unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (10/28/89)
SECOND COMMITTEE CONTINUES DEBATE ON REPORT OF ECOSOC
Posting Date: 10/20/89 Copyright UNITEX Communications, 1989
UNITEX Network, USA ISSN: 1043-7932
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) this afternoon
continued its debate on the Report of the Economic and Social
Council.
Statements were made by the representatives of Romania, the
United Kingdom, Austria, New Zealand, Bahrain, Libya, Australia,
Israel, Ecuador, Canada and Mali.
Many delegates stressed the need for a continued, co-ordinated
response by the United Nations to the acquired immune deficiency
syndrome (AIDS) epidemic, through the implementation of the
Global Programme on AIDS by the World Health Organization
(WHO). The importance of revitalizing the role of the Economic
and Social Council within the United Nations system was
emphasized by a number of speakers.
When the Committee next meets at 10 a.m. on Monday, 23 October,
it will begin to debate a cluster of items under the heading of
development and international economic co-operation:
environment, desertification and drought, and environmental
protection of extraterritorial spaces for present and future
generations. The protection of global climate for present and
future generations and mankind will also be discussed.
Committee Work Programme
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this afternoon
to continue its discussion of the report of the Economic and
Social Council. (For background information, see Press Release
GA/EF/2389 of 16 October).
Statements Made
MARIAN DINU (Romania) said that enhancement and streamlining of
the Economic and Social Council in order to make the United
Nations more responsive to the challenges of development must
continue. The Council's debate on structural imbalances in the
world economy had been a step towards making the Council the
central forum for discussion of international economic and
social issues in the United Nations system. Regarding the
question of the net transfer of resources, there were signs that
the international community had come closer to a common
understanding. It was necessary, however, to have an
understanding of the political significance of the phenomenon of
the net transfer of resources.
International economic security was an issue of great importance,
he said, but there had been overt disregard for the letter and
spirit of some of the key agreements designed to regulate
international economic relations. The increased attempts by
some countries to impose on the developing countries economic
mechanisms specific to the "so-called free market" was a
negative trend. More effective multilateral co-operation and
new initiatives to strengthen global dialogue on the basis of
full equality were called for.
JOHN F.R. MARTIN (United Kingdom) expressed condolences to the
Governments of China and the United States with regard to the
earthquakes in those countries. The Council's resolution on its
revitalization, adopted at its summer session was a useful step
towards strengthening the effectiveness of the United Nations in
dealing with economic and social issues. However, much more was
still needed. The time had come for decisive action to turn the
Council into an effective forum on economic and social affairs.
Revitalization of the Council was only one part of the wider
restructuring of the inter-governmental machinery in the
economic and social fields. He called for a substantial
overhaul of existing machinery to enable the Council and its
subsidiary bodies to cope with the challenges of the 1990s.
He said that acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) remained
a global threat to all mankind. The United Nations, under the
leadership of the World Health Organization (WHO), should
continue to do all it could to eradicate that terrible disease.
He reviewed measures taken in that area by his Government,
stressing the strong international element contained in those
measures. He welcomed the fact that there would be national AIDS
programmes in every country at the end of this year. He
suggested that while in the long run it would be all right for
the Committee to consider AIDS on a biennial basis, things at
the moment continued to move so fast in the struggle against the
disease that it would be correct to put the subject on the agenda
again in 1990.
HELMUT BOECK (Austria) said the AIDS epidemic was a problem of
huge dimensions that presented an enormous challenge to public
health services in developed and developing countries. The
Austrian strategy for prevention and control of AIDS had been
implemented in comformity with World Health Organization (WHO)
guidelines. Information campaigns had been directed at the
general public and specific elements of the population. The
participation of private organizations in counseling
HIV-infected persons and caring for affected people had been
encouraged in accordance with international recommendations.
The first international meeting of non-governmental AIDS service
organizations had been held in Vienna earlier this year, he said.
The Austrian AIDS Foundation had been chosen to represent the
European region in the preparatory committee for the next
international conference of AIDS service organizations in 1990.
In addition, Vienna had been chosen as the location for
observance of World AIDS Day 1989. The adoption of a consensus
resolution on AIDS by the General Assembly would indicate the
importance of a co-ordinated response by the United Nations
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