'Global partnership' for development pursued.

The spirit of consensus usually seen in the work of the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) took a momentary misstep in 1997 when disagreement surfaced over the concept of development, particularly of sustainable development, and over the question of development financing.

In the penultimate meeting of the Committee, the United States requested recorded votes on six draft resolutions - on industrial development; human resources development; women in development; renewal of the dialogue for development through partnership; external debt problem of developing countries, and global financial flows and their impact on developing countries - stating that it could not accept the equation of "sustained economic growth" and "sustainable development". The representative of the United Republic of Tanzania, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 developing countries and China, said most countries felt the United States' approach to sustainable development was restrictive.

Following extensive consultations, those texts were adopted without a vote after being orally amended, so that the phrase "sustained economic growth and sustainable development" was followed by "in accordance with relevant General Assembly resolutions and recent United Nations conferences", a phrase taken from provisions of Assembly resolution 51/219, adopted during the previous session.

The debate on development issues continued to focus on trade, investment and the external debt problem. The need to find a durable solution to the debt problem of developing countries, particularly those in Africa, was stressed by several delegations. The discussion on the external debt crisis also focused on the implementation of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative and the declining trend in the official development assistance.

The Assembly, recognizing that effective, equitable, development-oriented and durable solutions to the external debt and debt-servicing problems of developing countries could contribute substantially to the strengthening of the global economy and to the efforts of those countries to achieve sustained economic growth and sustainable development, called on the international community and the private sector to implement agreements and decisions on external debt taken at major UN development conferences and summits. It stressed the importance of implementing the eligibility criteria of the HIPC Debt Initiative in a flexible and transparent manner and with the full involvement of the debtor country.

In addition, the Assembly invited creditor countries, private banks and multilateral financial institutions to address the commercial debt problems of the least developed countries (LDCs) and to mobilize resources through the debt-reduction facility of the International Development Association for LDCs. It urged creditor countries and multilateral financial institutions to continue to extend concessional financial assistance to support the implementation of economic reforms and structural adjustment programmes by developing countries.

A four-part text on international trade and development deplored attempts to bypass or undermine multilaterally agreed procedures on the conduct of international trade by resorting to unilateral actions over and above those agreed to in the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations. It affirmed that environmental and social concerns should not be used for protectionist purposes.

For the first time, the Assembly adopted a resolution on the role of microcredit in eradicating poverty. The text, co-sponsored by both developed and developing countries, encouraged those involved in poverty eradication programmes to consider incorporating micro-credit schemes in their strategies and support the development of microcredit institutions and their capacities, so that credit and related services may be made available to people living in poverty. It called on the international donor community to strengthen existing and emerging microcredit institutions in the developing countries, especially the African and least developed countries. The United Nations system, particularly its funds and programmes and the regional commissions, were asked to explore the microcredit approach in their programmes as a tool for the eradication of poverty and the development of other micro-finance instruments.

Building on the Assembly's recent special session to review the implementation of Agenda 21 - the programme of action adopted by the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development - and looking at the Third Conference of the Parties of the Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Kyoto in December 1997, the Committee was able to achieve consensus on several procedural texts under its consideration of the environment and sustainable development. In response to the growing concern about the devastating economic and social effects of the El Nino phenomenon, it requested the Secretary-General to facilitate an international strategy for the prevention, mitigation and rehabilitation of the damages caused by it. The Assembly also recommended that long-term public awareness and information about natural disasters, including those induced by El Nino, be integrated into national disaster management programmes and in the United Nations support for social and economic development programmes.

The Assembly also decided to convene a three-day special session in 1999 to review and appraise the implementation of the Programme of Action adopted by the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, September 1994) and to hold a special session in 2001 for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the outcome of the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Istanbul, June 1996).

Divergent views were expressed over the possibility of convening a United Nations conference on international migration and development. Some delegations felt a global conference would accomplish little and that bilateral and regional discussions were more useful modalities to deal with migration issues. Other representatives said international migration could only be successfully dealt with if there was a coordinated effort by the entire international community. In the resulting consensus text, the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to submit to its fifty-fourth session recommendations on ways and means to address the problems related to migration and development, including the possible convening of an international conference.

RELATED ARTICLE: Agenda for Development

Development issues once again commanded the attention of Member States in the Second Committee, following the adoption by the fifty-first General Assembly in June 1997 of the Agenda for Development - a document that provides a new commitment to international development based on partnerships rather than competing interests.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a 1 December special briefing to the Committee on the implementation of the Agenda for Development, pointed out that the Agenda recognized that "international development is based on solidarity and partnership, rather than on competing interests. It makes the case that, while individual countries are ultimately responsible for their own development, their efforts can only succeed within an effective multilateral framework that spreads the benefits of globalization as wide as possible and minimizes its risks and costs."

The Agenda reflects an emerging consensus on what constitutes development in the new international environment. In that sense, it takes a major stride in articulating an international consensus on the diversity of views concerning the fundamental goals of and requirements for economic and social development. The Agenda is an action-oriented synthesis of the various development issues that were addressed by the major UN conferences in the 1990s, which helped shape a consistent vision and programme from their interrelated declarations and programmes of action.

Given the emergence of globalization and interdependence as key features of the new international environment, increased trade and communications present opportunities for all nations to enjoy. But many long-standing problems - and their solutions - have increasingly taken on international dimensions as well. Environmental degradation, extreme poverty, sudden population shifts, massive human rights violations, illegal drug trafficking and organized crime are all threats to development that can no longer be resolved by national efforts alone, no matter how important those efforts may be. The way in which the world copes with this global interdependence to ensure equitable and sustainable development is one of the great challenges facing the international community.

Calling the General Assembly's role crucial, the Secretary-General said his reform proposals were relevant to enhancing that body's capacity to steer the actions of Governments and the United Nations system in effectively implementing the Agenda. He called for a high-level meeting to be devoted as a matter of priority to the issue of international financing for development, "which goes to the core of the Agenda for Development".

On the recommendation of the Second Committee, the Assembly subsequently decided to consider a summit, an international conference, a special session or other appropriate high-level forum, on the issue of financing for development, not later than the year 2001.