I am honoured to speak on behalf of the European Union.
The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Armenia and Georgia, align themselves with this statement.
The European Union thanks the Secretariat for the comprehensive report of the Economic and Social Council. It is indeed useful to have in one place this compilation of all activities, resolutions and decisions of the Council.
We congratulate the President of the Council, Ambassador Lucas, for her skilful and productive leadership of the Council.
Mr. President,
The European Union would like to take this opportunity to reiterate its full support for the Economic and Social Council as the principal organ to coordinate economic, social, and related work of the UN and the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues. The report before us shows the broad scope of the activities of the Council. I will in this statement comment on some of the activities and achievements of the Council during its substantive session last July. I will also make a few comments on the working methods of the Council.
First, on an overall note, I would like express the appreciation of the European Union for the constructive spirit that prevailed during the negotiations in the Council. Good results were achieved and, with just a few exceptions, consensus agreements could be reached on the many resolutions that were tabled during the session.
The High-level Segment of ECOSOC last July was a milestone for the recognition of the importance of global public health for economic and social development. Never before has global public health been discussed at that level in the UN system. And the Ministerial Declaration on Global Public Health, which was adopted by consensus by the Council, creates new opportunities to take forward health issues in ECOSOC and other parts of the UN System. The EU will continue to be a key actor in joint efforts to tackle global health problems, including those aggravated by gender inequality and the current financial and economic crisis. We will maintain our commitment to global health for all.
The discussions in the High-level Segment stayed focused on the theme of the segment and benefited greatly from active participation of member states, UN organizations, other international organizations and civil society. ECOSOC showed in this segment its usefulness as a high-level forum for debating key issues in the economic, social and related fields.
The European Union recognizes the central role of ECOSOC in promoting the integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major UN conferences. We appreciate the discussion in the Coordination Segment on the periodicity of the Secretary General’s report on this subject and we look forward to the further review of this issue in the Council.
The European Union welcomes the Council resolution on the implementation of system-wide reforms in the UN operational activities for development within the context of the TCPR. The resolution gives key guidance to further reforms in this area. The European Union underscores the importance of strengthened support by the United Nations system to national development priorities. In this regard, the EU reiterates its support for Delivering as One and is pleased to see that this approach is being replicated in an increasing number of countries on their request.
The European Union also welcomes the Council’s adoption by consensus of the resolution on emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations. This resolution sends a clear message of global unity around the humanitarian agenda. The interactive dialogue during the humanitarian segment with high-level participation from the UN System and with member states participating from capitals proved to be very useful and could serve as a model for future deliberations in the Council.
Today’s increasingly complex humanitarian challenges calls for a deeper and more engaged global partnership on international emergency humanitarian assistance, involving the United Nations, its Member States and all relevant regional organizations and humanitarian actors. The European Union remains firmly committed to this global partnership.
The European Union appreciates the adoption of the resolution on the Global Jobs Pact in line with para 58 of the outcome document from the June Conference on the world financial and economic crisis and its impact on development. The resolution highlights the crucial importance of employment and a well-functioning labour market in the efforts to limit the negative impact of the economic and financial crisis. We call on the UN System to follow-up this resolution.
The European Union also welcomes the resolution on a strengthened and more effective process for the follow-up to the Monterrey Consensus and the Doha Declaration. The resolution will contribute to improved quality of discussion, increased interaction and enhanced cooperation between all stakeholders. We reaffirm our commitment to stay fully engaged in this process, including through our active participation in the Special high-level meeting of ECOSOC with the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization and UNCTAD, a critical vehicle for strengthening the dialogue between the UN and the key stakeholders. The EU also looks forward to participating in the deliberations on financing for development in the Second Committee and at the High-level Dialogue of the General Assembly on 23-24 November. The High-level Dialogue should focus on substantive issues, in particular new challenges and emerging issues, while reaffirming the holistic approach of Monterrey and Doha.
The European Union is pleased with the action that the Council took as a follow-up to the outcome of the Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development. The EU is now actively engaging in the consultations on the three reports of the Secretary-General that were mandated by ECOSOC in its oral decision on 31 July, and we stand ready to review progress of these discussions at a resumed substantive session of ECOSOC before the end of this year in accordance with the decision.
The training institutes of the UN play an important role in advancing the know-how and coherence of individual agencies and their staff. The EU welcomes ECOSOC’s reaffirmation of reforms in the UN System Staff College and UNITAR and its support for results-based management in these institutions.
Unfortunately, and as the European Union stated in the Council, we see a negative trend in the working of the NGO Committee. We are concerned that the guiding principles for granting ECOSOC consultative status are gradually being undermined. Civil society actors should be allowed to support and enrich the work of the UN by providing perspectives that complement and sometimes differ from those of the Member States. The EU urges the members of the NGO Committee to work together to defend and uphold the guiding principles agreed by the UN Member States in resolution 1996/31.
Important steps have been taken to improve the effectiveness and relevance of ECOSOC. We saw good results of this during the July session in Geneva. But more needs to be done. Further clarity is needed regarding the division of labour between ECOSOC and the General Assembly in order to focus the agenda of ECOSOC on issues where the Council can add value.
It would also be useful to look into the allocation of items to the different segments of the substantive session, for instance to avoid overlaps.
There is a worrying trend of introducing draft resolutions at a very late stage. This creates difficulties for delegations, particularly the smaller ones, to prepare for the consultations on the drafts and risks leading to poor quality decisions. Before any consideration of changing the rules of procedure, the EU would urge better discipline in this regard.
Furthermore, we all need to make greater efforts in adhering to the assigned deadlines for each segment of the ECOSOC. For example, the negotiations on the two resolutions for the Coordination Segment were not concluded until two weeks after the segment was over. This creates difficulties for delegations to participate effectively in the negotiations and, again, risks leading to poor quality decisions.
An inherent problem with the organization of work of the substantive session of the Council is that negotiations on resolutions take place in parallel with the plenary meetings, panel discussions, round tables etc. Many delegates that could contribute to an interactive and fruitful debate in the plenary sessions are tied up in negotiations. It is difficult to see how this problem can be fully solved, but better discipline in tabling resolutions in time and in keeping deadlines for the segments would help to minimize the problem.
The European Union stands ready to discuss these and other ways of improving the working methods of the Council.
Thank you.
* Croatia and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.