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EU Presidency Statement - Follow-up to World Summit Outcome on Development

Statement by H.E. Mr. Adam Thomson, Deputy Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom, on behalf of the European Union, at the General Assembly Plenary Consultations on the Follow-Up to The World Summit Outcome on Development, New York

Co-Chairs,

I have the honour speak on behalf of the European Union. The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, the Candidate Countries Turkey and Croatia* the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.

Thank you for convening these informal consultations to discuss Development follow-up to the World Summit. The EU regards the development commitments in the Summit Outcome as a central part of the balanced, comprehensive package that our leaders agreed in September. We are strongly committed to their full, timely implementation.

The EU has made a major effort this year to strengthen its contribution to achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and other agreed international development goals. Four EU members have already reached or surpassed the target of 0.7% of GNI for ODA. This year the EU as a whole committed itself to reach 0.7% by 2015, and an overall level of 0.56% by 2010 - just five years from now. With commitments made by other donors, ODA is estimated by the OECD to rise from about $80BN a year now to around $130BN a year by 2010. That is a considerable achievement that our leaders rightly recognised at the World Summit.

The Summit also recognised important steps forward this year in other areas: to ensure more effective aid, with greater harmonisation among donor efforts to support country-led national development strategies, to be adopted by 2006; to cancel 100% of outstanding debt of eligible HIPC countries to the IMF, World bank and African Development Fund; to support developing country efforts to ensure that all children have access to and complete free and compulsory primary education of good quality, and to eliminate gender inequality; and to step up international action to manage and protect our common environment, and to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases.

It is worth reminding ourselves of the scale and breadth of these commitments - this has been a year of huge advances for the cause of development; and that implementation is already well-underway in many fora. The EU is taking its own commitments seriously. Since the Summit the IFIs have moved forward with the implementation of the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative. Multilateral and bilateral donors are already increasing their funding for development, and taking action to improve aid effectiveness. The General Assembly is laying foundations now for major international meetings next year on HIV/AIDS, Least Developed Countries and on Migration and Development.

The EU and others have made these commitments. Our challenge now is to ensure their delivery, making maximum use of the existing mechanisms.

The EU would also like to make clear that it is not our role in this process to renegotiate the development commitments of the Summit Outcome Document. They are there in place. Our task here is to identify the best architecture for implementation as set out in your letter of 9 December

The UN development system needs serious reform and streamlining with a view to improve its efficiency and coherence, and to eliminate duplication. That would be relevant and beneficial not only to headquarter operations but even more so to the positive impact of field activities. As to the intergovernmental architecture, we should not only cover GA and ECOSOC, but also relations between ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies (functional commissions, regional commissions, expert bodies).

Let me turn now to the specific questions that you have asked us to address.

• How should the General Assembly promote the implementation of the development commitments in the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document, including the MDGs and the other internationally agreed development goals that emerged from the major UN conferences and summits?

The EU believes the GA remains the highest inter-governmental forum for development follow-up. The GA and its committees should continue to give direction to the work of the UN on implementation of the 2005 WSO commitments, through resolutions (for example in the Second Committee and Plenary) that keep progress under review.

Informal meetings of the GA and its committees can permit debate on topical themes. Formal high level meetings of the GA - for example the High Level Dialogues on Financing for Development and Migration and Development, and the follow-up meeting on the Declaration of Commitment on HIV and AIDS - should also be used to review implementation of commitments. Arrangements for such meetings should encourage participation of relevant stakeholders to enrich debate. In line with GA resolution 57/270B, use of existing GA mechanisms is a key aspect of the review of implementation.

• How can the Assembly encourage all relevant actors to fully live up to their responsibilities, within their mandates, to speedily follow-up on the Outcome Document's conclusions?

A great deal of follow-up needs to be pursued at the national level, especially given developing countries' primary responsibility for development. This should be supported by efforts at the regional and international levels, in various fora. GA resolutions - especially those adopted by consensus - can build on agreements, give impetus to follow-up and keep track of progress in various spheres. GA debates should be informed by high quality reporting from the Secretary General. Greater use could be made of existing reporting, for example from the IFIs, OECD or WTO - without creating parallel, duplicatory processes.

• How should the General Assembly link with ECOSOC, including its newly defined functions - in particular the Annual Ministerial-level substantive Reviews - to assess progress in the follow-up of the outcomes of major United Nations conferences and summits? What approach should the Assembly adopt in reviewing ECOSOC's findings in this regard?

The outcome of the ECOSOC Annual Ministerial Review could stimulate further consideration by the GA of follow-up issues highlighted in the Ministerial Review, including through a better use of the "report of ECOSOC" Plenary Item to review progress.

• Should the Assembly request a separate report from the Secretary-General on the implementation of the World Summit Outcome? Or should it work on the basis of reports generated for ECOSOC or other reports?

We suggest that reporting on the implementation of the World Summit Outcome should be combined with existing reporting on implementation of the Millennium Declaration.

• How should the Assembly and ECOSOC work alongside the Regional Commissions and other regional bodies to ensure the coordinated implementation at regional level of our development commitments, not least in Africa?

We believe the Regional Economic Commissions should continue to feed into the annual ECOSOC session. If, for example, the ECOSOC Annual Review is to have a regional focus, then the relevant regional Commissions should play an important role.

• What is the best way for the General Assembly to consolidate links with relevant institutions within and outside the UN system?

We consider that creative use of modalities for high level meetings such as the FFD and Migration and Development High Level Dialogues should allow for greater exchange with relevant non-UN institutions. Such exchanges should be as genuinely interactive and informal as possible. Occasional briefings (particularly in the Committee stage of the GA) can also be useful. But the primary entry point for non-UN actors and institutions should be through their relationship with ECOSOC.

• How should the GA ensure coherence among the follow-up and implementation processes? Should the Assembly deal with the follow-up to the 2005 World Summit within the follow-up to the Millennium Declaration or under the agenda item on integrated and coordinated follow-up of conferences and summits?

We believe that follow-up to the World Summit and the Millennium Declaration, and integrated and coordinated follow-up of major UN conferences in the economic, social and related spheres could all be considered together. There could be a single report to be addressed under the two existing GA items: "follow-up to the Millennium Declaration" and "integrated and coordinated follow-up of the Conferences and Summits."


* Croatia continues to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

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• EU Council Conclusions on the Implementation of the Outcome of the UN World Summit (10/4/2006)
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