unfortunately the present international circumstances and the loss of so many innocent lives and the crisis that followed have led us to seek postponement of such an event,” the Director-General said. The Summit has been rescheduled for 10-13 June 2002. (See also Guest Editorial.)
HIGH-LEVEL DIALOGUE ON GLOBALIZATION
The UN General Assembly held its second biennial high-level dialogue on strengthening international economic cooperation through partnership from 20-21 September 2001 in New York. During ministerial roundtables and informal panels that addressed the overall theme of Responding to globalization: facilitating the integration of developing countries in the world economy and generating new public and private resources to complement development efforts, governments highlighted the timeliness of the discussion as it followed in the wake of the 11 September 2001 attacks in New York and the ensuing global economic slowdown.
Norman Nicholson, Director of Development Partnerships, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said the dialogue on reducing poverty and enhancing cooperation was in contrast to the events of 11 September, which constituted a rejection of the very principles of dialogue and partnership. Mr. Nicholson referred to the Global Development Alliance (GDA) and said that his country would increasingly implement its development efforts through this new development financing model that takes advantage of areas of congruence between US assistance and the private sector. He said that the GDA would leverage official development assistance (ODA) resources to mobilize the ideas, efforts, and assets of the public sector, the business sector, and NGOs.
Speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, Ambassador Bagher Asadi (Iran) said existing institutional arrangements and multilateral cooperation in the international monetary, financial and trading systems lagged far behind the process of economic and financial integration at the global level.
Ambassador Jean de Ruyt (Belgium), on behalf of the European Union, stressed the need for more innovative partnerships that paid particular attention to the least developed counties, especially in the area of trade. He added that these countries should secure their membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and be given technical support to operate effectively within it. Mr. de Ruyt said that it was vital to integrate and liberalize the telecommunications market without delay, in order to lower the cost of access to the Internet. He called for governments to cooperate on copyright, computer security, electronic trading standards, legal and tax questions and combating computer crime.
Picking up the theme of partnership, the representative of Egypt, Ambassador Ahmed Aboul Gheit said that true partnerships required a sincere and constructive engagement to correct imbalances at the national, as well as the international level. Such a partnership, he said, would overcome existing views on assigned roles in the international economic system and be more responsive to the development needs of developing countries.
Ambassador Kamalesh Sharma (India) said that the international community had to be mindful of protests in various world conferences over “skewed globalization” and a belief that globalization had not helped the common person but had benefited large corporations instead. Despite the sense of powerlessness people felt, he said it should be possible to put together a positive programme of change, so that globalization would be seen as “a tide that lifts all boats.” The international community, therefore, must ensure that globalization was supportive of the economic development objectives of all countries, as it was not a choice between globalization and isolation.
Summarizing the roundtable discussion on Generating New Public and Private Financing Resources to Complement Development Efforts, Ambassador Ion Botnaru (Moldova) said discussion revolved around the potential of the International Conference on Financing for Development (18-22 March 2002, Monterrey, Mexico) to find the means to finance the initiatives and proposals put forth by the global conferences of the 1990s. Other issues highlighted were improving the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) debt initiative, creating a more transparent and fair system to take into account the rights of debtors, recapitalizing credit institutions and taxing international currency transactions and carbon emissions.
According to Ambassador Eladio Loizaga (Paraguay) who chaired the roundtable on Enhancing the Integration of Developing Countries in the Emerging Global Information Network, the discussion centered on the opportunities associated with information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the related challenges for developing countries, such as the lack of infrastructure, an inadequate regulatory environment, the high cost of access and lack of human resources.
Contact: Office of the President of the General Assembly, United Nations, Room C-204, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/963 2209, fax +1-212/963 3133, e-mail <mailto:gapresident@un.org>, website (www.un.org/ga).
US MAKES PARTIAL PAYMENT OF UN ARREARS
The United States House of Representatives voted unanimously on 24 September 2001 to speed payment of US$582 million of the back dues it owes the UN.
US debt to the UN for its share of the annual budget had reached a record US$2.33 billion as of the end of July 2001. Of that amount, US$1.8 billion is for peacekeeping missions for this and previous years, according to UN spokesperson Fred Eckhard. On 17 October 2001, the US representative to the General Assembly’s (GA) Fifth Committee (Financial) confirmed that the newly approved payment “would be in the hands of the UN” by 9 November 2001.
The US$582 million represents a large percentage of the dues that the US pledged to pay in a 1999 agreement which hinged upon UN reform and a reduction in the overall US contribution. On 23 December 2000, when the GA undertook its first major overhaul of UN financing in more than 20 years, delegates agreed to reduce US dues and media mogul Ted Turner offered a US$34 million personal donation to cover the shortfall the US cut created in the main 2001 UN budget. Under the new deal, the US share of the administrative budget will drop from 25% to 22%. The share of its peacekeeping budget will drop from 31% to nearly 27%, slightly higher than the 25% the US Congress had demanded. Japan and Russia helped seal the deal by offering to mitigate the costs that otherwise would have fallen on some developing countries.
“Meeting our financial obligations to the United Nations will help to ensure that our policy makers can keep the focus on broad policies that unite the members of the Security Council in the fight against global terrorism,” House International Relations Committee Chair Henry Hyde commented to the Chicago Tribune after passage of the legislation.
The Secretary-General said he was pleased by the decision of the US Congress to “authorize the payment in partial settlement of the dues owed to the United Nations.” He specifically thanked Ted Turner for his “remarkable role” in facilitating this payment, and saluted him for his “visionary leadership as a true global citizen.” Mr. Annan expressed the hope that all the outstanding financial issues between the US and the UN could be resolved as soon as possible, “in order to put this issue behind us once and for all.”
In other news, the US Congress confirmed John Negroponte as its new representative to the UN on 19 September. Mr. Negroponte is a 37-year career diplomat with the US Department of State, having also served as ambassador to Mexico (1989-93) and the Philippines (1993-96). From 1996-97 he was the Special Negotiator for post-1999 United States Presence in Panama. In 1997, he left the Foreign Service to join the McGraw Hill Companies as Executive Vice-President of Global Markets, a position he held until assuming his UN post. Mr. Negroponte was also a member of the US delegation to the Paris Peace Talks on Viet Nam (1968-69), after serving as a Political Officer at the US Embassy in Saigon (1964-68).
The US had been without a UN ambassador since Richard Holbrooke stepped down in January 2001. The delay was caused by congressional scrutiny of Mr. Negroponte, whom human rights groups have accused of concealing abuses during his service as Ambassador to Honduras (1981-85).
UPDATE ON WORLD ECONOMIC SURVEY
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) released an update to the World Economic and Social Survey 2001 on 10 October 2001, emphasizing that the 11 September terrorist attacks on the US will further slow a world economy already growing at its lowest rate in a decade, and hamper long-term growth. “The shock is expected to reverberate through the world economy and global financial markets in the coming months,” says the report. Military and political reactions to the attacks will “greatly amplify” existing uncertainties about the short-term global outlook and should have significant effects in the long run, it states.
Gross world product (GWP) is expected to grow at only 1.4% in 2001, compared to the previous estimate of 2.4%, with a partial recovery to 2% in 2002. International trade is expected to register “virtually no growth” in 2001, although it is estimated that it should increase by 4-5% in 2002.
A worse downturn than expected is forecasted for the US, where the attacks should cause “an absolute decline in gross domestic product (GDP) in the third and fourth quarters.” Among developed countries, the slower US economy should affect Canada the most, but Japan’s performance is expected to be weakest, with GDP likely to decline by more than 0.5% in 2001.
The most severely affected developing economies are expected to be South and East Asia, where GDP growth projections for 2001 have dropped from 4.1% to 1.7%. In Africa, GDP growth could fall from an expected 4.3% to 3.0% in 2001 and in Latin America from 3.1% to 0.8%.
Addressing the major economic impacts of the terrorist attacks, the report points to the destruction of human and physical capital, which in physical terms has already been estimated at about US$40 billion in the US, adding that if the current military campaign escalates, this amount could increase and more economies could be drawn in.
The attacks have disrupted business in general, mostly in the US, with airlines, insurance companies, travel agents and financial traders suffering the most, although the report notes that “the damage is spilling over to more and more sectors, such as manufacturing, retailing and technology.” Hundreds of companies in the US have lowered their earnings estimates by a further 10% for the third and fourth quarters of 2001.
Macro-economic policies have shifted in major economies, with more than a dozen central banks cutting interest rates. Government spending rose in the US with the approval of about US$40 billion for emergency aid and a further US$90 billion in other spending and tax reductions. Defense costs in the US could increase dramatically in the coming years, although this may boost economic growth in the short-term.
According to the report, other consequences will include a drop in international trade and reduced private investment in developing and transition economies. The attacks could have “triggered a turning point for the exchange rates between the US dollar and other major currencies,” the report states, adding that for many international investors, the attacks may have changed both the image of the US as a “safe-haven” and their underlying optimism about the US economy.
Contact: Ian Kinniburgh, Development Policy Analysis Division, DESA, Room DC2-2170, United Nations, New York, NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/963 4838, fax +1-212/963 1061, e-mail <kinniburgh@un.org>. The update, entitled Global Economic Slowdown Aggravated by Attacks on the United States, is available through NGLS in New York, or online at (www.un.org/esa/analysis/ddpa.htm).
ILO SAYS TOURISM JOBS IN PERIL
According to a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), up to 9 million workers in the global hotel and tourism industry may lose their jobs as a result of the 11 September terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. The report, The Social Impact on the Hotels and Tourism Sector of Events Subsequent to 11 September 2001, was discussed at an ILO crisis meeting on the tourism and hotel industry, in Geneva on 25-26 October 2001.
Some 207 million people worldwide work in the travel and tourism sector, equivalent to about 8% of global employment. The ILO said a 10% decrease in tourism would translate into 1.1 million jobs lost in the US and 1.2 million in the European Union. Depending on travelers’ reactions to the terrorist threat in the coming months, US job losses could reach 3.8 million, the report says, adding that prior to 11 September, economic recession was already weakening travel demand.
After growth of 7.4% in 2000, the World Tourism Organization had predicted growth of 2.5–3% in 2001, but has since reduced this estimate to 1.5–2%. “To this economic environment has been added uncertainty; travellers’ instinct is now to stay close to home,” the report says.
While the short-impact will be severe, the report said the long-impact would depend on further events and whether the industry can recover quickly from the unprecedented fallout and worldwide impact of 11 September 2001. “Many companies in the sector are highly dependent on strong and regular cash flows to meet their fixed commitments,” the report said. “Some are now faced with a struggle for their very survival.”
Contact: Department of Communication, ILO, 4 route des Morillons, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/799 7940, fax +41-22/799 8577, e-mail <presse@ilo.org>, website (www.ilo.org).
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER MEETS NGOS
The terrorist attacks that occurred in the United States on 11 September 2001 and the ensuing counter terrorist measures are a threat to human rights, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson told a group of NGOs in New York on 19 September 2001. Ms. Robinson called for the meeting during her brief visit to the UN headquarters. Addressing the audience, Ms. Robinson emphasized the need to respect human rights in all measures taken to defeat terrorism.
Both the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNHCR) had widely addressed the challenge that terrorism poses to human rights, Ms. Robinson said. As examples she highlighted the Commission’s resolution on Human Rights (E/CN.4/RES/2001/37) adopted in April 2001 and the progress report, Terrorism and human rights (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2001/31, dated 27 June 2001), prepared by the UN Special Rapporteur Kalliopi K. Koufa for the Commission on Human Rights Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.
According to Ms. Robinson, the perpetrators of the September 11 attacks, as well as those who planned the attacks or assisted in them in any way, are guilty of crimes against humanity. Justice, not revenge, was to be sought, she emphasized, saying that any response to the attacks needed to be a truly international one and one which follows the rule of law, adding that the framework for such a response should be created under UN auspices. She called for a greater focus on the different social and cultural values of countries and emphasized that the attacks were contrary to the values of Islam.
NGOs expressed concern over one-sided coverage of the counter-terrorist responses in the American media, and called for a greater expression of different views in the media. NGOs were also concerned about the challenge that the counter-terrorist measures, and potential increases in police and judicial powers, pose for civil liberties and human rights. NGOs told Ms. Robinson they were alarmed about a new wave of xenophobia and anti-Muslim incidents that had occurred in the US in the wake of the attacks. Ms. Robinson referred to the Declaration and Platform for Action adopted at the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Durban on 9 September 2001, saying that they provided a framework for protecting human rights. The document strongly emphasizes human and cultural diversity and contains language on Islamophobia, she said.
Ms. Robinson said that although she had not been able to advocate the alternative NGO declaration adopted by the parallel NGO Forum held in Durban because of some of the language it contained, she did, however, commend certain parts of it, in particular the preambular paragraph and paragraphs relating to criminal justice and judicial systems. Ms. Robinson underlined the crucial importance of NGOs in the follow-up to the Conference.
For further information on the World Conference in Durban, see NGLS Roundup 82.
ICC PREPCOM’S 8TH SESSION
The Preparatory Commission for the International Criminal Court (ICC) held its eighth session from 24 September to 5 October 2001 at UN headquarters in New York. During the session, four countries–the Central African Republic, Liechtenstein, Nigeria and the United Kingdom–ratified the treaty establishing the Court, bringing the total to 42, over two-thirds of the 60 ratifications needed for the treaty to enter into force. The ICC will be a permanent court for trying individuals accused of committing genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Describing the session as productive, the Commission Chair, Philippe Kirsch (Canada), said that work had moved to an advanced stage and that the Commission would focus its attention in future sessions on more practical issues relating to the establishment of the Court. The Commission currently has seven working groups (WGs). At the conclusion of the recent session, four of the working groups announced the completion of their assignments.
Phakiso Mochochoko (Lesotho), Coordinator of the Working Group on an Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Court, said it had approved a draft agreement which represents a “major departure” from traditional privileges and immunities agreements by recognizing the important role, and facilitating the participation of, experts, witnesses, victims and other persons required to be present at the seat of the Court.
Christian Maquiera (Chile), Coordinator of the Working Group on the Relationship Agreement between the Court and the UN, said that its only unresolved question concerned how to deal with the dispute settlement provisions of article 119, paragraph 2 of the treaty, and the question of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The Group decided that the matter should be referred to the Assembly of States Parties (ASP).
Saeid Mirzaee (Iran), Coordinator of the Working Group on the Rules of Procedures of the ASP, said that it had prepared a set of 96 rules to be applied to the work of the Assembly, and to the work of the review conferences. Two rules were developed to enable the UN to participate in the deliberations of the ASP.
Rolf Fife (Norway), speaking on behalf of the Coordinator of the Working Group on Financial Regulations and Rules of the Court, said that it had approved three documents, one on draft financial regulations and two draft resolutions covering the establishment of a committee on budget and finance and relevant criteria for voluntary contributions to the Court.
Three other working groups will continue their work, which includes: dealing with the definition of the crime of aggression; a first-year budget for the Court; and a relationship agreement between the Court and the host country of its headquarters (The Hague, Netherlands).
Sylvia Fernandez de Gurmendi (Argentina) Coordinator of the Working Group on Crimes of Aggression, said it had focused on a proposal that the question of individual criminal responsibility be taken up separately from the definition of aggression by the act of a State. The WG also focused on the conditions under which the Court could exercise its jurisdiction over the crime of aggression. A proposal was introduced that would reduce inaction by the Security Council to a three-month waiting period, as well as a provision making it possible for the Court itself to determine an act of aggression, and not just in the context of an advisory opinion.
Ms. de Gurmendi said there were still major differences of opinion concerning the exclusive responsibility of the Security Council to determine when an act of aggression had occurred. Among the options discussed were according the Council primary responsibility, but allowing for other bodies such as the ICJ, the General Assembly or the Court to make that determination as well. Another key issue was an assessment of whether the determination of an act of aggression by the Security Council, the ICJ or another source was binding on the Court, or left to the discretion of the Court to make a different determination. Ms. de Gurmendi said the issue would have an effect on the structure and content of a definition of the crime of aggression and on the rights of the accused.
Two new WGs were also established during the eighth session. One will deal with documents to be prepared for the ASP, including such matters as the Bureau of the Assembly, the Secretariat of the Assembly, nomination and election procedures for judges and the prosecutor, and a flow chart with a detailed timetable and agenda for initial ASP meetings. The other new working group will address remaining financial issues such as the remuneration of judges, prosecutors and registrars, and a victims’ fund.
Contact: Coalition for an International Criminal Court, 777 UN Plaza, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/687 2176, e-mail <cicc@iccnow.org>, website (www.iccnow.org).
CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT DEADLOCKED
The Conference on Disarmament adopted its annual report on 13 September 2001 and concluded its 2001 session after hearing statements that strongly condemned the terrorist attacks carried out on 11 September 2001 against the United States.
The President of the Conference, Ambassador Roberto Betancourt Ruales (Ecuador), associated himself with the statement made by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in which he said that “no just cause can be advanced by terror.”
In his closing statement the President noted that the Conference was concluding its third consecutive year of meetings without having resolved the ongoing dispute over the programme of work and, therefore, without being able to launch multilateral negotiations, or to establish subsidiary bodies. Disagreement continued on the agenda items on nuclear disarmament and prevention of an arms race in outer space. This stalemate was seen as a cause for concern as it could erode the Conference’s credibility as the single forum for multilateral negotiations.
Several speakers expressed their regret concerning the state of paralysis in the Conference. Among others, Belgium, on behalf of the European Union and associated countries, said that the European Union reaffirmed its faith in multilateralism and repeated that it considered that the Conference was the sole multilateral forum available to the international community for negotiations on disarmament issues. The continuing paralysis weakened the international disarmament and non-proliferation regime.
The United States said that if the Conference did not move soon to collectively grasp the work programme (CD/1624) proposed by Ambassador Celso Amorim (Brazil), the Conference would become even more irrelevant in the future than it had been in the past and the business of disarmament would shift to other venues. Institutions that did not, could not or simply would not work ended up being discarded, the US representative said.
The Amorim Proposal was drafted in August 2000 and proposes the establishment of an Ad Hoc Committee to deal with nuclear disarmament; the prevention of an arms race; the negotiation of a multilateral treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices; and effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons, among others.
Germany said that the Conference had not outlived its days and remained indispensable, but it could not afford to act as a relic of a long bygone world and must tackle the challenges of the twenty-first century.
Brazil said that the recommendation that the three Special Coordinators (on the review of the agenda, expansion of membership, and improved and effective functioning of the Conference) be reappointed at the beginning of the 2002 annual session could impact positively on the work of the Conference, but it should not divert attention from the main objective which was to find a solution for the deadlock in the Conference and to allow it to play its role in the global process of disarmament. Brazil also said that nuclear weapons posed a threat to peace–the tragic events in the US proved that–and was firmly convinced that as long as there were nuclear weapons, true international security and stability would remain elusive.
In its annual report which will be presented to the General Assembly, the Conference requested the current President and incoming President to conduct appropriate consultations during the intersessional period and to make recommendations that could help to commence early work on various agenda items, recognizing the support of the Conference for CD/1624 as a basis for further intensified consultations.
The first plenary of the 2002 session of the Conference will take place on 22 January 2002. The following countries will assume the rotating Presidency of the Conference next year: Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany and Hungary.
Contact: E. Roman-Morey, Conference on Disarmament, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 3440, fax +41-22/917 0034, website (www.unog.ch/disarm/dconf.htm).
BWC TALKS END WITHOUT AGREEMENT
Following difficult discussions and opposition from the United States to a proposed protocol to enforce the 1972 UN Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), negotiators ended a four-week session in August without reaching agreement on a plan for strengthening the Convention, according to Ambassador Tibor Toth (Hungary), Chairperson of the talks.
A dispute over whether blame for the breakdown in the nearly seven years of talks should be officially assigned to any one country blocked negotiators from adopting a final report that would have outlined future work on the treaty. Some countries agreed that the protocol had shortcomings but said it provided a structure for controlling biological weapons while allowing legitimate biotechnology business.
“Because of this issue it was impossible to agree on the whole of the report,” Mr. Toth said. Despite final attempts negotiators failed to agree whether to include in the final report all statements made by national delegations during the month-long talks. “Unfortunately we haven’t arrived at a procedural report, though we were very, very close,” Mr. Toth added.
Mr. Toth said the delegations agreed that the ad hoc group of 60 countries set up in 1994 to improve the Convention should keep talking. “It’s clearly confirmed by everyone that countries are subscribing to the mandate,” he told reporters. He added that he expects a review conference, scheduled to begin in November, to pursue efforts to create an inspection regime for the treaty. Before that meeting, the UN General Assembly is expected to adopt a resolution on the matter, Mr. Toth said.
The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction was the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning the production and use of an entire category of weapons and has been ratified by 143 countries. The BWC entered into force in 1975, but the absence of any formal verification regime to monitor compliance has limited the effectiveness of the Convention.
Contact: V. Bogomolov, Department for Disarmament Affairs, United Nations, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 3441, fax +41-22/917 0034, website (www.un.org/Depts/dda/WMD/WMD.htm).
MINE BAN CONVENTION ADOPTS DECLARATION
Stockpiles of anti-personnel mines held by 28 countries have been completely destroyed, and another 19 countries were in the process of destroying their stores, according to participants at the third annual meeting of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (also known as the Ottawa Landmine Convention). The meeting, held from 18 to 21 September 2001 in Managua (Nicaragua), was attended by representatives of over 90 States as well as representatives of UN agencies, and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations.
In his opening address, Francisco Xavier Aguirre Sacasa, President of the meeting and Nicaraguan Foreign Minister, said that the number of countries producing anti-personnel mines had dropped from 55 to 14, and over 27 million stockpiled mines had been destroyed in 50 States. He said that cooperation was a key factor in the success of the Convention, and stressed the role of civil society.
States Parties to the Convention adopted the Managua Declaration, which reaffirms their commitment to the total eradication of anti-personnel mines. The Declaration says that the Convention could be seen as a new international norm because of its successful record of implementation, including by States that had not acceded to the treaty.
The Declaration states that a considerable amount of land has been cleared of anti-personnel mines, casualty rates in many of the most mine-affected States have fallen, and victim assistance has improved. However, it says mines still kill, maim and threaten the lives of countless people, and that the presence of mines prevents people from reclaiming their lives and denies communities the opportunity to rebuild long after conflicts have ended. Approximately US$220 million has been allocated by donors over the past year to address the global landmine problem, in addition to the resources being allocated by mine-affected countries themselves.
Participants approved the meeting’s report as well as the President’s Action Programme, which defines practical steps to help implement the Convention. The Programme lists initiatives and proposals on victim assistance, mine clearance, stockpile destruction, and the general status and operation of the Convention. Participants at the meeting welcomed the creation of an implementation unit for the Convention within the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining.
Discussions were held on various aspects of the Convention, including compliance and verification procedures, international assistance and cooperation, and States Parties’ reporting obligations. In an exchange of views, the International Committee of the Red Cross called for countries to make acts forbidden under the Convention illegal under national law. Participants also heard from mine survivors, who described programmes they had established to provide assistance to their fellow victims.
The Fourth Meeting of States Parties will be held in Geneva from 16 to 20 September 2002.
Contact: Conventional Arms Branch, Department for Disarmament Affairs, United Nations, New York NY 10017, USA, fax +1-212/963 1121, website (www.un.org/Depts/dda).
IAEA 45TH SESSION
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) closed its forty-fifth regular session by adopting a resolution that emphasizes the importance of physical protection of nuclear material in preventing its illicit use and sabotage. The forty-fifth regular session of the General Conference was held in Vienna from 17-21 September 2001 with ministers and high-level governmental representatives attending from the 132 IAEA Member States.
During the opening session, a message from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was delivered by Steinar Bjornsson, Deputy-Director, UN Office at Vienna, in which Mr. Annan underlined the importance of the IAEA’s work. “The IAEA plays a key role in our collective efforts to achieve the twin goals of peace and development, and has been a catalyst for the development and transfer of peaceful nuclear technologies, as well as assisting the international community in curbing nuclear weapon proliferation.
“Making progress in the areas of nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament is more important than ever in the aftermath of last week’s [11 September] appalling terrorist attack on the United States. The States Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferaton of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) agreed last year that this challenge could not be overcome by halfway measures. Indeed, they concluded that ‘the total elimination of nuclear weapons is the only absolute guarantee against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.’ Regrettably, several important treaties aimed at nuclear non-proliferation, nuclear disarmament or nuclear reductions still await entry-into-force. It is vitally important for the world community to continue its efforts to implement the commitments already made, and to further identify the ways and means of achieving nuclear disarmament as soon as possible.”
The Secretary-General also urged the IAEA to further develop its work in developing the use of nuclear energy for sustainable development. “Coupled with your work in identifying environmentally sound sources of energy, these efforts can help transform nuclear energy into a universal force for progress and peace,” he said.
Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of IAEA, said the main challenge for the IAEA is the universal application of its safeguards and verification system, which is a cornerstone of the world’s efforts against the spread of nuclear weapons. A second related challenge is the need to support development of an effective national and international system for the physical protection of nuclear material and the prevention of illicit trafficking, in order to avoid the risk of nuclear proliferation. The third challenge is the need for accelerated and tangible progress towards nuclear disarmament.
Dr. ElBaradei, who was reappointed to a second four-year term of office during the opening session, cited important achievements in recent years that have strengthened the safe and peaceful use of nuclear technologies and, at the same time, emphasized interrelated challenges that, he said, “illustrate how much remains to be done.”
His statement focused on the IAEA’s three main functions in the international arena: as a catalyst for progress in peaceful applications of nuclear technology; as an objective authority on nuclear safety; and as the inspectorate for verifying that safeguarded nuclear materials and activities are not used for military aims. Dr. ElBaradei called for stronger cooperation in these fields and Member States agreed to reinforce the Agency’s work related to nuclear verification, safety, and technology.
On verification, participants reaffirmed their conviction that safeguards can promote greater confidence among States, and backed measures to more fully integrate and modernize the verification system. The importance of safeguards agreements and Additional Protocols which grant the agency broader verification authority for detecting possible undeclared nuclear activities and materials was also emphasized.
Concerning safety, participants adopted a resolution encouraging the agency to focus its efforts “where the need for improvement is greatest,” while underlining the importance of education and training in establishing and maintaining an adequate infrastructure for radiation protection and nuclear safety. The resolution also urges IAEA Member States to continue requesting IAEA safety services, including Integrated Safety Evaluations that help to identify needs and priorities.
With regard to technology, support was given to further strengthen the agency’s technical cooperation programme. Participants also requested the continuing formation of effective partnerships at the national, regional, and global levels to coordinate and optimize complementary activities; to promote activities supporting self-reliance and cooperative efforts of national nuclear entities; and to provide factual input to the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD).
The Conference also approved the Agency’s programme and budget for 2002, which establishes expenditures of US$245 million and sets a target of US$73 million for the Technical Cooperation Fund, which assists Member States in capacity building and establishing infrastructures in nuclear science and technology for productive and sustainable human development.
Contact: IAEA, PO Box 100, Wagramer Strasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, Austria, telephone +43-1/26000, fax +43-1/26007, e-mail <Official.Mail@iaea.org>, website (www.iaea.org/worldatom).
IAEA SCIENTIFIC FORUM
The time may be ripe for seizing new opportunities and setting more targeted priorities in the fight to gain funds and mobilize science and technology for the world’s poorest countries, a panel of international experts agreed at the closing session of the fourth International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Scientific Forum, which focused on nuclear technology transfer and how that transfer can promote sustainable development by matching specific technologies to meet development needs.
The two-day Scientific Forum was held on 18-19 September 2001 in Vienna (Austria), during the 45th Regular Session of the IAEA General Conference, and sought to raise awareness about nuclear technology applications that may not be well known. The Forum focused on cases of technology transfer in three key areas: promotion of food security, management of water resources, and improving human health. Eminent experts and an audience that included development specialists, economists, public information specialists and policy makers provided a broad range of experience and perspectives.
“These nuclear technologies have several things in common. They have comparative advantages over other available technologies,” Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the IAEA, said. “They have resulted in positive socio-economic impact in recipient countries. And they have been achieved through effective partnerships between the IAEA and governments, and other governmental and non-governmental organizations.”
One session highlighted the Sterile Insect Technique control method used against a variety of insect pests and vectors of disease such as the tsetse fly and the Mediterranean fruit fly. In 1997 the IAEA and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) jointly conducted a model project in Zanzibar to combat the tsetse fly. The method consists of exposing mass-reared male tsetse flies to low radiation doses that sterilize them. The sterile males, who continue to mate with fertile females, are released over an extended period of time and eventually overwhelm the wild population. The success of this project led to a decision by African Heads of State and Government to launch a Pan-African Tsetse and Trypanosomosis Eradication Campaign (PATTEC) in Burkina Faso in October 2001.
Water resource management discussions centered on the role of isotope hydrology to enable sustainable management of water resources. Presentations on the water situations of Ethiopia and Bangladesh underlined the role of isotope applications in developing the hydrological knowledge base for management decisions. Over one billion people still lack access to safe drinking water.
The session on improving human health discussed the use of isotopes in a variety of areas such as disease diagnosis, human nutrition and cancer treatment. Isotopic methods provide sensitive measurements of biological effects and are faster than conventional methods for detecting changes in growth and body composition.
At the concluding session, Mr. ElBaradei commended the Forum’s participants for providing useful insights to the Agency’s work and said that IAEA-supported technical cooperation and research programmes are helping poor countries benefit from nuclear technologies that can accelerate progress at local levels towards the world’s goals of sustainable development.
Contact: IAEA, PO Box 100, Wagramer Strasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, Austria, telephone +43-1/26000, fax +43-1/26007, e-mail <Official.Mail@iaea.org>, website (www.iaea.org/worldatom).
UNU MEETING ON WSSD
Over 70 participants met at the United Nations University (UNU), Tokyo, 3-4 September 2001 for the International Eminent Persons Meeting on Inter-Linkages: Strategies for Bridging Problems and Solutions to Work Towards Sustainable Development in preparation for the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg.
The meeting, organized by the UNU, the Japanese Ministries of the Environment and Foreign Affairs, and the Global Legislators Organization for a Balanced Environment International (GLOBE), brought together government representatives, academic and scientific communities, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, and staff of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) to address the question of what policy options could best contribute to the goal of sustainable development within the context of the forthcoming Johannesburg Summit.
The meeting served to review the state of the environment based on linkages between issues; to examine the problems and challenges arising from such linkages and their policy responses; and to assess how such issues could be best addressed in the run-up to the WSSD. Three working groups focused on inter-linkages in Agenda 21, inter-linkages among MEAs, and strategies for sustainable development. They agreed that in order to succeed, the preparations for WSSD must create a balanced agenda and a package of policy proposals that can lead to serious action on the part of governments.
Looking ahead to Johannesburg, participants discussed the establishment of sustainable development goals that could be achieved within a predetermined time frame in order to provide a framework from which more specific policy options could be considered while raising public awareness of priority issues, such as access to clean water or loss of biodiversity.
There was broad support for the need to eliminate perverse subsidies, considered both harmful to the economy as well as to the environment. Removal of perverse subsidies was seen as leading to “win-win” situations such as environmental improvement and the expansion of exports from developing countries.
Views were also exchanged on the need to address the environmental consequences of poverty and the consequences of environmental degradation for the poor, as well as the empowerment of the poor as a pre-condition for sustainable solutions.
On reconciling globalization and sustainable development issues, possible steps were seen to include focusing on the various inter-linkages in policy making that relate to development and environmental issues; choosing a cautious approach to liberalization; integrating sustainable development into local government to encourage broad participation in decision making; and making existing institutions more environmentally and poverty oriented rather than dealing with environment and poverty in separate institutions.
In terms of the implementation of Agenda 21 principles, it was suggested that the WSSD recommend universal membership in all MEAs; that MEA negotiations include Major Groups and stakeholder consultations; that MEAs be used as instruments of sustainable development by integrating them fully into socio-economic development planning; and that MEA Parties fully operationalize their treaty obligations. It was also suggested that the conventions be clustered into five conventions relating to biodiversity; oceans and seas; freshwater, forests and lands; the atmosphere; and chemicals and hazardous waste.
During the concluding segment, chaired by Jan Pronk, Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (Netherlands), participants emphasized that issues for discussion at WSSD had to be relevant to both developed and developing countries. Mr. Pronk referred to the difficult political and economic climate facing the WSSD, saying that it will have to do more than simply review the results of the past ten years and recommending that it address the needs of people and make explicit policy commitments.
Contact: UNU, 53-70 Jingumae 5-chome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-8925, Japan, telephone +81-3/3499 2811, fax +81-3/3499 2828, e-mail <mbox@hq.unu.edu>, website (www.unu.edu) or Earth Negotiations Bulletin, e-mail <info@iisd.ca>, website (www.iisd.ca).
UNEP IGM-3
The third meeting of the Open-Ended Intergovernmental Group of Ministers or their Representatives on International Environmental Governance (IGM-3) was convened in Algiers (Algeria), from 9-10 September 2001 with over 250 participants from 92 countries, including over 20 ministers, attending.
Participants considered a revised report on International Environmental Governance (IEG) by Klaus Töpfer, the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Proposals of the President of the UNEP Governing Council, David Anderson (Canada). The President’s Proposals focused on:
--improving coherence in policy making, in particular, the role and structure of the Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GMEF);
--strengthening the role, authority, and financial situation of UNEP;
--improved coordination and coherence between multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs); and
--enhanced coordination across the UN system, more specifically, the role of the Environmental Management Group.
In the opening plenary, Mr. Anderson said that international environmental governance was emerging as one of the principle topics for consideration at the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD). He recalled progress to date in the IEG deliberations and said the results of the assessment are to be integrated into a report to the GMEF/Seventh Special Session of UNEP’s Governing Council to take place in Colombia in February 2002. The meeting is expected to adopt and possibly transmit the results from the IGM meetings to the third Preparatory Committee of the WSSD to be held in New York from 25 March to 5 April 2002.
During the meeting, participants said progress was made in identifying areas of convergence and disagreement. They requested UNEP to provide further elaboration on a number of issues and agreed on the preparation of a framework text for negotiation at IGM-4, to be held in Montreal in December. Participants also reported progress in the discussions with developing countries adding additional issues, such as capacity building, technology transfer and finance.
Participants also addressed a possible role for GMEF as a cornerstone of IEG, and enhancing cooperation across MEAs while avoiding the creation of new institutions. Unresolved issues include the precise status of the UNEP Governing Council/GMEF and proposals for its enhanced role in providing guidance to MEA secretariats, options for funding arrangements for UNEP, and delineating the relationship between the IEG agenda and sustainable development.
Contact Nick Nutall, Office of the Spokesman/Director, Communications and Public Information, UNEP, PO Box 30552, Nairobi, Kenya, telephone +254-2/623084, fax +254-2/623692, e-mail <nick.nutall@unep.org>, website (www.unep.org) or Earth Negotiations Bulletin, e-mail <info@iisd.ca>, website (www.iisd.ca).
2ND MEETING OF THE ICCP-2
The second meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (ICCP-2) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) brought together some 350 participants from 117 countries at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi (Kenya) from 1-5 October 2001 to discuss implementation of the Protocol at the national and international levels.
The meeting was made up of two working groups and a plenary session, and delegates reaffirmed their commitment to ratifying the Protocol to ensure its entry into force by April 2002. The Cartagena Protocol was adopted by more than 130 countries on 29 January 2000 in Montreal (Canada), and seeks to protect biological diversity by providing a framework for addressing the environmental impacts of bioengineered products, referred to as living modified organisms (LMOs), that cross international borders. It establishes an advance informed agreement (AIA) procedure for ensuring that countries can make informed decisions before agreeing to import LMOs into their territory.
Working Group I (WG-I) of the meeting examined the pilot phase of the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH), as established by Article 20 of the Protocol, whose mission is to facilitate the exchange of scientific, technical, environmental and legal information, as well as experience relating to LMOs.
WG-I participants emphasized that the BCH is an information sharing tool and an essential component of the Protocol, saying that it should be user-friendly, searchable and open to all governments. They requested that governments nominate national focal points responsible for approving information registered on the BCH; that governments use the BCH tool-kit to assess national capacity building needs; and urged financial assistance for developing countries and countries with economies in transition to enable them to access and use the BCH. Delegates expressed concern over the BCH pilot phase, saying if it is to be successful, all Parties must have access to hardware, software, the Internet and technical training to be able to use the system.
WG-I also discussed handling, transport, packaging and identification and called for a standardized method of identification for living modified organisms for food, feed or processing (LMOs-FFPs), and stressed thorough and exact labelling. Participants were not able to agree on language used in Article 18.2(a) on identification of LMOs-FFPs and its requirements, and requested a meeting of technical experts prior to the Protocol’s entry into force. WG-I also addressed monitoring and reporting as well as other issues for effective implementation of the Protocol.
Working Group II (WG-II) considered capacity building, a roster of experts, liability and redress, guidance to the financial mechanism, compliance, and decision-making procedures. Their final text outlines a set of recommendations, an Action Plan for building capacities for the effective implementation of the Protocol, and a possible sequence of actions. Core elements include identifying country needs, priorities, implementation mechanisms, and funding sources.
The plenary session was devoted to the Secretariat, rules of procedure, preparatory work and a draft provisional agenda for the Meeting of the Parties (MOP-1). ICCP-2 developed recommendations on ten items for discussion at MOP-1 and established priority areas for work and future action to be taken. A recommendation was made mandating the ICCP Bureau to explore convening a third ICCP meeting, possibly in conjunction with CBD’s Conference of the Parties (COP-6) in April 2002, if the 50th ratification to the Protocol is not made by 8 January 2002. So far six countries have ratified the Protocol, including Lesotho which did so during the meeting.
Contact: Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, World Trade Centre, 393 St. Jacques Street, Office 300, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2Y 1N9, telephone +1-514/288 2220, fax +1-514/288 6588, e-mail <secretariat@biodiv.org>, website (www.biodiv.org).
CCD COP-5 DISCUSSES POVERTY, ENVIRONMENT
The Fifth Conference of the Parties (COP-5) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) met in Geneva from 1-13 October 2001. Delegates from over 150 Parties to the Convention and eight Observer States, as well as UN agencies, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations attended the meeting.
COP-5’s main focus was on progress in implementation under the overall theme of poverty and the environment as it looked ahead to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), to be held in Johannesburg (South Africa) in September 2002. According to the Convention’s Executive Secretary Hama Arba Diallo, the CCD is the only international treaty based on Agenda 21 and could serve as an indicator of progress towards sustainable development.
Desertification is a major threat on all continents, severely or moderately affecting 110 countries and some 70% of the world’s agricultural drylands. Many countries face growing population pressure, increasing demand on natural resources and the continued marginalization of lower income groups. “Desertification affects the poorest of the poor by destroying the natural resources upon which their livelihoods depend, leading to hunger and the migration of millions of people,” said Mr. Diallo.
“Recent crises in Mongolia, Afghanistan, and other drought-prone countries demonstrate just how vulnerable people in dryland countries are to political and social instability. The pay-off for investing in efforts to combat desertification today will be fewer refugees and victims of conflict tomorrow,” he said. The livelihoods of more than one billion people are or will suffer as a result of desertification, and more than 135 million people are at risk of being displaced as a consequence of severe desertification.
The meeting established a Committee for the Review of Implementation of the Convention; and identified ways to improve the effectiveness of the Committee on Science and Technology.
A proposal by the Global Environment Fund (GEF) to designate land degradation as a focal area for funding will help increase the CCD’s financial base. The CCD is the only convention of the Rio conventions that does not have a funding mechanism. The final decision must be approved by the GEF Council in December 2001, and then by the GEF Assembly in October 2002.
COP-5 held two sessions of dialogue with NGOs on 5 and 9 October 2001, with the first one focusing on poverty and the environment. Participants endorsed the role and participation of civil society in combating desertification. Issues discussed included: the importance of land tenure and women’s empowerment for the implementation of the Convention; and the links between monoculture, desertification and the impact of economic production on the environment and biodiversity in developing countries.
The second dialogue centred on the involvement of civil society in implementation of the Convention. Issues discussed included: NGO integration in government efforts because of CCD activities, and the obstacles related to the legal status of NGOs and the allocation of project funds, as well as the role of civil society in decision making and measures to strengthen its participation.
COP-6 will be held in October 2003.
Contact: Rajeb Boulharouf, Secretariat, UNCCD, Haus Carstanjen, Martin-Luther-King-Strasse 8, D-53175 Bonn, Germany, telephone +49-228/815 2806, fax +49-228/815 2899, e-mail <rboulharouf@unccd.int>.
MEETING ON PIC
Delegates from over 110 countries met to prepare for the entry into force of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade. The meeting, which was the eighth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-8) for an International Legally Binding Instrument for the Application of the PIC Procedure, was held from 8-12 October 2001 in Rome (Italy) with more than 260 representatives of governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations in attendance.
The Rotterdam Convention seeks to reduce the risks associated with the use of hazardous chemicals, particularly in developing countries, and limits the introduction of such chemicals and pesticides into countries that cannot safely manage them. It aims to promote shared responsibility between exporting and importing countries in protecting human health and the environment.
Adopted in 1998 under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Rotterdam Convention uses the PIC procedure to help governments decide whether to accept or refuse the imports of certain hazardous chemicals. Under the agreement, countries that export such chemicals will have to respect the decisions of importing parties.
Pending the entry into force of the Rotterdam Convention, governments have agreed to apply the PIC procedure on a voluntary basis. Three additional chemicals and two severely hazardous pesticide formulations have been identified as candidates for inclusion in the interim PIC procedure. The two pesticide formulations were nominated by Senegal under Article 6 of the Convention based on problems under conditions of use in their country, and are the first such formulations to be nominated during the interim PIC procedure.
Mr. David Harcharik, Deputy Director-General of FAO, underlined that “global agreements such as the Rotterdam Convention serve to provide a level of control and can help to mitigate the negative effects of globalization.” Mr. Harcharik also urged countries to work towards ratification of the Rotterdam Convention in time for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in September 2002.
The Rotterdam Convention has received 73 signatures and has thus far been ratified by 16 governments; it will enter into force 90 days after the 50th ratification. Until the Convention’s first Conference of the Parties (COP), the INC will continue to provide guidance on implementation during the interim period.
Contact: Michael Williams, Information Officer, UNEP, International Environment House, 15 chemin des Anémones, CH-1219 Châtelaine (Geneva), Switzerland, telephone +41-22/979 9242, fax +41-22/797 3464, e-mail <mwilliams@unep.ch>, website (www.pic.int).
AARHUS CONVENTION RATIFIED
The Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters came into force on 30 October 2001 after Armenia became the 16th country to ratify the treaty in August, thereby satisfying the entry-into-force conditions. Following Armenia’s action, Estonia became the 17th country to ratify the Convention. The majority of countries that have ratified the pact are Eastern European and members of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The European Union has also promised to hold its institutions accountable to the Convention’s rules.
The Convention, negotiated by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), aims to strengthen the environmental rights of citizens and end environmental secrecy, ensuring that governments cannot hide sensitive environmental information and cover up events like the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. The Convention aims to empower citizens on environmental issues such as the location of toxic waste dumps and ensure that governments and other polluters who break the rules can be held legally accountable through the actions of citizens and NGOs.
“The Convention is not only a powerful weapon in the struggle to protect the environment, but also a tool for democracy,” said Convention Secretary Jeremy Wates. “Especially in countries which have recently introduced democratic systems, it is of crucial importance to establish principles of transparency, accountability and involvement of civil society to ensure stability and security,” he said. According to the UNECE, the Convention is “the most far-reaching instrument promoting environmental democracy under the auspices of the United Nations.” The UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has suggested that the World Sustainable Summit for Development (WSSD) would be “a timely occasion to examine the relevance of the Aarhus Convention as a possible model for strengthening the application of principle 10 [of the Rio Declaration adopted at the Earth Summit in 1992] in other regions of the world.”
Principle 10 states environmental issues are best handled with the participation of all concerned citizens, at the relevant level. At the national level, each individual shall have appropriate access to information concerning the environment that is held by public authorities, including information on hazardous materials and activities in their communities, and the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes. States shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by making information widely available. Effective access to judicial and administrative proceedings, including redress and remedy, shall be provided.
Contact: Jeremy Wates, Secretary to the Aarhus Convention, Environment and Human Settlements Division, Office 332, UN Economic Commission for Europe, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 2384, fax +41-22/907 0107 or 917 0634, e-mail <jeremy.wates@unece.org>, website (www.unece.org).
FAO SAYS FISHERIES ARE EXHAUSTIBLE
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director General Jacques Diouf said that “countries could get more fish from the oceans if they allowed overfished stocks to recuperate, reduce wastage and manage fisheries resources better” at the opening of the Reykjavik Conference on Responsible Fisheries in the Marine Ecosystem, held in Iceland.
The conference, jointly organized by FAO and the Government of Iceland, and co-sponsored by the Government of Norway, was held from 1-4 October 2001 and brought together over 400 delegates representing governments, NGOs and international institutions from 70 countries.
The meeting sought to establish a means by which ecosystem considerations could be included in fisheries management with a view to long-term food security and human development, as well as effective conservation and sustainable use of the ecosystem and its resources.
“The task at hand is to examine how to manage the fisheries with a view to ensuring sustainable utilization of the food available in the oceans for the benefit of present and future generations without harming the ecosystem’s capacity to support human life,” Dr. Diouf said.
Citing significant over-investment in fishing and improving technology, FAO said that the majority of all resources are fully exploited yet access to these resources remains open in far too many fisheries. “Without improving the management regimes in place there is concern that more fish stocks could become overfished,” FAO warns.
According to FAO, about 50% of the world’s marine fishery resources are fully exploited, 25% are overexploited and only 25% could support higher exploitation rates. In spite of growing concern, the trend towards overfishing observed since the early 1970s has not yet been reversed.
Global fish production increased from 19 million tonnes in 1950 to about 130 million tonnes in 2000, with 36 million tonnes produced by aquaculture. Most of the capture fisheries (estimated at 85 million tonnes) comes from the oceans. Bycatch and discards are estimated at about 20 million tonnes per year.
Some of the main problems fisheries face today– besides overfishing and overcapacity–include illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing; fish trade and ecolabelling; the environmental impact of fishing; poor selectivity and discarding and the effect on the environmental state of the coastal zone.
At the same time, marine degradation has continued in the form of alteration and destruction of wetlands, mangroves and coral reefs through landfill, sedimentation, pollution from sewage and harmful chemicals, river runoff and atmospheric contamination, according to FAO.
“A focus on the entire ecosystem and not only on individual stocks is urgently needed to protect and utilize marine resources,” cautioned Serge Garcia, Director of FAO’s Fishery Resources Division. “Governments should take the problems of fisheries more seriously and industry should be more involved in the sustainable management of the sector. In addition, the instruments already at hand need to be applied to better protect fish stocks at risk.”
The conference adopted the Reykjavik Declaration, which was expected to be submitted to the 31st Session of the FAO Conference, held in Rome in November 2001. The Declaration will also provide input to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) to be held in Johannesburg in 2002.
The preambular section of the Declaration states that the sustainable use of marine resources contributes significantly to food security, provides for the livelihood of millions of people, and is critical to many national economies, particularly low-income food deficit countries and Small Island Developing States. It also says that most developing countries require international support and cooperation to face the challenge of incorporating ecosystem considerations into fisheries management.
The Reykjavik Declaration calls for:
--effective implementation of the FAO Code of Conduct, the International Plans of Action formulated in accordance with the Code, and the Kyoto Declaration on the Contribution of Fisheries to Food Security to continue;
--strengthened international cooperation to support developing countries in incorporating ecosystem considerations into fisheries management; and
--encouraging technology transfer where appropriate, introducing sound regulatory frameworks, examining and removing trade distortions where necessary, and promoting transparency in order to improve the enabling environment, among other things.
Contact: Erwin Northoff, Media Officer, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, I-00100 Rome, Italy, telephone +39-06/5705 3105, fax +39-06/5705 4975, e-mail <erwin.northoff@fao.org>, website (www.fao.org). Background documents for this meeting can be found online at (ftp://ftp.fao.org/fi/document/reykjavik/default.htm).
REGULAR SESSION OF UNDP/UNFPA EXECUTIVE BOARD
The Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) held its second regular session from 10-14 September 2001 at UN headquarters in New York. During the meeting the Executive Board discussed financial, budgetary and administrative matters, and issues related to UNDP country cooperation frameworks. It also adopted the budget estimates for UNDP for the biennium 2002-2003 and the estimates for the biennial support budget for UNFPA for 2002-2003.
According to the UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown, year 2001 marks the first modest increases in UNDP’s regular resources in over eight consecutive years. “UNDP is back,” he told the Executive Board and added that “We are coming out of the corrosive cycle of programme cuts and can look forward to a more certain future of admittedly tight, stripped down administrative costs but growing programme resources.”
The Executive Board also approved continued funding of UNDP projects for Myanmar for 2002-2004. Since 1993, UNDP has focused its project activities in Myanmar on basic human needs areas, targeting primary health care, the environment, HIV/AIDS, training and education and food security at the grass-roots level within a framework called the Human Development Initiative (HDI). In 2002-2004, UNDP will concentrate its activities in Myanmar on micro-finance, the environment, and HIV/AIDS.
During the session, UNDP announced the launch of two new Trust Funds. The aim of the Funds is to help developing countries and countries with economies in transition pursue environmentally sound policies and promote energy as an engine for development. The new Thematic Trust Fund for Environment is intended to assist countries to develop policies and institutions that would both protect the environment and reduce poverty. The Fund will be used to integrate environmental management concerns into national development frameworks, strengthen local environmental governance, and address global and regional environmental problems. The Thematic Trust Fund for Energy for Sustainable Development will help developing countries and countries with economies in transition produce and use energy in economically and environmentally sustainable ways. Its focus will be on national policy frameworks, rural energy services, clean energy technologies and new financing mechanisms to support sustainable energy.
When presenting UNFPA’s proposed biennial support budget for 2002-2003, the Executive Director of UNFPA Thoraya Ahmed Obaid said that the proposed budget increases were necessary as UNFPA was addressing many challenges. Above all, the Fund had an important role to play in the HIV/AIDS crisis, especially in terms of reproductive health, commodity security and advocacy, she said, pointing out that AIDS had to be seen as a development issue that affected every part of society. Ms. Obaid underlined the importance of supporting country-level actions that responded to each country’s needs, saying that UNFPA could have a valuable role in helping to develop national plans of action in this area. She also said that HIV was often addressed as a sexually transmitted infection, while a more effective approach might be to see it within an overall reproductive health framework that included actions on various levels to encourage positive behavioural changes.
Contact: UNDP, 1 UN Plaza, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/906 5000, fax +1-212/906 5364, website (www.undp.org/execbrd/index.htm) or UNFPA, 220 E. 42nd Street, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/297 5011, fax +1-212/557 6416, website (www.unfpa.org).
UNCTAD RELEASES WIR 2001
World foreign direct investment (FDI) flows will likely drop 40% to US$760 billion this year, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in its annual World Investment Report. The prediction does not take into account the 11 September terrorist attacks on the United States and their aftermath, UNCTAD cautioned.
The drop would be the first in 10 years and the largest in 30 years, but FDI in 2001 would still be higher than in 1998 and than the 1996-2000 average, UNCTAD said. UNCTAD attributed the projected decline to a drop in cross-border mergers and acquisitions, which account for most FDI, amid a world economic slowdown.
FDI in developed countries is expected to decrease nearly by half–from US$1.005 trillion last year to US$510 billion this year–while FDI in developing countries this year is predicted to drop 6% to US$225 billion, compared with US$240 billion last year. The drop includes lower FDI flows to both Latin America and developing countries in Asia. Nevertheless, developing countries’ share of world FDI inflows could rise to 30% in 2001.
Central and Eastern European FDI inflows are expected to remain stable at US$27 billion. At the same time, Central and Eastern European transnational corporations “are about to establish themselves as prominent players” in the global investment arena, UNCTAD says in the report.
UNCTAD reports that FDI is reaching many more countries than in the past, citing a 34-country jump in those receiving an average of more than US$1 billion yearly and a 20-country increase in countries investing more than US$1 billion. However, FDI is still unevenly distributed, UNCTAD warned, noting that 30 countries account for 95% of world FDI inflows and 30 others account for 99% of outflows.
FDI remains the main driver of the expansion of the international production system. Forging linkages between foreign affiliates and domestic firms is a main challenge for policy makers in developing countries in order to benefit from FDI as much as possible, UNCTAD says.
Contact: Division on Investment, Technology and Enterprise Development, UNCTAD, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, fax +41-22/907 0194, e-mail <WIRteam@unctad.org>, website (www.unctad.org).
UNCTAD REPORT ON AFRICA
A dramatic increase in aid to, and trade with, Africa is needed to spur growth and halve poverty on the continent by 2015, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) says in its report Economic Development in Africa: Performance, Prospects and Policy Issues. Declining aid and terms of trade, mounting debt, and ineffective adjustment policies have left sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) poorer than two decades ago.
With a projected growth rate of just over 3% for the next decade, Africa’s fortunes are unlikely to improve. This figure, marginally above population growth, is only half the 6% growth target set by the UN 10 years ago to tackle the economic and social challenges of the continent.
The report outlines the main policy measures required to reverse this situation. These include:
--Financing development through a doubling of aid flows; a bolder approach to debt relief, including a standstill on debt repayment; and an independent assessment of debt sustainability;
--Conducting a full review of all current agreements and practices in the international trading system in order to remove any impediments to growth and development in Africa and to enhance Africa’s exports; and
--Undertaking a critical review of adjustment and poverty reduction policies for raising growth and bettering income distribution.
If international targets for growth and poverty reduction are to be met, a key shift in domestic policy is also required, says the report. The new poverty alleviation focus should be founded on a careful and frank assessment of the effects of macro-economic and structural adjustment policies on growth and income distribution in the past two decades.
The policy emphasis now seems to be on redirecting public spending to health and education, according to the report. While useful, such an approach may not have a lasting impact on poverty as long as policies in such areas as agriculture, trade, finance, exchange rates, enterprise, deregulation and privatization do not succeed in increasing growth and improving income distribution.
Contact: Alessandra Vellucci, Information Officer, UNCTAD, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/907 4641 or 917 5828, fax +41-22/907 0043, e-mail <press@unctad.org>, website (www.unctad.org).
WORLD BANK AND IMF SUPPORT MILLENNIUM GOALS
The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have announced that they will join the United Nations in supporting implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (see Go Between 80), which were agreed by 189 countries at the Millennium Summit in New York. The goals are eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating AIDS and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability, and creating a global partnership for development. The last goal includes developing a non-discriminatory trading system, addressing the special needs of land-locked developing countries and least developed countries, and making the debt of developing countries sustainable.
“The Millennium Development Goals offer concrete targets for everyone to rally around in the global fight against poverty,” said World Bank President James Wolfensohn. “Rich countries must boost foreign aid to the developing world, remove barriers to the exports of developing countries, encourage private investment, and make the benefits of science and technology available to all the world’s peoples. Developing countries, meanwhile, must put in place the right economic policies, work to improve governance, invest in their people and create an environment that is conducive to growth and development.”
IMF Managing Director Horst Köhler called the goals an affirmation of the international community’s commitment to free individuals from the “dehumanizing conditions of abject poverty.” He said that it was important that countries and institutions are held accountable for their contributions to the Millennium Development Goals process.
Contact: Phil Hay, Media Relations Officer, External Relations Department, World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC 20433, USA, telephone +1-202/473 1796, fax +1-202/522 2632, e-mail <phay@worldbank.org>, website (www.worldbank.org).
Public Affairs, External Relations Department, IMF, 700 19th Street NW, Washington DC 20431, USA, telephone +1-202/623 7300, fax +1-202/623 6278, e-mail <publicaffairs@imf.org>, website (www.imf.org).
IMF RELEASES ANNUAL REPORT 2001
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released its annual report saying that it is enacting reforms while continuing to carry out its mission. The IMF report says that efforts were made during fiscal year 2001 to increase openness within the Fund by releasing more information to the public and by encouraging its members to be more open about their economic developments and policies. The report also states that lending policies and conditions were reviewed, and work on core responsibilities was refocused to give higher priority to preventing financial crises.
Managing Director Horst Köhler said the Fund’s capability for crises prevention was strengthened by further steps to increase transparency of the IMF and its members; that further progress was made in the implementation of internationally recognized standards and codes; and that the completion of a pilot phase of the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), a joint effort with the World Bank, would help in diagnosing strengths and weaknesses in member countries’ financial situations.
To help its low-income members, the IMF concentrated low-cost lending activities on implementing the enhanced strategy for poverty reduction. The World Bank-IMF Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative produced US$20 billion in debt relief for 22 poor countries as of April 2001. The external indebtedness of the 22 countries receiving debt relief will be cut by almost two-thirds in net present value terms, by US$33 billion, bringing their indebtedness to levels below the average for all developing countries, according to the IMF.
Regular and concessional lending increased in fiscal 2001 to US$12.3 billion, up from US$8.1 billion in fiscal 2000. Total IMF credit outstanding fell to US$62.7 billion from US$64.9 billion. The Fund said that for the fiscal year 2001 it devoted more attention to factors making countries vulnerable to financial crises; continued to provide technical assistance to member countries; expanded selected initiatives; and established an independent evaluation office to provide reviews and assessments of its operational work.
Contact: IMF, 700 19th Street NW, Washington DC 20431, USA, telephone +1-202/623 7000, fax +1-202/623 4661 or 623 6220, e-mail <publicaffairs@imf.org>, website (www.imf.org).
WORLD BANK DISCLOSURE POLICY
The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved revision to the Bank’s policy on the disclosure of information, making changes that, according to the Bank, will bring greater transparency and accountability to the Bank’s support for the development process.
The revisions provide for the release of a greater number of project-related documents; disclosure of the Chairman’s summaries of Board discussions on Country Assistance Strategies (CASs) and Sector Strategy Papers (SSPs); and a more systematic approach to accessing Bank archives. The Executive Directors also endorsed steps that will lead over time to improving access to information through Bank offices in developing countries.
The new policy will provide more access to the Bank’s lending process, including documentation of poverty reduction support credits and implementation completion reports. In addition, more accountability documents will be released, including reviews by the Bank’s quality assurance group and the operations evaluation department, the Bank’s independent review body.
“The Bank recognizes that transparency and accountability are crucial to development effectiveness and will continue to review the provisions and implementation of its disclosure policy on a regular basis in the coming years,” said World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn.
While welcoming the revised disclosure policy, NGO groups advocating greater openness in Bank policies have described the move as insufficient in involving stakeholders. “If you want people to participate, you need to allow them to participate before decisions are made. But detailed proposals for projects that the Bank is considering funding, as well as country assistance strategies, remain secret until after decisions are already made,” said Graham Saul, of the monitoring group Bank Information Center.
The Bank says further work will investigate options for increasing translation of documents, strengthening Public Information Centers, and involving communications experts more effectively in the dissemination and outreach elements of the new policy. Learning pilots, to be carried out with interested member countries, will explore ways for the Bank and governments to provide additional information on CASs and lending operations under preparation and implementation as a basis for improved development effectiveness.
Contact: Phil Hay, Media Relations Officer, External Relations Department, World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC 20433, USA, telephone +1-202/473 1796, fax +1-202/522 2632, e-mail <phay@worldbank.org>.
LATIN AMERICAN REGION INCOME REMAINS UNEQUAL
The Latin American and Caribbean region’s income distribution did not improve during the last decade, according to the tenth edition of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean’s (ECLAC) report, which assesses the evolution of poverty during the 1990s, social spending, income distribution and employment.
The Social Panorama of Latin America 2000-2001 reports that the region’s wealthiest 10% hold a share of national income 19 times higher than that held by the poorest 40% of all households, which means that the wealthiest 10% hold about 30% of national income. In Brazil, where the situation is more disparate, their share is approximately 45%.
Looking at the trends in income distribution, ECLAC says that the situation worsened in the last decade, despite stable economic growth and higher social spending. ECLAC also reports that although the total number of people living in poverty declined in the region in the 1990s, their number remains stable at 211 million in 1999, with 89 million of those living in extreme poverty.
According to the report, Brazil, Chile and Panama have made progress in combating poverty but Ecuador, Paraguay and Venezuela have not managed as well. The report says that there are signs of progress regarding income distribution in urban areas in Central American, which ECLAC attributes to greater economic stability, reduced demographic pressures and an increase in remittances from nationals living in other countries.
ECLAC is forecasting economic growth of only 1 to 2% this year, saying that efforts aimed at reducing poverty in the region will likely face setbacks in light of the 11 September terrorist attacks on the US. Furthermore, unemployment, which has ranged up to 9% over the last decade, may remain as high as a result.
According to the report, the state of the family in Latin America is also facing serious problems. Besides poverty and unemployment, families are facing other challenges related to economic crises, domestic violence and disintegration.
Contact: ECLAC, Casilla 179-D, Santiago, Chile, telephone +56-2/210 2000, fax +56-2/208 0252, e-mail <eottone@eclac.cl>, website (www.eclac.cl) or (www.eclac.org).
CITIES: EXPERTS WARN ABOUT SOCIAL EXCLUSION
Urban planners and housing experts met with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in Geneva on 17 September 2001 during the 62nd session of the Committee on Human Settlements and warned that globalization, economic slowdown and cutbacks in social spending are contributing to growing tensions in European cities.
Participants discussed recent outbreaks of violence among young people in some British and French cities, which illustrate tension caused by social inequality and highlight the need for social cohesion in urban areas. They also called attention to the fact that without well-balanced political, economic and social environments, instability, ethnic conflict and other social problems can occur.
According to the city planners, the best way to fight exclusion is not by means of isolated action, but to prioritize social inclusion in spatial planning, housing and land administration policies. They underlined the need to empower people so that they are motivated not only at an individual level to influence the outcome of their lives, but also on a collective level to modernize their communities.
Countries in transition face issues of privatization, UNECE said, with government authorities withdrawing from the housing sector and new owner-occupiers unable to afford the upkeep of their homes. City planners recommended that social inclusion be a prominent feature in spatial planning, housing and land administration policies, referring to the ECE Strategy for sustainable quality of life in human settlements in the 21st century adopted by UNECE Housing Ministers in Geneva last year.
The ECE Strategy, based on the provisions of the Habitat Agenda and Agenda 21, emphasizes the importance of the human settlement sector for socially, economically and environmentally sound development; seeks to promote democratic governance by encouraging public participation in the decision-making process; promotes the notion that urban and rural development is an important part of a national economy; and assists spatial planning and environmental management through the establishment and modernization of land administration systems, among others.
Contact: UN Economic Commission for Europe, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 4444, fax +41-22/917 0505, e-mail <info.ece@unece.org>, website (www.unece.org).
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) held its 28th session from 24 September to 12 October 2001 in Geneva. It considered the first report from Mauritania and discussed progress reports from Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gambia, Kenya, Oman, Qatar, Paraguay, Portugal and Uzbekistan, on which it adopted conclusions and general recommendations at the end of its session.
The Committee welcomed Mauritania’s recent legislative progress regarding child protection, including the prohibition of early marriage. However, it expressed concern over the high rates of early pregnancy and increasing HIV/AIDS infections among youth. Regarding Kenya’s progress report, the Committee drew attention to the incidence of police brutality against children, and recommended that greater efforts be made to prevent all forms of torture, or inhuman or degrading treatment by the Kenyan police force.
Concerning Oman, the Committee appreciated the fact that the country had achieved most of its World Summit for Children goals, including a decrease in infant and under-five mortality, but pointed out that discrimination against females and children born out of wedlock still exists under current personal status law. The Committee expressed a similar view concerning discrimination against females and children born out of wedlock in Qatar, but did welcome the adoption of a law concerning free and compulsory education for all, and the country’s ratification of ILO Convention 182 on eliminating the worst forms of child labour. The Committee welcomed substantial changes made by Portugal in various fields of legislation, including the administration of juvenile justice and raising the minimum age of military service to the age of 18. It recommended that the State adopt legislation prohibiting corporal punishment in the family.
The Committee commended Uzbekistan for the establishment of new institutions relating to child protection, but expressed deep concern about numerous reports of ill-treatment of military personnel under the age of 18, and insufficient efforts to investigate allegations of torture. The Committee recognized Gambia’s efforts in combating the spread of HIV/AIDS, and recommended that the country take effective measures to ensure that domestic law, including customary and Islamic laws, fully conforms to the provisions and principles of the Convention.
The Committee praised Paraguay for having implemented since 1997 the Adoption Act to combat trafficking in children and to strengthen adoption rules, as well as a new law introduced against domestic violence. It expressed concern over discrimination against indigenous children, and urged the country to end the practice of recruitment of children into the armed forces. The Committee welcomed Cameroon’s ratification of ILO Convention 138 on the Minimum Age for Work, and the actions undertaken by the State to ameliorate the situation of refugee children. It said it was deeply concerned over the lack of access to health care and education of imprisoned children and recommended steps be taken to deal with this situation.
The Committee cited improvements carried out by Cape Verde with respect to children’s rights and the situation of children, while expressing concern over the impact of domestic violence and sexual abuse in the family on children. The Committee called for better monitoring and recording of incidents involving children, including violence against women in the family.
Contact: S. Raadi-Azarakhchi, Secretariat, CRC, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 9252, fax +41-22/917 9022, e-mail <sraadi-azarakhchi.hchr@unog.ch> .
WORLD YOUTH FORUM
A call for the establishment of an Education and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) fund to promote North-South and South-South cooperation was one of a number of recommendations set out in the final document adopted by the World Youth Forum of the United Nations System (WYF), held in Dakar (Senegal), from 6-10 August 2001, following five days of debate and consultation between youth groups and representatives of UN agencies.
The WYF, which was hosted by the Government of Senegal, had as its central focus the empowerment of youth to participate more effectively in every aspect of society. This was the fourth forum held since 1991 and the first to be held in Africa, bringing together delegates from 85 countries.
Donald Charumbira, Secretary-General of the World Assembly of Youth and Chairperson of the Forum’s fourth session, said that one of the most important developments during the Forum was the adoption of a special annex on HIV/AIDS, which indicated the commitment and dedication of the world’s youth to tackling this major health challenge.
The Forum’s recommendations cover youth concerns in the 10 areas addressed by working groups, namely education, and information and communications technology; youth employment; health and population; hunger, poverty and debt; environment and human settlements; social integration; culture of peace; youth policy, participation and rights; girls and young women; and youth, sports and leisure-time activities. Observers from UN agencies, bodies and organizations said that the meeting’s recommendations reflected the vision of youth empowerment as seen by young people and demonstrated their desire to participate in shaping policy on youth matters.
The mandate for the World Youth Forum can be found in paragraph 125 of the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1995 on the tenth anniversary of International Youth Year.
The Dakar Youth Empowerment Strategy will be conveyed to the UN General Assembly later this year.
Contact: Youth Unit, Social Integration Branch, Division for Social Policy and Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), United Nations, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/963 2791, fax at +1-212/963 0111, e-mail <ilenko@un.org>, website (www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin).
WHO RELEASES WORLD HEALTH REPORT
One in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives, according to the World Health Report 2001–Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope, released by the World Health Organization (WHO). Currently some 450 million people suffer from these conditions, placing mental disorders among the leading causes of ill health and disability worldwide.
Two-thirds of people with a known mental disorder never seek help from a health professional. Stigma, discrimination and neglect prevent care and treatment from reaching people with mental disorders, the report says.
“Mental illness is not a personal failure. In fact, if there is failure, it is to be found in the way we have responded to people with mental and brain disorders,” said Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, WHO Director-General. “I hope this report will dispel long-held doubts and dogma and mark the beginning of a new public health era in the field of mental health,” she added.
A lack of urgency, misinformation, and competing demands are preventing policy makers from taking stock of a situation where mental disorders figure among the leading causes of disease and disability in the world, says WHO. Depressive disorders are already the fourth leading cause of the global disease burden and are expected to rank second by 2020.
The report states that some mental disorders can be prevented, that most mental and behavioural disorders can be successfully treated, and that much of this prevention, cure and treatment is affordable. It makes 10 recommendations for action including providing treatment in primary care, educating the public, establishing national policies, programmes and legislation, and supporting more research.
According to WHO, the responsibility for action lies with governments, and the report urges them to make strategic decisions and choices in order to bring about positive change in the acceptance and treatment of mental disorders, saying that a move should be made away from large mental institutions towards community health care.
Report figures show that around 25% of countries have no mental health legislation and more than 33% of countries allocate less than 1% of their total health budgets to mental health, with another 33% spending just 1% of their budgets on mental health. In over half the countries worldwide, there is only one psychiatrist per 100,000 people, and 40% of countries have less than one hospital bed reserved for mental disorders per 10,000 people.
The poor often bear the greater burden of mental disorders, both in terms of the risk in having a mental disorder and the lack of access to treatment, the report points out. Stress, dangerous living conditions, exploitation, and poor health in general contribute to the greater vulnerability of the poor.
The report says new knowledge can have a tremendous impact on how individuals, societies and the public health community deal with mental disorders. Investment in mental health, neuroscience and social science research infrastructure worldwide will open new avenues for understanding and care of persons with mental disorders. Building research capacity in developing countries is an urgent need.
Contact: Igor Rozov, Social Change and Mental Health, WHO, 20 avenue Appia, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/791 2532, fax +41-22/791 4858, e-mail <rozovi@who.ch>, website (www.who.int).
UNAIDS RELEASES STUDIES
The United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has released two new studies on HIV/AIDS. The UNAIDS Compendium on Discrimination, Stigmatization and Denial presents a set of reports using case studies from India and Uganda to explore HIV-related discrimination, stigma and denial. The Compendium was launched during the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance held from 31 August to 7 September 2001 in Durban (South Africa, see NGLS Roundup 82).
According to UNAIDS, HIV-related stigma and discrimination remain barriers to effectively fighting the HIV pandemic. The reports point out that little is known about the causes of HIV-related discrimination or how it can best be addressed. Negative responses and attitudes towards persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) are strongly linked to general knowledge levels about AIDS and HIV infection and, more specifically, to the causes of AIDS and means of HIV transmission.
In most societies, AIDS is associated with groups whose social and sexual behaviour does not meet with public approval. Therefore, the reports say, most settings in which HIV-positive people interact with other people provide a back-drop for discrimination, stigmatization and denial, and people with HIV/AIDS often encounter discrimination within the family, the community, the health care system, schools or the workplace. According to the reports, discriminatory restrictions have also been reported in relation to travel, migration, insurance and health benefits.
The situation of women and marginalized groups is particularly difficult and women often face problems of neglect, inheritance, housing or care giving following the death of a son or husband. People in marginalized groups risk facing double discrimination as the fear of HIV may reinforce already existing discrimination, the reports say. One of the most common and most difficult forms of stigmatization to address is self-stigmatization, which leads individuals to police their own behaviour to prevent their sero-positive status from becoming known to others.
The reports say that while there is evidence that information campaigns have improved the situation regarding discrimination and stigma, much remains to be done. “HIV-related stigma and discrimination remain an immense barrier to effectively fighting the most devastating epidemic humanity has ever known,” said Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS at the Durban Conference. “If HIV-related stigma and discrimination are not tackled, AIDS will blight the 21st century just as racism affected the 20th century.”
According to a second report, Young Men and HIV–Culture, Poverty and Sexual Risk, issued jointly by UNAIDS and the Panos Institute, the sexual behaviour and attitudes of men are among the strongest influences on how quickly the HIV/AIDS epidemic spreads, with young men aged between 15 and 24 playing a central role. Until now this group has been largely ignored in HIV interventions, the report says, adding that the response to HIV has mainly focused on preventing vulnerable groups from infection, with many HIV/AIDS education programmes targeted to young women. According to the report, as young men are most likely to be involved in activities associated with HIV risk, their exclusion from prevention and policy initiatives may have devastating results in the long-term.
Men are also the focus of the World AIDS Campaign in 2001. The second year of the two-year Campaign is currently under way and seeks to involve men, particularly young men, more fully in the effort against AIDS and to bring about a focus on men in national responses to the epidemic. The message of the Campaign is “I care–do you?” and it is designed to provide material for national and local organizations to create their own campaigns.
Contact: Dominique De Santis, Press Officer, UNAIDS, 20 avenue Appia, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/791 4509, fax +41-22/791 4898, e-mail <desantisd@unaids.org>, website (www.unaids.org.)
CONGRESS ON HIV/AIDS IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
The Sixth International Congress on AIDS in the Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP), a biennial regional conference, was held from 5-10 October 2001 in Melbourne (Australia) and brought together high-level representatives from 33 countries and members of civil society to discuss the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the region.
Under an overall theme of “Breaking down barriers,” the conference focused on four sub-themes: treatment and care; prevention; socio-economic determinants; and gender and sexuality. The Australian Minister for Health, Michael Wooldridge, said the conference provided an opportunity to share information and make advances in strategies to fight AIDS in the region.
Addressing the conference, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Peter Piot said that Asia and the Pacific faced a time of opportunity as never before to combat AIDS. “I am convinced that Asia and the Pacific hold the key to the global future of the epidemic. We have the opportunity to take the right path. We now simply have to ensure we have the necessary will.” Outlining recent events in the global response to AIDS which has provided a wider understanding of AIDS and progress in the affordability of antiretroviral drugs, Dr. Piot pointed out that more than any other region, Asia and the Pacific has the resources and health infrastructures to gain from these breakthroughs and “make universal antiretroviral access a reality.”
Contact: UNAIDS, 20 avenue Appia, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland, fax +41-22/791 4187, e-mail <unaids@unaids.org>, website (www.unaids.org) or (www.icaap.conf.au/default.asp).
MAP REPORTS ON HIV/AIDS IN ASIA
Status and Trends of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Asia and the Pacific reports that there is clear potential for an extensive spread of HIV infection if preventive action is too little or too late. The report, published by Monitoring the AIDS Pandemic (MAP), and released just before the 6th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP, see article above) held in Melbourne (Australia) from 5-10 October 2001, also stresses that low infection rates today are no guarantee of low rates tomorrow.
MAP says the picture has changed dramatically in the last two years. Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Nepal and Viet Nam, for example, have registered marked increases in HIV infection in recent years, while in China, home to a fifth of the world’s people, the infection seems to be moving into new population groups.
“Some countries in the region began prevention efforts early and they are reaping the benefits today,” said Peter Piot, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). “Elsewhere, however, epidemics will continue their natural course unless prevention programmes quickly reach the population groups most vulnerable to HIV.”
The report says that the epidemic situation is difficult to evaluate. Even though only three Asian countries–Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand–have registered nationwide prevalence rates of over 1%, these low rates mask an uneven geographic spread and national figures require closer analysis. The report also points out that when an epidemic is concentrated in a certain group, it is misleading to take HIV prevalence in the general population as an indicator of severity.
National figures can be meaningless in large countries like China and India where some states or provinces have larger populations than most of the world’s countries. The report calls for the need to combine local data with an understanding of how HIV epidemics evolve to provide a more realistic basis for assessment.
“What emerges from the report is that the epidemics of the region are geographically diverse. While HIV has made substantial inroads, the situation still varies dramatically between and within countries,” said Rob Moodie, Co-chair of the Congress in Melbourne.
According to the report, recent HIV increases in specific locations should be seen as a serious warning that the country may be facing a more widespread epidemic. In the Guangxi province in China, 9.9% of sex workers were found to have HIV in the 2nd quarter of 2000 and that figure rose to 10.7% by the 4th quarter of 2000. In certain cities of Viet Nam infection levels are rising at a rapid rate. In Ho Chi Minh City, HIV infection rates among sex workers and their clients increased from virtually nil in 1996 to more than 20% in 2000, says MAP.
The report says that the epidemic in Asia at this stage remains concentrated, which offers potential for containment. The report acknowledges that several barriers to prevention exist, such as the lack of public awareness and support, and certain risk behaviours, but underlines the fact that intensive prevention efforts in populations where HIV has already taken hold are both affordable and available. To mount an effective response, programmes targeting the general population must take place alongside programmes for high-risk groups through information, policies that reduce vulnerability, and sexual health education.
On a related issue, Secretary-General Kofi Annan met with the CEOs and senior executives of seven of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical companies, and senior officials of the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS in New York on 4 October 2001 to assess progress made in expanding access to HIV treatment and care in developing countries.
Mr. Annan and the pharmaceutical companies discussed improving health systems and the private sector’s participation in raising funds for the Global AIDS and Health Fund to fight AIDS, which the Secretary-General launched in May 2001. Donations to the fund have reached nearly US$1.5 billion.
While agreeing that prices of medicines and diagnostics are an important component of efforts to increase access to care, it was pointed out that reduced prices alone are not sufficient. Wide reporting on what has been achieved and synthesizing experiences in a way that helps Heads of State, governments and community groups intensify their response to the HIV-related needs of populations were seen as necessary elements.
Participants in the meeting agreed to work together on reinforcing efforts at the community level, saying that HIV/AIDS must be addressed with a package combining prevention, diagnosis and care. They also agreed to join forces with other partners such as employers, workers, NGOs, academics, and faith-based groups in the fight against HIV infection and AIDS, and expect to use their experience to help governments respond more effectively.
Contact: Dominique De Santis, Press Officer, UNAIDS, 20 avenue Appia, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/791 4509, fax +41-22/791 4898, e-mail <desantisd@unaids.org>, website (www.unaids.org).
WHO URGES FOCUS ON ETHICS
The World Health Organization (WHO) urged developed nations to place more emphasis on ethics in areas of biomedical science such as stem-cell research and cloning.
WHO Director General Gro Harlem Brundtland said that biomedical research conducted in industrialized countries was mostly market-driven and failed to address pressing problems in other parts of the world. “This is ethically unacceptable,” she said on the second day of the four-day WHO Western Pacific meeting, held in Brunei in September 2001. “The health needs of poor nations will fail to get the attention they deserve.”
Dr. Brundtland said she was proposing a worldwide initiative on health ethics to help health practitioners in the WHO’s member countries handle controversial subjects and provide support for intergovernmental action on health ethics. The initiative will focus on ethics in public health, health research ethics and biotechnology ethics, and will include ethical aspects of genome-related work, stem cell research, cloning and other ethical areas of biomedical science.
Contact: Valery Abramov, Public Information Officer, WHO, 20 avenue Appia, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/791 2543, fax +41-22/791 4858, e-mail <abramovv@who.int>, website (www.who.int).
SCHOOL FEEDING VITAL IN WAR AGAINST HUNGER
The World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Catherine Bertini says a global school feeding programme for the world’s undernourished children is a powerful weapon in the war against hunger and poverty and has called on national governments and members of the humanitarian aid community to join her efforts to create such a programme.
“Feeding and educating children are key to closing the gap between rich and poor,” said Ms. Bertini, whose organization is the largest provider of school meals in the developing world. WFP has nearly 40 years of experience in school feeding and provides meals to more than 12 million school children in 54 countries.
According to WFP, there are currently more than 300 million chronically hungry children in the world today. Some 170 million of them go to school on empty stomachs and don’t receive any food during the day, while 130 million don’t attend school at all, says WFP. The majority of them are girls.
“It is now more important than ever that we look at long-term solutions to ending poverty,” said Bertini. “Giving a nutritious meal to a poor student today is key to helping him or her become a literate, socially-responsible adult tomorrow.”
WFP, the largest provider of nutritious meals to poor school children, has launched the Global School Feeding Campaign aimed at ensuring that the world’s 300 million undernourished children are educated.
Contact: Trevor Rowe, Chief Spokesperson, WFP, Via Cesare Giulio Viola 68, I-00148 Rome, Italy, telephone +39-06/6513 2602, fax +39-06/6513 2840, e-mail <rowe@wfp.org>, website (www.unic.org/wfp).
FAO WARNS BIODIVERSITY IS DIMINISHING
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says plant species and various breeds of farm animals are disappearing at a rapid rate, which could threaten global food security and deprive countries of their ability to resist disease, drought and other harsh conditions.
As many as two breeds of farm animals are dying out each week and 1,350 breeds face extinction, the agency said. In the past 15 years, 300 of 6,000 farm animal breeds identified by the FAO have become extinct and the most recent statistics show that 30% of the world’s farm animal breeds could be lost.
“Once you lose a genetic resource, it’s gone forever,” said Ricardo Cardellino, FAO senior officer for animal genetic resources. “We don’t know what we will need in the future in terms of genetic resources.”
Plant varieties are quickly disappearing. More than 90% of the agricultural diversity that existed at the start of the 20th century has been lost. FAO reports that in the past as many as 10,000 plant species were used for human food and agriculture, while today no more than 120 cultivated species provide 90% of human food supplied by plants. The FAO stressed that biodiversity will be essential for food security with global food needs expected to double in the next three decades as global population continues to grow. The agency also warns that depending on only a few varieties of plants and animals opens up the danger of those varieties being eliminated by disease or drought.
“Farmers depend upon this diversity to raise animals able to respond to unpredictable changes in the environment, threats of disease or changing market conditions,” the FAO said. “Further erosion of animal diversity invites disaster as options for long-term productivity and sustainability are lost.”
One of the main threats to domestic animal diversity is the exporting of animals from developed to developing countries, which leads to cross-breeding or even replacement of local breeds.
FAO has introduced a global strategy to manage farm animal resources which aims to document existing breeds, develop and improve their use in agriculture, and maintain those not currently of interest to breeders. The global strategy contains four basic components including direct government guidance; planning and implementation frameworks at country, regional and global levels; a technical work programme to effectively manage animal genetic resources; and a reporting and evaluation component which provides an early warning function.
Preparation of the first report on the State of the World’s Animal Genetic Resources, which will be based on country report assessments of national animal genetic resources, is currently underway.
Contact: John Riddle, Information Officer, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, I-00100 Rome, Italy, telephone +39-06/5705 3259, fax +39-06/5705 3699, e-mail <john.riddle@fao.org>, website (www.fao.org).
OZONE LAYER: EXPERTS CONSIDER NEW DANGERS
Scientists and UN researchers raised concerns on International Ozone Day, 16 September, about a range of new ozone-depleting chemicals that are beginning to appear on the market and are not controlled by the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer. While their manufactured quantities are currently small, experts fear that their production could escalate over the next several years.
The new chemicals, used in products ranging from fire extinguishers to cleaning fluids, are often replacement substances for those that are banned under international agreements. However, studies indicate that substances such as n-propyl bromide and halon-1202 may also have the potential to harm the ozone layer.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has estimated that the ozone layer and the ozone hole over Antarctica, which so far extends over 24 million square kilometers or an area about the size of North America, will recover by 2050. This is a result of the banning and phasing out of existing ozone depleting chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were widely used in products such as hair spray until they were outlawed by the Montreal Protocol.
“At the moment I believe we do not have a big problem with these new substances. But we cannot be complacent. If enough of them are manufactured and emitted, we will delay the recovery of the ozone layer quite significantly,” said Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Professor Mario Molina, a 1995 joint Nobel Prize Laureate for Chemistry.
Molina called for scientific studies to more closely examine the ozone-damaging potential of the new chemicals, a measure also supported by UNEP’s Executive Director Klaus Töpfer, who recommends that governments, industry and organizations like UNEP combine efforts to formulate a long-term strategy to address the issue before such chemicals appear on the market.
According to UNEP, at least four new substances with potential to damage the ozone layer have been identified. “These are, however, only the ones we know about so far,” said Nelson Sabogal, a scientist with UNEP. “There may be many more. One of our difficulties is that each of these new substances can have up to 15 different names, which can make monitoring and tracking of them in international trade a tough task for governments.”
Under the Montreal Protocol, 96 ozone damaging chemicals have been banned or are being phased out, and US$1.3 billion has been contributed by developed countries to the Multilateral Fund, which assists developing country parties in implementing the Protocol. It was established on 16 September 1987 and came into force on 1 January 1989 when 29 countries ratified it.
Contact Nick Nutall, Office of the Spokesman/Director, Communications and Public Information, UNEP, PO Box 30552, Nairobi, Kenya, telephone +254-2/623084, fax +254-2/623692, e-mail <nick.nutall@unep.org>, website (www.unep.org).
UNEP RELEASES ATLAS OF CORAL REEFS
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has released the most complete assessment ever conducted on world coral reefs now facing extinction because of rising sea temperatures and human pressures. The World Atlas of Coral Reefs describes and maps for the first time every known reef and provides a description of the dangers facing these “critical, valuable and beautiful ecosystems.”
UNEP Executive Director Klaus Töpfer said that global coral reefs support 60 to 70% of fish stocks around the world but are quickly becoming more endangered. “They are rapidly being degraded by human activities. They are over-fished, bombed and poisoned,” he said. “They are smothered by sediment and choked by algae growing on nutrient-rich sewage and fertilizer runoff. They are damaged by irresponsible tourism and are being severely stressed by the warming of the world’s oceans. Each of these pressures is bad enough in itself, but together, the cocktail is proving lethal.”
Lead report author Mark Spalding said the reefs are deteriorating faster than data can be collected. “We have no idea how much has already gone,” he said. The reefs are endangered by fishing with explosives and other human encroachments and even remote reefs far out in the ocean are targets for nuclear experiments, waste dumping and gunnery practice.
The study indicates that if the coral reefs disappear, the pharmaceutical industry would be among the first sectors to feel the impact. AZT, used to treat HIV infection and AIDS, is made from chemicals derived from a Caribbean reef sponge. UNEP also says more than half of all new cancer drug research focuses on marine organisms.
The study warns that coral reefs are among the world’s most vulnerable ecosystems, saying human interference can destroy in one or two years what has taken thousands of years to develop. Moreover, the predicted rise in sea temperatures over the next century “may well cause the total demise of at least some” of these systems. UNEP is hoping protection measures will be more forthcoming if increased knowledge about the reefs leads to greater recognition of their economic value.
Contact Nick Nutall, Office of the Spokesman/Director, Communications and Public Information, UNEP, PO Box 30552, Nairobi, Kenya, telephone +254-2/623084, fax +254-2/623692, e-mail <nick.nutall@unep.org>, website (www.unep.org).
UNEP REPORT ON CLOSED FORESTS
Efforts to save the world’s remaining, critically important forests should initially focus on just a handful of countries, a new report has found. A unique satellite-based survey of the planet’s last closed forests, which include virgin, old growth and naturally-regenerated woodlands, has found that over 80% are located in just 15 countries.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), one of the key organizations behind the report, believes that targeting scarce conservation funds on these 15 key countries may pay high dividends in terms of environmental results. Importantly, the survey also reveals that the pressure from people and population growth on most of these remaining closed forests, such as those in Bolivia and Peru, is low. Others, such as the remaining closed forests in India and China, are under more pressure from human activity and may require a bigger effort to conserve and protect, the report concludes. But overall an estimated 88% of these vital forests are sparsely populated, which give well-focused and well-funded conservation efforts a real chance of success.
The findings have come from scientists with UNEP working with other researchers including some from the United States Geological Survey and NASA, the United States space agency.
The report has used satellite-based information to identify the extent and distribution of the world’s remaining closed forests, of which just over 80% are located in Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Columbia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, the United States, and Venezuela. These are defined as forests with a canopy closure of more than 40%. Such a level of canopy closure is considered vital if the forest is to be considered healthy and able to perform all its known environmental and ecological functions effectively.
Contact: Nick Nutall, Office of the Spokesman/Director, Communications and Public Information, UNEP, PO Box 30552, Nairobi, Kenya, telephone +254-2/623084, fax +254-2/623692, e-mail <nick.nutall@unep.org>, website (www.unep.org).
ILO REPORT ON FORESTRY SUSTAINABILITY
Employment in the world’s forestry and wood industries–including logging, pulp and furniture and paper products–is expected to decline significantly over the coming years, with the potential loss of millions of jobs worldwide, according to a new report by the International Labour Office (ILO) entitled Globalization and Sustainability: The Forestry and Wood Industries on the Move.
Restrictions on forest harvesting introduced in China alone will affect more than 1.2 million forest workers of which some 900,000 will lose their jobs, the report says. Closures of plywood mills in Indonesia due to raw material shortages so far have cost more than 40,000 jobs.
“But the news is not all bad. This industry is a real global test case,” said Peter Poschen, an ILO forestry and wood specialist and co-author of the report. “Arguably, the forest industry has taken the goal of sustainable development more seriously than any other sector. Many firms and countries are looking for ways to keep the industry economically viable, but also protect the forest environment and contribute to social justice.
“As we examine whether globalization can work for people and the environment, the answer will be measured in how this industry treats its forest resources, its workers and the livelihoods of over a billion people living in or next to forest areas,” Mr. Poschen said.
ILO studies indicate that failure to address the challenges of globalization and sustain the forestry and wood industry sectors could lead to the elimination of more than 5% of the global workforce in this area, estimated at some 47 million. Among the factors threatening jobs in the sector are restrictions on forest harvesting, the effects of mergers and acquisitions, structural changes and lack of resources in the forestry, wood, furniture and paper industries.
Governments are playing an active role in countries to regulate and also to promote sustainable development of the sector, including improvement of skills, the nurturing of small- and medium-sized firms which create more jobs, and social dialogue. The report highlights numerous promising initiatives in this direction, but says that more needs to be done to demonstrate that globalization is indeed compatible with sustainable development.
Contact: Department of Communication, ILO, 4 route des Morillons, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/799 7940, fax +41-22/799 8577, e-mail <presse@ilo.org>, website (www.ilo.org).
NEW BIOSPHERE RESERVES ADDED
The World Network of Biosphere Reserves of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has added 18 new sites and expanded two existing biosphere reserves. The sites are in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Poland, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Vietnam and Yugoslavia.
The reserves provide a framework for the study and conservation of the environment and for the sustainable use of natural resources. A key aspect of the World Network, which now consists of 411 sites in 94 countries, is the involvement of the local population in conserving the sites.
The new sites and extensions were approved by the Bureau of the International Co-ordinating Council of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme at its meeting on 19-21 September 2001 in Paris. The MAB Programme has been selected for this year’s Prince of Asturias Prize, which aims to reward scientific, technical, cultural, social and humanitarian work performed by individuals, groups or institutions worldwide.
Contact: Man and the Biosphere Programme, UNESCO, 1 rue Miollis, F-75732 Paris Cedex 15, France, e-mail <mab@unesco.org>, website (www.unesco.org/mab).
UN SYSTEM STAFF COLLEGE
The UN System Staff College, with a mandate as the system-wide learning and knowledge management arm of the UN, is the latest member of the UN family with its own legal status and Statute as a new UN organization, effective 1 January 2002.
The UN Staff College has developed a new CD-ROM Welcome to the UN System: a UN Induction Course to create a common understanding among new staff of the UN’s structure and mandate, and to improve the coherence of the induction process across the UN system.
Contact: Public Information Office, UN Staff College, Viale
Maestri des Lavoro 10, I-10127 Turin, Italy, telephone +39-011/6936 616, fax
+39-011/6936 509, e-mail <pubinfo@itcilo.it>, website
(www.itcilo.it/unscp/programmefocus/induction).
Call for Habitat Best Practices
The United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) is calling for submissions for the 2002 Dubai International Award for Best Practices to Improve the Living Environment. Best practices are defined by the United Nations and the international community at large as successful initiatives that:
--have a demonstrable and tangible impact on improving people’s quality of life;
--are the result of effective partnerships between the public, private and civic sectors of society; and
--are socially, culturally, economically and environmentally sustainable.
The original call for Best Practices was launched during the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) as a means of identifying what works in improving living conditions on a sustainable basis.
As a result of the first three Award cycles, there are now over 1,150 good and best practices from 125 countries featured on the Best Practices database (see below). An international jury selects the award winners from a shortlist drawn up by a Technical Advisory Committee.
Deadlines:
--31 January 2002: draft submissions requesting feedback on their compliance with rules of procedure, criteria and reporting format;
--31 March 2002: submissions for consideration for the 2002 Award and inclusion in Best Practices database.
Contact: UNCHS (Habitat), PO Box 30030, Nairobi, Kenya, fax +254-2/623 080 or 624266, e-mail <bestpractices@unchs.org>, website (www.bestpractices.org) or Dubai Municipality, PO Box 67, Dubai, UAE, fax +971-4/224 6666, e-mail <info@dm.gov.ae>, website (dubai-award.dm.gov.ae).
HelpAge International has launched a global campaign to ensure that the voices of older people living in poverty are heard and understood. “Population ageing will be a key issue for societies, governments and international donors in the next 50 years, comparable in impact to globalization and climate change,” says Todd Petersen, HelpAge International’s Chief Executive.
The campaign, Action on Ageing, supports older people’s organizations and advocacy. It will ensure that the demands of older people living in poverty are raised at the Second World Assembly on Ageing, to be held in Madrid from 8-12 April 2002. The French mime artist Marcel Marceau and Spain’s Princess Cristina Federica de Borbon y Grecia were named UN goodwill ambassadors for the Assembly, which will finalize the UN’s International Strategy for Action on Ageing.
HelpAge International argues that the focus of policy makers must shift from population growth to population ageing and calls for an explicit commitment to allocate resources to address the impact of population ageing and to integrate key policies in this area with broader international initiatives, including debt relief and development financing.
“The complex effects of HIV/AIDS, decreasing fertility and unprecedented longevity need to be recognized,” says Mr. Petersen. The UN estimates that by 2050 the proportion of people over 60 in developing countries will double from 8 to 19% and that the proportion of children will fall by one-third, from 33 to 22%.
According to the International Strategy for Action on Ageing 2002, global society is already older than ever before in human history. Average life expectancy at birth has increased by 20 years since 1950 to 66 years, and is expected to extend a further 10 years by mid-century. The number of older people will increase from about 600 million in 2000 to almost 2,000 million in 2050. The increase will be greatest in developing countries where the older population is expected to quadruple during the next 50 years.
Increasing numbers of the elderly in developing countries, particularly women, live in chronic poverty, are ignored by governments and development planners, and are discriminated against in their daily lives, according to HelpAge International. Two-thirds of the older population worldwide have no secure source of income. International crises, instability and conflict further endanger their fragile livelihoods.
Contact: Sarah Graham-Brown, HelpAge International, PO Box 32832, London N1 9UZ, UK, telephone +44-20/7278 7778, e-mail <press@helpage.org>, website (www.helpage.org).
INTERNATIONAL TAX DUMPING: SOUTH LOSES BILLIONS
Developing countries are losing at least US$50 billion a year as a result of tax evasion and ruinous international tax competition. This is roughly the equivalent amount allocated for development cooperation by the world’s industrialized countries. This was the key message from a one-day conference on 10 October 2001 organized by the Swiss Coalition of Development Organizations on Tax Evasion and International Tax Competition: Accomplices in World Poverty.
Held in Bern (Switzerland), the meeting was attended by Swiss government observers, journalists, representatives of European and international NGOs, including the International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW), and various branches of the Association pour la Taxation des Transactions Financières d’Aide au Citoyen (ATTAC). Against the backdrop of preparations for the United Nations Conference on Financing for Development (FFD) to be held in March 2002 in Monterrey (Mexico), participants discussed various strategies to combat tax evasion and international tax competition, including the setting up of an International Tax Organization, as proposed in the so-called “Zedillo report” commissioned by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan for the FFD preparatory process (see NGLS Roundup 78).
The staggering figure of US$50 billion losses for developing countries is based on a study by Oxfam (UK) published last year, Tax Havens: Releasing the Hidden Billions for Poverty Eradication. About US$35 billion is estimated to be lost as a result of intensified international tax competition between countries, notably through “a race to the bottom” to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) through tax incentives and tax holidays. Another estimated US$15 billion is foregone as a result of taxable income siphoned off to tax havens around the world (capital flight). These estimates do not include practices common among transnational corporations, such as intra-company price manipulations (transfer pricing) and the use of holding companies as offshore tax havens to hide profits.
According to a number of participants, the consequences of international tax competition are not only losses that could pay for developing countries’ health and education needs many times over; there has also been a consistent pattern of growing inequality in the sharing of the tax burden. Tax impositions have shifted from levies on highly “mobile” players (transnational corporations, rich individuals) to less mobile players (ordinary workers, small- and medium-sized enterprises). This has been evident mainly through consistent drops in taxes on corporate profits and high incomes, combined with (sometimes dramatic) increases in consumption (valued-added) taxes and social security contributions. This pattern exists in developed countries as well, but the impact is far more severe in developing countries, speakers said.
Some interventions stressed that if these phenomena are intimately linked to high capital mobility, they are in turn connected in large part to widespread financial liberalization in recent years. In this regard, a couple of speakers argued that developing countries have been receiving contradictory policy advice or conditionalities from the donor community at large. On the one hand, they are being encouraged to raise domestic revenue to finance social and environmental programmes; on the other they have been pressed to adopt a range of measures that undermine fiscal resource mobilization–whether it is liberalizing their capital account regimes, providing tax incentives to foreign investors or unilaterally liberalizing their trading regimes (when trade tariffs can account for up to 30% of their fiscal revenue). The FFD Conference, one speaker said, would be an opportunity for NGOs to draw attention to such inconsistencies, notably under the increasingly talked-about cross-cutting theme of “policy coherence.”
With regard to their future activities in Switzerland, the Swiss Coalition announced that they would work towards the elimination of “loopholes” in Swiss legislation, notably by campaigning for new measures that would make tax evasion a criminal offence under Swiss law. There were also discussions on how to better coordinate and strengthen other European and international civil society campaigns to combat tax evasion, tax competition and tax havens worldwide.
Contact: Bruno Gurtner, Coordinator for Development Policy, Swiss Coalition of Development Organizations, Monbijoustrasse 31, PO Box, 3001 Bern, Switzerland, telephone +41-31/390 9335, fax +41-31/390 9331, e-mail <bgurtner@swisscoalition.ch>, website (www.swisscoalition.ch). The Oxfam study can be found at (www.oxfam.org.uk).
CAMPAIGNING AGAINST BLOOD DIAMONDS
Concerned about the lack of progress being made in the Kimberley Process, ActionAid circulated a petition in September 2001 aimed at demonstrating civil society support for a meaningful certification process in the diamond trade, and to break the link between illicit trade in rough diamonds and the funding of armed conflict.
The petition called for the process to be speeded up and noted that self-regulation will not work, saying that “too many governments, companies, and individuals have already proven themselves unworthy of trust, at the expense of thousands of lives.” ActionAid is joining with organizations in Canada, America and Europe to petition the governments involved.
According to ActionAid, conflict diamonds have been at the heart of prolonged wars in Angola, Sierra Leone and the Congo, and account for around 4% of the world’s US$7 billion trade in uncut stones. ActionAid is calling on governments and the diamond industry to produce a practical certification agreement now with credible international monitoring provisions built into it.
The intergovernmental Kimberley Process (see Go Between 85) strives to develop a global system capable of certifying that conflict diamonds do not enter the legal trading system between the point of mining and first export from a producing country; that diamonds are not tampered with between their dispatch from a producing country and their first arrival in a country where they will be cut, polished or traded; and that countries that cut, polish and trade in rough diamonds have adequate controls and procedures to ensure that conflict diamonds cannot enter their trade.
The petition was signed by 181 NGOs, churches and academic institutions in 40 countries, including 12 countries in Africa.
Contact: ActionAid, Hamlyn House, Macdonald Road, Archway, London N19 5PG, UK, telephone +44-20/7561 7561, fax +44-20/7281 0899, e-mail <mail@actionaid.org.uk>, website (www.actionaid.org/diamonds.html).
MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES RELEASES REPORT
Virtually no new drugs are being developed for diseases that predominantly affect the poor, according to Fatal Imbalance, a report issued by the international medical aid agency Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
The report presents survey responses of research and development activities from some of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, representing combined sales of nearly US$117 billion. From these 11 companies, only one new tuberculosis drug was brought to market in the last five years. Eight of the 11 companies reported no research activities in the last year for fatal diseases that almost exclusively affect the poor: sleeping sickness, Chagas disease and leishmaniasis.
“Millions of people in developing countries are dying every year because the only drugs available to treat many infectious diseases are old, toxic or ineffective,” says Bernard Pécoul, Director of MSF’s Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines. “Tropical diseases alone account for almost 10% of the global disease burden but virtually no new medicines are being developed, and drug resistance is wiping out the drugs we have.” MSF says that the lack of research and development into unprofitable diseases is demonstrated in new data showing that of the 1,393 new drugs approved between 1975 and 1999, only 13 (1%) were for tropical diseases.
According to the report, responsibility for correcting this imbalance lies with governments, who must become involved in searching for solutions at a global level. The report recommends that capacity building and technology transfer projects be actively pursued in order to increase research and development expertise in developing countries.
“Drugs are not developed according to public health need, but according to profitability,” said Dr. Pécoul. “A new paradigm is urgently needed to address this fatal imbalance. Together with partners from wealthy and developing countries, MSF is actively exploring the creation of a Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDI), which will focus exclusively on drug development for neglected diseases. This initiative will need strong public leadership and financing, as well as private sector support.”
DNDI will harness funding and new science and technology, foster public-private co-operation and strengthen pharmaceutical research and development capacity in developing countries. Its primary aim is to develop new drugs which are affordable to those who need them. As part of this exploration, MSF is funding three pilot drug development projects on drugs for malaria, leishmaniasis, and sleeping sickness. Partners include experts from Brazil, Thailand, Malaysia and Burkina Faso.
Fatal Imbalance: The Crisis in Research and Development for Drugs for Neglected Diseases is the product of the DND Working Group, a collaboration between scientists, health professionals, drug development experts, international organizations and NGOs.
Contact: MSF International Office, 39 rue de la Tourelle, Brussels, Belgium, telephone +32-2/280 1881, fax +32-2/280 0173, website (www.msf.org).
HAI REPORT ON PUBLIC HEALTH
Health Action International (HAI) Europe has published a report examining the public health and possible risks related to public-private partnerships in solving public health problems. Based on the proceedings of the HAI Europe/BUKO Pharma Kampagne seminar held in the Netherlands in November 2000, the report evaluates the risks and benefits involved in public-private interactions and tries to determine why the fundamental shift towards partnerships has evolved.
The report says that the private sector’s resources make it an irresistible yet potentially overpowering partner for public health initiatives, saying that the five largest multinational companies have revenues more than double the combined gross domestic product of the poorest 100 countries. The report underlines the fact that corporations cannot be held accountable in the same way that governments can and warns that growing dependence on private sector funds could lead to problems, such as sustainability.
HAI and other public health advocates, who have worked to strengthen and support the World Health Organization (WHO) and its advocacy of rational drug use policies, have questioned ramifications of private sector funding, saying that there is a need to analyze the industry’s motivation. HAI reports that too little attention has been given to assessing how these initiatives affect the health conditions of those they are meant to help.
HAI has also questioned whether increased interaction with the commercial sector is a major part of WHO’s goal in achieving Health For All, and said that the WHO must be able to demonstrate that the poor benefit directly from more public-private partnerships. Other fundamental questions to be answered include finding out the indirect effects and consequences of pursuing this type of collaboration; determining the short and long-term public health benefits; and knowing what the participants expect to get out of the agreement.
The seminar’s primary aim was to open a debate on public-private interactions and to identify key issues that need to be examined by public officials, health organizations, and NGOs in order to determine if such joint initiatives are a beneficial or ultimately harmful trend.
Health Action International (HAI) is a non-profit, global network of health, development, consumer and other public interest groups in more than 70 countries working for a more rational use of medicinal drugs.
Contact: HAI, Jacob van Lennepkade 334T, NL-1053 NJ Amsterdam, Netherlands, fax +31-20/685 5002, e-mail <hai@hai.antenna.nl>. The report Public-Private ‘Partnerships’: Addressing public health needs or corporate agendas? is available on (www.haiweb.org/campaign/PPI/seminar200011.html).
IFPRI REPORTS ON FOOD OUTLOOK
Unless aggressive new measures to boost agricultural production are taken, a new report, issued by the United States-based think tank International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), says efforts to fight malnutrition, especially among children, are likely to slow during the next two decades as the world faces the possibility of a continuing increase in population and a decrease in crop yields.
2020 Global Food Outlook: Trends, Alternatives and Choices reports that under current conditions, global child malnutrition will fall by only 20% during the next 20 years from a total of 166 million to 132 million, while malnutrition among sub-Saharan African youth will actually increase by 18% during the same period.
“Progress in reducing child malnutrition is unconscionably slow,” IFPRI Director-General Per Pinstrup Andersen says. “Yet we have the power to change that. With modest alterations to policies and priorities, the rate of progress against child malnutrition could be more than doubled….It is a disgrace in a world such as ours that so many people suffer from malnutrition.”
The IFPRI report uses computer modelling to develop projections for world food production, consumption and demand for 16 major food commodities through 2020 and beyond. It also assesses the impact of various policy actions (including trade liberalization and expanded investment in agricultural research, health care and education) on food security and nutrition. The model formulates projections, including a baseline prediction or optimistic scenario, which is based on improved agricultural production and investments, and a pessimistic scenario, which is based on a population boom and slowing growth in farm yields. The report also looks at overall economic activity.
According to the optimistic projection, child malnutrition in Latin America will be virtually eliminated by 2020, China’s rate will be cut in half and the number of malnourished youth in sub-Saharan Africa will fall by one-third. The report’s lead author, IFPRI senior research fellow Mark Rosegrant, asserts that achieving these goals will require that countries focus on investments in agricultural research, education, rural infrastructure and irrigation systems. “Decisions made now can have wide-reaching effects on food security and nutrition. In fact, our optimistic scenario–a 42% reduction in child malnutrition worldwide–is achievable with only an additional US$10 billion per year in investments,” Mr. Rosegrant says. “That’s equal to less than one week of global military spending.”
The pessimistic scenario, however, predicts that worldwide falling growth in agricultural productivity, rising food prices and reduced purchasing power will push the number of malnourished children to 178 million. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, failure to devote new resources to the programmes the report calls for, coupled with the effects of political turmoil and HIV/AIDS, could lead to a 50% increase in child malnutrition by 2020. Deteriorating natural resources, stagnant technologies, and rising population densities are common features of the rural landscape in the region, which IFPRI argues will only be alleviated with “a major structural transformation from subsistence agriculture to a commercialized and highly productive agricultural economy capable of supporting a growing urban population.”
In addition to new investments in agricultural programmes, the IFPRI report emphasizes that achieving economic development and eliminating malnutrition will require the removal of tariffs and subsidies that shelter inefficient agricultural production and block developing country imports. Agricultural trade liberalization is likely to reduce worldwide food production and raise world cereal prices in the short-term, the report says, but those drawbacks will be offset by the net economic benefit of increased food purchasing power and decreased reliance on food aid. By 2020 the full liberalization of 16 agricultural commodities–including all cereals, soybeans, roots and tubers, meats and dairy products–will yield a net benefit of nearly US$36 billion worldwide, the report predicts.
“Steps toward a future of global food security will have enormous payoffs worldwide, offering all people a higher quality of life and greater economic potential,” the report concludes. “In contrast, if decision makers fail to reform key policies or make adequate investments, the costs in terms of human misery and wasted potential will be enormous.”
Contact: IFPRI, 2033 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006-1002, USA, telephone +1-202/862 5600, fax +1-202/467 4439, e-mail <ifpri-webmaster@cgiar.org>, website (www.ifpri.org).
ICFTU 2001 SURVEY SAYS REPRESSION ON THE RISE
The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions’ (ICFTU) Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights 2001 reveals that repression against trade unionists–including reported assassinations, disappearances, physical attacks and detentions–is spreading worldwide. The survey, reporting on events which occurred in over 140 countries in 2000, shows that violence targeted at men and women committed to defending their fellow workers against exploitation is increasing.
While the expanded scope of their research for 2000 may explain an increase in numbers, ICFTU says the real trend of serious violations is undoubtedly rising, with the most disturbing situations in Colombia, Guatemala, Venezuela, Costa Rica, China, the Republic of Korea, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Belarus and the Gulf States.
For 2000, the survey reports that 209 trade unionists were killed or have disappeared, a 50% increase over 1999. It also states that around 8,500 were arrested, 3,000 more were injured, over 100,000 were harassed and nearly 20,000 were dismissed because of their trade union activities.
Latin America remains the region with the highest number of trade unionists killed, and the survey describes Colombia as being the most dangerous country, with 153 either assassinated or missing, which represents an increase of more than 100% over 1999. Paramilitary groups, often linked to security forces, are responsible for the majority of the murders, says ICFTU.
“Violence and persecution, death threats and murders, is also the order of the day in Guatemala. On the banana and coffee plantations as well as in the textile shops or ‘marquilladoras’ owned by large corporations, trade unionists are systematically intimidated,” said ICFTU General Secretary Bill Jordan in the survey’s introduction.
In Africa, workers were dismissed for their trade union activities in nearly 60% of the countries examined. According to the report, many African governments still regard their trade union movements with hostility and suspicion and they try to control them through brutality, legislative means or both, substituting repression for dialogue.
ICFTU says the slowdown in the US economy is having its greatest impact in Asia, affecting its export industries and putting additional pressure on employment, wages and working conditions. Asia has also recorded a record number of violations, and accounts for 71% of arrests and 87% of harassment cases throughout the world. The survey says that China’s national trade union centre exists to carry out party policy and that workers have little means of defending themselves while millions continue to be laid off from state-owned factories.
While trade union repression in the developing countries is more violent, employers in the West also try to undermine the unions, but take a different approach, according to the report. In the United States, employers regularly call on professional union busters to destroy the union in their enterprise. In Canada, many sectors are not allowed to go on strike or to engage in collective bargaining. In Australia, the government distributed a manual to high-ranking civil servants on the tactics to use to sabotage collective bargaining with the unions. In Spain and the United Kingdom, the survey reveals violations of trade union rights linked to using the Internet.
The annual survey points to 108 countries where there are legal obstacles to the establishment of a trade union, and to other countries where trade unions are banned altogether. In some countries, trade unions are subservient to the government and do nothing to defend workers’ interests.
“There is something paradoxical in the contrast between the international community’s increasing outspokenness on international labour standards and reality on the ground. Three years after the adoption of the ILO’s Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, violations of trade union rights have reached a level never recorded before,” says Mr. Jordan.
Contact: ICFTU, Boulevard du Roi Albert II 5, B1, B-1210 Brussels, Belgium, telephone +32-2/224 0232, e-mail <press@icftu.org>, website (www.icftu.org/survey).
ANNUAL FORUM TAKES STOCK
The Montreal International Forum (FIM) held its third annual forum from 1-4 October 2001 in Brisbane (Australia), on the theme of Civil Society, the UN+5s and Beyond. The Forum, set up by representatives of NGOs and civil society organizations (CSOs), provides an opportunity for them to look at their work priorities, strategies, achievements and failures concerning the multilateral agenda and international institutions, and to examine the role of non-governmental actors in global governance.
The Forum also brings together NGOs and CSOs focusing on the Bretton Woods Institutions and the World Trade Organization (WTO) with those that monitor the UN and its global conferences to discuss work at the national level, as well as developing NGO capacity and effectiveness.
Attempting to address the impact on their work of the 11 September terrorist attacks on the US, most participants emphasized the importance of strengthening their participation in the programmes of NGO/CSO networks from Islamic countries. A few participants cautioned that this approach would reinforce stereotyping and the incorrect targeting of Muslims. In identifying priorities for working with NGOs/CSOs in the US, the emphasis was on strengthening contacts with domestically focused US organizations.
Assessing their experiences with the implementation of international UN-negotiated agreements, participants expressed frustration over the lack of implementation at the national level and questioned whether their efforts at the global level had been worthwhile. Some suggested that NGOs/CSOs should concentrate their efforts on legally binding agreements. At the same time, they acknowledged the value of the UN role in standard setting and agreed that NGOs/CSOs had not put sufficient effort into national level commitments for a number of reasons, including political pressure experienced in some countries. They agreed that more work is needed to measure the impact on local communities of international NGO/CSO work at the conferences and their reviews.
The importance of strengthening skills for conflict resolution in NGO work and in network building was highlighted, and ideas were explored for enhancing the role of national umbrella groups to support NGO work with the UN system.
Contact: Montreal International Forum, 380 Saint Antoine West, Suite 3200, Montreal, Quebec H2Y 3X7, Canada, telephone +1-514/499 9468, fax +1-514/987 1567, e-mail <fim98@cam.org>, website (www.fimcivilsociety.org).
ICRC STUDY ON WOMEN FACING WAR
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has published a study on Women Facing War, which identifies the needs of women in war; analyzes the relevant provisions of international humanitarian law, human rights and refugee law; and outlines the ICRC’s work for and with women affected by armed conflict.
The study aims to bring about improvements in the quality, relevance and impact of ICRC activities for women by drawing lessons from past and current experiences. It focuses on personal safety, sexual violence, displacement, access to care and shelter, missing relatives and the impact on survivors who are mainly women.
The goal of the study is to improve assistance and protection afforded to women affected by war. The scope of the study covers mainly civilian women and those no longer taking part in conflict, although the role of women as combatants is also examined.
“The ICRC wants to see far greater awareness of the problems women face in conflict,” said ICRC Vice-President Jacques Forster, “and to make sure that the protection afforded by law becomes a reality.… The terrible abuses this study reveals are not inevitable. [They] can and must be prevented.”
Contact: Darcy Christen, Deputy Head, Media Services, International Committee of the Red Cross, 19 Avenue de la Paix, CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/730 2750, fax +41-22/730 2768, e-mail <dchristen.gva@icrc.org>, website (www.icrcproject.org).
IPU CONFERENCE ON CHILDREN
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) concluded a conference on children in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) on 15 September 2001, with a call for countries to criminalize and penalize all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse against children, including within families. Delegates from 141 parliaments, including 39 in Africa, participated.
As part of its final declaration, the 1,300 delegates called for the “immediate elimination of the worst forms of child labour,” and agreed to “promote education as a key strategy, as well as to examine and devise economic policies, where necessary in cooperation with the international community, that address factors contributing to these forms of child labour.”
The delegates also agreed to “translate into concrete actions their commitment to the progressive and effective elimination of child labour that is likely to be hazardous, interfere with the child’s education or be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.” They urged national governments to establish special ombudsmen for children.
Rima Salah, UNICEF’s representative for West and Central Africa, said the agency was involved in drafting the resolutions, which were seen as “complete and comprehensive and, if implemented, will help change children’s plight in the world.” Salah added that UNICEF would strengthen its collaboration with IPU.
UNICEF believes parliamentarians can use their positions to help improve children’s lives. “They vote budgets, and they are the ones who make decisions on laws concerning social and economic development specially related to children,” Salah said.
The agency said the situation for children is still poor in developing countries. In Africa, a child dies every two minutes and 50 million children are in need of some kind of special protection, UNICEF statistics show. Thousands of children fall prey to child traffickers every year in West and Central Africa.
The conference also highlighted the need for the international community “to lift embargoes and other sanctions which have negative effects in various parts of the world with special emphasis on severe situations.”
With regard to children’s health, legislators urged States “to ensure that particular emphasis is placed on the prevention of HIV infection in children, to provide support and rehabilitation to infected children and their families as well as orphans, and to protect them from all forms of discrimination.”
President of the Inter-Parliamentary Council and Chair of the first three sessions, Najma Heptulla said the world “spends more money to purchase weapons and ammunition as well as cosmetics and other luxury items” than it does on children’s fundamental needs. “It is even worse when children become weapons during armed conflicts,” she added. Legislators noted that in recent wars children have become victims of violence or have been recruited into militias in places such as Albania, Bosnia, Burundi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Somalia.
The legislators also deplored the teaching of hatred, xenophobia and violence to children through games and warlike toys. They urged States to take measures to foster a culture of peace and non-violence in particular among children and young people. “On one hand we are holding conferences aimed at inculcating a peace culture; on the other, and with the same enthusiasm, we invent and patent new war games for children,” Dr. Heptullah said. “We have to wonder if we are honest.”
Contact: Luisa Ballin, Information Officer, IPU, Place du Petit-Saconnex, BP 438, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/642 2790, fax +41-22/642 2791, website (www.ipu.org). For a complete list of resolutions, see website (www.ipu.org/press-e/Ouaga7.htm).
MCIC WEBSITE AND BROCHURE FOR IDPS
The Macedonian Centre for International Cooperation (MCIC) has launched a website and provided a brochure for internally displaced persons (IDPs) as part of their project on Informative Support for Humanitarian Activities, which ends in December 2001.
The website provides statistics in English and in Macedonian on IDPs, including information on where they were displaced from and where they are staying, situation reports on humanitarian activities in the area, and coordination efforts at the national and NGO levels. The website also contains information on humanitarian aid intended for the IDPs.
The MCIC brochure “Information on the Internally Displaced People,” printed in Macedonian and Albanian, furnishes basic data and acts as a guide for IDPs, showing them how to register, what their rights and responsibilities are, and who they should address for help.
Contact: MCIC, Zoran Kostov, “Nikola Parapunov” bb, Fah 835, MK-1000 Skopje, Macedonia, telephone +389-2/365381, fax +389-2/365298, e-mail <mcms@mcms.org.mk>, website (www.aidmacedonia.org.mk).
FOCUS
UNHCR AND NGOS DISCUSS CHALLENGES AT 52ND EXCOM
The Executive Committee (ExCom) of the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) held its 52nd session in Geneva
from 1-5 October 2001, preceded by consultations with NGOs from 24-26 September
2001. The Committee, with a membership of 57 countries, adopted two Conclusions
on International Protection and the Registration of Refugees and Asylum-Seekers.
Although not formally binding, the Conclusions are relevant to the
interpretation of the international protection regime.
At the start of its meeting, the Committee elected Ambassador Johan Molander (Sweden) as Chairman of the Bureau and Ambassador Fisseha Yimer Aboye (Ethiopia) as Vice-Chairman.
In his opening address to the ExCom, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers spoke about the challenges faced by his Office, which include emergency preparedness and response capacity, staff security, the management of mixed-population and mixed-motive refugee flows–people fleeing because of a mixture of economic, social and political reasons–and responses to the increase in trafficking of persons.
He further stressed the responsibility of governments to combat stigmatization and discrimination of refugees, urging them to consider refugees as potential contributors to development and not a burden. Rethinking the refugees’ relationship to development also includes closing the gap between emergency relief and long-term development aid, he said. Mr. Lubbers added that most development programmes exclude refugees and, therefore, ignore their productive capacity and potential role in the sustainable development of countries. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) represent one-third of those who fall under the UNHCR’s mandate. The High Commissioner stressed that IDP programmes should be funded through supplementary funds which would require further assistance from donor countries, and not through the regular budget. Mr. Lubbers also highlighted the need to upgrade funding from the private sector as well as finding additional sources.
Conclusions of the 52nd Session of the ExCom
At the end of its session, the Committee adopted two Conclusions. The first on International Protection stresses the need for international solidarity and burden sharing and recognizes the heavy load carried by some countries of asylum. Often these countries are developing countries and countries with economies in transition, with limited capacity for hosting large numbers of refugees and asylum-seekers. The Conclusion also underlines the importance of achieving durable solutions for refugees, notably through voluntary repatriation, but also through local integration or resettlement. It further encourages UNHCR to work with partners to reduce the number of stateless persons, calling upon States to ensure identity documentation and birth registration, especially for vulnerable groups such as women, children and trafficked persons.
The second conclusion, Registration of Refugees and Asylum-Seekers, stresses the importance of registration as a tool for protection and the need to assist host countries in registering and documenting refugees and asylum-seekers. The Conclusion also provides guidelines for a safe, accessible and impartial registration process.
Pre-ExCom Consultations with NGOs
The ExCom was preceded by a three-day consultation with NGOs. Addressing over 200 NGO representatives, High Commissioner Lubbers underscored the “increasing importance of NGOs and civil society in humanitarian work.” He noted the need to strengthen UNHCR’s partnerships with NGOs which, he said, must be focused on finding lasting solutions for refugees.
The pre-ExCom consultations were centered around three panel discussions. During one on UNHCR’s Response to Global Protection Challenges: the Role of NGOs in Refugee Protection, Erika Feller, Director of UNHCR’s Department of International Protection, gave an update on the Reach Out initiative launched three years ago to broaden protection through strengthened advocacy efforts with partners such as NGOs. She reminded participants that a strengthened partnership on protection “was not uncontroversial,” both within NGOs and the UNHCR. The question was raised whether NGOs should carry out physical protection and legal activities– including refugee status determination–on behalf of UNHCR. Ms. Feller said that the protection initiatives being developed relate to, among other issues, sexual and gender-based violence, refugee status determination and legal clinics. NGOs on the panel stressed the crucial role NGOs can and do play in detecting and reacting to protection-related problems, given their widespread presence in the field. They called on UNHCR to share information and to provide training on protection-related matters. Some NGO representatives said that NGOs need to improve internal communication and ensure a rights-based approach to refugee protection.
The second panel, Migration, Human Smuggling and Asylum, discussed the interface between asylum and migration as well as the increase in smuggling and trafficking of human beings. Participants noted that while huge amounts of money are being spent on asylum-seekers, large numbers of potential refugees are only receiving a very limited amount of resources. They also pointed out that NGOs could play an important role in refugee camps by helping to alleviate desperate situations, and thereby reducing the desire to move and to resort to human smugglers.
Internally Displaced Persons, Implementing the Guiding Principles was the topic of the third panel discussion. Although commending the Guiding Principles as a useful tool for the dissemination of standards and training relating to the treatment of IDPs, panelists stressed that their implementation remains a major challenge. Large-scale violations of basic rights often oblige humanitarian organizations to prioritize among competing needs and to compromise the standards set forth in the principles.
Contact: Craig Sanders, UNHCR, Coordinator of NGO Unit, Rue de Montbrillant 94, CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland, telephone +41/22-739 8111, fax +41/22-739 7377, website (www.unhcr.ch).
ONGOING PREPARATIONS FOR WORLD SUMMIT FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
To increase momentum for an effective WSSD preparatory process, the Secretary-General has established a high-level Advisory Panel to discuss new approaches for reaching the goals set at the Rio Summit in 1992, which produced Agenda 21. Besides providing advice to Mr. Annan, the Panel will seek to raise awareness of sustainable development issues and the goals of the Summit using their individual influence and expertise.
The Preparatory Process
Member States have already embarked on a preparatory process at the national, regional and international levels. Many Member States have convened their own national preparatory arrangements to review their successes and the challenges they face in achieving sustainable development. Regional meetings were held from September 2001 to November 2001 in an attempt to gather information on regional trends and policy findings, bringing together government representatives, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations:
--24-25 September–The European Preparatory Conference of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) took place in Geneva regrouping Member States from North America and Western, Central and Eastern Europe. It was seen as setting the tone for the other regional meetings as the ECE groups most of the major industrialized countries (see pages 38-39).
--15-18 October–The African Preparatory Conference was held at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi (Kenya) and delegates negotiated an African Ministerial Statement which reviews the last decade, identifies the achievements and constraints faced, and highlights 26 priority areas for action. It urges the WSSD to agree on the need for an effective governance regime for sustainable development; to consider peace, security and stability as prerequisites for sustainable development; and calls upon the international community to provide resources and support for mechanisms as developed by African States to prevent, manage and resolve conflicts.
--23-24 October–The Latin America and the Caribbean Preparatory Conference took place in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) with two main themes emerging: regional coordination on a unified Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) platform, and financing for sustainable development to ensure equitable sustainable development. It was preceded by the 13th Forum of Ministers of the Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean, on 22-23 October 2001. Delegates adopted the Rio de Janeiro Platform for Action which includes sections on: reaffirmation of principles and commitments; obstacles and lessons learned; present considerations; and future commitments.
--24-25 October–The West Asian Preparatory Conference was held in the League of Arab States (LAS) headquarters in Cairo (Egypt) and met for less than four hours, instead of the two days scheduled. It adopted the Arab Declaration to the WSSD which addresses: hindrances to sustainable development in the Arab countries including regional instability, debt burdens, population pressures, drought and limited natural resources; opportunities to achieve sustainable development; and Arab strategies and priorities for enhancing development through cooperation with the G-77/ China and other developing countries, establishment of legal frameworks and international standards, cooperation with the WTO, development of funding mechanisms, and the establishment of monitoring measures, among others.
--27-29 November–The Asia and the Pacific Preparatory Conference was scheduled to be held in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) at the time Go Between went to press.
At the international level, the tenth session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-10) will act as the first global substantive PrepCom for the Johannesburg Summit. Four intergovernmental PrepCom meetings have been planned for the Summit. The first (organizational) PrepCom was held from 30 April to 2 May 2001 at UN headquarters in New York. The first substantive PrepCom will take place in New York from 28 January to 8 February 2002, and will examine the results of the regional meetings. The third PrepCom will take place from 25 March to 5 April 2002, also at UN headquarters in New York. The final PrepCom meeting is scheduled to be held in Indonesia from 27 May to 7 June 2002.
Contact: Zehra Aydin-Sipos, Major Groups Focal Point,
Division for Sustainable Development, United Nations, New York NY 10017, USA,
fax +1-212/963 1267, e-mail <aydin@un.org>, website
(www.johannesburgsummit.org).
ECE MINISTERIAL MEETING: A “GLOBAL DEAL” FOR WSSD 2002?
Regrouping Member States from North America and Western,
Central and Eastern Europe, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
(ECE) held its Regional Ministerial Meeting on 24-25 September 2001 in Geneva in
preparation for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), to be held
in Johannesburg (South Africa) in September 2002, which will review progress
made since the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
(Rio Conference).
In the spirit of the “bottom-up” approach adopted for the WSSD preparatory process, the ECE regional meeting was the first in a series to develop regional platforms and inputs to the first “global” substantive WSSD Preparatory Committee meeting (PrepCom) to be held in New York from 28 January-8 February 2002 (see page 37).
In his opening remarks, the Chair of the meeting, Swiss Foreign Minister Joseph Deiss echoed virtually all other participants’ firm condemnation of the 11 September terrorist attacks and expressions of sympathy and solidarity with the American people. Mr. Deiss added that long-term retaliation and force alone will not stamp out the roots of terrorism. “Above all,” he said, “it will be necessary to have a strategy of promoting sustainable development as well as equality and justice between peoples, in order to deal effectively with poverty, exclusion and desperation. In the long term, I see no other way to ensure security and humane conduct than through increased international cooperation.”
Calls for a “Global Deal”
According to many observers, the ECE meeting and its resulting Ministerial Statement would send an important signal to the other regional meetings because the ECE regroups most of the major industrialized countries. It would thus “set the tone” regarding the prospects not only for partnerships with transition economies, but for meaningful North/South cooperation in the build-up to WSSD and beyond.
In view of the sobering assessment that emerged from the 1997 five-year General Assembly review of the Rio Conference (see E&D File, Vol. III, No.15), there have been increasing calls to revitalize what many have described as the implicit “North-South bargain” that had been struck at Rio through the adoption of Agenda 21. On the one hand developed countries had committed to engage in more sustainable patterns of production and consumption, and to support the transfer of environmentally sound technologies to the South along with the mobilization of new and additional resources to help finance the implementation of Agenda 21 in developing countries (estimated in Chapter 33 of Agenda 21 at US$125 billion for average annual contributions by the international community on grant or concessional terms). On the other hand developing countries had committed to protect their ecosystems and promote environmentally and socially sustainable forms of development, including through active participation of NGOs and other major groups of civil society.
In this context, ECE ministers discussed the idea of a “Global Deal” between North and South as a major possible outcome of WSSD. This idea–first floated by the WSSD host government, South Africa–was supported in particular by the European Union (EU) and Denmark.
The content of a Global Deal remained ill-defined in official positions. The French Environment Minister, Yves Cochet, announced France’s support for a Global Deal, along with the EU, in relation to what he described as the “fracture” between rich and poor countries, noting that so-called neoliberal forms of globalization are more than ever contested and perceived as a “machine to produce inequalities.” The UK Environment Minister, Michael Meacher, said that a “major lesson that developed countries still have to learn is that it is more cost-effective to prevent conflicts by addressing their root causes than to deal with their consequences.” He stressed that a Global Deal would be the most important aspect of the WSSD outcome, adding that poverty is not an issue of resource shortages but of distribution–as the staggering contrast between the growing number of billionaires in the world and the number of people living on less than a dollar a day testified. Mr. Meacher also argued that the Global Deal should not be a compact developed through the intergovernmental process alone, saying it would need to bring in NGOs, whom he described as being “in the driving seat” in terms of forward-looking ideas. “We must create the space for them to feel they can have a major influence.”
In a non-official paper that was circulated by one Nordic country, the purpose of a Global Deal would be to ensure a “new balance between global economic, social and environmental development with a view to furthering global sustainable development.” Key elements would be linked to a more favourable trading system for developing countries, enhanced official development assistance (ODA), debt relief and technology transfer, coupled with renewed efforts to strengthen international cooperation to protect the environment and further international labour standards, among others.
Support for a Global Deal, however, was not unanimous among ECE Member States. The Ministerial Statement says: “We note the wish of the European Union and other countries to seek to achieve a ‘global deal.’” It was also pointed out that possible commitments related to finance would be to a considerable extent conditioned by the outcome of the March 2002 UN Conference on Financing for Development to be held in Monterrey (Mexico). In this connection, a number of speakers argued that such issues could not be addressed meaningfully without concerted efforts to involve finance ministries in the WSSD process, which otherwise may be confined to discussions among environment, foreign affairs and development-related ministries that do not typically have the mandate to negotiate on financial matters.
Ministerial Statement
The Ministerial Statement, adopted at the close of the meeting, is divided into two major sections. One is devoted to priority actions on global challenges for WSSD; the second is priority actions for the ECE region. A final part on the review of progress confirms the intentions of ECE Member States to review progress in the implementation of priority actions identified in the Statement at a regional ministerial meeting to be held at the latest in 2011. Priority actions on global challenges outlined in the Statement include: poverty eradication; sustainable management and conservation of the natural resource base; making globalization work for sustainable development; improving governance and democratic processes at all levels; financing sustainable development; and education, science and technology for decision making.
Among the issues raised in the Statement was the need to improve the effectiveness of international environmental institutions and to strengthen coordination among them, which would include providing the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) “with a stable, broadened, adequate and predictable financial base.” Countries’ commitments to multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) should be strengthened at the Summit, the Statement says, by urging countries to fully meet their national commitments, such as limitation and reduction targets for greenhouse gases, among others.
The Statement also encourages efforts to integrate sustainable development considerations into the decision-making process within international financial institutions, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other relevant bodies. On measures related to providing for public access to information, participation in decision making and access to justice, the Statement suggests that governments in other regions may wish to consider acceding to the ECE Aarhus Convention (see page 15), or utilizing the ECE Sofia Guidelines on Access to Environmental Information and Public Participation in Environmental Decision Making.
Some of the more controversial issues that were held up until the final stages of what some described as “rather tough negotiations between the EU and the US” were references to a Global Deal; the “accepted” UN 0.7% ODA target; specific environmental targets; “ecological footprints” (the impacts of consumption and resource use in one location on other locations); the Precautionary Principle; the Polluter-Pays Principle; and Living Modified Organisms (LMOs). Although the United States delegation in particular had difficulties with including these issues on the list of proposed global and regional priorities for the WSSD agenda, the concepts do appear in the final text, even if the wording was modified in some cases. For instance, the compromise text on reducing the ECE’s “ecological footprint” reads as: confronting “negative environmental, economic and social impacts of [the ECE’s] present development inside and outside the region.” The Precautionary Principle, because its status in international law was disputed by some, is referred to as: “precaution, as set forth in the Rio Declaration and which underlies a number of relevant multilateral agreements, in decision making for sustainable development.”
Binding Regulations on Global Business?
During informal discussions, ministers noted the progress in the development of voluntary corporate initiatives since Rio, notably through the work of umbrella bodies such as the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). However, at a panel chaired by Dutch Environment Minister Jan Pronk, a number of Eastern and Central European environment ministers spoke about the difficulties they experienced with foreign investors whom they said have deliberately abused their countries’ lower environmental standards or enforcement capacity. The question was posed as to whether new transnational regulations on global business would support them in this regard. Mr. Pronk suggested that examples of what one Eastern European minister described as “dangerously successful business” are likely to multiply in the build-up to WSSD and must be addressed.
Northern NGO Platform for WSSD
More than 80 NGOs from the entire ECE region met on the weekend preceding the Regional Ministerial Meeting to discuss the draft official text and develop a common NGO statement for consideration by governments. The text says that NGOs believe that “the underlying causes of the implementation failure are more fundamental than is currently recognized by governments. The overwhelming dominance and acceptance of an unsustainable development paradigm, lack of education and public awareness, and excessive corporate influence over government policy, has led to a situation where economic growth and trade liberalization override social and environmental concerns.” NGOs said they welcome the proposal for a Global Deal and look forward to working with States to further define this initiative.
The Statement calls on the WSSD to develop programmes to enhance the integration of environmental and human rights issues. In this context, it refers to the April 2001 decision by the UN Commission on Human Rights inviting UNEP and the Office of High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) to hold a joint seminar to review and assess progress achieved since the Rio Conference in promoting and protecting human rights in relation to environmental questions within the framework of Agenda 21. The Statement further proposes that the WSSD should initiate and complete by 2005 negotiations on a “global corporate accountability and liability convention that balances the power of corporations with citizens’ and workplace rights and secures effective compliance with multilateral environmental and social agreements.”
In relation to what the Statement calls “trade justice,” NGOs propose that WSSD must ensure a review of the current international trading regime, to be reported on by 2003, “with a view to supporting a healthier system that strengthens local economies, establishes fair trade with equity and benefit-sharing at its heart, promotes sustainable consumption and which works to eradicate poverty. This must be acted upon before any new round of liberalization is initiated.” The Statement also calls on WSSD to initiate negotiations on new mechanisms to ensure that financial markets contribute to sustainable development (such as a Tobin tax), and that WSSD recognizes controls on capital movements as legitimate instruments to ensure sustainable development.
Contact for ECE meeting: Patrice Robineau, ECE, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 4444, fax +41-22/917 0505, e-mail <info.ece@unece.org>, website (www.unece.org).
For ECE NGO coordination: Pieter van der Gaag, Executive Director, ANPED (The Northern Alliance for Sustainability), PO Box 59030, 1040 KA Amsterdam, The Netherlands, telephone +31-20/475 1742, fax +31-20/475 1743, e-mail <info@anped.org>, website (www.anped.org).
For WSSD process: Zehra Aydin-Sipos, Major Groups Focal
Point, Division for Sustainable Development, United Nations, Room DC2-2262, New
York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/963 8811, fax +1-212/963 1267,
e-mail <aydin@un.org>, website (www.johannesburgsummit.org).
FAO REPORTS ON FORESTS, FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
FAO has released reports for 2001 on topics such as recent
developments in the forestry sector, the state of food and agriculture, the
state of food security, crop prospects in sub-Saharan Africa, and ways to
diversify agricultural production.
FAO Releases State of the World’s Forests
Tropical countries continue to lose their forests at a very high rate, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned in its biannual report State of the World’s Forests 2001 (SOFO 2001).
During the 1990s, the loss of natural forests was 16.1 million hectares (ha) per year, of which 15.2 million occurred in the tropics, says the report. This corresponds to annual losses of 0.4% globally and 0.8% in the tropics. Deforestation was highest in Africa and South America.
The countries with the highest net loss of forest area between 1990 and 2000 were Argentina, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Myanmar, Mexico, Nigeria, Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Those with the highest net gain of forest area during this period were China, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation and the United States, according to the FAO report.
The report contains an overview of recent developments in the forest sector; summary data and information on the status and change in forest resources worldwide from the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000; and chapters on selected key issues such as climate change and forests, conservation of forest-based biological diversity, and illegal activities and corruption in the forest sector. Separate sections are devoted to international dialogue and initiatives related to forests, and provide summary information on forest cover and forest products for 11 regional economic groups. The report also provides an extensive profile of the current state of global forest resources, and the progress in and challenges to their sustainable management.
FAO underlines the major causes for the loss and degradation of forests as being: conversion to other land uses (mainly agriculture), pests and diseases, fire, overexploitation of forest products (industrial wood, fuelwood), poor harvesting practices, overgrazing, air pollution and storms.
Natural forest expansion was estimated at 3.6 million ha annually in the past decade, of which 2.6 million ha were in non-tropical countries and 1.0 million ha in the tropics. “Forest expansion has been occurring for several decades in many industrialized countries, especially where agriculture is no longer an economically viable land use,” FAO says.
The concept of sustainable forest management continues to gain momentum around the world with 149 countries, as of 2000, involved in international initiatives to develop and implement criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management, though the degree of implementation varies from country to country, FAO notes.FAO Releases SOFA 2001 Report
Economic growth can be positively influenced by improved nutrition, FAO says in a special section of its annual report The State of Food and Agriculture 2001 (SOFA 2001). “The impact of nutrition on labour productivity, health and education ultimately filters through to higher levels of overall economic growth.”
Raising the per capita calorie intake to 2,770 calories per day in countries where it is below that level could increase the per capita gross domestic product (GDP) growth in those countries by between 0.34 and 1.48 percentage points per year, according to the report.
SOFA 2001 was released two months before world leaders were scheduled to gather at the World Food Summit: five years later, to review progress made towards the goal of reducing by half the number of chronically undernourished people in the world by the year 2015 and consider ways to accelerate the process. It was estimated in 1996 that roughly 800 million people suffer from hunger worldwide.
The report says: “Better nutrition leads to increased human capital and labour productivity through the channels of improved health and education, which in turn results in improved household and nation welfare, i.e. economic growth. Improved nutrition affects economic growth directly through its impact on labour productivity and indirectly through improvements in life expectancy.”
In its special chapter on ‘Economic Impacts of Transboundary Plant Pests and Animal Diseases,’ FAO warns that the spread of emergent diseases and invasive species has increased dramatically in recent years. The economic losses from plant pests and animal diseases can be enormous, but the type of economic impact can be complex. For many types of pests and diseases the economic losses resulting from reduced demand or the loss of export markets can far outweigh the costs caused by direct losses in production.
SOFA 2001 also contains a section about negotiations on international agricultural trade, which have been launched within the World Trade Organization (WTO). Agricultural trade is particularly important for most developing countries that are exporters and importers of agricultural goods. Barriers to agricultural trade still represent a significant obstacle for many of them. The complexity of import regimes and the cost of complying with sanitary and phytosanitary standards and technical barriers to trade can be insurmountable obstacles, particularly for small developing countries. It is important that a new round of agricultural trade negotiations leads to greater opportunities for developing countries to participate in international agricultural trade, says FAO.
Contact: John Riddle, Information Officer, telephone +39-06/5705 3259, fax +39-06/5705 3699, e-mail <john.riddle@fao.org>.
Food Security: Disasters Cause Deterioration, FAO Says
Droughts, floods, cyclones, extreme temperatures, earthquakes and conflicts continue to threaten progress towards food security in many developing countries, FAO said in its annual State of Food Insecurity in the World (SOFI 2001) report, warning that 13% of the world population, some 800 million, are already undernourished. FAO added that more than 60 million people in 33 countries were affected this year by food crises linked to natural and man-made disasters.
According to the report, achieving the 1996 World Food Summit goal of halving the number of undernourished people in developing countries by 2015 will require an average annual decrease of 22 million, which is well above the current level of performance.
The report states that “Clearly, there has been a slowdown in the reduction of undernourishment in the world.” Hartwig de Haen, FAO Assistant Director-General, Economic and Social Department, said, “FAO is particularly concerned that undernutrition among children could worsen due to various factors, including poor economic prospects and HIV/AIDS. We estimate that at least 180 million children under 10 years of age are part of the 777 million people estimated to be chronically undernourished in the developing world.”
While saying that world food production must continue to grow to meet the Summit target, the report notes that “a smaller increase in production would suffice if its growth were accompanied by more equitable access to food. This could be achieved through redistribution–of food itself, of the means of producing it or of the purchasing power needed to buy it–to those currently on the lower rungs of the food access ladder.” However, the report goes on to say, the experience of the past 30 years shows no significant decline in inequity of access among households in most countries.
In its chapter on action against undernutrition and poverty, FAO urges a dual approach toward reducing the number of hungry, saying that direct and immediate public action targeting the hungry should complement investment in agricultural and rural development. This would include food assistance to those who need it most and provision of ready access to safe drinking water, as well as investment in research and development of productive and well-adapted crop varieties and their dissemination, and the establishment of improved fish safety and quality systems, particularly in Africa.
Commenting on the way forward, the report says “there is no single formula to follow” to reduce hunger, adding that what each country actually needs to do will depend on specific national circumstances. Mr. de Haen said, “It would in fact be very appropriate if all countries were to set their own national targets for halving undernourishment by 2015.”
Contact: Christina Engfeldt, Director, Information Division, telephone +39-06/5705 3086, fax +39-06/5705 6167, e-mail <christina.engfeldt@fao.org>.
FAO Reports on Africa’s Food Situation
Difficult weather, civil strife and widespread insecurity threaten to create exceptional food emergencies in 17 sub-Saharan African countries, according to an FAO report entitled Food Supply Situation and Crop Prospects in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Escalation of Sudan’s civil war has displaced a large number of people in the south and added to the country’s already precarious food situation spurred by drought, the report says. Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea are all also on the FAO list of endangered countries. “All possible efforts should be made to arrest the deteriorating food situation in the Sudan and Somalia,” said Abdur Rashid, head of the FAO’s Global Information and Early Warning Service.
In the Great Lakes region, an estimated 2 million displaced people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo face serious food and nutrition problems, while, in Burundi, food insecurity has forced people off their land, according to the report.
The FAO report says Angola’s grain production has increased significantly from last year, but adds that more than 1.3 million internally displaced people still need emergency food aid. Other countries facing food emergencies include Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s cereal import requirements are set to remain high in 2001/02, reflecting large shortfalls in production in southern Africa.
Contact: Abdur Rashid, Chief, Global Information and Early Warning System (ESCG), FAO, fax +39-06/5705 4495, e-mail <GIEWS1@FAO.ORG>, website (www.fao.org/giews).
World Markets for Organic Fruit and Vegetables
FAO has released a new report World Markets for Organic Fruit and Vegetables, which provides detailed information on organic horticultural market development and global trade in fresh organic fruit and vegetables, and is aimed at helping developing countries in their efforts to diversify exports through environmentally sound agricultural production methods.
The reports says that the economies of many developing countries are dependent on the export of a relatively small number of mostly agricultural commodities with some of these commodities, such as bananas and sugar, likely to face further market liberalization pressure in the near future. As a result, diversification of agricultural production is of great importance. FAO says diversification towards high-value crops such as organic foods can help to reduce the vulnerability of agricultural producers, especially for resource poor and small-scale farmers.
The study provides information on the latest market developments and trends, and covers issues related to market outlets, logistics, certification and standards. It also gives quantitative and qualitative information on the demand in the main developed markets, organic production and import figures.
Contact: Pascal Liu, Commodity Specialist, Horticultural Products Group, Commodities and Trade Division, telephone +39-06/5705 5957, fax +39-06/5705 4495, e-mail <pascal.liu@fao.org>, website (www.fao.org/es/esc/comtrade.htm).
Address for FAO: Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, I-00100 Rome, Italy, website (www.fao.org).
UNICEF STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2002: LEADERSHIP
The United Nations General Assembly, in recognition of the
terrorist attacks that occurred in the United States on 11 September 2001,
postponed until May 2002 the Special Session on Children originally scheduled to
be held in New York from 19 to 21 September 2001. Carol Bellamy, Executive
Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) strongly supported the
postponement of the Session and said that UNICEF regretted the circumstances
that had caused it.
According to Ms. Bellamy, “if the tragedy made anything clear, it is that creating and defending a world that is fit for children is hard, hard work.” Ms. Bellamy also affirmed that “This is a postponement, not a cancellation. The General Assembly will reschedule this Special Session when the time is right. World leaders have shown they want it, and the children of the world surely deserve it.”
The new dates for the Special Session have been tentatively set for 8-10 May 2002.
Informal Negotiations on the Draft
Outcome Document Held in New York
During August and early September 2001, UN Member States continued to negotiate the third revised version of the draft outcome document A World Fit for Children in informal meetings at the UN headquarters in New York. According to UNICEF estimates, Member States had agreed on approximately 85% of the text of the draft document at the end of the negotiations.
Issues that are still outstanding include references in the text to:
--the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and children’s rights in general;
--sexual and reproductive health, including references to reproductive health services, abstinence, sexual education, parental guidance and the role of the family;
--child labour;
--capital punishment;
--child soldiers;
--mobilizing resources, especially references to developed countries to implement the target of 0.7% of their gross national product (GNP) for official development assistance (ODA); and
--monitoring mechanisms.
State of the World’s Children 2002: Leadership
The new UNICEF report The State of the World’s Children 2002: Leadership, released in anticipation of the Special Session on Children, is about what is necessary now and into the future in order to ensure the right of every child to live in peace, health and dignity. It assesses progress made by Member States in reaching the goals set at the 1990 World Summit for Children to advance the well-being of children and women. The report presents mixed results.
Member States have made great progress in reaching the 1990 Summit goal of reducing under-five mortality by one-third by the year 2000. Sixty countries achieved this goal, and globally there has been a 14% reduction in under-five mortality due largely to immunization programmes. Neonatal tetanus was eliminated in 104 of 161 developing nations. Vitamin A and iodized salt, identified by the report as “key to preventing hidden hunger” were delivered to nearly 75% of children.
However, the report also shows that many of the targets set by world leaders in 1990 have not been reached. Over 10 million children under the age of five still die from preventable causes every year. The HIV/AIDS pandemic, most notably in Africa, has sent some countries’ child-mortality rates soaring after decades of improvement. Over a quarter of the world’s children (around 30 million infants) are still not reached by routine immunization. A third of the children in the world suffered from malnutrition during the 1990s. In spite of the fact that net primary enrolment ratios have increased worldwide, more than 100 million children, most of them girls, are still not in primary school.
Millions of children are still caught up in child labour, trafficking, prostitution and armed conflict. Member States have fallen far short of the commitment made in 1990 to reduce maternal mortality figures, which, the report says, is a “a reflection of women’s continuing low status in many societies.” The report notes that the reason why most of the goals of the 1990 World Summit have not been reached is not that they were too ambitious or technically beyond reach, but because of insufficient investment and dereliction of duty.
The report highlights the impact that concerned leadership can have on the well-being of children. It presents numerous examples of exemplary leadership by individuals, agencies, organizations and alliances who, by making children the centre of their policies and practices, have made great progress in lowering child mortality and improving child health and education. As an example of such leadership, the report flags the Maldives, which, under President H. E. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s leadership, invested heavily in social programmes, particularly those for children. Today, the country shows some of the region’s biggest gains in social indicators: low infant mortality, good basic education and high literacy rates.
According to the report, ensuring the rights and well-being of children is the key to sustained development, peace and security. The essence of leadership is to meet this responsibility, the report says, calling for commitment and action not only from Heads of State and governments but also from community activists, religious leaders, scientists, journalists and children themselves.
Contact: Margaret Kyenkya-Isabirye, Senior Advisor,
Programme Partnership Unit, NGO Section, UNICEF, 3 UN Plaza, Room H8A, New York
NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/824 6570, fax +1-212/824 6466, e-mail
<mkisabirye@unicef.org>, website
(www.unicef.org).
CHILD ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION
Recent international meetings and their preparatory
processes, in particular the upcoming Second World Congress on the Commercial
Sexual Exploitation of Children in Yokohama (Japan) from 17-20 December 2001,
and the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children, postponed until May
2002, have helped focus worldwide attention on the widespread disrespect of the
fundamental rights of children. One of the areas high on the international child
rights agenda is the persistence of violence against children.
Committee on Rights of the Child Discusses Violence in the Family and Schools
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) obliges States to take all appropriate measures to protect children from all forms of violence and abuse while in the care of parents and guardians. Yet in reality, the ‘safe haven’ of the family and the school is to many children a place of violence, where their suffering often goes unnoticed.
To address this issue, the Committee on the Rights of the Child organized a one-day general discussion on the theme “Violence Against Children within the Family and in Schools” during its 28th session held in Geneva, from 24 September to 12 October 2001, and adopted a recommendation for an alternative vision of school and family–where the rights and dignity of children, parents and teachers are respected–which will guide future action on the issue of violence against children.
During the day of general discussion, Committee experts, NGOs, intergovernmental agencies, and academics discussed root causes, definitions, good practises and strategies to overcome the problem, and made a series of recommendations. Participants described violence and abuse within the family and in schools as a widespread and statistically underestimated problem, having serious consequences for the physical, mental and psychological development of children. A number of participants stressed the need to prohibit corporal punishment and to adopt a broader definition of violence to include harmful traditional practices affecting the well-being of children. It was also stressed that violence in the family and in schools are intertwined and often reinforce each other.
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child
On 18 January 2002 the Optional Protocol (OP) to the CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography will enter into force (see Go Between 81) with Romania’s ratification on 18 October 2001, the last of the ten ratifications needed. The Optional Protocol has been ratified by Andorra, Bangladesh, Cuba, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Norway, Panama, Romania and Sierra Leone.
In accordance with Article 12 of the OP, States Parties shall submit within two years an initial report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the measures they have taken to implement the OP. Subsequent progress reports will be merged with the regular progress reports that States Parties are obliged to submit to the Committee. Seventy-eight States have signed the OP.
New UN Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children,
Child Prostitution and Child Pornography
On 22 June 2001 the UN Commission on Human Rights appointed Juan Miguel Petit (Uruguay) as its new Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography for a three-year term. The Special Rapporteur is mandated to report on specific cases and undertake fact-finding missions in order to investigate trends and situations in any given region or country, and report the findings to the UN Commission on Human Rights. Mr. Petit, who succeeds Ms. Ophelia Calcetas-Santos (Philippines), has expressed his desire to work with NGOs and encouraged them to provide him with information through the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Contact:
Soussan Raadi-Azarakhchi, Secretariat of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/ 917 9252, fax +41-22/ 917 9022, e-mail <sraadi-azarakhchi.hchr@unog.ch>.
Jennifer Philpot-Nissen, Assistant to the Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 9148, fax +41-22/917 9006, e-mail <jphilpot.hchr@unog.ch>.
Recent Reports on Abuse, Violence and Exploitation
Three recent reports by NGOs have brought attention to the widespread abuse and exploitation of children. Based on investigations conducted since 1996, the Human Rights Watch report Easy Targets: Violence Against Children Worldwide analyzes the human rights abuses suffered by children in the hands of police or law enforcement officials, in institutions such as schools and orphanages, in the streets, in the workplace and in situations of armed conflict. According to the report, the perpetrators of such crimes often have impunity.
World Vision’s report A Safe World for Children: Ending Abuse, Violence and Exploitation analyzes abuse and neglect of children within their families and communities in a number of developing countries, and addresses the particular vulnerability of girls. The report identifies reasons for the persistence of violence against children: weak legislative structures, ineffective enforcement structures and lack of awareness, and proposes recommendations for change.
The Save the Children-UK report on Ending Corporal Punishment of Children investigates corporal punishment as a form of violence against children that is common to almost every culture and analyzes its impact on children while offering perspectives on how it might be eliminated.
Contact: Human Rights Watch, fax +1-212/736 1300, website
www.hrw.org; World Vision, fax +1-626/358 2548, website (www.wvi.org); and Save
the Children, fax +44-20/7703 2278, website (www.savethechildren.org.uk).
STATE OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION: POPULATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
This year’s State of the World’s Population report,
published by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), is entitled Footprints
and Milestones: Population and Environmental Change. The report looks at how
population growth has affected the environment and the ecosystem, and the
complex links between population growth and the environment. These links involve
interaction between population growth and affluence, consumption, technology,
gender relations, political structures, and governance.
The report says that world population will grow by 50%, from 6.1 billion in mid-2001 to 9.3 by 2050, with all of the projected growth taking place in developing countries. The population of the 49 least developed countries, which are already straining to provide basic social services, will nearly triple. Population growth is putting increasing pressure on the environment: more natural resources are being used now than ever before.
Water use has grown by a factor of six over the past 70 years. The report says that by 2025, 90% of annual available freshwater will be used if global per capita consumption reaches the level of developed countries. The number of people living in the 48 water-stressed or water-scarce countries will increase to 3 billion people by 2025. By 2050, over 45% of the total population will be living in countries that cannot meet the daily requirement of 50 litres of water per person. Quite often, water that is available is polluted and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 1 billion people do not have access to clean water.
The report says that at the current rate of deforestation, the last significant primary tropical forest could be harvested within 50 years, leading to an irreversible loss of species and contributing to the build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Climate change will lead to more storms, flooding, soil erosion and a threat to public health due to increased water stress and tropical diseases.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) classifies most of the developing world as low-income and food-deficit countries that do not produce enough to feed their people and cannot afford imports to close the gap. Around 800 million people are chronically undernourished. Food production capacities in poor countries are being affected by soil degradation, water shortages, inappropriate agricultural practices and population growth. To be able to feed a population of 8 billion people (the projected global population for 2025), food production will have to double. Most food production will have to come from higher yields rather than new cultivation, which leads to other problems, such as the need for specialized fertilizers and pesticides that disturb the ecological balance.
Environmental conditions play a significant role in communicable diseases, which account for 20-25% of deaths worldwide. The report says simple environmental interventions could reduce global rates of diarrhoeal disease and malaria by 90%, acute respiratory infections by 60%, and chronic respiratory conditions by 50%. Unclean water and poor sanitation kill over 12 million people annually. Illnesses related to air pollution kill 3 million, mostly in developing countries. Almost 100,000 new chemicals have been released into the environment, most of which have not been studied for their effects on health.
Women make up over half of the global agricultural workforce and, in the poorest countries, head almost one-fourth of rural households. In spite of their responsibilities, women are often denied the right to inherit land, which in turn denies them the collateral to raise credit and improve their conditions. Often they do not have control over family size and spacing, health care and education.
The report also discusses the consumption gap that exists between developed and developing countries. “A child born today in an industrialized country,” it says, “will add more to consumption and pollution over his or her lifetime than 30 to 50 children born in developing countries. The ecological ‘footprint’ of the more affluent is far deeper than that of the poor and, in many cases, exceeds the regenerative capacity of the earth.”
According to the report, additional investments are needed to “foster positive synergies in population, environment and development trends.” Priority actions include:
--Implement the global consensus agreement of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development.
This involves promoting women’s social, economic and political participation, and securing reproductive health and rights, which will help provide women with education and employment opportunities. This in turn will lead to smaller families with healthier and better educated children. Slowing population growth would also provide time to find solutions to environmental problems and plan for the needs of future generations.
--Provide incentives for the dissemination, further development and use of more sustainable production processes.
The report suggests that combining subsidies with standards for industries and communities can promote cleaner and more efficient production. Providing countries with information and technical assistance needed to adopt new technologies could significantly improve health, productivity and environmental quality at relatively low cost.
--Improve the information base for more sustainable population, development and environmental practices.
Among other things, the report calls for better information about true environmental costs of development activities and production methods, and the incorporation of some of the costs into prices.
--Implement internationally agreed actions to reduce poverty and promote social development.
This can be done by encouraging local participation in decision making, addressing equity concerns, and creating partnerships that include NGOs and other civil society representatives, and the private and public sectors.
Contact: UNFPA, 220 East 42nd Street, New York NY 10017,
USA, telephone +1-212/297 5011, fax +1-212/557 6416, website (www.unfpa.org/swp/swp.main).
REPORT ON THE WORLD SOCIAL SITUATION 2001
The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) has
released its Report on the World Social Situation 2001, an assessment of recent
and emerging global social trends and covers issues identified in the Copenhagen
Declaration and Programme of Action of the 1995 World Summit for Social
Development with a specific focus on equity. The report is the fifteenth in a
series dating from 1952, with the main purpose being to provide a single-volume
summary of global developments seen from a social perspective.
The 300-page report is divided into six parts. The first part, “Assessing socio-economic development: major trends,” examines how recent trends, such as major communication and information innovations and globalization, have affected the way people live, communicate, produce and trade. The report shows that disparities in income and wealth is growing in many countries and that the gap between richer and poorer countries is also widening. According to the report, technological changes, liberalization and globalization have resulted in income concentration and inequality in many parts of the world. Macro-economic stabilization policies and structural reforms–such as privatization and liberalization of trade, the financial sector and the labour market–have had a negative impact on equity. The report points out that unless governments are more sensitive to the distribution of assets, income, and opportunities among the majority of the population, current inequality trends will depress economic growth in many countries and the number of poor will remain high.
Mixed Record of Changes
The second part, “Institutional framework: continuity and change,” examines recent changes in the institutional framework of social policy, and how families, generations, the market, the state and civil society have responded to the changes. The report says that the trend of moving from a multi-generational to a nuclear family has changed the pattern of intergenerational interaction. The relationship among generations goes beyond support for the young and old (the economically non-active population) and also includes intergenerational learning, an important means to transfer life skills from the old to the young, and the care of children by adults, an interaction proven crucial to the development of children.
Part three, “Living conditions: a mixed record of achievements,” sheds light on recent developments in food security, health and shelter. It shows that despite technological achievements, hunger and malnutrition still persist in the world. Even though medical innovations, better diets and sanitary improvements have drastically reduced disease and raised life expectancy, the quality of life of the poor has not improved significantly in recent years. Armed conflicts, political upheavals and the HIV/AIDS pandemic have reversed development in many parts of the world.
Part four, “Social protection in a changing world,” addresses the reduction of social vulnerability and the enhancement of social protection in a changing world. Part five, “Social disruptions,” examines the impact of social problems such as armed conflicts, discrimination, violence, corruption and crime.The report says that the objectives of social protection policy should be security for all. This security should be reached through a pluralist and pragmatic approach, taking into account the political, cultural, social and economic context of the country concerned. The report calls for poverty reduction strategies to be gender sensitive and to consider how gender sensitivity stimulates poverty reduction.
New Challenges
The final part of the report focuses on new emerging challenges to social development. It identifies the changing boundaries of privacy, corporate social responsibility and bio-medical developments as key issues that are likely to have a profound influence on societies in the future. How societies respond to the challenges posed by these developments will be crucial to the shape of our future, the report says.
As technology use increases, the report points out, individuals have less control over information about themselves, over who has access to that information, and over how that information is used. Boundaries between the public and private domains are increasingly determined by other and often anonymous people and institutions. The commercialization of information is another issue of concern, the report says. In a globalized, information-based economy the value of information rises, and the marketing of public information for private gain is likely to increase.
A second challenge to social development is corporate social responsibility. As a result of liberalization and lowering of trade investment and financial barriers, the scope and mobility of transnational corporations has increased. The activities of corporations are increasingly falling outside the regulatory reach of individual States. As a result, most governments have only a limited capacity to hold global private actors accountable to legal and ethical standards, the report says. According to the report, this raises questions regarding the obligations and responsibilities of the private sector for promoting general economic growth and social progress, and for maintaining standards and norms of ethical behaviour.
Finally, the report identifies bio-medical developments and ethics as challenges to social development. According to the report, bioethical concerns encompass a wide array of issues such as contraception, abortion, research on human cells and embryos, and treatment of genetically disabled newborns and infants. Bioethics addresses questions such as the need for ethical constraints on medical research and considerations of resources and distribution, including distribution of scarce resources. Of particular contemporary concern the report identifies the uses of diagnostic, therapeutic and other new developments in genetics.
Contact: Division of Social Policy and Development, DESA,
Room DC2-1370, United Nations, New York NY 10017, USA, fax +1-212/963 3062,
e-mail <geneva2000@un.org>, website
(www.un.org/esa/socdev).
MAKING THE ILO DECLARATION WORK
The International Labour Organization (ILO) Declaration on
Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, adopted in 1998, focuses on four
areas: freedom of association and collective bargaining, elimination of forced
labour, abolition of child labour, and elimination of discrimination in the work
place. It also aims to ensure that social progress accompanies economic growth.
The ILO is working to translate the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (FPRs) into practice, often through technical cooperation projects, which bring together donor and recipient countries to address specific country needs. Assistance includes advice on policy and legislative reform, advocacy, awareness raising, and capacity building.
The ILO’s InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration coordinates its activities with governments, employers, and workers’ organizations to address rights-related issues concerning work place democracy. The challenges associated with ensuring that social progress accompanies economic growth are complex, with absent or ineffective legal institutions and social infrastructure. Recent projects have examined obstacles to the national implementation of FPRs and have identified poverty and a number of social and cultural factors as major impediments to improved human rights in the workplace.
Initiatives are being taken in more than 45 countries, with assistance ranging from advising on legislative reform to training government officials to strengthening the capacity of tripartite partners (governments, employers, workers). Most of the projects incorporate gender and development aspects.
Three recent country projects include:
--Bangladesh–“Women’s Empowerment through Employment and Health”
Two projects which promote women’s fundamental right to decent employment and access to health care are being implemented: Women’s Empowerment through Decent Employment (WEDE) and Micro Health Insurance for Poor Rural Women in Bangladesh (MHIB).
WEDE seeks to equip women with skills and support services to be able to undertake economic activities, including savings and credit, and a broader programme of awareness raising and training for vocational skills for self-employment or for starting small enterprises. MHIB works to promote women’s access to micro health insurance in association with NGOs and existing health programmes as well as creating new programmes to extend micro health insurance to twice as many poor women and their families. A network will be established to create synergy between government policies and NGO initiatives on extending social protection to informal sector workers.
--Niger–“National Study for the Identification of Obstacles to the Full or Partial Application of the FPRs in Niger”
This project sought to identify obstacles hindering the application of FPRs in Niger, and to propose possible solutions. After an exhaustive review of the status of each of the four FPRs, government, employer and worker representatives met and developed an action programme, which will serve as a basis for further initiatives. The next phase of the work will include evaluation of forced labour in Niger, and a revision of the labour laws relating to the FPRs.
--Indonesia–“Promoting and Realizing Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining by Building Trust and Capacity in Industrial Relations”
This initiative seeks to develop a sound and fully functional industrial relations system, based on recent steps taken by the Indonesian government towards improving the legal protection of workers.
Measures to strengthen national know-how and institutional structures, training and other capacity-strengthening interventions are to ensure that a qualified pool of managers, trainers and advisors continue key activities when the project has ended. A new industrial judicial system will be set up including a sustainable training system for judges, workers and employers. Bipartite institutions will be set up in twelve pilot enterprises with detailed plans for cooperation. At the end of the project, bylaws concerning procedures, organizational structures and rules of governance of tripartite institutions will have been formulated and will be in force.
Contact: InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration, International Labour Office, 4 route des Morillons, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/799 8337, fax +41-22/799 6561, e-mail <declaration@ilo.org>, website (www.ilo.org/declaration).
Ageing
--Commission for Social Development Acting as the Preparatory Commission for the Second World Assembly on Ageing,
25 February-1 March, New York
Contact: Division for Social Policy and Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), Room DC2-1316, United Nations, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/963 0500, fax +1-212/963 3062, e-mail <sidorenko@un.org>, website (www.un.org/esa/socdev/ageing/waa/index.html).
Children
--Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
—29th session, 14 January-1 February, Geneva
—30th pre-sessional working group, 4-8 February, Geneva
Contact: Soussan Raadi-Azarakhchi, Secretariat, Committee on the Rights of the Child, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 9252, fax +41-22/ 917 9022, e-mail <sraadi-azarakhchi.hchr@unog.ch> .
ECOSOC
--Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations, 14-25 January, New York
Contact: NGO Section, DESA, Room DC1-1480, United Nations, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/963 4842, fax +1-212/963 9248, e-mail <mezoui@un.org>, website (www.un.org/esa/coordination.ngo).
Human Rights
--Seminar on Human Rights and Environment, 14-16 January, Geneva
--Working Group on Structural Adjustment, 4-15 February, Geneva
--Working Group on the Right to Development, 18-22 February, Geneva
Contact: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Palais Wilson, 52 rue des Pâquis, CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 9000, fax +41-22/917 9012, website (www.unhchr.ch).
Social Development
--Commission for Social Development, 12-21 February, New York
Contact: Division for Social Policy and Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Room DC2-1376, United Nations, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/963 3175, fax +1-212/963 3062, e-mail <ngoran@un.org>, website (www.un.org/esa/socdev/csd).
Sustainable Development
--Commission on Sustainable Development, 10th session (CSD-10),
Acting as the Second Preparatory Commission for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, 28 January-8 February, New York
Contact: Zehra Aydin-Sipos, Division for Sustainable Development, DESA, Room DC2-2262, United Nations, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/963 8811, fax +1-212/963 1267, e-mail <aydin@un.org>, website (www.un.org/esa/sustdev).
--Meeting of the Ad Hoc Intersessional Working Group on Article 8(J) of the Convention for Biological Diversity, 4-8 February, Montreal
Contact: Secretariat, Convention on Biological Diversity, World Trade Centre, 393 St Jacques Street, Office 300, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2Y 1N9, telephone +1-514/288 2220, fax +1-514/288 6588, e-mail <secretariat@biodiv.org>, website (www.biodiv.org).
--Global Ministerial Environment Forum, 13-15 February, Cartagena (Colombia)
Contact: Beverly Miller, Secretary, Governing Council, UN Environment Programme, PO Box 30552, Nairobi, Kenya, telephone +254-2/623411, e-mail <beverly.miller@unep.org>, website (www.unep.org).
Trade, Finance and Development
--Financing for Development, Final Preparatory Committee for the International Conference on Financing for Development, 14-25 January, New York
Contact: Federica Pietracci, FFD Coordinating Secretariat, DESA, Room DC2-2336, United Nations, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/963 8497, fax +1-212/963 0443, e-mail <ffd@un.org>, website (www.un.org/esa/ffd).
Women
--Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), 26th session, 14 January-1 February, New York
Contact: Women’s Rights Unit, Division for the Advancement of Women
(DAW), Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, New York NY
10017, USA, fax +1-212/963 3463, website (www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw).
GUEST EDITORIAL
Jacques Diouf, Director-General United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
Food For All Is Not An Impossible Dream
On the occasion of World Food Day (16 October), which unfortunately is taking place in an environment of a world in crisis with public attention focused on conflicts and war, I would like to plead that we do not forget the 800 million people who do not have adequate access to food and that we act to achieve humanity’s paramount quest: a world free from hunger and poverty.
In the dusk of the second millennium, the world has witnessed unprecedented growth in incomes and unparalleled improvements in global standards of living. And yet, today, more than 800 million of the world’s citizens remain undernourished. Thus, abundance and affluence coexist with the most extreme manifestation of poverty.
Poverty is at the root of hunger and undernourishment, but hunger is also a basic cause of poverty. The undernourished are often trapped in a vicious circle of undernourishment, low productivity, poor health and hence continuous poverty.
It is precisely because of the intricate connection between hunger and poverty that the theme, “Fight hunger to reduce poverty” has been chosen for this year’s World Food Day observance. Fighting hunger is a moral obligation. The right to adequate food is a fundamental and inalienable human right. If human beings remain insufficiently fed and hungry, there can be no real and lasting progress in the struggle for more justice and equity in the world.
With respect to food insecurity, five years ago, in 1996, world leaders met in Rome at the World Food Summit (WFS) to pledge a solemn commitment to halve the number of hungry people by the year 2015. In practical terms, that commitment meant that the number of undernourished people had to decrease by 20 million each year in order to meet the target.
I regret to report that experience since then points, rather, to an alarming situation. At the time of the Summit in 1996, there were an estimated 792 million undernourished people in the developing world. FAO’s latest estimates indicate that, by 1997-99, the number had only decreased to 777 million. This is extremely inadequate, as it means that only 6 million people are weaned off the hunger list every year. At that pace, we will need close to 60 years to reach the target.
If the Summit goal is still to be reached by 2015, the world should achieve an annual average reduction in the number of the hungry of 22 million. It is therefore crucial that the policy makers of the world take stock of the situation in 2001 in order to ensure that early action is taken to step up the pace of change. It is in this context that the 119th session of the FAO Council in November 2000 decided that the next FAO Conference would be used as the forum for the “World Food Summit–five years later,” and that Heads of State and Government would be invited to the meeting in order to give new impetus and momentum to the process of implementation of the Summit Plan of Action. Regrettably, due to the international situation, we have had to seek a postponement of this review meeting until June 2002.
Some of the dimensions of hunger and malnutrition are indeed alarming: an estimated 174 million children under five years were malnourished in 1996-98. It is now recognized that some 54% of young child mortality in the developing countries is associated with malnutrition. This represents some 6.6 million out of 12.2 million deaths among children under five years.
At the same time, FAO studies show that raising the per capita calorie intake to 2,770 calories per day in countries where it is below that level could increase their per capita gross domestic product (GDP) growth by between 0.34 and 1.48 percentage points per year.
The fight against hunger may be difficult, but it is a battle that can and must be won. Experience of several countries has shown that hunger can be reduced, and reduced quickly. We have learnt that hunger reduction can be swift where there is peace and political stability. Increased investment for agriculture, in particular in basic infrastructures of water control, rural roads and storage facilities, but also a policy environment favourable to increased farm income including social safety nets for the poor, are essential conditions for success.
The responsibility for ensuring that everyone is able to exercise her or his right to adequate food rests in the first instance with the individuals themselves, and then with their families, communities and governments. But the international community has important supporting roles in this, not least to help governments, especially those of low-income food deficit and other vulnerable countries, to meet the costs of the supplementary, necessary investments unaffordable from their own resources.
Food for all is not an impossible dream. The target set in 1996 can still be met. But there is need for strong political will and for mobilization of the necessary resources.
On this World Food Day, I call on everyone–world leaders, governments, civil society organizations, the scientific community, the private sector, the international organizations and the general public–to mobilize their energies to fight hunger to reduce poverty since wherever there are people who are chronically undernourished, there can be no hope for the just, peaceful and prosperous world which is being pursued by the United Nations System.