Press Release ECE/GEN/00/19
Geneva, 3 May 2000
55th Annual Session of
the Economic Commission for Europe
Opening Remarks by the Chairman,
Ambassador Harald Kreid
We may safely say
that there is no other region in the world which has lately seen such a far-reaching
change in its politico-economic framework-conditions as the ECE region. As a consequence
of this situation, ECE had to undergo a pervasive structural and organizational
transformation to make it fully responsive to the new realities.
Opening itself up and taking on board new
concepts in accordance with a rapidly changing environment while preserving accumulated
experience of the past has characterised the work of the organization during the last
years. Today ECE strikes us as a versatile organization engaged on many fronts and on many
levels and for this very reason it is not easy to answer the apparently simple question of
what ECE is actually doing. It strikes me as remarkable that among the international
organizations in Geneva ECE should rank second as to the number of hits on its Website.
This indeed seems to indicate that the far-flung activities of ECE are customer oriented;
in other words that the organization responds to the needs of an interested public, be it
companies, research institutions or individuals. This is further illustrated by the fact
that the ECE Homepage contains no less than 27 pages of publications which, for a
relatively small organization, is a strong indication that the available human resources
are indeed put to good use.
If you glance at the calendar of events of
last April you get a good impression of the scope of ongoing activities covering such
subjects as the use of water and energy resources, genetically modified organisms,
combined transport, the legal environment of small and medium enterprises, spatial
analysis in statistics, technical requirements for inland navigation vessels, soil
decontamination and advanced lighting systems for vehicles. Remarkably, these numerous
meetings took not only place in Geneva, but nine other cities, namely Berlin, Bishkek,
Edinburgh, Maribor, Paris, Neuchâtel, Sofia, Prague and Stockholm were hosts to ECE
meetings. There is a total of about 400 such activities annually. If we add to that the
operational activities as reflected in Document E/ECE/1376/Add1 we obtain a pretty good
picture of ECE in action.
There can be no doubt that ECE's work is
relevant at the expert level. There can be no doubt about the usefulness of the legal
instruments created and standards introduced by ECE in the entire region. But the
overriding justification for its existence under the current circumstances derives from
the fact that ECE is the only economic organization to promote integration and cohesion in
a region with strong disparities in its level of development. Assisting the forces of
cohesion and opposing the forces of fragmentation is, as I see it, the most important task
for ECE.
The priorities for ECE could be summed up
in the following five points:
One: ECE needs to completely step out of
the still lingering shadows of a past that has already been overcome within the
organization but not in the awareness of all outside observers.
Two: ECE needs to tackle the "hot
economic issues" at a high level of excellence.
Three: ECE needs to improve and strengthen
its technical assistance to lend it more consistency and thus produce more of an impact.
Four: ECE needs to broaden its resource
base, both in financial and human resources, by reaching out to civil society and by
mobilizing non-governmental actors to support its goals.
Five: ECE needs to increase its presence
in the East and its visibility in the West in order to bring across its message
effectively.
To pursue this ambitious goal, ECE needs
to follow a clearly spelled-out strategy. I therefore welcome the process which the
Executive Secretary has recently launched with regard to a long-term strategic reflection.
Let me, for my part, highlight three areas of ECE's work which are of particular relevance
in today's world.
First: Global processes
The input of ECE to global processes
by way of participating in the preparation and in the follow-up process of major
international conferences, be it on women, ageing, sustainable development, information
technology or the Millennium Assembly of the United Nations constitutes a valid and
important avenue for bringing to bear regional thinking on global issues.
Second: Cross-sectoral processes
Cross-sectoral processes are an
indispensable method to deal with an interconnected world. ECE has done some trail-blazing
work in such fields as transport, health and environment which bring together actors and
institutions which normally pursue separate policies. These arrangements are particularly
rewarding if they also include business and the NGO-communities such as has been the case
with the creation of several Advisory Groups in the ECE context.
Third: Sub-regional processes
In view of the wide diversity among
ECE member States a response of the organization, tailored to this specific needs of
various sub-regions, appears appropriate. ECE quite rightly reacted positively to the
creation of SECI which owes its success in no small measure to the expertise provided by
ECE from the very outset. Equally, ECE has demonstrated its readiness to commit itself
more fully in the Central Asian and perhaps Caucasus regions to projects which would
enhance economic cooperation and which obviously hold considerable benefits for the
countries concerned.
Let me conclude my introductory remarks by
encouraging member States to fully avail themselves of the potential which ECE offers. The
secretariat needs the support and advice of governments. It needs to share with member
States both its concerns and its achievements. This Annual Meeting should, once again,
demonstrate the vitality of the organization, but also shed light upon existing
difficulties and challenges. It is meant to be thought-provoking and to give member States
a stronger sense of ownership in ECE. It is organized in a way so as to provide a maximum
of information and dialogue as well as giving in an efficient and time-saving manner the
essential guidance for the organization's work. The Annual Sessions have been improved
from year to year. We are still in a learning process. Further improvements are still
possible. Yet, I believe, that the basic approach is a good one and has already been
largely vindicated by its results during the past years.
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Thank you. |