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Objectives
of the Special Session
The objectives of the Special Session will be to reaffirm the
Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action; to identify progress
made and constraints encountered; and to recommend concrete actions
and initiatives to further efforts towards full and effective
implementation of the agreements reached at the Summit.
In assessing what has taken place
since Copenhagen, the Special Session will attempt to clarify,
inter alia, current trends in poverty and inequity, including
the apparent growing gap between rich and poor, both within and
among nations; and to understand the relationship between changes
in living conditions and the process of globalization. The Special
Session will also examine current forms of international cooperation
and the role of international institutions in promoting social
progress. This diagnosis should lead to new initiatives for developing
concrete measures and policies to further implement the commitments
made in Copenhagen in 1995.
Intergovernmental process
Commission for Social Development
The Commission for Social Development,
a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council, has
been entrusted with the primary responsibility for the follow-up
to the Summit for follow-up and review of the implementation of
the Declaration and Programme of Action. To this end, its membership
was increased from 32 to 46; it now meets annually instead of
biennially; and its multi-year programme of work for the period
1996-2000 included priority themes addressed by the Summit: eradication
of poverty, promotion of full employment; social integration;
and social services for all. For its next session (February 8-17,
2000), the Commission will have as its priority theme the review
of the implementation of the outcome of the Summit, and will devote
its time to the review and appraisal of national implementation
of the Copenhagen Declaration, and to the identification of obstacles.
This meeting will receive a report
from the Secretary-General based on national reports submitted
since mid 1999. These national reports are important, comprehensive
reviews of progress made by countries in implementing the Copenhagen
commitments.
Preparatory
Committee for the Special Session
 In
setting out the preparatory process for the Special Session, the
General Assembly established in 1997 a Preparatory Committee open
to the participation of all States Members of the United Nations
and members of the specialized agencies. The Committee held its
organizational session in May 1998 and its first substantive session
in May 1999. It initiated discussions on preliminary assessment
of the implementation of the ten commitments and on further initiatives.
It adopted a decision on the role of the United Nations system,
inviting all relevant organs and specialized agencies of the UN
system and other concerned organizations to elaborate and submit
review reports and proposals for further action and initiatives.
A total of 26 reports are expected to be submitted to the Secretariat
by the end of December 1999 for public distribution during January
2000. The Committee also decided on further procedure and preparations
for the Special Session, including the convening of inter-sessional,
open-ended, informal consultations in August/ September 1999 and
February 2000, in order to further the process. Modalities for
accreditation of non-governmental organizations at the Special
Session were also decided.
On recommendation by the Committee,
the General Assembly decided at its fifty-fourth session that
the title of the Special Session would be “World Summit for
Social Development and beyond: achieving social development for
all in a globalizing world”; arrangements regarding participation
of non-governmental organizations in the Special Session was also
decided upon.
The Preparatory Committee will hold its second and last substantive
session from April 3-14, 2000. It will continue its consideration
of the draft outcome of the Special Session, and decide on the
organization of work of the Session.
The General Assembly
Since the Summit, the Assembly conducts
an annual review of progress made on the implementation of the
Copenhagen commitments. The item, considered at plenary meetings,
brings together government representatives for an exchange of
views on the various aspects of social development and report
on implementation of the Summit outcome and trends in social development.
Many interesting reports on national policies and constraints
have been presented.
Issues being addressed and proposed outcome
of the Special Session
At this stage, the document, which
is under negotiation in the Preparatory Committee and which will
become the outcome of the Special Session, contains three parts:
- Political declaration
reaffirming the Copenhagen agreements
- Review and assessment
of implementation
- Further initiatives
In
the part on further initiatives, among the issues under discussion
in the Preparatory Committee are:
- The impact of globalization
on social development
- Increasing market
access for the exports of developing countries and countries
with economies in transition
- Obstacles facing
development in Africa and the least developed countries
- The social consequences
of financial crises
- Additional strategies,
policies and programmes for poverty eradication at the national
and international levels
- Concrete suggestions
for employment generation
- Further action
in the field of social protection
- The social responsibilities
of the private sector
- Role of civil society
in the planning and provision of social services
- Role of volunteering
in the promotion of social integration and social development
- Means to promote
social integration in the context of post-conflict situations
- Achieving the goals
of education for all and universal access to primary health
services
- Means for implementing
a strategy for reducing the human immunodeficiency virus/acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome infection rate in young people
- Assessment by the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank on progress made
in the integration of social development goals into structural
adjustment programmes
- Proposals for additional
and innovative sources to obtain resources for social development
Arrangements made by the Government of
Switzerland
The Government of Switzerland has
been working closely with the United Nations Secretariat in ensuring
that facilities and arrangements for the Special Session at the
Palais des Nations are well in place by June 2000.
In parallel to the intergovernmental
event, the Swiss Government is also organizing the Geneva 2000
Forum Geneva 2000: The next step in social development, which
will provide a platform for exchange and sharing of experiences
through special events such as panel discussions, exhibitions,
workshops etc. organized by non-governmental organizations, and
other interested actors in the development process. The Forum
is expected to attract not only representatives from NGOs, but
also parliamentarians, industry and business groups, trade unions,
academics, citizen interest groups and professional organizations,
as well as governments and intergovernmental organizations. One
of the key events of the Forum will be the Geneva Symposium which
will bring together the main actors of the development process.
Participation at the Special Session
The General Assembly has stressed the
importance of the Special Session and the need for strong, sustained
political will at the national, regional and international levels
to invest in people and their well-being in order to achieve the
objectives of social development, and invites Governments to extend
support to the preparatory process and to participate in the Special
Session at the highest political level possible.
With regard to participation by
NGOs at the Special Session, while NGOs may make statements in
the Ad Hoc Committee of the Whole of the Special Session, the
General Assembly also decided that, given the availability of
time, a limited number of NGOs in consultative status with the
Economic and Social Council may also make statements in the debate
in the Plenary of the Special Session. The President of the Assembly
is requested to present the list of selected NGOs to the Member
States in a timely manner for approval, and to ensure that such
selection is made on an equal and transparent basis, taking into
account the geographical representation and diversity of NGOs.
Gloria Kan is Chief, Intergovernmental Policy Branch, UN
Division for Social Policy and Development, Department of Economic
and Social Affairs, Room
DC2-1329, UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA. Fax: 1-212-963-3062.
Email: kan@un.org
Website: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev
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