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FINANCIAL RESOURCES AND MECHANISMS

Numerous consultations took place on Wednesday on financial resources and mechanisms (Articles 20 and 21). By mid-afternoon, it appeared as though the US proposal for a Global Mechanism (to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of bilateral and multilateral assistance programmes) had gained acceptance within the OECD. While members of the G-77 commented that they were prepared to relinquish the idea of a specialized fund, they expressed concern that the proposed Global Mechanism still did not address the need for developed countries to commit to the provision of resources to finance the implementation of the Convention.

At 4:00 pm, a small group convened to discuss these issues. Approximately eight OECD delegates and eight G-77 delegates met with Pierre-Marc Johnson and Bolong Sonko. No Secretariat members or observers were present and participants tried hard to limit the meeting to one member per delegation. Discussions were said to be of a general nature at first, with no specific text under negotiation, although an OECD text was on the table. At 7:30 pm, discussions were still underway and many were of the opinion that if progress was being made, the discussions would continue into the night.