UNESCAP 65TH COMMISSION SESSION DISCUSSES THE FINANCIAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 001088

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR IO/EDA (DBALZER)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID EAGR IR CH INCB KS JA PK RS XB TH
SUBJECT: UNESCAP 65TH COMMISSION SESSION DISCUSSES THE FINANCIAL
CRISIS


1. (SBU) Summary. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) held its 65th annual session at
its headquarters in Bangkok on April 23-29. A recurrent topic of
discussion was the current global economic downturn and the
meeting's ministerial segment provided a snapshot of regional
perspectives of a crisis largely considered to be externally
created, but which a number of countries are seeking to address
through fiscal stimulus packages. The Commission passed six
resolutions by consensus, including again deferring action on Iran's
proposal to establish a disaster management center in Tehran.
Choosing the sites for three new sub-regional ESCAP offices will
remain a delicate task for the Executive Secretariat. Participants
noted the remarkably agreeable tone of this year's meeting, in which
the most contentious issue proved to be the selection of the theme
topic for ESCAP-66 next year. End summary.

Commentary on the Economic Crisis
--------------


2. (SBU) The theme of the ministerial segment of this year's
meeting was "Towards sustainable agriculture and food security in
the Asia-Pacific region." But most delegations devoted their
statements to the impacts and their responses to the global
financial crisis and economic downturn. The U.S. statement
acknowledged the need for greater oversight and reform of the
international financial system, but stressed the need for all
countries to take appropriate actions to help resolve the crisis.
(Note: Of the three ESCAP members outside the region-the U.S., the
U.K. and France-only the U.S. takes an active part.)


3. (SBU) On April 28 the ESCAP Executive Secretary, Noeleen Heyzer,
moderated a high-level panel on the economic crisis, comprising Mr.
Kim Jong-hoon, Minister for Trade of the Republic of Korea; Mr.
Abdoulie Janneh, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for
Africa (ECA); Mr. Jan Kubis, Executive Secretary of the Economic
Commmission for Europe (ECE); Mr. Ajay Chhibber, Assistant
Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Asia and the
Pacific, UNDP (via recorded video message); and Mr. Martin Khor,
Executive Director of the South Centre. Referring to this as the
worst economic recession since the Great Depression, they stated
that the crisis began outside of the region - from developed
countries - and developing countries were not responsible, but were
the hardest hit.


4. (SBU) The panelist from the ECA highlighted the need for
developed countries to keep to their official development assistance
(ODA) commitments - especially during this crisis. The panelist
from the South Centre mentioned that some stimulus package measures
in developed countries may contain protectionist elements that would
have adverse effects on developing countries. There was one call
for the developed countries which were responsible for the financial
crisis to make "special compensation" to the developing countries
which have been hurt the most. There was also strong condemnation
of agricultural subsidies in developed countries. Despite these
statements, however, the meeting was largely devoted to solving
problems, rather than casting blame.


5. (SBU) Common points over the course of the Commission were the
need for a global solution to the financial crisis, the need to
avoid protectionist measures, the need to consider the establishment
of more stable and durable exchange rate systems at the regional
level, the impact of "overdependence" on the US Dollar as a reserve
currency, and the need for social protection systems. One country
called for a re-evaluation of the market system as the basis for
world food production. Vietnam, on the other hand, touted its turn
to market capitalism as enabling it to turn from a rice importer to
a major rice exporter. The Korean minister specifically mentioned
his country's new project - the Green New Deal - which will seek to
develop green technology, spur economic growth, and create new jobs
in green industry.

New Resolutions largely non-controversial
--------------


6. (SBU) The slate of six resolutions taken up by the Commission
was somewhat lighter than in previous years, with only two
resolutions requiring substantive negotiation. In keeping with
ESCAP tradition, all resolutions passed by consensus. Of the
non-controversial resolutions: South Korea sponsored a resolution
teeing up a high-level intergovernmental meeting on the final review
of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 2003-2012.
Japan put forth a resolution calling for continued support of
ESCAP's Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP),which
it hosts. A Mongolia-sponsored resolution expressed general support
for the Government of Mongolia to pursue establishment of a
think-tank in Ulaanbaatar concerned with landlocked developing
countries. Finally, an Indonesian-sponsored resolution provided for

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an increase in the membership of the Governing Council of the Center
for Alleviation of Poverty through Secondary Crops Development in
Asia and the Pacific (CAPSA).


7. (SBU) As at previous ESCAP sessions, Iran again submitted a
draft resolution concerning its proposal to host in Tehran an
Asia-Pacific Center for Information, Communication and Space
Technology-enabled Disaster Management (APIDM). Despite a
resolution at last year's meeting that called upon Iran to revise
its proposal to incorporate the recommendations of an independent
consultant's feasibility study, the Iranian delegation provided only
an oral intervention reiterating the priority its government
attaches to the proposed center and promising full financial and
in-kind support for its establishment. As before, a substitute
resolution brokered behind the scenes by the Secretariat was
approved that deferred consideration of the APIDM proposal and
repeated the invitation to Iran to resubmit it after incorporating
the consultant's recommendation.


8. (SBU) Indonesia sponsored a resolution following on a December
2008 meeting in Bali it convened in cooperation with the ESCAP
Secretariat on "The food-fuel crisis and climate change: Reshaping
the development agenda." USDel engaged actively to steer the
resolution away from what would have been an inappropriate ESCAP
endorsement of the meeting's non-negotiated "Bali Outcome Document"
and to correct language that inaccurately lumped together the
diverse issues of global food and fuel price volatilities, the
financial crisis, climate change, and sustainable agriculture. The
resolution calls for further analytic work by the Secretariat and a
follow-on experts group meeting later in 2009 or 2010 to discuss
regional progress in responding to the economic crisis and its
impacts on development.


9. (SBU) Consideration in the Committees of the Whole of the
numerous reports by the Secretariat and the subsidiary bodies of the
Commission went largely uneventfully, with the exception of the
question of the locations of three new sub-regional ESCAP offices
(to cover East and North-East Asia, North and Central Asia, and
South and South-West Asia) which had been approved by the UN General
Assembly in December 2008. Pakistan, South Korea, and Sri Lanka
(all of which had offered to host a center) registered objections to
the report of an independent consultant who had recommended Beijing,
Almaty, and New Delhi be selected to host the new offices. Other
delegations, including prospective hosts China, Kazakhstan and
India, urged timely establishment of the new offices but avoided
directly confronting their rivals. The Executive Secretary,
pointedly noting an absence of consensus within the Commission,
reaffirmed her intention to proceed with her own decision on the
locations of the offices before the end of 2009, but she promised to
take into account the views expressed and to "strongly consider"
making site visits to each of the prospective host cities. Although
the disgruntled delegations insisted on extensive edits to the
portrayal of their positions in the meeting report, none pressed for
action on the floor to overrule the Executive Secretary.

Most Contentious: What to talk about next year
--------------


10. (SBU) The most contentious item in the Commission meeting
proved to be the selection of the "theme topic" for High-Level
segment of next year's meeting. ESCAP meeting themes are largely
pro-forma affairs, typically featuring long-winded speeches by
ministers and very little actual dialogue, and in choosing the theme
ESCAP has generally deferred to the preference of the government
that will host the meeting (in this case, South Korea). This time,
however, a schism quickly developed between proponents of the topics
"Low carbon Green Growth: technology and financing" (led by South
Korea, with support from Thailand and Japan) versus "Towards a
stable and supportive financial system for achieving the Millennium
Development Goals" (led by Russia, supported by China and Turkey).
Following more than ten hours of debate spread out over four days,
the sides acquiesced in a down-the-middle compromise quietly put
forward by the Secretariat through the Chair of the Working Group:
"Addressing challenges in the achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals: -- Promoting a stable and supportive financial
system; -- Green Growth or environmentally sustainable growth,
including through technology and financing."


11. (SBU) The sixty-sixth meeting of ESCAP will take place in
Incheon, Republic of Korea, in April or (more likely) May of 2010.


12. (SBU) The full texts of the resolutions and conference reports
will be available on the ESCAP website at http://www.unescap.org/65.



13. (SBU) Comment: Many ESCAP veterans observed that this was one
of the easiest sessions in years. The few areas of contention that

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marked this meeting ultimately yielded to straightforward compromise
or sputtered out on their own. The final decision on the locations
of the three new sub-regional ESCAP centers may again flare tempers
if not handled delicately by the Secretariat and the Commission
will, at some point, need to deal substantively with Iran's proposed
disaster management center. But delegates departed the UN
Conference Center on April 29 in an upbeat mood.


14. (SBU) This cable was cleared by Daniel Balzer of IO/EDA.

JOHN#