GO BETWEEN 80, April-May 2000


UN NEWS

FAMINE LOOMS IN ETHIOPIA
The world is in danger of failing the people of Ethiopia as drought threatens millions of lives,
according to international aid agencies. Eight million people are facing shortages of food and
water in Ethiopia; other worst-hit countries by the drought include Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya,
Somalia and Sudan.

"There currently is a crisis but it's containable," said Catherine Bertini, Executive Director of
the World Food Programme (WFP). "What we need now is for the international community to
respond in order to prevent this summer a repeat of [famine in] 1984-1985" (see focus page
inside).


SECRETARY-GENERAL'S MILLENNIUM REPORT
Governments should spread the benefits of globalization to all people, according to UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Millennium Report. The text, submitted to the General
Assembly in April, will be the main working document for the Millennium Summit in
September 2000 (see focus page inside).


ECOSOC AND SECURITY COUNCIL ON AIDS
The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the Security Council held
an unprecedented joint meeting on 28 February 2000 in New York to discuss cooperation in
combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and to examine ways to develop cooperation through
special initiatives for AIDS and Africa. The meeting was held in the context of discussions on
the main development issues and concerns that emerged during the Security Council's 10
January meeting on the impact of HIV/AIDS on peace and security in Africa (see Go Between
79).

ECOSOC President Makarim Wibisono (Indonesia) and Security Council President Arnoldo
Listre (Argentina) both stressed the importance of coordination between the two bodies
toward improving allocation of existing resources to combat HIV/AIDS. 

United States Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, who was President of the Security Council in
January, emphasized that AIDS was a security issue. He said the devastating impact of AIDS
on all business of the UN must be acknowledged, and he stressed that member states must
carry the fight into every aspect of the organization's work. Mr. Holbrooke called for a
Security Council resolution on AIDS to be passed before 13 July 2000, when the Third
International AIDS Conference is scheduled to take place in Durban (South Africa). He said
the resolution should recognize the special risks of infection and of spreading infection posed
by UN peacekeepers, whom he noted at times had contributed to the spread of AIDS.
Regarding resources, Mr. Holbrooke challenged governments to "do better." The available
levels of international donor funds were too low, he said, and underscored his own ongoing
efforts with the US Congress to seek higher levels than amounts already committed. 

India said that AIDS was not a security problem, but rather a medical epidemic that had
become a social scourge and now had severe economic dimensions. It said the US and the
Security Council, in focusing on conflict and security, had taken the wrong perspective. India
rejected what it called "unsubstantiated allegations" that peacekeepers were a factor in the
spread of AIDS. Not one of its soldiers had spread or contracted AIDS on mission, it said.
India, which agreed with many other speakers that AIDS was a development problem,
proposed an analysis of the full economic and social costs of AIDS be commissioned by
ECOSOC. India claimed the evidence established that it was not violence or insecurity that
spread the disease, but globalization and integration. Nine of the ten most "at risk" African
countries had not experienced conflict in a decade, India said, and six were "shining examples
of democracy." 

India also underscored as "problematic" what it described as the profit-driven interests of
pharmaceutical companies; this hampered the development of a vaccine, which would be
potentially less lucrative than finding a cure. Current intellectual property agreements were
also creating problems, India said, by re-establishing the monopoly of the international
company that developed AZT drugs, for example, and by banning generic versions that cost
less than half the original. 

Cameroon said that AIDS in Africa had killed ten times more people than conflict, which
demonstrated that the disease was in fact a "threat to stability and peace on the continent."
Cameroon said it was necessary for African countries themselves to undertake measures to
support efforts against AIDS. In addition the problems of external debt, poverty and lack of
health infrastructures all had to be addressed.

Peter Piot, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
(UNAIDS), said that national and international AIDS activities in Africa must be expanded
dramatically and rapidly. He highlighted the cases of Uganda and Senegal where between
US$2 billion and US$3 billion a year was needed for prevention activities, which were
working. Dr. Piot noted some activities that had been undertaken by the World Bank, United
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Economic Commission for Africa. He said
resources for expanded national responses were being included in the Heavily Indebted Poor
Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative for some states. Dr. Piot noted that progress had been made
in establishing and improving partnerships for development, and he highlighted the
contributions of some corporations. He added that UNAIDS and the World Health
Organization (WHO) were working with pharmaceutical companies to seek the means to
provide medicines to all people with AIDS. 

Contact: Dominique De Santis, Press Officer, UNAIDS, 20 avenue Appia, CH-1211 Geneva
27, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/791 3387, fax +41-22/791 4898, e-mail
<desantisd@unaids.org>, website (www.unaids.org). 


MEETING ON AFRICAN PERSPECTIVES ON HIV/AIDS
A "town hall" style meeting was held on 7 February 2000 at UN headquarters in New York on
A Call to Action: African Perspectives on the HIV/AIDS Epidemic as a Security Threat,
Development Crisis and Humanitarian Emergency. The meeting was hosted by African
Amicale, a UN-based association that brings together Africans and people concerned about
the continent to promote its advancement. It was held in collaboration with the Organization
of African Unity (OAU), the UN secretariat and Africa divisions of the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The meeting featured a panel of speakers
including Secretary-General Kofi Annan, General Assembly President Theo-Ben Gurirab, US
Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, and UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown. 

"The purpose of this town hall meeting," said Djibril Diallo, President of African Amicale, "is
to call attention to the actions being taken by Africans [to combat HIV/AIDS] and to identify
specific actions that can be taken in collaboration with the rest of the world."

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that while many countries, especially in Asia and
Eastern Europe, face an alarming spread of HIV/AIDS, "nowhere else has it become such a
threat to the very foundations of society as it has in Africa's southern and eastern region."  

With less than 5% of the world's population, the region is home to more than 50% of those
living with HIV. Africa is where 60% of all AIDS deaths have happened so far, noted Mr.
Annan. "And it is where a whole generation of children," he said, "is now losing its parents to
AIDS. By the end of the twentieth century, the global epidemic had left 11 million
orphans 90% of them African children." 

Mr. Annan went on to describe the landmark Security Council meeting held in January 2000
on AIDS in Africa (see Go Between 79). The council discussed the impact of HIV/AIDS on
peace and security, and the efforts of African governments and NGOs there to limit the spread
of HIV/AIDS and alleviate the suffering it causes. Mr. Annan told the town hall meeting that
he had asked African governments, UN agencies, private corporations and NGOs involved in
the fight against HIV/AIDS to formulate by May a response commensurate with the scale of
the crisis, which reviews the problem in all its aspects and proposes strategies, methods,
practical activities and measures to strengthen international cooperation in addressing the
problem.

Mr. Gurirab, who highlighted the need for resources, said in January the World Bank, UNDP
and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) had joined the Security
Council to "dramatize the reality that the total sum needed annually for AIDS prevention in
Africa is in the order of US$1 billion to US$2.3 billion." He noted that Africa is receiving only
US$160 million a year in official development assistance from the world community to fight
HIV/AIDS. 

Mr. Gurirab stressed that HIV/AIDS is not only a public health problem but "a development
crisis of major proportions," as it tends to kill people in the prime of their working and
parenting lives, thereby destroying a large part of the workforce and weakening the social
fabric of society and impoverishing families. He called on the corporate sector, particularly
pharmaceutical companies, to "accept their social and moral responsibility and obligation to
find a cure for this disease and to ensure that everyone has access to the best drugs available."
Financial institutions, Mr. Gurirab said, must also be mobilized to support research and other
activities aimed at stopping the spread of the disease, mitigating its effects and finding a cure.


SPECIAL SESSION ON CHILDREN'S SUMMIT
The preparatory committee (PrepCom) for the 2001 General Assembly special session for
follow-up to the World Summit for Children held its organizational session at UN
headquarters in New York from 7-8 February 2000. Patricia Durrant (Jamaica) was elected
chair of the PrepCom, with vice-chairs Madina Ly-Tall (Mali), Anwarul Karim Chowdhury
(Bangladesh), Hanns Schumacher (Germany) and Lidija Topic (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

The special session will be aimed at providing an end-of-decade review of implementation of
the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children and the Plan
of Action, which were adopted by the World Summit for Children in September 1990. The
texts set forth a vision of a "first call" for children by establishing seven major and 20
supporting goals that were quantifiable and considered achievable by the year 2000. Following
a mid-decade review in 1996, the General Assembly welcomed significant progress made by
most countries in achieving the majority of mid-decade goals and objectives established by the
summit. However it noted with concern variation in the progress made across countries and
regions, and in specific areas such as malnutrition, maternal mortality, sanitation and girls'
education.

The special session is expected to provide the basis for future action for children. It is hoped
that national-level reviews, regional processes and policy discussion will assist in identification
of overall trends and lessons learned, and contribute to the work of the PrepCom in achieving
consensus on the remaining major challenges and priorities.

General Assembly President Theo-Ben Gurirab (Namibia), who opened the PrepCom, said
much had been achieved to promote the well-being of children as a result of the World
Summit for Children and adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, so
many children were being condemned to needless death, stunted growth, unfulfilled potential
and heinous exploitation, that any opportunity to reverse the situation must not be missed.

Carol Bellamy, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director, said that
"unprecedented progress for child survival and development that has occurred in the last ten
years" would not have been possible without the convergence of strategy, resources and
action promoted by the UN and its agencies. Ms. Bellamy said it was necessary to expand and
strengthen the vital partnership between governments, donors, international institutions and
civil society at every level to lay the foundation for a future global agenda for children.

The PrepCom decided that its first substantive session will take place from 30 May-2 June
2000 at UN headquarters in New York. The session is scheduled to immediately follow the
UNICEF executive board meeting, which has been called upon to provide substantive input to
the PrepCom's work and at the special session. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan will issue a
report on emerging issues to the substantive session. The report will draw on technical
consultations UNICEF has had with a range of governmental, UN agency, non-governmental
and academic experts. The session will focus on identifying key issues and trends in
conjunction with implementation of the outcome of the summit. Speakers at the PrepCom
stressed that the focus of the first substantive session should be on the review of previously
negotiated plans of action and not draw on new global agendas.

Three panel discussions will be held during the substantive session of the PrepCom. The first
will be devoted to review and assessment, including constraints encountered in implementing
goals of the summit and lessons learned. The second and third panels will deal with emerging
issues and future action for children. Arrangements for future sessions of the PrepCom will be
discussed at the first substantive session.

By the terms of several decisions approved at the end of the General Assembly organizational
session, the PrepCom decided that the special session should be open to participation of
NGOs that "are accredited in accordance with ECOSOC resolution 1996/31 of 25 July 1996
or are accredited with UNICEF." The PrepCom also decided to invite other NGOs that were
not accredited to ECOSOC or UNICEF but that collaborated with UNICEF under its mandate
to obtain technical advice and assistance from NGOs with special interest in child and family
welfare. The PrepCom also encouraged governments to include representatives of civil society
in their national and regional preparatory processes and to defer any decision on accreditation
and modalities for NGO participation in the General Assembly special session to a future
session.

During debate, several speakers expressed concern that expansion of the list of NGOs
participating in the special session would have a negative effect on the PrepCom's substantive
work. All countries, however, were committed to NGO participation both in the preparatory
process and for the special session itself. Most speakers, stressing that the World Summit for
Children was unique and required its own approach to NGO participation, agreed that it was
necessary to take into account the experience of preparatory bodies for other conferences.
They also noted the need to consider particular NGO input in the promotion of children's
interests and their active involvement in implementation of the main outcome of the summit.

A proposal that children take part in delegations of the PrepCom's substantive session met
with questions about what criteria would be used to determine the age of children taking part
in the proceedings. Karin Sham Poo, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, said they would
take part in activities at national and regional levels. The executive board of UNICEF would
consider the requirements and substantive issues of children's and youth participation and
leadership initiatives.

Contact: Office of UN Affairs and External Relations, UNICEF, UNICEF House, United
Nations, New York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/326 7000, fax +1-212/326
7770, website (www.unicef.org).


CHILD PROTECTION ADVISERS
The United Nations announced in February 2000 the deployment of Child Protection Advisers,
who will help ensure that "the protection of children's rights is a priority concern through the
peacekeeping process and the consolidation of peace in war-torn countries."

They will advise relevant peacekeeping operations, and under the authority of the UN
Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict they will
coordinate with UN agencies, NGOs and national authorities to ensure that children's issues
are incorporated fully into all relevant peacekeeping and peacebuilding policies and
programmes. The advisers will also work to ensure that all personnel involved in UN
peacekeeping operations both military and civilian have appropriate training on the protection
of children's rights.

The advisers will be drawn from the ranks of experienced staff in key UN agencies and from
relevant NGOs and development agencies with expertise in the protection of children's rights.

Contact: Margaret Carey, Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), S-3720C, United
Nations, New York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/963 1647, fax +1-212/963
9222, website (www.un.org/Depts/dpko).


FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT PREPCOM
The preparatory committee (PrepCom) for the High-Level International Intergovernmental
Event on Financing for Development approved its bureau's recommendations on participation
of all relevant stakeholders in both the substantive preparatory process and the event itself
(A/AC.257/6), as it met during a resumed organizational session from 27-31 March 2000 in
New York.

At its 54th session, the General Assembly decided that the event on financing for development
would be convened in 2001 to address national, international and systemic issues relating to
financing for development in the context of globalization and trade liberalization. The event
will address development through the perspective of finance, as well as mobilization of
financial resources for the full implementation of the outcome of the major UN conferences
and summits of the 1990s (see Go Between 79 and NGLS Roundup 50).

The PrepCom adopted without a vote a draft decision (A/AC.257/L.1/Rev.1) on preparations
for the substantive preparatory process and the high level event itself. The PrepCom approved
a three-tier consultative intergovernmental mechanism for the World Bank's active
participation in preparatory work, which it welcomed. This comprises: broad-based
consultations between the PrepCom bureau and the World Bank's board of executive
directors; inclusive and transparent informal consultations between the Bank and the United
Nations; and consultations of the bureau with a specially designated senior-level World Bank
management team. The PrepCom requested the bureau clarify the purpose and working
pattern of consultations with the World Bank team.

The PrepCom approved recommendations for continued consultations with the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Trade Organization (WTO). Jorgen Bojer (Denmark),
co-chair of the PrepCom, told the meeting that steps are underway for the bureau to meet with
the general council of the WTO in the near future. The PrepCom was also informed that the
executive board of the IMF would soon be meeting to discuss its potential role in the financing
for development process.

Concerning non-governmental organizations and the private sector, the PrepCom approved
three modalities for their participation: in meetings of the PrepCom and the high-level event; in
hearings and other forms of consultation and dialogues; and in communications with the
secretariat.

Participation in the PrepCom will be open to NGOs currently in consultative status with the
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC); other NGOs will be welcome to apply to the
PrepCom for accreditation. Such applications need to be submitted by 1 January 2001 to a
committee composed of the bureau of the PrepCom. 

The financing for development bureau, elected in February 2000, is comprised of three
member states from each geographical region: Egypt, Ghana, Sudan (Africa); Croatia, Czech
Republic, Macedonia (Eastern Europe); Guatemala, Saint Lucia, Peru (Latin America and
Caribbean); Denmark, Sweden, United States (Western Europe and other states); and Japan,
Pakistan, Thailand (Asia). The co-chairs of the PrepCom are from Denmark and Thailand.

Oscar de Rojas (Venezuela) has been appointed to serve as the Executive Coordinator of the
UN secretariat for the financing for development event, which is situated within the
Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 

The following summarizes the current timetable of events.
---  Before 15 May 2000:
--preparation of a second report by the bureau on additional modalities for participation
--convening of open-ended informal consultations in New York on the agenda of the 2001
event

---  15 May-26 May 2000:
--first substantive session of the PrepCom in New York

---  Second half of 2000:
--five regional consultative meetings hosted by the regional commissions in conjunction with
the regional development banks and the United Nations Conference for Trade and
Development (UNCTAD); the Asian regional meeting scheduled in Indonesia in the first week
of August
--two sets of hearings in New York (one with the private sector and one with NGOs) to solicit
their views on the conclusions of the financing for development process

---  First half of 2001:
--second and third substantive sessions of the PrepCom (each for two weeks) 

Contact: Harris Gleckman, Office of the Director, Development Policy Analysis Division,
Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Room DC2-2162, United Nations, New York
NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/963 4690, fax +1-212/963 1061, e-mail
<gleckman@un.org>, website (www.un.org/esa/analysis/ffd).


ECOSOC VISITS WORLD BANK
As a sign of further collaboration between the United Nations and Bretton Woods Institutions,
the World Bank hosted a United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) delegation
with representatives of 30 countries in Washington DC on 15 March 2000. The meeting with
the ECOSOC delegation, headed by council President Makarim Wibisono (Indonesia), is only
the third ever between the World Bank's board and ECOSOC members. It was an opportunity
for World Bank executive directors and UN ambassadors to engage in dialogue on specific
issues of mutual concern (see Go Between 78 and NGLS Roundup 40).

"No development agency can address the challenge of development alone," said World Bank
President James Wolfensohn. "Only in partnership with governments, the private sector and
NGOs can we begin to deal with these issues .The poor are assets, not liabilities; we need to
loosen bureaucratic constraints and empower the poor to join in meeting the challenge."

Topics discussed included Financing for Development; Update on Poverty
Reduction Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF) and its Linkages with Poverty
Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) and the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt
Initiative; Current Issues in Microfinance; Recent Developments in Knowledge Management;
and Intensified Action Against HIV/AIDS Update on UN/World Bank Collaboration.

The Financing for Development session was addressed by co-chairs of the UN Preparatory
Committee for the High-Level International Intergovernmental Event on Financing for
Development, Ambassadors Asda Jayanama (Thailand) and Jorgen Bojer (Denmark). The
session, chaired by World Bank Vice President for External Affairs and United Nations Affairs
Mats Karlsson, discussed the creation of a more stable international financial system that is
responsive to the challenges of development, especially in developing countries. 

In the session on poverty reduction Masood Ahmed, World Bank Vice President for Poverty
Reduction and Economic Management Network, highlighted the Comprehensive Development
Framework and its linkages with Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers and the HIPC initiative.  


SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS IN WASHINGTON
Ambassadors from 15 countries that are members of the United Nations Security Council
visited Washington DC on 30 March 2000 for a series of meetings on Capitol Hill and at the
US State Department.

The ambassadors, who went in their personal capacities, met with US Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright and Under-Secretary of State Thomas Pickering. The ambassadors also
held a public meeting with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by Republican
Senator Jesse Helms, and visited the White House for a briefing by Jim Steinberg, Acting
Director of the US National Security Council. The visit to Washington came at the invitation
of Senator Helms, who first proposed it during his speech to the Security Council in January
(see Go Between 79). 

"We very much appreciated the warm welcome extended to us during our visit to the United
Nations in January, and the constructive discussion at that time," said Mr. Helms and Senator
Joseph Biden, Senior Democrat, in a letter to the Security Council President for March,
Anwarul Karim Chowdhury (Bangladesh). "It will be a pleasure to repay your
hospitality....Just as the Foreign Relations Committee's UN visit was an historic moment, so
too will your visit to Washington contribute to a new beginning in US-UN relations."

Several ambassadors used the visit to criticize the US government's failure to pay its arrears to
the UN on time, in full and without condition. British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock asked
why other member states should agree to pay their dues in full without conditions if the United
States does not.

One of the conditions stated by the US for paying its arrears is reducing its regular UN
membership and peacekeeping dues. While this has angered many member states, some
governments are now reconsidering the US proposals since the UN cannot effectively exist
without the United States' cooperation.

"We are not persuaded by your arguments," said Ambassador Peter van Walsum (The
Netherlands), "but by our own enlightened self-interest."

Some members of the Senate committee criticized the UN by complaining that it "tries to do
too much and doesn't show enough appreciation for US contributions." Senator Carl Levin
said the United Nations should complain as loudly about countries that are reluctant to
contribute troops to peacekeeping operations as it has about Washington's failures to pay its
dues. 

Senator Helms, a longtime critic of the UN, said he hoped the meetings and his January visit to
New York were "the beginning of an ongoing and permanent dialogue leading to a better
US-UN relationship. The stakes of this endeavour are high. In our success or failure lies not
only the fate of US-UN relations, but quite possibly the fate of the UN itself." Mr. Helms said
he and his colleagues "want to help the UN become a more efficient deliverer of humanitarian
aid, a more effective peacekeeper, a better weapons inspector, and a more effective tool of
diplomacy." 

He went on to stress, however, that the UN must not seek to become "the central authority of
the new international order of global laws and global governance." Senator Biden echoed the
call for UN reform but said the US should not dictate the terms. 

"I doubt there are any of us," he said, "who believe that the UN today is sufficiently equipped
to take us into the 21st century. There is a need for reform, whether the United States
suggests it or not."
Mr. Greenstock noted the value of the visit by commenting that "the mood shift [in relations
between the UN and the US] is significant. The substance shift is not yet there but one thing
leads to another."


SG LAUNCHES PEACE OPERATIONS REVIEW
On 7 March 2000 United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced the start of a
review of UN peace operations and called for a "clear set of recommendations on how to do
better" in the future on UN peace and security activities. 

The study will endeavour to clarify goals of the UN in peace operations and understand the
kinds of forces that are necessary and available for different goals. According to former
Algerian Foreign Minister Lakhdar Brahimi, who will chair the panel that will supervise the
study, one of the main problems faced by the UN is that the mandates it is given are not
matched by resources. 

"When such operations are being ventured," he said, "staying power, political will and
resources must be ensured until their completion." 

The study will also examine structures of the United Nations secretariat in order to ensure
clear lines of command, control and accountability, and to ensure coordination between those
carrying out different tasks. 

The study comes in the wake of the Secretary-General's report on the fall of Srebrenica and
the report on genocide in Rwanda, in which United Nations peacekeeping operations were
blamed for not having done enough to prevent atrocities (see Go Between 79).

"We must all do our utmost not to allow such horrors, and especially such appalling failures by
the United Nations, ever to happen again," said Mr. Annan. "But we must not promise too
much, or raise expectations higher than are justified by the will of governments to act."

Mr. Annan said he hoped the panel's report will be ready by July 2000, so that heads of state
and government will have time to read it before the Millennium Summit in September, when
peace and security will be a major item on the agenda. 

Members of the panel include: Brian Atwood (United States); Dame Ann Hercus (New
Zealand); Richard Monk (United Kingdom); General Klaus Naumann (Germany); Hisako
Shimura (Japan); General Phillip Sibanda (Zimbabwe); and Cornelio Sommaruga
(Switzerland).


SMALL ARMS CONFERENCE PREPCOM
The Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the United Nations Conference on Illicit Trade in
Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects decided to defer its decision on the dates
and venue of the conference until the 55th session of the General Assembly, as the committee
concluded its first session on 3 March 2000 in New York.

The committee decided to hold its second session from 8-19 January 2001 in New York, and
the third from 19-30 March 2001. Kenya had offered to host the latter, and the committee
decided that the secretariat would convey to the Kenyan delegation the financial implications
of holding the third session in Nairobi, so that the General Assembly could take a decision at
its next session. 

The committee decided to continue its consideration of recommendations to the conference on
all relevant matters including objectives, a draft agenda, draft rules of procedure and draft final
documents, which will include a programme of action. No decision was made on modalities of
attendance of non-governmental organizations at the committee's sessions.

During the committee's general debate, several delegates suggested adopting a comprehensive
approach: the mandate of the conference should cover a wide range of issues such as illicit
trafficking of small arms and light weapons; legal trade in the weapons; negative effects of
widespread access to small arms on socio-economic development and human security;
increased transparency in arms transfers; and the interrelationship between illicit trafficking,
smuggling and the legal trade in small arms.

Some delegates upheld the right of state sovereignty, particularly the right of a state to
develop its own defence system for its national security needs. They maintained that efforts to
curb the illicit trade should not affect what they described as the legitimate rights of states to
own, produce and transfer small arms. They felt the conference should be a platform to
formulate the means to combat and eradicate exclusively the illicit trade in small arms in all its
aspects.

A successful outcome of the conference would be acceptance of a plan of action with a
timetable for implementation, several delegates noted. They said some elements highlighted in
such a plan might include supply and demand; state responsibility; and developing agreed
norms for the security and safe management of arms stockpiles being held by state authorities
or state-authorized entities.

Several delegates said the final document of the conference should include a political
declaration setting out a framework for future cooperation and action. It should identify
elements that would encourage future cooperation and facilitate regional action such as
information exchange, strengthening national laws and regulations, management of stockpiles
and improvement of tracing illicit arms flows.

In related news, ministers and senior government representatives from ten African countries
have signed an agreement aimed at halting the proliferation of small arms in the Horn of Africa
and Great Lakes region. 

The four-day meeting, held at the end of March in Nairobi (Kenya), brought together officials
from Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya,
Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. 
In the agreement the countries agree to increase cooperation between their intelligence and
customs officials, as well as among police in combating small arms trafficking and circulation.
In order to promote human security they pledged to "encourage a concrete and coordinated
agenda for action for the subregion," and that they would ensure all states have in place
adequate laws, regulations and administrative procedures for effective gun control. Among
other things, they also urged small arms manufacturing countries to use licensing to ensure
proper regulation. 

Contact: Conventional Arms Branch, Department for Disarmament Affairs, United Nations,
New York NY 10017, United States, fax +1-212/963 1121, website
(www.un.org/Depts/dda/CAB).


COMMITTEE ON PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS
The Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, which concluded its year 2000 session
on 10 March, stressed the importance of consistently applying the standards for establishment
and conduct of peacekeeping operations. It emphasized that respect for such basic principles
as consent of the parties, impartiality and non-use of force except in self-defence was
essential to success. 

The committee, whose report of the session covers the question of peacekeeping in all its
aspects, reaffirmed that regional arrangements and agencies could make an important
contribution to peacekeeping where appropriate and when their mandate and scope legally
allowed them to do so. It also emphasized that, according to the United Nations Charter, no
enforcement action should be taken without authorization of the Security Council.

The report stresses that changes in mandate during a mission should be based on thorough and
timely reassessment by the Security Council following full discussion between contributing
countries and the council. There should also be "commensurate changes to the resources
available" to a mission to enable it to carry out its new mandate.

Speakers in the general debate stressed the need for international political will and sufficient
funding, which they said were essential for timely and effective international involvement. 

The representative of Japan, Motoshide Yoshikawa, highlighted the multidisciplinary character
of recent peacekeeping operations, whose mandates included not only traditional activities by
military personnel but tasks such as those carried out by civilian police, the establishment of
local administration and economic reconstruction, humanitarian assistance, disarmament,
demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants, and human rights monitoring. Mr.
Yoshikawa called for greater coordination at three levels: within the secretariat, between the
United Nations and related organizations, and in the field. He also pointed to the need to
coordinate the Bretton Woods Institutions, especially in peacebuilding activities. 
Alagmir Babar (Pakistan) noted that efforts were being made to expand the Security Council's
role beyond its primary responsibility and broaden its agenda to include such issues as
HIV/AIDS and the rights of children. He said that this "dangerous trend" of undermining
other bodies of the UN, particularly the General Assembly, must be curtailed.

Rod Smith, representative of Australia and speaking as the lead nation of the international
force in East Timor (INTERFET), noted that a critical ingredient of INTERFET's success had
been the strong support of the international community and that the operation had provided
some valuable lessons. These included the importance of an appropriate Security Council
mandate, the need for adequate resources, and the importance of developing practical and
cooperative mechanisms for resolving disputes.


INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT PREPCOM MEETS
The preparatory commission (PrepCom) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) held its
fourth session from 13-31 March 2000 at the United Nations in New York to continue
elaborating rules and guidelines necessary for the court's functioning.

The PrepCom, chaired by Philippe Kirsch (Canada), undertook a second reading to refine
language and eliminate inconsistencies in two key instruments the Elements of Crime, and
Rules of Procedure and Evidence and continued to work on the question of the crime of
aggression. The mandate of the PrepCom calls for completion of work on the two instruments
by 30 June 2000. 

During the course of the PrepCom, Judge Richard George May (United Kingdom) of the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia described the tribunal's practices
and experience in some unresolved areas under discussion, such as evidence in cases of sexual
violence; the role of the Victims and Witnesses Unit; issues arising with respect to defence
counsels; and matters relating to the enforcement of sentences. 

Judge May told the PrepCom that the tribunal's rules governing the admission of evidence in
cases of sexual assault had been consciously adapted to take into account the organized and
systematic rape of women, particularly in detention facilities. Tribunal judges have
intentionally rejected many of the evidentiary rules applied to rape trials in national
jurisdictions, adopting for example a policy precluding evidence of consent to sexual contact
when certain oppressive or coercive conditions are present. They have also precluded any
effort by the defence to introduce evidence concerning the prior sexual conduct of the victim. 

Regarding the role and protection of victims and witness, Judge May emphasized the
importance of protecting confidentiality of witnesses. Concerning the enforcement of
sentences he said that the tribunal, which has no permanent facilities to imprison convicted
persons, depends on the voluntary cooperation of states to enforce its sentences. 

Judge May said that one of the difficulties experienced with some states was that domestic law
prevented them from entering into such agreements without time-consuming amendments to
current legislation. He noted that in the case of the International Criminal Court, almost all
states would require implementing legislation, and suggested that this "would be the perfect
opportunity to make the amendments necessary to domestic legislation."

The working group on elements of crime focused on the elements of crime for genocide
during its first week, then turned its attention to war crimes. The working group on rules of
procedure and evidence held informal consultations regarding Part 2 of the Rome Statute
(jurisdiction, admissibility and applicable law), Part 5 (investigation and prosecution), and Part
6 (the trial). Much time was devoted to the question of victims, including the definition of
victims. Part 6 relating to evidence in cases of sexual violence was taken up the second week.

Representatives of NGOs also participated in the PrepCom's open meetings by contributing
recommendations and commentary. The Women's Caucus for Gender Justice called for a
general statement of gender integration. It said sexual violence should be charged as other
crimes within the jurisdiction of the court, where the acts of sexual violence meet the elements
of those crimes. 

"This would ensure that sexual violence," said the caucus, "which occurs mostly to women, is
treated with the same seriousness as crimes which are inflicted on both men and women." 

Human Rights Watch issued an analysis of elements of crime and rules of procedure and
evidence, and it made recommendations in all areas. The Lawyers Committee for Human
Rights analyzed issues of jurisdiction and admissibility in the rules of procedure and evidence.
REDRESS, a group that seeks reparation for torture survivors, issued recommendations on
reparation and other issues relating to victims.

The next meeting of the PrepCom will be held from 12-30 June 2000 in New York. The fifth
session will address completion of the texts including finalization of financial rules and
regulations, a first-year budget for the court, a relationship agreement between the court and
the UN, and agreement on the court's headquarters with The Netherlands, its host country.

Contact: Codification Division, Office of Legal Affairs, United Nations, Room 3460, New
York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/963 5332, fax +1-212/963 1963, website
(www.un.org/law/icc/index.htm) or Coalition for an International Criminal Court, c/o World
Federalist Movement/Institute for Global Policy, 777 UN Plaza, New York NY 10017, United
States, telephone +1-212/687 2176, fax +1-212/599 1332, e-mail <cicc@igc.org>, website
(www.igc.org/icc/html).


COMMITTEE ON RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination concluded its 56th session on 24
March 2000 in Geneva after examining reports on France, Zimbabwe, Denmark, Malta, Spain,
Tonga, Rwanda, Estonia, Lesotho, Bahrain and Australia to implement provisions of the
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. 

The committee, the first body created by the United Nations to review actions by states in
fulfilling their obligations under a specific human-rights agreement, also held
question-and-answer sessions with government delegations from the above countries (except
Tonga). All 155 states Parties to the convention are required to submit periodic reports to the
committee, which consists of 18 experts. 

Among other things, the committee also made general recommendations on gender-related
dimensions of racial discrimination, and concerning the victims of racial discrimination and
their reparation. 

Mary Robinson, High Commissioner for Human Rights, told committee experts that her office
is engaged in a fundraising campaign to collect about US$4 million to cover activities related
to the Third World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and
Related Intolerance, to be held in South Africa in 2001. 

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a statement to a roundtable in New York on the
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, observed on 21 March, stressed
the conference against racism should be action-oriented. He said the event should focus,
among other things, on new forms of racial discrimination. 

Other speakers at the roundtable noted that besides dangerous and overt racist acts, racism
also has subtle forms in which it slowly digs away at societies and causes despair. They said
the conference would provide an opportunity to survey the situation and allow crafting of
solutions to emerging problems, such as the spreading of ideas of racism and intolerance
through new information technologies.

Contact: Carmen Rueda-Castanon, Secretary, Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Palais Wilson, 52 rue des
Pƒquis, CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 9288, fax +41-22/917 9022,
e-mail <crueda.hchr@unog.ch>, website (www.unhchr.ch).


HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND SLAVERY
A project to improve the effectiveness of law enforcement functions and criminal justice
responses against organized crime groups involved in new forms of slavery was launched on
28 March 2000 by the Philippines and the United Nations Centre for International Crime
Prevention (CICP). 
The first phase of the programme from March to September 2000 focuses on:
--  supporting a national coordination mechanism;
--  improving functional databases;
--  strengthening cooperation between law enforcement agencies and prosecution; and 
--  training and awareness raising. 

The initiative is the first pilot project launched under the framework of the CICP Global
Programme Against Trafficking in Human Beings. Similar projects are scheduled to begin this
year in Eastern Europe, West Africa and South America. The second phase of the project will
include, among other things, support and protection of victims and witnesses. 

A signing ceremony for the agreement was held just before the opening of the Asian Regional
Initiative Against Trafficking in Women and Children, a conference that concluded in Manila
(Philippines) on 31 March. Participants represented more than 20 Pacific Rim countries and
the United States. They discussed ways to stop the trafficking of women and children, which is
organized crime's third largest source of money after illicit drugs and guns, according to the
United Nations. It says some 250,000 people in Asia are bought and sold like slaves every year
for all types of work, including prostitution. 

An action plan agreed on at the conference calls for, among other things, educating poor
women about the trafficking, support for victims, and confiscation of profits and higher fines
for traffickers.

Contact: Centre for International Crime Prevention, United Nations Office for Drug Control
and Crime Prevention, PO Box 500, A-1400 Vienna, Austria, telephone +43-1/26060 4269,
fax +43-1/26060 5898, website (www.uncjin.org/CICP/cicp.html).


FOURTH ROUND OF POPS TALKS
The fourth round of negotiations for a global treaty on persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
concluded on 25 March 2000 in Bonn (Germany), with governments reaffirming eventual
elimination as the goal of the convention. Intensive discussions also laid the basis for deciding
on technical and financial assistance at the last round of negotiations, to be held from 4-9
December 2000 in Johannesburg (South Africa). 

"Negotiators made important progress on a number of key issues," said Klaus T”pfer, UNEP
Executive Director. "They are now in a good position to reach agreement on the treaty by the
end of 2000, the deadline in the mandate from the Governing Council of the United Nations
Environment Programme."

A total of 317 delegates from 121 countries participated in the Intergovernmental Negotiating
Committee (INC) negotiation, working with 11 UN bodies and specialized agencies, seven
intergovernmental organizations and 81 NGOs and other bodies. Delegates will now consult
with their governments on proposals made and issues identified in Bonn, including technical
and financial assistance. Although they recognized that technology and funding are critical to
successful implementation of the convention, they were unable to agree on how to finance the
effort in developing countries.

New proposals for ensuring access to funding were considered including several, if adopted,
that would build on the Global Environment Facility in recognition of its potential for
addressing global environmental issues. The G-77 countries and China said the nature of the
POPs issue and experience with existing mechanisms reflect the need for a dedicated financial
mechanism, which should include an independent multilateral fund. The meeting accepted the
offer by John Buccini, INC chair, that a meeting of 20 countries be held intersessionally to
seek common ground and help bring about resolution in December.

On controls, negotiators favoured retaining the goal of ultimate elimination of production and
use of all ten intentionally produced persistent organic pollutants in the mandate. These are the
pesticides aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, mirex, and toxaphene, and
industrial chemicals hexachlorobenzene which is also a pesticide and PCBs. Such exemptions
would be subject to periodic review to determine continued need.  

On DDT, negotiators continued to favour proposals eliminating production and use, but
including a public health exemption as countries adopt alternative chemical and non-chemical
strategies and reduce reliance on DDT.  

Negotiators generally agreed on basic provisions for continuing minimization of the unwanted
by-products dioxins and furans. An annex was proposed as a basis for further negotiations
including not only dioxins and furans, but also hexachlorobenzene and PCBs when
unintentionally formed in certain processes.

Aside from a few technical issues, agreement was reached on proposals to establish scientific
criteria for identifying additional persistent organic pollutants for future international action
and a procedure for deciding on their inclusion. The mandate calls for criteria and a procedure
to give countries the means to respond to problems in the future.

Among other provisions, there was support for proposals to eliminate existing uses of PCBs
by certain dates (to be determined), ensure the environmentally sound management of POPs
wastes, require national implementation plans, promote information exchange, facilitate
technology transfer, and foster research and development.

The Bonn meeting was the Fourth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee
(INC-4) for an International Legally Binding Instrument for Implementing International Action
on Certain Persistent Organic Pollutants.

Contact: Jim Willis, Director, UNEP Chemicals, Geneva Executive Centre, 11-13 chemin des
Anemones, CH-1219 Chatelaine (Geneva), Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 8183, fax
+41-22/797 3460, e-mail <chemicals@unep.ch>, website (irptc.unep.ch) or
(www.chem.unep.ch/pops).


EXPERTS ON ENERGY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The issue of energy and sustainable development is on the agenda for the ninth session of the
Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-9), to be held in 2001.  Recognizing the
crucial and controversial nature of this topic, member states decided during the five-year
review of the Earth Summit to undertake advance preparations for CSD-9's deliberations on
energy and to establish an intergovernmental group of experts on energy and sustainable
development. 

The expert group held its first meeting at UN headquarters in New York from 6-10 March
2000. The group considered reports of the UN Secretary-General on Energy and Sustainable
Development: Key Issues, and on national submissions. A co-chairs' summary of the
discussions was prepared, which will serve as input to the ninth session of the CSD and the
second session of the expert group. The summary is available at website
(www.un.org/esa/sustdev/enrexpert.htm) together with the other relevant UN documents.

The co-chairs' summary identified the following key issues: accessibility of energy; energy
efficiency; renewable energy; advanced fossil fuel technologies; nuclear energy technologies;
rural energy; energy and transportation; technology transfer; capacity building; mobilization of
financial resources; and international and regional cooperation.

Major issues debated by the expert group included how to reduce poverty by ensuring an
increased supply of energy, while at the same time addressing local and global environmental
threats. The interests of the fossil fuel and nuclear energy lobbies conflicted with an increasing
appreciation among countries of the transformation of traditional energy supply and demand
equations necessitated by new and more sustainable development trajectories. The European
Union emphasized market reform, liberalization in the energy sector, internalization of
externalities or energy taxes, and the phasing out of environmentally harmful substances. The
Group of 77 (G-77) and China resisted the suggestion to internalize externalities since this was
perceived as a developed country issue (pricing remains a contentious issue within developed
countries) and stressed as their key concerns technology transfer, capacity building and finance
for sustainable development.

The second session of the expert group will be held in February/March 2001 in conjunction
with the intersessional meetings of CSD-9.

Contact: Division for Sustainable Development, United Nations, New York NY 10017,
United States, fax +1-212/963 4260, website (www.un.org/esa/sustdev).


SEABED AUTHORITY DISCUSSES CODE
Conflicting views on confidentiality of information and environmental protection slowed work
on a draft mining code, as the International Seabed Authority (see Go Between 66) held the
first part of its sixth session in Kingston (Jamaica) from 20-31 March 2000.

The 36-member Council of the Authority met for most of the two weeks in informal
consultations to consider the code and produced a redraft of the text, known formally as
regulations for prospecting and exploration of polymetallic nodules in the international seabed
area. This paper will form the basis of further negotiations when the authority resumes its
session in Kingston from 3-14 July.

Satya Nandan, re-elected for a second four-year term as Secretary-General of the authority,
said there was "substantial progress" toward resolving remaining issues. However some
delegations voiced disappointment that more results had not been achieved. 

Provisions revised as a result of the council's discussion related mainly to three topics:
--  environmental protection;
--  safeguarding of confidential information provided to the authority by seabed contractors;
and
--  types of information required from contractors.

These points cover most of the contentious issues still facing the council as it seeks to
complete work on draft regulations that will govern the exploratory phase leading to mining of
mineral-rich deposits on the deep seabed in ocean areas beyond the jurisdiction of any state.
The council has been working on this text since 1998; last August it set the goal of completing
the draft by the end of this year's session in July.

Contact: International Seabed Authority (ISA), 14-20 Port Royal Street, Kingston, Jamaica,
telephone +876/922 9105, fax +876/922 0195, website (www.unac.org/players/isa.html).



HEARINGS ON TOBACCO CONVENTION
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for public hearings on issues surrounding
the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (see Go Between 79) and invited interested
parties, including the tobacco industry, to submit written comments and testimonies. The
convention the world's first to deal entirely with a public health issue will be negotiated by the
WHO's 191 member states and is expected to be opened for signature no later than 2003.

"I invite all parties with a material interest in advancing our public health goals to work with
us in a constructive manner," said WHO Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland at the start
of a two-day meeting on the convention, held in March in Geneva. "In this way, this debate
remains in the public domain....We have started a global debate around tobacco. Our member
states are eager to analyze the tobacco toll on individuals and government, and they are
equally eager to act on the evidence....Let us see to it that ours will be the last generation to
face this scourge without hope."

The hearings in Geneva will take place in late September or early October 2000. All
submissions as well as testimony will be made part of the public record, as well as made
available to countries negotiating the convention.

The announcement about the hearings was made, according to WHO, as pressure mounts on
countries to act on the growing evidence that tobacco is emerging as "the number one
preventable cause of death and disease in the next 30 years." Tobacco now kills over four
million people annually. By 2030 it will kill ten million people; seven in ten will be in
developing countries.

At the March meeting NGOs from around the world sharply criticized the United States and
other governments that they said advocated for a weak treaty. INFACT, a US-based corporate
accountability organization, and other members of the Network for the Accountability of the
Tobacco Transnationals called for "a tough and enforceable framework convention free of
tobacco industry influence."

"The tobacco corporations, finding no peaceful atmosphere in their home countries of the
North, are moving shops," said Oronto Douglas, an environmental rights lawyer and Deputy
Director of Environmental Rights Action of Nigeria. Mr. Douglas gained international
prominence as part of the legal defense team for the late Ken Saro-Wiwa, who challenged
Shell and other oil transnationals in Nigeria. 

Network members called on delegates to support the development of national public health
legislation by preventing tobacco industry interference in public policy debates. 

"Philip Morris and the tobacco transnationals demonstrate a lack of respect for the sovereign
right of countries to develop legislation to protect people's lives," said Lucinda
Wykle-Rosenberg, INFACT's Research Director. "The framework convention should require
the tobacco corporations to disclose their lobbying activities and political contributions, and it
should set strict limits on tobacco industry influence."

Contact: Derek Yach, Programme Manager, Tobacco Free Initiative, WHO, 20 avenue Appia,
CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland, telephone +41-79/217 3404, e-mail <yachd@who.int>,
website (www.who.int). For information on the NGO network, contact INFACT, 46
Plympton Street, Boston MA 02118, United States, telephone +1-617/695 2525, fax
+1-617/695 2626, website (www.infact.org).



 DRUG CONTROL SUMMIT
Parliamentarians and senior officials of Canada, Japan, the United States, the European Union
and Andean countries met at the International Drug Control Summit in Washington DC from
8-9 February 2000. Discussions at the summit, co-organized by the United Nations Office for
Drug Control and Crime Prevention (ODCCP) and the US Congress, focused on alternative
development, law enforcement, illicit drug production, trafficking and abuse trends, and
money laundering offshore centres.

In a final statement participants said, among other things, that:
--  international cooperation is a critical part of effective drug control;
--  ODCCP has an essential role in addressing global challenges of the drug problem; and
--  legislators and parliamentarians from around the world should continue to work together
and share information about successful methods to reduce drug abuse, production and
trafficking. 

They also stressed that a balanced approach, which focuses on all aspects of drug control, is
essential. 

"Obtaining a significant reduction in the supply of and demand for illegal drugs," said the
statement, "as called for at the UN General Assembly Special Session of June 1998 [see
NGLS Roundup, July 1998] should continue to be a priority."

Contact: ODCCP, Vienna International Centre, PO Box 500, A-1400 Vienna, Austria,
telephone +43-1/260600, fax +43-1/26060 5866, e-mail <odccp@odccp.org>, website
(www.undcp.org).


NARCOTIC DRUGS COMMISSION MEETS
Governments meeting in Vienna (Austria) in March 2000 have agreed to intensify efforts in
implementing effective strategies aimed at achieving measurable results in the reduction of
both demand and supply of illicit drugs. At the 43rd session of the United Nations Commission
on Narcotic Drugs, governments decided to invite the UN General Assembly to include the
topic among agenda items of the Millennium Assembly and Millennium Summit, which will
bring together heads of state and government on 5-6 September 2000 in New York.

The 53 members of the commission include Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia,
Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Iran,
Italy, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Libya, Mexico, Peru, Russian Federation,
Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The commission decided to convene a high-level ministerial segment in 2003 and 2008 to
coincide with target dates to meet objectives agreed at the General Assembly special session
on the theme two years ago (see NGLS Roundup, July 1998). They also assessed progress in
reducing illicit demand for drugs and eradicating illicit drug crops. Governments, together with
the Vienna-based United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), agreed
on measures that should ensure clear directions and a more focused approach in meeting the
targets set by the special session.

Success is possible in drug control, stressed Pino Arlacchi, Executive Director of UNDCP, in
his statement to the commission. He gave examples of reductions in coca cultivation in Peru
and Bolivia, and opium poppy cultivation in Pakistan and the Lao People's Democratic
Republic. He said that implementation of the strategies to reach special session targets was
achievable.

Among other things, the commission said it continued to view national monitoring as the
backbone of an international network to stop illicit crop cultivation. It asked UNDCP to
continue providing financial support and technical assistance to countries that have eradicated
illicit crops and seek to avoid their relocation through implementation of alternative
development programmes.

Delegates said they appreciated UNDCP activities in support of capacity building to collect
comparable and reliable data through a global drug abuse assessment programme. They
encouraged the organization to use information technology to assist countries with more
efficient submission of information on drug abuse.

In the area of demand reduction delegates agreed that, when needed, UNDCP should continue
to provide guidance and assistance to member states for development of demand reduction 
strategies and programmes, and to facilitate sharing of information on best practices. UNDCP
has increased the resources allocated to demand reduction by 40% in its budget for the
2000-2001 biennium.

The commission agreed on the need for timely action to protect children from drug abuse at an
earlier age. Delegates called on all states to implement national prevention programmes and
treatment projects targeted at young people and especially children in difficult circumstances.
Delegates also asked member states to develop services for effective prevention and early
intervention, counselling, treatment, aftercare and social integration.

On the issue of drug trafficking, delegates declared the case of Afghanistan "especially
worrisome." According to a UNDCP 1999 survey, opium harvest in the country was more
than double the previous year. Over 75% of the world's illegal opium is now produced in
Afghanistan. 

Contact: Jonathan Lucas, Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Vienna International Centre, PO
Box 500, A-1400 Vienna, Austria, telephone +43-1/26060 3400, fax +43-1/26060 5885,
website (www.undcp.org/cnd.html).


AD HOC COMMITTEE ON TERRORISM
The General Assembly's ad hoc committee on terrorism, established by General Assembly
resolution 51/210 of 17 December 1996, concluded its fourth session on 18 February 2000 in
New York. The commission is elaborating a comprehensive legal framework of conventions
dealing with international terrorism.

The session considered the question of convening a high-level United Nations conference to
formulate an international response to all forms of terrorism. It also discussed a draft
convention for the suppression of acts of nuclear terrorism, originally proposed by the Russian
Federation. 

The 20-article draft convention covers the use or threat to use nuclear material, nuclear fuel,
radioactive products or waste or any other radioactive substances with toxic, explosive or
other dangerous properties. It defines nuclear terrorism as "the use or threat to use any nuclear
installation, nuclear explosion or radiation-dissemination devices to kill or injure persons; to
damage property or the environment; or to compel persons, states or international
organizations to do or refrain from doing any act." The definition also includes the
unauthorized receipt through fraud, theft or forcible seizure of any nuclear material,
radioactive substances, nuclear installation, nuclear explosive or radiation devices belonging to
a state Party. 

The Non-Aligned Movement has proposed convening a high-level conference as a way of
tackling the politically-divisive issue of terrorism. It said the conference should elaborate a
definition of terrorism and address the need to distinguish terrorism from legitimate struggle in
the exercise of the right to self-determination and independence. The United States expressed
doubt about practical benefits of the conference, and said it might distract from continuing to
take concrete measures including encouraging universal adherence to the 11 existing
anti-terrorism conventions. 

The ad hoc committee will meet next from 25 September to 6 October, during the 55th
session of the General Assembly, to continue its work.


Several months after its adoption by governments, the Protocol on Liability and Compensation
for Damage Resulting from the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their
Disposal was opened for signature on 6 March 2000 in Bern (Switzerland). The protocol is
linked to the 1989 Basel Convention on transboundary movement and disposal of hazardous
wastes (see E&D File Treaty Series, vol. 1, no. 3).

"The Basel Convention is the first environmental treaty to establish a legally binding regime
for liability and compensation," said Per Bakken, Officer in Charge of the Basel Convention
secretariat, which is administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
"Today's signing ceremony therefore celebrates a major step forward in global environmental
protection." 

The protocol is open for signature at United Nations headquarters in New York from 1 April
to 10 December 2000. Governments must then ratify or accede before becoming Parties. The
agreement will enter into force after it has received 20 ratifications.  

The protocol was adopted by the fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel
Convention on 10 December 1999 (see Go Between 79). It will provide a comprehensive
regime for determining liability and ensuring prompt and adequate compensation in the event
of damages resulting from transboundary movements and disposal of hazardous wastes,
including illegal traffic in those wastes. 

The protocol will determine who is financially responsible in the event of an incident. Each
phase of a transboundary movement, from the generation of wastes to their export,
international transit, import and final disposal, is considered. Protocol negotiations began in
1993 in response to developing countries' concerns about their lack of funds and technology
for coping with illegal dumping or accidental spills. 

Currently 133 states and the European Union are Parties to the Basel Convention. It addresses
problems posed by the annual worldwide production of hundreds of millions of tons of
hazardous wastes. The wastes are considered hazardous to people and the environment if they
are toxic, poisonous, explosive, corrosive, flammable, "eco-toxic" or infectious. 

The convention regulates movements of these wastes and obliges its members to ensure that
such wastes are managed and disposed of in an environmentally sound manner. Governments
are expected to minimize the quantities that are transported, to treat and dispose of wastes as
close as possible to where they were generated, and to minimize the generation of hazardous
wastes at source. 

Contact: Secretariat of the Basel Convention, Geneva Executive Center, 15 chemin des
Anemones, CH-1219 Chatelaine (Geneva), Switzerland, telephone +41-22/979 1111, fax
+41-22/797 3454, e-mail <sbc@unep.ch>, website (www.unep.ch/basel).


UNCCD FORUM HELD IN MALI
More than 60 experts from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean will participate in training
courses and exchanges in partner countries on issues of relevance in the combat against
desertification including water management, soil conservation, dune fixation, reforestation,
and elaboration of national action programmes. The programme of technical and scientific
exchanges was approved by representatives of 30 countries of the two regions at the second
Africa/Latin America and the Caribbean Forum on Implementation of the United Nations
Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The forum, held under the auspices of
UNCCD on 6-8 March 2000 in Bamako (Mali), was a follow-up to the first forum held in
Brazil in 1998.

At the meeting in Bamako representatives of Argentina, Benin, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mali,
Mexico, Peru and Venezuela presented detailed proposals and identified participants and
partners. In the coming months further initiatives will be considered and integrated in the
programme for enhanced South-South cooperation to combat land degradation and poverty. 

"The government of Venezuela has committed US$1 million to facilitate and support the
exchange of expertise between our countries through the next three years," said a
representative of the country, which will host the third forum (date to be established). Cuba
will host the fifth forum, and the fourth will take place in an African country.

Among other things, participants in the Bamako meeting called for strengthened involvement
of bilateral and multilateral institutions in support of needs of desertification-affected
countries. 

Contact: UNCCD Secretariat, Geneva Executive Centre, 11-13 chemin des Anemones,
CH-1219 Chatelaine (Geneva), Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 8111, fax +41-22/917
8030, e-mail <secretariat@unccd.ch>, website (www.unccd.ch).


EFA CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION
At a three-day conference on Education for All in Europe and North America, held in Warsaw
(Poland) in February 2000, 43 countries from the region decided to redefine national
approaches to basic education and lay the foundations for lifelong learning, recognized as an
indispensable instrument for individual empowerment in the emerging information-based
society. In a framework for action developed at the conference, participants also
recommended ways to update basic education and extend its availability to all people beyond
the traditional confines of childhood and formal classrooms. 

The conference was organized by the International Consultative Forum on Education for All
(EFA), which comprises the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Bank.

For each country, the framework recommends that basic education provide "key skills, used as
personal development tools [including] a first vocational initiation, the culture, values and
abilities that are needed for social cohesion, sustainable development...and for the exercise of
participatory and responsible citizenship in a democracy." To achieve this, it emphasizes the
need to fight against functional illiteracy, including in the most developed countries.

Regarding the allocation of resources for basic education, the framework stresses the need to
maintain, and in some cases increase, expenditure despite declining demographic trends in the
region, and to ensure that resource allocation serves to reduce inequities in access to, and the
quality of, education.

It also highlights the need to promote effective partnerships between schools, families,
communities, civil society, social services and political authorities, and the importance of basic
education in the fight against AIDS and other health risks. 

Other concerns stated in the framework include: 
--  the importance of monitoring results against both quantitative and qualitative targets, with
attention to populations that have most difficulty in attaining the desired objectives;
--  providing teachers with adequate training, notably in-service training, and with a
recognized status; and 
--  encouraging information sharing and enhancing flows of financial assistance, particularly in
Eastern and Central Europe.

The framework firmly places basic education as part of lifelong learning. "The importance of
valuing the learner's experience," it says, "in order to create both the curriculum and
opportunities for learning is paramount....We believe that participation in learning builds
self-confidence, citizenship and autonomy."

Contact: Teresa Murtagh, EFA Media Unit, UNESCO, 7 place de Fontenoy, F-75352 Paris 07
SP, France, telephone +33-1/45 68 21 27, fax +33-1/45 68 56 29, e-mail
<t.murtagh@unesco.org>, website (www2.unesco.org/wef). 


ILO GOVERNING BODY
The governing body of the International Labour Office (ILO) concluded its 277th session in
Geneva on 31 March 2000 after adopting conclusions on a wide range of subjects.

These included a decision to broaden the organization's examination of the social dimension of
globalization, expand efforts to end forced labour in Myanmar, and the first review of
follow-up to the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. 

The governing body also voiced unanimous support for a reinforcement of ILO technical
cooperation in favour of workers in the occupied Arab territories. It endorsed the report of an
ILO multi-disciplinary mission to the West Bank and Gaza, which outlined 19 projects with a
goal of strengthening the job and income-generating capacity of small and micro-enterprises.

The ILO's Committee on Freedom of Association reached interim conclusions on complaints
involving Australia, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Canada, Cuba, the Republic of Korea and
Zimbabwe.

The governing body set in motion a discussion for its June 2000 conference which could result
in an appeal to its other 174 member states to review their relationship with the government of
Myanmar, and to take appropriate measures to ensure that Myanmar "cannot take advantage
of such relations to perpetuate or extend the system of forced or compulsory labour" practised
against its citizens. Invoking for the first time article 33 of the ILO Constitution, the governing
body recommended that the International Labour Conference "take such action as it may deem
wise and expedient to secure compliance" by Myanmar with the recommendations of a 1998
commission of inquiry. Article 33 is designed for use only in the event of a country failing to
carry out the recommendations of an ILO commission of inquiry, which is itself a procedure
reserved for grave and persistent violations of international labour standards. 

The 1998 commission concluded that "the obligation to suppress the use of forced or
compulsory labour is violated in Myanmar in national law as well as in actual practice in a
widespread and systematic manner, with total disregard for the human dignity, safety, health
and basic needs of the people."  

An updated report by ILO Director-General Juan Somav¡a examined new evidence of the
situation and concluded that an order issued by the government of Myanmar on 14 May 1999
does not exclude the imposition of forced labour in violation of the convention. 

"In actual practice," according to an ILO statement, "forced or compulsory labour continues
to be imposed in a widespread manner." It detailed instances of forced labour imposed
especially by the military in contradiction to the government's assertion that forced labour is
never applied. 

Contact: Bureau of Public Information, ILO, 4 route des Morillons, CH-1211 Geneva 22,
Switzerland, telephone +41-22/799 7940, fax +41-22/799 8577, e-mail <presse@ilo.org>,
website (www.ilo.org).


UNESCO REFORM
Concentration and excellence in programmes, savings, rationalization and transparency in
management have emerged as key issues in reform at the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said UNESCO Director-General Ko‹chiro
Matsuura in a speech to the organization's Executive Board in Paris in February. 

Mr. Matsuura described the state of the organization and the reforms undertaken since he took
office last November. He stressed, among other things, the need to match staff skills with
requirements of the secretariat, the need for training, and the importance of transparency "the
prerequisite for sound management."

The reform measures seek to adapt policies to available resources, and may include reducing
the number of permanent field offices. The most important goal, said Mr. Matsuura, concerns
the necessary programme concentration. 

"The programme itself must be radically reviewed, in terms of a clear vision of UNESCO's
specific role within international cooperation," he said. Mr. Matsuura noted that activities need
to be refocused in order to prioritize basic and science education, water resource management,
the fight against poverty, intangible heritage preservation, cultural diversity, and access of
developing nations to new information technology.
"The work ahead over the next two years to reform our programme and modalities of action is
crucial," said Mr. Matsuura. "My ambition is to restore UNESCO's position, its full position,
as a specialized institution in the United Nations system. We can no longer claim our fields of
competence as a monopoly. It is in the exercise of expertise, of specific know-how in areas
shared with many other institutions that we will demonstrate our comparative advantage.
UNESCO's specific competence no doubt resides in its role to provide orientation and to
identify innovative approaches, to experiment with new solutions, to collect and disseminate
successful experiences. This is linked to the need for quality, not to say excellence. It must be
present in the development of approaches and solutions, rather than in concrete project
execution." 

Contact: UNESCO, 7, place de Fontenoy, F-75352 PARIS 07 SP, France, telephone +33-1/45
68 10 00, fax +33-1/45 67 16 90, website (www.unesco.org).


IFAD GOVERNING COUNCIL
The Governing Council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which
met in Rome from 16-17 February 2000, agreed on the full participation of the fund in the
enhanced debt initiative for highly indebted poor countries (HIPCs). The council, in a
resolution adopted on the subject, said that care would be taken to minimize effects on the
organization's annual lending programme.

"IFAD shall participate fully in the process of establishing poverty reduction strategies by
eligible countries," the resolution states, "given its special expertise in combatting rural
poverty." Member countries able to do so are being invited to contribute to the enhanced
HIPC debt initiative either through the HIPC trust fund of the World Bank or through the
IFAD trust fund for the HIPC initiative.

The governing council also reviewed IFAD's lending programme for 2000, which involves
US$446 million and an average loan size of US$14.8 million. Of this, 36.77% has been
allocated for Africa, 31.01% for Asia and the Pacific, 17.03% for Latin America and the
Caribbean, and 15.19% for the Near East and North Africa. Among other things, the council
approved IFAD's budget for 2000 of US$52,728,000, reviewed operational cooperation
between IFAD and the World Food Programme (WFP) and discussed the consultation on the
fifth replenishment of IFAD's resources for the period 2000-2002.

Contact: IFAD, Via del Serafico 107, I-00142 Rome, Italy, telephone +39-06/54591, fax
+39-06/5459 2141, e-mail <ifad@ifad.org>, website (www.ifad.org).


UNDP POVERTY REPORT
A new global strategy against poverty needs to be mounted with more resources, a sharper
focus and a stronger commitment, says the UNDP Poverty Report 2000, published by the UN
Development Programme in April. Based on commitments made at the 1995 World Summit
for Social Development, it says, developing countries are being encouraged to launch
full-scale campaigns against poverty. Yet despite having set ambitious global targets for
poverty reduction, donor countries are cutting back on aid and failing to focus what remains
on poverty.

Effective governance is often the "missing link" between national anti-poverty efforts and
poverty reduction, according to the report. For many countries "it is in improving governance
that external assistance is needed" but "not with a new set of poverty-related conditionalities
imposed on top of the existing economic conditionalities."

Anti-poverty plans, which help focus and coordinate national activities, must be
comprehensive and more than a few projects "targeted" at the poor. And they need adequate
funding and effective coordination by a government department or committee with
wide-ranging influence. Most critical, says the report, they should be nationally owned and
determined, not donor driven. 

Among other things, many national programmes lack a good management structure. A
multidimensional problem, poverty should be addressed by a multisectoral approach cutting
across government ministries and departments. But most programmes hand the responsibility
for poverty reduction over to a ministry of social affairs, which generally lacks authority over
other ministries. Where a central coordinating committee is set up to overcome this problem, it
rarely has enough power to get the job done, notes the report.

A review of national anti-poverty plans underscores the importance of developing a new
generation of programmes that focus on making growth more pro-poor, target inequality and
emphasizing empowerment of the poor. 

"The old-school prescriptions of supplementing rapid growth with social spending and safety
nets," according to UNDP, "have proved inadequate."

In countries with widespread poverty too many programmes still rely mistakenly on targeted
interventions. It is better to concentrate on building national capacity for pro-poor policy
making and institutional reform the areas where external assistance should also concentrate its
resources. This focus, says the report, will also help provide greater coherence to national
programmes and overcome the tendency to rely on a disjointed set of small-scale projects.

Among other things the report recommends that:
--  countries link their poverty programmes not only to their national policies but also to their
international economic and financial policies;
--  holding governments accountable to people is a bottom-line requirement for effective
governance;
--  decision-making power should be shifted closer to poor communities; and 
--  civil society organizations can play a valuable role within poor communities, and by
engaging in policy advocacy on behalf of the poor and influencing national policy making. 

Contact: Social Development and Poverty Elimination Division, Bureau for Development
Policy (BDP), UNDP, 1 UN Plaza, New York NY 10017, United States, telephone
+1-212/906-5046, fax +1-212/906-5313, e-mail  <radhika.lal@undp.org>. To order, contact
UN Publications, Room DC2-853, 2 UN Plaza, New York NY 10017, United States,
telephone +1-212/963 8302, fax +1-212/963 3489, e-mail <publications@un.org>, website
(www.un.org/pubs/sales.htm).


WORLD BANK: VOICES OF THE POOR
A study on the causes and effects of global poverty, published by the World Bank in March,
presents detailed personal accounts from over 60,000 men and women in 60 countries about
the realities of living with poverty, and what the poor need to improve their lives.

Voices of the Poor: Can Anyone Hear Us? chronicles the daily struggles and aspirations of the
poor, and how their lives are shaped by common hardships such as hunger, powerlessness,
social isolation, state corruption and gender inequality. The book, based on discussions with
tens of thousands of poor people across five continents, concludes that poverty is much more
than lack of income. Poverty also means having no voice in influencing key decisions that
affect their lives, or representation in state and national political institutions. 

"What poor people share with us is sobering," said World Bank President James Wolfensohn
and British International Development Secretary Clare Short in the book's foreword. "[The
book]...raises major challenges to both our institutions and to all of us concerned about
poverty." 

The study, a result of ten years of intensive consultations with the poor, aimed to gather
first-hand research about their lives and drive new World Bank policies to reduce poverty.
Among other things the study found that poverty is multidimensional, with its persistence
linked to a web of recurring factors. 

First, while poverty is rarely about the lack of only one thing, the "bottom line" is that the
poor constantly live with hunger. Second, poverty has important psychological dimensions
such as powerlessness, voicelessness, dependency, shame and humiliation. Third, the poor lack
access to basic infrastructure such as roads, transportation and clean water. Fourth, people
realize education offers an escape from poverty, but only if the quality of education and
economic environment in the society at large improve. Fifth, illness is especially feared because
of exorbitant health care costs and not being able to work. And finally, the poor rarely speak
of income but instead focus on managing assets physical, human, social and environmental as
a way to cope with their vulnerability.

The state has been largely ineffective in reaching the poor, observes the study. While
recognizing the role of government in providing infrastructure, health and education services,
the poor feel that these government interventions should go much further. Too many
interactions with state representatives are marred by rudeness and humiliation as the poor seek
services such as health care, education for their children, social and relief assistance, police
protection or justice from local authorities.

The study found that corruption and distrust emerge as core poverty issues; poor men and
women often do not trust government officials. This is based on their daily experiences with
often corrupt civil servants, their attempts to get teachers to educate their children, trying to
get medicines from health clinics even after they have paid for them, seeking justice, or trying
to get police to protect them. 

Households are crumbling under the stresses of poverty, notes the study; they can disintegrate
as men, unable to adapt to their "failure" to earn adequate incomes under harsh economic
circumstances, often turn to alcoholism or domestic violence, leading to a breakdown of the
family structure. In contrast, women tend to swallow their pride and do demeaning jobs or
anything that puts food on the table for their children and husbands.
 
Gender inequity remains remarkably stubborn economic empowerment for women does not
necessarily lead to social empowerment or equality within households. "Social insurance" the
bonds of reciprocity and trust that the poor depend on in the absence of material assets is
unraveling, says the report. Difficult to reverse, the breakdown in social solidarity and social
bonds leads to increased lawlessness, violence and crime, to which the poor are most
vulnerable.

"Around the world, poor people's experiences highlight the role of power and social
structures in determining who has opportunity and who is excluded," said Deepa Narayan,
author of Voices of the Poor and Senior Social Development Specialist at the World Bank.
"The central challenge of the 21st century is to create governance systems from the local to
the global level that include and respond to the priorities and concerns of the poor. This
requires investment in their organizations so they can negotiate directly with governments,
NGOs, traders, and international agencies."

Contact: Ben Jones, Poverty Group, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network,
World Bank,1818 H Street NW, Washington DC 20433, United States, telephone +1-202/473
9475, e-mail <bjones1@worldbank.org>, website
(www.worldbank.org/html/extpb/voices.htm).


REPORT CALLS FOR IMF AND WORLD BANK REFORM
In November 1998, as part of legislation authorizing approximately US$18 billion of
additional funding by the United States for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United
States Congress established the International Financial Institution Advisory Commission. It
aimed to consider the future roles of seven international financial institutions: the IMF, World
Bank Group, Inter-American Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, African
Development Bank, World Trade Organization, and the Bank for International Settlements. 

On 8 March 2000, the 11-member bipartisan panel chaired by economist Allan Meltzer
released its report. It recommends an overhaul of the institutions and calls for full cancellation
of debts owed by heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs) to the World Bank and IMF.

A majority on the commission agreed that "the institutions should continue if properly
reformed to eliminate overlap and conflict, increase transparency and accountability, return to
or assume specific functions, and become more effective." The commission focused attention
on the IMF and the multilateral development banks. It voted eight to three that the IMF,
World Bank and regional development banks should write off in their entirety all claims
against HIPCs that implement an effective economic and social development strategy in
conjunction with the World Bank and regional development institutions; and the IMF should
restrict its lending to the provision of short-term liquidity and should end the practice of
extending long-term loans for poverty reduction and other purposes.

In its criticism of the IMF, the report says that the frequency and severity of recent crises raise
doubts about the system of crisis management now in place and the incentives for private
actions that it encourages and sustains. 

"The IMF has given too little attention to improving financial structures in developing
countries," says the report, "and too much to expensive rescue operations. Its system of
short-term crisis management is too costly, its responses too slow, its advice often incorrect,
and its efforts to influence policy and practice too intrusive."

The report recommends that the IMF cease lending to countries for long-term development
assistance and for long-term structural transformation, and that the Enhanced Structural
Adjustment Facility and its successor the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility be
eliminated. The commission proposed that the IMF should serve as quasi-lender of last resort
to emerging economies and limit its lending operations to the provision of short-term funds.
The report also states that in its new limited role "there would be no need for detailed
conditionally that has burdened IMF programmes and made such programmes unwieldy,
highly conflictive, time consuming to negotiate and often ineffectual."

According to the report "there is a wide gap between the Bank's rhetoric and promises and
their performance and achievements." The report criticizes the World Bank for focusing its
non-aid resources to 11 countries that "enjoy substantial access to private resource flows."
The report also criticizes overlap between regional development banks and the World Bank in
competing for donor funds, clients and projects.

In its recommendations for the development banks, the report suggests they be transformed
from capital-intensive lenders to sources of technical assistance, providers of regional and
global public goods, and facilitators of an increased flow of private sector resources to
emerging economies. The report recommends that the focus of their individual financial efforts
should be on the world's 80 to 90 poorest countries, which lack access to capital markets.

The commission proposes that lending frameworks, with incentives for implementation, be
redesigned to fit needs of the poorest countries that do not have access to capital markets.
Within the framework, the government of each developing economy would present its own
reform programme, and if the development agency concurs in the merit of the proposal the
country would receive a loan with a subsidized interest rate.

Critics of the report say its recommendations go too far and take a "slash-and-burn" approach,
rather than reform. Economist Fred Bergsten, one of the three dissenting commission
members, said the suggestions would undermine the world economy and hurt US economic
interests. 

"The majority of proposals would sharply increase the risk of international economic
disorder," he said, "and dash the prospects of economic development for millions of poor
people." 

While some NGOs embraced the commission's call for total cancellation of debt of the world's
poorest countries to the World Bank and IMF, they also said the report did not address
fundamental problems at the two institutions. 

"Until the IMF's chronic lack of accountability and democracy are also dealt with," said Carol
Welch of Friends of the Earth, "any reforms are unlikely to have a lasting positive impact."

Contact: All papers prepared for the commission and unedited transcripts of all meetings and
public hearings are available on website (phantom-x.gsia.cmu.edu/IFIAC). 


DESA REPORT ON REPLACEMENT MIGRATION
The Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) has
released a report entitled Replacement Migration: Is it a Solution to Declining and Ageing
Populations?. Replacement migration refers to the international migration that a country
would need to prevent population decline and population ageing resulting from low fertility
and mortality rates. 

United Nations projections indicate that between 1995 and 2050, the population of Japan and
virtually all countries of Europe will most likely decline. In a number of cases including
Estonia, Bulgaria and Italy, countries would lose between one-fourth and one-third of their
population. Population ageing will be pervasive, bringing the median age of population to
historically unprecedented high levels, according to DESA. For example, in Italy the median
age will rise from 41 years in 2000 to 53 years in 2050. The potential "support ratio" the
number of persons of working age (15-64 years) per older person will often be halved.
 
The report examines the cases of eight low-fertility countries (France, Germany, Italy, Japan,
Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States) and two regions
(Europe and the European Union). In each case, alternative scenarios for the period
1995-2050 are considered, highlighting the impact that various levels of immigration would
have on population size and population ageing. 

In the next 50 years, according to the report, populations of most developed countries are
projected to become smaller and older as a result of low fertility and increased longevity. In
contrast, the population of the United States is projected to increase by almost one-fourth.
Among the countries studied in the report, Italy is projected to register the largest population
decline in relative terms, losing 28% of its population between 1995 and 2050. The population
of the European Union, which in 1995 was larger than that of the United States by 105
million, will become smaller by 18 million in 2050. 

Population decline is inevitable in the absence of replacement migration. Fertility may rebound
in the coming decades, but few believe that it will recover sufficiently in most countries to
reach replacement level in the foreseeable future, says the report.

Some immigration is needed to prevent population decline in all countries and regions
examined in the report. However, the level of immigration in relation to past experience varies
greatly. For the European Union, a continuation of the immigration levels observed in the
1990s would roughly suffice to prevent total population from declining while for Europe as a
whole, immigration would need to double. Italy and Japan would need to register notable
increases in net immigration. In contrast France, the United Kingdom and the United States
would be able to maintain their total population with fewer immigrants than in recent years. 

The new challenges of declining and ageing populations will require a comprehensive
reassessment of many established policies and programmes with a long-term perspective,
according to DESA. Critical issues that need to be addressed include:
--  the appropriate ages for retirement;
--  the levels, types and nature of retirement and health care benefits for the elderly;
--  labour force participation;
--  the assessed amounts of contributions from workers and employers to support retirement
and health care benefits for the elderly population; and
--  policies and programmes relating to international migration.
 
Contact: Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations,
New York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/963 3179, fax +1-212/963 2147. The
report may be accessed on (www.un.org/esa/population/unpop.htm).


WOMEN WAGING PEACE ROUNDTABLE
Although advances have been made toward real equality for women in the last decade, there is
still a lot of work to do to make the equal rights of one half of humanity a reality, according to
speakers at a roundtable on Women Waging Peace, held at the UN in Geneva on 8 March
2000. The event, organized by the United Nations, was held to coincide with International
Women's Day.

Speakers stressed, among other things, the importance of law as a powerful instrument in the
struggle for social justice and equality, and legal instruments aimed at consolidating women's
rights; the need to move beyond "gender blindness" and introduce a gender perspective in war
and peacemaking; and the importance of overcoming stereotypes, which act as barriers to
growing realization about women's equality. 

Among initiatives discussed during the roundtable, organizers of the World March of Women
2000 said over 3,000 groups from almost 150 countries have become involved. As the world
enters the new millennium "the main problem is not poverty the problem is the unequal
distribution of riches," said Lorraine Guay, representative of the march. "There are 2000 good
reasons to march for change; the World March of Women will present demands to the planet's
decision makers and solutions to the problems of poverty and violence against women." The
initiative, coordinated internationally by the Federation des femmes du Quebec, includes a
signature campaign, educational workshops and conferences, and marches around the world
aimed at raising awareness of women's reality and convincing governments to institute the
changes necessary to improve women's status. It will conclude on 17 October 2000, when
women will gather in communities around the world and at the United Nations in New York.

Contact: Department of Public Information, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10,
Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 1234, fax +41-22/917 0030, e-mail
<dpi_geneva@unog.ch>.

World March of Women, Federation des femmes du Quebec, 110 rue Ste.-Therese, Room
307, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2Y 1E6, telephone +1-514/395 1196, fax +1-514/395 1224,
e-mail <marche2000@ffq.qc.ca>, website (www.ffq.qc.ca/marche2000/).


UNESCO/WORLD BANK STUDY ON EDUCATION
Higher education in developing countries is inadequate and falling further behind, an
independent panel of world experts in education and international development warned in
March, adding that without swift action these countries will be unable to compete in the
knowledge economy. 

Higher Education in Developing Countries: Peril and Promise is the final report of the Task
Force on Higher Education and Society, an autonomous body of specialists convened two
years ago by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
and the World Bank. 

"Well-educated people from the developing world can be a powerful force for change," said
World Bank President James Wolfensohn, "but they need schools and academic opportunities
in their own countries. This is especially true in the face of such staggering problems as the
HIV/AIDS pandemic, and the need to build up basic infrastructure and telecommunications in
poor countries."
 
The report, which examines reasons for renewed public interest in supporting higher
education, also suggests specific areas for emphasis by developing countries. These range from
improving scientific and technological capacity, to respecting principles of good governance
and supporting both general and specialized education. 

The report observes that higher education in developing countries is in crisis: it is generally
overcrowded, chronically under-funded, poorly managed and beset with inadequate faculty
and curricula. The task force underscores the need for a holistic approach to education policy,
emphasizing that poor countries should view higher education as a vital part of their overall
human development strategy. The report argues that advanced education is crucial for
developing countries if they hope to engender the capacity required to overcome serious
problems such as hunger, persistent poverty, environmental degradation and economic
under-performance. 

Demand for higher education is rising rapidly, compounding the challenges for countries that
hope to improve quality, reduce public cost and increase access to all strata, according to the
report. It advocates a policy of systemic reform emphasizing planned diversity, where both
public and private actors coordinate their actions within a clear strategic framework.

"There is no way we can succeed in the eradication of poverty if the developing world is not a
part of knowledge creation," said Mamphela Ramphele, task force co-chair and vice
chancellor of the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Higher education, she stressed, "is
a critical factor in making this possible and must be part of any development strategy."

Contact: Komlavi Francisco Seddoh, Director, Division of Higher Education, UNESCO, 7
place de Fontenoy, F-75352 Paris 07 SP, France, telephone +33-1/45 68 10 00, fax +33-1/45
68 56 28, website (www.unesco.org/education) or Andrew Kircher, Chief, News Bureau,
Media Relations, World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC 20433, United States,
telephone +1-202/473 6313, fax +1-202/522 2632, e-mail <akircher@worldbank.org>,
website (www.worldbank.org).


ANGOLA SANCTIONS COMMITTEE REPORT
On 15 March 2000 Ambassador Robert Fowler (Canada), chair of the Security Council
committee established to investigate the situation of Angola, presented to the council a final
report of the panel of experts that investigated violations of Security Council sanctions against
the UNITA rebel movement. 

"This report will, if acted upon, have a real and substantial impact on UNITA's ability to wage
war," said Ambassador Fowler, "by reducing its revenues, increasing its costs and choking off
its supply. If, that is, the council acts on it with the same clear-eyed sense of purpose that
informed the work of the panel."

A ten-member independent panel of experts was established in May 1999 to inform the council
how the sanctions against UNITA were being violated, who was violating them, and what
could be done to make the sanctions more effective (see Go Between 79). The sanctions at
issue were:
--  prohibit the sale or delivery of arms and military equipment to UNITA; 
--  prohibit the sale or supply of petroleum and petroleum products to UNITA; 
--  prohibit the sale or export of diamonds by UNITA; 
--  require the seizing of bank accounts and other financial assets of UNITA; 
--  mandate the closing of UNITA representation offices abroad; and 
--  place restrictions on travel by senior UNITA officials and adult members of their immediate
families. 

The report chronicles how UNITA was able to import large quantities of arms and military
equipment through the cooperation of neighbouring states Zaire, Togo and Burkina Faso, as
well as the willingness of some arms-supplying countries, notably Bulgaria, to sell weapons
with "little or no regard for where those arms would actually end up."

With regard to sanctions relating to petroleum, the panel concluded that a number of former
and current heads of state in Africa helped UNITA circumvent such sanctions. Those
implicated include the former President of Zaire, Mobutu Sese Seko; former President of the
Republic of the Congo, Pascal Lissouba; former Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo,
Gen. Joachim Yhombi Opango; and the President of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaore.

The panel found that diamonds have a uniquely important role within UNITA's political and
military economy. It said UNITA continues to be able to sell its diamonds and/or exchange
them for commodities it needs. The panel concluded that UNITA's ability to sell diamonds is
based on three key elements: its ability to get rough diamonds; the safe and protected access
that UNITA has had to locations where diamond deals can be transacted; and the ease with
which illegal diamonds can be sold and traded on major diamond markets, particularly the
largest and most important one in Antwerp (Belgium).

Mr. Fowler said the report made clear recommendations that public censure must be followed
by decisive action in the Sanctions Committee, Security Council, and in the states concerned.
He said he looked forward to a series of mandatory UN resolutions to implement the report's
recommendations.

A number of member states mentioned in the report argued that the accusations against them
were based on "unverified evidence." Ambassador Joseph Mutaboba (Rwanda) charged the
experts with having made "wild" allegations against Rwanda by citing his government as
having provided military cooperation and arranging diamond sales. "The Rwandan
government," he said, "wishes to state categorically that these allegations have no foundation
and are merely hearsay."

Ambassador Andre Adam of Belgium responded to charges of his government's "apparent
inability or unwillingness...to police the smuggling of illegal Angolan diamonds" by saying that
Belgium set up a task force in January 2000 to examine ways to trace the origins of diamonds.
He added that Belgium is the only European Union country "with a binding licensing system
for the import and export of diamonds," therefore the "unwillingness" cited in the report "does
not reflect reality." 

Ambassador Fowler defended the report by saying that "it does name names, including, in a
few instances, at the highest level. This, of course, makes everyone nervous because, frankly,
 it's not done'."

Contact: The report can be found on the UN website (www.un.org/peace). For those without
access to Internet, a copy can be obtained from NGLS in New York. 


UNU STUDY ON KOSOVO CRISIS
A profound change in world politics emerged from NATO's military intervention in Kosovo,
according to a United Nations University (UNU) study: nations can temporarily forfeit
sovereignty on humanitarian grounds. However, unless world powers agree on principles to
guide interventions in similar circumstances, that precedent "will have dangerously undermined
international order."

The study on Kosovo and The Challenge of Humanitarian Intervention offers a compendium
of viewpoints on dimensions of the 1999 crisis and on recommended follow-up steps. The
steps include promotion of "an international consensus about the point at which a state forfeits
its sovereignty," and removal of veto power in the Security Council in exceptional
circumstances "so that the support of a majority of the great powers is all that is required to
permit states to engage in humanitarian war." 

"Kosovo confronted us with an abiding challenge of humanitarian intervention: namely, is it
morally just, legally permissible and militarily feasible?" said Ramesh Thakur, Vice Rector of
UNU and co-editor of the study. "In today's dangerously unstable world full of complex
conflicts, concerned countries and citizens face the painful dilemma of being condemned if
they do and damned if they don't. To use force unilaterally is to violate international law and
undermine world order. Yet to respect sovereignty all the time is to be complicit in human
rights violations sometimes. And to argue that the UN Security Council must give its consent
to humanitarian war is to risk policy paralysis," among other things. 

The important question, according to Mr. Thakur, is: Faced with another holocaust or
Rwanda-type genocide on one hand, and a Security Council veto on the other, what would we
do?" He said a new consensus on humanitarian intervention is urgently needed. Contributors
to the study cited the need to reform the Security Council, including possible removal of veto
power from the council's five permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the
United States in such circumstances as those presented by the clash over Kosovo.

"The permanent members and their interests should not prevent the Security Council from
getting involved and stall the UN's attempts to provide assistance to those in need," said study
co-editor Albrecht Schnabel. "Otherwise we might see more NATO-style actions with less or
no UN involvement and thus less order and less justice in our global community. It is good
that the international system can tear down the walls of state sovereignty in cases where states
kill their own people. Organizations like the UN, however, need to be willing and able to
confront these catastrophes wherever they occur."

NATO's 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia proceeded without UN sanction. In view of the 1994
Rwandan genocide (during which UN intervention was stalled in the Security Council) and
similar recent internal conflicts, the Kosovo intervention "while morally right, demonstrated a
dangerous  selective indignation' towards humanitarian crisis," according to a UNU statement.

"Many of today's wars are nasty, brutish and internal," said Mr. Thakur. "The world
community cannot help all victims, but must step in where it can make a difference. Selective
indignation is inevitable, for we simply cannot intervene everywhere, every time. But we must
still pursue policies of effective indignation. Humanitarian intervention must be collective, not
unilateral. And it must be legitimate, not in violation of the agreed rules which comprise the
foundations of world order."

Among other things, the study says continuing fallout from Kosovo has potential to redraw
the landscape of international politics with significant ramifications for the UN, major powers
and regional organizations, and the way in which world politics are understood and
interpreted. The study presents interpretations of the Kosovo crisis from diverse perspectives
including the conflict parties, NATO allies, and the region surrounding the conflict.

Contact: UNU, 53-70 Jingumae 5-chome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-8925, Japan, telephone
+81-3/3499 2811, fax +81-3/3499 2828, e-mail <mbox@hq.unu.edu>, website
(www.unu.edu). 


ONLINE VOLUNTEERS INITIATIVE
Netaid, launched by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Cisco Systems
in October 1999 (see Go Between 77), has teamed up with United Nations Volunteers to
establish a database for "online volunteers" on its website (www.netaid.org).

The initiative aims to offer NGOs and civil society organizations (CSOs) working in human
development an opportunity to collaborate with volunteers who carry out tasks that can be
transferred over the Internet. These include technical assistance, translations, data analysis,
research, computer programming, online teaching, and moderating a discussion list. NGOs and
CSOs can post their assignments on the searchable database by filling out a form available on
the website. 

Contact: UNV/Netaid Team, Haus Carstanjen, Martin Luther Kingstrasse 8, D-53175 Bonn,
Germany, telephone +49-228/815 2215 or 815 2224, e-mail <netaid@-unv.org>, website
(www.netaid.org).


WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY
The main international World Environment Day celebrations, celebrated every year on 5 June,
will be held in Adelaide (Australia), according to the United Nations Environment Programme. 

"This is the first time that this important United Nations Day will be held in the Pacific region,
and UNEP is indeed honoured that Australia has generously offered to host this event in
Adelaide," said Klaus T”pfer, UNEP Executive Director. "The theme for this year's World
Environment Day 2000 The Environment Millennium: Time to Act is a rallying cry to each
and every one of us to become responsible trustees of the planet and to renew our pledge to
protect the amazing web of life that sustains us."

World Environment Day, observed in more than 100 countries, aims to draw attention to some
of the ways in which humanity is endangering its own habitat. It also helps to emphasize the
urgent need to change attitudes and behaviours toward the environment. The day encourages
actions by governments, individuals, NGOs, community and youth groups, business, industry
and the media to improve the environment. These include clean-up campaigns, tree planting,
street rallies, exhibitions, concerts, essay competitions in schools and recycling efforts.

The day is also an occasion to make pledges leading to the establishment of permanent
structures that deal with environmental management and economic planning, and it provides
an opportunity for governments to take steps to sign or ratify international treaties and
conventions.

Contact: Elisabeth Guilbaud-Cox, Coordinator, Special Events,  UNEP, PO Box 30552,
Nairobi, Kenya, telephone +254-2/623401, e-mail <cpiinfo@unep.org>, website
(www.unep.org).


UN AND NGO NEWS

BIOTECHNOLOGY/FOODS TASK FORCE
Over 200 people attended the first session of the Codex Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task
Force on Foods Derived From Biotechnology, held in Chiba (Japan) from 14-17 March 2000.
Participants represented 33 member countries of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and 24
international observer organizations from consumer, industry and environmental groups. The
task force was established in June 1999 by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which was
created in the 1960s to develop global standards for food safety by the United Nations Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The task force set out a four-year programme of work, which will include development of
"over-arching" general principles for risk analysis of foods derived from biotechnology. These
concern issues such as science-based decision making, "pre-market" assessment procedures,
transparency, and post-market monitoring.

The task force will also prepare guidelines on:
--  the risk assessment of foods derived from biotechnology for food safety and nutrition; 
--  application of the concept of "substantial equivalence;" and 
--  consideration of long-term health effects and non-intentional effects arising from genetic
modification. 

The first priority will be on foods of plant origin, followed by micro-organisms used directly in
foods, and then foods of animal origin. "Adequate and appropriate definitions" will be used,
and when possible those already developed and agreed to in other texts such as the Cartagena
Protocol on Biosafety (see Go Between 73) or by other bodies such as the Committee on
Food Labelling. Methods of analysis will also be compiled for the detection and identification
of foods derived from biotechnology.

Two ad hoc working groups were established in order to develop the programme of work as
quickly as possible. The first will develop the proposed draft general principles, guidelines and
definitions mentioned above. The second will compile a list of appropriate analytical methods
for consideration by the task force, together with their performance characteristics and the
status of their validation.

The second session of the task force will be held in Japan in March 2001. 

The commission was charged with attempting to undermine the Biosafety Protocol by over
200 organizations and individuals from 31 countries. In an open letter to the chair of the
commission on 8 March, the groups noted that documents prepared for government delegates
in Chiba included a summary review of the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol. The letter charges
that "mischaracterizations of the [protocol] that appear in document CX/FTB/00/3 Add, dated
February 2000" are "deliberate, considering that the full document is well-known to
governments and NGOs alike. Thus, we are concerned that the Codex Secretariat and
Executive Committee are attempting to undermine the Biosafety Protocol....As written, the
Codex summary of the Cartagena Protocol could be viewed as preparatory to a World Trade
Organization action intended to force nations to accept genetically modified organism imports
or pay penalties for lost trade revenues, contrary to the provisions of the protocol." 

Consumer action on genetically modified (GM) food was the theme of this year's World
Consumer Rights Day, observed on 15 March. Actions around the world highlighting the issue
included dumping GM foods in government doorways and letter writing campaigns, according
to the global federation of Consumers International.

The group also issued a information kit on Our Food, Whose Choice: Consumers Take Action
on Genetically Modified Food. It highlights concerns about the safety of GM food,
implications for the environment, and the potential socio-economic consequences of its use,
particularly in developing countries. 

"All food in which there are ingredients from GM sources should be labelled," according to
Consumers International. "This requires the creation of global labelling rules and, if possible,
an internationally recognized symbol for GM foods." The federation also called for proper
guidelines and protocols to ensure GM foods are safe.

Contact: Secretariat of the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme, FAO, Viale delle
Terme di Caracalla, I-00100 Rome, Italy, telephone +39-06/57051, fax +39-06/5705 4593,
e-mail <codex@fao.org>, website (www.fao.org/waicent/faoinfo/economic/esn/codex).        
For information on World Consumer Rights Day  contact: Consumers International, 24
Highbury Crescent, London N5 1RX, United Kingdom, telephone +44-20/7226 6663, e-mail
<consint@consint.org>, website (www.consumersinternational.org). 


SECOND GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE CONFERENCE
The second Global Knowledge Conference, held in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) in March 2000,
focused on the themes of information technology and access, empowerment and governance,
and produced an action plan. Participants from over 100 countries discussed, among other
things, the challenges to communities and nations in the rapidly-changing context of
information and communication technologies (ICTs).

"The action plan," said Marlee Norton of the National Telephone Cooperative Association, "is
the result of a process of interaction and learning by [Global Knowledge] partners and a
consensus on the priorities for action over the next two to three years. The actions fall into
two main categories: strategic corporate initiatives generally they are projects of the
partnership as a whole and then there are regular Global Knowledge Partnership initiatives,
which involve a group of partners interested in specific issues." 

The action plan includes:
--  an initiative for sharing local content (to counterbalance the heavy influence of the North
on the Internet);
--  creating innovative financing such as venture capital funds so that local innovators can
drive the information and communication technologies marketplace in their countries; and 
--  integrating technology skills into schools and informal education systems to build skills
needed to compete in today's high-tech economies.

The Global Knowledge Partnership is an evolving, informal partnership of public, private and
not-for-profit organizations. Partner organizations are committed to sharing information,
experiences and resources to promote broad access to, and effective use of, knowledge and
information as tools of sustainable, equitable development. The partnership emerged from the
cooperation of organizations in sponsoring the conference on Knowledge for Development in
the Information Age, held in Toronto (Canada) in June 1997 (see Go Between 65). Partners
include the World Bank; Cisco Systems; International Institute for Communication and
Development, based in The Netherlands; and International Institute for Sustainable
Development, based in Winnipeg (Canada).

The work of the Global Knowledge Partnership is rooted in the conviction that access and
effective use of knowledge and information are increasingly important factors in sustainable
economic and social development for individuals, communities and nations; that the
information revolution can be a positive force for empowering the world's poor; and that
effective action to assure inclusion of the poorest individuals, communities and nations in the
global information economy requires increased partnership and mutual learning among public,
private and not-for-profit organizations. 

Members of the partnership cooperate through a variety of initiatives: pilot projects;
conferences and workshops; capacity building initiatives; information sharing; and project
coordination. The work of the Global Knowledge Partnership is coordinated by a small
secretariat, currently located at the World Bank Institute.

Contact: Global Knowledge Partnership Secretariat, World Bank Institute, 1818 H Street
NW, Washington DC 20433, United States, telephone +1-202/458 8196, fax +1-202/522
1492, e-mail <globalknowledge@worldbank.org>, website (www.globalknowledge.org).


MENTAL HEALTH OF EUROPEAN YOUTH
A symposium on Rejuvenating Mental Health for Youth in Europe was jointly organized by
the NGO Forum for Health and World Federation for Mental Health on 13 March in Geneva.
The event, held in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), brought together
UN and NGO representatives, among others, to discuss promotion of mental health among
children and adolescents in the region. 

One and a half billion people suffer from mental, neurological and psychological disorders
worldwide, said Eric Ram, Director of World Vision International Health Programmes and
chair of the NGO Forum for Health. "This year it is estimated that some 20 million people will
attempt suicide; one million will succeed. Previously suicide was attributed to the elderly, but
it has now become one of the three leading causes of death among people in the 15-35 year
age group." He said recent studies show shocking suicide rates in Europe, including 38.7
suicides per 100,000 people in Finland, 30.9 in Switzerland, 73.7 in Lithuania, 72.9 in Russia,
and 48.7 in Belarus. (The global average is 16 suicides per 100,000 people.) 

The portion of the global burden of disease attributable to neuropsychiatric disorders is
expected to rise from 11.5% in 1999 to 15% by the year 2020, according to Benedetto
Saraceno, Director of the Department of Mental Health at WHO. In a keynote address he said
groups at special risk of mental illness include extremely poor people, children and adolescents
experiencing disrupted nurturing; abused women; abandoned elderly; refugees and people
traumatized by violence; and indigenous people. Dr. Saraceno observed that the greatest
barrier to implementing the abundance of knowledge about mental health is the lack of policy
implementation.
 
Among other things, roundtable sessions focused on the magnitude of global challenges in
mental health and WHO's strategy to meet them; the role of NGOs in dealing with mental
health issues at the community level; and priorities in Europe. Case studies were presented on
community-based services for children at risk in Lithuania; adolescents as facilitators of mental
health in Bulgaria; community responses to the mental health needs of youth in Belarus;
mental rehabilitation of children traumatized by war in Croatia; and challenges and actions to
promote mental health of young people in Poland.

Marten De Vries, Secretary General of the World Federation for Mental Health, noted that in
general children are physically healthier today (except in regions such as Eastern Europe).
However mental disorders are a major and rising cause of the world's burden of disease, with
extensive economic cost and impact in human suffering. He predicted the burden, which is
greatest in the developing world, will continue to grow. 

"By the year 2025," said Dr. De Vries, "three-fourths of all elderly persons with
dementia some 80 million of them will live in low-income societies. Some 70%-90% of
patients with epilepsy a treatable condition for which cost-effective drug therapy is
available do not receive anticonvulsant drugs."

More than one-third of the global burden of illness is preventable, he said, by changing
behaviors that increase risk for illness. Meeting this challenge will require large-scale social
interventions using the media, public education and primary health care systems. Among other
things, he stressed the importance of ensuring that projects aimed at promoting mental health
are sustainable; developing youth-based mental health media strategies; and using low-cost
focus groups to identify and understand youth problems. 

Pirrko Lahti, President Elect of the World Federation for Mental Health, said challenges in the
new millennium for NGOs and others will be to provide the mental-health care sector with
high standard services; sound information and dissemination to support prevention of mental
health problems; and "packaging" messages to convince governments, among others, to
change outmoded practices and attitudes.

Contact: Eric Ram, Chairman, NGO Forum for Health, care of World Vision, 6 chemin de la
Tourelle, CH-1209 Geneva, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/798 4183, fax +41-22/798 6547,
e-mail <wvi.gva@iprolink.ch>.


ANTI-TB DRUG RESISTANCE REPORT
New data on levels of drug resistant tuberculosis in 38 regions shows some alarming results,
according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Anti-Tuberculosis Drug Resistance in
the World, Report No. 2, was prepared by the Global Project on Anti-Tuberculosis Drug
Resistance Surveillance, headed by WHO and the International Union Against TB and Lung
Disease. 

The report says that in regions of China (Henan and Zhejiang), India (Tamil Nadu), Iran,
Mozambique and Russia (Tomsk) over 3% of new TB cases have multidrug-resistant
tuberculosis (MDR TB). In Israel, Italy and Mexico (Baja California, Oaxaca and Sinaloa)
over 6% of both new and previously treated cases combined are multidrug resistant. 

A "particularly alarming" trend was identified in Estonia, where MDR TB increased from 14%
of all cases in the first report in 1997 report to 18%. Other important trends include in
Germany and Denmark, where the percentage of TB patients resistant to a single drug
increased by 50% in 1996. 

"While cases resistant to a single drug are still curable," according to WHO, "this represents a
troubling development as it indicates the disease is moving closer to becoming multidrug
resistant."
 
The report includes data from 72 geographical settings covering 28% of the world's TB
burden. Over 100 laboratories worldwide were responsible for gathering data, and some
68,000 people suffering from TB were tested.

The global spread of drug-resistant TB is caused primarily by the inappropriate use of
otherwise effective drugs such as improper intake of the five main drugs used to cure TB.
When these drugs are prescribed properly and taken regularly without interruption for the
entire six to eight months required to treat the disease, there is virtually no chance that the
patient will acquire resistance. However, if a patient takes only some of the drugs but not
others, or prematurely stops treatment, the strongest bacilli surviving in the lungs are given
opportunity to reproduce and create equally-strong offspring. 

As the report shows, it is becoming increasingly common in some countries for new TB cases
to be resistant to one of the five most effective and affordable first-line drugs used to treat the
disease. 

"The good news," according to WHO, "is that monodrug resistant strains are usually still
curable by substituting another drug. The worrisome news is that this puts health services one
step away from needing to resort to second line drugs, which are 100 times more expensive
and 20 times less effective in saving the patient's life."

When the two most powerful drugs used to cure the disease isoniazid and rifampicin no
longer have any effect, this is known as multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. WHO has three
strategies for stopping the spread of drug resistance. The first and most important known as
the DOTS strategy is designed to prevent resistance from developing in the first place through
correcting careless treatment practices. A second strategy known as DOTS-Plus is being
developed to "mop up" the damage caused by previously careless treatment of the disease.
The third strategy is to encourage the research and development of new anti-TB drugs and
vaccines. 

Contact: Gregory Hartl, Health Communications and Public Relations, WHO, 20 avenue
Appia, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/791 4458, fax +41-22/791 4858,
e-mail <hartlg@who.ch>, website (www.who.int).


NGO NEWS

PAC ISSUES REPORT ON SOMALIA
Partnership Africa Canada (PAC) has released a report on Peace and Development in
Northern Somalia: Opportunities and Challenges. The report, published in cooperation with
the Canadian-based Som-Can Institute for Research and Development, aims to convince the
international community to lift the "de facto quarantine imposed on the country and to give
development support to its peaceful regions."

The report is the result of an assessment carried out in May 1999 of conditions in the
country's two northern regions Somaliland and Puntland where peace has been created and
maintained by traditional and civil society leaders.

It says that although favourable conditions for development in these regions exist, donor
countries are "ignoring this reality and dragging their feet on development assistance."
Obstacles noted by the report include the lack of central government in Somalia, security risks,
and Somaliland's declaration of its independence. The international community, according to
the report, fails to see that Somalia is being created through decentralized, regional
administration. A future unified Somalia could be comprised of a federation of states, it says,
rather than a centralized one.
 
The report says one major problem for Somaliland and Puntland is that aid coordination takes
place in Nairobi (Kenya), not Somalia. 

"While there are clearly security and logistical reasons why agencies involved in emergency
work in central and southern Somalia prefer to be based in Nairobi," it says, "there no longer
seems to be any valid reason for UN, bilateral or larger international organizations supporting
development programmes in northern Somalia to automatically maintain programme staff in
Nairobi." 

The report also questions what it describes as a contradiction in the donor community, which
maintains most of its aid personnel, and carries out dialogues about various activities, outside
the recipient country. 

"A clear consequence of this policy," says the report, "is that little consultation can effectively
happen with government ministries, local NGOs and communities in northern Somalia....Such
an approach does little to help build Somali capacities in areas such as development
programming."

The report recommends, among other things: 
--  creation of a special "peace and democratic development fund" for the Horn of Africa; 
--  promotion of a regional vision of peace and development; 
--  more effective implementation of the UN Security Council's embargo on arms to Somalia; 
--  funding for an integrated regional landmines programme; 
--  an emphasis on capacity building as the central objective of all assistance provided; 
--  strengthening and empowering of Somali NGOs, in particular women's organizations; 
--  initiatives to combat violence against women and girls; and
--  reintegration of children and young people previously associated with the militia.

Contact: Partnership Africa Canada, 323 Chapel Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 7Z2, Canada,
telephone +1-613/237 6768, fax +1-613/237 6530, e-mail <pac@web.net> or Som-Can
Institute for Research and Development, 219 Argyle Avenue, Suite 216, Ottawa, Ontario K2P
2H4, Canada, telephone +1-613/569 3471, fax +1-613/232 3660, e-mail <somcan@usa.net>.


WILPF SEMINAR ON WAR REPORTING
A seminar on Reporting of War and Disarmament: The Role of the Media in Building a
Culture of Peace was held at the United Nations in Geneva from 7-8 March 2000. The
seminar, organized by the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF),
examined issues related to the media's role in reporting war and disarmament.
 
Roundtables focused on, among other themes: 
--  From Vietnam to Kosovo Media and Propaganda in Times of War;
--  War Reporting Stereotypes and Mistakes in the Bosnian War; 
--  Reflections of Women in a War Zone Getting Information Past the Barriers;
--  Demobilizing the Mind: Freedom of Speech and Civil Society in East and Central Africa;
--  Broadcasting in Conflict Regions The Great Lakes; and
--  Media as a Tool for Intervention in Conflict Situations. 

Participants discussed how to build a culture of peace among the media, and developing
strategies for supporting more accurate reporting of war and disarmament. Journalists also
showed and led discussions on films, documentaries and photographs taken in war zones. 
 
Among other things, speakers criticized what they described as the media's broad acceptance
of reporting restrictions imposed during the Gulf War, and the "frightening decrease in
journalistic ethics and standards" during times of war. 

"It would be a huge achievement toward building a culture of peace," said Andreas Zumach of
the German daily newspaper die Tageszeitung, "if journalists would do their jobs of checking
and reverifying sources and facts, and carry out more investigative reporting to uncover
mistruths often propagated by governments and others." 

Many observed that journalists are under increasing pressure to report "in real time" without
being able to check facts or become informed about the region and conflicts they are assigned
to cover. 

"One of the most covered stories in the history of the modern-day media was the war in
Bosnia," said Jasna Bastiz, a journalist from Sarajevo. "Yet people are the least informed
about that war and the region. A quantity of information didn't produce a quality of
understanding." She added that reporting of the war produced false stereotypes of "ethnic
clashes, ethnic divides, ethnic politicians and ethnic solutions." Editors also seemed more
interested in "emotional, human tragedy stories" of refugees than quality analysis and
journalistic investigation.

All agreed that the media can be a powerful tool for both peace as well as war. One speaker
cited an example of the positive role the media can play when the United Kingdom was
pressured by citizens to take in refugees from Bosnia after extensive television coverage about
their plight.
Representatives of NGOs that broadcast for local people in conflict regions called for more
"needs-based reporting," which uses need assessments to find out what local people most
want to know about. "For example," said a representative of Media Action International, "we
thought Bosnians would want to hear reports about emergency services. But a needs
assessment carried out before we began broadcasting showed that people were very interested
in hearing how war crimes would be investigated and about psycho-social trauma as a result of
the war." 

In addition to responding to local needs in war zones, speakers also stressed that information
must be credible and impartial, which among other things establishes the standard for other
local operators, and that broadcasting must help build capacity of local media.
 
Contact: WILPF, 1, rue de Varembe, Case postale 28, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland,
telephone +41-22/733 6175, fax +41-22/740 1063.


OLDER PEOPLE IN DISASTERS
Older people make up a significant proportion of vulnerable people in emergencies whether
they are refugees or displaced within their own countries. The United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 10% of its caseload are refugees over 60
years old, and in some cases the proportion is as high as 30%. The majority of these elder
refugees are women.

However, research conducted by UNHCR and the European Community Humanitarian Office
(ECHO) shows that in emergencies the needs and view of older people are not given priority.
For this reason HelpAge International, a global network of organizations based in the United
Kingdom, has developed a set of best practice guidelines to assist humanitarian agencies
working in disasters and humanitarian crisis. Older People in Disasters and Humanitarian
Crises: Guidelines for Best Practice suggests practical ways to meet older people's needs and
recognize their potential in emergency situations.

"Simple changes in practice and attitudes," according to HelpAge International, "could mean
the difference between death and survival for many older people."

Often older people face increased responsibilities in emergencies, and if they do not become
weakened by illness can be as much givers as receivers of care. They have to support their
families, mobilize resources and care for children, orphans and other dependents. Their
responsibilities, and their knowledge and skills should be recognized and built upon, the
guidelines stress. 

Issues covered in the guidelines, which will also be posted on the HelpAge website (see
below), range from basic needs for shelter, food and household items; health care and
nutrition; and social support and protection from abuse. 

Contact: HelpAge International, 67-74 Saffron Hill, London EC1N 8QX, United Kingdom,
telephone +44-20/7404 7201, fax +44-20/7404 7203, e-mail <hai@helpage.org>, website
(www.helpage.org).


SUSTAINABLE ASSESSMENT MEETING
Almost 100 people from 30 countries attended an International Experts Meeting on
Sustainability Assessment of Trade Liberalisation, held 6-8 March 2000 in Quito (Ecuador).
The meeting was co-organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Fundaci¢n
Futuro Latinoamericano (FFLA). Its aim was to discuss the purpose, characteristics, policy
relevance and effectiveness of sustainability assessments. Participants aimed to answer
questions such as: Why should a government or organization undertake a sustainability
assessment? What does it consist of? and What are the practical uses of the assessments and
their influence on decision and policy making processes?

At the meeting representatives of government, international organizations, NGOs, academia,
and trade, environment and development groups exchanged views about sustainability
assessments and their potential strengths and obstacles. Discussions focused on the need for
trust among countries, clarification of the definition and purpose of sustainability assessments,
and practical steps to facilitate their application. 

There was general recognition that sustainability assessments can be important tools to
improve the quality of political decision making by enhancing understanding of the complex
relationships between trade and sustainable development.

The meeting's first two sessions focused on the role and utility of sustainability assessments
from the perspective of international organizations, national governments, NGOs and other
stakeholders. While there was consensus among participants that sustainability assessments
should be undertaken at the national level, it was also stressed that international cooperation
was needed to further elaborate the definition, purpose and scope of the assessments.

The third session, which reviewed existing and emerging assessment methodologies, was
followed by presentation of case studies to consider experience of the practical application of
methodologies to specific sectors and issues. There was general agreement that there is no
single methodology for conducting assessments, and that methodologies should be adapted to
the situation of each country and the various policy issues to be addressed. The importance of
case studies was recognized, and participants recommended that practical studies in key
sectors should be identified to serve as reference material.

Two main areas identified for further work included the need to build trust in the development
and use of sustainable assessments through further discussion, research, case studies and
experience sharing, particularly of countries involved in assessment processes; and to further
explore how sustainability assessments can present opportunities to promote sustainable
development, particularly in developing countries.

Contact: Mireille Perrin, Officer, Trade and Investment Unit, WWF International, avenue Mt.
Blanc, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/364 9026, fax +41-22/364 8219,
e-mail <mperrin@wwfnet.org>, website (www.panda.org).


MULTINATIONALS SHOULD ADOPT GREEN LABELLING
Consumers are still finding environmental labels on common household products confusing
and misleading, according to a ten-country study released in March by Consumers
International (CI), the global federation of 250 consumer organizations in 111 countries.

"While many good and useful claims are being made," said Anna Fielder, Director of CI's
Office for Developed and Transition Economies, "it is clear there is a long way to go in
ensuring shoppers are adequately informed about the environmental impact of the products
they buy."

In the report, Green Claims: Environmental Claims on Products and Packaging in the Shops,
consumer organizations examined how green labelling on products such as toilet paper, paint,
detergent and kitchen appliances compared with an international standard (ISO 14021) agreed
to by the International Standards Organisation in September 1999. The countries studied were
Australia, Austria, Belgium, China HKSAR (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region),
Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States. 

The voluntary "self-declared environmental claims" standard bans vague or misleading claims.
These apply to phrases such as "environmentally friendly," which was found on numerous
products including stain-removing aerosols, washing powders and toilet paper.
"Non-polluting" is another popular phrase, applied to everything from packaging on a Belgian
sesame bar to UK flour. It also bans claims of achieving sustainability such as "produced from
sustained yield management forest" or "sustainable materials." Greeting cards in Australia and
doors in the UK all carry such wording, according to the CI study. Finally, the voluntary
standard bans claims that can be misinterpreted such as "wrapped in biodegradable paper"
found on a brand of Austrian toilet paper. This is technically true since paper is biodegradable,
but likely to be misinterpreted since the wrapper will probably end up in a landfill where
biodegradability would be a disadvantage, according to CI.

The standard also lists and defines a number of terms commonly used in environmental claims.
These include the terms compostable, degradable, recycled content, recyclable, reusable and
refillable. 

Contact: Consumers International, 24 Highbury Crescent, London N5 1RX, United Kingdom,
telephone +44-20/7226 6663, e-mail <sgribble@consint.org> website
(www.consumersinternational.org). 


OTHER NEWS

EARTH CHARTER AND CAMPAIGN
After eight years of deliberation with more than 100,000 people in 51 countries, global leaders
in environment, business, politics, religion and education announced on 14 March 2000 in
Paris a comprehensive document of new global ethical guidelines. The process in producing
the Earth Charter was initiated by Ruud Lubbers, former Prime Minister of The Netherlands,
and carried out under the direction of, among others, Mikhail Gorbachev; chairman of the
Earth Council Maurice Strong; former adviser to the Prime Minister of India Kamla
Chowdhry; and former President of Mali Amadou Toumani Toure.

The document "creates an unprecedented ethical and moral framework to guide the conduct
and behavior of people and nations to each other and the Earth," according to organizers. It
contains 16 main principles, which outline an integrated vision for human rights and
sustainable development. The first four guiding principles of the Earth Charter are to:
--  "respect Earth and life in all its diversity;
--  care for the community of life with understanding, compassion and love;
--  build democratic societies that are just, sustainable, participatory and peaceful; and 
--  secure Earth's bounty and beauty for present and future generations."

The Earth Charter embraces the view that problems of poverty, environmental degradation,
ethnic and religious conflict, and social injustice are interdependent; thus policies that address
one problem can impact and improve other issues. 

"We have the technology to foster sustainable change; what is lacking is sufficient
motivation," said Maurice Strong, co-chair of the Earth Charter Commission. "We now have
the Earth Charter to drive motivation. Our aim is that the Earth Charter be received as
strongly and profoundly as the International Declaration of Human Rights. We intend to bring
the Earth Charter to the UN in 2002, ten years after the Rio Earth Summit."

The Earth Charter campaign aims to "fundamentally alter people's vision of their relationships
to the world community and their interdependence and responsibility to each other."  While
rapid advances in technology and communications have created an interconnected world,
campaign organizers said that "people have not united to find solutions for the world's
problems. The Earth Charter links material progress with moral progress and seeks to shape
global responsibility for the deeply-rooted social, economic and environmental problems that
plague humanity."

This past century has been the most destructive in human history, according to Steven
Rockefeller, chair of the Earth Charter drafting committee. "Many tens of millions of people
have been killed in wars," he said, "and tens of thousands of species have been destroyed.  The
Earth Charter is a call for an awakening of universal responsibility."

An objective of the educational campaign is to bring together people representing conflicting
interests and viewpoints to use the Earth Charter as a framework for discussion. Dialogues
that are being proposed include business and the environment; peacebuilding; creation of a
"soft law" framework; and religion and the environment, which is scheduled for the
Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders on 28 August 2000 in
New York. 

Sponsoring organizations of the Earth Charter include the Earth Council and Green Cross
International, founded by Mr. Gorbachev in 1993.

Contact: Anne Glauber, Senior Vice-President, Ruder Finn, 301 East 57th Street, New York
NY 10022, United States, telephone +1-212/593 6481, fax +1-212/715 1659, e-mail
<glaubera@ruderfinn.com>, website (www.earthcharter.org).


MEETING ON SMALL ARMS TRADE
A call for action by the European Union (EU) and its partners to control flows of small arms
and light weapons from and through their territory was made at a conference in Warsaw
(Poland), held 17-18 March 2000 (see page 6 on PrepCom on Small Arms conference).  

The event was organized by Saferworld with the Institute for Public Affairs, an NGO based in
Poland, and co-hosted by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Participants included
government officials from the European Union and countries in Central and Eastern Europe,
and representatives from international organizations, NGOs and academia. Discussions
focused on ways to coordinate effective controls on flows of small arms and light weapons, so
that they do not fuel conflicts or go to regimes guilty of gross human rights abuses.

"The conference and [its] Call to Action represent an exciting new departure in pan-European
cooperation," said Ian Davis of Saferworld. "As equal partners, EU governments and
governments in Central and Eastern Europe can now move forward together, to control arms
transfers which sow instability and wreak terrible destruction, particularly in Africa."

Among other things participants talked about implementing and strengthening the EU Code of
Conduct on Arms Exports across Europe before countries such as Poland and Hungary join
the EU, and improvements in democratic accountability over arms flows in an enlarged EU.

Contact: Ian Davis, Joint Arms Trade Programme Coordinator, Saferworld, 46 Grosvenor
Gardens, London SW1W OEB, United Kingdom, telephone +44-20/7881 9290 or
+44-1274/236283, fax +44-20/7881 9291 or +44-1274/236283, e-mail
<idavis@saferworld.demon.co.uk>.


SECOND WORLD WATER FORUM
Over 4,500 people participated in the Second World Water Forum, held in The Hague
(Netherlands) from 17-22 March 2000. Plenary sessions and workshop themes at the forum,
which included a separate ministerial conference, included water and gender, water and
knowledge, youth, NGOs, water stewardship, local government, and creating worldwide
water awareness. Presentations were also made on the water situation in specific regions
around the world.

At the end of the two-day ministerial conference, an initiative of The Netherlands government,
more than 100 government ministers issued a declaration entitled Water Security in the 21st
Century. It advocates, among other things, integrated water resources management and
development of progress indicators at national and sub-national levels. 

"We recognize that our gathering and this Declaration, are part of a wider process, and are
linked to a wide range of initiatives at all levels," says the declaration. "We acknowledge the
pivotal role that governments play in realizing actions to meet the challenges. We recognize
the need for institutional, technological and financial innovations in order to move beyond
 business as usual' and we resolve to rise to meet these challenges."

A coalition of NGOs at the forum said it did not accept the mandate of the World Water
Commission or the World Water Council vision document. The NGO and Trade Union Major
Groups coalition also expressed "serious concerns about the process and contents of the
framework for action." Among other things the coalition called for reform of governance of
water based on skills, experience and legitimacy of local people and communities; recognition
of the primacy of human needs and rights; targets and timetables for improvement; and
substantial increase in multilateral and bilateral assistance levels for water investment
programmes, particularly in developing countries.

"By the time of the Rio+10 summit in 2002," the coalition told ministers, "you could achieve,
if you so wanted, a fully worked up global strategy and committed fund flows to bring about
these improvements. We have to say that the draft declaration which has been prepared by
your officials to express the conclusions of this conference falls woefully short of this goal. It
is a document which is full of reservations and escape clauses. It conveys no real sense of
urgency and no real determination to increase efforts in the world to deal with water
problems."

Contact: Second World Water Forum, care of Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DML/PS), PO Box
20061, 2500 EB The Hague, The Netherlands, telephone +31-70/348 5402, fax +31-70/348
6792, e-mail <office@worldwaterforum.org>.


ACP-EU PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT
The African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states and the European Union concluded a new
20-year partnership agreement in February after 18 months of negotiations.

The partnership agreement has three pillars: the political dimension; development strategies;
and economic and trade cooperation. Among other things, it "lends a new democratic
dimension to the partnership by actively encouraging the involvement of civil society and
non-state actors in the various facets of the partnership (political, social, economic and
trade)," according to the European Commission, "and makes provisions for informing and
consulting those new actors and strengthening their capacities." 

Negotiations for renewal of the partnership began in September 1998 in the wake of two years
of pubic debate on prospects for the "post-Lome" period. The Lome Convention, which has
governed cooperation relations between the EU and ACP countries since 1975, expired in
February of this year.

Following the negotiations Jean-Robert Goulongana, ACP Secretary-General, said that ACP
would aim to boost its political profile beyond partnership with the EU. 

"The plan is to reinforce the ACP group's voice on the global stage," he said. "The EU will
remain our privileged partner, but it is important to have a dialogue with other political and
economic powers."

The role of the ACP group secretariat is under review, and offices in Geneva and New York
may be opened in order to reinforce ACP-EU coordination in advance of United Nations and
World Trade Organization meetings. 

Contact: E-mail <development@cec.eu.int>. An overview of the new ACP-EU agreement can
be found online at (europa.eu.int/comm/development/document/ acp_eu_agreement_en.htm).


FOCUS

STARVATION THREATENING MILLIONS IN EASTERN AFRICA

The threat of starvation is severe in parts of eastern Africa with nearly 16 million people in
need of emergency food assistance, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO). Go Between summarizes recent reports on the food situation in the region, as well as
around the world.

The FAO report on Food Supply Situation and Crop Prospects in Sub-Saharan Africa says
pastoral areas including southeastern Ethiopia, northern Kenya and several parts of Somalia
have been particularly affected by successive years of poor rains, with loss of large numbers of
livestock. 

Eight Million People at Risk
Hardest hit is Ethiopia, where more than eight million people are at risk, while in Kenya nearly
2.7 million people are facing severe food shortages. Past or ongoing civil conflicts in some
areas are also disrupting food production and distribution, and triggering food shortages and
mass population displacements. With poor rainfall forecast for the sub-region during the
current season, the number of people in need of assistance is anticipated to increase. 

"Only a massive international effort in the coming months in support of the affected
populations," according to FAO, "can avert further human suffering and loss of life."

The food supply situation remains bleak in the Great Lakes region due to the combined effects
of civil strife, insecurity, shortage of inputs and erratic rainfall, says the report. In Burundi,
food supplies are "tight" following the reduced harvest last season due to dry weather and
population displacement. The food and health situation is particularly critical for some 800,000
displaced people in camps, most of whom do not have access to their fields. 

Supplies in Other Sub-Saharan Countries
Food supplies improved in Sahelian countries of western Africa following bumper harvests,
according to the report. The markets are generally well supplied in most countries. Record
harvests were gathered in Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal,
while production levels were above-average in Chad and Niger. 

By contrast, output is estimated to be below average in Guinea-Bissau due to civil strife and
population displacement. Despite some improvement in food production, Sierra Leone and
Liberia remain heavily dependent on international food assistance.

Sub-Saharan Africa's cereal import requirements are set to remain high in 2000, reflecting
reduced production in eastern and southern Africa. However, continuing balance of payments
difficulties in the low-income food deficit countries of the region mean that their food aid
requirements will increase, notes the report.

Foodcrops and Shortages Elsewhere
FAO's Foodcrops and Shortages report says that in Asia relief operations continue in
northeastern states of India devastated by a cyclone, which killed several thousand people and
left thousands homeless. 

More food assistance is needed in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, says the report,
which also calls for international aid in East Timor to rehabilitate its agriculture and economy.
No significant weather events occurred to affect short-term crop prospects in Asia, where the
main wheat crop is developing in countries including China and Pakistan. Prospects for main
and second season rice in most other countries are generally satisfactory, according to
Foodcrops and Shortages. In countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in
Asia it is too early to forecast crop prospects, but 1999 production is estimated to have
increased by some seven million tonnes compared to 1998.

In the Near East recent rainfall improved crop prospects, suggesting recovery from last year
when a number of countries were affected by a devastating drought.

Many countries in the Balkans remain affected by food supply problems, exacerbated by
serious economic crisis. In Yugoslavia there are 1.1 million refugees and internally displaced
people in need of food assistance. 

In Europe, winter weather conditions were favourable and soil moisture levels were adequate
for crops; aggregate wheat area is estimated to have increased by around 5%. 

In most South American and Caribbean countries, production is anticipated to continue
recovering following the devastation caused by hurricane Mitch in late 1998.

Contact: John Riddle, Information Officer, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, I-00100
Rome, Italy, telephone +39-06/5705 3259, fax +39-06/5705 3699, e-mail
<john.riddle@fao.org>. Both documents are available online at
(www.fao.org/WAICENT/faoinfo/economic/giews/english/giewse.htm).

***************************************************************************
Task Force on Long-Term Food Security

In April Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced the establishment of a Task Force on the
UN Response to Long-term Food Security, Agriculture Development and Related Aspects in
the Horn of Africa in relation to the present drought crisis in the area. 

The task force will develop a comprehensive strategy to mitigate the effects of recurrent
drought and to achieve lasting food security in the region. 

"This time, we are stressing the importance of prevention," said Mr. Annan, "so that we may
never again face the spectre of walking skeletons."

Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO), will chair the task force.
***************************************************************************


SECRETARY-GENERAL ISSUES MILLENNIUM REPORT

Globalization for the benefit of all is the focus of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi
Annan's most comprehensive and ambitious report defining the major challenges facing the
world in the 21st century. Go Between summarizes highlights of the Millennium Report.

The Millennium Report (A/54/2000), which the Secretary-General submitted to the General
Assembly on 3 April 2000, will be the main working document for the Millennium Summit.
The summit, to be held from 6-8 September 2000 at the United Nations in New York, is set to
be the largest-ever gathering of heads of state and government.

The report entitled We the People, the Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century calls on
governments to spread the benefits of globalization to all people. It contains specific goals and
programme initiatives for the world's leaders to consider, many of which are practical
recommendations for fighting poverty and disease.

The report outlines challenges facing the world under three themes related to freedom:
freedom from want, freedom from fear, and freedom of future generations from destruction of
the environment.

Freedom From Want
The section on freedom from want addresses the issue of poverty. It asserts that if the parts of
society worked together, then the number of people living in extreme poverty could be halved
by 2015. The report calls on heads of state to vow to strive for specific targets, such as
reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS within five years and making primary school education
universal before 2015. 

"At the international level," says the report, "the more fortunate countries owe a duty of
solidarity to the less fortunate." It calls on the former countries to, among other things:
--  grant free access to their markets for goods produced in poor countries and as a first step
to be prepared at the Third UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries in March 2001
to adopt a policy of duty-free and quota-free access for essentially all exports from the least
developed countries;
--  implement expansion of the debt relief programme for heavily indebted poor countries
(HIPCs) agreed last year without further delay, and to be prepared to cancel all official debts
of the HIPCs in return for those countries making demonstrable commitments to poverty
reduction; and 
--  grant more generous development assistance, particularly to those countries that are
genuinely applying their resources to poverty reduction.

Freedom From Fear
In the freedom from fear section, the Secretary-General observes that today's wars are more
often within than between states, and therefore the world must think of security in terms of
protecting people. He calls on heads of state to address the dilemma of intervention, saying
that although he accepts the principles of sovereignty "no legal principle not even
sovereignty can ever shield crimes against humanity." 

The report suggests, among other things:
--  strengthening respect for law, in international as in national affairs, in particular the agreed
provisions of treaties on the control of armaments, and international humanitarian human
rights law;
--  strengthening the capacity of the United Nations to conduct peace operations;
--  taking energetic action to curb the illegal traffic in small arms; and
--  examining the possibility of convening a major international conference to identify ways of
eliminating nuclear dangers.

Sustaining Our Future
The third section concerning the environment calls for a new ethic of environmental
stewardship. This should involve more scientific research, a massive increase in public
awareness, and integration of environmental costs into the economy through "green
accounting." 

Suggestions include:
--  adopt and ratify the Kyoto Protocol, so that it can enter into force by 2002 as a step
towards reducing emission of greenhouse gases;
--  consider incorporating the United Nations system of "green accounting" into national
accounts, in order to integrate environmental issues into mainstream economic policy; and
--  prepare the ground for the adoption of concrete and meaningful actions by the world's
leaders at the ten-year follow-up to the Earth Summit in 2002.

Four New Initiatives
--  Health InterNetwork to provide hospitals and clinics in developing countries with access to
up-to-date medical information
--  United Nations Information Technology Service (UNITeS) to train groups in developing
countries in the uses and opportunities of information technology
--  "First on the Ground" disaster response initiative, which will provide uninterrupted
communications access to areas affected by natural disasters and emergencies
--  A global policy network to explore viable new approaches to the problem of youth
employment

Renewing the United Nations
An additional section deals with the specific role of the United Nations. As the private sector
forges ever more powerful links across national borders, so must governments, it says. Links
must be forged not only among governments, but also between governments, organizations
and civil society. The United Nations could be both a catalyst and an instrument of this
process. 

Mr. Annan proposes establishing an expert group to prepare a study of innovative "best
practices" of how civil society can contribute to the work of the United Nations. Suggestions
include:
--  reform the Security Council, in a way that both enables it to carry out its responsibilities
more effectively and gives it greater legitimacy in the eyes of all the world's peoples; and
--  give full opportunities to NGOs and other non-state actors to make their indispensable
contribution to the work of the UN.

Finally, the report lists six "shared values," which it says reflect the spirit of the UN Charter.
They are freedom; equity and solidarity; tolerance; non-violence; respect for nature; and
shared responsibility. It urges the Millennium Summit to adopt a series of resolutions, drawn
from the report, as an earnest indication of the will to act on these values.

Contact: The report can be found on the UN website (www.un.org/peace). For those without
access to the Internet, a copy can be obtained from NGLS in New York. 


***************************************************************************
Excerpts from the Millennium Report

"The United Nations can succeed in helping to meet the challenges ahead only if all of us feel a
renewed sense of mission about our common endeavour. We need to remind ourselves why
the United Nations exists for what, and for whom. We also need to ask ourselves what kind
of United Nations the world's leaders are prepared to support, in deeds as well as words.
Clear answers are necessary to energize and focus the Organization's work in the decades
ahead. It is those answers that the Millennium Summit must provide."

"Of course, the United Nations exists to serve its Member States. It is the only body of its kind
with universal membership and comprehensive scope, and encompassing so many areas of
human endeavour. These features make it a uniquely useful forum for sharing information,
conducting negotiations, elaborating norms and voicing expectations, coordinating the
behaviour of states and other actors, and pursuing common plans of action. We must ensure
that the United Nations performs these functions as efficiently as possible."

Globalization and Governance
"The central challenge we face today is to ensure that globalization becomes a positive force
for all the world's people, instead of leaving billions of them behind in squalor. Inclusive
globalization must be built on the great enabling force of the market, but market forces alone
will not achieve it. To survive and thrive, a global economy must have a more solid foundation
in shared values and institutional practices it must advance broader, and more inclusive, social
purposes."

"What do we mean by  governance' when applied to the international realm? In the minds of
some, the term still conjures up images of world government, of centralized bureaucratic
behemoths trampling on the rights of people and states. Nothing is less desirable. Weak states
are one of the main impediments to effective governance today, at national and international
levels alike. For the good of their own people and for the sake of our common aims, we must
help to strengthen the capacity of those states to govern, not undermine them further."

"Better governance means greater participation, coupled with accountability. Therefore, the
international public domain including the United Nations must be opened up further to the
participation of the many actors whose contributions are essential to managing the path of
globalization. Depending on the issues at hand, this may include civil society organizations, the
private sector, parliamentarians, local authorities, scientific associations, educational
institutions and many others."

UN Reform
"Decision-making structures through which governance is exercised internationally must
reflect the broad realities of our times. The United Nations Security Council is an obvious case
in point. Based on the distribution of power and alignments in 1945, the composition of the
Council today does not fully represent either the character or the needs of our globalized
world. The same holds in some major economic forums: all countries are consumers of
globalization's effects; all must have a greater say in the process itself."

"I would ask the General Assembly to explore ways of improving relationships [with civil
society]. As a first step, an expert group, including representatives of civil society
organizations, might be asked to prepare a study of innovative  best practices' in how those
organizations contribute to the work of the United Nations in all its aspects. Such a study
could form the basis for adopting new ways of involving civil society more fully in our
common endeavours."
***************************************************************************


UNAIDS REPORTS ON MEN, VACCINE INITIATIVE AND ETHICAL RESEARCH 

Men can change the course of the AIDS epidemic, according to a report released in March
2000 by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). The report was
released during launching of the year 2000 World AIDS Campaign. Go Between also
summarizes UNAIDS guidance points on HIV vaccine research and a joint initiative with the
World Health Organization (WHO).

Men and AIDS A Gendered Approach

All over the world, women find themselves at special risk of HIV infection because of their
lack of power to determine where, when and how sex takes place, according to the report,
entitled Men and AIDS A Gendered Approach. What is less recognized, however, is that the
cultural beliefs and expectations that make this the case also heighten men's own vulnerability.

"Many men do not engage in risk behaviour, but without men, the virus would have little
opportunity to spread," according to UNAIDS. Over 70% of HIV infections worldwide occur
through sex between men and women, and a further 10% through sex between men. Another
5% take place among people who inject drugs, four-fifths of whom are men. 

HIV infections and AIDS deaths in men outnumber those in women on every continent except
Sub-Saharan Africa. Young men are more at risk than older ones: about one in four people
with HIV is a young man under the age of 25.

"The time is ripe to start seeing men not as some kind of problem, but as part of the solution,"
said Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS. "Working with men to change some of their
attitudes and behaviours has enormous potential to slow down the epidemic and to improve
the lives of men themselves, their families and their partners." 

The report challenges what it describes as harmful concepts of masculinity and contends that
changing many commonly-held attitudes and behaviours  including the way adult men look at
risk and sexuality and how boys are socialized to become men must be part of the effort to
curb the AIDS epidemic.

Dangerous Expectations
Broadly speaking men are expected to be physically strong, emotionally robust, daring and
virile, the report says. Some of these expectations translate into attitudes and behaviours that
endanger the health and well-being of men and their sexual partners with the advent of AIDS.
Other behaviours and attitudes, on the contrary, represent valuable potential that can be
tapped by AIDS programmes.

There are sound reasons why men should become more fully involved in the fight against
AIDS. All over the world, men tend to have more sex partners than women, including more
extramarital partners, thereby increasing their own and their primary partners' risk of
contracting HIV. This risk is compounded by the secrecy, stigma and shame surrounding HIV,
which may keep men and women from acknowledging that they have become infected.

Men Especially at High Risk
A number of special circumstances place men at a particularly high risk of contracting HIV.
Men who migrate for work and live away from their families may pay for sex and use
substances, including alcohol, as a way to cope with the stress and loneliness of living far from
home. Men in all-male environments, such as the military, may be strongly influenced by a
culture that reinforces risk-taking. In some institutions such as prisons, men who normally
prefer women as sex partners may have sex with other men.

Male violence further drives the spread of HIV through wars and the migration they cause, as
well as through rape. Millions of men a year are sexually violent toward women and girls,
sometimes in their own family or household. A recent study found that worldwide at least one
woman in three has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime. 

Careful Balance Needed
At the same time, says the UNAIDS report, a careful balance needs to be struck between
recognizing how men's behaviour contributes to the epidemic and their potential to make a
difference. As politicians, workers, fathers, sons, brothers and as friends men have much to
give. They need to be encouraged to adopt positive behaviours and to play a much greater part
in caring for their partners and families.

Numerous studies worldwide show that men generally participate less than women in caring
for their children. This also has a direct bearing on the AIDS epidemic, which has now left
over 11 million children orphaned and in need of adults' help to grow up fed, clothed, housed
and educated. 

The report notes that greater attention must be given to the needs of millions of men, in
particular those living with HIV/AIDS. Except in a handful of countries, men have a lower life
expectancy at birth and higher death rates during adulthood than women. But boys who are
brought up to believe that "real men don't get sick" often see themselves as invulnerable to
illness or risk. 

"Too often, it is seen as  unmanly' to worry about avoiding drug-related risks or to bother
with condoms," said Dr. Piot. "These attitudes seriously undermine AIDS prevention efforts." 

Behaviour Can Be Changed
It has already been demonstrated that men's behaviour can change, and that such change in
turn alters the epidemic, according to UNAIDS. For example in parts of Africa, Central
America and Asia, long-distance truck drivers have been encouraged to reduce their number of
sexual partners and more consistently practice safe sex. In Thailand, there have been
successful programmes for prevention among army recruits. In many countries, including the
United States, college students are beginning to delay the onset of sex and are using condoms
more consistently. 

All this does not mean an end to prevention programmes for women and girls. Rather, the
campaign aims to complement such programmes. Work that enhances gender awareness and
sensitivity should focus on the needs of both women and men, according to UNAIDS. 


Guidance Document on HIV 
Vaccine Ethical Considerations

The Guidance Document on Ethical Considerations in HIV Preventive Vaccine Research,
released by UNAIDS in February 2000, contains guidance points that UNAIDS said need to
be considered in HIV vaccine development activities and vaccine trials. The guidelines are
seen as particularly important for developing countries, where many future vaccine trials are
expected to take place.

In 1999 alone, nearly 5.6 million people or over 15,000 a day became infected with HIV, the
virus that causes AIDS. At least 95% of these infections occurred in developing countries.
More than 33 million people now live with HIV or AIDS, 23 million of them in Africa.
Despite successes in pushing back the epidemic in some parts of the world, HIV continues its
global spread. 

"It is becoming evident that in the long term, a vaccine may offer the best hope of controlling
the AIDS epidemic, especially in developing countries," said UNAIDS Executive Director
Peter Piot. "It is our collective responsibility to ensure that all vaccine trials are conducted
under the strictest possible ethical and scientific standards."

Developing a vaccine will be a lengthy and complex process, experts say, because there are
both scientific and ethical challenges involved in clinical trials among human volunteers.

"These ethical challenges should not be seen as obstacles for vaccine development, just as the
immunological challenges encountered are not obstacles," said Ruth Macklin, Professor of
Bioethics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, and chair of the UNAIDS
Ethical Review Committee. "These are important concerns that have to be identified,
understood, and satisfactorily addressed."

The guidance document took over two years to elaborate and was based on a series of
consultations organized by UNAIDS with representatives from 33 countries. They involved
lawyers, activists, NGOs, people living with HIV/AIDS, social scientists, ethicists,
epidemiologists, health policy specialists, and agencies and institutions involved in vaccine
development.

Most Contentious Issue
The most contentious issue concerns the level of treatment that should be offered to
participants in vaccine trials who become infected with HIV, not through the trials
themselves vaccines cannot cause HIV infection but through eventual behavioural exposure.
According to the guidelines, "care and treatment should be provided, with the ideal being to
provide the best proven therapy, and the minimum to provide the highest level of care
attainable in the host country" under the circumstances in which the trial is conducted.

The guidelines contain 18 "guidance points" reflecting a number of issues including: 
--  international ethical responsibility to support vaccine trials; 
--  the obligation to provide an effective vaccine to populations where trials are conducted and
to other populations in need;
--  the need to strengthen ethical review capacity in developing countries; 
--  the importance of social and behavioural aspects of testing; and 
--  future use of an HIV vaccine. 

The document also highlights the importance of involving communities early in the design,
development, implementation and distribution of results of HIV vaccine research.
WHO/UNAIDS HIV Vaccine Initiative

Cooperation in the search for an AIDS vaccine is intensifying with the creation of a new
initiative by UNAIDS and the World Health Organization (WHO) to promote the
development of a vaccine.

The WHO-UNAIDS HIV Vaccine Initiative aims to heighten international cooperation into
AIDS vaccines in the face of mounting urgency as the epidemic spreads. The initiative is
guided by a joint WHO-UNAIDS HIV Vaccine Advisory Committee, which met for the first
time from 21-23 February 2000.

"The new initiative provides an independent forum where everyone working on HIV vaccines,
from North or South, from industry or from research agencies, and from affected
communities, can identify common ground for collaboration and coordination," said Jose
Esparza, coordinator of the initiative. "This should help capitalize on the extensive experience
of all organizations."

The HIV Vaccine Initiative will focus on strengthening the capacity in developing countries to
ensure that vaccine trials are conducted with the highest ethical and scientific standards. A
major challenge facing HIV vaccine development is finding a vaccine that will be effective
worldwide, including developing countries where 95% of infections occur. 

"Vaccines are among the most cost-efficient interventions to prevent infectious diseases," said
Barry Bloom, Dean of the Harvard School of Public Health and head of the Vaccine Advisory
Committee. "We are fortunate that new initiatives are being proposed to expand availability of
existing vaccines in developing countries and to conduct research to develop new ones."

The multitude of HIV strains and the number of potential vaccines being tested make it
imperative to coordinate research efforts. Vaccine development efforts require concentrated
international coordination and collaboration, with the full involvement of industrialized and
developing countries, the public and private sectors, governmental and non-governmental
organizations, and the pharmaceutical industry, said Dr. Esparza. "They also require the
creation of financial incentives to stimulate more research and development," he added.

Contact: Dominique De Santis, Press Officer, UNAIDS, 20 avenue Appia, CH-1211 Geneva
27, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/791 3387, fax +41-22/791 4898, e-mail
<desantisd@unaids.org>, website (www.unaids.org). 


***************************************************************************
Anti-AIDS Partnership in Africa

The International Partnership Against AIDS in Africa is a coalition of actors who have chosen
to work together to achieve a shared vision: to increase efforts in Africa to curtail the spread
of HIV; reduce its impact; and halt the further reversal of human, social and economic
development. The actors of the partnership are African governments, African and international
civil society, the United Nations, donors and foundations, NGO networks, and the private and
corporate sectors. 

More information on the partnership and related issues is available at
(www.unaids.org/africapartnership/whatis.html), or by contacting UNAIDS (see above). 
***************************************************************************


INTERGOVERNMENTAL FORUM ON FORESTS, FINAL SESSION 

The fourth and final session of the UN Framework of the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests
(IFF-4) took place in New York from 31 January-11 February 2000. Go Between summarizes
the discussions and outcomes of the session.


Delegates had before them the task of finalizing conclusions and proposals for action to be
submitted to the eighth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-8),
which will be held in April.

Programme Elements
Programme elements discussed at IFF-4 included: 
--  promoting and facilitating implementation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF)
proposals for action; 
--  monitoring progress in implementation of the IPF proposal issues needing further
clarification; 
--  the need for financial resources; 
--  trade and environment; 
--  transfer of environmentally sound technologies (ESTs) to support sustainable forest
management (SFM); and 
--  international arrangements and mechanisms to promote the management, conservation and
sustainable development of all types of forests. 

Among issues needing further clarification were: 
--  underlying causes of deforestation; 
--  traditional forest-related knowledge; 
--  valuation of forest goods and services; 
--  economic instruments; 
--  future supply of and demand for wood and non-wood forest products; and 
--  assessment, monitoring and rehabilitation of forest cover in environmentally critical areas.

Central Issue of Debate
The central issue of debate at IFF-4 concerned the best way for the international community to
promote preservation and sustainable use of forests. 

Some advocated the initiation of negotiations on a legally binding instrument (LBI) such as a
convention to guide and regulate forest management at the global level. Others supported a
standing UN Forum on Forests (UNFF), which would encourage adherence to existing
agreements including the Forest Principles that emerged from the 1992 United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).

Motivation for supporting a legally binding instrument varied. Some hoped to create more
focused action on sustainable forest management, some hoped for a commitment of new
financial resources, and others sought to create a trade protection regime. 

Portugal, on behalf of the European Union, stressed that there was broad support for
institutionalizing an international forest policy dialogue. 

The justifications against establishing a legally binding instrument ranged from protecting
sovereign rights to focusing on implementation of existing agreements. Brazil said that the
Forest Principles constituted the most comprehensive instrument on forests. 

New and Additional Financial Assistance 
While developing countries did not share one view on the issue, African countries in particular
voiced scepticism about the legitimacy of any promises on new and additional financial
assistance associated with a legally binding instrument. 

Zambia, on behalf of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment, said that African
countries did not support a legally binding instrument without a viable financial mechanism,
and preferred improved coordination of existing arrangements and a new permanent
intergovernmental forum for forest policy deliberations. 

NGO Views
Approximately 20 NGOs, including the World Rainforest Movement, Greenpeace, World
Wildlife Fund (WWF), Friends of the Earth, Forest Peoples Programme, Forests Monitor and
FERN strongly opposed the forest convention proposal. 

They said energy should be devoted to implementing agreements already on the books, and a
legally binding instrument could legitimize bad forestry practices. They noted that the time it
would take to establish a convention would distract attention from implementing actions "on
the ground" while bad forestry practices continued. 

"Such an agreement would fall short of even the most basic demands," said NGOs and
indigenous peoples organizations, "such as goals for the protection and sustainable
management of forests and securing indigenous peoples' rights." 

Greenpeace International noted that there are over 40 international agencies with some form
of forest protection mandate, as well as approximately 20 existing legal instruments that deal
with forest issues. 

IFF-4 "should drop the convention option," it said, "and make a unanimous, unbracketed
recommendation to CSD-8 for the establishment within the UN of a high-level biennial
ministerial forests forum, together with at least annual meetings of officials to maintain focus
and momentum, with full participation of all stakeholders at all levels of the process."

Decision on Legally Binding Instrument
Following an all-night session on the last day, delegates reached a decision at dawn on the
legally binding instrument, which IFF co-chair Ambassador Bagher Asadi (Iran) referred to as
"the most intractable issue." 

Delegates recommended that the UN "establish an intergovernmental body which may be
called the United Nations Forum on Forests [UNFF]." The forum would adopt a "multi-year
programme of work" based on existing agreements including the Forest Principles and would
"consider (within five years) with a view to recommending the parameters of a mandate for
developing a legal framework on all types of forests." 

Mr. Asadi said that the text gave the pro-convention side a commitment to a treaty, and UNFF
proponents a forum that would begin its work soon, perhaps by the end of the year. The
question will be submitted to the eighth session of the Commission for Sustainable
Development from 24 April-5 May for final resolution.

Despite heated debate on the issue, Mr. Asadi said there was an emerging consensus on the
broader issues. 

"The North-South gap is gone," he noted. "Some time in the past it might have been a
North-South divide, but now you have some developing and developed countries favouring a
convention and at the same time, members of both camps opposing it." 

Canada, along with the European Union and Russia, favoured a convention while a
North/South coalition including the US, China and India preferred the UNFF.

Working Group on the Transfer Of Environmentally 
Sound Technologies, Trade and Environment and Finance
The working group on the transfer of environmentally sound technologies, trade and
environment and finance reported that with regard to identification and development of
effective financial mechanisms, consensus could not be reached on whether to include
reference to new mechanisms such as creation of an international forest fund. 

Developed countries appeared reluctant to commit funding to a centralized fund, and
developing countries refused to consider an legally binding instrument without explicit
language for new and additional funding. 

Regarding making full use of the potential of existing mechanisms, such as the Global
Environment Facility (GEF), consensus was not reached on whether options should be
explored to expand their scope, or to review their scope, for financing a wider range of
sustainable forest management activities. 

No consensus was reached on whether to include a proposal on the need for a study that
brings together issues such as international trade and valuation of forest goods and services.

With regard to transfer of environmentally sound technologies to support sustainable forest
management, delegates held a lengthy discussion on an action proposal regarding sharing
benefits from the use of biological resources in accordance with the Convention on Biological
Diversity. This issue also surfaced in discussions on trade and environment and traditional
forest-related knowledge. 

Some countries questioned the appropriateness of discussing the relationship between
biological resources and intellectual property rights at IFF-4. They argued that it was still
unresolved in other fora such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). 

Others saw the IFF-4 as an opportunity to advance the issue as a means of leveraging greater
transfer of forest-based technologies.

Other unresolved issues included whether the proposed UNFF would fall under General
Assembly or Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) purviews. 

Some delegates and NGOs said lack of attention given to the more than 100 action proposals
emerging from the 1999 Global Workshop on Addressing the Underlying Causes of
Deforestation and Forest Degradation showed that the IFF did not have the political might to
address macro-economic issues associated with the International Monetary Fund, World Trade
Organization and World Bank. 

For this reason some supported the call for the UNFF to be under the purview of the General
Assembly rather than ECOSOC or the Commission for Sustainable Development. However,
this could affect Major Groups' participation and the open, transparent and inclusive process
as NGOs have more limited access to the General Assembly-based bodies than to those of
ECOSOC. 

Disappointment in Results
"The majority of NGOs and IPOs who were attending IFF are highly disappointed by its
results," said organizers of the newly-revived NGO Forest Caucus. They felt that while some
progress was achieved on a number of minor issues, "most IFF proposals for action add little
to the existing international consensus as reflected in the Proposals for Action         of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Forests, decisions of the Conference        of Parties of the
Biodiversity Convention and the decisions of the CSD itself." 

They also observed that "the IFF report fails to address or even recognize major direct and
underlying causes of forest loss, such as unsustainable consumption and production patterns
and large-scale unsustainable agriculture."

Unresolved Issues
NGOs were particularly concerned by the many issues remaining unresolved in the annex to
the IFF report, which outlines recommendations regarding international arrangements and
mechanisms to promote the management, conservation and sustainable development of all
types of forests (Category III). 

NGOs pointed out that while IFF recommendations recognize the need to focus on
implementation, the annex fails to make any concrete recommendations for a sub-committee
or other body that could take up this task.


Contact: Jag Maini, Coordinator, Intergovernmental Forum on Forests Secretariat, 2 UN
Plaza, 12th Floor, New York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/963 6208, fax
+1-212/963 3463, e-mail <maini@un.org>, website (www.un.org/esa/sustdev/iff.htm). 

For summaries of the report, contact Earth Negotiations Bulletin, International Institute for
Sustainable Development (IISD), 161 Portage Avenue East, 6th Floor, Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3B 0Y4, Canada, telephone +1-212/644 0204, fax +1-212/644 0206, e-mail <info@iisd.ca>,
website (www.iisd.org).


UPDATE ON REFORM PROCESS OF SECURITY COUNCIL

The United Nations General Assembly has been tackling the issue of reform of the Security
Council since 1993, when it established the Open-Ended Working Group on the Question of
Equitable Representation On and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and
Other Matters Related to the Security Council. 

The Working Group on Security Council Expansion has met each year since 1994 although
progress has been slow. In opening the meeting of the working group on 6 March 2000, the
President of the General Assembly, Theo-Ben Gurirab, expressed frustration at "the
never-ending nature of consultations." He noted that all member states agree that "to ensure
that the United Nations will continue to play the role assigned to it by the Charter, it is
important to reform the composition and functioning of the Security Council so as to
strengthen its authority and make it more equitably representative and more capable of
continuing to assume its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and
security."

The council has 15 members (expanded from 11 in 1965). The five permanent members are
China, France, Russian Federation, United States and the United Kingdom. The ten rotating,
non-permanent members are elected by the General Assembly from 183 other countries for a
two-year term. The current non-permanent members are Argentina, Bangladesh, Canada,
Jamaica, Malaysia, Mali, Namibia, the Netherlands, Tunisia and Ukraine. 

UN member states have agreed that a more equitable representation of membership of the
United Nations may be achieved by an increase in the Security Council's size. The majority of
member states favour an expansion in the permanent and non-permanent categories to at least
24 members. The Non-Aligned Movement and the Organization of African Unity are
demanding at least 26 members. On 3 April at a meeting of the working group, US
Ambassador Richard Holbrooke announced that his country would now support "slightly"
more than 21 Security Council members, a change from its previous insistence on only 21
members.

The United States, United Kingdom and France have supported an increase of five permanent
seats to be created for Germany and Japan, as well as for representatives of Africa, Asia and
Latin America broadly assumed to be Brazil, India, Nigeria and South Africa. The Africa
Group favours rotational arrangements for its regional group rather than a permanent seat for
one nation from Africa. The Asian and Latin American groups do not have a regional position
on the allocation of new permanent seats.

While at least three current permanent members of the Security Council are in favour of
expanding the numbers of permanent members, they do not necessarily agree that the new
permanent members should have the use of the veto. The majority of developing countries
have objected to this reduced status for any new permanent seats.

The use of the veto is the subject of strongly-held and differing views in the working group.
Many member states of the UN have criticized use of the veto by permanent members as
exceeding the interests of the United Nations as a whole. They favour limiting veto rights of
Security Council permanent members to decisions under Chapter VII of the UN Charter
(Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of
Aggression).

"The vast majority of the membership," Ambassador Inam ul Haque of Pakistan told the
General Assembly in December 1999, "has expressed support for the idea that the veto should
be eliminated or that at the very least, the use of veto should be limited to decisions under
Chapter VII of the Charter. We share the position of the Non-Aligned Movement calling for
the eventual elimination of the veto."

As the debate has evolved, the question of the veto has become linked to decision making
about enlargement of the Security Council. Some member states have suggested expansion in
the non-permanent category. "We are still prepared to go ahead with the expansion of the
non-permanent membership," Ambassador See-Young Lee of South Korea told the General
Assembly. "Non-permanency through periodic elections, by definition, better guarantees
democratic representation on the Security Council. We also believe that increased
non-permanent seats should be distributed on a more equitable geographical basis. We should
take into account all relevant factors, including evolving geography within each regional group
in the post-Cold War era. Given the recent enlargement of the Asian Group membership and
its best geographical coverage, the Asian Group deserves special consideration in the
composition of an expanded council."

Some member states favour expansion in the non-permanent category only. A review process
of the enlarged Security Council has been proposed as part of the reform package. Such a
review could assess how representative the council is, use of the veto, and effectiveness of the
reform package.
 
The working group has identified as a major concern the working methods and transparency
of the Security Council. Much of the council's work takes place in informal consultations open
to members only. In recent years the council has developed arrangements for consultations and
exchange of information with troop-contributing countries. In addition it has held some
informal meetings according to "the Arria Formula," which was first implemented in 1993.
The Arria Formula is an informal arrangement that allows the council greater flexibility to be
briefed and receive advice from outside parties about international peace and security issues. A
briefing of the council by three humanitarian NGOs Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders and
CARE was arranged in February 1997 (see Go Between 62) at the initiative of then Chilean
Ambassador Juan Somav¡a. 

The presidency of the council rotates monthly; some non-permanent members in recent years
began the practice of briefing interested NGOs, at their request, on the council's work. This
has developed into a regular practice with all council members participating. Another
important step toward greater transparency is publication of presidential press statements.
Similarly Canada, a non-permanent member of the Security Council, is posting weekly
summaries of activities of the council online at
(www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/ONU200UN/weeklyreport-e.htm).


UN TAKES "A STEP BACK FROM THE FINANCIAL BRINK"

In 1999 the United Nations took a step back from the financial brink, UN
Under-Secretary-General for Management Joseph Connor told the General Assembly's Fifth
Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) on 23 March 2000. Go Between summarizes
discussions on the issues.

While regular budget and tribunal assessments were as expected, there was an increase in
peacekeeping assessments in 1999, Mr. Connor told the Fifth Committee in New York. Even
with that increase, the obligatory cost to member states for all United Nations activities in
1999 was the lowest in six years. The actual assessment for 1999 came to just over US$2
billion. Combined assessment levels projected for 2000 were some US$1 billion higher than
1998 and 1999. For 2000, peacekeeping assessments were forecast to rise to US$1.938
billion. Spending on the regular budget and the international tribunals would be largely
unchanged, according to Mr. Connor.  

The organization had more cash than last year, Mr. Connor noted, largely because of
payments made by the United States to avoid losing its vote in the General Assembly (see Go
Between 78). Total available cash at the end of 1999 was just under US$1.1 billion, up from
US$736 million in 1998. Amounts owed to the United Nations were also lower at US$1.75
billion, down from US$2.03 billion a year earlier. And the level of the United Nations debt to
its member states some US$800 million was also significantly lower than the previous three
years. 

The United States had paid an amount equal to its share of the 1999 regular budget plus some
US$150 million last year, he said. Its 1999 regular budget payments totalled some US$452
million. Other member states paid 103% of what was owed for 1999, and as a result of both
there had been no need to borrow money from peacekeeping missions to meet UN regular
expenses. The United States also paid 92% of its share of the 1999 peacekeeping bills, while
payments from other member states totalled 123% of their share. 

Mr. Connor projected for year-end 2000 a better collection of assessments and a lower level
of debt. This meant, he said, a United Nations better prepared to meet the responsibilities
member states gave it. A degree of financial stability had returned for regular activities.
However for peacekeeping operations, liquidity problems would mean less stability. For
special missions funded by voluntary contributions, "uncertainty" was the watchword. 

During the extensive general debate that followed Mr. Connor's presentation to the General
Assembly Fifth Committee, many speakers expressed their views on changes to the scale of
assessments used to apportion the organization's peacekeeping and regular budget expenses
among its member states. The scale uses a formula based on the principle of states' capacity to
pay to determine the share of the organization's expenses for which each state is responsible. 

The representative of the United States said the UN was both indispensable and flawed. It
must be fixed to save it, he continued. The greatest challenge facing member states was the
inequitable assessment of dues. A "potential major train wreck" was in the offing if the
demand for peacekeeping operations and the means of funding them were not aligned, he
noted.

Japan's representative said that the present scale was unfair. The country paid some 22% of
the regular budget, with the amount being increasingly scrutinized in domestic debates.
Further, the fact that Japan's share of the assessed budget was 7% larger than the total share
of the permanent Security Council members, other than the United States, was "untenable."
Permanent council members' responsibilities should be reflected in the peacekeeping and
regular budgets, he said. 

But China's representative said that at the United Nations responsibility was not linked to
amounts assessed. There was nothing in the UN Charter that said permanent members of the
council were liable beyond their capacity to pay. Requests to reform the scale seemed
primarily aimed at lowering the ceiling, but the ceiling distorted the principle of capacity to pay
in favour of the major contributor. The United States was assessed for 25% of the budget, but
its gross domestic product constituted about 27% of the world's total product. 

The representative of the Republic of Korea said there could be no lasting solution to the
organization's financial stability without payment of arrears of member states. It would be
difficult for member states to address reform of the current scale of assessments until there
were concrete results in terms of resolving these issues. 

What was sacrosanct was not the ceiling, but the Charter, India's representative said. Member
states were being told that payments would continue to be withheld unless the ceiling for
assessed contributions was lowered. No state had a right to take a unilateral decision on its
assessment. While respecting the principle of capacity to pay, the representative suggested that
member states should consider a scale in which a fair number of countries contributed at or
near the ceiling. That would be more equitable and would reduce the organization's budgetary
vulnerability, observed the representative. 

Egypt's representative stressed that the United Nations should not be held hostage by having
its budget based on just one or a few states. At the same time, arrears must be paid to allow
the organization to carry out legislative mandates. According to the Charter, member states
must shoulder the expenses of the organization in accord with the scales of assessment they
determine. Constructive negotiations to settle differences on all aspects of the budgets were
needed, but the Charter was a legal commitment to pay in full, on time and unconditionally. 

Canada's representative, speaking also on behalf of Australia and New Zealand, said
negotiations on the scale of assessments should give due regard to the principles of the
equality of member states; the binding nature of obligations assumed on ratification of the
Charter; and collective responsibility to bear expenses of the United Nations as apportioned by
the General Assembly, according to the principle of capacity to pay. He also called for
reviewing the organization's present mechanism to sanction those in arrears, via Article 19 of
the Charter, and for penalties and interest on accumulated arrears. 


CSD INTERSESSIONAL MEETINGS

The Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) held intersessional ad hoc working
groups at UN headquarters in New York from 22 February-3 March 2000. Go Between
summarizes the issues examined and co-chair summaries of the discussions and related
documents.

Financial Resources and Mechanisms and Economic Growth, Trade and Investment
The CSD intersessional ad hoc working group on financial resources and mechanisms and
economic growth, trade and investment was held from 22-25 February 2000. The working
group produced co-chair summaries of discussions on finance and trade clusters, and two
documents outlining possible elements for action-oriented decisions at the eighth session of the
commission (CSD-8) taking place from 24 April-5 May.

One of the central challenges for the working group was how to make a valuable contribution
to the debate on finance and trade in the context of ongoing negotiations in these areas in
other fora, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO). Some countries perceived a risk of
the CSD overlapping other fora; others saw an opportunity the CSD presents to raise issues
that other fora have not properly addressed or resolved. 

Nigeria, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 (G-77) developing countries and China, said
that "if the issue comes up here, it reflects a lack of progress elsewhere. Our role is to sensitize
these other organizations and let them know what is expected." 

Some representatives of Major Groups pointed out, however, that countries sometimes adopt
different positions in different fora. They further noted a reluctance on the part of national
finance ministries or international finance institutions to send representatives to meetings of
the CSD. They also noted that the working group's focus seemed to have strayed from the
central goal of achieving sustainable development. 

"One gets the impression that the working group seems more concerned with sustainable
development getting in the way of sustained economic growth rather than the other way
around," said representatives of US Citizens Network and The Northern Alliance for
Sustainability (ANPED). "[The Earth Summit] and subsequent UN summits have given us a
framework and goal requiring integration at all policy levels to achieve a sustainable world.
This meant creating policies and instruments that would guide trade, investment and finance in
the context of sustainable development not the other way around. The working group papers
give the impression that delegates see themselves more as fundraisers than reformers." 

Representatives of the Major Groups also noted what they described as the failure of the
working group to assess implications of the unproductive WTO ministerial meeting in Seattle
in November 1999, or the failed Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI). 

The section on international finance and sustainable development of the co-chair summary of
the discussion on financial resources and mechanisms focuses on the need to promote official
development assistance (ODA), find lasting solutions to debt problems, and enhance
mobilization of long-term private investment. Regarding private foreign investment, the
section underscores the need to spread this more widely and to lessen its volatility. 
On debt relief, the text notes that several options were proposed including a policy initiative
for debtors to repay debts, for which they would receive grants of up to 100% for poverty
alleviation and social development. The section also notes a suggestion, supported by many
NGOs, that the CSD convene an ad hoc intergovernmental panel to study the lack of progress
in fulfilling commitments in the areas of finance and technology transfer.

Regarding domestic finance and sustainable development, the co-chair summary says that
domestic resources will continue to be the prime source of financing for sustainable
development and that countries should provide the economic, business, governance and
participatory frameworks to mobilize additional financial resources. Environmental taxes and
charges, elimination of harmful subsidies and the involvement of the private sector were also
cited as key contributors to sustainable development. 

The section on innovative financial mechanisms notes the contribution of the Global
Environment Facility (GEF) and the possibilities of the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development
Mechanism.

The revised possible elements for a draft decision on financial resources and mechanisms
contains sections on priorities for future work; promotion of international finance for
sustainable development; mobilization of domestic financial resources for sustainable
development; promotion of innovative financial mechanisms; and improvement of institutional
frameworks and promotion of public and private partnerships.

The co-chair summary of the discussion on economic growth, trade and investment cites the
need to ensure that the least-developed countries (LDCs) benefit from trade liberalization,
consider the links between trade liberalization and sustainable development, and work on
improving coherence and coordination between donors and international organizations.
Developed countries are called upon to take a lead in addressing unsustainable production and
consumption patterns. 

The section on trade and economic growth notes that economic growth and stagnation can
involve environmental degradation. Developed countries were asked to therefore progressively
decouple economic growth from environmental stress. In developing countries, environmental
stress was said to be linked to poverty, underdevelopment and the absence of alternatives,
including sustainable livelihoods. 

Regarding trade and environment, the summary notes the need for further consideration of
affordable access to and transfer of environmentally sound technologies (ESTs), with emphasis
on terms of access. It also observed progress on identifying appropriate forms of traditional
knowledge, also relating to benefit sharing. 

With regard to foreign direct investment (FDI), the section stresses the importance of private
FDI, which it says has the potential to support the economic, environmental and social
objectives of sustainable development. Also highlighted is the need for developing countries to
develop appropriate domestic frameworks for attracting FDI and for assistance to achieve this.

The revised possible elements for a draft decision outline basic implications of economic
growth, and trade and investment for sustainable development. They include sections on:
--  priorities for future work; 
--  promotion of sustainable development through trade and economic growth; 
--  making trade and environment mutually supportive; 
--  promotion of sustainable development through investment; and 
--  strengthening institutional cooperation and promotion of partnerships.

Co-chairs for the working group were Choi-Seok-Young (Republic of Korea) and Ahmed
Ihab Gamaleldin (Egypt).

Integrated Planning and Management of Land Resources and Sustainable Agriculture and
Rural Development
The CSD also held an intersessional ad hoc working group from 28 February-  3 March on
integrated planning and management of land resources and sustainable agriculture and rural
development (SARD). The working group produced co-chair summaries of discussion on the
two clusters of issues, and two documents outlining possible elements for action-oriented
decisions at CSD-8. Representatives from Major Groups preparing for the CSD-8
Multi-stakeholder Dialogue on Sustainable Agriculture made a series of presentations during
the sessions.

Controversial issues included the policy implications of the multi-functional character of
agriculture; responses to trade liberalization; and land tenure, notably the tension between
traditional property rights and the exclusion of women. The G-77 felt that the design of land
tenure systems was best left to cultural and traditional practices. 

The EU, however, argued for "equal access" to tenure based on language agreed at the 1996
Habitat II conference. The issue of good governance also generated heated debate, with the
EU arguing for a link between political process democracy, transparency, accountability and
societal learning and sustainable and equitable development. 

The most difficult issue involved the links between agriculture and trade liberalization. Some
Northern governments argued that the debate on policy implications of an issue demands the
discipline of a different kind of forum such as the WTO, where trade measures can be
negotiated and given legal authority. 

The Malaysia-based NGO Third World Network (TWN) argued that the CSD should be a
forum "free from the pressures of negotiations of legally binding agreements" in order to
discuss issues such as subsidies. The CSD could then feed the results of thoughtful
deliberations on hotly contested issues on sustainable agriculture into the WTO negotiations, it
said.

The co-chair summary of the discussion on integrated planning and management of land
resources noted that threatened ecosystems and land productivity cannot be effectively
addressed without eradicating poverty and hunger. Soil protection measures are cited as
important for increased food production, food security and protecting biodiversity. Land
degradation is attributed to a lack of adequate technologies, information, training and financial
resources. 

The section on land management systems notes that developing countries require increased
international and national support for interactive, transparent and participatory
decision-making frameworks. The need to improve security of tenure and access to land for
vulnerable groups is also highlighted. The summary says that land tenure has social, economic
and environmental aspects and responsibilities, which are governed by culture, tradition and
law. 

Regarding regional and international cooperation, the summary highlights the importance of
regional efforts to address transboundary impacts of land degradation. It notes that trade
liberalization can have positive and negative impacts on land resources and that, in conjunction
with national economic and agricultural policies, it can contribute to land protection.

The revised possible elements for a draft decision on integrated planning and management of
land resources includes sections on priorities for future work; prevention and/or mitigation of
land degradation; access to land and security of tenure; critical sectors and issues; stakeholder
participation; and international cooperation.

The co-chair summary of the discussion on sustainable agriculture and rural development
acknowledges a lack of consensus on the multi-functional aspects of agriculture. Food security
is identified as a global priority, and the need for continued food aid is cited. Food-importing
countries are urged to introduce measures to enhance domestic food production and improved
food storage. The positive and negative effects of trade liberalization on agriculture and rural
development are noted. The links between ecosystems, productivity and poverty; rural and
urban areas; and biodiversity and agriculture are highlighted. The need to eliminate
unsustainable inputs into agricultural production and the importance of water are stressed. 

The international community is urged to assist developing countries to take advantage of the
benefits of organic farming, though the section notes possible limitations and risks. The
possible contribution of biotechnology to food security is cited, as is the importance of the
precautionary principle and implementation of the Biosafety Protocol. Respect for traditional
farming practices and the rights of indigenous people[s] and local communities are noted. 

The section on participation and empowerment underscores security of tenure and
community-based approaches. The section on international cooperation notes the need for
adequate support for the implementation of the Convention to Combat Desertification, and the
need for financial resources for the Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change mechanisms. Also noted is the need to
complement foreign direct investment with official development assistance.

The co-chair's revised possible elements for a draft decision contains sections on priorities for
action; implementation of SARD goals; access to resources; poverty eradication; financing for
SARD; technology transfer and capacity building; biotechnology; genetic resources; integrated
pest management and sustainable plant nutrition; desertification and drought; access to land
and security of tenure; emergency preparedness; agricultural trade; information exchange and
dissemination; international activities and the UN; and participation.

Working group co-chairs were Patrick McDonnel (Ireland) and Modesto Francisco Fernandez
Diaz-Silveira (Cuba).

Contact: Division for Sustainable Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
United Nations, New York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/963 5949, fax
+1-212/963 4260, e-mail <vasilyev@un.org>, website (www.un.org/esa/sustdev). 

For meeting summaries: Earth Negotiations Bulletin, International Institute for Sustainable
Development, 161 Portage Avenue East, 6th Floor, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B OY4, Canada,
telephone +1-212/644 0204, fax +1-212/644 0206, e-mail <info@iisd.ca>, website
(www.iisd.ca/csd/csdint8).


NEW FAO POLICY AND STRATEGY FOR COOPERATION WITH NGOS AND CSOS

This focus page, contributed by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO), outlines the organization's new policy and strategies for cooperation with NGOs and
civil society organizations (CSOs).

FAO has a long history of working with non-governmental organizations in projects and issues
concerning food security and agricultural development, dating back to the Freedom from
Hunger Campaign launched in 1959. But with the rapid transformations taking place in the
world today, with structural adjustment and privatization, NGOs and CSOs are taking a more
active role in influencing policy decisions and guiding social services and economic initiatives.
For this reason, FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf called for a review of collaboration. The
resulting document, FAO Policy and Strategy for Cooperation with Non-Governmental and
Civil Society Organizations, was coordinated by the FAO unit responsible for cooperation
with NGOs and CSOs and is now available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic.

"We need to build on FAO's ability to relate to a broad range of constituencies, while
reaffirming the primary responsibility of national governments in assuring the food security of
their citizens," said Dr. Diouf. "Civil society's commitment will be indispensable if the goal of
the World Food Summit Plan of Action of halving the number of people who suffer from food
insecurity is to be attained by the year 2015. FAO can provide civil society with valuable
technical and institutional support, help them to replicate proven NGO approaches and
improve their access to information and decision-making processes."

The review was carried out in close consultation with NGOs from all regions. Within FAO, a
network of NGO focal points was established to share experiences and stimulate reflection;
each technical department undertook its own review of its cooperation with NGOs and input
was sought from field offices. 

The resulting document identifies priority partners for FAO given its mandate: farmer and
consumer groups as well as technically competent NGOs committed to ongoing cooperation.
The document examines four main areas: information sharing and analysis, policy dialogue,
field programmes and resource mobilization. 

Information Sharing and Analysis
An FAO-NGO/CSO web page is being developed to facilitate accessing information about
FAO. An information disclosure policy is being formulated, with particular attention to field
programmes. Efforts will also be made to improve information dissemination through FAO
country offices and encourage joint information projects with NGO/CSO networks. The
Development Education Exchange Papers (DEEP), which review FAO and NGO views and
programmes in mutual-interest areas such as food security, are an example. 

Policy Dialogue
NGOs/CSOs indicate that FAO's role as a neutral forum and as a policy adviser to member
governments is of key importance to them, especially as negotiations get underway in arenas
such as the World Trade Organization (WTO). At the national level, FAO has committed itself
to facilitating NGO/CSO participation in formulating food security policy and action plans. 
On a regional level, NGO/CSO consultations are being held this year alongside the biannual
FAO regional conferences. Consultations have already taken place for Africa, the Near East,
and Latin America and the Caribbean, to be followed in the coming months by those for
Europe, and Asia and the Pacific. 

Two items are on the agenda. One is to evaluate the progress made in implementation of
commitments in the World Food Summit Plan of Action. The results of these regional
discussions will feed into the Committee on World Food Security, when it convenes in
September. A second agenda item is to examine the FAO-NGO/CSO review, in order to
determine concrete action priorities on the regional level for the next two to four years. To
address these recommendations in a global context, an FAO-NGO/CSO advisory committee
will then meet, and a global FAO-NGO/CSO consultation will be convened. 

Field Programmes
The document states that cooperation should be based on partnerships created on the basis of
shared objectives, resources and mutually agreed actions. NGO/CSO participation is needed in
setting overall country policy and programme frameworks so that collaboration in specific
programmes and projects can follow more easily. NGO/CSO capacity building is an essential
element to enhance their role as interlocutors in policy and programme formulation, and to
strengthen their ability to provide services to rural communities. At the same time, NGOs and
CSOs should be more actively involved in FAO-promoted projects, such as the Special
Programme for Food Security. Cooperation experience is being documented so it can be
replicated more easily elsewhere. 

Resource Mobilization
The share of official development assistance (ODA) channelled through NGOs and CSOs is
increasing. FAO plans to identify and build on complementarities with NGOs/CSOs, and help
them apply their resources effectively towards achieving agricultural development and food
security goals. Cooperation in programme development can make both NGO and FAO
programmes more attractive to funding sources, the document states. 

Words into Action
FAO recognizes that implementing recommendations from the review will require an
organization-wide commitment. One important step will be to formalize an NGO/CSO
working group in FAO. Guidelines will be prepared to help staff at all levels apply the new
policy. Procedures for granting formal status to NGOs and for their participation in FAO
meetings will be reviewed. Particular efforts will be made to strengthen the capacity of FAO's
field offices to interact with NGOs and CSOs, since in FAO's view cooperation must be
rooted at the local level to be meaningful. 

Contact: Meiko Ikegame, Chief, Technical Cooperation Department, FAO, Viale delle Terme
di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy, telephone +39-06/5705 4706, website (www.fao.org).


PUBLICATIONS AND ONLINE
The State of Food Insecurity in the World 1999
This report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) provides
statistics on the number of undernourished people in both developing and developed countries
and charts progress in the fight against hunger. 
Available from: John Riddle, Information Officer, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla,
I-00100 Rome, Italy, fax +39-06/5705 3699, e-mail <john.riddle@fao.org>, website
(www.fao.org/focus/e/sofi/home-e.htm).  

Working to Empower Women: UNFPA's Experience in Implementing the Beijing Platform for
Action
This booklet highlights the work of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to support
governments and civil society in each of the 12 "critical areas" of the Platform for Action of
the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women.  These are empowering women and ensuring
their human rights; women and poverty; education and training; women and health; violence
against women; women and armed conflict; women and the economy; women in power and
decision making; institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women; human rights of
women; women and the media; women and the environment; and the girl-child.
English, French and Spanish versions available from: United Nations Publications, 2 UN Plaza,
Room DC2-853, New York NY 10017, United States, fax +1-212/963 3489, e-mail
<publications@un.org> or United Nations Publications, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva
10, Switzerland, fax +41-22/917 0027, e-mail <unpubli@unog.ch>, website
(www.unfpa.org/publications/advocacy.htm#beijing5). To order the Arabic version, e-mail
<joaquin@unfpa.org>. 

Business Responsibility for Sustainable Development
This paper assesses claims made by some business sectors that they are adopting
environmentally friendly policies and practices, particularly in developing countries. It suggests
that this new-found social responsibility on the part of business has more to do with economic,
political and structural factors than with ethical concerns. The paper also looks at how trends
associated with corporate environmental and social responsibility might be "scaled up" to
make business contribution to sustainable development more meaningful.
Available from: UN Research Institute for Social Development, Palais des Nations, CH-1211
Geneva 10, Switzerland, fax +41-22/917 0650, e-mail <info@unrisd.org>, website
(www.unrisd.org).

America Needs Human Rights
This book examines hunger and poverty in the United States through a human rights
perspective. It says current social policy in the country violates universally recognized human
rights standards. Although the US is in the middle of an economic boom, millions of
Americans are not sharing the benefits hunger affects an estimated 36 million, at least 14
million of whom are children, and the number of children under five living in poverty is the
highest of industrialized countries. The book calls for a human rights-based movement to
change US social policies.
Available from: Anuradha Mittal, Food First, 398 60th Street, Oakland CA 94618, United
States, fax +1-510/654 4551, e-mail <foodfirst@igc.org>, website (www.foodfirst.org).

Trade for Development: Making the WTO Work for the Poor
This discussion paper from World Vision discusses some of the Uruguay Round agreements
and problems with their provisions and implementation. Recommendations for reforms and
initiatives for the WTO and the international community before the next round of trade
negotiations include a thorough review of Uruguay Round results, especially their impact on
developing countries; a programme of capacity building to help developing countries
participate in the next round; and phasing out of trade-distorting subsidies in developed
countries.
Available from: Kerrie Engel, Policy and Advocacy Bureau, World Vision Australia, 1 Vision
Drive, East Burwood VIC 3151, Australia, fax +61-3/9287 2315, e-mail
<engelk@wva.org.au>, website (www.worldvision.org.au).  

Oxfam Publications
Development and Rights
This collection of papers looks at the links between development and the range of economic,
political and cultural rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It
discusses, among other things, the rights to food, adequate housing, safe employment,
protection from sexual assault, and popular involvement in political processes that shape the
lives of communities.

Gender in the 21st Century
The book looks at challenges facing gender and development practitioners and policy makers
in the 21st century from the perspectives of development specialists and feminist activists. It
discusses questions such as who makes the rules in a "stateless" society created by
globalization and how women and men living in poverty can be empowered.


Managing Water Supply and Sanitation in Emergencies
This book is based on a public-health approach to the provision of water and sanitation in
emergencies. It emphasizes the need for coordinated and phased responses to meet changing
needs. The book is written for non-technical managers of disaster-relief programmes, as well
as for technicians and engineers who want to see their work in a broader context.

Development and Management: Experiences in Value-Based Conflict
This collection of articles is on development management, drawn mainly from The Open
University's work in this field. The articles include accounts of civil society organizations in
Brazil, NGOs in Egypt, government departments in Poland and Tanzania, donors in
Bangladesh and black feminist activists in the United Kingdom. 

Impact Assessment for Development Agencies: Learning to Value Change 
This publication, from Oxfam and the Norwegian aid agency NOVIB, looks at impact
assessment and considers how and why it needs to be integrated into all stages of development
programmes. The book argues that impact assessment should refer not to the immediate
outputs of a project, but any lasting or significant changes brought about. It describes tools
and methods of impact assessment and explores ways in which different organizations have
tried to institutionalize impact assessment processes.
Available from: Oxfam, c/o BEBC, PO Box 1496, Parkstone, Dorset BH12 3YD, United
Kingdom or Oxfam, Stylus Publishing LLC, PO Box 605, Herndon VA 20171-0605, United
States, fax +1-703/661 1547, e-mail <styluspub@aol.com>, website (www.styluspub.com).

The Community Tourism Guide
This is a guidebook for people wanting an alternative to the uniformity of the usual holiday
destinations. It includes green holidays and ecotours, safari lodges, cultural tours, language
schools, trekking holidays and adventure travel. It also features tourism projects developed by
environmental and development organizations in partnership with local communities. This kind
of tourism, says the book, aims to ensure that local people benefit from tourism, are consulted
about tourism development and can participate in it.
Available from: Earthscan Publications, 120 Pentonville Road, London N1 9JN, United
Kingdom, telephone +44-171/278 0433, fax +44-171/278 1142, e-mail
<earthinfo@earthscan.co.uk>, website (www.earthscan.co.uk).


Growing Pains: Environmental Management in Developing Countries
This book, which examines environmental management in the South from a number of
perspectives, aims to stimulate discussion about the role of corporations and national and
international organizations in sustainable development. The book covers five themes:
globalization; the role of business; national strategies; trade and the environment; and the
organizational and structural challenges of sustainable development.
Available from: Greenleaf Publishing Limited, Aizlewood Business Centre, Aizlewood's Mills,
Nursery Street, Sheffield S3 8GG, United Kingdom.

Politics: Women's Insight
This publication is the result of a worldwide survey undertaken by the Inter-Parliamentary
Union (IPU) of women politicians about their contributions and experiences in politics.  

Available from: IPU, Place du Petit-Saconnex, BP 438, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland,
telephone +41-22/919 4150, fax +41-22/919 4160, website (www.ipu.org).

EU "Global Player": The North-South Policy of the European Union
This book identifies what it describes as the conflicting interests between European assistance
and other external policies, such as in trade and investment. The publication argues that the
objective of a coherent North-South policy should be placed higher on the European Union's
political agenda, and it offers proposals to make EU development policies more effective.
Available from: International Books, Alexander Numankade 17, 3572 KP Utrecht,
Netherlands, fax +31-30/273 3614, e-mail <i-books@antenna.nl>.


Human Development Report CD-ROM
The full text of all ten Human Development Reports is now available on a CD-ROM produced
by the Human Development Report Office of the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP). The CD-ROM also contains country profiles, a statistical database that can be used
to create customized reports, and a glossary of human development facts and figures.
Available from: UN Publications, 2 UN Plaza, Room DC2-853, New York NY 10017, United
States, fax +1-212/963 3489, e-mail <publications@un.org> or UN Publications, Palais des
Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, fax +41-22/917 0027, e-mail <unpubli@unog.ch>,
website (ww.un.org/Pubs).

ReliefWeb
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has
relaunched its humanitarian website, ReliefWeb. The redesigned site makes it easier to find the
latest information on emergencies and disasters worldwide. Users can search by country,
disaster type or source. Information is posted to the site regularly from over 300 sources
including the UN, NGOs, academic and research institutions and the media. It also has a
feature that allows users to receive text versions of documents by e-mail. 
The website can be accessed at (www.reliefweb.int).

Website on Decolonization
The UN Department of Public Information has established a website on decolonization, which
provides information on the General Assembly Declaration on the Granting of Independence
to Colonial Countries and Peoples, the Special Committee of 24 on decolonization, and the
international trusteeship system, as well as the history of decolonization.
The website can be accessed at (www.un.org/dpi/decolonization/new).

World Climate News
World Climate News, published by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), is
available online. Among other things, it provides information on El Ni¤o and La Ni¤a, climate
action initiatives, climate predictions, climate-related research, WMO activities, and updates
on related issues such as energy alternatives, the ozone layer and oceans.
The website can be accessed at (www.wmo.ch).


GUEST EDITORIAL
Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

The dynamics of globalization are critically shaping world development. Millions around the
globe are trying to deal with, on one hand, the extraordinary potential of the information
revolution and the opportunities for generating unprecedented prosperity while, on the other
hand, addressing the disruptive social and economic exclusionary forces that accompany
unbridled globalization. Harnessing the current patterns and processes of globalization to
maximise positive impact on poverty reduction and human development is the central
challenge before us. 

Even as we adjust to the new realities of the information technology age, many aspects of
which are inevitable, policy choices in areas such as debt, trade and finance remain open to
influence and change and are not irreversible. In fact, in the current context it is key economic
and social policies, negotiated at both global and national levels, that significantly create or
destroy the possibilities for delivering the benefits of globalization to poor countries and
vulnerable constituencies. For these reasons, it is essential that the governance of globalization
be guided by four key objectives: poverty eradication, sustainable human development, social
inclusion and human security. Civil society's role is crucial to achieving such an "alternative"
form of globalization--one with a "human face."

It was civil society that brought the asymmetries and inequities of the global governance
system into sharp relief, first through the debt campaigns and more recently the mobilization
efforts leading up to the World Trade Organization (WTO) demonstrations. Seattle illustrated
just how powerfully civil society has ushered in a new era of "people's diplomacy," one that
demands transparency, accountability and full participation both inside and outside the walls of
"closed-door" diplomacy. 

From UNCTAD X, Beijing+5, Copenhagen+5, the Millennium Forum and Assembly, UNDP
and its sister agencies in the UN system are making a real effort to focus global attention on
finding new ways of ensuring that those who have been marginalized can participate fully in
this new emerging world. These events, when plied with the energy and rigour of civil society
activism and analysis, should chart an exciting course for global and local action across a range
of future human development issues. In approaching these events, I would like to underscore
that UNDP's strengthened focus on governance, policy and institutional reform is part of our
response to this changing external world, a re-commitment to our poverty eradication mission
and, with it, a pledge to explore innovative approaches towards its fulfillment. Crucial to this
process, we are seeking to build strategic partnerships that will create powerful constituencies
for human development, taking into account the revolutions underway: the promise and risks
of globalization, the decline in development assistance, the opportunities of new
communication technologies, and the power of people galvanized and mobilized for change.

In this spirit, I convened a meeting with civil society leaders in El Salvador (December 1999),
which in many ways set the context and content of UNDP's strategic partnership with CSOs
for the upcoming years. The workshop, entitled Governance for Human Development: UNDP
and Civil Society, reaffirmed UNDP's commitment to partnership with civil society in the
broad, substantive areas of: globalization, trade, debt and poverty reduction; conflict
prevention and peace building; and human rights. I have now set in motion several initiatives
that I hope CSOs will take full advantage of in the future.

--  First, we have set up a UNDP/CSO Committee to the Administrator, comprising key CSO
leaders with expertise in areas ranging from trade, debt and poverty reduction, to conflict
prevention, peace building and human rights.
--  Second, within UNDP the newly formed Bureau of Resources and Strategic Partnerships
has been given a specific mandate to prioritize new, substantive engagement with CSOs. 
--  Third, we hosted a special global workshop on debt and poverty reduction, which has set in
motion a number of UNDP-CSO initiatives in developing countries aimed at ensuring the
broadest possible national engagement and ownership of poverty reduction strategies (PRS).
Through advocacy and consultation, I believe that CSOs and UNDP can jointly work to
bridge the current gap between pro-poor strategies and macro-economic policies.
--  Fourth, we are placing special emphasis on the critical nexus between poverty reduction
and conflict prevention, which builds on our considerable country level experience and
partnership with civil society. 
--  Fifth, in collaboration with leading US foundations, UNDP has agreed to lead an
assessment of the world trading system, which will involve working with CSOs to explore new
ways to improve global governance in this critical area.

In these respects and others, UNDP will continue supporting CSOs at both the national and
global levels by creating space for their messages to be heard in debates surrounding
globalization, poverty eradication and human development. 

To conclude, UNDP is committed to developing its substantive partnership with civil society
at all levels. Because only with a new spirit of inclusive cooperation can we succeed in our
broad goals of halving extreme poverty by 2015 and ensuring globalization with a human face--one based on principles of justice, equity and participation.