ENB:05:42
[Next] .
[Previous] .
[Contents]
REPORT OF THE CSD
Outgoing Chair Klaus T”pfer opened the third session of the CSD on Tuesday, 11 April 1995, and highlighted some of the ongoing CSD-related initiatives. He called for more dialogue to ensure that all countries benefit from trade liberalization and that debt relief measures are developed to support sustainable development. He added that the financial resources needed to implement the Rio commitments are still far from adequate, and called on developed countries to honor ODA commitments. The CSD must ensure that the goals of sustainable development are integrated into all sectoral areas and the UN must demonstrate its capacity to secure ecological and social stability through partnership and shared responsibility.
Henrique Cavalcanti (Brazil) was then elected Chair of the CSD. Cavalcanti proposed three operational aspects for the new intersessional period: assessment of Agenda 21 implementation and commencement of work on sectoral and sustainability indicators; enhanced engagement of the UN system in CSD activities; and establishment of a dialogue with the private sector to better define the CSD's role and commitment to sustainable development.
In other opening statements, Under-Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development Nitin Desai said that the success of the CSD depends on the political weight given to it by governments. The Co-Chair of the High-Level Advisory Board on Sustainable Development, Birgitta Dahl, outlined the recommendations from the Board's third meeting on: sustainable food security; the links between trade and environment policies; value-based education for sustainability; and new partnerships.
The Commission then elected the Bureau: Yordan Uzunov (Bulgaria); Takao Shibata (Japan); Magn£s J¢hannesson (Iceland); and Henry Aryamanya-Mugisha (Uganda). Cavalcanti introduced Agenda Item 2 (adoption of agenda and other organizational matters), noting that drafting groups will be established on: (a) finance; poverty; consumption; trade, environment and sustainable development; and demographic dynamics; (b) technology transfer; science; decision making structures; and major groups; and (c) sectoral issues and biotechnology.