ENB:10:45
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FRIDAY, 8 DECEMBER 1995
BOTSWANA: Gabosele Masusu said his country has always attached importance to social development, as reflected in its national goals of economic growth and independence, social justice and sustained development. On average, 50 percent of social spending goes to education. In accordance with the recommendations of the Social Summit, Botswana has taken initiatives to ensure full participation of people in decision-making on matters affecting their future.
UNITED STATES: Amb. Victor Marrero said the US believes that the cooperative effort to integrate the commitments of the Rio Summit and subsequent global conferences will require at least a decade of work. The United States has committed to accelerated development activities in Africa and the less developed countries through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Eight months after the Summit, progress can be reported. The Women and Girls Education Initiative pledged US$100 million over 10 years. The New Partnership Initiative emphasized work at the local level to build sustainable institutional capacity in non-governmental organizations, small business and democratic local governance. USAID has continued to make strides in its microenterprise funding in less developed countries. Programmes supporting women's political participation and women's legal rights are underway.
PANAMA: Amb. Jorge E. Illueca said social change must be effected at the grassroots level with the full participation of civil actors. The United Nations has the responsibility for fostering international cooperation. It must take an integrated approach to the outcomes of United Nations conferences. Cooperation between the United Nations, the specialized agencies and the Bretton Woods institutions should be strengthened. Countries of the Central American region are working towards social integration, and a secretariat headquartered in Panama has been set up for that purpose.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Amb. Mohammad J. Samhan said that development programmes should take into account the aspirations of the future, as well as respect for religions and customs. The United Arab Emirates has made the development of the individual the focus of its programmes. Education, culture and free healthcare programmes have been established. The country has also worked to make employment opportunities available to all men and women and has created programmes to promote women.
SLOVENIA: Amb. Danilo Türk said there are two basic requirements for implementing the Social Summit's outcome: an ethical commitment and careful policy-making. The question of how to involve non-State actors in the process of implementing the Summit's outcome is of critical importance. The Commission for Social Development should be strengthened in order to meet its responsibilities as the central intergovernmental body for the Summit's follow-up. The Commission should adopt a multi-year thematic work programme based on the Summit's main themes of poverty, unemployment and social disintegration.
PAKISTAN: Samiya Waheed Junjejo said that the United Nations should contribute to Social Summit follow-up through the work of ECOSOC, the General Assembly and specialized agencies. The developed countries must fulfill their commitment to allocate 0.7% of GNP for official development assistance (ODA). Pakistan has launched a comprehensive US$8 billion programme for social action to address the urgent needs for basic education, primary healthcare, nutrition, water supply and sanitation.
JAMAICA: Amb. Patricia Durrant said Jamaica has established a monitoring committee to oversee the country's plan of action for implementing the Summit's recommendations. Human resource development is the foundation of Jamaica's poverty eradication efforts. To generate employment in Jamaica, efforts are being made to provide additional credit and technical assistance to strengthen the participation of the poor in the micro-enterprise sector, which has experienced some growth in recent years. Jamaica supports the proposal to hold a special session in the year 2000 to review and appraise the Summit's outcome.
MALTA: Amb. Joseph Cassar said measures to foster social development that have been agreed upon must now be transformed into practical modalities and acted upon at the national, international and United Nations levels. The family, as the basic unit of society, has an enormous role to play in facilitating a stable and secure social environment, not only for its immediate members, but for society as a whole. He reiterated Malta's standing offer to host global or regional training centres to cover areas such as the design and implementation of the Programme of Action.
TURKEY: Hüseyin E. Çelem said the time had come to translate the objectives set out in Copenhagen into action. Global wealth has increased considerably, but has not been equitably distributed; therefore there is a need for formulation of national strategies. But national economic and social plans cannot be achieved by governments alone. He said that the Turkish Parliament has recently adopted the seventh five-year plan emphasizing development of human resources, eradication of poverty, bridging the gaps between regions, and development of adequate rural and social infrastructures.
BANGLADESH: Amb. Raez Rahman said the Summit itself identified actions to be taken to ensure implementation of its outcome, and these must be pursued. Among them was the recommendation that closer links be forged between the Bretton Woods institutions and the United Nations system. It was also recommended that a special session be convened in the year 2000 to examine overall implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action. The Danish Minister for Development Cooperation recently stated that the establishment of an independent commission was not possible due to lack of financial and political backing. Alternative approaches are needed to attain the goals of the proposed commission.
NORWAY: Amb. Svein Aass said one of the most concrete outcomes of the Social Summit was the adoption of the 20:20 concept, which calls for interested developed and developing country partners to allocate, on average, 20% of ODA and 20% of national budgets, respectively, to basic social programmes. In order to help make the 20:20 concept operational, Norway proposes hosting a meeting among interested countries in 1996. A small preparatory group, consisting of three developed and three developing countries, has begun work on the meeting in cooperation with the relevant UN organizations. The preparatory group has recommended that the meeting work toward a common definition of basic social programmes, define modalities for implementing the 20:20 concept, and agree on ways to monitor implementation.
TUNISIA: Amb. Slaheddine Abdellah said that Tunisia has established a national solidarity fund with the goal of reducing social marginalization. The country aims to reconcile economic growth and environmental protection. Particular attention has been paid to providing goods, services and infrastructure to those in rural areas. He supported convening a special session in the year 2000 to review the implementation of the Summit's outcome.
EGYPT: Abdel-Gaffar Eldeeb said the stage of implementation of international programmes stemming from Copenhagen has already begun. To truly implement the strategy and programmes of work for social development, States must take the primary responsibility. Nevertheless, international cooperation is indispensable. It is also necessary that all subsidiary bodies of the UN play their role, especially the Commission for Social Development. The eradication of poverty is the first stage of a strategy for social development.
HOLY SEE: Archbishop Renato Martino noted that unlike other recent international conferences, the Social Summit does not have one clear focal point within the UN system to coordinate its follow-up. He hoped that the Commission for Social Development can be strengthened and rendered more effective to play this role. The human person can only reach full development in a spirit of community and solidarity with others. Providing access for all to opportunities for economic security and development is a major challenge for the future. He also discussed the ethical and spiritual values that are essential for social development.