PI/964

LOCAL NEEDS COULD BE BEST SERVED BY LOCAL NGOS, SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS FORTY-NINTH ANNUAL DPI/NGO CONFERENCE

Emphasizing that the international community must not permit NGOs to become one more feature of "our divided world", Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali this morning told the opening session of the forty-ninth annual NGO Conference organized by the Department of Public Information (DPI) that there was a gap in the influence in the NGOs of the North and South. Unless NGO leaders in both developing and developed countries handled that problem, the NGOs of developing countries would remain handicapped, he added.

In his opening address to the Conference, the Secretary-General said the world community must not encourage an international "NGO dependency-syndrome" in developing countries, adding that local needs could be best served by local NGOs. He supported a recommendation of the Economic and Social Council that the General Assembly at its upcoming regular session undertake a comprehensive review of NGO participation in all areas of the United Nations work. He also said the suggestion by the Assembly's working group on strengthening of the United Nations system that consideration be given to the establishment of a "civil society forum" was bold and imaginative. Such a forum would provide an influential platform for NGO representatives, he added.

In a question-and-answer segment following his address, the Secretary- General said the Organization had not been successful in projecting a positive image of the United Nations in part because it was being used as a scapegoat, and also in part because explaining the United Nations position to the world's billions of people required much more money than the United Nations had. To improve the United Nations capacity to work directly with 12,000 NGOs, he favoured the creation of associations of NGOs, the representatives of which would work with the Organization.

The three-day Conference, which will continue until 12 September, was opened by the Assistant Secretary-General for Public Information, Samir

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Sanbar. The theme of the Conference is "The United Nations: Facing the Challenges of a Changing World".

Also this morning, the Conference heard four keynote addresses. General Assembly President Diego Freitas do Amaral (Portugal) outlined his position on the reform of the United Nations system. Among other things, he said cost- cutting measures should not be sought for their own sake; contributions must be paid in full, on time and without conditions; special attention must be given to optimize the use of funds in the area of social and economic development; an expansion of the Security Council was necessary; and the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice must be accepted by all Member States.

Anne-Marie Lizin, Belgian Senator and Chairman of Socialist Women International, Belgium, stressed that the United Nations was vital, useful and necessary, among other things, for the protection of human rights. Emphasizing the need to combat international criminality, she called for a procedure for filing individual human rights complaints. In addition, national institutions on human rights should be strengthened with NGO help, she said.

John Whitehead, Chairman of the United Nations Associations of the United States of America (UNA-USA) said that given all the misinformation about the United Nations and its cost, what was impressive was the continued support of Americans for the Organization. A recent UNA-USA poll had shown that a large majority of Americans believed the United States should pay its dues on time and preferred United Nations peace-keeping operations to United States intervention in world conflicts. A Gallup poll had showed that Americans supported giving the United Nations more power.

Also addressing the meeting this morning, Elaine Valdov, Chair of the NGO/DPI Executive Committee, called for several new initiatives, including: a new world partnership among NGOs, the United Nations and the private sector; a citizens' movement to fund and support the United Nations; an annual people's convention on world's summits; and a campaign for a culture of peace.

Afaf Mahfouz, First Vice-President of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (CONGO) said the organization was not an elitist entity. The NGOs in consultative status had gained that status by going through a specific procedure. She stressed that CONGO had given birth to many NGO forums related to United Nations conferences and its work had been important in strengthening the relationship between the United Nations and the NGOs.

The Conference will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its deliberations.

DPI/NGO Conference Work Programme

The forty-ninth annual Conference for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) organized by the Department of Public Information (DPI) met this morning to begin its three-day session. The theme for this year's Conference is "The United Nations: Facing the Challenges of a Changing World".

The Conference will focus on the results of the deliberations of the high-level working groups of the General Assembly and their recommendations on the following five issues: Agenda for Peace; Agenda for Development; equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council; and the United Nations financial situation and strengthening of the United Nations system.

Statement by Secretary-General

Secretary-General BOUTROS BOUTROS-GHALI welcomed all participants to the forty-ninth annual DPI/NGO Conference. He said he attached great importance to the Conference, stressing that "the United Nations values your commitment, your ideas and your expertise". The NGOs played an important role on the world stage and should view the United Nations as their home. He announced that the DPI/NGO Resources Centre would relocate back to the Secretariat building as soon as possible. He emphasized that the decision demonstrated his commitment to work closely with NGOs to address common problems. He stressed his commitment to working towards new ways of strengthening the United Nations-NGO partnership.

The NGOs had a visible role to play in the various United Nations conferences, he continued. Stressing that there was a need to build on the successes of the past, he said continuing and imaginative reform was required to that end. The support of Member States would be required in that endeavour. The Conference met at a time of unprecedented financial crisis and the work of the five open-ended working groups of the General Assembly was important in that context. Over the next few days the participants would hear that real progress had been made in each of the working groups on peace; development; equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council; and the United Nations financial situation and the strengthening of the United Nations system.

He said the need to encourage further dialogue between the United Nations and the NGOs had been recognized. The proposal by the working group on strengthening of the United Nations system that consideration be given to the establishment of a "civil society forum" was bold and imaginative. Such a forum could provide an influential platform for NGO representatives. The proposal deserved further consideration by the Members States in the upcoming Assembly session.

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Two areas where further progress could be made were those related to policy-making and operational activities, he said. Full partnership between the United Nations and NGOs required more close cooperation in the field. That required the earliest possible participation of NGOs in policy-making. Such participation could not occur without the agreement of Member States. The involvement of NGOs in recent United Nations conferences had set an important precedent, and the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) had encouraged the widest possible participation by NGOs.

Building on that experience would require a reconsideration of procedure and exploration of new models of NGO participation, he said. The recent review of consultative arrangements between the Economic and Social Council and NGOs had been a significant and timely step forward. Stating that the Council text establishing the new arrangement (resolution 1996/31) represented over two-and-one-half years of work, the Secretary-General welcomed its main recommendation and emphasized that it was important that the United Nations welcomed the participation of NGOs from all regions. He supported the recommendation of the Council that the Assembly undertake a comprehensive review of NGO participation in all areas of the United Nations work at its fifty-first session.

Addressing the question of United Nations operational activities, he said cooperation in the field was well established and NGO staff had worked tirelessly to promote peace and development. However, there was a gap in influence between NGOs of the North and of the South, he said, adding that NGOs largely remained a feature of developed countries. "We must not permit NGOs to become one more feature of our divided world", he said. The NGOs of the developing world lacked money and sometimes faced resistance from their government to their work. Unless NGO leaders in both developing and developed countries handled that problem, the NGOs of developing countries would remain handicapped. The international community must not encourage "a NGO dependency-syndrome" in developing countries. Local needs could be best served by local NGOs. He stressed that his proposals had both organizational and financial implications, adding that the United Nations system should not be overloaded by the demands of thousands of organizations. In that context, he called for the establishment of standard rules of participation and their enforcement.

Question-and-Answer Segment with Secretary-General

A Conference participant asked the Secretary-General how NGOs could have influence on the agenda of the United Nations, and how NGOs could be accorded equal status based on their expertise.

The Secretary-General said it was a purely practical problem. The

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United Nations did not have the capacity to work directly with 12,000 NGOs. He was in favour of the creation of associations of NGOs, in which case the representative of the association would work directly with the United Nations.

Another participant asked what the United Nations could do to get its vision out to the world more clearly so as to increase support for the Organization, particularly in the United States, and how could the NGOs help in that regard.

The Secretary-General said that the Organization had not been successful in projecting a positive image of the United Nations. One problem was the culture of the cold war, in which the United Nations was supposed to be as neutral as possible. Now that the United Nations was being asked to take positions, it was being used as a scapegoat.

A second problem was the technological revolution, the Secretary-General continued. There was a joke that there were now 16 members of the Security Council, CNN being the sixteenth. Member States had not been able to accept the necessary changes to take that reality into account. A third problem was that to explain the United Nations position to the world -- to the United States people, to the 1 billion Chinese, to the 800 million Indians, to the Africans, among others -- required a great deal of money, which the United Nations did not have. In addition, the United Nations was an easy target. If one Member State attacked another, the attacked Member State would reply and attack back, but the United Nations could not do that because the Member States were its bosses.

In the past, the Secretary-General continued, the United Nations contact in the field -- even on matters of social development -- was limited to countries' foreign offices. Until quite recently, the United Nations had been strictly an intergovernmental organization. But the United Nations Charter spoke of "We, the peoples of the United Nations". The Organization needed the NGOs' help so that it could talk directly with the people and also to help protect the image of the United Nations and of the NGOs themselves.

Asked to help improve the relation between the NGOs and the countries in which they worked, the Secretary-General said that was not easy, because if a government was suspicious about certain NGOs, it would be difficult to change its position. And certain governments were suspicious of all NGOs.

Continuing, he said, the nature of civil society was not the same throughout the world. At the United Nations there was often a very Euro- centric idea of what civil society was. But it was not the same in Europe or America as in Asia or Africa, and that had to be taken into consideration.

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What were the mechanisms to make countries share power with women and NGOs and to involve them in policy-making, he was asked.

The Secretary-General said he could not give an answer. Governments were sovereign, each with its own attitude. If the United Nations tried to interfere, it would have a problem with the sovereign State. "And, believe me, we have enough problems already with the Member States."

Statement by General Assembly President

DIOGO FREITAS DO AMARAL (Portugal), President of the Assembly's fiftieth session, said that in today's complex world, NGOs were essential in advancing human development. The United Nations was at a crossroads. The end of the cold war had created a great deal of optimism about the possibility of multilateral cooperation. A new world order, the end of history, global peace -- much was prophesied. But reality had replaced those hopeful visions, States had retreated behind their borders, and the United Nations had been subject to increased criticism. In the climate of doubt, reform of the Organization had been seriously addressed by Member States.

Without the United Nations the world would be unable to face the challenges of the new millennium, he said. But even if strengthened by reform, the United Nations could not do its job alone. It needed the support and participation of all the peoples of the world. Until relatively recently, NGOs were minor actors in international relations, but now they were becoming major players. The NGOs contributed as much to official development assistance (ODA) as did the United Nations system, not including the Bretton Woods institutions. Because they were part of civil society, NGOs were also part and parcel of the increasingly important democratization process.

The momentum for change should not be lost, he said. A comprehensive approach must be taken to strengthen the United Nations as a whole. The constituent parts of the Organization must act in a more efficient and coordinated manner. Also, the United Nations must be more efficient. However, cost-cutting measures should not be sought for their own sake. The United Nations budget was quite small compared to those of Member States. Although Portugal had only 10 million people, the United Nations budget equalled only 25 per cent of the budget of the Portuguese Ministry of Education.

Member States must seek to place the Organization on a sound financial basis, he stressed. The activities of the Organization must never again be held hostage to financial problems. However, that problem had come from unpaid contributions to the United Nations. Contributions must be paid in full, on time and without conditions.

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The activities of the United Nations in social and economic development must remain a high priority, he said. Special attention must be given to optimize the use of funds in that area. United Nations efforts should concentrate on helping countries and people help themselves. The cycles of poverty and violence in Africa needed to be broken. In addition, the role of the United Nations in the maintenance of peace and security must be supported by all Member States. An increase in the Security Council's membership was necessary in order to expand its representative nature. The primacy of international law must be universally recognized. The jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice must be accepted by all Member States. For such reforms to take place, the United Nations needed the help of NGOs.

Other Statements

MONICA WILLARD, Chair, Forty-Ninth DPI/NGO Conference and Director, The Ribbon International, thanked all the Conference participants. She particularly thanked participants who had come from distant regions and had managed to attend the Conference even as they were faced with scarce resources.

ANN-MARIE LIZIN, Senator, Parliament of Belgium, and Chairman, Socialist Women International, Belgium, said the world was changing. There had been very rapid change in the social and other spheres. That change had been engendered by technology and communication. One of the consequences of that change was that there was a co-existence of moral systems. In such an environment, a unified system of values was important. In that regard, it was impossible to close eyes to the situation of children who were being sold in international markets. Also the rights of women called for the attention of the civil society.

The widening gap between the rhetoric of the elite and social reality could well lead to confrontation, she said. According to the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), James Gustave Speth, the share of 20 per cent of the richest in the world had risen from 70 to 85 per cent. Such a gap deepened the North-South breach. That trend had been further accentuated by financial speculation. She stressed that regional, religious realities must be recognized, as must the will of people to democratization. States were not immutable and could disappear, as the example of the former Soviet Union demonstrated. In that context, it was useful to consider whether the United Nations was necessary.

She stressed that in the absence of the United Nations, there would be an exacerbation of conflicts and a reshaping of bellicose regional alliances. The United Nations was a place for arbitration. Therefore, it was vital, useful and necessary. Stressing that combating international criminality was important, she said a procedure for filing individual human rights complaints

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should be established. In addition, national institutions on human rights should be strengthened with NGO help.

Another area of priority was the fight against poverty, she said. Globalization had affected economies in some countries and had in some instances led to poverty. The question of debt burden had to be addressed. Nation States today were facing an uncertain period and the United Nations was an organization which provided balance. She stressed that coherence had to be the focus of reorganization and reform in the Organization. Moreover, a new generation of activities of peace-keeping needed to be developed and troop contributors should be allowed to play a more important role vis-a-vis non- contributors.

JOHN WHITEHEAD, Chairman, United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA), said his organization's sole mission was to restore full United States support for and leadership of the United Nations. What a tragedy it would be if the United States were to abandon the United Nations. In most countries, the United Nations was taken for granted as a good institution. Only in the United States did people and politicians harbour the illusion that their own actions could compel action by the United Nations. Most of the world was convinced that the United States ran the United Nations, but for the United States, the United Nations was not a reliable institution. For example, the Security Council had not passed the resolution on Iraq that the United States wanted.

The fact that hostility to the United Nations was being so publicly aired -- as in United States Senator Jesse Helms' recent article in Foreign Affairs -- was of concern, he said. But a recent UNA-USA poll had shown that a large majority of Americans supported the United Nations, believed the United States should pay its dues on time, and preferred United Nations peace- keeping operations to United States intervention in world conflicts. A Gallup poll had showed that Americans supported giving the United Nations more power. And Americans' $1.25 per capita contribution to the United Nations regular budget was a fraction of the cost of maintaining the United States Congress and bought a wide range of international services. Given all the misinformation about the United Nations and its cost, what was impressive was the continued support of Americans for the Organization.

Public support for internationalism and reliance on the United Nations was strongest among younger Americans, he said. Baby boomers and those of generation X were committed to internationalism as a result of having been exposed to education programmes at school. The UNA-USA was pleased to serve as the brain trust for the effort to preserve the United Nations, but it needed help. The NGOs had an obligation to get involved, to sign the UNA- USA's open letter to the United States Congress and join in the constant effort.

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He expressed concern over the United States recent political party conventions. One of the party's leaders had seemed to believe that the United Nations itself posed a graver danger than the world's problems. And at the other party's convention, not one word had been said about the United Nations and very little had been said about anything taking place beyond the United States borders.

ELAINE VALDOV, Chair, NGO/DPI Executive Committee, said that in the last decade 2 million children had been killed, 6 million injured, 12 million rendered homeless, many others traumatized by conflicts around the world. In Somalia alone, during 1992 half of the children under the age of five had died. Among the industrialized countries, Ireland, Israel and the United States had the poorest children. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) had said that 25,000 children died every day of curable diseases -- such as diarrhoea, respiratory diseases and measles. All of those victims were under the age of five. Given all that, could it be said, as Anne Frank had, that people were really good at heart? she asked.

The NGOs were a testament to efforts to trying to make a difference, she said. But the world was at a crossroads. It was necessary to catapult people to work together or the profound destruction would continue. As Plato had said in The Republic, many, many people were living chained in a cave. When they looked around them, they saw shadows, and so they believed that was what life was about. And then one day, someone broke away from the chains. At first he was blinded by the bright light, but finally he saw the wonderment of people working together. The rest of the people wanted to stay with the shadows they knew, so finally, the person decided that he had to go with the vision he had seen, no matter what. So he went out of the cave and joined with other persons who shared his vision to do what others would not do. That was what the NGO members in the audience were doing.

She called for several new initiatives, including: a new world partnership among NGOs (from the North and South), the United Nations and the private sector; a citizens' movement to fund and support the United Nations; an annual people's convention on world's summits, to discuss the people's plans; a campaign for a culture of peace, to educate for peace and promote such things as conflict resolution and caring; a campaign for the children of war and violence; and a people's conference on peace.

AFAF MAHFOUZ, First Vice-President, Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (CONGO), said her organization was not an elitist entity. The NGOs in consultative status gained that status by going through a specific procedure. The CONGO was as old as the United Nations. It went back to 1948 and it consisted of those NGOs which were in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council. She stressed that it was CONGO which had given

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birth to many NGO forums related to United Nations conferences. The work of CONGO had been important in strengthening the relationship between the United Nations and the NGOs.

The CONGO worked well with NGO sections, she said. She thanked several Secretariat functionaries, including Angela King, Director, Division for the Advancement of Women, and Leona Forman, Chief, NGO Section, DPI, and Coordinator of the DPI/NGO Conference. She welcomed Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31 which, among other provisions, encouraged regular consultations with NGOs.

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