BRIEFING
BY H.E. AMBASSADOR MAKMUR WIDODO
PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE INDONESIAN MISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS
ON THE OUTCOMES OF THE 2ND MEETING OF THE  BUREAU
OF THE  PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR WSSD
TO ALL DELEGATIONS

NEW YORK, 3 AUGUST 2001

 

It is an honour for me on behalf of Prof. DR. Emil Salim, the Chairman of the Bureau, to have the opportunity to deliver a brief report to you, on the main outcome of the Second Meeting of the Bureau held in Geneva from 16 to 18 July 2001. I would also invite the other bureau members to provide additional information relating to the bureau meeting.

First

The meeting chaired by H.E. Prof. DR. Emil Salim, attended by all of the bureau members and the Director of the DSD as well as the ex officio representative on the bureau from South Africa. A press conference by both Prof. Salim and Mr. Nitin Desai was also organized on July 18, 2001. 

The objectives of that meeting were:

  1. To take stock of the state of preparation of regional and sub-regional preparation for the Summit;

  2. To develop a working program leading to the Second Session of the Preparatory committee meeting in New York, 28 January - 8 February 2002;

  3. To mobilize further political support for the summit and its preparation;

  4. Meeting with the Executive Heads and senior officials from Geneva-based international organizations and UN agencies as well as representatives non-governmental organizations to discuss their involvement in the preparations.

Second

On the state of the regional and sub-regional preparations. Members of the Bureau discussed the results of the Regional Roundtables of Eminent Persons in Europe and North America (Vail, Colorado, 6 - 8 June 2001), Latin-America and Caribbean (Barbados, 18 - 20 June 2001), Africa (Cairo, 25 - 27 June 2001), and East Asia and Pacific (Kuala Lumpur, 9 - 11 July 2001). These roundtables brought together eminent persons and experts from various non-governmental constituencies, including science, private sector, trade unions, NGO’s, indigenous people, and other major groups. The ideas and recommendations contained in the roundtable’s report provide substantive input to the formulation of regional assessments and regional platforms and should be carefully examined by Governments as they prepare for sub-regional and regional preparatory meetings.

Common key issues that emanated from the four Roundtables include the following:

  1. An urgent need to find practical ways and means to make sustainable development workable. This calls for a new development model that incorporates the three pillars of sustainable development, namely economic, social and environment sustainability;

  2. The need to improve developing countries capacities to meet the challenges of globalization in trade, finance and technology in order to obtain benefits to reduce the gap between developed and developing countries;

  3. To cope with the new issues since Rio, such as the emergence of HIV/AIDS, global warming, erosion of bio-diversity, information and communication technology;

  4. The need to effectively address the issue of resources, in particular financial and fresh water resources, and means of implementation for sustainable development;

  5. The need for fostering stronger partnerships to promote sustainable development;

  6. The need for better governance and stronger institutions for sustainable development at all levels.

The Bureau agreed that after all of the five Roundtables take place, it would be useful to synthesize their outcomes into the global preparatory process. In this context a Joint Panel of Chairpersons of all Regional Roundtables is to be organized on the margins of the 56th session of the UN General Assembly.

Members of the Bureau noted that regional and sub-regional preparations require a more advanced stage of preparation at the national level. Active involvements of all stakeholders in national, sub-regional, regional and global preparations for the Summit are crucial importance.

The members of the Bureau agreed to continue their active involvement in various preparatory activities within their respective regions and would keep the Bureau and their regional groups be informed on progress achieved.

Third

In developing a working program, the Bureau agreed on the following work schedule leading to the second session of the Preparatory Committee:

  1. 3 August 2001: a briefing at UN Headquarters on the outcome of that second meeting of the Bureau;

  2. 6 - 7 September 2001; third Meeting of the Bureau to be held in conjunction with Regional Forum on "Business Opportunities and Sustainable Development : Partnership Strategies" to be organized in Jakarta, Indonesia, from 3 to 5 September 2001;

  3. 12 September 2001 (tentative); briefing at UN Headquarters on the outcome of the third Bureau meeting and the result of the business forum;

  4. 5 October 2001: fourth meeting of the Bureau in New York in conjunction with a Workshop of UNITAR

  5. 6 - 7 November 2001 (tentative): fifth meeting of the Bureau in conjunction with the UN General Assembly and Panel Discussion of the Chairpersons of the Roundtables;

  6. 2002 (New York) "brainstorming sessions with delegations on the main thematic Early January outcome of regional preparatory process in preparation for the second session of the preparatory committee meeting.

Fourth

On the work during the second session of the preparatory committee meeting (28 January to 8 February, 2002), the bureau consider proposals of the programme of activities prepared by Secretariat on the basis of the relevant decision taken by the preparatory committee meeting in its first session. As to the multi-stakeholders dialogue during the forthcoming session, the bureau underscore the need for :

  1. Balanced representation of participants from developing countries on major group’ delegations during the dialogue (mobilizing funding in support of such participation would be of great importance).

  2. Ensuring a more interactive nature of the dialogues, which should actively involve in discussion representatives of governments and also provide for a more lively exchange of ideas rather than reading prepared statements. The Secretariat was invited to prepare for the next meeting of the Bureau proposals regarding possible modalities and format of the dialogue sessions, which would be more conducive for such interactive discussions.

Fifth

Discussions have been conducted on reviewing the implementation of Agenda 21 and exploring future trends to be accommodated in future programs, with Executive Heads and Senior Officials from the World Bank, ILO, WHO, Secretary-General of UNCTAD, Director General of WTO, Director General of WMO, UN-ECE, European Office of UNEP, and Geneva based and European NGOs, including meetings with WBCSD, IUCN, WWF, senior official of the Swiss Government and other civil society organizations.

All of the heads of international organizations and agencies indicated their readiness to contribute actively in the preparatory work of the WSSD. Detail note on those meetings is available and it could be also be accessed in the WSSD Secretariat website as well as the Indonesian  Mission web site.

Thank you.