Go Between 72, Dec. '98-Jan. '99 UN NEWS ACC ADDRESSES GLOBALIZATION On 31 October 1998 the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC), composed of the executive heads of United Nations agencies, funds and programmes and the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, committed to a united effort to tackle development challenges arising from globalization and the adverse effects of the financial crisis. The committee, chaired by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, said the danger of the crisis worsening remains real although there are signs of hope that the world is beginning to emerge from it. The United Nations leaders committed themselves to: -- work together in monitoring the impact of the crisis on societies and individuals; -- helping individual countries carry out the necessary structural and institutional reforms; and -- strengthening or building basic social services, livelihood opportunities and safety nets for the least fortunate. They emphasized that equity and social justice, beyond their inherent value, are also necessary for political and financial stability. At the global level, the various United Nations bodies pledged to undertake joint efforts in specific areas of worldwide concerns, as has already been done in combatting HIV/AIDS, regulating electronic commerce, and recent joint efforts to tackle malaria (see page 2). The United Nations leaders also reviewed ongoing reform processes underway in the organizations of the system, and how these could reinforce actions by individual organizations. They took up the issue of the challenge of peace and prosperity in Africa, particularly in light of the Secretary-General's April 1998 report on The Causes of Conflict and the Promotion of Durable Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa (see focus page). They agreed on effective follow-up including harmonizing efforts, and committed themselves to minimizing risks to staff in the deteriorating security environment in which the United Nations system is required to work. WFP: FOOD CRISES ON THE RISE On World Food Day, observed 16 October, the UN World Food Programme warned that food crises are on the rise around the world. "Compared to one year ago, many more people in the world are suffering from malnutrition and hunger," said Catherine Bertini, WFP Executive Director. "WFP has had to greatly increase its food aid assistance to millions of people due to the increase in natural disasters, economic emergencies and man-made catastrophes." Devastating floods and drought brought on by El Ni¤o in Africa and Asia, the economic down-turn in Southeast Asia, and the wars and civil strife in parts of Africa and in Kosovo have all contributed to the increase in the number of people suffering from malnutrition and hunger. As the number of people fed this year by WFP continues to grow, the agency says initial indications show that the increase in its aid beneficiaries will be even greater than the 17% rise that occurred in 1997. In response to these emergencies, WFP has significantly expanded its operations around the world. Major WFP aid programmes include the following. -- In Sudan, WFP is conducting the most extensive humanitarian airdrop operation in history to combat the effects of 15 years of civil war. Since January 1998, the aid agency has increased its aid deliveries by ten times in order to reach approximately 1.8 million people each month. -- In North Korea, which is facing its worst drought in decades, WFP is providing food to six million people including 2.6 million children under the age of six. -- In the largest emergency operation in its history, the World Food Programme is feeding 19 million people in Bangladesh, which is suffering from the worst flooding in decades. -- In China, WFP has just launched its first-ever emergency relief operation in the country to meet the acute food needs of over five million people who are victims of the country's worst floods since 1954. -- In Kosovo and Albania, WFP is providing urgently needed food supplies to some 43,000 refugees and internally displaced people caught in the region's civil strife. -- In August WFP returned to Indonesia, after having helped stabilize the country's food situation in 1996, to assist 5.3 million victims hard-hit by drought and economic crisis. "It is now more important than ever that the hunger agenda be brought to the attention of the international community," said Ms. Bertini. "This year's crises are an indication that people can be thrown into a hunger trap in a moment's notice, whether by the usual culprits of war and weather or by the seemingly less probable problems of economic recession and instability." At the same time, she expressed concern for the ongoing plight of the more than 800 million people around the world who are chronically undernourished as a result of abject poverty. Ms. Bertini warned that whether the recent spate of crises was due to El Ni¤o or economic meltdown, continued assistance will be necessary to stabilize the situation of the most vulnerable. Contact: Jeff Rowland, Information Officer, WFP, Via Cesare Giulio Viola 68, I-00148 Rome, Italy, telephone +39-06/6513 2971. CAMPAIGN TO ROLL BACK MALARIA A new campaign to fight malaria, which kills more than one million people a year, has been jointly launched by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO). The programme on Roll Back Malaria seeks to reduce substantially the human suffering and economic losses due to one of the world's most costly diseases. Malaria causes an estimated 300 to 500 million acute cases per year, with most deaths occurring among children in Africa nearly 3,000 die each day. "Malaria is the number one health priority of people and leaders in affected communities and countries, but their voices have not been heard," said Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of WHO. "The human suffering is unacceptable and so is the economic burden and impediment to progress. Africa and other regions with malaria are responding and we must answer their call." The campaign will work not only through new tools for controlling malaria, but also by strengthening the health services to affected populations. It will aim to implement activities through partnerships with international organizations, governments in endemic and non-endemic countries, academic institutions, the private sector and NGOs. Roll Back Malaria will seek to: -- strengthen health systems to ensure better delivery of health care, especially at district and community levels; -- ensure the proper and expanded use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets; -- ensure adequate access to basic healthcare and training of healthcare workers; -- encourage the development of simpler and more effective means of administering medicines such as training of village health workers; and -- encourage the development of more effective and new anti-malaria drugs and vaccines. Contact: Gregory Hartl, Health Communications and Public Relations, WHO, 20 avenue Appia, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/791 4458, fax +41-22/791 4858, e-mail , website (www.who.ch). UNCTAD TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD MEETS The Trade and Development Board of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) concluded its two-week annual session on 23 October 1998 in Geneva. Among other things, the board adopted agreed texts on the causes, management and prevention of financial crises; trade and investment opportunities and constraints for the least developed countries (LDCs); and the development prospects for Africa. Following its traditional debate on interdependence issues, the conclusions on the causes, management and prevention of financial crises embody a consensus that the current crisis afflicting the world economy "has systemic elements" and that "the countries affected cannot deal with the problem in isolation." The board therefore considered that "an effective response needs to combine measures at both national and international levels." It further noted that even countries "with sound economic fundamentals and institutions have also been affected by global financial instability." However, the board recognized that there is no single recipe for responding to financial crises, and that domestic policies to restore growth need to be tailored to the specific circumstances of each country, with complementary action by developed countries. It rejected recourse to protectionist policies, saying they "would merely serve to deepen the crisis." The board adopted a set of agreed conclusions on trade and investment in the LDCs. With regard to trade, the board recognized that the particular circumstances of LDCs continues to warrant "special and differential" treatment, as provided for under the Uruguay Round agreements. But the long-term challenge for LDCs is to improve their competitiveness in international markets. Among other things, the board stressed the importance of supporting LDCs in their efforts to reverse their current marginalization in world trade and to become integrated into the world economy and international trading system. Agreed conclusions were also adopted on prospects for Africa in the areas of agriculture, trade and industrialization. Among other things, the board recognized that African countries have made determined efforts to improve macro-economic fundamentals. However it said reforms have failed to address all structural constraints, especially regarding the underdevelopment of human resources and physical infrastructure, as well as institutional limitations. The design and implementation of structural adjustment programmes should take account of these constraints. "Therefore, their conceptualization, including the premises on which they have been built, should be reviewed and adjusted to the requirements of individual countries, and coherence in policy advice should be ensured," said the board, which added that "full ownership of reforms, founded upon a broad-based national consensus, is a necessary condition for success." The board welcomed an offer by the European Union to host the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, to be held in the first part of the year 2001. Contact: Carine Richard-Van Maele, Chief, Press Unit, UNCTAD, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/907 5816 or 907 5828, fax +41-22/907 0043, e-mail . UNCTAD 1998 WORLD INVESTMENT REPORT The 1998 World Investment Report, published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), discusses the central role played by foreign direct investment (FDI) in globalization; examines region by region the trends that are shaping international long-term business investment; and gives insights on the shifts in public policies and corporate strategies that determine where foreign investment is going, and why. "Globalization and the increasing liberalization of trade and investment are having a profound effect on both economic and social development, as well as business and commerce," according to UNCTAD. "The effect cannot be grasped without understanding FDI trends and determinants." In a world that is changing rapidly, the expansion of FDI is a formidable force driven to a considerable degree by a growing array of international agreements. Rarely before has there been so much activity undertaken by national governments and international organizations in the realm of investment negotiations. For example by the end of 1997 there were 1,794 double taxation agreements in effect covering 178 countries. Launching the report in New York, George Kell, an economist in the Executive Office of the UN Secretary-General, said foreign direct investment has hit new record levels in all major country groupings. Developed countries continue to absorb the majority of the investments two-thirds of all inflows and they account for 90% of all global outflows. Developing countries, however, have been quick in catching up overall. In 1990 they only accounted for 17% of inflows but by 1997 the figure stood at 37% or US$149 billion. In 1997 Asia experienced US$87 billion in inflows, an increase over 1996. China alone accounted for 50%, which is about one-third of all flows going to developing countries. In 1997 Latin America had US$58 billion of inflows, an increase of almost 30% over 1996. Brazil is the leader with US$16 billion in FDI, followed by Mexico with US$12 billion and Argentina with US$6 billion. Privatization and regional integration continue to function as major inducements for FDI. As a whole, Africa continues to be marginalized, attracting inflows of slightly less than US$5 billion. Nigeria and Egypt attracted nearly 50% of the total, with natural resource exploitation the single most important determinant. Some countries such as Botswana, Ghana, Mozambique, Tunisia and Uganda succeeded in attracting considerable FDI. Contact: UN Publications, 2 UN Plaza, Room DC2-853, New York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/963 8302, fax +1-212/963 3489, e-mail or UN Publications, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/907 2606 or 907 4872, fax +41-22/917 0027, e-mail . UNESCO EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETS The 155th session of the executive board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which met from 19 October-6 November in Paris, has decided to create an International Institute for Capacity-Building. The institute, to be based in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), will enable UNESCO to step up its assistance in bolstering human resources in developing countries in general, and in Africa in particular. The board's decisions concerning preparation of the organization's programme in the years 2000-2001 stressed that education must remain the main priority of UNESCO, with emphasis on reinforcing national capacities to reform and renew education systems at all levels. In reaffirming UNESCO's priority groups youth, women, African and the least-developed countries the board recommended that the organization focus on meeting needs of the most disadvantaged segments of the population in each of these groups. Also highlighted was the need for all of UNESCO's actions to contribute to promoting a culture of peace. To this end the board recommended strengthened intersectoral cooperation in design and implementation of the transdisciplinary project Towards a Culture of Peace, in order to prepare for the integration of an intellectual culture of peace component in major UNESCO programmes. The executive board closed with a visit to Tashkent at the invitation of the government of Uzbekistan where delegates held a debate devoted to the culture of peace. Contact: M. Al-Shaabi, Secretary, Executive Board, UNESCO, 1 rue Miollis, F-75732 Paris Cedex 15, France, telephone +33-1/45 68 20 05, fax +33-1/45 68 57 02. PROGRESS ON PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS At a meeting on 26-30 October 1998 in Bangkok (Thailand), leading experts on hazardous chemicals from 57 countries met to develop scientific criteria and a process to identify suspected persistent organic pollutants (POPs) whose environmental release must be reduced or eliminated because of high risks to human health or the environment. The meeting, organized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), was hosted by the government of Thailand. "We were very pleased by the progress made during the week," said Jallow Ndoye, co-chair of the criteria expert group. "There are draft proposals for POPs criteria and a process for adding chemicals to the future treaty. We also have a proposal for integrating socio-economic considerations into the process." The group's work will be the basis for legal controls to add substances to the future global treaty on POPs, to be adopted by the year 2000 (see Go Between 70). Twelve POPs are already being addressed by treaty negotiations: aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, dioxins, endrin, furans, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene, mirex, PCBs and toxaphene. Governments have already agreed on the need to include 12 particularly dangerous POPs in the treaty right away, according to Klaus T”pfer, Executive Director of UNEP. "For the treaty to be truly effective," he said, "we need a transparent and universally accepted system for deciding which other POPs are too dangerous for continued release to the environment. UNEP is very happy with the excellent progress made this week. The attention paid by countries from all parts of the globe attests to the seriousness of the global POPs problem, and bodes well for successfully concluding negotiations by the year 2000." Contact: Jim Willis, Director, UNEP/Chemicals, Geneva Executive Centre, 15 chemin des An‚mones, CH-1219 Chƒtelaine (Geneva), Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 8170, fax +41-22/797 3460, e-mail or Patricia Jacobs, Media and Information Officer, Information and Public Affairs, UNEP, PO Box 30552, Nairobi, Kenya, telephone +254-2/623088, fax +254-2/623692, website (irptc.unep.ch/). COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONCLUDES SESSION The Committee on the Rights of the Child, an expert body in charge of monitoring implementation of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, adjourned its 19th session on 9 October in Geneva after issuing its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Bolivia, Ecuador, Iraq, Kuwait and Thailand. Among other things the committee adopted recommendations on children in armed conflicts, in which it expressed concern at delays experienced in the process of drafting and adopting the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The committee invited states Parties to make every effort to facilitate adoption of the optional protocol before the tenth anniversary of the convention's adoption. The committee also held a general discussion on Children Living in a World with AIDS with specialized agencies and NGOs. Participants spoke of the importance of non-discrimination, care and prevention, and they stressed, among other things, the role of states and NGOs in combatting the HIV/AIDS pandemic. At its next session, which will be held from 11-29 January 1999, the committee is scheduled to review reports from Austria, Barbados, Belize, Guinea, Honduras, Sweden and Yemen. Contact: Myriam Tebourbi, Human Rights Officer, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 9330, fax +41-22/917 9010. UN REPORT ON CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT "Not only are millions of children still the victims of war, far too often they are its principal targets and even its instruments," states the first report (A/53/482) of Olara Otunnu, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict. "Children have been compelled to become instruments of war, recruited or kidnapped to become child soldiers, thus forced to give violent expression to the hatreds of adults. In all, an estimated two million children have been killed in situations of armed conflict since 1987, while three times that number have been seriously injured or permanently disabled." Among the greatest concerns outlined by the ten-section report are continued use of children in hostilities, and growth in the numbers of children being displaced. After introducing his report to the General Assembly on 21 October 1998, Mr. Otunnu noted that the continued use of children in hostilities has grown from an estimated 250,000 two to three years ago to 300,000 today. The report also highlights the issue of sexual abuse and links the availability of small arms to the victimization of children. Mr. Otunnu made specific recommendations regarding the impact of sanctions on children in armed conflict situations. He expressed his support for efforts aimed at addressing the negative impact of sanctions on Iraqi children and called upon the Security Council to review the present sanctions regimes in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Burundi, bearing in mind the impact on children's health, nutrition and education. With regard to planning post-conflict programmes, Mr. Otunnu recommended that women and children who have been exposed to conflict be given special attention. He noted that Sierra Leone is to become a pilot project in this regard. The report also called for regional and neighbourhood initiatives to address cross-border issues in conflict situations involving the abduction of children, the availability and use of landmines, and the flow of small arms. Mr. Otunnu also highlighted the importance of concerned governments and NGOs that provide political support for the protection of children, use "diplomatic, political capital" in favour of defending children, and bring collective pressure on abusers of children. He noted that he had been heartened by the engagement of NGOs in his work. Contact: For a copy of the report of the Special Representative, you can request document A/53/482 in Arabic, Chinese, French, English, Russian or Spanish from NGLS in New York. WORKSHOP ON WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT A workshop on a rights-based approach to women's empowerment, advancement and gender equality, organized by the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women, took place in Rome at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) headquarters from 5-7 October. The workshop brought together members of the United Nations Inter-Agency Committee on Women and Gender Equality, and the Working Party on Gender Equality of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development/Development Assistance Committee (OECD/DAC). Discussions focused on reviewing and clarifying the rights-based approach to gender equality, and its implications for policy and operations by bilateral and multilateral entities. The workshop also contributed to commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Among other things, participants agreed on the relevance and added value of a rights-based approach to gender equality and development, and that this approach allows for holistic attention to women's civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. The realization of human rights is at the heart of sustainable people-centred human development, they said, and all human rights are interdependent and indivisible, ultimately reflecting the dignity of women and men. Participants emphasized that human rights are entitlements and as such create obligations on states for their fulfilment, which in turn creates national and international accountability. They also stressed the importance of the social responsibility of the corporate sector and the urgent need to develop accountability mechanisms with respect to it. A rights-based approach requires the creation of an enabling environment in which human rights can be enjoyed by all. The workshop recognized that national laws, culture, tradition and religion can contribute positively to the enjoyment of human rights by affirmation of enabling aspects, removing barriers, and evolving new practices based on the recognition of women's human rights. All actors at the national level play an important role in creating an enabling environment for the promotion and protection of human rights, participants said, and development cooperation and humanitarian activities are key to strengthening the capacities of all actors. Recommendations adopted by the workshop emphasized the need to, among other things: -- promote the principle of gender equality as central to the realization of human rights; -- promote an enabling environment in which women and girls can exercise choice; -- promote the availability of and access to gender-specific information and statistics; -- strengthen the rights-based approach by increasing contacts between development specialists and human rights specialists, including those of the UN Inter-agency Committee on Women and Gender Equality and of the OECD/DAC Working Party on Gender Equality; -- increase the use of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and other human rights instruments, the work of the human rights treaty bodies and of special procedures as guidance for operational activities; -- strengthen national and international mechanisms for monitoring and accountability; and -- support the incorporation of international human rights standards into national legal systems. Contact: Christine Brautigam, Women's Rights Unit, Division for the Advancement of Women, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, New York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/963 0535, fax +1-212/963 3463, e-mail . INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON FISHERIES Drafts of three voluntary agreements aimed at more sustainable management of vulnerable fisheries resources were approved by representatives from 81 countries and the European Community at an international conference on fisheries. The conference, held from 26-30 October 1998 in Rome, was organized by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The draft documents on International Guidelines/Plan of Action for the Management of Fishing Capacity, International Plan of Action of the Conservation and Management of Sharks, and International Plan of Action for Reducing Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Longline Fisheries will be submitted to the FAO Committee on Fisheries in February 1999 for final adoption. Governments participating in the conference expressed their concern in a statement about excess capacity in world fisheries and said it is "a problem that among others, contributes substantially to overfishing, the degradation of marine fisheries resources, the decline of food production potential, and significant economic waste." The draft voluntary International Guidelines/Plan of Action for the Management of Fishing Capacity seeks to achieve "an efficient, equitable and transparent management of fishing capacity." According to the draft document, "where capacity is undermining achievement of long term sustainability outcomes," countries implementing the guidelines/plan of action "should endeavour initially to limit at present level and progressively reduce the fishing capacity applied to affected fisheries." Governments emphasized the need to improve data on fishing capacity, especially regarding the characteristics of fleets, their mobility and their effect on the sustainability of stocks that they fish. The conference approved related measures as well as the timely undertaking of diagnoses that would allow the systematic identification of fisheries requiring urgent measures. The draft document approved by the conference foresees the voluntary adoption of national plans of action for the management of fishing capacity as well as a range of complementary measures aimed at strengthening regional collaboration and reducing fishing capacity applied to overfished stocks. Governments also expressed their "concern over the increase of shark catches and the consequences which this has for the populations of some shark species in several areas of the world's oceans." The draft International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks says "that it is necessary to better manage directed shark fisheries and certain multispecies fisheries in which sharks constitute a significant bycatch. In some cases the need for management may be urgent." According to the plan of action, "management and conservation strategies should aim to keep total fishing mortality for each stock within sustainable levels." It adds that "in some low-income food-deficit regions and countries shark fisheries are a traditional and important source of food, employment and income. Such fisheries should be managed on a sustainable basis to provide a continued source of food, employment and income to local communities." Governments implementing the plan of action would commit themselves to regularly assess the status of stocks and "to adopt a national plan of action for conservation and management of shark stocks" if necessary. The draft International Plan of Action for Reducing Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Longline Fisheries says that "states with longline fisheries should assess these fisheries to determine if a problem exists with respect to incidental catch of seabirds." If so, states should adopt a national plan of action for reducing bycatches of seabirds. Governments are expected to start implementation of the national plan of action by the year 2001. States should regularly, at least every four years, assess the implementation of their plans to identify "cost-effective strategies for increasing effectiveness." FAO will report every two years on progress made. The incidental bycatch of seabirds, which affects among others the albatrosses and petrels of the Southern Ocean, could be significantly reduced by mitigation measures such as setting catch lines under water so that baited hooks are out of reach of seabirds, using bird-scaring lines, or setting lines at nights. Contact: Erwin Northoff, Media Officer, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, I-00100 Rome, Italy, telephone +39-06/5705 3105, fax +39-06/5705 4975, e-mail , website (www.fao.org/waicent/faoinfo/fishery/faocons/faocons.htm). UNIDO MEETING ON INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS Participants in an expert group meeting on The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Sustainable Industrial Development, held 1-2 October 1998, agreed on a draft summary of observations on potential areas where the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) can contribute to the efforts of developing countries in responding to opportunities that the CDM could create. The mechanism was established through the Kyoto Protocol by the Third Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), held in 1997 in Kyoto (Japan). The convention establishes a process for responding to climate change in the following decades and sets up a system whereby governments report on their national greenhouse gas emissions and climate change mitigation strategies (see E&D File, Vol. III, No. 16). The observations of the expert group meeting, based on discussions of the meeting held in Vienna (Austria), include the following. -- The CDM should remain additional to official development assistance (ODA) funding. -- The CDM's success largely depends on its potential to transfer climate-relevant technologies since technology transfer remains the key issue on the development cooperation agenda. -- Left entirely to market forces, the CDM cannot guarantee for Africa equitable sharing of technology transfer and resources that might otherwise be available. -- Organizations such as UNIDO should increase assistance to Africa to create the necessary conditions to attract an inflow of investment, including CDM investment. -- UNIDO should enhance African business and industry's involvement in the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol processes. -- CDM projects should provide opportunities for investments that are commercially attractive since the main motivation behind private sector investments is profitability and for the full involvement of the sector. A full report on areas where UNIDO's involvement as a technical support services provider within the context of the CDM was presented at a UNIDO event during the Fourth Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, held from 2-13 November in Buenos Aires (Argentina). Contact: UNIDO, Vienna International Centre, PO Box 300, A-1400 Vienna, Austria, telephone +43-1/26060. WHO, PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY WORKING GROUP With one-third of the world's population deprived of easy access to the most essential drugs and vaccines, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the pharmaceutical industry have decided to set up a joint working group that will analyze the situation and make recommendations to overcome existing bottlenecks. The group's composition will be agreed in consultation with the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (IFPMA), which currently represents over 50 national associations of research-based pharmaceutical companies from countries in every WHO region. "The decision we have taken is a first step to benefit an estimated 100 million people worldwide through improved cooperation between the public and private sectors," said Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, WHO Director-General. "I am looking forward to further development in this area." Dr. Harvey E. Bale, Jr., Director-General of IFPMA, said that the pharmaceutical industry is pleased to see changes in the renewed WHO "that could potentially make everybody a winner. It is up to all of us now to translate this potential into actions." Contact: Igor Rozov, Health Communications and Public Relations, WHO, 20 avenue Appia, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/791 2532, fax +41-22/791 4858, e-mail , website (www.who.ch/). MEETING ON POPULATION AGEING International donors should consider renegotiating the external debts of poor countries to release funds for social services for older persons, participants at a Technical Meeting on Population Ageing recommended as they concluded the event on 9 October in Brussels (Belgium). About 40 experts took part in the four-day meeting, part of the five-year review of implementation of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD+5), to be held in 1999. The Brussels meeting, organized by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Population and Family Study Centre (CBGS) based in Brussels, reviewed the experiences of developed countries in population ageing to identify practices that can be adopted by developing nations. Among other things, participants proposed that governments and international organizations: -- integrate into development strategies the economic and social consequences of ageing; -- consider relations between children, younger and older adults; -- establish gender-sensitive population policies where fertility is below replacement level and ageing is advancing; and -- use various mechanisms to enable ageing persons to leave the workforce gradually including job redesign, flexible pension arrangements, temporary or home-office work and mentoring. They also called for strengthened state provision of social and health services particularly for the elderly, women and children; access to small-scale credit schemes to enable older people to participate in income-generating programmes; and greater research into economic transfers between younger and older people and the contributions of the latter to the labour market. Participants also called on governments not to abandon their commitment to providing basic services, clean water, adequate nutrition, housing, access to work, health care, transportation and healthy environments. They agreed that the reproductive health of all people, especially women, should be ensured throughout their life course because of its importance to the quality of life at older stages. Recognizing the social, economic and cultural disadvantages faced by care givers who are mainly female, participants stressed that authorities and NGOs should design appropriate strategies to end pay inequities and give those workers recognition. As part of the ICPD+5 process, UNFPA has sponsored a series of technical meetings and roundtable discussions leading up to an international forum on ICPD implementation, to be held in February 1999 in The Hague (see NGLS Roundup, September 1998). The report on the meeting on ageing will be consolidated into a document for review by The Hague Forum and as background for the Secretary-General's report to the special session of the United Nations General Assembly on post-ICPD progress. Contact: Abubakar Dungus, Information Officer, UNFPA, 220 E. 42nd Street, New York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/297 5031, fax +1-212/557 6416, e-mail , website (www.unfpa.org/ICPD/ageing/age-agenda.htm). GEF COUNCIL MEETS The council of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which met from 14-16 October in Washington DC, discussed country ownership of GEF projects, streamlining project cycles, expanded opportunities for executing agencies, relations with conventions, and implementing agencies' strategies for integrating global environmental activities, among other things. The GEF implementing agencies are the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Bank. The council's recommendations included preparation by UNDP and the World Bank of action plans for integrating global environmental activities into their regular operation, and preparation by UNEP of an action plan on complementarity and additionality. In the GEF context, additionality refers to the principle that funds flowing to developing countries through the GEF for projects to protect and benefit the global environment should be additional to traditional official development assistance funds from all sources. Complementarity refers to the principle that the GEF's implementing agencies should apply the same environmental requirements and guidelines to all their programming as they do to GEF projects. The council also recommended that the GEF secretariat develop an operational programme on transport and elaborate possible practical measures aimed at strengthening national focal points and improving information to allow countries to monitor the status of projects. Contact: Hutton Archer, Senior External Relations Coordinator, GEF Secretariat, 1818 H Street NW, Suite G6-150, Washington DC 20433, United States, telephone +1-202/458 7117, fax +1-202/522 3240, e-mail , website (www.gefweb.org). HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), in collaboration with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, hosted a panel discussion on Intellectual Property and Human Rights on 9 November 1998 in Geneva to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Over 200 people attended the panel including representatives of WIPO member states, inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations. The event, the first of its kind, brought together experts and interested parties from both the intellectual property and human rights communities. In his opening remarks Roberto Castelo, Deputy Director General of WIPO, stated that the objective of the panel discussion was to draw attention to the universality of intellectual property rights and to examine their role in contributing to economic, social and cultural development. Although intellectual property rights are specifically recognized as human rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Mr. Castelo noted that the human rights character of intellectual property rights has not yet been fully explored. General themes discussed during the panel included the growing philosophical and political significance of intellectual property issues in the information age; the links between intellectual property rights and the right to culture; and intellectual property and the right to health, the protection of traditional knowledge and innovation, science and technology, and nationality and non-discrimination. Contact: Media Relations and Public Affairs Section, WIPO, 34 chemin des Colombettes, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/338 9547 or 338 9824, fax +41-22/338 8810, e-mail , website (www.wipo.org). AGENDA FOR ACTION ON AFRICA A Tokyo Agenda for Action was adopted by the Second Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-II), held in Japan from 19-21 October 1998 (see Go Between 68). The conference, organized by the United Nations, Japan and the Global Coalition for Africa, was attended by representatives of 80 countries, Northern and African NGOs and regional organizations. The Tokyo Agenda for Action, whose theme is Poverty Reduction and Integration of Africa into the Global Economy, aims to guide concrete policy implementation by African countries and their partners for African development toward the 21st century. Its goals and priority actions cover the areas of: -- social development including education, health and population and measures to assist the poor; -- economic development including development of the private sector, industry and agriculture; and -- foundations for development including good governance, conflict prevention and post-conflict development. In order to achieve these goals conference participants focused on strengthening coordination among all actors of African development including the role of civil society, regional cooperation within Africa, and South-South cooperation. They also discussed how to further promote Asia-Africa cooperation despite the financial crisis in Asia, which participants said provides some relevant lessons for Africa. Participants agreed to follow-up their commitments with concrete actions at the national, regional and international level. Contact: Kimiko Uno, UN Office of the Special Coordinator for Africa and the Least Developed Countries, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), 1 UN Plaza, Room DC1-1048, New York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/963 2166, fax +1-212/963 3892, website (www.un.org/esa/africa). ILO REPORT ON SEX INDUSTRY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA Prostitution in Southeast Asia has grown so rapidly in recent decades that the sex business has assumed dimensions of a commercial sector that contributes substantially to employment and national income in the region. This is one of the conclusions of an International Labour Organization (ILO) report on The Sex Sector: The Economic and Social Bases of Prostitution in Southeast Asia. The report is based on studies of prostitution and commercial sex work in four countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. It stresses that scrutiny of the sex sector of these countries does not suggest they have a unique prostitution problem; they are rather illustrative of the situation in many countries. Prostitution and its attendant problems are universal according to the report, which warns that the growing scale of prostitution in Asia, combined with its increasing economic and international significance, has serious implications for public morality, social welfare, transmission of HIV/AIDS, criminality, violations of the basic human rights of commercial sex workers, and commercial sexual exploitation, especially of children. Yet there is no clear legal stance nor effective public policies or programmes to deal with prostitution in any of the countries. "The sex sector is not recognized as an economic sector in official statistics, development plans or government budgets....Policy makers have shied away from directly dealing with prostitution as an economic sector," says the report. This is despite the fact that the sex sector in the four countries is estimated to account for anywhere from 2%-14% of gross domestic product, and the revenues it generates are crucial to the livelihoods and earning potential of millions of workers in addition to the prostitutes themselves. The report identifies the feminization of labour migration as one of the major factors fuelling growth in the sex sector. Flows of prostitutes throughout South and Southeast Asia are described as almost "commuter-like" in their regularity and complexity. The book also highlights child prostitution as an urgent problem as growing poverty and unemployment strain family income and contribute to the expanding ranks of street children. The report's recommendations for developing a policy stance to deal with the growth of the sex industry include: -- target child prostitution for elimination; -- recognize the variety of circumstances prevailing among prostitutes and eliminate abuses; -- address the public health aspect by not only educating and treating prostitutes, but also their clients; -- adopt measures aimed at the structures that sustain prostitution, such as the economic and social bases of the problem, not just the prostitutes themselves; and -- undertake macro-economic analysis that would include official recognition of prostitution and maintenance of records about it for the purpose of assessing the health impacts of the sector, the scope and magnitude of labour market policies needed to deal with workers in the sector, and possibilities for extending the taxation net to cover the lucrative activities associated with it. Contact: International Programme on More and Better Jobs for Women, ILO, 4 route des Morillons, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/799 8276, fax +41-22/799 7657, e-mail , website (www.ilo.org/public). POPULATION GROWTH AFFECTED BY AIDS The biannual revision of world population estimates, released on 28 October 1998 by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, has announced a slowdown in world population growth and confirmed that fertility levels in developing countries are continuing to decline. World population growth has fallen from its peak of 2% in the 1960s, a net increase of 86 million people per year, to 1.3% or an increase of 78 million people per year. This trend, according to Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), is in part the result of better reproductive health and family planning services and improved education of women. There is also evidence of long-term decline to below-replacement levels in most industrialized countries. The slowdown is not entirely based on falling birth rates, but on the alarming rise in death rates due mainly to the spread of the AIDS epidemic. According to the report, AIDS is cutting life expectancy in many African countries and will effectively reduce their populations within the next 10-15 years. The disease has achieved pandemic proportions in a number of sub-Saharan countries in nine of them life expectancy rates are expected to average only 47 years between 2010 and 2015, which is 17 years less than expected in the absence of AIDS. While industrial countries have held HIV infection rates among their adult populations under 1% or less, a June 1998 WHO survey reported that in some African countries the number of adults infected with the HIV virus is as high as 25%. The growing number of AIDS-related deaths is having a much more dramatic effect in decreasing fertility and reducing population growth throughout Africa than was initially believed, according to Joseph Chamie, Director of the Population Division. Until the 1998 WHO survey, much of the data used by the UN was provided by governments of affected countries, which often understated the scale of infection. Of the 30 million persons in the world currently infected with HIV, 26 million or 86% reside in 34 sub-Saharan countries. In addition 91% of all AIDS deaths in the world have occurred in these 34 countries, said the report. However, despite the declines the report predicts that overall growth rates in Africa will continue to rise slightly. "Even in the worst case," it said, "the role of AIDS is not expected to lead to declines of populations, because fertility in these countries is high." Contact: UN Population Division, 2 UN Plaza, Room 1950, New York NY 10017, United States, fax +1-212/963 2147, website (www.undp.org/popin/popin.htm). WORLD HABITAT DAY In 1998 global celebrations for World Habitat Day, observed on 5 October, were held in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) and focused on the theme Safer Cities. The event marked the first time that World Habitat Day was held in the Arab States region. World Habitat Day activities and events in Dubai included a seminar on safer cities; presentation of the 1998 Dubai International Award for Best Practices in Improving the Living Environment; and a seminar on learning from best practices. Participants in the seminar highlighted the importance of, among other things: -- empowering people and their communities to address their problems; -- strengthening and formalizing participatory decision-making processes; -- transparency, trust and openness in nurturing participatory processes; -- the need for forward-looking and holistic urban planning policies and strategies; and -- the importance of leadership in changing behaviour and attitudes. Contact: Christina Engfeldt, Chief, Information and External Relations, United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), PO Box 30030, Nairobi, Kenya, telephone +254-2/623151, fax +254-2/624060, e-mail , website (habitat.unchs.org). UN AND NGO NEWS CSD GUIDELINES FOR MAJOR GROUPS The 1999 Guidelines for Major Group organizations contributing to the seventh session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-7), which will meet from 19-30 April 1999 in New York, have been prepared and can be obtained from the CSD secretariat. The guidelines are a regular means for the secretariat to provide Major Group organizations identified in Agenda 21, the programme of action for sustainable development agreed at the 1992 Earth Summit, with information on how they can contribute to the annual CSD process. CSD-7 will focus on four key topics: -- tourism (also the theme of the multistakeholders dialogue segment); -- changing consumption and production patterns; -- oceans and seas; and -- the Small Islands Developing States Programme of Action (in preparation for the five-year review at a special session of the General Assembly in 1999). Contact: Zehra Aydin-Sipos, Division for Policy Coordination and ECOSOC Affairs, United Nations, New York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/963 8811, fax +1-212/963 1267, e-mail , website (www.un.org/esa/susdev/mgroups.htm). EFFORTS GROW TO LIMIT SMALL ARMS TRAFFIC Efforts to tackle problems caused by the proliferation of small arms and light weapons got a boost on 25 September 1998 as foreign affairs ministers crowded into the Economic and Social Commission (ECOSOC) chamber at UN headquarters in New York at the invitation of Canada and Norway. The briefing was designed to widen support for the International Agenda on Small Arms and Light Weapons Elements of a Common Understanding text endorsed by 21 countries in Oslo (Norway) in July 1998 (see Go Between 70), as well as a proposed international conference on the illicit arms trade to be convened in Switzerland in the year 2000 or 2001. "Small arms have been or are the primary or sole tools of violence in most of the recent armed conflicts dealt with by the United Nations where fighting involves irregular troops," said Jayantha Dhanapala, UN Under-Secretary General for Disarmament Affairs. Lloyd Axworthy, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister, expressed his country's support for a balanced and comprehensive action "advancing humanitarian action through peace-building, attacking the phenomenon of illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons, and further regulating the licit trade of these deadly weapons." He also supported the drafting of a protocol on illicit trafficking of firearms as part of a larger Transnational Organized Crime Convention, to be ready for signature in the year 2000. Norwegian Foreign Minister Knut Vollebaek announced the launching of a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) trust fund to control, collect and destroy small arms in areas of conflict. Alfred B. Nzo, Foreign Affairs Minister of South Africa, emphasized the important role of the NGO community in building public support for governmental efforts to curtail small arms traffic and aiding in the compilation of reliable data regarding small arms and light weapons proliferation. The ministerial meeting was followed by a day-long seminar organized by the British American Security Information Council (BASIC) to assess the impact of small arms proliferation and to investigate ways in which the UN might offer solutions to the problem. Seminar speakers included government ministers and delegates, UN officials and NGO representatives. They addressed a variety of topics including: the impact of small arms proliferation on society; reducing the demand for small arms; the legal versus illegal trade; existing international efforts to halt the spread of small arms; the UN's role in combatting small arms proliferation; the firearms protocol at the UN; the international code of conduct on arms transfers; the global crackdown on illicit trafficking; controlling exports of small arms; and curbing weapons transfers to protect human rights. Contact: Coordinating Action on Small Arms, United Nations Department for Disarmament Affairs, United Nations, New York NY 10017, United States, fax +1-212/963 1121 or BASIC-US, 1900 L Street NW, Suite 401, Washington DC 20036, United States, telephone +1-202/785 1266, fax +1-202/387 6298, e-mail , or BASIC-UK, Carrara House, 20 Embankment Place, London WC2N 6NN, United Kingdom, telephone +44-171/925 0862, fax +44-171/925 0861, e-mail , website (www.basicint.org). UN WORKSHOP FOR NGOs The NGO Section of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs has designed a workshop to encourage NGOs to broaden their contribution to the work of the United Nations in the economic and social fields by making use of consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). In 1996 ECOSOC adopted a resolution (1996/31) showing a strong consensus for change on the part of the member states in setting out new arrangements for consultation with NGOs in order to facilitate their participation in the work of the council and its commissions, as well as international conferences. The major change brought about by resolution 1996/31 focuses inter alia on the eligibility for consultative status of national, regional and subregional NGOs. The goal of the workshop, entitled How to Apply for Consultative Status with ECOSOC, is to enhance the work of the council by strengthening input from NGOs. Participants in the workshop will learn about, among other things: -- the work of the United Nations and ECOSOC in particular; -- the significance of the relationship established by entering into consultative status with ECOSOC; -- correct fulfilment of the technical requirements of applying for consultative status with ECOSOC; and -- the many ways in which NGOs with consultative status can participate in and contribute to the work of the United Nations in the economic and social field. The workshop will be held during the annual sessions of ECOSOC in New York or Geneva, and can be made available to NGOs on request. For more information: Hanifa Mezoui, Chief, NGO Section, Division for Economic and Social Council Support and Coordination, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, Room DC1-1480, New York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/963 4843, fax +1-212/963 4116, website (www.un.org/esa/coordination/ngo). CSOs DISCUSS CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME An Ad Hoc Expert Group Meeting of African Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) was organized by the Development Management Division of the Economic Commission for Africa on 12-13 October 1998 in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). Fifteen representatives drawn from a cross-section of CSOs in Africa and international organizations took part in the meeting, which reviewed African CSO capacity development needs. Discussions focused around a working paper on Enhancing the Effectiveness of African CSOs Including NGOs: Capacity Development Challenges and Opportunities, prepared by the secretariat of the Economic Commission for Africa. The paper highlighted strategic issues and options for CSOs in this area including the need to create conditions to enhance popular participation, reduce tensions between governments and CSOs, empowerment of CSOs, and how to make them credible and effective partners in the development process. Participants said concerted efforts and well-designed programmes are needed to address in an integrated manner the various capacity issues of CSOs. They also stressed the need for CSO capacity development initiatives to address: establishment of a code of conduct; accountability; funding that affects sustainability; professionalism; voluntarism; lack of effective networking mechanisms; low information access and utilization; lobbying; and fundraising and operational management skills. Participants agreed that the thrust of CSO capacity development initiatives should consider, among other things, the following. -- Establish a platform for dialogue and creation of understanding. This should be a useful means of empowering CSOs through knowledge and information and should involve academia, the private sector, governments, CSOs and the international community. -- Provide CSOs with support to enhance their power base. -- Initiate actions aimed at empowerment. -- Mobilize and coordinate existing competence and expertise within CSOs. -- Document and disseminate best practices as an integral part of capacity development. -- Build partnerships at all levels and with all actors. Contact: Development Management Division, Economic Commission for Africa, PO Box 3001, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, telephone +251-1/517200, fax +251-1/514416. ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN RIGHTS From 9-10 November in Geneva, about 20 experts on Islamic law with knowledge of human rights law participated in a seminar on Enriching the Universality of Human Rights: Islamic Perspectives on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The seminar, organized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in cooperation with the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), is part of a process aimed at promoting understanding and respect among peoples. It is also aimed to provide a framework for a better understanding of the significance of cultural and religious backgrounds to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The major themes discussed by participants were: -- Islam, the principle of non-discrimination and the Universal Declaration; -- Islam, civil and political rights and the Universal Declaration; and -- Islam, economic, social and cultural rights and the Universal Declaration. Contact: OHCHR, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 9000, fax +41-22/917 9012. INTERNATIONAL EMISSIONS TRADING ASSOCIATION The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Earth Council, an environmental organization created in the wake of the 1992 Earth Summit, are providing support for the establishment of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA). The association is an independent, non-profit, industry-led organization dedicated to advancing international cooperation in emissions trading. Membership is open to companies, government agencies, industry associations, international organizations, environmental NGOs and individuals. The association aims to serve as a forum for education, exchange of experiences relating to emissions trading, maximizing opportunities for lowering transaction costs and increasing transactions, facilitating the collection of relevant documentation, and the resolution of disputes. Developing countries and countries in transition will benefit from technical assistance, training and capacity building. A first meeting to facilitate establishment of IETA was convened in Buenos Aires (Argentina) on 12 November 1998. Contact: Frank Joshua, Head, Emissions Trading Project, Division on Globalization and Development Strategies, UNCTAD, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 5834, fax 41-22/907 0274, e-mail . NGO NEWS EUROPEAN NGO SEMINAR ON LOME NEGOTIATIONS On 5-6 November 1998 the Liaison Committee of Development NGOs to the European Union organized an NGO seminar on the Lom‚ Negotiations. The agenda of the meeting, held in Brussels (Belgium), included information on the official negotiating process, analysis of the European Union (EU) and Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) negotiating positions, and workshops on the trade arrangements and civil society participation. Participants decided that an NGO Monitoring Group will be set up with the role of: -- monitoring the ACP-EU negotiations; -- ensuring that necessary information is distributed to the NGO community; and -- recommending and initiating lobby activities. Contact: Liaison Committee of Development NGOs to the European Union, 10 Square Ambiorix, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium, telephone +32-2/7438760, fax +32-2/7321934, e-mail , website (www.oneworld.org/liaison). CAMPAIGN ON US HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS Amnesty International has launched a global campaign to counter human rights abuses in the United States. One million Amnesty members worldwide, including 300,000 members of Amnesty-USA, will: -- undertake to increase public awareness of human rights violations in the country; -- strengthen cooperation with the US human rights constituency; and -- work to achieve concrete reforms at the federal, state and local levels. The campaign, which began with the issuance of a report on United States of America: Rights for All, is focused on the plight of prisoners or criminal suspects in the country. According to the report, "Throughout the USA people are being injured and killed by police using excessive force or deliberately brutal treatment. Police officers are punching, kicking, beating and shooting people who pose no threat, or are causing serious injuries and sometimes death, by misusing restraints, chemical sprays or electro-shock weapons." It says inquiries into some of the largest urban police departments have uncovered systematic brutality, with members of racial and ethnic minorities bearing the brunt of police brutality in many areas. Within the prisons and jails in the United States, says the report, "Inmates are being tortured or ill-treated....Physical and sexual violence are endemic....Rape and sexual abuse have persisted because inmates fear retaliation and feel too vulnerable to complain." Lack of proper screening for communicable diseases combined with overcrowded and insanitary conditions are putting many lives at serious and unnecessary risk. In addition, health care in many facilities is seriously inadequate. The death penalty, abolished by more than 100 countries in law or practice, is permitted by 38 of the 50 states in the country and has been used in "an arbitrary, unfair and racist" manner against hundreds of people, according to Amnesty. More than 350 people have been executed in the US since 1990, and more than 3300 others have been sentenced to die. Twenty-four states permit the execution of people who were under 18 years of age at the time of the crime, and since 1989 more than 30 mentally-impaired people have also been executed. Among other rights abuses, the report highlights those related to the status of asylum seekers. Amnesty notes that the US has failed to recognize international standards and says that because of the hardship it inflicts, detention of asylum seekers should normally be avoided and they should not be accommodated with criminal offenders. The report states asylum seekers "are increasingly being treated like criminal offenders. They are detained indefinitely; confined with criminal prisoners; stripped and searched; shackled and chained; physically and verbally abused; and denied access to families, lawyers and organizations which could help them." While the US has repeatedly stressed the importance of international law and human rights, Amnesty reports that it has been reluctant to commit itself to those same standards. It is one of only ten countries that have not ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and one of only two countries that have not ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Child. In cases where it has ratified treaties, the US has done so with numerous reservations, as in the case of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in which it reserves its right to execute juveniles. Contact: Amnesty International Publications, Marketing and Supply Team, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street, London WC1X 8DJ, United Kingdom, website (www.rightsforall-usa.org) or (www.amnesty.org). PARTICIPATORY IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT ActionAid and the UK Department for International Development have published the results of research on the impact aid agency projects have on reducing poverty. The research was carried out in four countries: Bangladesh, Ghana, India and Uganda. The report's findings suggest the need for future research to focus more on a critical review of various participatory rural appraisals to determine which are most helpful to beneficiaries and agencies. The report on Participatory Impact Assessment looks at methods and indicators for measuring the impact of poverty reduction and reviews ActionAid's research on different impact assessment methods. The first part explores the concept of impact assessment and proposes ways to appraise the extent of people's participation in it. The second part contains case studies showing that qualities seen as strengths for NGOs, such as getting things done, made it harder for them to give priority to participatory assessment since they see it as an academic exercise. Contact: Development Education Department, ActionAid, Chataway House, Leach Road, Chard, Somerset TA20 1FA, United Kingdom, fax +44-1460/67191, e-mail , website (www.actionaid.org). OTHER NEWS MEDITERRANEAN DEVELOPMENT FORUM At a time of global instability in financial markets and deep-seated worries about a spreading crisis in emerging market economies, senior representatives from government and NGOs from around 40 countries gathered in Marrakech (Morocco) from 3-6 September 1998 for the second Mediterranean Development Forum (MDF). Organized through a partnership of ten regional think tanks and the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank, the forum is devoted to disseminating knowledge, building skills and fostering networks within the development community in the Middle East and North Africa. This year's event, whose theme was Participation and Development, focused on: -- participation in the world economy; -- the fight against poverty; -- development of human capacity; and -- improvement of the integrity and efficiency of governments. Workshop discussions aimed at generating greater understanding of the challenges facing societies in the region and discussing strategies that can involve various parts of society in a joint effort to boost economic growth, improve integration with the world economy, and reduce poverty and inequality. Contact: Haleh Bridi, Regional Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Region, Economic Development Institute, World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC 20433, United States, telephone +1-202/473 6310, fax +1-202/676 9810, e-mail , website (www.cipe.org/mdf/). DAC PEER REVIEW OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY The European Community (EC) is the world's second largest multilateral channel for development assistance after the World Bank, according to a September 1998 Development Assistance Committee (DAC) peer review. The EC's combined programmes are the fifth largest among the 22 members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development DAC. Aid programmes of EC members have grown an average of 3.3% annually over the last five years, while the combined effort of all DAC donor countries declined by 4.7% annually. The policies of the EC are consistent with the development partnership goals and strategies agreed in the DAC in 1996 in Shaping the 21st Century: The Contribution of Development Co-operation (see Go Between 58). However, EC programmes operate within a complex organisation and management structure, said the review, and the community faces serious challenges of implementation in adapting its operations to achieve agreed development objectives. Among the review's conclusions are the following. -- Progress has been made in the commission's policies and programmes on poverty reduction, gender equality, and work with civil society and NGOs since the last DAC review in 1995. However the EC's allocation of resources to lower income countries has not kept pace with the overall growth of the official development assistance (ODA) budget over recent years. At the same time, the committee took note of EC efforts on internationally-agreed poverty reduction goals, including steps toward free access for exports from least developed countries. "Improvements in staffing and programming in gender and other cross-cutting areas now need to be matched with clearer monitoring and measurement of impact achieved," said the review. -- In the EC's approach to partnerships with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, more emphasis is being put on the broad political dimensions of development including respect for human rights, good governance, and conflict prevention for development success. "The changing nature of the European Union-ACP relationship," said the review, "is intended to modernize the instruments of co-operation, to strengthen its performance and to move away from the past inflexibility of fixed funding entitlements by country." -- A difficulty in shifting resources in the EC's wide-ranging programmes together with complex administrative procedures and low staffing levels in the field for project implementation has contributed to what the review described as a "worrying gap during the 1990s between the amounts committed for ODA and actual disbursements by the Community to partner countries." This gap has reached an annual average of about US$1,600 million between 1992 and 1996. DAC members said they look to the European Community to play a strong role in improving the coherence of policies affecting developing countries. "On the aid front," said the review, "complementarity and coordination with the bilateral cooperation programmes of the EU Member States have been somewhat strengthened since the last DAC review, especially at field level. Coordination with other donors also seems to be improving, which bodes well for better overall partnerships between donors and partner countries. In the trade area, a major change is the Community's proposal to ACP countries to negotiate new trade agreements with regional sub-groupings of developing countries." The review also examined policy coherence in fields such as agricultural trade, fisheries agreements and community fishing fleet subsidies, and support for conflict management, humanitarian aid and peace-building in developing countries. Contact: OECD, 2 rue Andr‚-Pascal, F-75775 Paris Cedex 16, France, telephone +33-1/45 24 82 00, fax +33-1/45 24 80 03, website (www.oecd.org/dac). DAC PEER REVIEW OF FINLAND Finland's Cabinet decision-in-principle of September 1996 is the main point of reference for Finnish development cooperation, which reflects a broadly-based political consensus on objectives and directions, according to a review by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The decision-in-principle includes a firm target of 0.4% by the year 2000 for the ratio of Finland's official development assistance to the gross national product. Finland's 1997 ratio was 0.33%. "Thus," said the committee, "the 0.4% target for 2000 requires a corresponding commitment for this item in the Finnish budget and implies a rapidly expanding aid volume in the future." The review said that a significant evolution in Finland's approach to its aid programme is the integration of development cooperation into a coherent foreign policy framework, and the reorganization of the aid administration within the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. It also underlined the importance of ensuring that development objectives and expertise remain central elements in Finland's approach to allocating and implementing its aid. The committee commended both the partnership orientation of Finland's policies and the growing volume of Finnish aid. Other key issues addressed in the review included the following. -- Long-term partnerships with a selected number of primary orientation countries should continue to be the foundation of Finnish bilateral aid. -- The flexibility concept, included in the decision-in-principle, has the potential to extend the geographic range and strengthen overall effectiveness of Finland's aid through greater policy coherence. However, in the application of this principle care must be taken to maintain developmental quality and avoid too much dispersion of effort. -- A greater degree of delegation to the field level would be desirable, with appropriate staffing, training and preparation of field offices (including consultants and local staff) to cope with the more complex management and coordination tasks involved with in-country development partnerships. -- The revised screening process for project and policy proposals will be an important part of the quality control system of Finnish aid. Contact: OECD, 2 rue Andr‚-Pascal, F-75775 Paris Cedex 16, France, telephone +33-1/45 24 82 00, fax +33-1/45 24 80 03, website (www.oecd.org/dac). FOCUS UNDP RELEASES REPORT ON OVERCOMING HUMAN POVERTY On the occasion of the UN Day for the Eradication of Poverty, 17 October, public events around the world and a new report stressed that poverty is an unnecessary ill in the richest period in human history. Go Between summarizes the findings of Overcoming Human Poverty, published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and recent activities focused on effective poverty eradication. According to the report, developing countries have made little progress to eradicate absolute poverty since the 1995 World Summit for Social Development. At the same time rich countries, which have seen their own poverty increase in recent years, are spending fewer resources on social programmes and have progressively reduced their development assistance. Beating Poverty Most Urgent Issue Overcoming poverty has become the most urgent issue facing all countries and societies today. Around the world more than two billion people have little or no access to food, basic services or adequate shelter, and 12 million children die each year of curable diseases or malnutrition before their fifth birthday. Nine-hundred million people globally are either unemployed or under-employed, 40 million of them in countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). "This is not a fitting legacy for the next generation," said UNDP Administrator James Gustave Speth, "particularly at a time when the worst aspects of poverty can be eliminated for the price of 1% of the world's income of US$25 trillion." At the 1995 Copenhagen World Summit for Social Development, 186 governments committed to making poverty eradication a central goal of their national policies and to pool forces to end global poverty. The UNDP report notes that out of the 130 countries surveyed, only 38 have so far set targets for the eradication of extreme poverty. Slow Progress in Poor Countries In some regions of the world, the gap between rich and poor has actually worsened since the summit. In sub-Saharan Africa, between the late 1980s and now, the share of national income going to the poorest fifth of the population dropped from 5.7% to 5.2%. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the poorest fifth receive only 4.5%. Debt and unattractive conditions to foreign investors are given as two of the main reasons for poor countries' slow progress. In sub-Saharan Africa, 14% of export revenue goes to debt servicing; in South Asia it is 22%. Foreign direct investment (FDI), often hailed as a panacea for poor countries' slow growth, tends to flow toward middle-income rather than low-income economies. Out of about US$120 billion in FDI going to developing countries in 1997, sub-Saharan Africa received only US$3 billion and South Asia US$4 billion. By contrast, China alone accounted for US$31 billion. Using Aid Creatively Aid used creatively, stresses the report, remains a vital tool for development and poverty eradication. However in this area the international community has not done enough. Official development assistance is at an all-time low a mere 0.2% of industrialized countries' gross domestic product. Additional resources must be mobilized, but equally important, the delivery of aid will have to be reformed to better meet the needs and aspirations of the poor. Aid should be directed at building capacities and know-how to allow poor countries to improve their infrastructures, decentralize their governments to bring public administration closer to the people, and manage natural resources in a sustainable way. "None of the development goals we are committed to today will be achieved without serious global and national efforts to rid the world of poverty," said Mr. Speth. "We know that extreme poverty can be eliminated in a generation. We have no ethical alternative but to take on this challenge with all the seriousness it deserves." Recent Activities Focused on Poverty Eradication Information, solidarity and the participation of all sectors of society are also essential ingredients for an effective poverty eradication recipe. For this reason, UNDP held activities on all continents during the week of the UN Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The message of the events was that poverty eradication must be a central goal for all social and economic players from decision-makers to associations, private businesses to NGOs, and municipalities to individuals. Some of the activities organized to inform and mobilize support included the following. -- The First Global Forum of the World Alliance of Cities Against Poverty At this event on 12-14 October held in Lyon (France), 100 municipalities met to exchange and map out novel strategies to fight urban poverty and expand the opportunities of their citizens. -- Races Against Poverty In Paris on 17 October UNDP joined the 20th edition of the Paris 20-Kilometre Race for the first time to make the theme of this traditional event a race against the clock to end poverty. In Almeria (Spain) UNDP, the municipality, the National Olympic Committee and local associations organized a race to collect funds for social projects directed at the poor in the city and nationwide; another race against poverty was planned in Switzerland in conjunction with the Swiss Olympic Association. -- In New York, five women were awarded prizes for their personal triumphs over poverty and their contribution in their home countries to helping others do the same. The women come from the Dominican Republic, France, India, Jordan and Uganda. -- In Zambia a national workshop on poverty eradication was held. -- In Lebanon the government released its first poverty mapping study. -- In Georgia the National Ballet gave a benefit performance to raise money for social causes. -- Cambodia released its National Human Development Report. -- Guatemala launched a book on Poverty Situation of Mayan Peoples of Guatemala. Contact: Social Development and Poverty Elimination Division, Bureau for Development Policy, UNDP, 1 UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017, United States, fax +1-212/906 5313, e-mail or Daniela Bagozzi, Media Officer, UNDP, Geneva Executive Centre, 11-13 chemin des An‚mones, CH-1219 Chƒtelaine (Geneva), Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 8548, fax +41-22/917 8001. SECURITY COUNCIL AND GENERAL ASSEMBLY DISCUSS AFRICAN SECURITY The Security Council met on 24 September 1998 at the level of foreign ministers to assess progress in achieving peace and security in Africa. Go Between summarizes the discussions, as well as the General Assembly's consideration of the UN Secretary-General's report on peace and sustainable development in Africa. In his address to the Security Council in September, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan praised what he described as the council's serious and constructive work during the six months since his report was issued in April 1998 on The Causes of Conflict and the Promotion of Durable Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa (see Go Between 69). The UN Secretariat, he said, is working on follow-up activities to action by the council, whose implementation is being monitored by the Deputy Secretary-General. Moving Away From the "Rule of the Gun" While noting positive developments in a number of African countries seeking to make the transition from dictatorship to democracy, Mr. Annan said that movement away from the "rule of the gun" seems more the exception than the norm. "If we now recognize that peace and prosperity must be sought as one, with equal priority and equal persistence, then we must also understand the broader nature of human security we seek," he said. "That is why the UN increasingly is taking a comprehensive, holistic approach to all our peace-building activities" by applying lessons the UN has learned such as that electoral assistance must be part of democracy-building; securing human rights helps ensure genuine political liberty; and political development must be integral to economic development. Political Will Needed to Settle Disputes The Security Council, in a presidential statement (S/PRST/1998/29) at the conclusion of the ministerial meeting, called on African states and all parties concerned to demonstrate the political will to settle their disputes by peaceful rather than military means. It also encouraged states to continue to improve implementation of good governance and undertake the various reforms needed to promote economic growth. And it called on the international community to assist efforts aimed at such goals initiated by African states and regional and subregional organizations. Links Between Development and Preventing Conflict The council recognized what it described as the close linkage between the promotion of economic and social development and the prevention of conflict. It stressed that "the quest for peace in Africa" requires a comprehensive, concerted and determined approach "encompassing the eradication of poverty, the promotion of democracy, sustainable development and respect for human rights, as well as conflict prevention and resolution, including peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance." It underscored the need for political will, in Africa and beyond, to achieve durable results toward these ends. The council also recognized positive developments in Africa in the past year and welcomed progress achieved by African states in promoting democratization, economic reform, protection of human rights and sustainable development. It commended efforts by African states and regional and subregional organizations, in particular the Organization of African Unity (OAU), to resolve conflicts by peaceful means. The council expressed its continuing concern over the number, intensity and interrelationships among conflicts in Africa, and especially the emergence of new conflicts during the past year such as the border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the resurgence of conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the impasses in Angola's peace process, continued violence in Sierra Leone, and the complex emergencies in Somalia and Sudan. Concrete Steps to Secretary-General's Recommendations The Security Council noted that through the work of its ad hoc working group, comprised of all council members, it has begun to take concrete steps as part of a wider, comprehensive response to the recommendations put forward by the Secretary-General in his report. The council said it has taken action to help strengthen coordination between the UN and regional and subregional organizations in the areas of conflict prevention and the maintenance of peace. It has also worked to strengthen the effectiveness of arms embargoes imposed by the council, and to address the need to support strengthening African peacekeeping capacity. The council encouraged the working group to continue its work in accordance with its mandate and to elaborate further concrete recommendations to the council, particularly concerning the need to stem illicit arms flows to and in Africa; measures to assist host governments in Africa to maintain the security and neutrality of refugee camps; and to enhance the ability of the council to monitor activities authorized by it, but carried out by member states or coalitions of member states. Background and Security Council Activities On 28 May 1998, after considering Mr. Annan's report in April, the council established an ad hoc working group to review the report's recommendations related to the maintenance of international peace and security in Africa. The council also decided to work closely with the OAU and to meet at the ministerial level twice a year. The working group was instructed to prepare a framework for implementation of the Secretary-General's recommendations and submit specific proposals for concrete action for consideration by the council. Three of the six subgroups that were established to look at the main recommendations of the Secretary-General's report have presented texts on their work. On 16 September 1998 the council considered the work of the subgroup dealing with strengthening the effectiveness of council-imposed arms embargoes (see Go Between 71). The council adopted Security Council resolution 1196, which encouraged each member state to consider adopting legislation or other legal measures to make the violation of embargoes established by the council a criminal offense. It also encouraged the chairs of the Security Council committees charged with monitoring arms embargoes in Africa to establish channels of communication with regional and subregional organizations and bodies in addition to other sources of information, including member states, in order to improve the monitoring of arms embargoes. In addition, the council issued a presidential statement (S/PRST/1998/28) based on the work of the subgroup focusing on strengthening Africa's peacekeeping capacity and encouraging increased bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the field of peacekeeping among member states, the UN and the OAU, as well as subregional organizations in Africa. The statement requested the Secretary-General to study ways to improve the availability of logistics for peacekeeping efforts in Africa. The council, which met on 18 September to review the work of the subgroup focusing on regional cooperation, adopted resolution 1197 which urged the Secretary-General to assist in establishing an OAU early-warning system, and in strengthening and making operational the OAU's conflict management centre. The three subgroups that have not yet concluded their work are focusing on: measures to assist host governments in maintaining the security and neutrality of refugee camps; arms flows, particularly with regard to suppliers and intermediaries; and enhancing the capacity of the Security Council to monitor activities authorized by it. Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Meeting On 23 September 1998 Mr. Annan convened an informal meeting of foreign ministers of the DAC, within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in order to highlight priority areas in meeting Africa's economic challenges. All governments represented reaffirmed their support for the recommendations in the Secretary-General's April report, particularly for the five priority areas. These areas include the need to increase the volume and improve the quality of official development assistance (ODA); consider converting all remaining official bilateral debt owed by the poorest African countries into grants; liberalize access to the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative; ease access conditions for African exports; and encourage investments in Africa. At the same time, the governments stressed that African states should work to create enabling environments for investment and economic growth. GA Considers Secretary-General's Report On 9 October 1998, Mr. Annan reported to the General Assembly on concrete follow-up steps he had taken to facilitate the implementation of recommendations he had made in his April report. "While the burden of responsibility for Africa's fate lies in African hands," he said, "Africa's development partners can also do more and do better to assist Africa's struggle for lasting prosperity." On that day governments, aware that economic conditions can exacerbate tension and conflict, placed special emphasis on the link between economic matters and causes of conflict in Africa. Among the main issues raised in the GA debate was the need for the international community to support efforts of African states toward establishing democratic societies, and promoting respect for human rights by softening the financial situation of Africa by reducing or eliminating the external debt burden and opening international markets to African products. Other issues that governments highlighted for priority consideration were the following: -- look at the root causes of conflicts such as the imbalance of political, socio-economic or cultural opportunities among different groups, the lack of legitimacy and effective governance, and the absence of effective mechanisms for the peaceful reconciliation of group interests; -- examine the social and economic consequences of violent conflict on women; -- facilitate private sector development in Africa; -- increase the flexibility of the HIPC Initiative; -- provide post-conflict peace-building and rehabilitation assistance; -- provide technical capacity building; -- increase ODA; -- invest in human capital, physical infrastructure and the provision of credit; -- reduce African states' defence budgets and arms purchases; -- combat the proliferation of deadly diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS; -- curb the illicit flow of small arms; -- protect the neutrality of refugee camps; and -- address potential trouble spots at an early stage and strengthen early warning capacities. In its statement to the General Assembly the International Committee of the Red Cross, citing its experience in the field, drew attention to the need for governments to adhere to humanitarian norms in crisis situations and to restore respect for universal humanitarian principles. It noted that a new dimension aggravating the situation is the increasing "privatization" of war, or the appearance of forces depending on private groups or individuals over whom state authorities have little or no influence. High-Level Panel on African Development The UN Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on African Development, which consists of 16 members from African and developed countries as well as African regional organizations, met at UN headquarters on 15 October 1998 to exchange views on Mr. Annan's report on The Causes of Conflict and the Promotion of Durable Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa. The panel, established in December 1992, serves as the Secretary-General's "think-tank" on critical issues in African development. When discussing the report the panel focused on three sets of recommendations: reduction of external debt, opening up of international markets to African products, and harmonization of bilateral and multilateral initiatives on Africa. "Your deliberations on all these issues deserve, and will get, our fullest attention," the Secretary-General told the panel. "They will be a source of inspiration and encouragement as we explore ways for the United Nations to work with African countries and their development partners towards a stronger Africa." Members of the panel from developed countries include James H. Michel, Chairman, Development Assistance Committee, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); and Poul Nielson, Minister for Development Cooperation, Denmark. Members from African countries include Guy Alain Gauze, Minister for External Trade, C“te d'Ivoire; and F.N. Ginwala, Speaker of the National Assembly, South Africa. Other members of the panel are Salim Ahmed Salim, Secretary-General, Organization of African Unity (OAU); and Omar Kabbaj, President of the African Development Bank. Attending as ex-officio members are James Gustave Speth, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs; Rubens Ricupero, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); and K.Y. Amoako, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). UNCTAD: THE LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES 1998 REPORT As a group, the 48 countries designated as least developed by the United Nations recorded another solid performance in 1997. Preliminary estimates released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in The Least Developed Countries 1998 Report show that the growth of gross domestic product in 1997 averaged 4.8% in the least developed countries (LDCs), compared with 3.2% for the world economy as a whole. There were considerable regional variations underlying the aggregate figures. Asian and African least developed countries in particular suffered declines in their growth rates, attributable to poor weather conditions and effects of the financial crisis in many of the fastest-growing Asian economies. Declining commodity prices also undermined African growth. However, a number of LDCs continued to experience a relatively high level of growth. Among them were Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Mozambique and Uganda. Apart from Bangladesh, in each of them growth depended less on agricultural expansion than on output in the industrial sector (in Lesotho and Uganda) or in services (in Ethiopia and Mozambique). The key question facing LDCs today is whether their overall improved economic performance of recent years can be sustained given their continued vulnerability to external shocks, adverse weather conditions, and sharp fluctuations in the prices of their exports. Bad Weather and Lack of Export Diversification In 1997, the effects of the El Ni¤o weather system resulted in widespread crop failures and consequent food shortages. The output of essential cash crops was also reduced. Governments were thus obliged to divert expenditure from investment in infrastructure and manufacturing to the more immediately pressing needs of disaster relief and food procurement. The outlook is even more foreboding, said the report. Devastating floods in Bangladesh and above-average rainfall in Bhutan and Nepal in 1998, as well as hurricane damage in Haiti, foreshadow further difficulties in 1999. The floods that covered as much as two-thirds of Bangladesh are expected to restrict growth severely at least for the foreseeable future. What makes the LDCs especially vulnerable to the vagaries of the weather and world commodity prices is their lack of export diversification. Over the past decade, most LDCs' exports have been limited to two or three products, almost all of which are sold in raw or semi-processed form. Of the 28 LDCs for which there are comparable export data, only five reduced their commodity dependence during the decade. Twenty-six of the 28 countries continue to depend on commodities for over 70% of their export revenues. Their continuing overall good economic performance notwithstanding, the LDCs' relative share in world production and trade has remained minuscule. Moreover, their integration into world trade has declined over the past decade compared with that of other developing countries. Output in 1996 of the LDCs represented less than 1% of world gross domestic product while their export share (in 1995, the latest available figure) was only 0.4%, down from 0.5% in the period 1985-1990. Asian Financial Crisis Has Mixed Effect In Africa a particularly unfavourable mix of depressed agricultural commodity prices (except for the prices of some tropical beverages, which showed substantial increases), the worst weather conditions this century, and continuing armed conflicts were responsible for the slowdown that affected many of the 33 LDCs on the continent. Thus, while most parts of the world economy enjoyed greater price stability during 1997, significant declines in the export prices of agricultural raw materials resulting largely from the Asian crisis hit African LDCs disproportionately hard. The sharp declines in oil prices, which saw a near 40% slump during 1997, severely affected Angola and Yemen, two oil-exporting LDCs. In consequence, these could expect gross domestic product (GDP) declines of up to 20% in 1998. On the other hand for the majority of LDCs, heavily dependent for energy supplies on imported oil, the net effect of the oil price drop on balance of payments accounts was positive. FDI Increase Masks Shortage of Private Capital "The latest figures for FDI [foreign direct investment] inflows to the LDCs have been encouraging," according to UNCTAD. "In 1996, FDI reached US$2 billion, almost double the US$1.1 billion recorded the previous year. It should be noted, though, that a disproportionately large share went into capital-intensive oil and mining-related activities in a few countries." As a group LDCs in 1997 received only 1.5% of FDI flows to developing countries. And, as a percentage of total inflows worldwide, their share was a minute 0.5%, illustrating the scale of the task ahead in mobilizing capital at a time of continuing declines in grant aid and for some a heavy foreign debt overhang. Despite the current efforts of UNCTAD and other international bodies to promote FDI and other capital flows to LDCs, investment capital in almost all of these countries, from both domestic and foreign sources, remain in short supply. "FDI and domestic savings rates in LDCs are generally too low to sustain rates of growth that would have a significant, economy-wide impact," according to UNCTAD. Official development assistance flows to LDCs have not compensated for the negligible private capital flows, despite the efforts of some donor countries to focus particular attention on the poorest countries in their aid programmes. Measured as a percentage of the total gross national product of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donor countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in 1996 aid to the LDCs as a group declined to 0.05%, down from 0.06% the previous year. This severe shortage of external finance in the LDCs must be seen against the background of a debt picture that remains "very grim, despite a slight fall in the total outstanding external debt," according to UNCTAD. In 1996, the combined external debt of the 48 countries concerned stood at US$134 billion a full 90% of their combined GDP down from US$136 billion in 1995. Contact: Chandra Kant Patel, Officer-in-Charge, Office of the Special Coordinator for Least Developed, Landlocked, and Island Developing Countries, UNCTAD, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/907 5893 or 917 5892, fax +41-22/907 0046, e-mail . THIRD COMMITTEE COMPLETES VIENNA+5 REVIEW "The next century should be an age of prevention of human rights violations, as actions always come too late for victims," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson told the General Assembly's Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) as it began a review from 2-3 November 1998 of implementation and follow-up to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (VDPA), adopted at the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights. The five-year review was primarily intended to assist in analysis of the practical impact of the VDPA, which was adopted by 171 countries participating in the conference and included contributions from 95 international organizations and about 900 NGOs. The review assessed progress toward the goal of universal ratification of international human rights treaties and protocols adopted within the framework of the UN, and also served the role of contributing to the identification of persistent challenges to the full implementation of international human rights standards that remain in all countries. The Third Committee had before it a note by the Secretary-General transmitting Ms. Robinson's final report on implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (A/53/372). Among the major points made by the report are the need for states that have not ratified the core human rights treaties to do so. The report recalled that the VDPA forged consensus around the concept of interdependence between democracy, development and human rights. Without sustainable development strategies and domestic action, it noted, human rights cannot be fully realized. The report, which also highlighted the effect of rapid economic growth, noted that the gap between developed and developing countries remains unacceptably wide and developing countries continue to face difficulties participating in the globalization process. Progress in the elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance was cited by the report, which noted in particular the end of apartheid in South Africa. However, Ms. Robinson also highlighted examples of genocide that have occurred in the five years since the 1993 Vienna conference. The report found that women continue to be disproportionally subjected to violations of human rights such as domestic violence, brutalization in war, harmful traditional practices, and outright female infanticide. Millions of victims of human rights violations have also been children. The Vienna+5 review process provided for neither regional nor preparatory committee meetings, nor did it provide for a special session of the General Assembly, as was the case with other world conference review processes. Unlike global conferences and some of the assembly's special sessions, the rules of procedure of regular General Assembly meetings do not allow for the participation of NGOs. NGOs were dismayed to discover that they would not be able to formally participate in the Third Committee's review, especially considering the major role they played in the 1993 conference and the provision in the VDPA that calls upon NGOs, as well as governments and inter-governmental organizations, to participate in the follow-up review. Therefore a special meeting was organized on 3 November at which NGOs were able to present their views on the review to UN member states. The meeting was chaired by Ms. Robinson and Bakr‚ Ndiaye, Director of the New York office of the High Commissioner. Nineteen NGOs made statements regarding both the lack of mechanisms for NGO input into the Vienna+5 process, and specific substantive issues related to VDPA follow-up and implementation. Among issues highlighted by NGOs were the core importance of emphasizing the indivisibility of human rights, including social and economic as well as civil and political rights; the importance of the High Commissioner and member states fighting against efforts by states to limit the applicability of human rights instruments on the basis of cultural or economic constraints; and the lack of mechanisms for monitoring implementation of the VDPA. NGOs asked the High Commissioner to publish occasional reports on the compliance of particular member states at the request of special bodies and to push for the ratification of all human rights instruments; requested that NGOs be included in official plans for monitoring implementation of the VDPA given their extensive knowledge both of human rights law, VDPA commitments and specific country contexts; urged passage of the draft UN Human Rights Defenders Declaration; underlined the importance of freedom of association; and drew attention to the fact that there appears to be a trend of narrowing the political space in which civil society can function. On 19 November the Third Committee adopted a draft resolution on comprehensive implementation of and follow up to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (A/C.3/53/L.65), which has been sent to plenary for final adoption. The resolution reaffirmed that human rights and fundamental freedoms are the birthright of all human beings; their protection and promotion is the first responsibility of governments; and all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. It welcomed steps taken over the past five years at both national and international levels to implement recommendations made by the World Conference on Human Rights. However it said deep concerns remain about the wide gap that continues to exist between the promise of human rights and their promotion and protection worldwide, and about denials and violations of human rights civil, cultural, economic, political and social including the right to development. The resolution reaffirmed the important role of NGOs in the promotion of all human rights and in humanitarian activities at the national, regional and international levels. It recognized NGO contributions to increasing public awareness of human rights issues and promoting protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. The resolution declared its commitment to the fulfilment of the VDPA, and welcomed the agreed conclusions of the Economic and Social Council (1998/2) on coordinated follow-up to and implementation of the VDPA. It called for the full implementation of the VDPA and reaffirmed that it continues to constitute a solid foundation for further action and initiatives by states, the UN and other relevant intergovernmental bodies and organizations, as well as concerned national institutions and NGOs. The resolution also called upon states to take further action with a view to the full realization of all human rights for all in the light of recommendations from the 1993 conference. The General Assembly will continue its consideration of this issue at its 54th session in 1999. Contact: Dzidek Kedzia, Senior Advisor to the High Commissioner, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 9137, fax +41-22/917 0004. REALITY OF AID 1998/1999: GAP BETWEEN COMMITMENTS AND REALITY The Reality of Aid 1998/1999, published by Eurostep, Norwegian People's Aid and the International Council for Voluntary Agencies (ICVA), says that aid to the poorest countries is at its lowest level in a decade. Among other things, the report outlines the key ingredients it stresses are necessary to make progress toward the goal of poverty eradication, as well as practical steps to take. "If policies were programmes and promises were dollars, The Reality of Aid could report great progress on the road to eradicating global poverty this year," according to the book's summary. "But at a time when donors acknowledge that ending poverty is possible, it seems that commitments are being offered instead of resources and real change." It says that world aid fell from US$55.4 billion in 1996 to US$47.6 billion in 1997. This 14.2% decline in cash means a fall in real terms of 7.1%. In order to make progress toward the goal of poverty eradication, the book says the key ingredients necessary are: -- shared responsibility between developed and developing countries; -- developing country ownership, participation and civil society engagement; -- coherence (aid must be linked to economic, financial and other measures in favour of the developing countries); -- donor coordination; and -- political will and credibility. Over the last two years donors have focused at policy level on the OECD-DAC's Shaping the 21st Century (see Go Between 58) strategy and the international development targets, which are drawn from a broader set of internationally-agreed goals. The strategy and targets were recognized by The Reality of Aid in 1997 as worthy goals that are helping to reinforce the increased policy level focus on poverty. But the question this year, according to the book, is: Where is the evidence of real commitment to poverty eradication? It says that in the two years since the Shaping the 21st Century strategy was endorsed, a "yawning gap" has appeared between commitments, policies and realities. To correct this, the book says aid levels need to be commensurate with the eradication of poverty; credible measures are needed that show donor contributions to the eradication of poverty; there must be shared North/South responsibility for meeting commitments on basic health and education; a shift in government preoccupation is needed particularly among Group of Seven members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) away from an overwhelming focus on economics toward the human impact of policy; and approaches to development cooperation must be based on genuine partnership. The Reality of Aid outlines what it describes as practical steps that donors could take now to promote real partnership and developing country ownership. "For example," it says, "they could arrange Consultative Group meetings in recipient countries making them more accessible to the people whose lives are being discussed. Such actions would be visible evidence of a change in approach." First, changes in spending patterns need to reflect developmental, not political or commercial priorities. While aid agencies and relevant ministries may be signed on to the Shaping the 21st Century strategy, efforts by aid agencies are constantly undermined by donor governments' other interests. "The time has come," says the report, "to close the wide gap between what ministers say about aid and what is actually done. A coherent approach to poverty demands an end to fragmentation of political responsibility for development cooperation." Second, a political and economic environment that sustains efforts at poverty reduction is needed. Debt, terms of trade, and increasing loss of control on the movement of capital flows, labour conditions and other crucial factors for economic development mean greater global inequality. These also severely undermine the ability of aid to contribute to poverty eradication. "Donors' concern about good governance' in poor countries," says The Reality of Aid, "needs to be matched by concern for removing some of the structural obstacles in the global economy to reducing poverty." Third, attention needs to be given to gender as a mainstream issue in poverty eradication. Focus on women in development as a policy issue has increased. However given the fundamental importance of gender to eliminating poverty, it is by no means evident that awareness among policy makers and aid administrators has moved beyond checklists, workshops and training to become a part of people's everyday approach. "Gender needs to become a matter of reflex, not a checklist item," says the report, "nor an add-on late in the planning process." Finally, the book calls for increased engagement with civil society in both the North and South as part of the partnership for poverty eradication. In the South, donors and Southern governments need to increase their capacity to engage with civil society organizations, which implies greater access to information. It also involves paying more attention to human rights and allowing poor people and their organizations the political space to define their own agenda and participate in the political process. In the North, public commitment to reducing poverty is as strong as ever, according to the report. Governments need to work with community organizations and civil society groups to ensure that everybody can play a part in national contributions to global poverty eradication. The Reality of Aid 1998-1999 is the sixth in a series of annual reports that provides an independent review of OECD aid. This year's report, which also features chapters on the aid policies of each OECD country as well as the European Union, focuses on basic education. The report includes tables, graphs and charts on the quantity and quality of official aid from the member countries of the Development Assistance Committee. The 1998-1999 report also includes perspectives on aid from NGOs in Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Kenya, Namibia, Nepal, Peru, the Philippines, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Latin America. Contact: Earthscan Publications, 120 Pentonville Road, London N1 9JN, United Kingdom, telephone +44-171/278 0433, fax +44-171/278 1142, e-mail , website (www.earthscan.co.uk). CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS PROTEST UN FINANCIAL CRISIS On 23 October 1998, the eve of United Nations Day, NGOs and concerned individuals held a third worldwide vigil aimed at making "the broader public aware of the UN's deep financial problem, getting people thinking about ways to solve it, and exposing the non-payers that are the main cause of the crisis particularly the government of the US that owes two-thirds of all the UN's debts." Organizers of the vigil included the Global Policy Forum, United Nations Association-USA, World Federalist Movement, Federation of International Civil Servants' Associations, Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations, Department of Public Information/NGO Executive Committee, and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. The first vigil in 1996 included events in 32 cities worldwide, while the vigil the following year included events in 45 cities on five continents. In 1998 a total of 43 events were held, 16 of which were located in the United States. These included a large vigil in Washington DC, as well as vigils in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and in New York. Eight vigils were held in Canada as well as in Australia, Cuba, Cyprus, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, France, Ghana, India, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Surinam and the United Kingdom. "Pay Dues on Time, in Full and Without Condition" In a letter to US Ambassador A. Peter Burleigh, vigil organizers said the precarious state of the UN's finances are due to the failure of member states, and especially the US, to pay their dues and assessments owed as a treaty obligation. As of 30 September 1998, member states owed the UN over US$2.5 billion, including US$1.8 billion for peacekeeping, US$683 million for the regular UN budget, and US$22 million for international tribunals. At the end of September the United States debt stood at US$1.6 billion for past and 1998 payments, over half of the total owed to the UN. On 3 November the United States paid US$197 million to the UN to complete payment of its 1998 assessments for the organization's regular budget and peacekeeping costs, allowing the US to keep its vote in the General Assembly (see Go Between 70). The vigil organizers noted that while they are eager to see the arrears paid, they were relieved that the US Congress' "Helms-Biden agreement" had not become the basis for arrears funding. "The agreement," they said, "addresses only partially the outstanding sums and it does so with dozens of unilateral conditions that are offensive to the international community and seek to impose the will of the United States government on the entire UN membership. We find these conditions unacceptable and we call for the United States government to pay its dues immediately, in accordance with UN regulations: on time, in full and without condition." Legislation Vetoed The vigil was held just days after US President Bill Clinton vetoed legislation passed by the nation's Congress authorizing payments to the UN but with language attached to it by Republicans, which would affect international family planning programmes. When explaining his veto on the bill Mr. Clinton said, "The Congress persisted in tying our United Nations dues to unrelated and controversial social provisions, which endanger the health of women and deny them even basic information about family planning, even though studies show that countries where women have access to strong family planning actually have fewer abortions." He noted that current law "already prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for abortion abroad and for lobbying on abortion issues." The vetoed bill would go further, he said, by denying US support to NGOs that use their own funds to perform abortions. Congressional conservatives have targeted the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in particular, claiming that it has supported coercive population control policies in China, including abortion. They have also voted to condition any attempt to pay US arrears on barring American funds for international family planning organizations that lobby governments to ease anti-abortion laws. Family Planning Programmes Weakened Dr. Nafis Sadik, UNFPA Executive Director, said that "the United States decision is misguided from the point of view of all those, including UNFPA, who seek to minimize abortion. At the very time when individual demand for family planning is rising all over the world, it will weaken family planning programmes and increase the use of abortion to avoid unwanted births....In one year alone, the impact of the United States decision to withdraw funding from UNFPA will be to deprive 870,000 women of effective modern contraception. Over 520,000 will end up not using any method. Non-use and use of ineffective methods will result in 500,000 unwanted pregnancies resulting in 234,000 unwanted births and 200,000 abortions." Dr. Sadik also noted that the US decision to withdraw funding from UNFPA was misguided from the point of view of those who, like UNFPA, wish to promote reproductive health and rights in China. "The new UNFPA programme in China," she said, "was carefully designed to ensure respect for the human rights norms agreed by 180 nations at the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994, including the vital principle of individual decision on the size and spacing of the family....It was approved early this year by the 36 nations that comprise UNFPA's Executive Board, including the United States." "Great Nations Keep Their Word" In an address in Washington DC to the organization Empower America on 19 October 1998, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan criticized the US government for failing to pay anything more than a token amount to the United Nations to preserve its voting rights at the UN. "It appears," he said, "that the United States will squeak by, paying just enough to avoid losing its vote in the General Assembly....While the United States will avoid this fate for this year, on the larger question its legal commitment and its moral obligation to the United Nations and the 184 other member states the United States will have failed." He added that "great nations keep their word. They do not inflict wounds on their own prestige or undermine their claim to leadership at crucial moments in world affairs." For information about the vigil, contact: Global Policy Forum, 777 UN Plaza, Suite 7G, New York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/557 3161, fax +1-212/557 3165, e-mail , website (www.globalpolicy.org). NGO PERSPECTIVES ON GLOBALIZATION Some 80 NGO representatives attended an international symposium on Perspectives on Globalization, organized by Swissaid in Fribourg (Switzerland). The meeting, held on 29-30 October 1998, focused on various aspects of globalization including political and ideological dimensions, NGO campaigns against international negotiations on investment, grassroots responses to the global trading regime, food security, and alternative development models. New Constraints of Globalization Professor Riccardo Petrella of Louvain University (Belgium) said global economic elites are trying to present the "new constraints" that current forms of globalization impose on societies and the environment as "inevitable" and the result of the "natural" course of human history. These new constraints include pressure on governments to adopt policies that comply with the "discipline" imposed by financial markets; pressure on firms to increase their capitalization, which benefit large corporations and mergers but work against the survival of small and medium-sized enterprises; pressures induced by the acceleration of competition-driven technological innovations, which are leading to an increasingly wasteful rate of obsolescence of produced goods and services; and increased pressure on workers to constantly "perform" and demonstrate their "employability," which Prof. Petrella said disregards people's basic right to work. He said there is no "conspiracy of globalization;" parliaments around the world have voluntarily "dispossessed themselves" of much of the state's regulatory powers and democratic representation. He argued these are increasingly handed over to the discretionary "good will" of private economic entities through, for example, the promotion of private sector-led voluntary codes of conduct. International Campaign Against the MAI However, Prof. Petrella argued that none of these trends are inevitable, and cited the recent success of the international campaign against the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) negotiated at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). He said the campaign demonstrates what can be achieved through alliances between "militant intellectuals" and civil society when "citizens are determined to act." Michael Windfuhr, of Foodfirst Information and Action Network, said the success of the international MAI campaign was due to the fact that it mobilized a large cross-sector alliance of civil society organizations in many OECD countries and resulted in widespread mobilization of citizens. He said that while it is governments that eventually stalled the negotiations, the campaign played a key role in alerting not only the general public but government ministries and members of parliament, many of whom were not aware of the negotiations or the proposed content of the agreement. Mr. Windfuhr also stressed the important role played by some local authorities, such as in the United States and Germany, that unilaterally declared their jurisdictions "MAI-free zones." He added that one of the strengths of the international campaign was its decentralized structure, whereby most of its information activities took place over the Internet. Toward a "Stakeholder Economy?" David Korten, of the People-Centered Development Forum based in the United States, said the title of his book When Corporations Rule the World is no longer a valid description of recent trends in the world economy. He said the "real economy" has been affected dramatically by the growing power of financial markets, to which "now even transnational corporations are held captive." Since financial markets have grown accustomed to 20%-30% returns on high-risk speculative ventures, he argued, corporate executives are pressured to restructure their operations to provide comparable returns on their investments. Mr. Korten contrasted a market economy based on "human scale" enterprises and a "global capitalist economy," which supports a small minority involved in "pure money games" at the expense of the majority doing "real productive work." He called for efforts to move away from the "absentee ownership" that he said characterizes a shareholder economy towards a "stakeholder economy," which is rooted in people's control over the local economic and social fabric. He said this would help ensure that "when money flows across borders, it serves real trade in goods and services, and real investments that will improve people's lives." Globalization and Food Security Participants also discussed food security issues in relation to the international regime in trade and agriculture, and the trade-related intellectual property rights (TRIPS) regime at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Sophia Murphy from the US-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy said current forms of globalization go against basic textbook requirements for markets to work. The increasing number of mergers and acquisitions in the food sector, she observed, reduces producer and consumer choice and makes it harder to act on market failure. She said the prime emphasis in discussions on competition policy at the WTO so far has been on government-controlled monopolies, while issues related to private monopolies have not been given the critical attention they require. Ms. Murphy added that many local farmers around the world believe they are threatened by the global trading regime and cited the 40-country farmers' coalition Via Campesina, which wants to see agriculture taken out of the WTO purview. She outlined a number of avenues NGOs are exploring on food security, including an international food security convention. Emmanuel Yap of the Philippines-based grassroots organisation Masipag said the farmers' movement in the country, as in a number of others, recently staged a large public demonstration against the TRIPs agreement. He argued the agreement gives rights and powers to transnational agribusiness firms that are undermining small farmers' control over their production methods and seed varieties. Mr. Yap said his organisation is helping to create spaces where farmers can articulate their views and interests and build sustainable food production methods. This includes developing a free seedbank and the rehabilitation of soils through low-cost organic farming methods, which he added have dramatically improved yield performance over the years. Related UN and NGO Meetings Many of the themes discussed at the Swissaid symposium were reflected in a number of other recent UN and NGO meetings (see NGLS Roundup, December 1998-January 1999), notably the Trade and Development Board of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) held on 12-23 October 1998 in Geneva (see page 2); the People's Summit Against the MAI, held on 17-18 October in Paris; the regional European NGO Forum on preparations for the five-year review of the Social Summit, held on 5-6 November in Paris; and NGO sessions held during UNCTAD's Partners for Development summit on 9-12 November in Lyon (France). For information on the Fribourg meeting, contact: Swissaid, 60 Jubil„msstrasse, CH-3000 Bern 6, Switzerland, telephone +41-31/351 3311, fax +41-31/351 2783, e-mail . PUBLICATIONS AND ONLINE Yearbook of International Co-operation on Environment and Development This yearbook aims to demonstrate the status of collaboration on sustainable development, the main obstacles to effective international solutions and how to overcome them. It assesses the achievements and shortcomings of international cooperation and helps the reader distinguish between rhetoric and reality. Available from: Earthscan Publications, 120 Pentonville Road, London N1 9JN, United Kingdom, fax +44-171/278 1142, e-mail , website (www.earthscan.co.uk). Programme for Development of Africa Website This UN website includes information on the New Agenda for Development of Africa in the 1990s (NADAF); a calendar of meetings on Africa and the least developed countries (LDCs); briefs and reports on meetings relating to African development; information from the UN Special Coordinator for Africa and the LDCs; publications such as the Africa Recovery journal; links to the African bureaus of the UN Development Programme and the UN Children's Fund; Africa resources from the UN University; the Internet in Africa programme of the UN I