EU Presidency Statement - ECOSOC reform

Sommaire: EU Presidency Statement - ECOSOC reform (8 December 2005: New York)

Statement by the Representative of the United Kingdom on behalf of the European Union at the UN General Assembly plenary consultations on ECOSOC Reform, New York

Co-Chairs,

Thank you for convening these consultations. The EU agrees that we should work towards a General Assembly resolution on ECOSOC reform based on paragraphs 155-156 of the World Summit Outcome. The EU is strongly committed to ensuring an effective and revitalised ECOSOC able to take up its newly defined functions.

We are encouraged that there are several points with which we agree in the remarks by the Ambassador of Jamaica. In particular we agree with him on the importance of this initiative, for the reasons that he gives, to revitalise ECOSOC; and on the spirt of his last remarks: this should not be a dogmatic or ideological debate.

Our views on several aspects of this are set out in the position paper we have circulated. Allow me to recall some general principles the EU considers important in this work, before turning to the specific issues set out in your paper of 5 December.

First, ECOSOC has a vital system-wide co-ordination role for UN work on economic, social, environmental, humanitarian and related issues. This includes ensuring that there are no overlaps or gaps in the system; monitoring consistency of UN policies in these areas, in terms of harmonisation and co-ordination; and ensuring co-ordination and alignment in the work of its subsidiary bodies.
Second, ECOSOC should make full use of its comparative advantage to convene debate among key stakeholders including the IFIs, private sector and civil society.
Third, to ensure political visibility, ECOSOC's substantive session should be at the centre of its activity; and could be improved to ensure high-level participation;
Fourth, ECOSOC reform should focus on its added value for overall co-ordination and avoid duplication with other bodies or proliferation of meetings or activity. In this respect and more broadly we should act consistently with GA resolution 57/270B, which we continue to regard as a useful guide for our work.
Finally, ECOSOC reform should be carried out within the existing allocation of resources.

Global Policy Dialogue

The EU agrees that it is a core ECOSOC activity to promote global dialogue and partnerships on policies and emerging trends in the economic, social, environmental, humanitarian and related fields. In organising the Policy Dialogue we should ensure balance between the economic, social and environmental aspects of sustainable development. Policy Dialogue could include such themes as health, employment, energy, environment and sustainable management of natural resources.

The specific theme of the Policy Dialogue could be linked to the focus of the Annual Ministerial Review.

The Dialogue should be prepared, and specific themes identified, on the basis of a report from the Secretary General. We agree with the Ambassador of Jamaica that the report should be prepared with the full participation of key stakeholders, such as the International Financial Institutions, the private sector and civil society. The outcome of the Dialogue could be a Ministerial Declaration or a Chair's summary.

To ensure a high level of engagement of member states, as well as participation by the international, financial and trade institutions, private sector and civil society, the Policy Dialogue should replace or form part of the High Level segment of the annual substantive session and subsume the current half-day dialogue. Perhaps the key requirement is to ensure a focussed theme and genuinely inter-active discussion.

It would be useful to hear views in due course from the IFIs and other stakeholders on the practicalities of the timing of different meetings.

The Policy Dialogue should be held biennially, in alternate years from the Development Co-operation Forum. It should immediately precede the annual Ministerial Review, so as to facilitate attendance at both by Ministers.

Biennial Development Co-operation Forum

The Development Co-operation Forum should address multilateral and South-South co-operation. It could focus on how different actors work together to support country-led development strategies and to promote aid effectiveness. The theme of the Forum, as for Policy Dialogue, could be linked to the focus of the Ministerial Review.

The Forum should be prepared with the full participation of relevant entities of the UN system as well as of other stakeholders, such as the IFIs, the private sector and civil society. The basis for discussion should be a report of the Secretary General, prepared in close consultation with those other stakeholders.

The outcome of the Forum could be a Ministerial Declaration or Chair's summary.

The Forum should take place at Ministerial level in early July, replacing or forming part of the High Level segment of the substantive session, and subsume the current half-day dialogue. It should take place in alternate years to the Policy Dialogue, and not in the same year as the GA High Level Dialogue on Financing for Development.

We suggest that together, the Development Co-operation Forum or Global Policy Dialogue, and the Annual Ministerial Review, could subsume the current High Level segment and Co-ordination segment of the ECOSOC substantive session.

Annual Ministerial Reviews

The annual Ministerial Reviews of progress towards the outcomes of major UN conferences and summits, including the MDGs, should take place in July immediately after the Policy Dialogue or Development Co-operation Forum. We agree with the Ambassador of Jamaica that the focus should be firmly on implementation.

The Review should not address all conference outcomes each year. The focus could be a specific region, or a sub-set of the MDGs or other goals. It could be linked to the theme of the preceding Policy Dialogue or Development Co-operation Forum.

The Review should draw on the work of ECOSOC subsidiary bodies and other stakeholders including the BWIs. It should be based on existing mechanisms and reports, including from UN agencies and other stakeholders, not on a new matrix. The useful discussions last week with representatives of other institutions showed that there is a great deal of existing material on which to base the Ministerial Review.

The outcome of the Review could be a Ministerial declaration or a Chair's summary.

Humanitarian Emergencies

On humanitarian emergencies, we believe we should continue to be guided by the terms of the World Summit Outcome; in particular the distinction it draws between ECOSOC's role to address emerging trends on the one hand; and on the other hand, its role in addressing humanitarian emergencies including natural disasters.

We believe ECOSOC debate on humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters should focus on generic issues, system coherence, lessons learnt, etc. This could be achieved by focus on a particular theme along the lines of the discussions held during the 2005 Humanitarian Segment on lessons from the Asian Tsunami.

ECOSOC should have flexibility, on agreement of its Bureau, to arrange additional ad-hoc meetings to respond and mobilise international attention to humanitarian crises. The meetings in 2005 on the food crisis in Africa and Avian flu demonstrate the value of informal exchanges without necessarily requiring negotiated outcomes.

Such ad-hoc events on specific crises should not cut across OCHA's operational co-ordination of humanitarian response. Nor should they duplicate work in the General Assembly and its committees or in ECOSOC's subsidiary bodies.

Overall coordination

The EU strongly supports ECOSOC's role as a forum to promote guidance and co-ordination to UN Funds, Programmes and Specialised Agencies, to build system-wide coherence in policy terms and for operational activities. We will look at this in the context of work in 2006 on system-wide coherence, in light of recommendations from the study that our leaders have asked the Secretary-General to launch.

The ECOSOC Operational Activities segment should continue to oversee implementation of GA decisions on reform of the UN development system. The heads of UN Funds, Programmes and Specialised Agencies should have the right to bring issues of co-ordination and coherence to ECOSOC's attention.

ECOSOC should ensure that themes such as sustainable development, human rights and gender are taken into account in decision-making across the UN.

ECOSOC should not duplicate the role of governing bodies and existing co-ordination mechanisms, for example over country-level activity. We consider that the Operational and Humanitarian Activities segments should remain broadly as they are.

Thank you, Co-Chairs.

Ref: PRES05-359EN
Source UE: Présidence UE
UN forum: Assemblée Générale (y compris Sessions spéciales)
Date: 8/12/2005

| Haut |

< Retour à la page précédente