Ending economic and social discrimination.

All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law.

- Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 7

Whenever we reflect upon the work and achievements of the United Nations, most of us tend to automatically focus on the pressing issues of peace and security that are brought before the United Nations Security Council and the General Assembly. But if one gives it serious thought, many of the major contributions rendered by the Organization have really gone unheralded without capturing the headlines.

For its is in the area of social and economic development that the United Nations, working through its five regional commissions and specialized agencies and programmes, can rightfully claim much of its success and has truly made its presence felt in the lives of millions of people around the world. Indeed, the goal of peace and security that we seek for ourselves and for our posterity is not simply the absence of war and conflict; it requires all of us to join hands as a community of nations to promote equitable and sustainable economic growth, as well as social progress and justice, in our own respective countries and in the world at large.

Here in the Asia/Pacific region, many of the common aspirations and goals in social and economic development, which have brought us together as members of the United Nations, are being carried forward through the endeavours of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

Notwithstanding the current economic crisis, the fact that Asia and the Pacific have made such great strides in economic and social progress is due in no small way to the pioneering activities and the groundwork laid by ESCAP. It can be recalled that when ESCAP began its efforts over 50 years ago, the situation in Asia and the Pacific was very much different from where we find ourselves now. Much of Asia was a backwater of political, economic and social development. Nations were locked in war and conflict, underdevelopment and poverty were rife, and economic and political freedom were suppressed.

Today, the peace, freedom and prosperity that much of Asia and the Pacific enjoy is certainly unprecedented in its history. But as the economic crisis has proven, our success is something that we cannot and must not take for granted.

The rapid pace of progress and the increasing integration of countries of Asia and the Pacific into the global economy have brought on new challenges and problems. At the same time, many of the old issues have remained, as some parts of the region still lagged far behind in their ability to meet even the basic needs of the people.

The continuing process of transformation of Asia and the Pacific has also meant a constant evolution in the role of ESCAP, consistent with the changing circumstances and needs of the region. And in spite of the significant progress that has marked developments in the Asia/Pacific region over the years, the challenges that confront ESCAP itself as we look ahead are indeed no less daunting than those in the past.

How to address the wide-ranging needs and requirements of countries in a region of such vast geography and of such vast diversity in terms of level of political and socio-economic development?

How to channel and maximize the numerous activities but increasingly limited resources of various UN agencies and bodes operating in the region towards common goals and objectives that address the many aspects of social and economic development in a comprehensive and coherent manner?

How to work to encourage the on-going process by which regional countries themselves are trying to take charge of their own destinies, individually and collectively, through various schemes of regional cooperation?

How to move forward with ESCAP's own reforms in order to rationalize and consolidate its work at a time when resources are becoming all the more scarce?

There are indeed no easy answers to all these questions. But I sincerely believe that, if the past is to serve as our guide, the answer to whether ESCAP can be the United Nations team leader in the region lies in its ability to adapt its role to the demands of the changing times, not only in forging a team spirit between ESCAP and the various agencies and programmes within the UN system, but also in forging strong bonds of partnership with countries in the region.

In essence, being a team leader means leading when necessary, but often times it also means playing a supporting role whenever possible.

It means seeking to develop the strengths of individual countries so that they would have the capacities to help themselves by providing training of human resources, promoting institution-building and sound development policies. It means helping countries in the region achieve socio-economic development by better preparing themselves to integrate into the global economy and meeting the demands of globalization.

It means promoting the concept of sustainable development to ensure more equitable income distribution, protection of the environment, the promotion of good political and economic governance, and respect for the basic human rights of the individual.

It means building consensus and strategic alliances with other UN agencies, regional and subregional cooperation organizations, as well as non-governmental organizations, and the emerging civil society in working as partners towards our common goal of social and economic development.

Above all, it means working towards realizing an ESCAP that is result-oriented and people-oriented. For, in the final analysis, it is development with a human face that should be our ultimate goal. ESCAP has the advantage of being able to provide needed advisory and policy support to countries in the region that is geared to meeting their specific needs and circumstances in order to help them build up their own development capacities. For unless countries recognize that the responsibilities for national development must begin at home, sustained progress wall certainly be hard to achieve. In this regard, I am particularly pleased to note that the Thai-UNCAP programme serves as a good example of the kind of framework for cooperation in which the countries themselves are in the driving seat of development cooperation. ESCAP also should capitalize on the strength of its multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral approach to development to set out a common agenda and common strategy that would help to guide the activities of the various UN agencies in the field.

In this way, we can bring about coordination of work and maximization of resources. Being captain of the team requires ESCAP to map out the "game plan" so that all members of the team know the part they have to play.

In addition, given the strength of its region-wide outreach, ESCAP should not only seek to achieve its development objectives by way of linking up with other regional and sub-regional organizations, but seek to encourage stranger and deeper regional economic linkages 'in such important areas as trade and investment, as well as transport and telecommunications, that would not only move regional cooperation to a higher plane but would generate increased opportunities for economic growth and unleash the economic dynamism of the entire region.

ESCAP has also from the very beginning been at the forefront in advocating a development strategy that strikes a balance between economic and social development. In the light of the far-reaching social impact of the current economic crisis, ESCAP can play an instrumental role in mobilizing assistance and support of the international community in helping to put in place vitally needed social safety net programmes that would better enable the affected countries to deal with the problems of rising unemployment, poverty, malnutrition and other forms of social disruptions, all of which will likely leave a permanent scar on society even after the economic crisis is over. It is precisely because of such concern that Thailand has proposed its initiative of an Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN)-PMC Caucus on Social Safety Nets so as to bring together ASEAN and its dialogue partners in a common endeavour to deal with the many potentially explosive social problems that a number of countries in the region are facing as a result of the current economic downturn.

It is all the more obvious that the economic crisis engulfing much of Asia and the Pacific has not only exposed the structural weaknesses of the regional economies, but also revealed the lack of regional macro-economic coordination and surveillance mechanism which could have served as an early warning system and averted the crisis from spreading the way it has. Closer financial cooperation is now being thrashed out under the so-called Manila Framework, and ideas such as the Asian Monetary Fund and greater use of regional currencies have been floated and should be pursued further. Having played a leading role as a regional policy forum, ESCAP can certainly work in partnership with countries in the region in helping to promote policy dialogue and policy consensus on how to develop a more effective regional response to the economic crisis to complement the efforts that are already being undertaken by the individual countries and by the International Monetary Fund.

These are what I consider to be some aspects of the leadership role that ESCAP can and must undertake flit is to truly fulfil its mandate as the United Nations team leader in the region into the next millennium. Rest assured that in carrying out all these major tasks, ESCAP can expect Thailand's full support and cooperation.

ESCAP

ESCAP, established in 1947, has a mandate to address the economic and social issues of the region. It has 48 members and 10 associate members representing almost 60 per cent of the world's population. ESCAP provides a range of technical assistance, focusing on direct advisory services to Governments, training and pooling of regional experience and information through meetings, publications and intercountry networks. It executes programmes and projects to stimulate growth, improve socio-economic conditions and help build the foundations of modern society. Three regional research and training institutions in agricultural development, statistics and technology transfer operate under its auspices. New areas of priority include promotion of interregional trade and investment, transfer of technology, privatization and entrepreneurship, environment, urbanization, poverty alleviation, drug abuse control, population, social development and labour migration.

Mr. Surin Pitsuwan, the Foreign Minister of Thailand, who chaired the fifty-fourth session of ESCAP in April 1998, contributed this article at the invitation of the UN Chronicle.