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Chapter 5: Implementation and Follow-Up82.
Nothing short of a renewed and massive political will at the national and international
levels to invest in people and their well-being will achieve the objectives of social
development. Social development and the implementation of the Programme of Action of the
Summit are primarily the responsibility of Governments, although international cooperation
and assistance are essential for their full implementation. At all levels of
implementation, the crucial and essential requirements are:
The promotion and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, the
support for democratic institutions and the empowerment of women;
The integration of goals, programmes and review mechanisms that have developed
separately in response to specific problems;
Partnership involving States, local authorities, non-governmental organizations,
especially voluntary organizations, other major groups as defined in Agenda 21, the media,
families and individuals;
The recognition of the diversity in the world and the need to take measures geared
to achieve the Summit's goals;
The empowerment of people, who are to be assisted so that they fully participate in
setting goals, designing programmes, implementing activities and evaluating performance;
Efforts to mobilize new and additional financial resources that are both adequate
and predictable, and are mobilized in a way that maximizes the availability of such
resources, and uses all available funding sources and mechanisms, inter alia,
multilateral, bilateral and private sources, including on concessional and grant terms;
Solidarity, extending the concept of partnership and a moral imperative of mutual
respect and concern among individuals, communities and nations.
.
A. National strategies, evaluations and reviews
83. The promotion of an integrated approach to the implementation of the Programme of
Action at the national level, in accordance with national specificities, requires:
(a) Analysing and reviewing macroeconomic, micro-economic and sectoral policies and
their impact on poverty, employment, social integration and social development;
(b) Enhancing government policies and programmes to promote social development by
strengthening the coordination of all efforts by national and international actors,
strengthening the efficiency and operational capacity of public management structures, and
facilitating the effective and transparent use of resources, taking due account of the
recommendations and follow-up to Agenda 21;
(c) Assessing the extent, distribution and characteristics of poverty, unemployment,
social tensions, and social exclusion, taking measures aiming at eradicating poverty,
increasing productive employment and enhancing social integration;
(d) Formulating or strengthening, by 1996, comprehensive cross-sectoral strategies for
implementing the Summit outcome and national strategies for social development, including
government action, actions by States in cooperation with other Governments, international,
regional and subregional organizations, and actions taken in partnership and cooperation
with actors of civil society, the private sector and cooperatives, with specific
responsibilities to be undertaken by each actor and with agreed priorities and
time-frames;
(e) Integrating social development goals into national development plans, policies and
budgets, cutting across traditional sectoral boundaries, with transparency and
accountability, and formulated and implemented with the participation of the groups
directly affected;
(f) Defining time-bound goals and targets for reducing overall poverty and eradicating
absolute poverty, expanding employment and reducing unemployment, and enhancing social
integration, within each national context;
(g) Promoting and strengthening institutional capacity-building for inter-ministerial
coordination, intersectoral collaboration, the coordinated allocation of resources and
vertical integration from national capitals to local districts;
(h) Developing quantitative and qualitative indicators of social development,
including, where possible, disaggregation by gender, to assess poverty, employment, social
integration and other social factors, to monitor the impact of social policies and
programmes, and to find ways to improve the effectiveness of policies and programmes and
introduce new programmes;
(i) Strengthening implementation and monitoring mechanisms, including arrangements for
the participation of civil society in policy-making and implementation and collaboration
with international organizations;
(j) Regularly assessing national progress towards implementing the outcome of the
Summit, possibly in the form of periodic national reports, outlining successes, problems
and obstacles. Such reports could be considered within the framework of an appropriate
consolidated reporting system, taking into account the different reporting procedures in
the economic, social and environmental fields.
84. International support for the formulation of national strategies for social
development will require actions by bilateral and multilateral agencies for:
(a) Assisting countries to strengthen or rebuild their capacities for formulating,
coordinating, implementing and monitoring integrated strategies for social development;
(b) Coordinating the assistance provided by different agencies for similar planning
processes under other international action plans;
(c) Developing improved concepts and programmes for the collection and dissemination
of statistics and indicators for social development to facilitate review and policy
analysis and provide expertise, advice and support to countries at their request.
85. Effective implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and
the Programme of Action of the Summit requires strengthening community organizations and
non-profit non-governmental organizations in the spheres of education, health, poverty,
social integration, human rights, improvement of the quality of life, and relief and
rehabilitation, enabling them to participate constructively in policy-making and
implementation. This will require:
(a) Encouraging and supporting the creation and development of such organizations,
particularly among the disadvantaged and vulnerable people;
(b) Establishing legislative and regulatory frameworks, institutional arrangements and
consultative mechanisms for involving such organizations in the design, implementation and
evaluation of social development strategies and programmes;
(c) Supporting capacity-building programmes for such organizations in critical areas,
such as participatory planning, programme design, implementation and evaluation, economic
and financial analysis, credit management, research, information and advocacy;
(d) Providing resources through such measures as small grant programmes, and technical
and other administrative support for initiatives taken and managed at the community level;
(e) Strengthening networking and exchange of expertise and experience among such
organizations.
86. The contribution of civil society, including the private sector, to social
development can be enhanced by:
(a) Developing planning and policy-making procedures that facilitate partnership and
cooperation between Governments and civil society in social development;
(b) Encouraging business enterprises to pursue investment and other policies,
including non-commercial activities, that will contribute to social development,
especially in relation to the generation of work opportunities, social support services at
the workplace, access to productive resources and construction of infrastructure;
(c) Enabling and encouraging trade unions to participate in the planning and
implementation of social development programmes, especially in relation to the generation
of work opportunities under fair conditions, the provision of training, health care and
other basic services, and the development of an economic environment that facilitates
sustained economic growth and sustainable development;
(d) Enabling and encouraging farmers' representative organizations and cooperatives to
participate in the formulation and implementation of sustainable agricultural and rural
development policies and programmes;
(e) Encouraging and facilitating the development of cooperatives, including among
people living in poverty or belonging to vulnerable groups;
(f) Supporting academic and research institutions, particularly in the developing
countries, in their contribution to social development programmes, and facilitating
mechanisms for independent, detached, impartial and objective monitoring of social
progress, especially through collecting, analysing and disseminating information and ideas
about economic and social development;
(g) Encouraging educational institutions, the media and other sources of public
information and opinion to give special prominence to the challenges of social development
and to facilitate widespread and well-informed debate about social policies throughout the
community.
87. The implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration and the Programme of Action of
the Summit at the national level may require substantial new and additional resources, in
both the public and the private sectors. Augmenting the availability of public resources
for social development requires at the national level:
(a) Implementing macroeconomic and micro-economic policies in accordance with national
priorities and policies, aimed at encouraging greater domestic savings and investment
required for public spending, through progressive, fair and economically efficient taxes
that are cognizant of sustainable development concerns, and through cutting back on
subsidies that do not benefit the poor;
(b) Reducing, as appropriate, excessive military expenditures and investments for arms
production and acquisition, consistent with national security requirements, in order to
increase resources for social and economic development;
(c) Giving high priority to social development in the allocation of public spending
and ensuring predictable funding for the relevant programmes;
(d) Ensuring that the resources for social development are available at the level of
administration that is responsible for formulating and implementing the relevant
programmes;
(e) Increasing the effective and transparent utilization of public resources, reducing
waste and combating corruption, and concentrating on the areas of greatest social need;
(f) Developing innovative sources of funding, both public and private, for social
programmes, and creating a supportive environment for the mobilization of resources by
civil society for social development, including beneficiary contributions and individual
voluntary contributions.
88. Implementation of the Declaration and the Programme of Action in developing
countries, in particular in Africa and the least developed countries, will need additional
financial resources and more effective development cooperation and assistance. This will
require:
(a) Translating the commitments of the Summit into financial implications for social
development programmes in developing countries, particularly Africa and the least
developed countries;
(b) Striving for the fulfilment of the agreed target of 0.7 per cent of gross national
product for overall official development assistance (ODA) as soon as possible, and
increasing the share of funding for social development programmes, commensurate with the
scope and scale of activities required to achieve the objectives and goals of the
Declaration and Programme of Action;
(c) Agreeing on a mutual commitment between interested developed and developing
country partners to allocate, on average, 20 per cent of ODA and 20 per cent of the
national budget, respectively, to basic social programmes;
(d) Giving high priority in ODA to the eradication of poverty in developing countries,
in particular in Africa, low-income countries in Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and
the Caribbean, and the least developed countries;
(e) Providing assistance for social-sector activities, such as the rehabilitation and
development of social infrastructure, including in the form of grants or soft loans;
(f) Implementing the commitments of the international community to the special needs
and vulnerabilities of the small island developing States, in particular by providing
effective means, including adequate, predictable, new and additional resources for social
development programmes, in accordance with the Declaration of Barbados 3/ and on the basis
of the relevant provisions of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of
Small Island Developing States;
(g) Providing international support and assistance to the land-locked developing
countries in their efforts to implement the outcome of the Summit, taking into account the
challenges and problems characteristic to those countries;
(h) Giving preference, wherever possible, to the utilization of competent national
experts or, where necessary, of competent experts from within the subregion or region or
from other developing countries, in project and programme design, preparation and
implementation, and to the building of local expertise where it does not exist;
(i) Exploring ways and means to strengthen support and expand South-South cooperation
based on partnership between developing and developed countries, as well as enhanced
cooperation among developing countries;
(j) Maximizing project and programme efficiency by keeping overhead costs to a
minimum;
(k) Developing economic policies to promote and mobilize domestic savings and attract
external resources for productive investment, and seeking innovative sources of funding,
both public and private, for social programmes, while ensuring their effective
utilization;
(l) Monitoring the impact of trade liberalization on progress made in developing
countries to meet basic human needs, giving particular attention to new initiatives to
expand the access of developing countries to international markets;
(m) Encouraging direct cooperation to promote joint ventures, including in the sector
of social programmes and infrastructure;
(n) Encouraging recipient Governments to strengthen their national coordination
mechanisms for international cooperation in social development and to ensure the effective
use of international assistance so as to assist donors to secure commitment to further
resources for national action plans;
(o) Inviting multilateral and bilateral donors to consult with a view to coordinating
their financing policies and planning procedures in order to improve the impact,
complementarity and cost-effectiveness of their contributions to the achievement of the
objectives of social development programmes of developing countries.
89. Implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration and the Programme of Action of the
Summit in countries with economies in transition will require continued international
cooperation and assistance. To this end, there is a need to:
(a) Assess the financial implications of the commitments of the Summit for social
development programmes in countries with economies in transition;
(b) Enhance technical and financial assistance for the implementation of programmes of
macroeconomic stabilization in order to ensure sustained economic growth and sustainable
development;
(c) Support and encourage transformations in the field of human resources development;
(d) Invite multilateral and bilateral donors to consult with a view to coordinating
their financing policies and planning procedures in order to improve the impact of their
contribution to the achievement of the objectives of social development programmes of
countries with economies in transition.
90. Substantial debt reduction is needed to enable developing countries to implement
the Declaration and Programme of Action. Building on, inter alia, the momentum from the
July 1994 meeting of the seven major industrialized countries in Naples and the October
1994 meeting of the governors of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund,
further progress can be made by:
(a) Inviting the international community, including the international financial
institutions, to continue to explore ways of implementing additional and innovative
measures to alleviate substantially the debt burdens of developing countries, in
particular of the highly indebted low-income countries, in order to help them to achieve
sustained economic growth and sustainable development without falling into a new debt
crisis;
(b) Adopting measures to substantially reduce the bilateral debts of the least
developed countries, in particular the countries of Africa, as soon as possible, and
exploring other innovative approaches to managing and alleviating the onerous debts and
debt service burdens of other developing countries as soon as possible;
(c) Giving special consideration to those developing countries in which multilateral
debt constitutes an important part of their total debt in order to seek a durable solution
to this increasing problem;
(d) Encouraging the possibilities of debt swaps for social development, with the
resources released by debt cancellation or reduction to be invested in social development
programmes, without prejudice to more durable solutions, such as debt reduction and/or
cancellation;
(e) Mobilizing the resources of the Debt Reduction Facility of the International
Development Association in order to help eligible developing countries to reduce their
commercial debt; considering alternative mechanisms to complement that Facility;
(f) Inviting creditor countries, private banks and multilateral financial
institutions, within their prerogatives, to consider continuing the initiatives and
efforts to address the commercial debt problems of the least developed countries and of
low and middle-income developing countries; to consider the extension of appropriate new
financial support to the low-income countries with substantial debt burdens that continue,
at great cost, to service debt and meet their international obligations; to continue to
explore ways of implementing additional and innovative measures to substantially alleviate
the debt burdens of developing countries, in particular of the highly indebted low-income
countries, in order to help them achieve sustained economic growth and sustainable
development without falling into a new debt crisis.
91. In order to ensure that structural adjustment programmes include social
development goals, in particular the eradication of poverty, the generation of productive
employment and the enhancement of social integration, Governments, in cooperation with the
international financial institutions and other international organizations, should:
(a) Protect basic social programmes and expenditures, in particular those affecting
the poor and vulnerable segments of society, from budget reductions;
(b) Review the impact of structural adjustment programmes on social development by
means of gender-sensitive social-impact assessments and other relevant methods, and
develop policies to reduce their negative effects and improve their positive impact;
(c) Further promote policies enabling small enterprises, cooperatives and other forms
of micro-enterprises to develop their capacities for income generation and employment
creation.
92. International financial institutions should contribute to the mobilization of
resources for the implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Action. To this end,
the relevant institutions are urged to take the following measures:
(a) The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the regional and subregional
development banks and funds, and all other international finance organizations should
further integrate social development goals in their policies, programmes and operations,
including by giving higher priority to social-sector lending, where applicable, in their
lending programmes;
(b) The Bretton Woods institutions and other organizations and bodies of the United
Nations system should work together with concerned countries to improve policy dialogues
and develop new initiatives to ensure that structural adjustment programmes promote
sustained economic and social development, with particular attention to their impact on
people living in poverty and vulnerable groups;
(c) The United Nations, in cooperation with the World Bank, the International Monetary
Fund and other multilateral development institutions, should study the impact of
structural adjustment programmes on economic and social development and assist adjusting
countries in creating conditions for economic growth, job creation, poverty eradication
and social development.
93. In addition to augmenting the flow of resources through established channels,
relevant United Nations bodies, in particular the Economic and Social Council, should be
requested to consider new and innovative ideas for generating funds and, for this purpose,
to offer any useful suggestions.
94. A framework for international cooperation must be developed in the context of the
agenda for development 28/ in order to ensure the integrated and comprehensive
implementation, follow-up and assessment of the outcome of the Summit, together with the
results of other recent and planned United Nations conferences related to social
development, in particular the World Summit for Children, the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development, the World Conference on Human Rights, the Global Conference
on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, the International
Conference on Population and Development, the Fourth World Conference on Women, and the
United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II). At the international level,
as at the national, the financial and organizational implications of the commitments,
goals and targets should be assessed, priorities established, and budgets and work
programmes planned.
95. With regard to the consideration of social development at the intergovernmental
level, special consideration should be given to the roles of the General Assembly and of
the Economic and Social Council. To this end:
(a) The General Assembly, as the highest intergovernmental mechanism, is the principal
policy-making and appraisal organ on matters relating to the follow-up to the Summit. The
Assembly should include the follow-up to the Summit in its agenda as an item entitled
"Implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development". In
1996, it should review the effectiveness of the steps taken to implement the outcome of
the Summit with regard to poverty eradication, as part of the activities relating to the
International Year for the Eradication of Poverty;
(b) The General Assembly should hold a special session in the year 2000 for an overall
review and appraisal of the implementation of the outcome of the Summit, and should
consider further action and initiatives;
(c) The General Assembly, at its fiftieth session, should declare the first United
Nations decade for the eradication of poverty, following the International Year for the
Eradication of Poverty (1996), with a view to its considering further initiatives on the
eradication of poverty;
(d) The General Assembly, as well as the Economic and Social Council, could convene
meetings of high-level representatives to promote international dialogue on critical
social issues and on policies for addressing them through international cooperation;
(e) The General Assembly should draw upon the initial work of the agenda for
development working group on a common framework for the implementation of the outcome of
conferences;
(f) The Economic and Social Council, in the context of its role under the Charter of
the United Nations vis-a`-vis the General Assembly and in accordance with Assembly
resolutions 45/264, 46/235 and 48/162, would oversee system-wide coordination in the
implementation of the Summit outcome and make recommendations in this regard. It should
look at ways to strengthen, consistent with the mandates of the Charter of the United
Nations, the role and authority, structures, resources and processes of the Council,
bringing specialized agencies into a closer working relationship with the Council so that
it can review progress made towards implementing the outcome of the Summit as well as
improving the Council's effectiveness. The Council, at its substantive session of 1995,
should be invited to review the mandate, agenda and composition of the Commission for
Social Development, including considerations of the strengthening of the Commission,
taking into account the need for synergy with other related commissions and conference
follow-up. The Council should also draw upon any initial work completed by that time on a
common framework for the implementation of conference outcomes (see paras. 94 and 95 (e)
above). The Council should also be invited to review the reporting system in the area of
social development with a view to establishing a coherent system that would result in
clear policy recommendations for Governments and international actors;
(g) Within the framework of the discussions on an agenda for development and the
discussions of the Economic and Social Council at its coordination segment of 1995 on a
common framework for the implementation of the outcome of United Nations conferences in
the economic and social fields, consideration should be given to the possibility of
holding joint meetings of the Council and the Development Committee of the World Bank and
the International Monetary Fund. The Secretary-General and the heads of IMF, the World
Bank, ILO, the United Nations funds and programmes, and other relevant agencies should
consider the possibility of holding joint meetings for the purpose of considering the
implementation of the Declaration and the Programme of Action prior to the Development
Committee sessions;
(h) To promote implementation of the outcomes at the regional and subregional levels,
the regional commissions, in cooperation with the regional intergovernmental organizations
and banks, could convene, on a biennial basis, a meeting at a high political level to
review progress made towards implementing the outcome of the Summit, exchange views on
their respective experiences and adopt the appropriate measures. The regional commissions
should report to the Council on the outcome of such meetings through the appropriate
mechanisms;
(i) The important role of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in
monitoring those aspects of the Declaration and Programme of Action that relate to
compliance, by States Parties, with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights should be emphasized.
96. The United Nations system should provide technical cooperation and other forms of
assistance to the developing countries, in particular in Africa and the least developed
countries, in implementing the Declaration and Programme of Action. To this end:
(a) The United Nations system, including the technical and sectoral agencies and the
Bretton Woods institutions, should expand and improve their cooperation in the field of
social development to ensure that their efforts are complementary and, where possible,
should combine resources in joint initiatives for social development built around common
objectives of the Summit;
(b) In order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of United Nations
organizations in providing support for social development efforts at the national level,
and to enhance their capacity to serve the objectives of the Summit, there is a need to
renew, reform and revitalize the various parts of the United Nations system, in particular
its operational activities. All specialized agencies and related organizations of the
United Nations system are invited to strengthen and adjust their activities, programmes
and medium-term strategies, as appropriate, to take into account the follow-up to the
Summit. Relevant governing bodies should review their policies, programmes, budgets and
activities in this regard;
(c) The Administrative Committee on Coordination should consider how its participating
entities might best coordinate their activities to implement the objectives of the Summit;
(d) Regular reports on their plans and programmes related to implementation should be
provided to the appropriate forums by United Nations funds and programmes and the
specialized agencies.
97. The United Nations system should consider and provide appropriate technical
cooperation and other forms of assistance to the countries with economies in transition.
To this end:
(a) The respective United Nations bodies should assist the efforts of those countries
in designing and implementing social development programmes;
(b) The United Nations Development Programme should continue to undertake efforts to
support the implementation of the social development programmes, taking into account the
specific needs of the countries with economies in transition;
(c) The organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, including the technical
and sectoral agencies, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, should continue
their cooperation in the field of social development of countries with economies in
transition.
98. The implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration and the Programme of Action of
the Summit will involve many entities of the United Nations system. In order to ensure
coherence in this effort, the General Assembly should give consideration to:
(a) Promoting and strengthening the coordination of United Nations system activities,
the Bretton Woods institutions and the World Trade Organization at the global, regional
and national levels in the area of economic and social development programmes, including,
inter alia, through reports to and meetings in coordination with the Economic and Social
Council;
(b) Inviting the World Trade Organization to consider how it might contribute to the
implementation of the Programme of Action, including activities in cooperation with the
United Nations system;
(c) Requesting the International Labour Organization, which because of its mandate,
tripartite structures and expertise has a special role to play in the field of employment
and social development, to contribute to the implementation of the Programme of Action;
(d) Requesting the Secretary-General to ensure effective coordination of the
implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Action.
99. United Nations operational activities for development should be strengthened in
order to implement the Summit outcome, in accordance with relevant resolutions,
particularly General Assembly resolution 47/199, and to this end:
(a) The United Nations Development Programme should organize United Nations system
efforts towards capacity-building at the local, national and regional levels, and should
support the coordinated implementation of social development programmes through its
network of field offices;
(b) Coordination at the country level should be improved through the resident
coordinator system to take full account of the Copenhagen Declaration and the Programme of
Action of the Summit and related international agreements;
(c) The United Nations system should encourage and assist South-South cooperation and
technical cooperation among developing countries, at all levels, as an important
instrument for social development and the implementation of the Programme of Action;
(d) United Nations development efforts should be supported by a substantial increase
in resources for operational activities for development on a predictable, continuous and
assured basis, commensurate with the increasing needs of developing countries, as stated
in resolution 47/199;
(e) The United Nations system's capacity for gathering and analysing information and
developing indicators of social development should be strengthened, taking into account
the work carried out by different countries, in particular by developing countries. The
capacity of the United Nations system for providing policy and technical support and
advice, upon request, to improve national capacities in this regard should also be
strengthened.
100. The support and participation of major groups as defined in Agenda 21 are
essential to the success of the implementation of the Programme of Action.
To ensure the commitment of these groups, they must be involved in planning,
elaboration, implementation and evaluation at both the national and the international
levels. To this end, mechanisms are needed to support, promote and allow their effective
participation in all relevant United Nations bodies, including the mechanisms responsible
for reviewing the implementation of the Programme of Action.
Notes:
3/ Report of the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island
Developing States, Bridgetown, Barbados, 25 April-6 May 1994 (United Nations publication,
Sales No. 94.I.18), resolution 1, annex II.
28/ See A/48/935 and An Agenda for Development (United Nations publication, Sales No.
E.95.I.16).
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