Statement
of the executive director
Mr. Chairman, distinguished
delegates, ladies and gentlemen,
At the outset, I would like
to convey the regrets of UNEP's Executive
Director that he could not personally deliver
this statement to you today.
Mr. Chairman, the last year
has been a decisive one for UNEP in terms
of defining and strengthening its role and
mandate, and has been pivotal in terms of
harnessing this new spirit of rejuvenation
to crystallize and clearly chart UNEP's course
of action in the coming years.
One important aspect of this
has been the adoption of the Nairobi Declaration,
as endorsed by the UN General Assembly Special
Session on the Review and Appraisal of the
Implementation of Agenda 21, and the decisions
of the Fifth Special Session of the UNEP Governing
Council which provided an opportunity for
the international community to embark on a
process to translate this new vision into
operational and institutional modalities,
as proposed by UNEP's new Executive Director.
The Fifth Special Session of UNEP's Governing
Council further considered key concerns raised
during UNGASS, which are also reflected in
the outcome of the Special Session, presented
in the report before you, A/53/25.
This Session of the General-Assembly
also has before it the recommendations of
the United Nations Task Force on Environment
and Human Settlements, which the Executive
Director of UNEP had the honor to Chair at
the request of the Secretary-General. This
Secretary-General's report, contained in document
A/53/463,
will be considered in the Plenary in the coming
weeks, as part of the Secretary-General's
overall reform proposals, but also has significant
implications for your deliberations in the
Second Committee....... more
Issues
arising for UNEP from the resolutions of the
General Assembly at its fifty-third session.
Late in the 53rd session, the General Assembly
adopted an important resolution for UNEP on
the ‘Report of the Secretary-General
on environment and human settlements’
(28 July 1999) 53/242.
The General Assembly, recalling its resolution
52/12A of 12 November 1997, entitled
“Renewing the UN: a programme for reform”,
reaffirmed its determination to strengthen
the role, capacity, effectiveness and efficiency
of the UN, including in the field of environment
and human settlements, and thus improve its
performance in order to realize the full potential
of the Organization.
The Assembly took note of the report
of the Secretary-General on environment
and human settlements and the report of the
UN Task Force on Environment and Human Settlements
annexed thereto, conscious of the need to
strengthen the institutions of the UN charged
with responsibility for environment and human
settlements, to improve their performance
and to promote coordination in the implementation
of the environmental and human settlements
dimension of sustainable development within
the UN system.
The Assembly emphasized the importance of
strengthening the capacity of UNEP and the
United Nations Centre for Human Settlements
(Habitat) in their Nairobi location and of
ensuring the provision of requisite support
and stable, adequate and predictable financial
resources necessary to both organizations
for the fulfillment of their mandates, including
by seeking additional financial resources
through broadening the range of sources of
funding for both organizations, in accordance
with Financial Regulations and Rules of the
UN.
Taking into account the views of Member States
and the views contained in GC
decision 20/17 and Commission
on Human Settlements resolution 17/6, the
Assembly welcomed efforts undertaken to strengthen
the UN in the field of environment and human
settlements, and in that context takes note
of the general thrust of the recommendations
contained in the report of the Secretary-General
on environment and human settlements, proposing
actions to be taken by the Secretary-General,
the Executive-Directors of UNEP and Habitat,
and took note of the recommendations outlined
in section IV of the report.
The General Assembly requested the Secretary-General
to strengthen the United Nations Office at
Nairobi (UNON), in its capacity as the only
UN headquarters located in a developing country,
through the provision of requisite support
and stable, adequate and predictable financial
resources, including by proposing additional
regular budget resources, for the consideration
of the Assembly.
The General Assembly encouraged the Director-General
of the UNON to take steps to increase the
level of utilization of UNON, and in this
regard encourages other agencies, funds and
programmes to consider increasing their utilization
of its facilities for their activities.
The General Assembly called upon UNEP and
Habitat to increase cooperation in and strengthen
coordination of their activities, within the
framework of their respective mandates and
separate programmatic and organizational identities,
as well as their separate Executive Directors.
The General Assembly supported the proposal
of the Secretary-General regarding the establishment
of an environmental management group (EMG)
for the purpose of enhancing inter-agency
coordination in the field of environment and
human settlements, and requested the Secretary-General
to develop, in consultation with the Member
States and members of the Administrative Committee
on Coordination (ACC), the mandate, terms
of reference, appropriate criteria for membership
and flexible, cost-effective working methods
of the proposed EMG and to submit them to
the GA for consideration.
The General Assembly welcomed the proposal
to institute an annual, ministerial-level,
global environmental forum (GMEF), with the
Governing Council of UNEP constituting the
forum in the years that it meets in regular
session and, in alternate years, with the
forum taking the form of a special session
of the Governing Council, in which participants
can gather to review important and emerging
policy issues in the field of the environment,
with due consideration for the need to ensure
the effective and efficient functioning of
the governance mechanisms of UNEP, as well
as possible financial implications, and the
need to maintain the role of the Commission
on Sustainable Development (CSD) as the main
forum for high-level policy debate on sustainable
development.
The General Assembly supported the proposals
for the facilitation of and support for enhancing
linkages and coordination within and among
environmental and environment-related conventions,
including by UNEP, with full respect for the
status of the respective convention secretariats
and the autonomous decision-making prerogatives
of the conferences of the parties (COPs) to
the conventions concerned, and emphasized
in this regard the need to provide UNEP with
adequate resources to perform this task.
The General Assembly welcomed the proposals
for the involvement, participation and constructive
engagement of major groups active in the field
of environment and human settlements, with
due consideration for the relevant rules,
regulations and procedures of the UN.
The General Assembly reiterated the importance
of strengthening the capacity and capability
of UNEP and Habitat, within the framework
of their existing mandates, in the areas of
information, the monitoring and assessment
of global and regional environmental and human
settlements trends and early warning information
on environmental threats, so as to catalyze
and promote international cooperation and
action, and in this context emphasizes the
importance of strengthening the system-wide
Earthwatch as an effective, accessible and
strictly non-political science-based system.
The General Assembly reaffirmed that, in
accordance with its mandate, UNEP should not
become involved in conflict identification,
prevention or resolution.
The General Assembly stressed the need to
ensure that capacity-building and technical
assistance, in particular with respect to
institutional strengthening in developing
countries, as well as research and scientific
studies in the field of environment and human
settlements, must remain important components
of the work programmes of both UNEP and Habitat,
within their existing mandates, and also stressed,
in this regard, the need for adequate financial
resources as well as the need to avoid duplication
of efforts.
The General Assembly also stressed the need
to enhance further the role of the UNEP as
an implementing agency of the Global Environment
Facility (GEF), consistent with its role as
defined in the Instrument for the Establishment
of the Restructured GEF.
Finally, the General Assembly also welcomed
the proposal to continue ongoing work in the
development of indicators in the field of
environment and human settlements, and in
this regard stresses the importance of the
need to avoid duplication of efforts.
