ECOSOC LAUNCHES ANNUAL MINISTERIAL REVIEW,

UNCLAS GENEVA 001803 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR IO/EDA AND IO/T E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID EAGR ETRD SENV ECOSOC UN SUBJECT: ECOSOC LAUNCHES ANNUAL MINISTERIAL REVIEW, DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION FORUM ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon delivered strongly-worded remarks at the July 2 opening of the UN Economic and Social Council's (ECOSOC) High Level Segment, stating that "existing trade barriers, agricultural subsidies and restrictive rules on intellectual property rights...make a mockery of our tall claims to eliminate hunger and poverty from our world." Ban also made opening remarks at the July 5 ceremonial launch of the ECOSOC's "Development Cooperation Forum" (DCF),where he emphasized the importance of continuing to improve coordination of development assistance. However, subsequent interventions at the DCF largely focused on familiar development policy issues including national aid targets, monitoring donor commitments, and the like. The highlights of ECOSOC'S new flagship Annual Ministerial Review (of progress towards the Millennium Development Goals) on July 3-4 were voluntary national presentations by Bangladesh, Barbados, Ethiopia, Ghana, Cambodia, and Cape Verde on their national development strategies, with several presenting balanced reports on their development challenges including the importance of private sector growth. Protracted negotiations over a draft Ministerial Declaration for the High Level Segment bore little resemblance to the encouraging discussions in the plenary hall, with the EU and G77 deadlocking over climate change, and the issues of official development assistance and the establishment of ECOSOC mechanisms to follow up major UN conferences requiring lengthy discussions. Nonetheless, the final Ministerial Declaration, adopted by consensus almost a week behind schedule on July 10, contains helpful language on the importance of improving governance and facilitating private sector led growth, while limiting the Ministers' pronouncements on climate change to previously agreed language and a nod to major upcoming meetings. End Summary. ECOSOC Launches Two New Forums -------------- ¶2. (U) ECOSOC launched two new policy forums at its July 2- 6 High Level Segment intended to strengthen the Organization's role in the development process--the Annual Ministerial Review (AMR) and Development Cooperation Forum. The DCF emerged from the 2005 World Summit, which called on ECOSOC to convene a biennial high level DCF to review trends in international development cooperation, promote greater coherence among development activities of various development partners, and strengthen the links between the normative and operational work of the UN. The AMR has its origins in the World Summit as well as UNGA Resolution 61/16 of 2006, which directed ECOSOC to hold "annual ministerial-level substantive reviews" as part of its high- level segment. Although Austria sponsored a preparatory conference in Vienna in April 2007, the July 5 meeting in Geneva officially kicked off preparations for the first full-length DCF planned for New York during the 2008 ECOSOC (July) substantive session. ¶3. (U) In his remarks at the July 2 opening of the High Level Segment, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon complimented ECOSOC for its "bold new initiatives to re- energize its functions and rejuvenate its mission." As a result, Ban noted, ECOSOC is well on its way to becoming "the global hub for devising and overseeing development policies and practices." Ban noted that, at the midpoint of the "race to achieve the Millennium Development Goals" (MDGs),progress has been slow in some of the world's poorest countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, even if the the MDGs "remain achievable in most countries...if political leaders take urgent and concerted action." ¶4. (U) Ban noted that experience has shown that successful national development strategies must be aligned with the MDGs through internal effort, not imposed from outside. He called on donors to meet the "0.7 percent official development assistance target", and urged them to "issue timelines for scaling up aid to reach their target commitments by 2010 and 2015." As they do so, Ban continued, "they must also address the disparities in the global trade regime, which handcuff so many developing nations...Existing trade barriers, agricultural subsidies and restrictive rules on intellectual property rights reinforce global inequities-and they make a mockery of our tall claims to eliminate hunger and poverty from our world." Annual Ministerial Review -------------- ¶5. (U) The highlights of the first-time AMR on July 3-4 were voluntary national presentations by Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Barbados, Cambodia, and Cape Verde on their national development strategies. In particular, the presentations by the first three countries were notable for their balanced approach and the importance they placed on macroeconomic stability and private sector led growth in both industry and agriculture. ¶6. (U) In his statement during the AMR General Debate, Ambassador Terry Miller congratulated countries for their voluntary presentations, noted that robust economic growth and liberalized trade have underpinned much of the recent decline in poverty rates, and reiterated the U.S. commitment to the global partnership for development. Development Cooperation Forum Off to Slow Start -------------- -- ¶7. (U) UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon kicked off the ceremonial launch of ECOSOC's Development Cooperation Forum on July 5 with a reasonable case for discussion: "Over the years...development assistance has expanded in a haphazard fashion...unnecessarily fragmented and complicated...The number of donors is increasing, and the interface with partner countries is becoming more demanding and multifaceted. Donor policies and procedures are varied...harmonization is proving difficult. National administrative systems are burdened with responding to different frameworks and to demands by various stakeholders. The emergence of new and increasingly specialized funds makes the system even more complex." However, his prescription was that "...all stakeholders participate actively in building a broad consensus on the governance of international development cooperation." He averred that the global effort to advance MDGs "...will bear fruit only if all the stakeholders -- Governments, UN system organizations, civil society, parliaments, private sector and academia -- understand that they are accountable to one another." ¶8. (SBU) The notion that recipient countries should evaluate or grade donors and their assistance was an oft repeated theme of G-77 spokesperson Pakistani Ambassador Munir Akram during the DCF and ECOSOC's four-day High Level Segment. Akram's remarks, prepared in response to the SYG's July 5 statement, criticized ECOSOC for its perfunctory oversight of bilateral cooperation, poor cooperation with technical and specialized agencies, and non-existent review of IFI programs. The G-77, UN officials, and some European donors asserted repeatedly that donor targets of 0.7 percent are set in stone and are open to judgment by all. Tough Negotiations on Ministerial Declaration -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Negotiations on the Ministerial Declaration for the High Level Segment proved very difficult and exposed sensitivities on the part of delegations on several major issues. Negotiations went nearly a week beyond the initial allotted time, with ECOSOC finally adopting the declaration by consensus at 8:00 PM on Tuesday, July 10, well after the end of the High Level Segment July 5, the traditional deadline. The main battles on the text pitted the G77 against the EU, with the United States and others in JUSCANZ occupying a more flexible middle ground. ¶10. (SBU) Climate change, official development assistance (ODA),and follow-up monitoring mechanisms proved to be the thorniest issues. In the end, climate change was by far the most difficult issue, with debate on this issue taking up the last two days of negotiations and turning into a prime example of the widening G77-EU conflict in the UN. Surprisingly, the EU showed itself to be very flexible; many were surprised to see how low its bottom-line positions were, when they finally revealed them after the protracted negotiations. ¶11. (SBU) In contrast, the G77 had incredible difficulty with climate change, taking very rigid positions and proving unable to engage meaningfully in negotiations due to a clear split in the group. India and China pushed narrow agendas focusing on restating at every opportunity the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities", likely in hopes of bolstering their positions in climate change negotiations next fall. The Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and others, championed by Barbados, openly showed their anger at the way Pakistan handled the negotiation. In one side meeting to hammer out language on climate change, the Chinese delegate said her government would rather not have the Ministerial Declaration than concede on key positions, particularly the reference to common but differentiated responsibilities. ¶12. (SBU) Given the strong conflict between the EU and G77 on the issue, not surprisingly the final climate change language in the Ministerial Declaration was very modest. It recognized the impact of climate change on all countries, including developing countries; restated agreed language from the UNFCCC on the global nature of climate change and the common but differentiated responsibilities and capabilities of respective countries; restated agreed language on the need to coordinate responses to climate change with social and economic development and the legitimate priority needs of developing countries for sustained economic growth and eradicating poverty; and gave a nod to upcoming climate change meetings, including the December 2007 meetings in Bali, Indonesia and the Secretary General's September 24 High Level Event. ¶13. (SBU) After hours of fruitless discussions on ODA, Ambassador Miller negotiated mutually acceptable language with Pakistani Permanent Representative Akram which preserved U.S. interests and indicated clearly that the 0.7 percent ODA target is not universally accepted. The EU and others eventually accepted the joint U.S. - G77 proposal. Language on follow-up monitoring mechanisms also appeared headed for an impasse between the G77 on one side and the EU, Russians, and Japanese on the other. In the end, however, the facilitator included in the final "take it or leave it" text watered down language on the issue omitting any specific new mandates for ECOSOC. (Note: Stronger language had actually been agreed in GA resolution 60/265 - on development follow-up.) While sidestepping the issue of establishing follow-up monitoring mechanisms under ECOSOC for the time being, there is a real chance the topic may come up again in another ECOSOC resolution or in the General Assembly. Comment -------------- ¶14. (SBU) The July 5 ceremonial launch of the DCF proved short on specifics while long on homilies and hortatory admonitions. While no single item rose to the level of a "red flag," the general tenor of the remarks suggests the U.S. and other donors will need to maintain continued vigilance against efforts to impose "global governance" on donors and aid recipients, including the monitoring of bilateral contributions, whether they be made bilaterally or through multilateral institutions. Based on the ceremonial launch, the DCF has a long way to go to deliver its promise of a dynamic forum to review trends and progress in international development cooperation, while giving member states an opportunity to exchange lessons learned and share best practices. Although negotiations on the Ministerial Declaration were tedious, language on ODA and other issues will be useful in the debate in the run-up to the Financing for Development follow-up slated for late ¶2008. We are particularly pleased with the strong references in the text to good governance and the role of the private sector in driving growth and reducing poverty. Ban's Role -------------- ¶15. (SBU) That the relatively positive outcome of the High Level Segment came despite rather than because of leadership by the Secretary General is cause for concern. Ban's introductory statements were politicized and one- sided, focusing excessively on ODA and what he characterized as problems with intellectual property rights, and virtually ignoring the private sector and the importance of domestic governance. His rhetoric was a throwback to a North/South dialogue that most members of ECOSOC have moved beyond. We can only hope that his statements reflect the views of diehards in the UN Secretariat rather than his own personal ideas.