EU Presidency Statement - Major UN conferences and summits - ECOSOC

Mr. President,

I have the honor to speak on behalf of the European Union. The acceding countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and the countries associated with the EU - Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey - as well as the Efta countries of Iceland and Liechtenstein have aligned themselves with this statement.

The coordination segment of the Economic and Social Council is taking place in the wake of the positive outcome of the Ad-hoc Working Group of the General Assembly on the integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the major UN Conferences and Summits in the economic and social fields. Although our task was not easy, we succeeded in reaching an agreement based on our common goal to capitalize on the momentum originated by the UN Conferences and Summits of the last decade. Our focus was on implementation and on making the best possible use of existing institutions. Our guidelines were a vision of a world in which international relations are built on a strong and credible multilateral system. At this point we have established a direction and a program of work that commits the entire membership to make progress on these issues.

Mr. President,

The working group's debates have clearly shown the broad consensus that exists on ECOSOC's pivotal role in system-wide coordination and in promoting integrated, coordinated implementation of and follow-up to major UN Conferences and Summits. This was a foregone conclusion, since ECOSOC has been working on the coordinated, integrated approach to major UN Conferences and Summits for many years. In 1995, midway through a decade characterized by UN Conferences and Summits, ECOSOC launched a major effort to coordinate activities in this area. As a result, we are now in a better position to draw on the experiences of recent years. Subsequent Conferences have not only recognized ECOSOC's important role but also mandated it to play a major role. Concurrent with this emphasis on its role, the Council has been assigned more crucial tasks in light of the policy guidance emanating from the Millennium Summit, the Monterrey Consensus and the outcome of the WSSD.

Mr. President,

In its deliberations, the recently concluded AHWG invited the Functional Commissions to contribute actively to the assessment of cross-sectoral thematic issues at future coordination segments, which would lend new energy to ECOSOC's work. In this respect, we value positively the participation of the chairs of the functional Commissions in the discussions of the cross thematic issue in the Council. The various Commissions have been asked to review their methods of work, and we have strong expectations of the results. The new path being taken by the Commission on Sustainable Development, for example, shows how innovation can lead to more targeted, productive work that keeps the UN at the focus of the initiatives and attention of Governments, civil society and other stakeholders.

The General Assembly in adopting the resolution prepared by the AHWG has given the ECOSOC the role of the agora' where inputs from the regional Commissions, the whole UN System including BWIs and WTO, CEB, UNDG, NGO and private sector will converge for enhanced system wide coordination to achieve an integrated, coordinated implementation of and follow-up to major UN Conferences and Summits.

On the subject of the General Assembly, another important achievement of the AHWG has been to strengthen UN cohesiveness by fostering stronger interaction and coordination between ECOSOC and the GA. This coming fall will be a crucial moment since we will be called to work together in trying to make the work of the GA and its Second and Third Committees more focused, visible and politically relevant to the implementation of and follow-up to major UN Conferences and Summits.

Mr. President,

To achieve the Millennium Declaration Goals as well as the objectives of the other major UN Conferences and Summits it will take sustained political attention, a strong sense of commitment and an unwavering dedication at both the national and international levels. The European Union believes that the major appointment awaiting us in 2005 will strengthen our common will to focus on implementation based on a comprehensive review of the progress achieved. In this context, ECOSOC's contribution will be crucial to the success of the event.

Mr. President,

Let me summarize how we see the tasks of this year's ECOSOC Coordination Segment:

This segment is the forum where ECOSOC has to review the implementation of the outcomes of major UN conferences and assess the achievement of conference goals and targets. In this regard, we have been asked to establish a multiyear work programme for the coordination segment based on a list of cross-sectoral thematic issues.

We hope we can begin a productive discussion of these themes as soon as possible. This is the first step in acting on our common willingness to enable ECOSOC to fulfill its institutional responsibilities of providing system-wide coordination, oversight and policy guidance as well as its analytical role in identifying new and emerging issues.

During the AHWG discussions of the cross-sectoral thematic issues we expressed our preliminary views: means of implementation, the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, should be part of the discussion on every theme as well as the gender related aspects of the themes identified. We also circulated a tentative list of issues to be considered: poverty eradication, human and social development, natural resources and sustainable development, and Africa. This multiyear programme will also enable the UN system and relevant stakeholders to prepare better their contributions to ECOSOC's discussions. In drafting our proposals we sought to be comprehensive, focused and balanced. We are open to suggestions from other delegations and look forward to continue a dialogue on these issues.

In closing, allow me to extend our compliments to the Secretariat for assisting us so competently and efficiently and for a very substantive report which, together with the outcome of the AHWG, provides a sound basis for our deliberations.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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