Followup WG informal document

Bertrand de La Chapelle <bdelachapelle@gmail.com>

The Functional Commissions of ECOSOC

and Summit outcomes implementation

Four ECOSOC Commissions already implement world Summit outcomes :

the Commission on Population and Development handles implementation of Cairo (1994)

the Commission for Social Development implements Copenhagen (1995)

the Commission on the Status of Women implements Beijing (1995 and Beijing +10)

the Commission on sustainable Development implements Rio (Earth Summit 1992) and Johannesburg (2002)

Could the existing “Commission on Science and Technology for Development”, based in Geneva, see its mandate modified to implement Geneva + Tunis (2003-2005) in accordance with the principles of Geneva and the multi-stakeholder approach of Tunis ?

To help verify whether this solution is adapted, you will find below a brief description of the mandates and roles of the main existing commissions.

Commission on Population and Development :

Info at : http://www.un.org/esa/population/cpd/aboutcom.htm

The Commission implements the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD, Cairo, September 1994).

Terms of reference : the Commission assists the Economic and Social Council by :

arranging for studies and advising the Council on issues relevant to population and development

monitoring, reviewing and assessing the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development at the national, regional and global levels, identifying reasons for success and failure, and advising the Council thereon;

Providing appropriate recommendations to the Council on the basis of an integrated consideration of the reports and issues related to the implementation of the Programme of Action

Commission for Social Development

More info : http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/csd/index.html

Since the convening of the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995, the Commission has been the key UN body in charge of the follow-up and implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action. As a result of the Summit, the mandate of the Commission was reviewed and its membership expanded from 32 to 46 members in 1996. It meets once a year in New York, usually in February.

Terms of reference of the Division for Social Policy and Development :

The Division monitors national and global socio-economic trends, helps identify emerging issues, and assesses their implications for social policy at the national and international levels. To this end it:

promotes common norms and develops policies, programmes and cooperative actions aimed at facilitating the implementation in a holistic manner of the goals of the World Summit for Social Development (e.g. eradicating poverty, achieving full employment and strengthening social integration).

provides substantive support to the annual sessions of the Commission for Social Development, and facilitates the negotiation of agreed strategies, resolutions, international standards and norms through the Commission, the Economic and Social Council, the General Assembly or other intergovernmental forums.

supports decision-making and dialogue on goals, strategies, policies and programmes, in particular through strengthening cooperation among all actors concerned with social development, including non-governmental organizations, business groups, unions, academics and civil society.

stresses the promotion of full, productive, appropriately and adequately remunerated and freely chosen employment as a central objective of economic and social policies.

assists developing countries and countries with economies in transition, at their request, to strengthen their capacity for planning and managing their socio-economic development through technical advisory services, training activities (including international workshops and seminars) and field projects

Commission on the Status of Women

Info at : http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/Review/english/news.htm

In the Political Declaration adopted in by the United Nations General Assembly at its twenty-third special session in June 2000, Member States agreed to "assess regularly further implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action with a view to bringing together all parties involved in 2005 to assess progress and consider new initiatives, as appropriate, ten years after the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action".

A review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995), and the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly (2000), is mandated in the multi-year programme of work of the Commission on the Status of Women for its forty-ninth session in March 2005. The Commission will consider two themes:

"Review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly"; and

"Current challenges and forward-looking strategies for the advancement and empowerment of women and girls"

The review and appraisal by the Commission will focus on implementation at national level and identify achievements, gaps and challenges and provide an indication of areas where actions and initiatives, within the framework of the Platform for Action and the outcome of the special session (Beijing+5), are most urgent to further implementation.

Commission on sustainable Development

Info at : http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd13/csd13.htm

The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was established by the UN General Assembly in December 1992 to ensure effective follow-up of United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Earth Summit.

The Commission is responsible for reviewing progress in the implementation of Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development; as well as providing policy guidance to follow up the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) at the local, national, regional and international levels. The JPOI reaffirmed that the CSD is the high-level forum for sustainable development within the United Nations system.

The CSD meets annually in New York, in two-year cycles, with each cycle focusing on clusters of specific thematic and cross-sectoral issues, outlined in its new multi-year programme of work (2003-2017).

Mandate of the CSD :

The role of the Commission as a high level forum on sustainable development, includes:

to review progress at the international, regional and national levels in the implementation of recommendations and commitments contained in the final documents of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), namely: Agenda 21; and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.

to elaborate policy guidance and options for future activities to follow up the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and achieve sustainable development

to promote dialogue and build partnerships for sustainable development with governments, the international community and the major groups identified in Agenda 21 as key actors outside the central government who have a major role to play in the transition towards sustainable development. These Major Groups include women, youth, indigenous peoples, non-governmental organizations, local authorities, workers and trade unions, business and industry, the scientific community, and farmers

Furthermore, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation called for:

Renewed emphasis on integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development in a balanced way

Focus on reviewing and monitoring progress in the implementation through a broad exchange of views and experiences, best practice and lessons learned

Enhanced linkages between global, regional and national endeavors

Integrated process that enhances coherence between the implementation of Agenda 21, initiatives and partnerships

Greater involvement at the regional level

Opportunity to look at new challenges and opportunities in the context of implementation

Innovative methods of work

Broader participation of all stakeholders, particularly UN agencies/international financial institutions and the Major Groups

Greater consideration to scientific contributions

Contributions of educators

Focus on a limited number of issues

Negotiations once every two years

Mandate for the Division of Sustainable Development :

Mission

The Division for Sustainable Development provides leadership and is an authoritative source of expertise within the United Nations system on sustainable development. It promotes sustainable development as the substantive secretariat to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) and through technical cooperation and capacity building at international, regional and national levels. The context for the Division’s work is the implementation of Agenda 21, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and the Barbados Programme of Action for Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States.

Goal

Integration of the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development in policy-making at international, regional and national levels;

Wide-spread adoption of an integrated, cross-sectoral and broadly participatory approach to sustainable development;

Measurable progress in the implementation of the goals and targets of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.

Priority Activities for the Division to Achieve These Goals

Facilitate intergovernmental negotiations, consensus-building and decision-making through the provision of substantive support to the work of the CSD and other related bodies;

Provide technical assistance, expert advice and capacity building to support developing countries and countries with economies in transition in their efforts to achieve sustainable development;

Facilitate inter-agency and inter-organizational cooperation, exchange and sharing of information, and catalyze joint activities and partnerships within the United Nations system and with other international organizations, governments and civil society groups in support of sustainable development;

Promote and facilitate monitoring and evaluation of, and reporting on, the implementation of sustainable development at the national, regional and international levels;

Undertake in-depth strategic analyses to provide policy advice to the USG/DESA, UN system and intergovernmental fora focusing on cross-cutting and emerging sustainable development issues.

Sub-site on Partnerships for Sustainable Development : http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/partnerships/partnerships.htm

Commission on Science and Technology for Development :
Info : http://stdev.unctad.org/unsystem/cstd/index.html

Mandate and Institutional Background

The Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) is a subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). It was established in 1992 as a result of the restructuring and revitalisation of the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields. Through this restructuring, the General Assembly abolished the former Intergovernmental Committee on Science and Technology for Development (IGCSTD) and its subsidiary body, the Advisory Committee on Science and Technology for Development (ACSTD), created at the time of the United Nations Conference on Science and Technology for Development, held in Vienna in 1979, and replaced them by the CSTD.

In 1998, the Council, in a further review of all its functional commissions, decided to introduce a number of changes in its membership, focus and methods of work.

The Commission met for the first time in April 1993 in New York, USA. Since July 1993, the UNCTAD Secretariat has been responsible for the substantive servicing of the Commission. The Commission has subsequently met in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Commission was established to provide the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council with high-level advice on relevant issues through analysis and appropriate policy recommendations or options in order to enable those organs to guide the future work of the United Nations, develop common policies and agree on appropriate actions.

In this context, the Commission acts as a forum for:

the examination of science and technology questions and their implications for development;

the advancement of understanding on science and technology policies, particularly in respect of developing countries and;

the formulation of recommendations and guidelines on science and technology matters within the United Nations system.

Frequency of meetings

The Commission meets annually for a period of one week (ECOSOC resolution 2002/37, reaffirmed in draft Council resolution 2003/31 of 4 June 2003 ).

Functional Commissions of ECOSOC

Bertrand

2005-09-29T06:02:00