Europe
The fact that UNECE has occupied for over half a century
a unique place in Europe is due partly to its membership. It is the
only forum that enables its currently 55 members to address economic
and technical issues on an equal footing with other members with the
same concerns.
Following the 1975 CSCE Conference, the UNECE became
the economic partner of what is now the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
As such it regularly prepares background documentation for the annual
meetings of the Economic Forum and other seminars organized by OSCE.
The Council
of Europe and UNECE have also enjoyed a long and fruitful partnership.
The former benefits from UNECE experience in the economic sphere and
the latter gains from the Council of Europe’s expertise in social
affairs and human rights. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe and its Committee on Economic Affairs and Development regularly
meet with UNECE to discuss the conclusions of its analytical work.
UNECE also enjoys close ties with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),
notably in the fields of environment, statistics and trade. Cooperation
takes numerous forms: for example, OECD studies the environmental performances
of western Europe, whilst UNECE carries out similar studies in eastern
Europe.
The European
Union (EU) attends all the meetings of the Commission. Cooperation
is profitable to both institutions: UNECE benefits from the work of
this dynamic organization and, at the same time, brings to the EU its
long experience of east European countries and its wider geographical
coverage. Activities in developing standards illustrate this complementarity:
numerous norms developed under the auspices of UNECE are taken up by
the EU in the form of directives. Regular contacts on specific programmes
or projects take place between the different divisions of UNECE and
the corresponding general directorates of the EU Commission.
United
Nations
The standards adopted and applied in the UNECE region
often have a global scope and value. They can either be taken up individually
by countries not in the region, or be adopted at a global level via
a specialized agency. Numerous examples illustrate this trend. For instance,
the European Agreement Concerning the International Transport of Dangerous
Goods by Road (ADR) and the Regulations annexed to the 1958 Agreement
on the construction of wheeled vehicles have been adopted across the
planet. Similarly, UN/EDIFACT is now used almost everywhere in the world.
More recently, the Protocol on Persistent Organic Pollutants has been
taken up by the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as a reference for its negotiation
of an international agreement, and the Convention on Access to Information,
Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental
Matters is open for accession to all UN member States. Thus, as a United Nations
organ, UNECE benefits from a unique position to disseminate its conventions
and standards to interested UN member States.
UNECE brings a regional dimension to the global conferences
organized by the United Nations. It held regional preparatory meetings
to the Rio Conference on Environment and Development, the Beijing Conference
on Women, and the Cairo Conference on Population. These meetings significantly
influenced the programmes of action adopted at a global level. Following
these conferences, UNECE supports the implementation of these programmes
by its member States, and assesses the progress made at the regional
level.
Non-governmental
Organizations and Civil Society
Enterprises, local communities, professional associations
and other non-governmental organizations have shown an increasing interest
in the activities of UNECE, seeking to be informed, at times consulted,
and to actively participate in certain activities, notably in the areas
of the environment, human settlements, promotion of investment, development
of enterprises, norm- and standard-setting, the facilitation of trade
and energy issues.
