The Economic and Social Council this morning continued with its coordination segment on the role of the United Nations system in implementing the Ministerial Declaration of the high-level segment of ECOSOC in 2008, hearing the Under Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs introduce the report of the Secretary-General on the role of the United Nations system in implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to sustainable development. This was followed by a general discussion.

Sha Zukang, Under Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, introducing the report of the Secretary-General on the theme of the 2009 Coordination Segment on the role of the United Nations system in implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to sustainable development, said a renewed, urgent and concerted international action within the framework of sustainable development was needed to overcome current challenges. The United Nations system was increasingly embracing a multi-disciplinary approach to rural and agricultural development, which was now supported by a broad range of United Nations system activities. Recent initiatives by the Secretary-General and other United Nations efforts had contributed in promoting a more holistic approach to climate change, as an issue combining both the environment and development. The integration of climate change responses into respective strategies had enabled countries to harness the co-benefits of climate change mitigation and adaptation measures for other sustainable development objectives, and helped to highlight the climate benefits of measures aimed for example at increasing energy security, ensuring sustainable forest management, implementing integrated water resource management, and strengthening disaster risk management.

In the ensuing general discussion, speakers noted, among other things, that the 2008 Ministerial Declaration clearly recognised the importance of an integrated approach to sustainable development, with emphasis on its three pillars of economic development, social development, and environmental protection; and that an environment consisting of adequate financial resources, technology transfer and capacity building had to consistently support developing countries’ efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Speakers highlighted that the economic and social progress achieved in many countries during recent decades was being threatened, and millions of people were falling back into poverty and hunger. The Council should play a central role in the follow-up and implementation of the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social, environmental and related fields, and in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The United Nations system should promote South-South cooperation to enhance food security. Trade should be liberalised in food, and protectionist measures should be eliminated. Today, more than ever, it was important to act in unity, in a coordinated, coherent, and comprehensive way. ECOSOC was central in this endeavour.

Speaking in the general discussion were representatives of Sudan on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, Sweden on behalf of the European Union, Russian Federation, Brazil, China, Belarus, Belgium, India, Peru, Republic of Moldova, Kenya, Switzerland, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Iraq and Malaysia. Also speaking was a representative of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.


This afternoon, the Council will meet at 3 p.m., when it will continue with its coordination segment on the role of the United Nations system in implementing the Ministerial Declaration of the high-level segment of ECOSOC in 2008, and will hold a panel discussion on “the impacts of the financial and economic crises on sustainable development, particularly their social implications”.

Report

The Economic and Social Council has before it the report of the Secretary-General on the theme of the coordination segment: the role of the United Nations system in implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to sustainable development (E/2009/56), which provides an overview of United Nations system efforts to further the sustainable development agenda against the backdrop of current challenges. In particular, it assesses progress and challenges in priority areas identified in the 2008 ministerial declaration; identifies lessons learned from country-level experience to strengthen support for national sustainable development strategies; and assesses the impact of current challenges on those efforts. The report makes a number of recommendations in the areas of energy, climate change, water, agricultural and rural development, sustainable urbanization, social equality and institutions for sustainable development.

Opening Statement

SHAH ZUKANG, Under Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, introducing the report of the Secretary-General on the theme of the 2009 Coordination Segment (E/2009/56), said the report set out the role that the United Nations system could play. Over the last two decades, considerable efforts had been made at implementing the global consensus on sustainable development, towards a framework that balanced and integrated economic, social and environment issues, including national development strategies. While progress had been made in several areas, serious challenges remained, and the recent crises had made clearer the need for a clearer strategy for reconciling multiple objectives with different time horizons, and the need to re-examine past plans through the perspective of sustainable development. A renewed, urgent and concerted international action within the framework of sustainable development was needed to overcome current challenges. Over the past decades, the United Nations had consistently promoted sustainable development as its core framework.

The Commission for Sustainable Development had taken decisions and integrated the policy in several key areas: water, habitats, agriculture, rural development, drought and desertification. This year it would start a two-year cycle including waste, chemicals, mining and sustainable production. These decisions had in turn led to follow-up mechanisms for monitoring action and outcomes. United Nations system efforts had been critical in promoting sustainable agricultural and rural development models and practices that reconciled the objectives of agricultural productivity, rural livelihoods, sustainable management of natural resources and food security. The United Nations system was increasingly embracing a multi-disciplinary approach to rural and agricultural development, which was now supported by a broad range of United Nations system activities. Recent initiatives by the Secretary-General and other United Nations efforts had contributed in promoting a more holistic approach to climate change, as an issue combining both the environment and development.

The integration of climate change responses into respective strategies had enabled countries to harness the co-benefits of climate change mitigation and adaptation measures for other sustainable development objectives, and helped to highlight the climate benefits of measures aimed for example at increasing energy security, ensuring sustainable forest management, implementing integrated water resource management, and strengthening disaster risk management. However, despite progress in all these areas, much remained to be done, both in achieving the targets and in integrating the efforts of United Nations agencies, other donors and financial institutions, and Governments. The system needed to develop greater institutional and policy coherence to overcome traditional sector-based approaches. The report put forward a number of recommendations to strengthen the United Nations system approach for promoting sustainable development, recommending that the sustainable development framework be mainstreamed in all United Nations system activities, and that existing United Nations development assistance strategies designed to support national development efforts should take a sustainable development approach.

General Discussion

NADIA M. OSMAN (Sudan), speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, said at the outset, as emphasized in the Secretary-General’s report, they had to be reminded about the grave impact of the current crises on developing countries. They had to recognize that the number of people living in poverty was higher than previously estimated, despite significant progress in achieving poverty eradication. The Group of 77 and China emphasized the important outcome of the seventeenth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development which highlighted policy options on agriculture, rural development, land, drought, desertification, and Africa. These were the very issues that were at the heart of the Group’s development concerns which had unfortunately received less attention in the past few years. The Group of 77 and China underlined the importance of ensuring a coherent and integrated approach in last year’s ECOSOC Ministerial Declaration with the outcome of the seventeenth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, so as to avoid any fragmentation in implementation. An environment consisting of adequate financial resources, technology transfer and capacity building had to consistently support developing countries’ efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Further, new and additional financial resources were required for meeting their challenges; increased financial resources for the United Nations system was crucial.

HANS DAHLGREN (Sweden), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said the European Union was in favour of a key role for the United Nations in the efforts to help developing countries tackle a variety of more and more interlinked global, social, economic, financial and environmental challenges and to foster sustainable development in all its dimensions. In the light of the economic and financial crisis, the international community faced multiple challenges in its efforts to achieve the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals. The economic and social progress achieved in many countries during recent decades was being threatened, and millions of people were falling back into poverty and hunger. The conference on the financial crisis addressed some of these issues and successfully adopted an outcome document. The Secretary-General had appointed a task-force to develop a vulnerability alert system. Focusing on the poorest and the most vulnerable, while ensuring social development and environmental protection, was of utmost importance. The financial crisis should be addressed in an integrated manner that incorporated the objectives of economic growth, social development and environmental protection. The Council should play a central role in the follow-up and implementation of the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social, environmental and related fields, and in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

DIMITRY MAKSIMYCHEV (Russian Federation) said the United Nations system played a key role in the elaboration of decisions and the implementation of activities in the area of sustainable development. Sustainable development was the foundation for social and economic development. The coordination segment was aimed at assessing the effective implementation of intergovernmental decisions made last year with regard to sustainable development. The continued global economic and financial crises and food crisis threatened to reverse the course of achievements made thus far. Together with other G8 members, the Russian Federation supported global partnerships in the area of food security; these should be part of the work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome. Russia took note of the efforts made through the United Nations system with regard to energy and looked forward to the discussions on the effectiveness of the United Nations in this area. The Russian Federation was in favour of a new normative basis for international cooperation for ensuring energy. The United Nations system provided a good opportunity for Russian proposals in the area. Russian supported the new international regime, cooperation in the area of climate change for 2012, as well as the Secretary-General’s high-level meeting on climate change.

OTAVIO TRINDADE (Brazil) said the supply of energy that was affordable, cost-effective and efficient for all the population was a prerequisite for sustainable development. UN-Energy should devote more attention to the promotion of renewable energy in developing countries. The sustainable use of biofuels contributed to energy security, created jobs, developed rural areas, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. UN-Energy should be a catalyst to foster such cooperation. The removal of trade barriers to biofuels and trade distorting measures was a key element for the sustainable supply of affordable and efficient renewable energy. With regards to water, national strategies would only be sustainable if national institutions were duly prepared, technologically and financially, to ensure the sustainable management of water. The United Nations system should promote South-South cooperation to enhance food security; this kind of cooperation was an innovative way to provide suitable solutions for countries that had similar conditions and faced similar challenges on the ground, and was an essential tool to develop national capacities and build resilience. The promotion of partnerships for sustainable development would be a key element for strengthening institutions in this area. The United Nations response to the challenges posed by the current crises would require the institutional strengthening of its agencies, funds and programmes.

LI KEXIN (China) said that the dramatic increase in food prices had considerably reduced the purchasing power of low-income, food deficit countries. The intensification of climate change incidents and environmental degradation was putting at risk the safety and livelihood of a growing number of people. Widening inequalities, unemployment, underemployment and poor working conditions were becoming a major obstacle to achieving sustainable development worldwide. The financial and economic crises that had swept the whole world had made the struggle of the international community for sustainable development even more difficult. The most urgent problems should be addressed as a priority. Economic growth was the basis for sustainable development. In this respect, the United Nations system should and had to play a bigger role. Emphasis should be put on implementation and action. The 2008 Ministerial Declaration once again stressed the role of the international community in helping developing countries in the following areas: mobilizing adequate and sustained resources, help with and finance the acquisition and transfer of key technologies, and capacity building at various levels. The United Nations system should play a coordinating role in assisting countries reinforce development coordination in their common endeavour for development.

VITALY KNIAZEV (Belarus) said the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals required an appropriate reaction by the international community to a whole set of issues, including the food crisis, the energy crisis, and climate change. The neglect of huge areas of unproductive agricultural land needed to be changed in order to overcome the food crisis. Trade should be liberalised in food, and protectionist measures eliminated. The latest technologies helped not only in producing sustainable biofuel but also in developing new sources of energy. The existing level of technology made it possible to feed more than twice the current inhabitants of the planet. The United Nations' should be enhanced, creating an effective model allowing access for all countries to global technologies to overcome crises and use biotech and sustainable goods. One priority goal in terms of international environmental cooperation was ensuring the entry into force of an amendment to the Kyoto Protocol on States' quantitative commitments to reduce greenhouse gases. States should speed up their domestic processes with regards to the entry into force of this amendment.

HUGO BRAUWERS (Belgium) said Belgium believed that decision 61/6 of ECOSOC was particularly important from a substantive and political stand point with regard to its coordination role within the United Nations system. The long-term commitment of Belgium to sustainable development was seen through its work in the Commission on Sustainable Development since the Rio meeting. The outcome document of the Summit in 2008 on Sustainable Development strengthened the cross-cutting nature of sustainable development – a key element of the United Nations system. Belgium fully supported the role of ECOSOC in sustainable development as noted in the Secretary-General’s report. ECOSOC should play its role as coordinator of follow-up to other United Nations bodies, a cross-sectoral and a multidisciplinary approach should be used with regard to sub themes on sustainable development. Belgium believed that new bodies should not be created to address sustainable development. Belgium welcomed the chapters in the Secretary-General’s report dedicated to social equality, as decent labour section required more attention. Belgium also pointed out that the dimension of social development was an important pillar of sustainable development. Belgium believed that the Secretary-General should further develop the issue of biodiversity, in particular with regard to ecosystems.

KOTTHAPALLY NANDINI (India) said the 2008 Ministerial Declaration clearly recognised the importance of an integrated approach to sustainable development, with emphasis on its three pillars of economic development, social development and environmental protection. It was important that the United Nations system, in its efforts to assist developing countries pursue sustainable development, remained fully cognizant of this. Poverty eradication and development were overriding priorities for developing countries. The United Nations should strengthen its development assistance activities, and the international community should provide adequate resources to United Nations entities. This was particularly relevant in the context of the ongoing economic crisis, which threatened to reverse development gains made over the years. The ability of developing countries to respond to the adverse social impacts of the crisis was sharply constrained by its negative fiscal impact, and it was imperative that the United Nations system respond appropriately to assist developing countries. ECOSOC must fulfil its mandate role to coordinate the activities of the various United Nations entities so that the United Nations' response was comprehensive and holistic. Climate change had emerged as a vital issue in efforts to achieve sustainable development; insofar as the UN system was concerned, it should make greater efforts to assist developing countries in the areas of adaptation and technology.

EDGARD PEREZ (Peru) said concerning effective energy supplies, ECOSOC should work to address this issue which would in turn contribute to the eradication of poverty in the world. The United Nations system should better promote world development problems, such as climate change and water supply and demand, and should resist future crises such as these, mitigate future environmental impacts, and ensure access to information resources for policy formation. Sustainable and agricultural development measures should support national agricultural systems. Peru agreed that mitigation of climate change required a multi-facilitated approach within all spheres; and United Nations organizations needed to strengthen cooperation and coordinate efforts to be ready to take on issues related to climate change in the world. Like climate change the preservation of biological diversity needed to be protected, closely related to sustainable development, and increased awareness was needed as well as technical assistance. The current intellectual property regimes needed to be addressed and particular attention was needed on the preservation of traditional knowledge. The basic objective of development was to create an environment for human beings to live long, prosperous and joyful lives. Actions needed to be refocused around the three pillars of sustainable development, and therefore Peru believed that more attention had to be given to the consideration of consumer patents. Furthermore, in the words of Mahatma Ghandi, “Speed was of no importance if one was going in the wrong direction”.

VICTOR MORARU (Moldova) said the review of the implementation of the 2008 Ministerial Declaration provided an additional opportunity for the Council to assess progress and challenges in the field of sustainable development and to give additional guidance to the United Nations system on advancing implementation in the priority areas. While there had been some progress on the economic and social pillars of sustainable development, greater efforts were still required on the environmental side. This was especially important in connection to the long-term sustainability issues of climate change. Past experiences in addressing global challenges might no longer serve, as they did not include the added stress of climate change. The United Nations system already approached climate change as a sustainable development issue, and many efforts had been made since the last ECOSOC session with a view to address adaptation to the adverse impacts of climate change and greenhouse gas mitigation. Multiple crises concerning economy, financial markets, food security, water, energy and biodiversity were also putting pressure on sustainable development. The difficult situation the world was facing currently provided a powerful reminder of the utmost importance of multilateralism. Today, more than ever, it was important to act in unity, in a coordinated, coherent, and comprehensive way. ECOSOC was central in this endeavour.

ROBERT MULE (Kenya) said the issues of climate change, resource management, and sustainable and agriculture development were important to Kenya. The agriculture development of Africa needed more attention from the international community. With regard to countries’ efforts to enhance cooperation through the use of sustainable forms of energy, this was also applicable to other areas in promoting sustainable development. Everyone faced challenges towards the achievement of sustainable development, both at the national and international levels. What was important now was the harmonization of coordination mechanisms to address the challenges faced. The United Nations system had to play a role in capacity building, mobilization of resources, and technology and resource advancement. In conclusion, Kenya believed that resource mobilization remained critical, and even more due to the financial and economic crises facing the country, if they were to achieve the level of productivity envisaged.

BARBARA GONZENBACH (Switzerland) said sustainable development, because of its multiple dimensions and extraordinary complexity, was causing great challenges in terms of coordination, not only to the United Nations but to all Government structures. Sustainable development should be one of the fundamental objectives of the United Nations system. Much more needed to be done to truly mainstream the concept of sustainable development into all areas of work of the United Nations, including at the operational level. The United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination was in a unique position to promote sustainable development as a system-wide focus; however, it should address more decidedly the need for strong and clear leadership in the United Nations system joint undertakings. Each lead agency should be provided with all institutional and financial means necessary to enable this leadership role. The United Nations Environment Programme should be strengthened as the leading entity with the United Nations for environmental issues, and should be tasked with developing a system-wide environmental strategy, which would enable the United Nations system to scale up ongoing efforts in mainstreaming climate change concerns into national development strategies.

YUSRA KHAN (Indonesia) said given the newly strengthened mandate of ECOSOC, Indonesia fully supported its role in mainstreaming the sustainable development concept in the work of all the United Nations system. With the current global situation, the international community needed a pro-sustainable development international system to support their economic and social development while protecting the environment. To further enhance the efforts to reach an effective, coordinated and coherent approach among the United Nations system’s agencies and bodies, there were three issues that should be considered. First, an issue-based approach should be adopted, prioritizing the defining and pressing global challenges confronting sustainable development efforts – financial, energy and food crises and climate change. Second, institutions dedicated to address the three pillars of sustainable development should be strengthened at the national, regional and global levels. In the context of current challenges, it was important to reduce fragmentation and enhance the integration of the principles and pillars of sustainable development. The United Nations had to lead the overall global effort to address the current challenges not only from the perspective of environment but also economic growth and social development. It was also important to ensure that there was enhanced coordination among multilateral agreements in the economic, social and environmental spheres. Finally, to ensure success in its operational programmes, adequate and predictable sources of funding were necessary.

ZHARKIN KAKIMZHANOVA (Kazakhstan) said it was difficult to overestimate the role of the United Nations and its bodies to support country efforts towards sustainable development and a strategy to promote the latter at the global level. The different responsibilities of each country towards achieving sustainable development and sustainable goals should be recognised. In the report on the role of the United Nations system in implementing the sustainable development goals and objectives, in 2005, world demand for energy, as compared with earlier, had grown tenfold, and the demand for energy resources had gone up three times. This had consequences for the preservation of the environment. Energy efficiency had to be ensured, and investment in renewable sources could help in this regard. Kazakhstan wished to work with other United Nations countries in countering climate change and global warning, and promoting the use of alternative sources of energy, including bio-energy. Kazakhstan was concerned that the increase of greenhouse gases was continuing throughout the world, and was determined to deal with this, aiming at reducing their use. New energy-efficient technologies and standards should be developed and used. However, additional technical assistance was required for their employment, and stricter requirements should be applied in developed countries. The United Nations system should support countries that were working towards the integration of climate change policies into their national development strategies. Regional and sub-regional cooperation was also an element of sustainable development.

ASAD M. KHAN (Pakistan) said the development emergency that the world confronted today and the various challenges it posed to sustainable development through mutually reinforcing crises demanded a reinforced and coordinated effort to address them in a more integrated approach with greater global coherence and coordination. Traditionally the best solution to the global economic and financial crises was taken through trade; however, the World Trade Organization negotiations were already in deadlock before the crises took place. There was a lot of global volatility in the energy markets and the food crises which was exacerbated by speculation. Pakistan was familiar with the lack of finance and technology transfer mechanisms that could block efforts to change. A rating of a more friendly development of intellectual property rights could only happen with the World Intellectual Property Organization and the World Trade Organization. Enhanced coherence in global policy making processes in the key national institutions was needed. The discussions thus far remained inadequate. The United Nations Charter envisaged ECOSOC to act as the principal organ to coordinate the work of the United Nations system, including its specialized agencies. The delegation of Pakistan asked how could coordination be enhanced, and suggested that the injection of coherence in global policy making processes into key national institutions was the answer.

ABDULKARIM SHWAIKH (Iraq) said sustainable development had become one of the main pillars to safeguard the welfare of peoples and achieve their aspirations to a solid future for future generations in a way that would safeguard the optimum use and fair implementation of a situation which included sustainable development as the best way to achieve use of the environment in a sustainable manner. The world today faced a plethora of hardships such as unemployment, pollution, climate change, poverty, desertification, natural disasters, and others including the bridging of the information gap. These were all challenges to achieving sustainable development, which required mobilising efforts at the national, regional and international levels to confront issues and resolve measures. The lives of human beings should be upgraded. The representatives of the peoples of the world had confirmed their commitment to sustainable development at Johannesburg in 2002, and it was incumbent upon them to reinforce it and its three pillars: economy, society and the environment at the local, national and international levels. The eradication of poverty and the elimination of unsustainable methods of consumption were sine qua non goals and pre-requirements for development. Sustainable development realised the needs of the current generation without prejudice to the capabilities of future generations to fulfil their needs and reconcile economic exploitation and environmental preservation. Achieving sustainable development at the national and international level could only be achieved with a comprehensible strategy, as it required a long time.

ZAHID RASTAM (Malaysia) said at the conceptual level, there were now far too many competing comprehensive development frameworks based on various elements such as sustainable development and gender and human rights. While the aims of these comprehensive frameworks were not mutually exclusive, they nonetheless resulted in the diffusion of focus, given that progress was measured in different ways. It was not surprising that the record of meeting the goals related to any of these had been uninspiring. Therefore, rather than having comprehensive frameworks based on different elements, there should be one comprehensive framework including these different elements. There were also political reasons why progress had not been as rapid as hoped for. Issues such as sustainable development, which involved a long-term time line, fell prey to immediate needs and pressures. Governments of democratic societies often worked and thought of much shorter periods, typically in cycles of four to five years, when elections occurred. With regard to the report of the Secretary-General, Malaysia preferred the use of the term ‘delivering as one’ rather than ‘one United Nations’, given that the latter implied the integration of the many components of the United Nations system. Since 82 countries had reported that they were implementing a sustainable development strategy, the report should have covered more fully the lessons learnt from those strategies.

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, of International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said a pertinent example of well-coordinated action towards shared objectives was the work now underway to address the humanitarian consequences of climate change. Experience over the 15 years since the negotiation of the Framework Convention showed that the commitment taken through the Convention had not alleviated the concerns of communities facing the threat posed to them by climate change. Communities were now at a stage which could not be reversed quickly enough to prevent millions of livelihoods and lives from being seriously jeopardised. Food security was now an acute concern, and this was accompanied by reduced nutritional intake, amounting in many cases to malnutrition. The crisis which confronted so many people and communities in the developing world should be managed with a view to enabling the latter to adapt in ways which retained their productive force within their countries, and which sustained the dignity of the peoples themselves. Climate change adaptation must be driven by counties and local communities; this also implied an increased focus on national integration of climate change adaptation measures into national development plans. Additional financing for national and local level adaptation was crucial. Objectives should be set in recognition of the overwhelming impact of crises on communities, and should be accompanied by programmes to strengthen the resilience of those communities. Inter-agency coordination and the coordination of Government action should be accompanied by recognition of the communities which were the key to sustained economic and social development.


For use of the information media; not an official record

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