Pardee Director Presents CDP Report to UN ECOSOC
Prof. Adil Najam, the Director of the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future and a Professor of International Relations and Geography and Environment at Boston University presented the report of the United Nations Committee on Development Policy (CDP), on which he serves, to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on July 21, 2010 at the UN Headquarters in New York.
The Committee for Development Policy (CDP) is a subsidiary body of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. CDP provides inputs and independent advice to the Council on emerging cross-sectoral development issues and on international cooperation for development, focusing on medium- and long-term aspects. The Committee is also responsible for reviewing the status of least developed countries (LDCs) and for monitoring their progress after graduation from the category. The 24 members of the Committee are nominated by the United Nations Secretary-General in their personal capacity, and are appointed by the Council for a period of three years. The CDP is mandated to present its report to the ECOSOC each year, and this year Prof. Najam presented this report to the member states on behalf of the CDP. (Read full report here).
In his report to the UN ECOSOC Prof. Adil Najam focused on four key issues: (a) the impact of global crises on gender equality and the empowerment of women; (b) the support by the United Nations system for small island developing States (SIDS); (c) Coherence on the climate change agenda in relation to its financial architecture and to other development agenda; and (d) the international support measures available for least development countries. The session was chaired by the Permanent Representative of Mauratius to the United Nations, a current Vice-President of the ECOSOC.
Details of Prof. Najam’s report, as published in the official UN Gazette of the ECOSOC meeting:
ADIL NAJAM, Representative of the Committee for Development Policy, said that the report of that body’s twelfth session addressed four major issues: the impact of the global crises on gender equality and the empowerment of women; the support by the United Nations system for small island developing States; coherence on the climate change agenda in relation to its financial architecture and to other development agendas; and the international support measures available for least developed countries. Maldives and Samoa — which were earmarked for graduation from that category — were also monitored in the report, as well as Equatorial Guinea, whose graduation date was soon to be determined.
He said that crises, man-made or otherwise, were regressive and tended to accentuate existing inequalities. Women were affected differently than men, due to their weak positioning in economic, legal, and sociocultural spheres, and were often less resilient to shocks. Although Governments’ responses to the financial economic crises were swift, their approaches lacked gender sensitivity. In order to “mainstream” gender objectives in policymaking and uphold the achievements made since Beijing, a greater focus must be placed on generating employment for women, incentives to keep girls in school, and better access to health services.
On the whole, small island developing States had consistently maintained good levels of social and economic outcomes, which were above average among developing countries. However, many lagged behind and were included on the list of least developed countries. While support for small islands by the United Nations system was apparent, the information available on such support was too fragmented, incomplete and not sufficiently results-oriented. The Mauritius strategy tended to be too general in scope, and contained numerous recommendations but lacked concrete targets or milestones. The mandates and operational functioning of these entities should, therefore, be reviewed and strengthened.
Additionally, the level of funding for mitigation and adaptation of climate-resilient development paths was vastly insufficient. The report argued that the financial architecture for climate change should be governed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and recommended that action be prioritized with regard to funding allocation, he continued. With regard to least developed countries, there had been inadequate levels of external support, while misguided domestic policies and poor governance hampered national strategies.
Existing measures should be enhanced rather than dropped, and existing compensatory financing mechanisms should be complemented with subsidized insurance schemes. While official development assistance (ODA) flow still needed to be increased in line with the 0.15 per cent target, this would still be insufficient and additional measures would be necessary. In conclusion, he said that, while some countries were still on track towards non-least-developed-country status despite crises, Samoa’s near-term economic outcome was still uncertain due to the tsunami of September 2009, and adequate international support was needed.
Full report of the UN ECOSOC meeting here.