Statement by
Mr. IGA Wesaka Puja
Representative of Indonesia
In
the 42nd Session of the Commission for Social Development
On
Agenda Item 3A: Priority theme improving public-sector effectiveness
and AgendaItem 3 B:
Review of relevant United Nations plans and programmes of action pertaining to the situation of social groups

New York, 5 February 2004

Mr. Chairman,

Let me begin by extending my delegation's congratulations to you on your election to the chairmanship of the 42nd Session of the Commission for Social Development. We pledge our full support in helping you carry out your formidable tasks. I would also like to express our appreciation to Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs for his statement and to Mr. Johan Scholvinck for his informative introductory remarks to the Secretary-General's reports on the agenda items 3 (a) and 3 (b). He offers us many interesting ideas which deserve further consideration. While we fully associate ourselves with the statement of the distinguished representative of the State of Qatar on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, my delegation would like to emphasize a few points it considers important.

Mr. Chairman,

Indonesia stands proud as the third largest democracy in the world and is currently in the midst of building and strengthening its institutions for good governance. The challenge for us is to ensure that democracy works and that it does actually deliver a better life for the people. In this regard, Indonesia believes that the government has the primary responsibility for providing all segments of the population with comprehensive quality social services in order to enhance social development and social justice. Given its critical role for the well-being of each society, it is therefore vitally important that close attention be paid to the effectiveness of the public sector in handling its many responsibilities to the nation at large. This imposes a duty on governments to create the necessary social development policies, including those on the public sector, to ensure that popular needs are met in a timely, cost-effective, reliable, accountable and equitable manner. This requires not only strengthened national efforts for public sector effectiveness, but also international cooperation.

In that regard, the Report of the Secretary General provides us with several useful points on how the effectiveness in delivering public sector services could be improved. The Report touches on the issues of accessibility, quality and productivity of the public sector. However, for many developing countries, effective delivery is linked with improving the public sector itself, including expanding the scale and scope of its coverage, sometimes in the face of a changed political and economic environment. In many developing countries, the resources available to finance public sector are limited. The low income of the public sector and the poor quality of its human resources also remain great challenges. These constraints make international cooperation an invaluable asset for governments wanting to improve public sector effectiveness. Strengthened international cooperation, coming from the UN system, International Financial Institutions and the World Trade Organization, as well from member countries, is therefore critical for developing countries, particularly in the area of financing and human resources development.

Indonesia believes that cooperation through the UN system, capitalizing especially on the CSocD forum, can help governments explore ways and exchange ideas about how best to approach and implement measures to make the public sector more effective and accountable for the benefit of their populations. Lessons learnt could be shared and organizations and donor countries could provide support for the work of the Commission which would help to create an enabling international environment that helps to facilitate the effectiveness of the public sector.

In the context of the achievement of the MDGs, specifically goals 1 to 7, international cooperation for public sector effectiveness becomes even more significant especially because public sector has a key role to play in the realization of those goals. On that basis, we are 0 view that the implementation of the outcomes of major UN conferences in the economic social fields, in particular the Copenhagen Program of Action and Copenhagen+5 as well as the Monterrey Consensus, is critical. We therefore urge the international community to substantially increase ODA and other resources for developing countries. We also believe that as the means to finance development, multilateral trade negotiations should incorporate developing countries’ concerns in the WTO's development agenda and work plan by 1 January 2005, and that the decision-making process should be open, transparent and democratic.

With regard to international cooperation through the International Financial Institutions, these institutions should take full account of the role and specificity of the public sector, especially in the provision of social services, when making recommendations on macroeconomic policies and implementing various programs related to development and poverty eradication. As a case in the point, the damage caused by the IFIs' structural adjustment policy programs during the 1980s to 1990s should serve as an important lesson of what the desired approach should be.

Mr. Chairman,

That having been said, it should be pointed out that the Government of Indonesia has making strong efforts to improve the effectiveness of its public sector. This has been and remains the priority program of the Government. Despite the economic crises of 1997 that hampered the ability of the Government to deliver adequate and efficient public services to its citizen initiated a reform process which empowered regional bodies to assist in the provision of public services. This has resulted in the efficient delivery and improvement of the quality of services. Under the reform, several laws have also been adopted in order to provide legal basis for the implementation of various programs, in health and education, and for children, aging and disabled persons. In addition, there are at least six complementary elements for public sector effectiveness that we are currently striving to improve simultaneously: the public servant, consumer behavior, national laws, regulation and procedures, funding and infrastructure.

At present, our Government is engaged in public service reform as part of a good government program which involves participation of all relevant stakeholders and pays particular attention to the improvement of the skills, knowledge, discipline and sense of dedication of the public servant, as well as providing adequate remuneration to attract bright qualified staff. In addition, recruitment practices disallowing the corruption of favoritism are being implemented, while efforts are being made to achieve the ideal size of the public sector. The general public is also being encouraged to develop a sense of ownership of and responsibility for the resources being supplied to their communities. Indonesia is also preoccupied with the need for sound social policy. Towards this end, national laws and regulations are being reviewed to determine if there are areas of overlap or duplication so that they can be properly streamlined to give greater coherence to the environment in which the public servant operates. Established procedures governing public sector activity are being adjusted and new ones are being adopted and closely monitored to enhance the efficiency of the service. Providing infrastructure, such as Information and Communication Technologies and electricity to facilitate their work, is also being undertaken.

Let me now say a few words on item 3 (b) regarding the situation of social groups:

As far as the issue of ageing is concerned, Indonesia is committed to the implementation of the 2002 Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing and the 1999 Macao Plan of Action on Ageing for Asia and the Pacific. This issue has been central to the formulation implementation of national development policies. Government measures that address the issue of older persons include a number of programmatic activities and legislative policies such as the adoption of Law No. 13/1998 on The Welfare of Older Persons and its National Plan of Action which was concluded in 2002.

Indonesia recognizes the importance of creating an enabling and supportive environment for older persons. Such an environment is essential to the successful implementation of strategies assisting older persons. This is being done by strengthening family and society as the primary basis of assistance for older persons; by providing services to older persons through institutionalized, semi-institutionalized, family-based, and community-based structures; and by promoting the participation of both local communities and older persons themselves establishing a more comprehensive and accessible network to address the issues of concern to older persons.

Regarding the issue of equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities, Indonesia has adopted laws No. 4/1997 on persons with disabilities and adopted its National Plan of Action in 2003. The Plan of Action reiterates the Government's commitment to the rights-based approach to the persons with disabilities. Significant steps have been taken in this respect. We would like to take this opportunity to inform the Commission that in accordance with the law No.12/2003 on General Election, persons with disabilities will be provided with greater access to exercise their democratic right to vote. This will be guaranteed in this year's General Election which represents significant progress in this area. However, I also believe that equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities requires not only institutional strengthening and capacity-building but also cooperation at national and international level as well as partnersip from all relevant stakeholders especially self-help organizations and concerned NGOs to support disabled persons.

With regard to tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family, the Indonesian Government welcomes this observance and measures that have been put into effect at various levels in its preparation. We believe that the occasion should be a pertinent one for member States to reaffirm their commitment to the promotion of the family. In this regard, Indonesia has formulated a National Program of Action for the tenth anniversary and established a national coordinating committee for the anniversary. Since 1999, Indonesia has observed a National Day of Family every 29 June, as part of our efforts to improve the awareness of the people on the role of the family and to promote family empowerment in order to achieve "2015 Quality Family”. The program emphasizes family welfare and resilience. My delegation finally would like to reiterate our support for the UN system, in particular the work of the Division on Social Policy and Development on the issue of family and hope that these works will continue in the future and benefit all Member States.

Thank you.