For two weeks in June representatives met for PrepCom 4, the final official round of negotiations before the World Summit in Johannesburg. The aim of the preparatory process before the summit is for the major groups involved to debate and arrive at substantial agreement on the outcomes of the summit.
Given the widespread feeling that Agenda 21 has not been adequately implemented in the decade since the Rio Earth summit, the call has been for a clear implementation plan with specific targets and time schedules and for a supporting political declaration.
At a briefing on the WSSD process on Tuesday morning, 18 June 2002, WSSD Secretary General, Nitin Desai, said that the text of the Draft Plan of Implementation for the WSSD as it was on 7 June will go forward to Johannesburg with no changes. Delegates will have to present any work done in between once the WSSD begins in August.
Most of the 27 per cent of the text that is unresolved is in the chapters on globalisation and means of implementation, and deals mainly with trade and finance. Most commentators agree that the challenge for Johannesburg will be finding common ground, rather than time, to resolve these issues, with some arguing that failure to agree on these issues will undermine the ability to implement agreements in many other areas
PrepCom 4 agreed to entrust Chair Salim with preparing elements for a political declaration based on its discussions. This will be posted on the UN’s official Johannesburg website by the end of June 2002
The Implementation Plan
This plan will be the main outcome of the summit. While all of its ten sections have general relevance to people in the SADC region and Africa, Section VII deals specifically with Sustainable Development for Africa. Here we focus on this section and on the sections that deal with implementation and resources, because they have a direct bearing on effective implementation of Section VII. For more information on the other sections refer to the Earth News Bulletin 4 at (www.iisd.ca/2002/pc4/).
In Section VII on Sustainable Development for Africa agreement was reached on actions at all levels to:
- create an enabling environment;
- support the implementation of NEPAD
- enhance the industrial productivity, diversity and competitiveness of African countries;
- enhance the contribution of the industrial sector, in particular mining, minerals and metal;
- provide financial and technical support:
- to strengthen the capacity of African countries to undertake environmental legislative policy and institutional reform for sustainable development
- for afforestation and reforestation in Africa and
- for Africa’s efforts to implement the UNCCD at the national level
- deal effectively with natural disasters and conflicts;
- promote integrated water resources development and optimise upstream and downstream benefits;
- achieve significantly improved sustainable agricultural productivity and food security;
achieve sound management of chemicals;
- bridge the digital divide and create digital opportunity on access to infrastructure and technology transfer;
- support Africa’s efforts to attain sustainable tourism; and
- support African countries in their efforts to implement the Habitat Agenda and the Istanbul Declaration.
Issues in the section that were unresolved included:
- ‘limited benefits’ from international trade;
- declining ODA;
- the Tokyo International Conference on African Development;
- protection of human rights;
- competitiveness in global markets;
- market access;
- energy initiatives; and
- climate change.
In addition to these unresolved areas in the Africa section, agreement on some of the other outstanding issues, particularly those affecting trade and finance, is essential for effective action on many areas in SectionVII.
Summary Of Unresolved Issues In The Draft Implementation Plan
| Section |
Unresolved issues |
| 2 Poverty Eradication |
- developing a world solidarity fund
- indigenous people’s access to economic opportunities
- targets and measures for access to improved sanitation and reliable, affordable energy
- increasing employment opportunities that conform to ILO standards
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| 4 Protection and Managing of the Natural Resource Base of Economic and Social Development |
- improving market access
- reducing export subsidies and actions on illicit crops
- the proposed international regime on biodiversity and implementing instruments by 2015 to stem the loss of biodiversity.
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| 5 Sustainable Development In A Globalising World |
- opportunities and threats of globalisation
- good governance
- the contributions of the WTO
- the precautionary approach
- sustainable trade
- government support for private industry
- financial market regulation
- information from multi-lateral and regional financial institutions
- international agreements on human rights
- environment and labour standards and
- assistance to developing countries to promote impact assessments.
|
| 6 Health and Sustainable Development |
- the WTO Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and public health
- On strengthening the capacity of health care systems to deliver basic health services to all, there was disagreement over whether to qualifying this with the phrase ‘consistent with national laws and cultural and religious values’ or with ‘in conformity with all human rights and fundamental freedoms’
|
| 8 Sustainable Development of Small Island States |
- text on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
- sustainable fisheries management
- Defining and managing extended continental shelf areas.
|
| 9 Means of Implementation |
This section contains sub-sections on trade and finance; technology transfer; the role of the scientific community; education; capacity building; and information for decision making. All references to ‘actions at all levels’ in the chapeaux of each sub-section are bracketed, as well as:
- references to the precautionary principle, new and additional resources, and global public goods in the scientific community sub-section;
- text on new and additional resources in the capacity building sub-section; and
- paragraphs on indicators, strategic environmental assessment, and sustainability assessments in the information for decision making sub-section.
- The sub-sections on technology transfer, the role of the scientific community, education, capacity building, and information for decision-making contain few unresolved issues.
The Finance and Trade sub-section includes issues of debt, implementation of the WTO Doha agreements, market access (including trade liberalisation and elimination of tariffs and subsidies), measures to address international terrorism and the removal of obstacles to people’s rights to realise self-determination. Concerns raised include:
- deviation from the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and arguments for other mechanisms to deal with debts;
- access to markets for developing country products, the potential to contravene the WTO agreements on non-discrimination; and selective use of excerpts from the Monterrey and Doha texts.
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| 10 Sustainable Development Governance |
This section contains the following sub-sections: an overview; objectives; the role of the General Assembly; the role of ECOSOC; the role and function of the CSD; the role of international institutions; strengthening institutional arrangements for sustainable development at international, regional and national levels; and participation of Major Groups.
Unresolved issues include:
- the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities
- means of implementation
- the rule of law and human rights
- international finance and trade institutions and their links to sustainable development
- expanding the GEF mandate to cover domestic environmental benefits implementing the ILO conventions on core labour standards, and on completing the UN convention against corruption
- ECOSOC’s role in the follow-up to WSSD and the Monterrey Consensus, and in monitoring the Monterrey commitments
Agreed text sets out measures to strengthen sustainable development institutions. It commits the international community to integrate the sustainable development goals in Agenda 21 and the WSSD in the work of the UN system and international financial and trade institutions, and to improve their collaboration.The section stresses the need to enhance the effectiveness and coordination of international institutions, within and outside the UN system, and to improve regional and national cooperation. Participation of Major Groups will be enhanced, including through partnerships between governmental and non-governmental actors.
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Source: Earth News Bulletin,
www.iisd.ca/2002/pc4
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