Go Between 70, Aug.-Sept. 1998 UN NEWS INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT TO BE ESTABLISHED UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has described the decision to establish an International Criminal Court (see Go Between 63) as a gift of hope to future generations and a giant step forward in the march toward universal human rights and the rule of law. The decision to establish the court was made by a United Nations diplomatic conference, which concluded on 17 July in Rome (Italy) after five weeks of discussion. The conference, attended by delegations from 160 countries, decided the court will have the power to exercise its jurisdiction over persons for the most serious crimes of international concern: genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes as well as the crime of aggression, once an acceptable definition for the court's jurisdiction over it is adopted. Also participating in the conference were 17 intergovernmental organizations, 14 specialized agencies and funds of the United Nations, and 124 non-governmental organizations. The statute for the court was adopted by a vote of 120 in favour to seven against with 21 abstentions. The non-recorded vote was requested by the United States, which claimed that a court with broad jurisdiction and a prosecutor who is overly independent could bring US soldiers before international judges on politically-motivated charges. Several delegations at the conference said that although the agreed upon statute is far from perfect, it is a giant step forward. However they deplored the non-inclusion of nuclear weapons in the list of serious violations of laws and customs applicable in international conflict. Immediately after adoption of the text, whose formal title is the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the text and final act of the conference were opened for signature at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The final act was signed by 127 delegations and the statute was signed by ten. The idea of a permanent court to prosecute war criminals began with the unsuccessful attempt to establish an international tribunal after the first world war. After the second world war, the Nuremberg and Tokyo war crime tribunals set the stage for efforts to create a permanent court. In 1992 the United Nations General Assembly directed the International Law Commission to elaborate a draft statute for an international criminal court, and a preparatory committee met from 1996 through April of this year to finalize a draft text. NGO contact: Rik Panganiban, World Federalist Movement, 777 UN Plaza, 12th floor, New York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/687 2176, fax +1-212/599 1332, e-mail . The web site of the NGO Coalition for an International Criminal Court (CICC) can be accessed at (www.igc.apc.org/icc). INDONESIA, PORTUGAL TALKS ON EAST TIMOR UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has announced that Indonesia and Portugal are in agreement to hold in-depth discussions on Indonesia's proposals for a special status for the former Portuguese colony of East Timor. Mr. Annan made the announcement after the foreign ministers of Portugal and Indonesia met at the beginning of August at UN headquarters in New York. Both ministers said they hoped talks under UN auspices could reach an agreement by the end of the year. Among other things, the ministers said they had agreed to involve the East Timorese more closely in the search for a solution. In this connection they welcomed the Secretary-General's intention to intensify his consultations with East Timorese representatives in East Timor and outside, in order to take into account their views and keep them abreast of developments in the tripartite talks. The ministers said that what they described as the "all-inclusive intra-East Timorese dialogue" should resume by October. SECURITY COUNCIL ON CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT In its first-ever meeting on children in armed conflict, the Security Council issued a statement on 29 June saying it intends to pay serious attention to the issue. The council also said it will maintain contact on this matter with Olara Otunnu, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative on Children in Armed Conflict, and with the relevant programmes, funds and agencies of the United Nations system. The statement also addressed the question of the impact of economic and other sanctions imposed by the Security Council on the welfare of children. The Security Council said it recognized that "whenever measures are adopted under Article 41 [on the use of sanctions] of the United Nations Charter, consideration should be given to their impact on the civilian population bearing in mind the needs of children, in order to consider appropriate humanitarian exemptions." Mr. Otunnu urged the international community to take concrete initiatives to prevent or mitigate the suffering of children in armed conflict, including to insist on access to populations in distress. Facilities normally reserved for children, such as schools and playgrounds, must be considered "free zones." Children must not be used in war, and the flow of arms, especially small arms, must be stopped. Mr. Otunnu stressed that any plans for post-conflict peace-building should make the needs of children a central focus including demobilization, return of displaced and refugee children, education and vocational training. Contact: Security Council press release SC/6537 containing the council's statement on children in armed conflict, and press release SC/6536, which summarizes the Security Council's debate on this question, are posted on the UN web site (www.un.org/News/Press/). Copies are also available from NGLS. NATIONS SEEK TO LIMIT TRAFFIC IN LIGHT WEAPONS Twenty-one governments met in Oslo (Norway) on 13 July to begin formulating an international strategy to reduce the transfer of small arms and other light weapons, usually defined as weapons that can be carried by an individual or fired by a small crew. The meeting followed a conference of 13 West African and 20 arms-producing nations held in Oslo in April, which sketched out a draft moratorium on the production, export and import of small arms in West Africa ranging from pistols to submachine guns and shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles. According to some estimates, international trade in such weapons has reached US$3 billion per year. There are an estimated ten million small arms and light weapons circulating in Afghanistan alone, seven million in West Africa and two million in Central America. Over 90% of the victims of small arms are civilians, with women and children accounting for 80% of the casualties. Such weapons have killed hundreds of thousands of people in recent years and have been used to arm child soldiers as well. A two-page "agreement of common understanding" that emerged from the meeting contained measures designed to strengthen controls in the legal trade of small arms and prevent illicit transfers. These include: -- enhanced transparency and improved information on legal transfers of weapons; -- better identification markings on arms; and -- improved cooperation among police, customs and intelligence agencies. The agreement also suggested additional steps in reducing existing stocks of weapons that are often present in post-conflict situations. A contentious issue during the meeting was whether to concentrate only on illicit trafficking or to address the legal trade as well. UN Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs Jayantha Dhanapala said after the meeting that his department, which has a mandate to undertake work on small arms and light weapons, is working to coordinate action concerning small arms on a UN system-wide basis due to the humanitarian, human rights, developmental and security concerns in the use of small arms in conflicts. The 21 countries represented at the Oslo meeting were: Belgium, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Mali, Mexico, Mozambique, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States and Zimbabwe. The Oslo meeting is to be followed by future sessions, including one in Belgium in September and another in Canada in October. The sessions will lead up to a proposed global small arms conference in Switzerland in the year 2000 or 2001. Contact: Coordinating Action on Small Arms, UN Department for Disarmament Affairs, United Nations, New York NY 10017, United States, fax +1-212/963 1121 or NGO Preparatory Committee for a Global Campaign on the Spread and Unlawful Use of Small Arms and Light Weapons, 425 Van Buren Street, Monterey CA 93940, United States, telephone+1-408/647 6676, fax +1-408/647 4199, web site (www.prepcom.org/low/pc2). NGLS STRATEGIC REVIEW RESULTS A strategic review of NGLS, conducted in the first half of this year by Alan Fowler, a well-known expert on NGOs and international cooperation, has evaluated NGLS's role, work, governance, financing and its contribution to strengthening UN-NGO partnerships. The review was undertaken by means of a questionnaire to UN staff and NGOs worldwide, follow-up interviews and a UN-NGO roundtable to discuss strategic issues and options. The final report of the review was presented to the UN-NGLS Programme and Coordination Meeting (PCM) and the Joint United Nations Information Committee (JUNIC), NGLS's governing body, in July 1998. In December 1997 questionnaires were sent to 118 representatives of 61 UN entities and 142 representatives of international, Northern and Southern NGOs. The response rates to the questionnaire were 40% for UN agencies and almost 60% for NGOs. Among other things, respondents were asked how useful they consider NGLS to the United Nations system and to NGOs. Answers, according to the consultant's summary of the survey, indicated that "NGLS is very useful to the majority of its clients." Fifty-four percent of UN respondents gave NGLS the highest possible ranking of "very useful" as did 60% of international NGOs, 43% of Northern NGOs and 90% of Southern NGOs. Concerning the importance of NGLS services and activities, respondents from UN agencies placed a high value on knowledge and comparative analysis of what is happening with NGOs across the UN system, while NGOs appreciated NGLS's insights about ongoing debates, UN entry points and methods to engage with UN policy issues and events. For both groups NGLS scored highest for its information outreach work, particularly the Go Between newsletter and other briefing and reference materials. After these, respondents gave priority to the activities of NGLS that facilitate NGO participation and which the summary noted require "specialist knowledge, analytical capacity, interpretative skills and a wide range of contacts both inside and outside the UN system." Respondents strongly agreed that the overall thrust of NGLS's work should continue and that its tasks should not be absorbed into other parts of the UN system. "A system-wide unit dedicated to enhancing the UN-NGO interface is needed," said the survey summary. "Offices in both centres of UN presence, New York and Geneva, should be maintained [and] all parties also agree that NGLS needs to be better resourced." It noted that "the general picture shows a firm vote of confidence in NGLS. The consensual thrust of responses is that NGLS should do more of the same and be better financed to do so." UN respondents, who generally described NGLS as essential, said its capacity should be enhanced in response to new demands and challenges, in particular the strengthening of the UN's engagement and partnership with broader civil society. When NGO representatives were posed questions about NGLS's inter-agency role, they generally said they want both programme and policy-related support for their dealings with the UN system. Many said NGLS should "continue to act as an honest broker and trusted intermediary." To help protect its "distinctive competence and core value-added," the final report stressed that the key features of NGLS's style of work should be fully recognized, maintained and carefully considered when adopting and implementing any strategic changes. It also stressed that the most critical strategic issue currently faced by NGLS is the erosion of its financial base and stability as a result of reduced overall financial support from the UN system since 1996. Among the proposals adopted by JUNIC at its July session were to reschedule the PCM meeting and change the description of NGLS from an inter-agency project to an inter-agency programme of JUNIC. In addition, JUNIC adopted a decision that requests the Administrative Committee on Coordination, the UN's highest coordinating body, chaired by the Secretary-General, to give urgent attention to NGLS's precarious funding situation. INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CONFERENCE MEETS Delegates to the 86th International Labour Conference, held from 2-18 June in Geneva, adopted a Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work which commits the organization's 174 member states to respect the principles inherent in seven core labour standards and to promote their universal application. Participants in the conference, comprising member countries, trade unions and employer organizations, voted 273-0 for the declaration with 43 abstentions. It lists the core labour standards as freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, elimination of forced or compulsory labour, abolition of child labour and elimination of discrimination in employment and occupation. The declaration stresses that all member countries have an obligation to respect the fundamental principles involved, whether or not they have ratified the relevant conventions. Other developments during the conference, which was attended by over 3500 delegates from 157 countries, included completion of the first round of discussions on a new international convention designed to eliminate the worst forms of child labour such as hazardous work, debt bondage, forced labour and slave-like conditions, and children in prostitution, pornography and drug trafficking. The text of the proposed convention and recommendations will receive a second reading and is expected to be adopted at the 1999 International Labour Conference. Contact: Michel Barton, Chief, Bureau of Public Information, International Labour Office, 4 route des Morillons, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/799 7940, fax +41-22/799 8577. HUMAN RIGHTS AND TRADE, INVESTMENT, FINANCE On 20 August the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, meeting in Geneva, adopted a resolution on human rights as the primary objective of trade, investment and financial policy. The resolution, adopted by consensus, emphasizes that the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms described in international human rights instruments is the "first and most fundamental responsibility and objective of States in all areas of governance and development." In this context, the sub-commission expressed concern about the human rights implications of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) "and particularly about the extent to which the Agreement might limit the capacity of States to take proactive steps to ensure the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights by all people, creating benefits for a small privileged minority at the expense of an increasingly disenfranchised majority." The sub-commission acknowledged the "widespread protests by civil society against the Agreement based on concerns about its adverse effects on human rights, the environment, and sustainable development." It also noted with concern conclusions in several recent United Nations reports indicating that unguided globalization is contributing to widening inequality between and within countries. It urged member states of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to "review the draft text of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment to ensure that all its provisions are fully consistent with their human rights obligations, and to keep these obligations in mind during any future negotiations on the Agreement." The sub-commission will prepare a working paper "on ways and means by which the primacy of human rights norms and standards could be better reflected in, and could better inform, international and regional trade, investment and financial policies, agreements and practices, and how the United Nations human rights bodies and mechanisms could play a central role in this regard." The paper will include an analysis of the MAI text from a human rights perspective, and it will consider ways to ensure future MAI negotiations or similar agreements and measures take place within a human rights framework. Representatives of the International NGO Committee on Human Rights in Trade and Investment welcomed the resolution and expressed hope that it would contribute to harmonizing international trade, investment and financial regimes with existing international human rights obligations. They said they hope it will ultimately lead to the establishment of an integrated international agenda in which international trade, investment and financial polices, agreements and practices would no longer undermine international obligations and standards relating to human rights, environmental protection and sustainable development. Contact: G. Lebakine, Secretary of the Sub-Commission, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Room D-405, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 3988, fax +41-22/917 0212, e-mail , web site (www.unhchr.ch) or Miloon Kothari, International NGO Committee on Human Rights in Trade and Investment, 8 rue Gustave-Moynier, CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland, telephone and fax +41-22/738 8167, e-mail . WORKING GROUP ON MONTREAL PROTOCOL MEETS Some 300 delegates from 97 countries attending the Open-Ended Working Group on the Montreal Protocol, held 7-9 July in Geneva, concluded deliberations on efforts to protect the earth's ozone shield. Their proposals will be forwarded to the Meeting of the Parties, which will take place in Cairo (Egypt) in November, for decisions and action. While 165 countries are members of the Montreal Protocol, it was noted that many of these members have not ratified the protocol's 1992 Copenhagen Amendment, which controls hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and methyl bromide, among other substances. The meeting urged the speedy ratification of this amendment to give the right signal to industry and to ensure that developing countries are eligible to receive assistance from the Multilateral Fund for projects covering substances controlled by the amendment. The meeting also recommended national management strategies for reducing halon emissions. It said that while atmospheric concentrations of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have started to decline as a result of emissions controls, concentrations of halons have continued to increase. In addition, the non-compliance procedure of the Montreal Protocol was discussed by the Implementation Committee. It concluded that most Parties are in compliance with their commitments. For those few countries that have had difficulties complying with their phase-out schedules, the committee recommended a continuous review of their cases and provision of international financial and technical assistance to help them achieve full compliance within the next few years. Contact: Michael Williams, UNEP, Geneva Executive Centre, 15 chemin des An‚mones, CH-1219 Chƒtelaine (Geneva), Switzerland, telephone +41-22/979 9242, fax +41-22/797 3464, e-mail , web site (www.unep.ch/ozone/). FAO COMMITTEE ON WORLD FOOD SECURITY At a session of the Committee on World Food Security of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), held 2-5 June in Rome, delegates agreed on a calendar and reporting procedures for monitoring progress of countries toward implementing the 1996 World Food Summit Plan of Action. The Plan of Action calls for the number of hungry people in the world to be reduced from more than 800 million to half that by the year 2015. The Committee on World Food Security, composed of representatives from 114 countries and the European Community, called on governments to continue their efforts to fight hunger on all fronts. FAO representatives described implementation of the Plan of Action as "an emergency operation" and said it will be "a monumental challenge to cut, by at least half, the number of hungry people by 2015, given the prevailing levels of poverty and the high population growth rates in some countries." According to FAO, it is ironic that the countries in which agriculture plays the greatest role in the economy also have the highest numbers of hungry and malnourished people. "These high rates of undernourishment perpetuate under-development," said Hartwig de Haen, Assistant Director-General of FAO's Economic and Social Department. "To overcome poverty, people must overcome hunger and the nutritional weakness it causes." To improve the situation incomes of the poorest people in the world must be increased, and FAO said the way to do this is by improving agricultural production in the low-income food-deficit countries. The organization also called on developed countries to assist in improving the food situation in the world's poorest countries, since "it is in the self-interest of developed countries to increase purchasing power and demand for food in these countries." Contact: Barbara Huddleston, Secretary, Committee on World Food Security, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, I-00100 Rome, Italy, telephone +39-6/5705 3052, fax +39-6/5705 5522, e-mail , web site (www.fao.org). UNFCCC SUBSIDIARY BODIES MEET The subsidiary bodies of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) met 2-12 June in Bonn (Germany) in preparation for the December 1998 Fourth Conference of the Parties to the Convention. The Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) discussed, among other things, cooperation with relevant international organizations; methodological issues; transfer of technology; and education, training and public awareness. The chair of the SBSTA held separate consultations with three recognized constituencies among the NGOs: environment, business and industry, and local authorities. Issues discussed included transfer of technology, intellectual property, and South-South cooperation. The Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) reached conclusions on national communications; the financial mechanism; and the second review of adequacy of commitments for Annex I Parties. Discussion on involvement of NGOs covered proposals to include labour, agriculture, and quasi-governmental entities. Parties stressed the importance of the role of NGOs in implementation of the convention. The SBI emphasized the need for information to reach NGOs if they are to participate actively and effectively in all processes relevant to the convention. The SBSTA and the SBI held together three meetings to discuss mechanisms for implementation of the UNFCCC. The mechanisms are activities implemented jointly under the pilot phase; joint implementation; the clean development mechanism; and emissions trading. Discussions on flexibility mechanisms resulted in a compilation document of proposals from the G-77/China, European Union and the United States. However, no agreement was reached on the operation and implementation of the flexibility mechanisms. The Ad Hoc Group on Article 13, set up to consider the establishment of a multilateral consultative process (MCP) available to parties to resolve questions of implementation, concluded drafting the terms of reference of the MCP under the convention but not for the 1997 Kyoto Protocol (see E&D File, Vol. III, No. 16, January 1997). Over 500 representatives of 109 NGOs participated in the subsidiary body meetings. For the first time NGOs were allowed to participate as observers in contact groups. Many NGO representatives stressed the importance of in-country reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, strict and well-defined flexibility mechanisms, and placing a cap on emissions trading. "There is an emerging glimmer of hope that governments will close off loopholes which could wreck efforts to combat climate change, "said Lars Georg Jensen, policy coordinator of the World Wide Fund for Nature's climate change campaign. He also stressed that governments have now accepted that forests cannot be relied upon as "sinks" to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. On the other hand, the US-based Global Climate Coalition, which represents companies and trade associations, said it remains opposed to the Kyoto Protocol because it "dangerously burdens" the US economy and doesn't require reduction of emissions on the part of developing countries. Contact: UN Climate Change Secretariat, PO Box 260 124, D-53153 Bonn, Germany, telephone +49-228/815 1000, fax +49-228/815 1999, e-mail , web site (www.unfccc.de/). TREATY TALKS ON PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS Government officials from 92 countries concluded their first round of talks on 3 July in Montreal (Canada) on how to minimize and eventually eliminate emissions and releases of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). John Buccini, chair of the negotiations and Director of Commercial Chemicals for Environment Canada, said a positive spirit during the talks made it clear that the international community enthusiastically supports the need for a strong, effective treaty to reduce and eliminate the chemicals from the environment (see Go Between 69). The meeting gave the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) secretariat a mandate to prepare a new draft outlining the substantive articles that could be contained in the convention. Once accepted, this outline will be used for drafting the actual text of the agreement. The meeting also established an expert group on the development of science-based criteria and a procedure for identifying additional POPs as candidates for future international action. Another key agenda item was the need for technical cooperation and financial assistance so that developing countries can participate actively in replacing POPs with alternative chemicals and solutions. The meeting was officially known as the first session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for an International Legally Binding Instrument for Implementing International Action on Certain Persistent Organic Pollutants. The second round of talks is tentatively scheduled for 8-12 February 1999; negotiations are expected to conclude by the year 2000. During the Montreal meeting the International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN), a working group of non-profit public health, consumer and environmental organizations, hosted an NGO forum on POPs and worked to ensure that protecting human and environmental health remain a priority during the negotiations. IPEN is calling on governments to phase out all production, use and trade of intentionally produced POPs; reduce and eliminate emissions and sources of POPs that are generated as unwanted wastes; and to collect and destroy obsolete POPs that exist in stocks and environmental reservoirs by effective means that do not cause environmental harm or generate new POPs. Contact: Michael Williams, UNEP, Geneva Executive Centre, 15 chemin des An‚mones, CH-1219 Chƒtelaine (Geneva), Switzerland, telephone +41-22/979 9242, fax +41-22/797 3464, e-mail , or Sharyle Patton, Commonweal, Box 316, Bolinas CA 94924, United States, telephone +1-415/868 0970, fax +1-415/868 2230, e-mail . CONSULTATION ON IPF PROPOSALS FOR ACTION Over 100 experts from 37 countries participated in a consultation in Baden-Baden (Germany) entitled Putting the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF) Proposals for Action into Practice at the National Level. The consultation, held from 29 June-3 July, was part of a six-country initiative jointly sponsored by Finland, Germany, Honduras, Indonesia, Uganda and the United Kingdom. It brought together representatives of government, international organizations, NGOs and the private sector to make recommendations to the second meeting of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF) on 24 August-4 September in Geneva. Among other things, the consultation report called on: -- countries to set a focal point to guide and coordinate assessment and implementation of the proposals; -- the international community to assist developing countries and countries with economies in transition to assess and implement the proposals; and -- the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests to encourage voluntary reporting to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development about progress in implementation. The Intergovernmental Panel on Forests was established in 1995 for two years by the Commission on Sustainable Development to seek consensus and coordinated action proposals to support management, conservation and sustainable development of forests. Following the completion of its mandate, the IPF was succeeded by the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests, established in 1997 by the Economic and Social Council. The forum will report to the eighth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development in the year 2000. Contact: Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests, 2 UN Plaza, 12th Floor, New York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/963 6208, fax +1-212/963 3463, e-mail , web site (www.un.org/esa/sustdev/iff/htm). UNDP PANEL ON POVERTY IN AFRICA Representatives of 60 member states, United Nations staff, NGOs and donors attended a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) panel on Poverty in Africa on 16 June in Geneva. The panel brought together a range of key African actors in poverty reduction, including P.H.K. Kedikilwe, Minister of Finance and Development Planning in Botswana; M.O. Arigbede of the Coalition for Popular Development Initiatives in Nigeria; Yash Tandon of the South African NGO Development Network in Zimbabwe; Thandiwe C. Nkwomo of the Organization of Rural Associations for Progress in Zimbabwe; Michael Nyathi of the Africa Community Publishing and Development Trust in Zimbabwe; and Aminata Traore, Minister of Culture and Tourism in Mali and advocate for impoverished people. While discussing ways to help reverse the trend toward poverty, panellists highlighted, among other things: -- the need to improve communication between governments and NGOs; -- the importance of making links between economic objectives and traditional cultural values; -- the danger of developing rigid and culturally-laden "solutions" that are not applicable in the African context; and -- the importance of consulting with and respecting the ideas and analyses of impoverished people about how to improve their situation. Contact: Caitlin Wiesen, Regional Programme and Programme Analysis Division, Regional Bureau for Africa, UN Development Programme, 1 UN Plaza, New York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/906 5906, fax +1-212/906 5423. ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN SETTLEMENTS TASK FORCE A Task Force on Environment and Human Settlements, established by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to assist in preparing proposals on reforming and strengthening UN activities in the environmental and human settlements areas, presented its findings on 15 June. Klaus T”pfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and head of the UN Centre for Human Settlements (HABITAT), chaired the 21-member task force, which was comprised of experts in the field who are well acquainted with the UN system. The task force's main concern, according to Mr. T”pfer, is overlapping and uncoordinated action in the United Nations framework concerning environment and human settlement policies. It therefore recommended establishing an inter-agency Environment Management Group, with a secretariat chaired by the UNEP Executive Director, in order to facilitate coordination. The task force report also said geographical dispersal of the various environmental convention secretariats (which are located in Bonn, Geneva, Montreal and Nairobi) has resulted in inefficiencies, substantial costs and fragmentation of common services. It also found that many conventions overlap and there is little coordination in the field. The task force suggested a step-by-step move toward "umbrella conventions" that would integrate different clusters of the existing conventions. The task force recommended that UNEP and Habitat remain legally-independent entities and remain in Nairobi. However it said their administrations should be integrated, with one person responsible for UNEP, Habitat and the UN office in Nairobi. Regarding intergovernmental activities, the task force recommended convening only one meeting of environment ministers per year. The meeting, which would be held before the annual meeting of the Commission on Sustainable Development, could include regional issues on its agenda. Regarding information monitoring and assessment, the task force said it is essential to improve the early warning system on environmental emergencies, which could have helped with forest fires in Indonesia. It also emphasized the importance of involving in the intergovernmental process NGOs and other Major Groups identified in Agenda 21 such as industry, business and trade unions. Contact: Tore Brevik, Director, United Nations Information Centre and Chief, Information and Public Affairs, UNEP, PO Box 30552, Nairobi, Kenya, telephone +254-2/623292, fax +254-2/623927, e-mail . COMMISSION BUREAU PREPARES CSD-7 In preparation for the seventh session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-7), scheduled to take place in New York from 19-30 April 1999, the commission bureau held tele-video conferences on 24 June and 27 July to discuss arrangements for intersessional working groups and other matters. The conferences were led by CSD chair Simon Upton (New Zealand) and included vice-chairs Tibor Farago (Hungary), Navid Hanif (Pakistan), George Talbot (Guyana) and Largaton Ouattara (Cote d'Ivoire), who will also serve as rapporteur for CSD-7. Other participants included Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Nitin Desai and representatives of the CSD secretariat. Two ad hoc working groups will be held during the intersessional period between CSD-6 and CSD-7. The working groups will serve as preparatory meetings for the CSD-7. The working group that will address tourism and matters related to consumption and production patterns, including recommendations for sustainable consumption for inclusion in the UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection, will be co-chaired by Mr. Farago and Mr. Hanif. The group will meet in New York from 22-26 February 1999. Mr. Hanif will organize a series of informal consultations on recommendations for sustainable consumption beginning in October 1998 and concluding by 15 December 1998. The working group that will address matters relating to oceans and seas, as well as the Comprehensive Review of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), will be co-chaired by Ambassador John Ashe (Antigua and Barbuda) and a representative from the North. The group will meet in New York from 1-5 March 1999. Presentations of national experience may be made at the working groups or during the second week of CSD-7. The bureau recommended that delegations select one of two themes for their presentations: sustainable tourism or oceans/seas/coastal area management. The high-level segment of CSD-7 will be held in the beginning of the session in April and after the multi-stakeholder dialogue, to allow interested ministers to speak with Major Groups identified by Agenda 21. The theme of the multi-stakeholder dialogue will be tourism and sustainable development. The dialogue will take place for two days at the beginning of the CSD session. The bureau agreed that the segment could be structured along the following sub-themes: industry initiatives for sustainable tourism; influencing consumer behaviour to promote sustainable tourism; promoting broad-based sustainable development through tourism while safeguarding the integrity of local cultures and protecting the environment; and the coastal impact of tourism. The bureau underscored the need to ensure a better balance between representatives of developed and developing countries on the Major Group delegations. To facilitate this, the bureau agreed that the CSD chair will invite governments to submit proposals regarding possible representatives from Major Groups in their countries who could make useful contributions to the segment. These proposals would be channelled through the CSD chair and secretariat to organizations coordinating participation of Major Groups. The bureau has invited those organizations to finalize formation of their delegations by 15 March 1999 at the latest. As an intermediate step, they are invited to submit to the CSD secretariat in mid-January 1999 reports on progress in establishing their delegations, which would allow them to bring to the attention of the bureau any constraints they face. With regard to CSD-7 parallel events, the bureau set a deadline of 31 March 1999, at which time it will announce the list of parallel events planned by governments, international organizations and NGOs. Among the proposed events is a dialogue between government delegations and representatives of the national sustainable development councils. The next meeting of the bureau will be convened in New York from 7-8 October to discuss themes to be considered at the informal ministerial meetings taking place during the CSD-7 high-level segment. Contact: 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 , web site . CONVENTION ON ACCESS TO INFORMATION Thirty countries of the global environmental information exchange network known as INFOTERRA and operated by the United Nations Environment Programme met in Aarhus (Denmark) from 23-25 June to discuss practical implementation of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters. Participants in the Aarhus meeting identified priority actions to make the convention work, including its promotion; improving the availability of environmental information; and strengthening links between the information access and public participation pillars of the convention. The Aarhus convention, adopted on 25 June at a meeting held by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), places clear obligations on Parties to ensure greater public participation in environmental issues and easy access to justice if these rights are denied. It also calls for effective dissemination of environmental information as well as greater transparency in decision-making procedures. Contact: Environment and Human Settlements Division, ECE, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 2448, fax +41-22/907 0107, web site (www.unece.org). WORKSHOP ON SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION The Norwegian Ministry of Environment hosted a workshop of experts in Kabelvaag (Norway) from 2-4 June, which brought together over 50 leading policy makers and practitioners from 28 countries in the North and South. The Consumption in a Sustainable World workshop was designed to enable maximum involvement from the participants before, during and after the event. It aimed to allow participants an opportunity to share experiences on sustainable consumption, outline priorities for the future, and make proposals for practical action. The workshop was prepared in close cooperation with the secretariats of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The International Institute of Environment and Development prepared documents and acted as rapporteur. Workshop chair Joke Waller Hunter, OECD Director for Environment, said participants had, among other things: -- forged a better understanding of what sustainable consumption is with an emphasis on how and why people consume; -- agreed on the need to formulate and deliver messages about sustainable consumption that are comprehensible to policy makers and the public; and -- recognized that approaches to achieve efficient consumption will vary across countries as well as at different levels and in different sectors. A summary of the workshop discussions will be presented to the seventh session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-7) in 1999. Contact: Ministry of Environment, Myntgata 2, PO Box 8013 DEP, N-0030 Oslo, Norway, telephone +47/22 24 90 90, fax +47/ 22 24 95 60. A brief summary report of the workshop, prepared by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), can be found online (www.iisd.ca/linkages/sd/norway.html). The final report from the meeting will be available in mid-September on web site (www.sft.no/eskjema.html). UNIFEM CAMPAIGN TO ELIMINATE VIOLENCE On 31 July, the day set aside by the Organisation of African Unity as Pan-African Women's Day, the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) Africa Section launched an inter-agency regional campaign to end violence against women. The campaign, which aims to help raise public and policy awareness of violence against women as a violation of human rights, will focus on six major issues. They are: -- domestic/family-based violence; -- violence against women during war, conflict and post-conflict; -- bodily integrity with a focus on reproductive rights and female genital mutilation; -- political participation; -- socio-economic violence with a focus on limited access to land, inheritance and other productive resources; and -- state and community responsibility for promotion and protection of women's rights. Campaign activities are being coordinated on a regional basis by the UNIFEM field offices in Dakar (Senegal), Harare (Zimbabwe), Lagos (Nigeria) and Nairobi (Kenya). The campaign will be conducted through media programmes, drama and plays, interviews, workshops, publications and posters. Activities in each sub-region will be tailored to national and local UN priorities. Each coordinating office will link up with local initiatives, and women's and human rights groups. Highlights of the campaign will include 16 days of activism against violence from 24 November to 10 December, when the UN General Assembly marks the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Contact: Felicia Ekejiuba, Chief, Africa Section, UNIFEM, 6th Floor, 304 East 45th Street, New York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/906 5025, fax +1-212/906 6705, web site (www.womenwatch.org). US COULD LOSE GA VOTING RIGHTS IN 1999 A report by the United States General Accounting Office, published on 18 June, said the United States must pay between US$211 million and US$241 million by 31 December to avoid losing its General Assembly voting rights under Article 19 of the UN Charter. Legislation authorizing US payments to the United Nations, currently held up in the country's Congress, contains many conditions on payment of the amount owed. Article 19 of the UN Charter stipulates that a member of the UN shall have no vote in the General Assembly if the amount of its arrears equals or exceeds the amount of contributions due for the preceding two years. Exceptions are to be made only for countries whose failure to pay is due to "conditions beyond the control of the Member." A country's rights in the Security Council (including the exercise of its veto) are not affected by Article 19. Legislation in the US Congress authorizing payments to the United Nations for 1998 has been agreed upon. However, it has not been sent to the US President for enaction into law because the legislation contains language that would affect international family planning programmes, which the President has threatened to veto. Even if the funding is approved expeditiously, it will be difficult or impossible for the United States to deliver on its commitment to the UN in time to avoid an automatic loss in January 1999 of its General Assembly vote. This is due to US congressional requirements for presidential certification on specific aspects of UN management before funding can be released, a process that would take several months. The US Congress has placed an array of conditions on various portions of its debt to the United Nations. There are separate lists of conditions for the payment of current US obligations to the regular budget of the UN; payment of peacekeeping obligations; payment of the country's arrears owed to the UN; and payments to three UN specialized agencies the World Health Organization, Food and Agricultural Organization and the International Labour Organization. US Congress conditions on payment of monies owed to the UN include: -- withholding US$80 million subject to release upon certification that the UN has not exceeded its 1998-1999 budget of US$2.533 billion; -- withholding of US$50 million in 1997 pending certification that 1000 UN posts have been eliminated from those authorized during 1996-1997; and -- prohibition of payment of the US proportionate share for treaty-based organizations such as the 1997 Framework Convention on Climate Change, the 1998 Desertification Convention, and the International Seabed Authority. The conditionalities also include no interest charges for late payment and/or prohibition of US interest payments; establishment of a ceiling of 25% for the US assessed contribution to United Nations peacekeeping; and establishment of a ceiling of 20% for the US-assessed contribution to the UN regular budget and UN specialized agencies. According to the UN, the United States owes US$1.6 billion for past and current assessments including US$671 million for the regular budget and US$958 million for peacekeeping. RESPONDING TO CHALLENGE OF CONFLICT PREVENTION On 28-29 July, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan convened the third meeting of heads of regional organizations at UN headquarters to discuss improving cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations to prevent armed conflicts. In his invitation to the heads of 16 regional organizations, current presidents of the UN General Assembly and Security Council, and heads of a number of secretariat departments and UN programmes, Mr. Annan stressed that "the challenge of conflict prevention goes to the very heart of our shared mission for the next century." Participants explored how the UN and regional organizations define and respond to the challenge of conflict prevention, and areas for future cooperation. Discussion focused on early warning systems; preventive diplomacy; preventive deployment of UN observers or military forces; preventive disarmament including micro-disarmament aimed at the assembly, control and disposal of light weapons, and curbing the illegal trade in small arms; peace-building measures to address the root causes of conflicts; strengthening respect for human rights; and measures to promote and consolidate good governance. Participants highlighted two categories of cooperation. The first is "structural prevention" or the need to address the economic, social, ethnic and other root causes of conflict and promote greater respect for human rights, maintenance of the rule of law and strengthening of democratic institutions. The second is "operational prevention," which encompasses traditional forms of conflict prevention and early warning. The key to conflict prevention, participants noted, lies with member states and their support for early external involvement to defuse disputes and crises. While no single model of cooperation between the UN and regional organizations will cover all eventualities, possible modalities for cooperation considered by participants were, among others: -- measures for more regular consultation at UN headquarters level; -- more systematic coordination of preventive activities in the field including joint missions; -- development of common indicators to function as early warning signals; -- establishment of a database of conflict prevention capabilities of the UN and regional organizations; -- better flow of information; -- joint training of staff in the field of prevention; and -- building specific links to civil society to increase awareness of the value of prevention. WMO AND UNEP ASSESS OZONE LAYER The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have jointly released an executive summary of the Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion 1998. It was prepared by more than 200 scientists from around the world and was reviewed from 1-6 June by 77 scientists from 27 countries. The executive summary confirms the effectiveness of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, which has proved to be a success so far. A full recovery of the Earth's protective ozone shield could occur by the middle of the next century, but it would require that the protocol is fully implemented. The heads of both United Nations bodies expressed their thanks to the scientists working on the assessments. "Over the past two decades, the scientists have provided excellent and unbiased advice to the Governments and showed them the effective path to save the ozone layer. The world owes them a debt of gratitude," said Mr. Klaus T”pfer, Executive Director of UNEP. While welcoming the report's findings, Mr. T”pfer cautioned against complacency and urged all Parties to the protocol to seize every opportunity to reduce their emissions of ozone-depleting chemicals. "The use of economic instruments has played an important role in the phase-out achieved so far by the industrialized countries," said Mr. T”pfer. "The developing countries, due to begin the phase-out next year, can speed up the process by using these instruments, in addition to faster implementation of projects sanctioned by the Montreal Multilateral Fund, so far at a cost of US$740 million." Contact: Robert Bisset, Media and Communications Officer, UNEP, PO Box 30552, Nairobi, Kenya, telephone +254-2/623084, fax +254-2/623692, e-mail or Eirah Gorre-Dale, Information and Public Affairs Office, WMO, 41 Giuseppe-Motta, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/730 8315, fax +41-22/733 2829, e-mail . HUMANITARIAN POLICY DILEMMA IN AFGHANISTAN "At what point should humanitarian agencies draw the line and withdraw, thereby exposing civilian populations in need to even greater harm and suffering?" asked Sergio Vieira de Mello, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator on 22 July at a briefing to the press on UN humanitarian policy in Afghanistan. Mr. Vieira de Mello's question came on the heels of an inter-agency committee meeting at UN headquarters on 21 July convened in response to the death of two humanitarian workers in Kabul (Afghanistan), the expulsion of several NGOs from the capital, and the forced relocation of all NGOs to a dilapidated building in Kabul. It was agreed at that meeting that no progress could be made to improve the condition of civilian populations in areas under control of the Taliban unless dialogue continued, but according to UN Special Envoy for Afghanistan Lakhdar Brahimi the organization is facing growing pressure "to state the limit of what it could stand." Recalling criticism that the UN received in April for taking a tough line and abandoning populations in need when it withdrew from Kandahar following a series of incidents there, Mr. Vieira de Mello noted that the UN is now being criticized for making too many concessions in Kabul. In May UN and Taliban representatives signed a 23-point memorandum of understanding outlining codes of conduct on both parties. As a result, the UN lifted the suspension of some of its non-humanitarian assistance programmes. "Was it better," Mr. Vieira de Mello asked, "in view of unacceptable violations of human rights, to withdraw and condemn, or was it better to remain engaged and to try to make a small difference on the ground, however tenuous the chances of success might be?" Mr. Vieira de Mello described the situation in Afghanistan as "unprecedented" given the combination of a hostile security environment, extreme chronic poverty, recurrent natural disasters, ongoing conflict and a discriminatory human rights regime. Nevertheless he said the UN has decided against total withdrawal because of the impact on vulnerable segments of society, particularly women and children, who are dependent on international assistance for their survival. INTERNATIONAL DAY OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE Indigenous people from around the world gathered at the UN in Geneva to observe the International Day of the World's Indigenous People, celebrated annually on 9 August but commemorated this year on 31 August to coincide with meetings of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations. The event was opened by Vladimir Petrovsky, Director-General of the UN Geneva Office; Mary Robinson, High Commissioner for Human Rights; and Erica-Irene Deas, chairperson for the Working Group on Indigenous Populations. It concluded with a North American traditional round dance, in which performers and spectators participated together. The celebration was organized by the recently-established Indigenous Fellowship Programme, which enables indigenous people to spend six months for human rights training at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The day was also observed at UN headquarters in New York on 5-6 August. The events opened with a drum convocation followed by speakers, a traditional sacred pipe ceremony, musical presentations and a blessing for children offered by Nana Osei Boakye Yiadom II, chief from Aburi-Akuapem (Ghana). A panel discussion was held on Rights to Education and Language, and a workshop the following day discussed UN human rights programmes and activities with a focus on environment and development, land rights and children's rights. In a statement UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan highlighted the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People, launched in 1995 with the objective of strengthening "international cooperation for the solution of problems faced by indigenous people in areas such as human rights, the environment, development, education and health." Mr. Annan said that such cooperation is firmly established as a policy framework under the theme of Indigenous People: Partnership in Action, and he noted that "a draft declaration which will set out the rights which all people should enjoy" is being considered by the Commission on Human Rights. The draft declaration outlines protection of specific rights such as religious practices; land rights and environment; language and oral traditions; self-determination and participation in decision-making; and access to education in indigenous languages. Contact: Julian Burger, Secretary, Working Group on Indigenous Populations, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 3413, fax +41-22/917 0212, e-mail , web site (www.unhchr.ch) or New York Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Room S-2914, United Nations, New York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/963 5930, fax +1-212/963 5931. UNESCO WORLD SCIENCE REPORT The 1998 World Science Report, published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), says too much too soon is expected from science. The report, third in a series published every other year, raises essential questions and issues concerning the course of science. The report highlights trends that affect both developing and developed countries, albeit in different ways and to varying degrees. The dilemma posed by the high cost of science is one trend with particularly adverse effects on developing countries. The rising cost of scientific activity is one of the causes of the ever-widening gap in knowledge and scientific capacity between the industrialized and developing countries, according to the report. Science education and university research are becoming more costly worldwide, and even establishments in some of the most developed countries are struggling to renew equipment rapidly enough to keep up with progress. The report also noted that national education systems everywhere are hard pressed to train ever more skilled personnel. Contact: UNESCO Publishing, Promotion and Sales Division, 1 rue Miollis, F-75732 Paris Cedex 15, France, telephone +33-1/45 68 10 00, fax +33-1/45 68 57 41, e-mail . GUATEMALA RELEASES HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT Guatemala released its first national Human Development Report on 26 June in the country's capital at a ceremony attended by representatives of international organizations, NGOs, academia and the media. The report, prepared with field-level support from the United Nations in Guatemala, measures disparities in social and economic development in the country's 22 states. "The report is important for Guatemala," said Lars Franklin, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative, "because it reveals the social and economic realities of this country, and it will help the government and civil society make important decisions." The report, which says that approximately 80% of Guatemalans live in poverty, calls for expanded primary education services since only 70% of children in the country receive a basic education. It also notes that while human rights violations decreased last year, crime and violence rates rose. Contact: United Nations Development Programme, Apartado Postale 23A, 01909 Guatemala City, Guatemala, telephone +502-2/333 5416, fax +502-2/337 0304. UN AND NGO NEWS WFP AND NGOS DELIVER FOOD IN AFGHANISTAN In north-eastern Afghanistan mule caravans have delivered World Food Programme (WFP) wheat to dozens of otherwise inaccessible villages that were destroyed or heavily damaged by the 30 May earthquake. Ten tons of wheat arrived in June in four villages in the remote district of Shar-i-Buzurg, the area most heavily damaged by the quake, which registered 6.9 on the Richter scale. The aid shipment was transported by 200 mules after it was driven as far as possible by truck from a WFP storehouse in Faizabad, the largest town in the affected regions. Once in Shar-i-Buzurg, the caravans were met by a commission of the local shura, or religious elders, who along with the Norwegian Afghan Committee and the non-governmental group Afghan Aid distributed the wheat to villagers. By using helicopters, trucks and mules, WFP and its aid partners had delivered about 160 metric tons of food by July to all 50 of the most heavily damaged villages enough food for over 30,000 people. Contact: Jeff Rowland, Public Information Officer, WFP, Via Cesare Giulio Viola 68, I-00148 Rome, Italy, telephone +39-6/6513 2971, fax +39-6/6513 2840 or Anis Haider, Country Director, WFP/Afghanistan, 4th Floor, Saudi Pak Tower, 61-A Jinnah Avenue, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan, telephone +92-51/828874. HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS' SECURITY THREATENED The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have warned that humanitarian operations in many parts of the world are facing unacceptable security risks. The risks to the work of UNHCR and ICRC stem from the changed nature of armed conflict today, and especially from the proliferation of undisciplined armed groups. Many humanitarian operations are taking place in areas where law and order has entirely broken down, and organized crime and banditry threaten relief efforts. Aid workers are at particular risk when they are perceived as embarrassing witnesses of war crimes or crimes against humanity. The result, according to the two organizations, is a threat both to the integrity of humanitarian operations and to the aid workers themselves. "Unfortunately, the people who brave danger and hardship trying to help others, more and more frequently become victims of violence themselves," said Sadako Ogata, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. "There must be a limit to how much we can take." The past few years have seen a sharp rise in attacks against humanitarian workers throughout the world, as they increasingly operate alongside victims in war zones or areas where law and order has broken down. As a result, UNHCR and the ICRC have stepped up security procedures in the field and watch carefully for signs of stress and trauma among their field staff. Over the past six years 139 United Nations civilian workers have been killed in the course of duty, and 141 have been taken hostage. The ICRC has lost 30 staff in the course of duty over the past five years. WTO PLAN FOR ENHANCED COOPERATION Renato Ruggiero, Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), has announced a plan for enhanced cooperation with NGOs in response to calls for greater transparency during the second WTO ministerial meeting, held in May in Geneva (see Go Between 69). "We are making progress toward improving our information exchange and consultation with civil society," he said on 17 July in Geneva. "These measures are the first step in our enhanced cooperation and represent the start of an ongoing collaboration with partner NGOs, which we fully expect will offer important benefits for all parties concerned." As part of the effort, the WTO external relations division will begin a programme of regular briefings for NGOs on the work of the organization's committees and working groups. The secretariat will "extend each month to the 132 WTO member countries a list of documents, position papers and newsletters submitted by NGOs." These documents will be made available on demand to member states. In addition, a special section of the WTO web site will be devoted to NGO issues. During the WTO General Council's initial debate on transparency on July 15, Mr. Ruggiero said derestriction of documents "is not really a major problem in substance." He said the General Council could do more to promote transparency and "dispel the misleading impression of secrecy." The following day Mr. Ruggiero held the first in a series of informal dialogues with NGOs, which will take place in different regions during the coming months. By August, over 100 NGOs endorsed a collective statement that had been sent in July to the chair of the WTO General Council calling for a general principle of openness to be applied to all WTO decision-making processes. Contact: Peter Pederson, External Relations Officer, WTO, Centre William Rappart, 154 rue de Lausanne, Case postale, CH-1211 Geneva 21, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/739 5848, fax +41-22/739 5777, web site (www.wto.org) or Miguel Jimenez-Pont, Dialogues Programme Director, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, 13 chemin des An‚mones, CH-1219 Chƒtelaine (Geneva), Switzerland, telephone +41-22/979 9492, fax +41-22/979 9093, e-mail , web site (www.ictsd.org). UNDP FUTURE INTERNET LIST DISCUSSION The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) "sees the approaching year 2000 as a rare opportunity to focus on its past record, its current activities, and ideas for future orientations, approaches and strategies," said Eimi Watanabe, Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau for Development Policy. "This is an undertaking which must engage all involved in UNDP's work including staff at all levels and at all locations, the broad range of development partners with whom we conduct our regular activities, as well as the governments, the private sector and civil society which are the intended beneficiaries of our projects and programmes." For this reason UNDP is conducting a global brainstorming process entitled the UNDP-Future List. The list, administered and moderated by the Education Development Center, is designed to share views, experiences and suggestions about: -- what UNDP has done and is doing well; -- improvements that can be made; -- the future of development cooperation and what UNDP's role and orientation should be; and -- concrete steps UNDP can take to effectively use new electronic information and communication technologies to support sustainable development. Contact: National NGOs, with or without e-mail, are encouraged to solicit the views and comments of their grassroots offices. NGOs with electronic mail and Internet access can participate in the process by sending an e-mail (do not enter a subject) to the LISTSERV host at . In the body of the message, type the text: SUBSCRIBE UNDP-future (do not type anything after UNDP-future). You will then receive a welcome letter to the list. For those without e-mail access, write to: Hans d'Orville, UNDP, Room 2092, 1 UN Plaza, New York NY 10017, United States, fax +1-212/906-5023, e-mail . NGOS PREPARE FOR MILLENNIUM FORUM On 15 July the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO) Task Force on United Nations Reform held a consultation in New York to present a detailed proposal on work leading up to the Millennium NGO Forum. The forum would complement the 55th session in the year 2000 of the UN General Assembly, which will be designated the "Millennium Assembly." Participants in the consultation, held at UN headquarters, included representatives of the NGO/Department of Public Information Executive Committee, many NGOs with ECOSOC consultative status, and other civil society representatives. They approved the CONGO proposal and establishment of an interim steering committee, until a more inclusive general meeting of NGOs is held in November to elect an executive committee for the proposed forum. The steering committee is comprised of Afaf Mahfouz, president of CONGO; Techeste Adherom of the CONGO Task Force on UN Reform; Elaine Valdov, chair of the NGO/Department of Public Information Executive Committee; Rob Wheeler of the Millennium People's Assembly Network; and Esmeralda Brown and Felix Dodds, co-chairs of the NGO Steering Committee for the Commission on Sustainable Development. The CONGO proposal sets out the following objectives for the Millennium NGO Forum: -- create a forum for channelling the imaginative and forward-looking ideas and visions of NGOs at the local, national, continental and international levels; -- create an organizational structure whereby NGOs with consultative status, NGOs affiliated with the UN Department of Public Information, local and national NGOs, thematic networks, coalitions and other organizations of civil society can effectively participate; -- make the process for NGO participation democratic, transparent and representational; and -- establish an efficient system for gathering and distributing information on local, national, continental and international Millennium NGO Forums through web sites, list servers and electronic discussion fora. The CONGO task force has proposed a framework for NGO preparations for the forum, which includes setting up provisional convenors to work in various thematic areas; local and national NGO forum meetings to take place in the first six months of 1999; and continental fora in the following six months. Regional consultations are also planned to share NGO success stories about implementing projects; identify and address obstacles to implementing UN programmes of action; and promote among NGOs worldwide an awareness about UN goals and objectives in the 21st century. The first regional consultation was held in February in Kampala (Uganda), and Korean NGOs are organizing the next consultation in October 1999 on the role of NGOs in the 21st century. The NGO Millennium Forum is planned for sometime during May or June 2000. Its expected output is a consolidated report that would complement or be integrated into the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations in the 21st century, which is due to be presented to the General Assembly by mid-2000. Contact: Techeste Adherom, CONGO chair of the Task Force on UN Reform, Suite 120, 866 UN Plaza, New York NY 10017-1822, United States, telephone +1-212/803 2500, fax +1-212/803 2561, e-mail . NGO DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN AZERBAIJAN The accelerated development of civil society through support and capacity building of non-governmental and community-based organizations is the goal of the NGO Development Project, established by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) in cooperation with Azerbaijan. The project was conceived in line with Azerbaijan's commitment to help establish civil society organizations within the framework of the United Nations Development Programme's Democracy, Governance and Participation programme. As part of the project, an NGO Resource and Training Centre in Azerbaijan will provide advice, assistance, training, logistical support, and information in user-friendly ways. The centre's activities will include provision of a physical facility for national NGOs with a well-equipped training hall; access to computers, Internet and e-mail facilities; a library; a databank; and training courses. It will work to help broaden awareness of government officials about the positive role of NGOs and to build in-country capacity to manage a self-sustaining NGO forum to address challenges faced by civil society. Contact: Garegin Manukyan, Public Administration Officer, DESA, Room 988, 1 UN Plaza, New York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/963 5410, fax +1-212/963 2916. NETWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FINANCING Financing issues are at the heart of implementing agreements made at the recent UN world conferences held in Rio de Janeiro, Cairo, Copenhagen, Beijing and Istanbul, according to the US Citizens Network for Sustainable Development. For this reason the group is organizing an NGO network in the United States focused on preparations for a possible UN summit, international conference or other event on financing for development before the year 2001 (see Go Between 68 and 69). The Network for Sustainable Development Financing will focus on informing US citizens about the possible event on financing for development. Among other things, the network plans to: -- examine how economic globalization sets the context for development financing; -- assess the critical roles in development financing of government, international financial institutions, and international investment and trade; -- present the wide range of issues linked to development financing; -- gather and share information on financing for development; and -- support issue-oriented working groups. The network also plans to sponsor fora for education and dialogue to make the connection between the possible event on financing for development and issues including the environment, gender, reproductive rights, human rights, and women's and economic issues. Contact: Doug Hunt, Organizer, Network for Sustainable Development, 1820 Sanford Road, Wheaton, Maryland 20902-4008, United States, telephone +1-301/593 4724, fax +1-301/593 7591, e-mail . NGO NEWS CONFERENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Over 900 people from 40 countries participated in a North/South Conference for Sustainable Development, held from 25-29 May in Berne (Switzerland). The conference, whose theme was Solidarity for the Future, was organized by the Swiss Coalition of Development Organizations and included political and economic leaders, scientists and representatives from civil society. Speakers included former President of Tanzania Julius Nyerere, UN Population Fund Executive Director Nafis Sadik, and Jos‚ Ramos Horta, winner of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize. Participants discussed, among other things: -- political, economic and social changes that will shape North/South relations in the 21st century; -- concerns of the South with respect to solidarity and sustainable development; -- implementing the aims of the 1992 Earth Summit; and -- sound future development from the perspectives of the North and the South. They also focused on solidarity and sustainable development including Switzerland's global role; and the global workplace versus the Swiss workplace. The conference is part of the North-South Campaign for Sustainable Development (see Go Between 62), launched in January 1997 by the Swiss Coalition of Development Organizations. The campaign aims to stimulate broad debate with and among Swiss decision makers, the Swiss public, and partners from the South on the country's role in development policy in the 21st century. Contact: Swiss Coalition of Development Organizations, Monbijoustrasse 31, CH-3001 Bern, Switzerland, telephone +41-79/412 8972, fax +41-31/381 1718, e-mail , web site (www.swisscoalition.ch). NGOS CONVENE INTERNATIONAL VIENNA+5 FORUM Representatives of 150 NGOs, social movements and indigenous peoples' organizations from about 50 countries met in Ottawa (Canada) from 22-24 June at the International Vienna+5 Forum. The forum focused on assessing the overall situation of human rights five years after the 1993 Vienna World Conference on Human Rights, at which 171 governments adopted the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and reaffirmed their commitment to the principles elaborated in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. "In this year of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," said Laurie Wiseberg of Human Rights Internet, in a speech to the Economic and Social Council in July, "we want not merely to celebrate the adoption of the document that has laid the foundation stone of the international human rights system, but also to analyze why there is so large a gap the implementation gap between the ideals to which we have committed ourselves and the reality that gross violations continue in many regions of the world." Participants in the Vienna+5 Forum discussed, among other things economic, social and cultural rights; access, coordination and lobbying in the UN system and other multilateral bodies; UN mechanisms such as treaty bodies, special rapporteurs, working groups, field offices and human rights monitoring; and women's human rights. The forum's report will be submitted to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as he prepares his report for the General Assembly's five-year review of the Vienna conference. The review will be held at UN headquarters in New York during the 53rd General Assembly. In their report, NGOs said they should play a central role and contribute significantly to the intergovernmental review. This would include examining the performance of states in meeting their obligations under the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, as well as the UN system's performance in assuming a more active role in promoting and protecting human rights. Among other things, the NGOs emphasized their "unanimous agreement that there must be no retreat from the consensus forged in Vienna" and that the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action are not open to renegotiation. Contact: Laurie Wiseberg, Human Rights Internet, 8 York Street, Suite 302, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 5S6, Canada, telephone +1-613/789 7407 extension 9205, fax +1-613/789 7414, e-mail , web site (www.hri.ca/vienna+5). FORUM ON SOUTHERN NGO CAPACITY BUILDING About 125 participants met in Brussels (Belgium) in May to launch the International Forum on Capacity Building of Southern NGOs. Participants included representatives of 65 NGOs from Latin America, Africa and Asia, 35 NGOs from Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific, and 25 donor and UN agencies. The forum will focus on capacity building priorities of Southern NGOs with a view to enhancing their contributions toward addressing issues of poverty, marginalization, democratization, strengthening of civil society, human rights and sustainable human development. The forum will attempt to promote dialogue at national, regional and international levels among Southern NGOs, their counterpart NGOs in the North and donors so that their policies, programmes and practices on capacity building of Southern NGOs be informed and influenced by their voices and experiences. The primary strategy of the forum will be to build on existing initiatives and to enable its partners to undertake initiatives appropriate to decentralized geographical and thematic priorities. Capacity building needs identified as a priority are leadership development; policy research and advocacy; information access, use and dissemination; building alliances, coalitions, networks, North-South partnerships and inter-sectoral partnerships; and financial sustainability. Contact: Rajesh Tandon, Chairperson, International Forum on Capacity Building, Society for Participatory Research Asia, 42 Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi 110062, India, telephone +91-11/698 9559 or 698 1908, fax +91-11/698 0183, e-mail . COALITION TO END USE OF CHILD SOLDIERS SET UP In June six international NGOs formed a Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. The NGOs Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Federation of Terre des Hommes, International Save the Children Alliance, the Jesuit Refugee Service and the Quaker UN Office will seek to mobilize public opinion and political will in favour of excluding persons under 18 years of age from armed forces. "We have to be unequivocal and uncompromising about [stopping the use of child soldiers] because it violates their innocence, exploits their particular vulnerability, and destroys their future and therefore the future of their society," said Olara Otunnu, the UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, when the coalition was formed. The coalition's objectives include adoption of, and adherence to, an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child prohibiting military recruitment and use in hostilities of persons younger than 18 years of age, and recognition and enforcement of this standard by all armed forces and groups, both governmental and non-governmental. Contact: Stuart Maslen, Coordinator, Coalition Secretariat, Bois Chardon, F-74350 Copponex, France, telephone +33-4/50 32 89 56, fax +33-4/50 44 28 40, e-mail . Information on the number of child soldiers, along with a comprehensive database on the subject, is available on the web site of the Swedish Save the Children (www.rb.se). REGIONAL NEWS OECD SAYS AID AND PRIVATE FLOWS FELL IN 1997 In a turbulent year for developing and transitional countries, both aid and other financial flows fell in 1997, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Total financial flows to all aid recipients fell from US$368 billion in 1996 to US$272 billion in 1997. The organization said the "disturbing trend" of reduced aid flows over recent years is yet to be reversed, especially in the largest OECD countries. With declines from most Group of Seven (G-7) countries in 1997, their assistance as a group now represents only 0.19% of their collective gross national product (GNP), compared to an average of 0.45% for other members of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC). Total private flows peaked in the first half of 1997 and then fell significantly in the wake of the financial crisis in East Asia. Most of the decline was due to reduced bank lending, although this remained robust to Latin America. Foreign direct investment is estimated to have increased slightly. Sources and volumes of development finance in each region vary widely. For example, in 1997 sub-Saharan Africa received an average of US$27 per capita of aid and US$3 per capita of foreign direct investment. By contrast, Latin America and the Caribbean received US$13 per capita of aid and US$62 per capita of foreign direct investment. Preliminary reporting for 1997 by DAC members shows that as a percentage of their combined gross national product, Official Development Assistance (ODA) has fallen for five consecutive years, from 0.33% in 1992 to 0.22% in 1997, its lowest level ever. Contact: Media Relations, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2 rue Andr‚-Pascal, F-75775 Paris C‚dex 16, France, telephone +33-1/45 24 80 91, fax +33-1/45 24 80 03, e-mail , web site (www.oecd.org/dac). SECOND AFRICA GOVERNANCE FORUM The Second Africa Governance Forum (AGF II), held in Accra (Ghana) from 25-26 June, focused on issues of accountability and transparency in Africa. The forum was organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in the context of the March 1996 UN Special Initiative on Africa. The initiative is a system-wide effort to coordinate and harmonize UN assistance to Africa in areas such as food security, governance and poverty reduction. AGF II aimed to: -- provide a platform for African governments, civil society and the continent's external partners to discuss the state of good governance on the continent from the perspective of national programmes; -- promote partnership among participants and encourage sharing and exchange of experiences, information and good practices on good governance; and -- assist African governments to develop programmes and strengthen coordination mechanisms to permit long-term resource mobilization to support nationally-defined governance programmes. Representatives of ten countries presented national reports on the topic of accountability and transparency, which formed the basis of discussion among over 80 participants including representatives of governments, bilateral partner countries, civil society organizations and the United Nations system. Thelma Awori, Assistant Administrator and Regional Director of UNDP-Africa, highlighted a number of critical issues on which broad consensus was reached during the forum. These include: -- Transparency and accountability are crucial elements in promoting development, and should not be the sole concern of governments but should also involve civil society organizations as well as Africans. -- In almost all countries represented at the forum, institutions and measures for improving accountability and transparency have been put into place, although how to transform them into more effective instruments remains a problem. -- Transparency and decision-making on macro-economic issues can enhance the practice of accountability. Conversely, accountability for public resources at the micro-level is a requirement in setting up a credible system of transparency. -- A concerted effort is needed to establish legislation for assets disclosure of all leaders in government, civil society and parliament, and enforcement mechanisms need to be strengthened. -- The broad spectrum of civil society needs to be strengthened through literacy, information and education to ensure that existing national institutional mechanisms translate into the realities of good governance. The third Africa Governance Forum, which will take place in Mali in 1999, will focus on conflict prevention, management and governance. Contact: Economic Commission for Africa, Africa Hall, PO Box 3001, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, telephone +251-1/517200, fax +251-1/514416, web site (www.unsia.org). FOCUS UNCTAD CONSULTATION WITH NGOS AND TRADE UNIONS The secretariat of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), with support from NGLS, held a consultation with NGOs and trade unions on current global trade and investment issues. The meeting, which took place on 11-12 June in Geneva, included UNCTAD staff and representatives of more than 50 Southern and Northern NGOs and trade unions. The consultation focused on four themes: a possible multilateral framework agreement on investment; least-developed countries' marginalization from the global trading system; a "positive trade agenda" for developing countries; and trends in the global economy and current issues affecting international governance. Possible Multilateral Framework on Investment The most intense discussions concerned UNCTAD's work programme on a possible multilateral framework on investment, which a number of NGOs felt is too closely related to the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), currently being negotiated at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The NGOs argued that the MAI is based on a neo-liberal model that places the interests of transnational corporations before the social and economic rights of citizens. UNCTAD representatives said that the secretariat has taken no formal position on the MAI. However, it could not recommend developing countries accede to any agreement that they did not negotiate. At the same time, they emphasized that developing country governments, which without exception are seeking to attract foreign investment, are demanding UNCTAD's advice and support to be as well prepared as possible to defend and pursue their interests in current discussions and negotiations on investment treaties. Marginalization of Least-Developed Countries The session on least-developed countries (LDCs) reviewed the outcome of the high-level meeting on LDCs, held at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in October 1997, which is to be implemented through an integrated technical assistance framework by the six participating agencies. The agencies are WTO, UNCTAD, International Trade Centre, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Bank and International Monetary Fund (see Go Between 66). A number of NGOs were concerned by what they described as the narrow "technicist" approach of the integrated framework, which they said ignores the broader concerns of LDC marginalization from the global trading system. These include the lack of policy coherence between the participating agencies, which they said often results in contradictory policy advice or conditionalities; and the steady erosion of "special and differential treatment," which least-developed countries need to protect and build up their domestic and regional capacities through measures that may run counter to WTO rules. A "Positive Trade Agenda" for Developing Countries Participants also discussed various strategies for developing countries to elaborate a "positive trade agenda" in future negotiations and to make better use of the WTO system. UNCTAD representatives noted that developed countries have been more successful at promoting their interests in trade and investment negotiations, while developing countries need to strengthen their bargaining positions through coalitions of like-minded countries around specific agendas. Participants suggested a number of ways in which to do this, such as linking the free movement of people with that of capital; linking anti-dumping abuses with competition policy; and addressing the "implicit environmental tax" of escalating tariff rates that developed countries impose on locally processed, natural resource-based products from developing countries. They also noted that a large number of violations of WTO rules committed by developed countries against the interests of developing countries are not brought to the WTO's dispute settlement procedures because of a lack of legal and research capacities and resources on the part of developing countries. The East Asian Crisis and Global Governance In another session UNCTAD presented its analysis of the East Asian financial crisis, which it said can be traced to overly-rapid and poorly-phased liberalization policies in the financial sector. These policies did not include instruments to control capital inflows into risky or unproductive ventures in order to contain their impact on macro-economic and monetary conditions. UNCTAD's analysis calls for more effective international governance in the financial realm including preventative measures. A number of NGO representatives called for the urgent establishment of a global governance mechanism to control financial speculators, whom they said now have the power to destroy decades of development progress in a matter of a few months. One participant said speculative attacks on national currencies are comparable to a new form of terrorism "financial terror." In addition to the four major themes, participants explored alternative approaches to economic governance based on the principles of citizenship and human rights. In the context of UNCTAD's recent initiative to examine the economic implications of human rights instruments, it was argued that the prescriptions of the MAI run counter to the human rights obligations adopted by states. One participant said the colossal market failure of East Asia is an example of a large-scale human rights transgression because ordinary citizens of debtor countries are paying a heavy price for the chaos caused by international speculators. It was announced that the interdependence segment of UNCTAD's 45th Trade and Development Board, to be held in October in Geneva, will focus on issues arising from the East Asian financial crisis. Follow-Up The meeting also reviewed forthcoming opportunities for interaction between UNCTAD and civil society, including the Partners for Development meeting, to be held from 9-12 November in Lyon (France), and the stage provided by UNCTAD's tenth quadrennial conference (UNCTAD X), to be held in February 2000 in Bangkok (Thailand). The next regular consultation with NGOs and trade unions will be held in Geneva in June 1999. Copies of the report on the 1998 consultation are available from the NGLS office in Geneva. Contact: Jo Elizabeth Butler, External Relations Service, UNCTAD, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/907 5048, fax +41-22/907 0043, e-mail ; or Hamish Jenkins, Programme Officer, NGLS, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 2078, fax +41-22/917 0049, e-mail . UNICEF PUBLISHES 1998 REPORT ON PROGRESS OF NATIONS One out of three children born each year are at risk because they are not registered at birth, according to The Progress of Nations 1998, published annually by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on how effectively countries are improving the status of children. The report also discusses, among other things, immunization and homelessness. Lack of registration at birth leaves an estimated 40 million babies born each year without an official name or nationality, according to the report. Twenty-two nations have no available data on birth registration. "This is one of the major unreported stories of our time," said Carol Bellamy, UNICEF Executive Director. "Lack of a valid birth certificate threatens a child fundamentally. Whether seeking health care or immunization, entering school or proving one is too young for military service or to work in hazardous industries, a birth certificate is a necessity." Children Without a Country Migrating to the city for work or fleeing armed conflict across a national border, a child who lacks proof of identity is, in the eyes of officials, a non-person. This absence of proof is especially serious for those who are displaced by war, famine or natural disaster. "It's not hard in today's world to become a child without a country," Ms. Bellamy said. Without a birth certificate, children cannot be legally vaccinated in at least 20 countries. More than 30 nations require proof of birth before a child can be treated at a health centre. Almost universally, a certificate must be produced before a child can enrol in school. Discriminatory birth registration laws mean that in some nations, a child whose father is missing or is not a citizen has no legal identity. The report notes that the right to a name and a nationality is guaranteed in Article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. "Without effective birth registration systems, governments find it difficult to plan for the future," Ms. Bellamy said. "They may not know how many doses of vaccine to buy or the number of classrooms to build. All governments need to assess their registration procedures and make sure their citizens see the value of a birth certificate and that they can get one easily." Immunization: Past, Present and Future The Progress of Nations 1998 also examines the issue of immunization and says that despite dramatic progress over the last two decades, millions of children are slipping through the safety net. "It is vital that we focus on the disparities," said Ms. Bellamy. "If most children are immunized, it is important to know more about those who are not, and why they are not." Between 1980 and 1990, a massive effort raised coverage rates worldwide from 5% to 80%. But just as a new generation of vaccines is about to come on the market capable of saving millions more children's lives each year but at much greater cost the momentum to sustain immunization is faltering. Some vaccines on the market have never even made it to their intended targets. The antigen for hepatitis B a disease that kills around one million people each year has been available since the early 1980s. But many of the countries that need it, including Azerbaijan, Benin, Cambodia, Tanzania and Viet Nam, cannot afford the vaccine even though its cost has plunged from US$150 per dose to less than US$1. As the world moves past the year 2000, new vaccines will be capable of saving up to eight million more lives a year, but lack of commitment on the part of both donors and governments of developing countries could preclude getting these vaccines to those most in need. The cost to donors of full immunization in the world's poorest nations could eventually rise to US$700 million annually just 12 US cents per person a year worldwide. "Given a $30 trillion global economy," said Ms. Bellamy, "the world can surely afford a penny per person per month to protect the lives of its poorest and most vulnerable citizens." Homelessness The report also focuses on the issue of adolescence and the growing phenomenon of homelessness in industrialized nations. Young people aged ten to 19 account for one-sixth of the world's population. As this largest generation in history moves into the third millennium, early marriage and pregnancy, child labour, lack of schooling and widespread sexual discrimination are demanding urgent attention. Homelessness in the industrialized world is evidence of increasing economic disparities within the most wealthy nations. When social safety nets erode to the extent that people can no longer afford even the basic necessities, women and children are the first victims. In 12 of the wealthiest countries, per capita gross national product more than doubled in the last 15 years however at the same time homelessness increased. Because women are on average poorer than men, they can easily wind up on the streets. If she is on her own, heads a family or is trying desperately to escape from violence and abuse in her own home, a woman faces especially grim prospects. For example, it is estimated that in the United Kingdom almost half of all working women do not earn enough to afford the rent on even a one-bedroom unit. In the United States, women head about one-third of all families, but half of all impoverished families. Homeless young people are twice as likely as others to suffer from chronic diseases such as respiratory or ear infections, gastrointestinal disorders and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. In the United States, a homeless girl in her early teens is 14 times more likely to become pregnant than a girl with a home. In Belgium, half of the homeless people in shelters had dropped out of school during or immediately after primary school. In Germany, eight of ten homeless people living in shelters completed only primary education or had no schooling at all, while in Luxembourg the figure is nine out of ten. Contact: H‚lŠne Martin, Division of Communication, UNICEF, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/909 5519, fax +41-22/909 5907 or Madeline Eisner, Division of Communication, UNICEF, 3 UN Plaza, New York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/326 7261, fax +1-212/326 7768, web site (www.unicef.org/pon98). UN PUBLISHES 1998 WORLD ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SURVEY The World Economic and Social Survey is the UN secretariat's annual overview of global economic developments. The survey, produced by the Division for Development Policy Analysis of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), was published to coincide with the main session in July of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Part one of the survey assesses the current global economic situation, including an analysis of trends in global financial flows and observations on addressing the issue of international financial volatility. Part two examines prospects for continuation of higher economic growth rates in developing and transition economies in the mid-1990s. The third part of the survey addresses current issues in the global economy including international trade, net transfer of resources, and introduction of a single currency in the European Union. A statistical annex of economic, trade and financial indicators is also included. The Era of Globalization "The 1990s have been the era of globalization, when rapid growth of international trade and financial flows affected more and more economies in deeper and deeper ways," said the survey. "The benefits of financial globalization, in particular, have been many, but the world economy has periodically been buffeted by international financial shocks, the latest of which has been the most severe. It can be regarded as having begun when the Thai baht collapsed on 2 July 1997, after which it spread to other Asian economies and has since touched countries on every continent in one way or another." While world output and world trade showed impressive growth in 1997, the survey said the growth of output in 1998 is slowing down in both developed and developing countries. The growth of world trade is now decelerating; international commodity prices, particularly oil prices, have fallen, which is negatively affecting poorer economies dependent on commodities and official development assistance (ODA). Unlike previous financial shocks, the Asian crisis has shaken widely-held beliefs about how the international system works, particularly the desirability of fully-liberalized financial markets. "The crisis showed that one of the most competitive markets in the world, the international market for financial assets, could fail in a major way," said the survey. "The failure...involved the Governments of the crisis countries, which did not prevent their financial sectors from taking on excessive high-risk exposures as they liberalized their capital markets; but it also included weak international oversight of financial markets, where effective cooperation among the major regulatory authorities lagged behind the rapid developments in international finance." Most needed at this time, according to a growing number of experts, is not more decontrol and deregulation but more effective official oversight and market-based controls of financial markets. "However, there is no consensus on how to achieve this," observed the survey. Policy Options for Addressing Financial Volatility The survey, which described the dilemmas faced by governments trying to practice traditional macro-economic policies in integrated financial markets, suggested ways to introduce greater flexibility in exchange rates. This needs to be done, it said, since the fixed exchange rate is increasingly difficult to maintain and no longer easily serves its purpose of reducing uncertainty and fostering trade and financial flows. Governments of finance-receiving countries can also act to lessen their vulnerability to the more volatile components of international capital flows with measures to discourage short-term capital inflows "through a tax or its equivalent [designed] to impinge more heavily on short-term flows than on longer-term ones," said the survey. The maintenance of a robust financial sector is also paramount. One technique for limiting risk exposure is to impose a specific capital reserve requirement on each financial institution to set against its foreign deposits or liabilities. Source countries, according to the survey, can seek to prevent their financial institutions from taking excessively risky foreign currency positions "thereby reducing the risk of disruption of their domestic financial systems and, in the case of large financial centres, disruption of the world's financial system." The survey stressed that regulatory challenges in today's financial world are significant; relying on "market discipline" will not satisfy obligations to shareholders and depositors; and internal risk measurement and control systems need to be strengthened. "Systems are needed," it said, "that allow financial institutions to measure not just their aggregate credit exposures, but also, and on a day-to-day basis, their aggregate price and interest rate risks across financial markets." International Cooperation Needed Monetary authorities need to be able to monitor the total market risks that financial institutions under their jurisdiction take on collectively, as well as to measure and regulate the aggregate market exposures all the major private financial institutions take on together in particular areas of the globe. These goals can be achieved, according to the survey, through international cooperation of national regulators, which could take place under the auspices of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or a new institution. Referring to the often controversial nature of IMF programmes, especially issues of governance and structural reform that have been written into IMF programmes for Asian countries in the past year, the survey included proposals for alternative regional arrangements it said would provide policy advice and mutual surveillance in a less politically-sensitive setting, as well as financial support. "Although such arrangements were originally viewed by some as an effort to circumvent [the] IMF," said the survey, "the international community has still to consider whether or how they might be rethought as cooperative associations that could solve some of the difficulties identified earlier." Contact: The World Economic and Social Survey (document no. E/1998/50) is available online (www.un.org/esa/analysis/ddpa.htm). If you do not have access to the Internet, or would like a copy of the report in an official UN language other than English, contact UN-NGLS, Room FF-346, United Nations, New York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/963 3125, fax +1-212/963 8712, e-mail . 1998 WORLD DISASTERS REPORT: AID AGENCIES FACE TOUGH CHALLENGES Relief agencies need to shore up public and political support by showing that humanitarian aid does make a difference, says the World Disasters Report 1998. The report, issued by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, discusses the future of disaster response, lessons learnt, urban disasters, traffic accidents and psychological support, among other issues. The 17% drop in worldwide humanitarian funding between 1992 and 1996 is the most direct challenge to international relief organizations, says the report. Having peaked in 1992, global aid in real terms at 1995 prices has declined over the period by US$11.5 billion, from almost US$68 billion to US$56.4 billion. The drop reflects more than the 1996 spending of either Japan or the United States, the world's largest donors. After holding steady at slightly less than half the UN target of 0.7% of the gross national product (GNP) for more than 20 years, aid as a share of donors' wealth fell from 0.33% in 1992 to 0.25% in 1996, its lowest level ever. Between 1994 and 1995, aid from the world's biggest relief provider, the United States, fell by one-fourth, as did Japan's aid effort in 1996. Italian aid declined by more than 40% and Australia, Austria, Canada, France and Portugal also registered double-digit falls. Aid Agencies Under Pressure "Aid agencies are being outpaced by market forces and risk marginalization unless they can show steadily improving performance," said Astrid N. Heiberg, President of the International Federation. She noted that annual foreign investment in developing nations has mushroomed to US$234 billion. "But private investment," she said, "while often beneficial to societies at large, is not focused on basic human needs or the countries worst affected by complex emergencies." Aid agencies are also under a lot of pressure to identify clear and achievable goals and be accountable to donors and beneficiaries alike, according to the report. "Because relief organizations sometimes fail to set such goals, donors don't always know what to expect," said Dr. Heiberg. "Relief agencies must set specific targets, so that donor expectations will become more realistic. This in turn will help galvanize public support for international aid." She also noted that while public support for aid is mostly altruistic, it is limited in scope and responds best to short-term, basic human needs such as food, water and medical care. The report also observes that humanitarian relief is rapidly becoming an integral part of international political relations. In countries such as Canada and the Netherlands, using aid to address acute needs as well as to prevent conflict by promoting participation in society has become a key theme. This growing political dimension is causing a dilemma for relief organizations. On one hand they are increasingly engaged in policy dialogue, public awareness and conflict resolution. On the other, relief organizations are now worrying about their independence integrating aid into political and military strategies may destroy their neutrality and impartiality and undermine the credibility of agencies motivated by solidarity or justice. Road Crashes to Be Third Largest Killer in 2020 The report says road crashes will move up to third place in the world league table for death and disability by the year 2020, just behind clinical depression and heart disease but ahead of respiratory infections, tuberculosis and HIV. In its first century, the automobile claimed 30 million lives; by 1990 traffic accidents killed at least 500,000 people a year and injured a staggering 15 million, according to the report. In the North road safety campaigns, driver training, better vehicle care, seat belt legislation and traffic management measures have cut crash deaths for 30 years despite rising vehicle numbers. The death toll has strongly shifted South into the developing world, whose 70% share of road fatalities is rising fast. In Ghana and Ethiopia, fatality rates are 111 and 191.6 deaths per 10,000 vehicles respectively, compared to 1.9 for Australia and Japan. The gap reflects, among other factors, the difference in health facilities and traffic environments for example roads in the South are often cluttered with pedestrians, bicyclists and animals. The World Disasters Report says that engineering from car design to street lights is far more effective in curbing the number of road crashes than efforts to change driver behaviour. There are simple steps that work almost anywhere, from highlighting accident "black spots," removing roadside objects, and separating different traffic types by shifting from junctions to roundabouts. Psychosocial Support for Disaster Victims The report says psychosocial support in the aftermath of crisis is increasingly finding its way into relief operations alongside programmes for shelter and food. Psychosocial suffering as a result of disaster is linked with feelings of grief and loss. But not everyone is affected in the same way or as deeply, and the wide variety of disasters means they do not have the same psychological impact. Flooding disasters, for instance, usually affect the most vulnerable who cannot afford to live in safe zones or to protect themselves effectively. For these reasons, recurrent flooding may result in fatalistic behaviour and resignation. On a larger scale, psychosocial suffering can take on horrific proportions when entire countries such as Liberia, Rwanda or the former Yugoslavia fall into civil war or genocide. The report says in many cases the reconciliation and healing process will take years, if not decades, because post-disaster trauma may be transferred from generation to generation. It predicts one of the major challenges in the 21st century for humanitarian organizations will be to address the lingering results of trauma before they develop into new outbreaks of violence. Contact: Helge Kvam, Information Officer, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 17 chemin des Crˆts, BP 372, CH-1211 Geneva 19, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/730 4214, fax +41-22/733 0395, e-mail , web site (www.ifrc.org). COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) held its 19th session at UN headquarters in New York from 22 June-10 July. The 23 experts of CEDAW, serving in their personal capacity, monitor implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which was adopted by the General Assembly in 1979 and entered into force in 1981. During its 19th session the committee heard reports from eight states: New Zealand, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, Republic of Korea, Slovakia, South Africa and the United Republic of Tanzania. (States Parties to the convention must submit periodic reports on their efforts to comply with its provisions.) The committee adopted recommendations for advancing the status of women in these countries after examining their reports and hearing presentations by their representatives on measures to implement the convention. Two special consultations were held on 25 June and 2 July so that NGOs could make presentations to CEDAW experts on the situation of women in countries that submitted reports. The committee also considered a note by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on reports of UN specialized agencies on implementation of the convention. Similarity of Problems In her address to the final meeting of the committee session, Angela King, the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, underscored the similarity of problems faced by the eight reporting countries. Common areas of concern are, among other things, the persistence of patriarchal value systems, which deny equality to women; and economic disparities between men and women, such as different opportunities in the labour market. Ms. King also cited the risk of violence and exploitation in the context of prostitution, and dramatic gaps between the conditions faced by women in rural and urban areas. Adverse Impact of Reservations to the Convention The committee adopted recommendations for advancing the status of women in countries under review during the session, and it adopted a statement concerning the adverse impact that reservations to the convention have had on achieving women's equality with men. Of the 161 states that have ratified the convention, 54 have entered reservations to one or more of its articles. The number and extent of these reservations, in particular reservations to Article 2 on legal and administrative measures to eliminate discrimination and Article 16 on eliminating discrimination in marriage and the family, have been of intense concern to the committee and NGOs monitoring its activities. The committee statement strongly affirmed that traditional, religious and cultural practices or incompatible domestic laws and policies, which have been cited as the rationale for many of the reservations, do not justify violations of the convention. It stated that reservations on these grounds are incompatible with the convention and therefore impermissible, and they should be reviewed and modified or withdrawn. The committee added that any statement by a state Party seeking to modify the legal effect of the convention, including interpretive declarations, constitutes a reservation. The committee noted that when entering a reservation, a state indicates its unwillingness to comply with accepted human rights norms, thus ensuring that women's inequality with men is further entrenched at the national level. It said this guarantees women will have less access than men to the full range of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Women are then forced to compete on an unequal footing for basic rights in their private life as well in areas such as equality of income, access to education, housing and health care, and equality within the family. 50th Anniversary of Human Rights Declaration The committee urged states to withdraw their reservations to the convention as a contribution to the commemoration of 50 years of compliance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which will be observed by the General Assembly on 10 December 1998. As its own contribution to the 50th anniversary of the declaration, the committee adopted a draft statement on the indivisibility and centrality of gender awareness to the enjoyment of human rights. Pending their approval, the text will be issued jointly with the Committee on Human Rights and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Twentieth Session of CEDAW The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women will continue its work on a draft general recommendation on Article 12, which relates to health, with the aim of adopting it at next year's session in New York. Country reports to be presented and considered at the 20th session will be on Algeria, Austria, Chile, China, Colombia, Jordan, Greece, Liechtenstein, Thailand and the United Kingdom. The committee provisionally decided to hear seven reports of states Parties at its 21st session, including Belize, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Georgia, Germany, Ireland and Spain. Committee Bureau The Committee Bureau, last elected in January 1997 and serving for a two-year period, is chaired by Salma Khan (Bangladesh). Vice-chairs are Charlotte Abaka (Ghana), Carlota Bustela Garcia del Real (Spain), and Miriam Estrada (Ecuador). Aurora Javate de Dios (Philippines) serves as rapporteur. Committee members do not participate in consideration of reports of countries of which they are nationals. Contact: Secretariat, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, Division for the Advancement of Women, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Room DC2-1204, United Nations, New York NY 10017, United States, fax +1-212/963 3463, e-mail , web site (www.un.org/womenwatch). PUBLICATIONS AND ONLINE Empowering People: A Guide to Participation Prepared by the Oxford-based International NGO Training and Research Centre in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), this guidebook is designed to brief and inform UNDP staff about promoting people's participation in UNDP programmes. The guide discusses the concept of participation, participatory methods and issues related to monitoring, evaluation and institutionalization. It focuses on ensuring sustainability, making development activities more effective and building local capacities. Available from: Civil Society Organizations and Participation Programme, SDPED/BDP/UNDP, 1 UN Plaza, New York NY 10017, United States, fax +1-212/906 5313, web site (www.undp.org/undp.csopp). The Effect of Unclear Property Rights on Environmental Degradation and Increase in Poverty This publication argues that insecure, unclear or non-existent property rights explain why poor people suffer from or cause environmental degradation. By better defining property rights, it says poverty can be alleviated and the state of the environment improved. Available from: UN Conference on Trade and Development, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 12, Switzerland, fax +41-22/917 0049. Economic Globalization, Institutional Change and Human Security This publication discusses the sources and consequences of human insecurity as a result of globalization and explores some policy and institutional alternatives to address the problem. Available from: UN Research Institute for Social Development, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, fax +41-22/740 0791. Dispute Settlement in the WTO: A Crisis for Sustainable Development This discussion paper lists three rulings of the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute panel and examines the way it says the rulings conflict with health, development and environmental policy objectives. The paper calls on the WTO to relinquish or share jurisdiction over socially- and environmentally-related trade disputes with other intergovernmental bodies. Available from: Charles Arden-Clarke, World Wide Fund for Nature International, avenue Mt. Blanc, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland, fax +41-22/364 8219, e-mail . The International Criminal Court: Towards a Fair and Effective Human Rights Tribunal This publication analyses the key issues and political context of negotiations to establish the International Criminal Court. Available from: International Service for Human Rights, 1 rue de Varemb‚, PO Box 16, CH-1211 Geneva 20 CIC, Switzerland, fax +41-22/733 0826. The Internet and Poverty: Real Help or Real Hype? Taking the perspective that information is essential to development, this publication discusses prioritizing needs; who is using the Internet in developing countries; constraints to Internet growth; and the ways in which the Internet has served development in education, academia, rural education, medicine and health. Available from: James Deane, Panos Institute, Panos Communications and Social Change Programme, 9 White Lion Street, London N1 9PD, United Kingdom, fax +44-171/278 0345, web site (www.oneworld.org/panos/briefing/interpov.htm). Oxfam Publications Gender and Migration The articles in this publication examine some of the reasons women and men move within and outside their native countries. It stresses the importance of seeing an individual migrant in her or his context, as a member of a social network spanning different locations. Also explored are the ways in which migration may offer women a chance to challenge oppressive gender relations. El Salvador: Peace on Trial This book, part of Oxfam's Country Profile series, gives an account of the history of El Salvador. It looks at contributory causes of the long-running civil war, ecological crisis, and unresolved issues of land tenure. The book also reviews efforts to rebuild communities and identifies obstacles to a stable and peaceful future. Available from: Oxfam, c/o BEBC, PO Box 1496, Parkstone, Dorset BH12 3YD, United Kingdom or Humanities Press, 165 1st Avenue, Atlantic Highland NJ 07716-1289, United States. NGO Section Web Site This site of the NGO Section of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) includes information about the UN; the different types of relations NGOs may formally establish with it, including Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and accreditation with UN specialized agencies; and links to NGO-related sites within the UN system. The site can be accessed at (www.un.org/esa/coordination/ngo/frame.htm). UNIFEM Currents The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) has published the first issue of its new bi-monthly electronic news bulletin UNIFEM Currents. The bulletin includes sections on UNIFEM news from around the world, inter-agency initiatives, upcoming events and in-depth focus articles. Available at (www.unifem.undp.org/curr0698.htm). To subscribe, contact Kirsten Gelsdorf, UNIFEM, 304 East 45th Street, New York NY 10017, United States, e-mail , or send an e-mail to with the following command (leave the subject line blank) in the body of your message: subscribe unifem-currents . Information Network on Post-Harvest Operations The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has launched a new Internet-based Information Network on Post-Harvest Operations (INPhO) to improve information exchange between research and development institutions and NGOs. INPhO will collect and disseminate data on proven technologies and products in post-harvest losses; and assist research and development organizations, including the private sector, through upgrading post-production systems. A major database will give producers and consumers information on indigenous technologies for food handling, preparation and processing, marketing and improved new technologies. The web site can be accessed at (www.fao.org/inpho). UNEP SIDS web site This web site, from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), includes a do-it-yourself training programme on the basic principles of island environmental management and a compilation of geographic, environmental and socio-economic information on 2000 islands and over 150 countries, territories and administrative units with islands. The site also contains documents such as Agenda 21, the 1994 Barbados Declaration and Programme of Action, and reports to the Commission on Sustainable Development. The site can be accessed at (www.unep.ch/islands.html). SIDSnet This site was initiated by the Sustainable Development Networking Programme of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). The site includes a newswire, information exchange programme, calendar of events, and information about regional initiatives. Other resources are a SIDSnet project database; a document library including submissions from stakeholders worldwide; a database project by the Special Unit for Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries, which enables the user to search databases of island experts and training institutions; links to web sites dealing with themes and issues covered in the Programme of Action of the 1994 Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States; and a site search resource that, among other things, provides archives for mailing lists on the server. The site can be accessed at (www.chacmool.sdnp.undp.org). Jubilee 2000 Coalition This web site contains information about the ongoing campaign for debt relief, a campaign petition to be submitted to the 1999 G-8 Summit, recent news, feature articles and background papers on the debt situation, particularly in the world's poorest countries. The web site can be accessed at (www.oneworld.org/jubilee2000). CALENDAR GENERAL ASSEMBLY -- 53rd UN General Assembly, 8 September-December, New York HUMAN RIGHTS -- Human Rights Committee, 64th session, 19 October-6 November, Geneva -- Committee Against Torture, 21st session, 9-20 November, Geneva -- Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 19th session, 16 November-4 December, Geneva -- Commission on Human Rights, 55th session, 22 March-30 April 1999, Geneva Rights of the Child -- Committee on the Rights of the Child 19th session, 21 September-9 October, Geneva 20th session pre-sessional working group, 12-16 October, Geneva NARCOTIC DRUGS -- Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Meeting of Heads of National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies, Asia and the Pacific, 26-30 October, Kuala Lumpur -- Commission on Narcotic Drugs, 42nd session, 16-25 March 1999, Vienna POPULATION -- NGO Forum on Population and Development, 6-7 February 1999, The Hague -- Hague Forum on Population and Development, 8-12 February 1999, The Hague -- Commission on Population and Development, 32nd session (also serves as a preparatory meeting for the General Assembly special session), 22-30 March 1999, New York -- Special session of the General Assembly on the International Conference on Population and Development, 30 June-2 July 1999, New York REFUGEES Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) -- Meeting with NGOs, 30 September-2 October, Geneva -- UNHCR Executive Committee, 49th session, 5-9 October, Geneva SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT -- Commission for Social Development, 9-19 February 1999 -- Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the Special Session of the General Assembly on the Implementation of the Outcome of the World Summit for Social Development and Further Initiatives, first substantive session, New York, 17-28 May 1999 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Climate Change Convention -- Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technical Advice (SBSTA) -- Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI) -- Ad Hoc Group on Article 13 -- Conference of the Parties, 4th session The above meetings will take place on 2-13 November in Buenos Aires. Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) -- CSD Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group on Tourism and Consumption and Production Patterns, 22-26 February 1999, New York -- CSD Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group on Oceans and Seas, and Comprehensive Review of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), 1-5 March 1999, New York -- CSD, seventh session (including PrepCom for special session of the General Assembly on SIDS), 19-30 April 1999, New York Convention to Combat Desertification (ccd) -- Conference of the Parties, 2nd session, 30 November-11 December, Dakar TRADE United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) -- Trade and Development Board, 45th session, 12-23 October, Geneva -- Commission on Enterprise, Business Facilitation and Development, 3rd session, 23-27 November, Geneva -- Partners for Development, 9-12 November, Lyon WOMEN -- Commission on the Status of Women, 43rd session, 1-19 March 1999, New York GUEST EDITORIAL Angela E.V. King, Assistant Secretary-General Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women We, the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), always warmly welcome our close partnership with NGOs. In a whole variety of ways, the NGOs have become indispensable partners in advancing the status of women in society. Without the active involvement of women themselves in the process we cannot be successful in this effort. It is their commitment that will win the cause. It is women's groups that have been lobbying governments to ensure the integration of the principle of equality between women and men into all policies, and it is women's groups that have been successfully organizing and carrying out projects and activities in local communities to advocate for the equal status of women in society. The active participation of over 2500 organizations was fundamental to the success of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing (China) in 1995. And we must not forget the 30,000 NGOs that participated in the fo