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PREPCOM III

The third and final session of the PrepCom met from 16-28 January 1995, at UN Headquarters in New York. Two working groups were established to conduct the first reading of the texts of the draft Declaration and the Programme of Action.

The Declaration, as drafted by the Secretariat, contained an Introduction, a section on Principles and a section with nine Commitments. The Programme of Action consisted of five chapters, each of which identified a basis for action and then outlined specific international and national-level actions.

In response to the slow progress in each of the working groups, small "consultative" groups were established to negotiate the contentious issues that could not be resolved in the larger groups. Yet, even by adding an extra day onto the PrepCom, delegates were unable to reach agreement on the Declaration and the Programme of Action. In the Declaration, the outstanding issues to be resolved included: debt cancellation; new and additional financial resources; increased ODA; respect for ILO conventions and workers' rights; human rights and national sovereignty; access to healthcare services; countries with economies in transition; and a new commitment on health and education.

In the Programme of Action, the outstanding issues to be resolved included: reorientation of agricultural policies; debt elimination; increased ODA; speculative gains; collective bargaining rights; self-determination; poverty vulnerability indicators; traditional rights to resources; healthcare access for low-income communities; social safety nets; ratification of ILO conventions; employment needs of indigenous people; social integration of migrants; arms trade; ratification of human rights treaties; impact of structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) on vulnerable groups; new and additional financial resources; the 20:20 initiative; and countries with economies in transition.