ECOSOC ADOPTS THIRTEEN RESOLUTIONS AND FOUR DECISIONS

24 July 2003




Approves Suspension of Consultative Status of Reporters
sans frontières with United Nations System
for One Year after Extended Debate




GENEVA, 24 July (UN Information Service) -- The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) this morning adopted 13 resolutions and four decisions submitted under various items of its agenda.

Most of the morning meeting was devoted to a debate centred on the procedural question of priority in relation to the suspension of the consultative status of the non-governmental organization (NGO) Reporters sans frontières.

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations, in its report to ECOSOC, had recommended the suspension for one year of the consultative status of the NGO because of its actions during the fifty-ninth session of the Commission on Human Rights. The ECOSOC approved the recommendation by a vote of 27 in favour,
23 against, with 4 abstentions.

The crux of the issue lay in the question of whether consideration of a resolution sponsored by France, which proposed that the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations should be requested to review its decision with regard to the suspension of Reporters sans frontières’ consultative status, should have taken priority over consideration of the decision, as contained in the Committee’s report and whether due procedure had been followed in the original decision taken by the Committee.

The Council also adopted without a vote three other decisions concerning applications for consultative status and requests for reclassification received from NGOs, the resumed 2003 session of the Committee and the report of the Committee on its 2003 regular session, within the context of the report of Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations.

Under another agenda item, ECOSOC adopted a resolution on the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples by the specialized agencies and the international institutions associated with the United Nations by a vote of 32 in favour, with no votes against, and
20 abstentions.

Among other resolutions adopted by the Council without a vote were resolutions on the International Conference on Financing for Development, the calendar of conferences in the economic, social and related fields, international cooperation in the field of informatics, mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations system, the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on African countries emerging from conflict, the Europe-Africa permanent link through the Strait of Gibraltar, the report of the Committee for Development Policy on its fifth session, support for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, preparations for an international meeting to review the implementation of the Programme of Action for the sustainable development of small island developing states, and the addition of Egypt and Zambia to the Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

The Council deferred consideration of a decision on the implementation of the electronic meeting system to a resumed session of the Council. It also took note of the report of the Secretary-General on assistance to the Palestinian people (document A/58/88-E/2003/84); the report of the Secretary-General on regional cooperation in the economic, social and related fields (document E/2003/15 and Add.1); the summary of the economic survey of Europe, 2002 (document E/2003/16); the summary of the economic and social situation in Africa, 2002 (document E/2003/17); the summary of the economic and social survey of Asia and the Pacific, 2003 (document E/2003/18); the summary of the economic survey of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2002 (document E/2003/19); the summary of the survey of economic and social developments in the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)region, 2002-2003 (document E/2003/20); the note by the Secretary-General on the report prepared by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia on the economic and social repercussions of the Israeli occupation on the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan (document A/58/75-E/2003/21); and the note of the Secretary-General (document E/2003/63) transmitting the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations related to assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions (documents A/57/165 and Add.1);

Addressing the Council this morning were representatives of Argentina, United States, Australia, Italy (on behalf of the European Union), Japan, Russian Federation, Qatar, France, Cuba, Libya, Brazil, China, Benin, South Africa (on behalf of the African Group), Senegal, and Burundi.

The Council will meet again this afternoon at 3 p.m. to continue taking action on outstanding draft proposals.


Action on Resolutions and Decisions

The ECOSOC adopted, without a vote, a resolution on the International Conference on Financing for Development (document E/2003/L.39) in which it decided to build on the experiences accumulated during the high-level meeting of the Council in 2003 in convening and organizing the next high-level spring meeting to address issues of coherence, coordination and cooperation in the context of the implementation of the Monterrey Consensus, examining further specific steps that could be taken by each of the stakeholders to move the Monterrey process forward; decided also to include representatives of the Trade and Development Board of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in the high-level meeting of the Council with the Bretton Woods institutions and the World Trade Organization.

The ECOSOC decided further that the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat, in collaboration with the secretariats of the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and other institutional stakeholders, would prepare the necessary documentation for the next high-level meeting of ECOSOC, and decided to invite all institutional stakeholders to provide the Secretary-General with interim reports during the first quarter of 2004 on the work undertaken and planned in their respective areas of competence regarding implementation of the different components of the Monterrey Consensus, with the understanding that those reports would be essential inputs to the preparation of the meeting.

The ECOSOC also adopted, without a vote, a resolution on the provisional calendar of conferences and meetings for 2004 and 2005 in the economic, social and related fields (documents E/2003/L.7 and E/2003/L.7/Corr.1), by which the Council approved the calendar of conferences and meetings for 2004 and 2005 in the economic, social and related fields. Information was also provided on meetings of related bodies and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the attention of the Council was drawn to the relevant provisions of General Assembly resolutions 45/264, 46/235 and 50/227 on the restructuring and revitalization of the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields, which had been taken into account in the preparation of the calendar. Furthermore, the Council was invited to consider further the biennialization of the sessions of its subsidiary bodies.

The ECOSOC adopted, without a vote, a resolution on the need to harmonize and improve United Nations informatics systems for optimal utilization and accessibility by all States (document E/2003/L.11/Rev.1), by which it requested the President of ECOSOC to convene the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Informatics for one more year to enable it to carry out its work of facilitating the implementation of initiatives for the use of information technology and, among others, to continue to: improve electronic connectivity via the Internet for all Member States in their capitals and at major United Nations locations; improve Member States’ access to a wider database of United Nations information on economic, social, development and political issues and to have all official documents available via the Internet; improve electronic links among Member States, the United Nations and the specialized agencies; provide training to allow staff of permanent missions to take full advantage of these facilities; to intensify contacts with the private sector; and to explore ways to use fully the potential of information and communications technologies in order to speed up translation processes. The resolution also requested the Secretary-General to extend full cooperation to the Working Group and to give priority to implementing its recommendations.

The Council adopted, without a vote, a resolution on mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations system (document E/2003/L.24/Rev.1), by which it decided to undertake, during its coordination segment in 2004, a review and appraisal of the system-wide implementation of its agreed conclusions 1997/2 on mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations system and called upon Member States and all other actors of the United Nations system to continue to mainstream a gender perspective into all activities at all levels. It also decided to intensify its efforts to ensure that gender mainstreaming was an integral part of all activities of its work, and therefore to give appropriate attention to gender perspectives and the particular obstacles that women faced in all its segments and agenda items, both during discussions and in outcomes. The Council called upon its subsidiary bodies to further intensify their efforts to mainstream gender perspectives in their work and to continue their efforts to address gender perspectives in relation to the thematic issues of their multi-year programmes of work or in relation to their annual themes. It further called upon the bureau of its subsidiary bodies to consider how best to facilitate the inclusion of a gender perspective in their work. Finally, the Council requested the Secretary-General to submit a report on follow-up to and implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, including on progress on gender mainstreaming, to the next substantive session of the Council.

The Council adopted, without a vote, a resolution on Ad Hoc Advisory Groups on African countries emerging from conflict (document E/2003/L.22), by which it recalled its resolution 2002/1 on the establishment of an Ad Hoc Advisory Group on African countries emerging from conflict and reiterated the need to undertake an assessment of lessons learned based on the initial experience of such Ad Hoc Advisory Groups, no later than at its substantive session of 2004, and stressed the need to asses also progress made in the implementation of recommendations made by the Ad Hoc Advisory Groups. ECOSOC further requested the Secretary-General to provide a report on this subject to its substantive session in 2004.

The Council adopted, by a vote of 32 in favour, no votes against, with 20 abstentions, a resolution on the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples by the specialized agencies and the international institutions associated with the United Nations, by which it requested the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system and international and regional organizations to examine and review conditions in each territory so as to take appropriate measures to accelerate progress in the economic and social sectors of the territories, and to strengthen existing measures of support and to formulate appropriate programmes of assistance to the remaining non-self-governing Territories, within the framework of their respective mandates, in order to accelerate progress in the economic and social sectors of those territories. The ECOSOC also recommended that the executive heads of the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system formulate, with the active cooperation of the regional organizations concerned, concrete proposals for the full implementation of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations and submit the proposals to their governing and legislative organs.

The results were as follows:

In favour (32):Argentina, Benin, Bhutan, Brazil, Burundi, Chile, China, Congo, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Iran, Jamaica, Kenya, Libya, Malaysia, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

Abstentions (20): Andorra, Australia, Azerbaijan, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and United States.

The ECOSOC adopted, without a vote, a resolution on a Europe-Africa permanent link through the Strait of Gibraltar (document E/2003/L.16), by which ECOSOC welcomed the cooperation on the project for the link through the Strait of Gibraltar between the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), and the Governments of Morocco and Spain and specialized international institutions. The ECOSOC also welcomed the efforts made to date in deep-sea drilling work, which have provided a decisive impetus to geological and geotechnical knowledge of undersea formations, and invites the two sponsoring countries and the organizations concerns to intensify their cooperation in order to finalize the project studies. ECOSOC further requested the Executive Secretaries for the UNECA and the UNECE to continue to take an active part in the follow up to the project and to report to the Council at its substantive session of 2005.

Within the context of the Report of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations on its 2003 regular session (document E/2003/32 (Part 1)), the Council adopted, without a vote, a decision on applications for consultative status and requests for reclassification received from non-governmental organizations by which the Council granted consultative status to 57 non-governmental organizations.

Following extensive deliberations between the representatives of France and Cuba as to whether the decision on “Suspension of consultative status” contained within the report of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations or the resolution on “Suspension of consultative status” (document E/2003/L.38) submitted by France should be considered first, the Council rejected the proposal to consider the resolution submitted by France (document E/2003/L.38) first, by a vote of 24 in favour, 26 against with four abstentions. The Council would, thus, first consider the decision on “Suspension of consultative status” as contained in the report of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations. The roll-call vote was called for by Cuba.

The Council adopted, by a vote of 27 in favour, 23 against, with 4 abstentions, a decision on “Suspension of consultative status” by which the Council suspended, for a period of one year, the special consultative status of Reporters sans frontières.

The results were as follows:

In favour (27):Azerbaijan, Benin, Bhutan, Brazil, Burundi, China, Congo, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Iran, Jamaica, Kenya, Libya, Malaysia, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

Against (23): Andorra, Australia, Chile, El Salvador, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Peru, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and United States.

Abstentions (4): Argentina, Ecuador, Japan, and Senegal.

The Council deferred consideration of the decision on “Implementation of the electronic meeting system (Paperless Committee)” to a resumed session of the Council.

The Council adopted, without a vote, a decision on Resumed 2003 session of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations, by which the Council authorized the Committee to hold a resumed session of one week from 15 to 19 December
2003.

The Council also adopted, without a vote, a decision on the Report of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations on its 2003 regular session.

The Council adopted, without a vote, the Report of the Committee for Development Policy on its fifth session (document E/2003/L.29) as orally amended by which it endorsed the recommendation contained in paragraph 35 (a) of chapter IV of the report of the Committee for Development Policy on its fifth session and decided to include Timor-Leste in the list of least developed countries, subject to the concurrence of the Government of Timor-Leste.

The Council adopted, without a vote, a resolution on Support for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (document E/2003/L.40/Rev.1), by which it, recalling General Assembly resolution 57/7 of 4 November 2002, entitled “Final review and appraisal of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s and support for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development”, decided to consider, pursuant to its role in respect of system-wide coordination, how to support the objectives of Assembly resolution 57/7 at its resumed session in 2003.

The Council adopted, without a vote, a resolution on Preparations for an international meeting to review the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (document E/2003/L.41), by which it, recalling General Assembly resolution 57/262 of 20 December 2002 and reiterating the provisions of decision II adopted by the Commission on Sustainable Development at its eleventh session, in particular paragraph 9, recommended to the General Assembly that travel and subsistence allowance for participants from small island developing States to the preparatory meetings and the international meeting to undertake a comprehensive review of the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States be provided from the funds designated by donors for that purpose in the voluntary trust fund established by the Assembly in resolution 57/262.

The ECOSOC adopted a decision on the Report of the Committee for Development Policy on its fifth session (document E/2003/L.43) in which it took note of chapters I, II, III and V of the report, and decided to defer consideration of chapter IV (review of the list of least developed countries), including the question of graduating Cape Verde and Maldives, to its resumed session and in this regard requested the Secretary-General to provide the necessary technical support to the Council for that purpose.

The Council adopted, without a vote, a resolution on the Enlargement of the Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (document E/2003/L.4), by which it took note of the request to enlarge the membership of the Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees contained in the letter dated 23 September 2002 from the Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and recommended that the General Assembly, at its fifty-eighth session, decide on the question of enlarging the membership of the Executive Committee from 64 to 65 States.

The Council also adopted as orally amended, without a vote, a resolution on the Enlargement of the Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (document E/2003/L.14), by which it took note of the request to enlarge the membership of the Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees contained in the letter dated 25 April 2003 from the Permanent Mission of Zambia to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and recommended that the General Assembly, at its fifty-eighth session, decide on the question of enlarging the membership of the Executive Committee from 65 to 66 States.


Comment on Resolution on Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective

Speaking in explanation of her country's position regarding the draft resolution, a representative of Argentina said that her country considered the draft resolution important and offered its support. Argentina had put on record its position on the subject of gender mainstreaming; for the forty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women, that position would be repeated.


Comments on Resolution on Implementation of Declaration on Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples

A representative of the United States, speaking in an explanation of the vote after the vote, said that the United States had abstained because, although the United States felt the United Nations specialized agencies had a responsibility to carry out their mandates in non-self-governing territories, they did not require guidance beyond that already provided in their respective mandates. It was not appropriate or necessary to link the specialized agencies to the declaration on granting of independence. Moreover, it was counterproductive for the Council to devote its time and energy to this issue.

A representative of Australia said he shared the sentiments expressed by the United States.

A representative of Italy, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said the Union had abstained because the resolution did not fall within the competence of ECOSOC.

A representative of Japan said that Japan had abstained because although Japan supported self-determination, this theme was not appropriate to the competence of the Council.

A representative of the Russian Federation said his delegation had abstained because the consideration of this purely political issue in the Council distracted the Council from fulfilling its main functions in the economic and social areas. He also reiterated that this decision should be taken off the agenda of the Council.

Making a general statement, a representative of Qatar said that his country had been absent during the vote, but, if present, would have voted in favour.


Comments on Decision to Suspend Special Consultative Status of Reporters sans frontières

Speaking before the decision as to the order of consideration, a representative of France suggested that his resolution (document E/2003/L.38) should be considered first as it had been submitted on the basis of there not having been a full follow-through of due process in considering the revocation of the consultative status of Reporters sans frontières.

A representative of Cuba said that sufficient time had been allotted for the response of Reporters sansfrontièresduring the session of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations. They had been informed of the date on which the Committee would take its decision, but had submitted no response or statement of defense at that time. Therefore, there was no reason to ask the Committee to reconsider its decision on the basis suggested by France.

A representative of Libya said she regretted that certain members of the Council had used the rules of procedure to impose political judgments. Reporters sans frontières had been the subject of a resolution submitted by the African Group. The NGO had shown a lack of respect toward her country and toward the Commission on Human Rights as a whole. Moreover, Reporters sans frontières had never apologized for their action and actually broadcast its details on their Web site.

A representative of the United States said that the recommendation to suspend the consultative status of Reporters sans frontières for a period of one year had resulted from a narrow vote in the Committee, after several members had urged the postponement of consideration of the decision. A fair reading of the rules and procedures showed that any NGO accused of misconduct should be given a chance to respond to the allegations made against it before its case was decided. For this reason, the United States urged the decision to be remanded to the Committee for reconsideration and supported the French proposal contained in resolution E/2003/L.38.

A representative of Brazil voiced support for the position taken by the Cuban delegation.

A representative of France recalled that the decision before the Council was whether or not its procedures should be fully applied. The French proposal was not a counter-proposal. France would accept the Committee’s decision if, upon reconsideration, it was resubmitted to the Council intact. However, France wanted to make sure that due process had been followed in this matter.

A representative of China said that, in accordance with the rules of procedure of ECOSOC, the draft decision of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations should be voted upon first.

A representative of Benin said that the members of the Council had been told the draft resolution contained in E/2003/L.38 did not contradict the draft decision contained in the report of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations. However, given the current confusion, there should be clarification of this matter.

A representative of France said that the resolution E/2003/L.38 concerned the suspension of the decision to suspend the consultative status of Reporters sans frontières. It did not overturn the decision, but simply asked the Committee to reconsider its decision.

A representative of Cuba said that his position followed the rules of procedure, which stated that resolutions and decisions should be considered by the Council in their order of submission. However, if France wanted to call for a vote on changing the order of submission due to priority, Cuba was ready to vote on this issue.

Speaking in an explanation of the vote before the vote, a representative of South Africa, speaking on behalf of the African Group, said that the Group viewed deliberate violations of the rules of procedure of the functional commissions of ECOSOC in a very serious light. The actions of Reporters sans frontières, which involved the flinging of pamphlets at delegates and the display of a banner in protest against the Chairmanship of the Commission on Human Rights, were not only disgraceful, but more importantly, brought the norms and rules concerning the functioning of the commission into disrepute. The African Group thus expected all those involved with the work of the Commission to condemn the actions of the NGO, for which there had been no expression of remorse. The Group refused to set a procedure for other organizations to violate the rules of procedure of the functioning of the Commission or other functional commissions of ECOSOC. Thus, the decision of the Committee should be supported by all the members of the Council. Moreover, this same NGO had been implicated in other controversies beyond the realm of the Commission and Council, which brought its reputation into question.

A representative of China said he supported the involvement of NGOs and civil society in the work of the Commission, but the rules of the game should be observed by all. Reporters sans frontières had openly insulted the Chair of the Commission, following which another NGO had insulted the United States delegation by unfurling a peace flag in front of them. These actions had served to tarnish the image of all NGOs. It was appropriate to support the decision of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations, which should also be adopted by consensus. However, in the event of a vote, China would support the decision. Moreover, the censure of Reporters sans frontières did not constitute action against the NGO as an entity, but against its actions in a given situation. If the appropriate remedial action were taken, China would support the reinstatement of Reporters sans frontières’ consultative status.

A representative of Senegal said that his delegation agreed with the thrust of the concerns raised by South Africa, but that Senegal would abstain in this vote so as to maintain a consistency with the position taken during the Committee’s session itself. Senegal deplored the security failures that led to the events of the day in question.

A representative of Italy, speaking on behalf of the European Union, stressed the importance of what had been said by France -- ECOSOC must deal with the procedural aspects of the case, not substantive issues.

A representative of France said that he had been speaking from a legal point of view and had at no point commented on the events that took place during the Commission. The rules of procedure must be scrupulously observed. The fact that they had not was the reason for France’s call for a vote. France would oppose the adoption of the Committee’s decision.

A representative of Cuba said that once the question of procedure had been resolved, he had hoped the decision would have been adopted by consensus. The representative of South Africa had hit the nail on its head –- the incident in Geneva constituted an alarm to ECOSOC; these events must not be repeated. Cuba would vote in favour of the decision.

Speaking in an explanation of the vote after the vote, a representative of Libya said the result of the vote on the decision was a strong message sent to all those who aimed to humiliate States and flout decisions made by the United Nations. The vote showed that there must be respect for the dignity of the Member States of the United Nations. At this point, Libya thanked friendly Arab and Muslim countries that not only had supported Libya, but had respected the principles of the United Nations.

A representative of Benin said that he appreciated the work of NGOs in the field and with ECOSOC. Benin had voted yes and had respected the position of the African Group to deter arrogant actions by NGOs against States and to deter NGO impunity. NGOs from developed countries sometimes sought to sabotage the stability of small developing countries. The vote had ensured the respect for the principles of the United Nations.

A representative of Brazil said he had voted in favour regarding the suspension of the NGO, but would like to put on record Brazil’s respect for human rights and the role of NGOs. The vote today had been based on the conduct of a specific NGO and respect for the NGO Committee’s work in New York.

A representative of Burundi said that he had voted in favour of the resolution. Burundi held human rights dear to its heart and recognized the important role played by NGOs within the United Nations. Burundi had voted yes to send a signal for the future, not to vote against a country.


Comment on Decision on Implementation of Electronic Meeting System

A representative of Japan said that consideration of this decision should be deferred to a resumed session of the Council as the documentation needed to take a fully informed decision had only become available yesterday. Moreover, the Council remained uninformed of the costs of this decision.

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