Statement as Delivered by Ms. Noeleen Heyzer,

United Nations Under-Secretary-General, Executive Secretary of ESCAP, and Coordinator of the UN Regional Commissions

to the High Level Panel on Post-2015 Development

Monday, 25 March 2013

Bali, Indonesia.

Distinguished Members of the High Level Panel,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me start by thanking H.E. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and the people of Indonesia for their hospitality. My appreciation goes as well to the distinguished members of the high-level Panel for the opportunity to share the perspectives of the five United Nations Regional Commissions.

The Regional Commissions, from Latin America, Africa, the Middle-East, Asia and the Pacific and also from Europe, have had extensive consultations with our governments, civil societies, private sectors, academia and parliamentarians. Just in Asia-Pacific, to give you a sense of the meetings that we have had, ESCAP organized sub-regional meetings in partnership, as you heard this morning, with the Asian Development Bank, and UNDP. We also had meetings with the landlocked countries, the least developed countries, the small island states and recently, in Timor-Leste, with the more fragile states. So what are some of the priorities that have come out from these consultations?

Firstly, a repeat of the message that we heard earlier: that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are unfinished business. We need to accelerate the implementation of the MDGs. The consultations addressed new challenges, as well as old ones, calling for a new development model to be based on structural changes for equality, inclusiveness, resilience and sustainable development, as a more integrated whole. The over-arching message emerging from the consultations was that the next phase of development has to be a transformative agenda that is people-centered, cares for our planet, and which generates shared and sustained prosperity.

This is the regional vision of the type of world that we want. The question, across all regions, was how best to get there. The connecting theme was that people from around the world are asking for a new social contract for sustainable development, between the state and its people, and between the state and the market. This social contract has to promote citizens’ engagement, translating growth into productive employment for all. It has to adopt policies for the fairer redistribution of wealth, economic assets and opportunities – where there is better resource management and governance, and better financial governance, including the issues of money laundering and corruption, greater accountability of both the public and the private sectors, and providing quality services to all.

The message that I bring to you also looks at the areas of priority action identified by the various regions, priorities which can only be effectively acted upon through a genuine global partnership, based on trust and not on conditionality, where both the developed and developing countries play their parts. This is why the need for agreement on the means of implementation for the next phase of the global development agenda is extremely important.

Amongst the critical priority areas indentified by the Regional Commissions, through our consultations, were: firstly, that we need to take into account that not all countries and regions are the same – it is not a homogenous agenda. The framework has to take sufficient account of the fact that countries and regions have different initial conditions and resource bases, in terms of human, institutional and natural resources, and that there has to be, therefore, enough flexibility to adapt this agenda at the local, national, and regional levels. For example, many countries in Asia and Latin America are middle income countries, but at the subregional level there are extremely poor communities. Therefore, poverty reduction has to be the top priority in all our regions. In fact, the term that was frequently heard in the consultations was that there are “rich countries with poor people” and sometimes “poor countries with rich natural resources that are badly managed”.

The issue of flexibility must also be extended to strategies for achieving our  development goals of inclusiveness, of sustainability and of equality. It cannot, therefore, be a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution. We also need to look at the development agenda in the context of the post-2008, post-financial crisis world: with ODA financing for middle income countries declining, it will be very important to create fiscal space and make spending and taxation more progressive in all our regions in the post-2015 agenda.

The means of implementation that are needed for these priority areas, must be more universal, to gradually diffuse the North-South paradigm that has dominated our international cooperation discourse. The concentration on accountable partnerships is therefore absolutely critical. Having said that, the intensity of development challenges facing developing countries is deeper still, and we need therefore to have international commitments and shared responsibilities, including those still relating to ODA, access to markets, technologies, and essential drugs. This needs to be politically upheld, notwithstanding the importance of mobilization of domestic and regional resources. In fact many countries, especially the middle income countries, are indeed looking at how they can mobilize greater domestic and regional resources. ODA will not be a basic pillar of the post-2015 development agenda, but it is still an unfulfilled promise that needs to be attended to.

We held several consultations with the landlocked and least developed countries, and here the emphasis was on transit trade and on regional connectivity, not only the hardware of connectivity, but also the software of connectivity. There was also a consultation with fragile and conflict-affected states, in Timor-Leste, and what emerged were four priorities: inclusive economic growth that is pro-poor and pro-jobs; state effectiveness and state building for development effectiveness; citizens’ security and the concern that it is not just war that creates violence, but the fact that many of these societies are being criminalized, and that violence related to criminality was a major concern; and of course the issue of peace and justice based on human rights. There was also a major concern about the establishment of better economic and social protection systems for the whole life-cycle, taking into account the challenges and opportunities of changing demographics, such as the ‘youth bulge’.

Other priorities which emerged were the need to build good governance, better state institutions, better alliances, better citizens’ engagement, and also to fight corruption. The need was also identified for a better regulatory environment for investment and trade, in order to generate jobs. By the same token, governance also has to be improved at the international level, to ensure that the interests of all countries are represented in global decision-making.

In addition, there was a very strong sense that, to fortify genuine global partnerships, there must be a focus on essential global public goods. The means of implementation should address how to mobilize and harness global partnerships for global public goods including: fair trade; stable international financial systems; and the accessibility of technologies for health, for inclusiveness and also for environmental sustainability.

Acting solely on outcomes, as is the case in the MDG framework, without addressing enablers of development and means of implementation, will not yield the structural transformations needed in the post-2015 agenda. The importance of regional public goods to development is most pertinent in this context – especially infrastructural deficits in transport, power generation, and information and communication technologies. The post-2015 agenda must, therefore act on global and regional impediments constraining such potential for development financing.

In conclusion, there was a focus on the need for partnerships for sustainable development to be built, and that means that we need to have a more holistic framework of human development and sustainable development, and that this must be consistent – we cannot see them as trade-offs, they have to be seen as synergies.

What we are looking for is low-carbon growth, that is high on poverty reduction, and high on reducing inequality. In this context we need to address climate change and issues of volatility, ensuring that development gains are not lost due to natural disasters or to manmade disasters such as financial crises and speculative behavior leading to excessive price volatility in essential commodities. We need therefore to strengthen the resilience agenda.

Another key issue that received prominence in the regional consultations was the imperative to achieve gender equality and to end the global scourge of violence against women and girls.

In short, the world that the Regional Commissions want, and are working towards, is a more resilient one, founded on shared prosperity, on social equity, on citizen’s security, and on sustainability. This is the world that we want our children to inherit.

I thank you.

The 69th session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific will be held at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok from 25 April to 1 May 2013.

The Commission session will be comprised of two parts: the senior officials segment, from 25 to 27 April 2013; and the ministerial segment, from 29 April to 1 May 2013.

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At the adoption of the Plan of Action, Asian and Pacific countries declared that they are united in their resolve to implement the Plan of Action which provides a roadmap to broaden and deepen the contribution of these technologies to all affected countries and communities.

Under the auspices of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) the meeting was held from 18 to 20 December and co-organized by the Thai Space Agency, Geo-informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA).

The Plan of Action called on ESCAP, as the most inclusive intergovernmental platform in Asia and the Pacific, to harmonize the myriad of existing regional initiatives, and to pool expertise and resources, in order to enhance the effectiveness of these efforts in addressing the capacity gaps, especially in high-risk and low capacity developing countries in the region.

In her welcome remarks, Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, highlighted that space applications are more advanced and affordable than ever before, but the region has yet to experience the full potential that they can present.

She urged all delegates to give their utmost commitment to the five year Plan of Action: “Let it be our map and our guide for the coming years, so that we can strive for a more inclusive, sustainable and resilient Asian and Pacific region. Let us work together so that the most vulnerable people of the region can benefit from space and geographic information systems technologies, creating a virtuous cycle of economic and social benefits–bringing us closer to achieving a sustainable future for all and the future we want.”

The Plan of Action called for a Ministerial Conference on Space and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Applications for Disaster Risk Reduction & Management and Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific to be held in 2015 to evaluate the progress made in implementing the Plan of Action, provide further guidance for its successful implementation, and build stronger political support and ownership for it among all relevant stakeholders.

In his Keynote Address, H.E Mr. Woravat Aueapinyakul, Minister of Science and Technology of Thailand stated: “The Thai Government realizes the significant role of space technology and GIS. The Plan of Action is one of the important tools to achieve the ultimate goal in promoting and using space technology and GIS applications for disaster risk reduction and sustainable development in our region.”

H.E. Mr. Mohamed Ahmed, State Minister for Defense and National Security Service and Chief Coordinator of National Disaster Management Centre of Maldives outlined how the country has accelerated efforts in disaster risk reduction by advocating for a development model that integrates disaster risk reduction and climate change adaption at all levels of government planning and operations.

Additionally, the Plan of Action requested ESCAP to strengthen efforts on its long-standing Regional Space Applications Programme (RESAP) and take measures through RESAP to operationalize an early warning system for droughts. Furthermore, it called on ESCAP to act as a clearing house for sharing good practices and lessons learnt in space and GIS applications and information and communication technology in order to accelerate progress towards achieving a sustainable future for the region.

Significantly, several space faring countries offered to share satellite data, space products and services related to disaster risk management and sustainable development with developing countries in the region.

National governments were requested to improve coordination across various agencies making use of space technology and GIS applications, and ensure that these technology applications are well integrated into national disaster risk reduction and sustainable development plans.

The fourth edition, Disability at a Glance 2012: Strengthening the Evidence Base in Asia and the Pacific continues this tradition. It highlights the complexity of interpreting disability data and stresses the urgent need to work towards a greater common understanding of disability, related data and data collection practices.

This edition consists of an introduction, two analytical chapters and subregional and country snapshots. The introduction provides an overview of disability prevalence in the region and raises questions about interpreting this data. Chapter 1 analyzes some possible sources of variance in disability prevalence and implications for data interpretation. Chapter 2 examines selected key factors that affect people’s health and may have a bearing on disability prevalence in the long-term.

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