unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (09/03/89)
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT
RECOMMENDS MORE EFFECTIVE MARSHALLING OF RESOURCES TO BUILD
CAPACITIES OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Ends Two-Week Session
The Secretary-General would explore more effective ways of marshalling
international resources for building up the scientific and technological
capacities of developing countries under a proposal approved this morning by
the Intergovernmental Committee on Science and Technology for Development.
As the Committee concluded a two-week session, it recommended without a
vote that the Assembly request the Secretary-General to consider organizing a
more effective coalition of resources within the United Nations development
system, including multilateral financial institutions, regional development
banks and bilateral funding agencies to strengthen endogenous capacity
building in developing countries.
By other consensus recommendations approved this morning the Assembly
would
Urge the United Nations Centre and Fund for Science and Technology for
Development to continue to implement pilot science and technology studies in
developing countries, with the support of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), other interested bodies of the United Nations system, and
major donor countries;
Consider that science and technology for development should be one of
the major themes of the Assembly's special session on international economic
co-operation, the preparation of the International Development Strategy for
the 1990's, the Second United Nations Conference on the Least Developed
Countries and the proposed conference on environment and development.
Call upon the organizations of the United Nations system to provide
sustained support to building the endogenous capacities of developing
countries in science and technology, including their capacity for technology
assessment;
Urge the governing bodies of the United Nations system to improve
their response to developing countries' scientific and technological
priorities by co-ordinating such activities through the office of the UNDP
resident co-ordinator;
Consider that the Centre should serve as the focal point for
technological assessment within the United Nations system, and where possible
with Governments and non-governmental organizations; and
Approve the continued publication within existing resources of the
Centre's Advanced Technology Alert System (ATAS) as an effective means of
applying technology assessment in developing countries.
Also this morning, the Committee, by adopting its provisional agenda for
its 1991 session, decided the theme for that session should be ways of
ensuring the participation of developing countries in research and development
of environmentally sound technologies, and the rapid and effective transfer of
such technologies to the developing countries. It also approved its report to
the Assembly on its present session and the draft medium-term plan for
1992-1997.
Explaining their positions were the representatives of the United States,
Norway, France (speaking on behalf of the 12 member States of the European
Community) and Malaysia (on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries).
During the course of the two-week session, which began 21 August, the
Committee elected 14 members to the Advisory Committee on Science and
Technology for Development, a 28-member body of experts in different
applications of science and technology to development. The Committee also
decided to continue to hold its meetings biennially.
The substantive theme of the session was the end-of-decade review of the
Vienna Programme of Action, adopted by the 1979 Conference on Science and
Technology for Development. The Committee also discussed the activities of
the United Nations system in science and technology, including those of the
Centre for Science and Technology for Development, the Fund for Science and
Technology for Development and the Advisory Committee on Science and
Technology for Development.
Officers and Membership
The Intergovernmental Committee, which was established in 1979 following
the Vienna Conference, is open to all Member States of the Organization.
The officers for the present session were Celso Lafer (Brazil),
Chairman; Oleg Pashkevich (Byelorussia), Zhu Lilan (China), and Torsten
Westlund (Sweden), Vice-Chairmen; and James Mugume (Uganda), Rapporteur.
It was decided that for the next session, the Chairman will be nominated
from among the Eastern European states, the Vice-Chairmen will be from the
Western, Latin American and African groups, respectively, and the Rapporteur
will be from a member of the Asian group.
Committee Programme
The Intergovernmental Committee on Science and Technology for Development
met this morning to conclude its two-week session. It has before it six
consensus draft resolutions submitted by its Vice-Chairman relating to the
implementation of the 1979 Vienna Programme of Action on Science and
Technology for Development and the activities of the United Nations system in
that field (documents A/CN.11/L.133 and L.134).
The Committee will also decide on its provisional agenda for its 1991
session (document A/CN.11/L.132/Rev.1) the proposed theme of which is ways of
ensuring the participation of developing countries in international research
and development on environmentally sound technologies, and the rapid and
effective transfer of such technologies to developing countries.
By a draft on the activities of the United Nations system in science and
technology for development (document A/CN.11/l.133), the Committee would
decide that the Centre for Science and Technology for Development should
continue its pilot studies, employing approaches to endogenous capacity
building where appropriate. An item on financing science and technology for
development would be included on the agenda of its next session, as would an
* Origin: UNITEX --> Toward a United Species (1:107/501)
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