GENERAL
E/ESCAP/1159
5 May 2000
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Fifty-sixth session
June 2000
Bangkok

IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMISSION RESOLUTION 53/1 ON RESTRUCTURING THE CONFERENCE STRUCTURE OF THE COMMISSION

(Item 6 of the provisional agenda)

Report of the Executive Secretary

INTRODUCTION

1. The Commission, through its resolution 53/1 of 30 April 1997, decided to reorganize its conference structure. The revised structure of the Commission comprises five committees and two special bodies, meeting at the intervals and for the maximum durations indicated below:

Table 1. The new conference structure of the Commission

Together with the rationalization of the conference structure, the Commission decided to streamline the committee, subprogramme and organizational structures along thematic lines. The specific reform measures implemented and their effects on individual committees, subprogrammes and organization units of the secretariat are noted below.

I. Implementation of resolution 53/1 and its impacts

A. Committees and subprogrammes

2. Congruence between the legislative and programme structures and the internal reorganization of the secretariat was achieved at the beginning of 2000. As two subprogrammes, regional economic cooperation: trade and investment and regional economic cooperation: industry and technology have been merged into one subprogramme, two divisions within the secretariat, International trade and economic cooperation and Industry and technology have been merged into the International Trade and Industry Division, effective January 2000. The Population Division and the Rural and Urban Development Division within the secretariat were merged into the Population and Rural and Urban Development Division in 1998. The new programme structure of the Commission, its legislative committees and its corresponding divisions within the secretariat, effective from the 2000-2001 biennium are shown in table 2.

Table 2. Legislative committees, subprogrammes and Divisions

3. In response to an evaluation questionnaire circulated by the secretariat, most delegations expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the fifty-fifth session of the Commission. The duration of the session was felt to be appropriate and the quality of the support provided by the secretariat was deemed to be at least very good by most heads of delegation. The session was also considered to have been effective in providing a regional forum to discuss and decide upon important issues concerning economic and social development in the region.

4. Since the adoption of resolution 53/1 on 30 April 1997, the Committee for Regional Economic Cooperation has met once, in March 1999, and its Steering Group has met twice, in September 1998 and September 1999. The thematic approach has acquired greater coherence following the integration of two subprogrammes and, correspondingly, two divisions, into one, as noted in paragraph 2 above.

5. It is clear that the Committee and its Steering Group provide a useful forum for discussing important issues and developments in the region in the areas of trade, investment, technology flows and industrial restructuring. The discussions on economic recovery in the region at the meeting of the Steering Group, held at Bangkok in September 1999, were particularly enlightening. It is noted that the meetings were attended mainly by local representatives of member Governments which, to some extent, reduced the usefulness of the two bodies. In order to make the meetings more interactive in the future, presentation of case studies and panel discussions may need to be intensified.

6. The Committee on Socio-economic Measures to Alleviate Poverty in Urban and Rural Areas deals with a wide range of issues, including population, social development, women in development, human resources development, rural development and urbanization. The Committee has become an important regional forum for sharing information and experiences, synthesizing ideas and initiating action on poverty alleviation in the region.

7. However, the broad coverage of the Committee, which also encompasses the activities of two divisions of the secretariat, is partly responsible for less focused discussions at sessions of the Committee. This could account for the lack of full participation of the member countries at the Committee, as observed during its last session, held at Bangkok from 1 to 3 December 1999. Only about one third of members and associate members of ESCAP attended that session, and many of them were represented by their missions in Bangkok. As the Committee covers two subprogrammes, the agenda of its annual sessions could alternate between the two subprogrammes so that more focused discussions could be held in the future. In addition, advance planning of Committee sessions, including agendas, would facilitate preparations.

8. The thematic approach has generally been adhered to in the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources Development. In addition to the Environment and Natural Resources Development Division, other Divisions have been involved in the preparations for Committee meetings. It is noted that conformity among conference, subprogrammes and organization of the secretariat has simplified the reporting on and monitoring of the programmes of work.

9. The duration of meetings of the Committee has been shortened, as mandated by resolution 53/1. This has affected the depth of discussion of the issues, which may account for the declining representation from capitals of member countries over the past two years.

10. Some changes within the secretariat to improve efficiency and effectiveness in implementation have also been initiated. The Water Resources and Mineral Resources Sections have been merged into the Water and Mineral Resources Section within the Environment and Natural Resources Development Division; the number of publications has been reduced from 63 in the biennium 1998-1999 to 55 in the biennium 2000-2001; and training activities have been emphasized.

11. The Committee on Transport, Communications, Tourism and Infrastructure Development, which meets annually, has agreed on the subject matters to be discussed at each of its sessions. In even years, matters related to water transport, including ports, shipping, inland waterways, dredging, multimodal transport, freight forwarding and tourism are to be considered; and in odd years land transport, including roads, railways and other infrastructure, is to be discussed. The first of the odd-year discussions took place in 1999.

12. Since the adoption of resolution 53/1, the Committee has met twice, in 1998 and 1999, back-to-back with the Regional Inter-agency Committee for Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee on Infrastructure Development. This arrangement enables participants to attend both meetings. A panel discussion has been introduced. Perhaps for these reasons, the meetings were well attended, by representatives of member countries, most of whom came from their capitals, and by representatives from international organizations and non-governmental organizations.

13. The new terms of reference of the Committee, as mandated by resolution 53/1, are more clearly defined and responsive to the needs of the region. The new committee structure has enhanced the ability of the secretariat to respond to the issues addressed in the New Delhi Action Plan on Infrastructure Development in Asia and the Pacific, which was adopted by the Commission in its resolution 51/8 of 1 May 1995. The Committee has also played a crucial role in strengthening cooperation and collaboration between the secretariat and other bodies and agencies of the United Nations, financial institutions, intergovernmental and non-governmental, and private-sector organizations. Such collaboration has contributed towards greater complementarity in the implementation of projects and activities, particularly within the framework of the Regional Inter-agency Committee for Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee on Infrastructure Development.

14. Shortening the meeting has also reduced discussions on items relating to the programme of work to a minimum. More time during the Committee session is allocated for substantive issues. Most delegates who responded to the evaluation questionnaire indicated that the agenda, relevance and duration of the Committee meeting were satisfactory.

15. The Committee on Statistics, with the duration of the session reduced to three days, is likely to concentrate on strategic issues. There was a widespread feeling among its members that the three-day duration was far too short; others felt that it could be sufficient, provided that the agenda focused on a small number of substantive issues.

16. At its twelfth session in 2000, the Committee is to discuss the improvement of its organization, to evaluate the number of days required to conduct its business effectively and to report to the Commission if the members feel that the three-day format is unworkable.

17. The two special bodies meet biennially back-to-back with the Commission session. The meetings of the Special Body on Least Developed and Landlocked Developing Countries alternate year by year with the meetings of the Special Body on Pacific Island Developing Countries. The revised conference structure does not seem to have affected the impact and effectiveness of the special bodies. In fact, there have been efficiency gains, in that each of them only meets once in two years and focuses on specific issues.

18. The back-to-back arrangement of the sessions of the special bodies enables participants, especially from the Pacific island countries, where transportation costs are prohibitive, to attend the Special Body and the Commission sessions within a single trip.

19. Participants from member countries also benefit from the informal meetings they have with the Executive Secretary, and have expressed their preference for the informal meetings to be continued.

20. The thematic approach has necessitated inter-Divisional collaboration within the secretariat. Although the main responsibility for servicing the committees rests with the respective Divisions within the secretariat, the inter-disciplinary nature of the agendas of the committees calls for contributions from other Divisions. Successful examples abound. For instance, the discussion on economic recovery in the region at the meeting of the Steering Group of the Committee for Regional Economic Cooperation in September 1999, for which the International Trade and Economic Cooperation Division has primary servicing responsibility, has benefited from the contributions of the Development Research and Policy Analysis Division. The latter division also contributed to the last meeting of the Committee on Socio-economic Measures to Alleviate Poverty in Rural and Urban Areas, in December 1999, as well as to the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources Development on the implementation of the project on integrating environmental considerations into economic decision-making. The (former) Industry and Technology Division has provided a background document to the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources Development on the transfer and adoption of environmentally sound technology.

B. Other meetings

21. Other meetings organized by the secretariat have also been reduced and restructured.

(a) Ad hoc ministerial meetings

The resolution mandated that only one such meeting should be held per year, with the prior approval of the Commission.

1. In 1999, only one meeting was held, as mandated. That was the Second Ministerial Conference on Space Applications for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific. It was held at New Delhi, India, in November 1999;
2. In 2000, only one meeting is planned. The Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development in Asia and the Pacific, 2000, is to be held in Kitakyushu, Japan, from 31 August to 5 September 2000.

(b) Ad hoc intergovernmental meetings

The resolution mandated that no more than five such intergovernmental meetings may be held during a calendar year; the prior approval of the Commission is required and the total duration should not exceed twenty-five days. The two ad hoc intergovernmental meetings held in 1999 were the following:

1. Senior Officials’ Meeting on the Agenda for Action on Social Development in the ESCAP Region, held at Bangkok, 1-5 November 1999;
2. High-level Intergovernmental Meeting to Review Regional Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, held at Bangkok, 26-29 October 1999.

C. Coordination at the regional level

22. The Second Regional Coordination Meeting was held in Bangkok on 25 April 2000. The report of the Meeting is attached as an annex for the information of the Commission.

D. Future course of action

23. In anticipation of the comprehensive review of the implementation of resolution 53/1 to be undertaken at its fifty-eighth session in 2002, the Commission may wish to consider the desirability of convening an ad hoc intergovernmental meeting next year or in early 2002, to facilitate the Commission's deliberations on the subject. The Commission's views and guidance on this, as well as on other issues raised in the present document would enable the secretariat to continue to devote attention to the reform agenda.

Annex

REPORT ON THE SECOND REGIONAL COORDINATION MEETING

FOR THE ESCAP REGION

(Bangkok, 25 April 2000)