In its resolution
54/45 entitled “Question
of Antarctica”, the Assembly
recognized that the 1959 Antarctic Treaty,
which provided for demilitarization of the
continent, the prohibition of nuclear explosions
and disposal of nuclear wastes, the freedom
of scientific research and the free exchange
of scientific information, is in furtherance
of the purposes and principles of the United
Nations Charter. The Assembly welcomed the
entry into force of the Protocol on Environmental
Protection to the Antarctic Treaty on 14 January
1998, which designated Antarctica as a natural
reserve devoted to peace and science. The
Assembly recalled the statement in Agenda
21, adopted by the Rio Conference, that States
carrying out research activities in Antarctica
should continue to ensure that data and information
resulting from such research are freely available
to the international community, and that they
should enhance the access of the international
scientific community and specialized agencies
of the United Nations to such data and information.
The Assembly took note of the report
of the Secretary-General and
the role accorded by him to UNEP in preparing
the report, and also of the twenty-first,
twenty-second and twenty-third Antarctic Treaty
Consultative Meetings. It welcomed the invitations
to the Executive Director of UNEP to attend
the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings
and the regular provision of information by
the Treaty’s Consultative Parties to
the Secretary-General on their meetings and
activities in Antarctica.
Other
resolutions of direct relevance to UNEP
:
Resolution
54/218 on the “Implementation
of and follow-up to the outcome of the United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development
and the nineteenth special session of the
General Assembly”, the Assembly
called on the Commission on Sustainable Development
to continue to complement and provide interlinkages
to the work of other United Nations organs,
organizations and bodies active in the field
of sustainable development. It called on the
Commission to play its role in assessing the
opportunities and challenges of globalization
as they relate to sustainable development
and to perform its functions in coordination
with other subsidiary bodies of the Economic
and Social Council and with related organizations
and institutions, including making recommendations
to the Council, bearing in mind the interrelated
outcomes of recent United Nations conferences.
It renewed its request to the Commission’s
secretariat to invite Governments to submit
proposals on how to improve the guidelines
for the elaboration of national reports and
to prepare a report to be submitted to the
Commission as part of the preparations for
the comprehensive review of the implementation
of Agenda 21. It invited the relevant functional
commissions which are implementing chapters
of Agenda 21, as well as regional commissions,
to provide reports, through the Council, on
how their activities are contributing to the
implementation of Agenda 21 and the Programme
for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21
for consideration at the fifty-fifth session
of the Assembly.
The Assembly also invited the Governing
Council of UNEP to consider how the activities
of UNEP are contributing to the implementation
of Agenda 21 and the Programme for the Further
Implementation of Agenda 21, and to submit
its views to the Assembly at the earliest
opportunity. The Assembly invited GEF and
the secretariats of the Climate Change Convention,
the Convention on Biological Diversity and
the Convention to Combat Desertification to
do the same. The Secretary-General was invited,
while preparing the report requested by the
Assembly in paragraph 6 of its resolution
53/188, to take into account the preliminary
discussions at the Commission’s eighth
session and by the Economic and Social Council,
and to include in that report proposals for
the analytical reports to be prepared for
the review process.
In each of the three resolutions respectively
adopted relating to the Climate Change Convention,
the Convention on Biological Diversity and
the Convention to Combat Desertification,
paragraphs were included that encourage the
conferences of the parties to those conventions
to examine further appropriate opportunities
and measures to strengthen their complementarities
and to improve the scientific assessments
of ecological linkages between the three conventions.
They encouraged the secretariats of various
environmental and environment-related conventions
and other international organizations, with
full respect for the status of the conferences
of the parties of the conventions concerned,
to strengthen cooperation with a view to facilitating
progress in their implementation at the international,
regional, subregional and national levels.
In resolution
54/222 on “Protection
of global climate for present and future generations
of mankind”, the Assembly called
on all States parties to continue to take
effective steps to implement their commitments
under the Climate Change Convention in accordance
with the principle of common but differentiated
responsibilities. It requested the Secretary-General
to review the functioning of the institutional
linkage of the Convention secretariat to the
United Nations not later than 31 December
2001, in consultation with the Conference
of the Parties, with a view to making such
modifications as may be considered desirable
by both parties, and to report thereon to
the Assembly.
In resolution
54/221 on the “Convention
on Biological Diversity”, the
Assembly called on Governments, in cooperation
with the Conference of the Parties, to use
science-based analysis to study and monitor
closely the evolution of new technologies
to prevent possible adverse effects on the
conservation and sustainable use of biological
diversity, which might have an impact on farmers
and local communities. In addition, the Assembly
invited all funding institutions and bilateral
and multilateral donors, as well as regional
funding institutions and non-governmental
organizations, to cooperate with the secretariat
of the Convention in the implementation of
the programme of work. It invited the Executive
Secretary of the Convention to report to the
Assembly on ongoing work regarding the Convention.
In resolution
54/223 on “Implementation
of the United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification in those Countries Experiencing
Serious Drought and/or Desertification, particularly
in Africa”, the Assembly called
on Governments, multilateral financial institutions,
regional development banks, regional economic
integration organizations and all other interested
organizations, as well as non-governmental
organizations and the private sector, to contribute
generously to the funds set up under the Convention.
It also called on the international community,
particularly the developed countries and the
United Nations system, and invited the multilateral
financial institutions, the private sector
and all other interested actors, to support
the efforts of affected developing countries
in the processes of elaborating and implementing
action programmes to combat desertification,
including interregional programmes and platforms
of cooperation, by providing them with financial
resources and other forms of assistance.
