Curtain raiser

The 19th Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGASS) begins itsoverall review and appraisal of the implementation of Agenda 21 at UN Headquarters inNew York today, five years after the United Nations Conference on Environment andDevelopment (UNCED) in Brazil. Agenda 21 is the Programme of Action for SustainableDevelopment agreed to at UNCED and endorsed by the General Assembly in itsresolution 47/190. In the same resolution the GA decided to convene a special session toreview and appraise Agenda 21 implementation. Approximately 60 Heads of State and Government are expected to address the Assembly during the week. Negotiations on thetexts to be adopted at the conclusion of UNGASS began at the CSD’s Ad HocOpen-Ended Intersessional Working Group and continued at CSD-5. Further progresswas made at informal consultations in New York during the week leading up toUNGASS.

CSD AD HOC OPEN-ENDED INTERSESSIONAL WORKING GROUP

The CSD’s Ad Hoc Open-Ended Intersessional Working Group met from 24February-7 March 1997 in New York. The Working Group focused on the format andsubstantive content of the document to be considered at UNGASS. The main output wasa draft "Proposed Outcome of the Special Session" prepared by Co-Chairs Derek Osborn(UK) and Amb. Celso Amorim (Brazil) after feedback from delegates on a first draft. There-draft provided a basis for consultations prior to CSD-5. Most delegates highlightedfreshwater, energy and transport, forests and oceans as issues of new or priority concern.Delegates noted the importance of the cross-sectoral issues of poverty and changingconsumption and production patterns.

FIFTH SESSION OF THE COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The fifth session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-5) convenedfrom 8-25 April 1997 at UN Headquarters in New York to complete formal preparationsfor UNGASS. It began with a High-Level Segment and a review of reports from theIntersessional Working Group and the CSD Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF).

Delegations continued to identify and elaborate the emerging priority issues that they hadconsidered at the Intersessional. Voluminous amendments to the draft “ProposedOutcome of the Special Session” were considered. Intersessional Co-Chairs DerekOsborn (NGO UK) and Amb. Celso Amorim (Brazil) chaired Drafting Groups I and II,respectively. Drafting Group I considered text on "Sectors and Issues" and "Assessmentof Progress Reached after Rio." Drafting Group II considered text on "Integration ofEconomic, Social and Environmental Objectives" and "Means of Implementation."Informal groups negotiated text on forests, institutional arrangements and the CSDProgramme of Work for the next five-year period.

CSD-5 Chair Tolba and Vice-Chair Monika Linn-Locher (Switzerland) also beganconsultations on a draft political statement for the Heads of State and Governmentexpected to attend the Special Session. Their informal modus operandi wasquestioned by a number of G-77 delegations at the closing Plenary. They invitedGovernments to send amendments to a draft distributed at the close of the Session andundertook to circulate a new version by early June.

At the conclusion of CSD-5 numerous brackets remained in the draft documents,including unnegotiated paragraphs dealing with international legal instruments andinformation and tools to measure progress.

INFORMAL CONSULTATIONS BY THE CHAIR OF THE CSD

CSD Chair Tolba convened informal consultations at UN Headquarters from 16-21 June.Delegations used the Report of the CSD on Preparations for the UNGASS including therevised draft political statement (A/S-19/CRP.1) and the draft proposed outcome (A/S-19/14) as the basis for their deliberations.

DRAFT POLITICAL STATEMENT: The draft circulated by Dr. Tolba and Ms.Linn-Locher attracted extensive amendments from delegations. The G-77/CHINAsubmitted an extensive set of amendments, including calls for acknowledgment thatUNCED’s international commitments remain largely unfulfilled, and that the overalloutlook for sustainable development is "worse" today than it was in 1992. The EU andUS noted that delegations were re-negotiating issues in the draft proposed outcome. Theconsultations were adjourned until delegations had further considered related issues in thedraft proposed outcome. A new draft was expected Sunday, June 22.

CROSS-SECTORAL ISSUES IN THE DRAFT PROPOSED OUTCOME: Inparagraph 16 (implementing areas requiring urgent action), delegations agreedthat a major new effort will be required on cross-sectoral matters. SWITZERLAND andthe EU supported a reference to enhanced job opportunities from implementingsustainable development in paragraph 18(c). The G-77/CHINA objected. Inparagraph 20, (enabling international economic environment), the US and EU re-stated the view that the UNCED principle on common but differentiated responsibilitiesrefers only to global environmental issues. The EU agreed to consider a G-77/CHINAproposal to reference the "report of the Fourth World Conference on Women" inparagraph 21(e) (poverty, women and Beijing PFA). In paragraph22(a), (consumption and production patterns), the EU agreed toconsider JAPAN and the G-77/CHINA’s call for the deletion of text on pricing naturalresources in a way that reflects full costs. In paragraph 22(f) (energy andmaterial efficiency), the EU pressed for acceptance of clear time-bound goals. Onparagraph 23(h) (the WTO and trade rules), the G-77/CHINA objected that theparagraph subordinated trade to environmental policies. On paragraph 24(population), the EU objected to the bracketed formula referencing the "report" of theInternational Conference on Population and Development. On paragraph 25(lead poisoning), delegations agreed to a call for accelerated elimination of unsafeuses. Brackets were also removed from a paragraph on the health impacts of tobacco.

On paragraph 74 (domestic financing for Agenda 21), the US refused to re-negotiate a G-77/CHINA proposal to change text agreed at CSD-5. On paragraph 75(phasing out subsidies), the G-77/CHINA agreed to replace a reference to the"principle of common but differentiated responsibilities" with text on taking account oflevels of development. On bracketed text on trade in paragraph 76 (economicinstruments), the US said he was not prepared to discuss trade "in this forum." Onparagraph 98 (access to information and right of complaint), the G-77/CHINAchallenged its relevance to Agenda 21.

SECTORAL ISSUES: At the conclusion of informal discussions on sectoralissues, many of the key issues had been resolved, with the exception of those requiringhigh-level political input. A reference to customary use of water in the section onfreshwater use has proved controversial and is likely to be debated further. The section onenergy was agreed ad referendum. In paragraph 35 (reducing the impactof fossil fuels), brackets were removed from "appropriate national action." In paragraph39(d) (technology transfer), the EU and US agreed to consider a compromiseformulation after prolonged discussion on the inclusion of "time bound" commitments forthe transfer of relevant technology to developing countries. Delegations also reformulatedparagraph 39(g) on environmental cost internalization to achieve a moresustainable use of energy. On paragraph 39(h) (atmosphere), the G-77/CHINAagreed to accept a reformulation recognizing that the commitments under article 4,paragraph 2(a) and (b) of the FCCC as one critical element of the Berlin Mandate areinadequate and need to be strengthened.

Forests (paragraphs 31-34): Bagher Asadi (Iran) circulated a Chair’stext at the conclusion of informal-informal consultations on forests that will be the basisfor negotiation at UNGASS. The text calls for continuation of the intergovernmentalpolicy dialogue on forests through the establishment of an ad hoc open-endedIntergovernmental Forum on Forests under the aegis of the CSD, with a focused andtime-limited mandate. Some delegations opposed a paragraph suggesting that theproposed Forum elaborate possible elements of and build the necessary consensus for adecision to initiate negotiations for a legally-binding instrument on forests, and to reporton its work to the CSD in 1999 for appropriate action. The EU objected to the absence ofa reference to an INC in this formulation.

Radioactive Waste (paragraphs 49-51): Chair Osborn produced a compromisetext for further consideration at UNGASS. Key elements call for: radioactive wastes to bedisposed of in the territory of the State in which they are generated as far as is compatiblewith safe management; international efforts to prohibit the export of radioactive wastes tocountries that do not have appropriate waste treatment and storage facilities; States not topromote or allow the storage or disposal of radioactive wastes near the marineenvironment; the finalization, ratification and implementation of the IAEA JointConvention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of RadioactiveWaste Management; and improved assistance for SIDS. RUSSIA and the UKRAINEreserved on elements of the text.

CSD WORK PROGRAMME (1998-2002): An informal-informal group, chairedby Czeslaw Wieckowski (Poland), made some progress but did not take final decisionson bracketed text.

OUTSTANDING ISSUES: The remaining issues for negotiation in the draftproposed outcome include: the chapter on Means of Implementation (trade, mobilizationof domestic resources, the role of ODA); a financial mechanism for the Convention toCombat Desertification (CCD); a reference to the third Conference of the Parties to theFramework Convention on Climate Change to be held in Kyoto, Japan, in December,1997; the follow-up to the work and recommendations of the CSD’s IntergovernmentalPanel on Forests, including consideration of a possible Convention on Forests; and aproposal to introduce an international tax on aviation fuel to fund sustainabledevelopment. A number of these issues could not be resolved ahead of related discussionsat the G-7 Summit in Denver and high-level political input at the UNGASS.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR TODAY

INFORMAL CEREMONY: US Vice-President Al Gore and Brazilian PresidentFernando Henrique Cardoso will host an informal ceremony at 9:40 am in the GAPlenary Hall.

OPENING PLENARY: Ambassador Razali Ismail, President of the GeneralAssembly, and Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General, will address the opening Plenary,which will take place from 10:00-1:00 pm. The Plenary will also consider theestablishment of an Ad Hoc Committee of the Whole. CSD-5 Chair, Dr. MostafaTolba (Egypt), will present a progress report on negotiations of the "Programme forFurther Implementation of Agenda 21."

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE: The Ad Hoc Committee of the Wholeis expected to meet from 3:00-6:00 pm, in Conference Room 3. After the election ofofficers, the Committee will hear statements from international organizationrepresentatives. A parallel meeting will conclude negotiations on the "Programme forFurther Implementation of Agenda 21" and the draft political statement by Heads of Stateattending UNGASS. Consultations on cross-sectoral issues are expected to commence at4:00 pm.