STATEMENT
BY
H.E. DR. MAKARIM WIBISONO
PRESIDENT OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
AT
THE HANDING OVER OF THE PRESIDENCY
OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

New York, 29 January 2001

Excellencies,

Distinguished Colleagues and friends,

As the out-going President of ECOSOC I would like to express the Council’s deepest sympathy and condolences to the bereaved families, the people and Government of India and Pakistan for the catastrophic tragedy and devastation that has stricken their countries.  We are deeply saddened by the magnitude of the calamity and the enormous toll of lives cut short and dreams shattered forever.  We applaud the efforts being made in trying to address and cope with the disaster and hope that the international community will rise to the meet the situation both speedily and adequately.  I also hope that this Council under its new President and Bureau will explore every avenue within its power to be of assistance in responding to the tragedy that has shocked both India and Pakistan and the entire world.

Excellencies,

Distinguished Colleagues,

Each new year brings new beginnings and for ECOSOC, the new year brings the inevitable passing of the torch to a new team.  It is a time when we assess the progress achieved, plan for the future and reflect on the past. Thus, in bidding farewell to the Council, I would like to give a brief accounting of my watch, not only pointing out the areas that have achieved a measure of progress but also mentioning those issues that still require our undivided attention.

First, let me take a moment to express to all of you my sincere and warm appreciation for entrusting me with the honour and distinction of President of the ECOSOC for the past year. It has also been a great pleasure and real privilege for me to have worked so closely with so many dedicated and hardworking people striving to make a difference in the lives and well-being of all people especially the poor and disenfranchised. I should hasten to add that whatever progress was achieved during my tenure, could not be solely accredited to the President or the Bureau. Rather, it was due in no small measure to the dedication and hard work of the many delegates of member and observer States, the representatives of the Secretariat and those of the United Nations system.

I thus wish to place on record my sincere appreciation to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan and to the Deputy Secretary-General, Ms. Louise Frechette for their enduring assistance and direction during my tenure and who, in recognition of the importance and influence of this body, personally made essential contributions to its work and activities.  In addition, my special thanks goes to my distinguished colleagues on the Bureau, the four Vice-Presidents: H.E. Ambassador Martin Belinga-Eboutou of Cameroon, H.E. Dr. Gerhard Pfanzelter of Austria, H.E. Dr. Bernd Niehaus of Cost Rica and H.E. Dr. Vladimir C. Sotirov of the Republic of Bulgaria, for their dedication and professionalism. Their collegiallity and willingness to share the work created a positive environment that was the very basis of a productive year. For this, I am eternally grateful.

 Let me also acknowledge and thank Mr. Nitin Desai, Mr. Patricio Civili, Mr. Sarbuland Khan, Ms. Peggy Kelley and their dedicated staffs for their unparalled support during the year and for the excellent reports they have provided on a wide range of issues for the attention of the Council as well as for making our job and activities run so smoothly at all times. In similar vein, I wish to thank as well Ms. Therese Gastau, Mr. Timothy Wall and all the staff at DPI for their tremendous assistance and for their unparalleled support during the year. In addition my sincere thanks to  those responsible for launching the ICT Exhibition as well as to the interpreters, conference officers and documentation personnel for their indispensable work. To each and all of you, our sincere and grateful thanks.

Looking back on my tenure as President, I believe we have collectively moved our agenda for development forward in several respects. Almost to the day, this time last January, we outlined an ambitious agenda in which we listed a set of six priorities that would serve to define the thrust and tone of our activities over the year.  Of these priorities, I particularly take the greatest satisfaction in the Council’s leadership in bringing  the crucial phenomenon of our times, that of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), to the forefront of the United Nations’ agenda.  As the major theme for the Council’s high-level segment, Information and Communication Technologies, became well recognized not only as the most powerful technological revolution of our time and dominant driving force of globalization but also as an excellent mechanism for promoting equality in the field of economic growth and development and for narrowing the economic gaps between the developed and the developing countries.  Conversely, without access and connectivity to such technologies countries, particularly the developing world, run the severe risk of being by-passed and marginalized.

In seeking to heighten the awareness of this important phenomenon for development ECOSOC organized a comprehensive series of panel discussions on ICT and Development as well as regional meetings held in New Delhi, India and Florianopolis, Brazil, co-sponsored by the Governments and the Regional Economic Commissions, in the lead up to the high-level segment. In this regard, I wish to express my sincere appreciation to the Government of India and Brazil for hosting the regional meetings in Asia and the Pacific as well as Latin America and the Caribbean.  Complementing these activities various bodies within the UN family and other regional and international organizations also provided their valuable inputs.

By all accounts, these events and the manner in which they were carried out proved to be extremely informative, stimulating and productive and helped to make the Council a more global, strategic and open forum for dialogue inclusive of high-level officials and all key players and stakeholders.  The emphasis was decidedly put on inclusiveness and participation in which I take personal pride. Our discussions during the high-level segment on ICT made it abundantly clear that closing the digital divide, and "I venture to argue "closing the development gap cannot be the sole responsibility of any one group of stakeholders. Together with my collaborators, I made a sustained effort to make the process as participatory and as inclusive as possible by bringing in all relevant players including, among others, the private sector. In short, this was an enriching experience and I am greatly encouraged to note that the plans taking shape for this year’s  high-level segment on supporting Africa’s sustainable development efforts, as well as for the coordination segment on promoting development, are seeking to bolster this culture of inclusiveness and participation. I would encourage the Council to continue along this path that promotes inclusiveness, innovation and partnership despite the uncertainty, discomfort and even mistrust that it may generate.

Such broad-based inclusiveness was also enhanced during the high-level segment last year which undertook a plethora of formal and informal meetings and presentations, including holding, for the first time ever, Ministerial round-table breakfasts which provided a relaxed setting for fostering open exchanges of views.  In similar vein an ICT exhibition boasting more than 40 ICT exhibitors was staged at Headquarters that ran concurrently with the high-level segment. This was an unprecedented and unique departure for the United Nations that acted as an energizing interface between the world of ICT and the private sector and that of the world multilateral diplomacy.

The high-level segment culminated in a Ministerial Declaration, which was a first ever for the Council and constituted a blueprint for achieving a set of objectives in the area of promoting ICT for development including the development of information and communication technologies. The Declaration was also endorsed by the Heads of State and Government at the  Millennium Summit in September 2000 and  was also particularly recognized by the G8 Summit in late July 2000.  It is my fervent hope that the Council will continue to build on this momentum and to translate the blueprint into tangible action on the ground thereby helping to bridge the growing digital divide, foster digital opportunities and unlock the enormous potential of ICT for development. I am aware that there are still a number of open issues and questions about the details and specificities for the UN’s engagement in this issue, including the precise framework for the proposed ICT Task Force.  As I leave the Presidency I  note the progress being made in establishing the UN ICT Task Force.

Another priority issue set at the beginning of our tenure was the need to strive for continuity in pursuing the Council’s ongoing programme of activities. Central to this objective was that of seeking to reassert the central coordinating role and core function of the ECOSOC and its revitalization as the main organ of the UN for social and economic issues.  Significant progress was achieved in this respect. For the first time ever, the Council directly addressed the mechanisms and processes for reviewing the implementation of the major United Nations Conferences and Summits, thereby taking decisive, albeit initial, steps to move the process forward. The segment defined the parameters for the continuation, and the hoped for completion, of this urgent work at the Council’s next session. Likewise, at the close of October, I convened a meeting with the Rome-Based Agencies in an on-going effort to establish closer relations and regular meetings between the ECOSOC and the specialized agencies of the United Nations system.  A main purpose of the dialogue, which was on the theme "Eliminating Hunger in the New Millennium", with a particular focus on Africa, was to promote overall policy  coordination and coherence within the system.   I believe the meeting served this purpose well.

Another top priority we set was to address the need to enhance the ability of ECOSOC to respond in a timely and effective manner to new emerging social and economic issues including natural disasters. The Council was able to convene such a meeting on March 9^th 2000 to be briefed on and to deliberate on the provision of guidance to the United Nations agencies in the field to help them solve the tragic situation in Mozambique which loomed large in the wake of the devastating flood waters that swept across the country wreaking havoc and destruction in its path. Having consulted with the members of the Bureau, I was able to convene this meeting on the basis of the Council’s coordinating mandate. The Council then called on governments, the United Nations, its specialized agencies and other bodies as well as the international financial institutions, NGOs and the private sector to intensify their efforts in a coordinated manner to provide a continuum of relief and assistance to Mozambique leading to the eventual reconstruction and development of the country.     

 An additional priority that we identified for the Council last January was to intensify its existing contacts and cooperation with the Bretton Woods institutions. I commend for your serious attention to the special high-level meeting held with the Bretton Woods institutions on April 18 last year. Bringing together Ministers of Finance attending the BWI Spring meetings as well as Ministers of Development and of Foreign Affairs is an ongoing  and unique opportunity for such policy makers who shape major policy to engage in a free flowing dialogue. The High-level Policy Dialogue at the beginning of the substantive session in July with the international finance and trade organizations again strengthened the Council’s efforts to intensify such contacts and engagement. Moreover contacts were intensified between the Director-General of the WTO and the Secretary-General of UNCTAD which should help to facilitate greater coherence and understanding between ECOSOC and those organizations. I hope that such strategic partnership between the UN and the BWI as well as the UN and the WTO will continue to be built upon.

Before concluding, let me just say that the overriding thrust of ECOSOC’s millennium agenda was to help ECOSOC realize its full potential in the promotion of social and economic development as envisaged by the Charter.  It was also its intention to keep the momentum of the Council’s renaissance moving forward. I hope that our tenure as President together with that of the Bureau has helped, through the pursuit of a number of predetermined priorities, to bring this goal closer to being realized.  While there are other issues of great importance for the Council, I wanted to single out these few and bring them to the attention of the new team as it assumes leadership of ECOSOC today. In this complex and changing social and economic landscape where new actors and challenges abound, the Council must continue to be engaged, to build on its strengths and, while holding fast to its core principles, it must also be open and flexible in striving to fulfill its mandate. 

In conclusion, let me wish the incoming President and the new Bureau every success in their challenging year ahead and I trust that the new Council will be able to continue on the road of renaissance and thereby help to advance its great potential as envisaged in the Charter. I would now, once again, like to thank each and all of you most sincerely for your cooperation and support during my tenure.

Thank You.