Geneva, 11 May 2001

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) continued its annual session this morning with a debate on strategic directions to be followed in the activities of its programmes, the work of its secretariat, and the operations of its principal subsidiary bodies.

Discussion of the matter focused on issues identified during informal meetings held 9 May between member States, the UNECE Executive Secretary, the Bureau of the Commission, the Chairpersons of various UNECE Committees, and ECE divisional directors. The two main issues raised were the growing demand on ECE activities, especially in terms of operational activities and technical assistance, and the resulting problems of securing necessary funding for those and other ECE activities; and enhancing policy coherence within the ECE, for which establishment of a steering committee was proposed.

The Commission also concluded this morning a roundtable debate begun Thursday afternoon on European regional compliance with the United Nations Millennium Declaration. The Declaration calls for progress in the general areas of establishing peace, security and disarmament; promoting development and eradicating poverty; protecting the common environment; enhancing human rights, including the right to development; promoting democracy and good governance; protecting the vulnerable; and strengthening the United Nations.

Summarizing the debate, Commission Chairman Harald Kreid said among other things that discussion on the Declaration had covered a very wide multitude of problems, and what came through from the ECE perspective was the difficulty of the transition process, especially when coupled with the damage caused by conflicts and the loss of institutions following the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the destruction of existing systems of property, and the changing of long-standing cultures and social traditions.

The Commission also heard further comments on its spring seminar, held 7 May, on the topic of "Creating a supportive environment for business enterprise and economic growth: institutional reform and governance".

The Commission will reconvene at 3:30 p.m. to act on matters arising from the work of its subsidiary bodies, to elect officers for the coming year, to adopt the report of its fifty-sixth annual session, and to adjourn its annual session.

Discussion of ECE strategic directions

HARALD KREID, Chairman of the Commission, said among other things that the intent of strategic reflection wasn't to cause major reforms so much as to assess whether or not the ECE was moving in the right directions and was responding effectively to Europe's constantly changing environment.

DANUTA HÜBNER, ECE Executive Secretary, said two main topics had been discussed informally in meetings Wednesday. One was the growing demand on ECE activities, especially in terms of operational activities and technical assistance, and problems of securing necessary funding for those and other ECE activities, in relation to which various solutions for attracting more funding were also discussed. One idea broached was the inclusion by countries of the ECE on their lists of bodies eligible for funding, and whether such a suggestion might be forwarded by the ECE for consideration by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

The second major topic debated Wednesday was policy coherence. A mechanism was suggested to enhance coordination between all ECE bodies and institutions through establishment of an ECE steering group. The overall objective of that group would be to improve policy coherence, horizontal and vertical communication, and synergy within the organization. The group would meet once a year during the Commission's annual session; would have terms of reference to be worked out by the secretariat; and would aim at holding well-focused, practical discussions.

A series of national delegations then spoke, in some cases representing regional groups of nations, and saying, among other things, that annual sessions of a steering committee were a good idea; that further development of intersectoral cooperation had been identified as valuable; that more time was needed to analyze the proposal to include the ECE among organizations eligible for technical assistance funding; that the standards of the Millennium Declaration, where relevant, should be used to set strategic directions for ECE work, especially where those standards applied to solving the problems of transition countries, among other things through expanded use of ECE operational activities; that more attention should be given to the restructuring of transition economies, to eradicating poverty there, to protecting vulnerable groups, and to the economic aspects of peace building; that adequate resources should be made available for ECE work and to that end that further sources of funding should be explored

Conclusion of roundtable on "The Millennium Declaration: challenges for Europe"

The Commission completed its debate by reviewing the sixth and final general topic of the United Nations Millennium Declaration -- the strengthening of the activities of the international community and the United Nations.

Michael BARTOLO, Ambassador of Malta to the United Nations Office at Geneva, serving as a panellist on the topic, said a note had already been distributed on putting the programme of work of the ECE within the context of the Millennium Declaration. It had to be said that it was Governments, in the end, not the ECE or other regional or international organizations, that had the major role to play in meeting the goals of the Declaration, including the eradication of poverty within a set period of time. Declarations, moreover, were one thing, and action was another. It was action that counted, and action was far more difficult than making pronouncements and setting goals. His impression of much of the recent past was that the UN was always in the midst of reform and restructuring. The cry at the time was that more had to be done with less. Now he thought differently -- the organization was efficient enough, but programmes and efforts had to be better aimed to meet real and pressing concerns, especially those of the vulnerable populations referred to repeatedly in the Millennium Declaration. As for the ECE, he felt it had become more efficient as a result of recent reforms; the organization had a unique role to play and in many ways was the best hope for giving form to the aspirations contained in the Millennium Declaration, but to carry out that task it would need greater resources and support. Perhaps it also needed to divest itself of activities that could be done better somewhere else and increase its involvement in activities it did best.

DANUTA HÜBNER, ECE Executive Secretary, said among other things that the General Assembly had called for regular follow-up to the Millennium Declaration not only by member States but by all parts of the UN system, including the regional commissions. A road map was to be generated to that end for the UN as a whole, and the ECE needed a road map of its own identifying progress and gaps that existed within the region and suggesting strategies for meeting the goals of the Declaration. She hoped ways would be found by member States for how the ECE could be used to help States fulfil the terms of the Declaration. For the ECE to do that, it needed a strong secretariat. Improvements were under way in ECE management; in inter-sectoral work; in policy coherence and guidance; in enhancing cooperation with other parts of the UN system; in widening participation in ECE work, including by civil society; and in expanding cooperation with the business community. The question of resources also had to be raised; the ECE might well have reached the limit of what could be done within its existing budget.

A number of national delegations spoke from the floor, remarking, among other things, that conflict prevention was a vital ingredient for achieving the goals of the Millennium Declaration, and a centre for the study of conflict-prevention established in Kiev was doing valuable work on the topic; that programmes to spur self-employment and enterprise development were useful for combatting poverty and raising living standards; that within Europe, the issue of peace, security and disarmament were of special importance, and the ECE should look further into the socio-economic roots of conflicts and into making dedicated efforts at post-conflict peace-building including through larger contributions to social and economic rehabilitation; that such matters as good governance, sustainable management of natural resources, and debt reduction should be kept in mind in efforts to combat poverty; that follow-up, including through statistics and benchmarks, was vital to achieving the goals of the Declaration; that duplication of work should be avoided; and that the ECE should make serious efforts to prevent the emergence of new lines of division within Europe, whether economic, political, or social.

Commission Chairman HARALD KREID, summarizing the debate, said among other things that the Declaration and discussion had covered a very wide multitude of problems, and to date the task was more one of stock-taking than of detailed reflection on progress measured. Some aspects of the Declaration were beyond the ECE's mandate, but others were quite pertinent. The aim of the discussion was not to arrive at a single or simplistic message, and there had not been such a message. What had come through from a number of statements was the difficulty of the transition process, especially when coupled with the damage caused by conflicts and the loss of institutions following the collapse of the former Soviet Union; the destruction of existing systems of property, and the changing of long-standing cultures and social traditions. Obvious concerns were poverty, human rights, protection of vulnerable groups, and security. Much emphasis was placed on peace-building, conflict prevention, and conflict recovery; on disarmament, on restriction of the small-arms trade, and on elimination of weapons of mass destruction. The difficulty, complexity, duration, and social consequences of transition, it had been said repeatedly, had been underestimated. Additional support for transition was stressed. Environmental programmes and instruments, it had been pointed out, needed to be implemented, as implementation was lagging far behind the negotiation and ratification of such pacts. Human rights and good governance were identified as essential for the development of modern societies and effective economies. Vulnerable groups were cited as needing special attention, especially as they often lacked voices and political power bases of their own. It was clear, furthermore, that the United Nations and, within Europe, the ECE, needed to be strengthened, better supported and resourced, and better focused in their work if they were to pursue effectively the challenges posed by the Millennium Declaration.

A text on what the ECE could do to carry out its work in relation to the Millennium Declaration would be included in the report of the annual session, Mr. Kreid said.

Continued debate on spring seminar: "Creating a supportive environment for business enterprise and economic growth"

National delegations offered a number of remarks, among them that promotion of openness, efficiency and accountability were vital for sustained economic growth; that ethics and morality had to be emphasized both in politics and the operation of economies and individual enterprises; and that more had to be done to combat corruption.

DANUTA HÜBNER, ECE Executive Secretary, said among other things that the secretariat had considered carefully the remarks made during the seminar and would act as in previous years to incorporate the outcomes of the debate into the ECE work programme, into the activities of its principal subsidiary bodies, and into strategic directions to be pursued by the ECE. Consideration already was being given to the topic for next year's spring seminar. As for the debate held on the first day of the annual session, it was clear that further attention, policy debates and operational activities had to be devoted to improving the situations of the countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus.