COORDINATION MATTERS: MATTERS ARISING OUT OF RESOLUTIONS OF MAJOR

	UNITED NATIONS	HS

	Commission on Human Settlements	Distr. GENERAL HS/C/17/CRP.3 1 April 1999 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH

Seventeenth session
Nairobi, 5-14 May 1999
Item 11 (c) of the provisional agenda* COORDINATION MATTERS: MATTERS ARISING OUT OF RESOLUTIONS OF MAJOR LEGISLATIVE ORGANS OF THE UNITED NATIONS AND OTHER INTERGOVERNMENTAL BODIES WHICH ARE BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE COMMISSION Main decisions and resolutions of the General Assembly (fifty-second and fifty-third sessions) of relevance to the work of the Commission Note by the secretariat

Annexed hereto for the Commission's ease of reference are the resolutions which are referred to in document HS/C/17/12, entitled "Matters arising out of the resolutions of major legislative organs of the United Nations and other intergovernmental bodies which are brought to the attention of the Commission".

* HS/C/17/1

CONTENTS

Chapter

I. FIFTY-SECOND SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY *

52/81 Follow-up to the International Year of the Family *

52/93 Improvement of the situation of women in rural areas *

52/108 International Decade of the World's Indigenous People *

52/136 Right to development *

52/190 Implementation of the outcome of the United Nations
Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) *

52/191 Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000 *

52/192 Follow-up to the United Nations Conference on Human
Settlements (Habitat II) and the future role of the
Commission on Human Settlements *

52/193 First United Nations Decade for the Eradication
of Poverty *

II. FIFTY-THIRD SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY *

53/120 Follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and full implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the
Platform for Action *

53/129 International Decade of the World's Indigenous People *

53/155 Right to development *

53/180 Special session of the General Assembly for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the
Habitat Agenda *

53/188 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 *

53/197 International Year of Microcredit, 2005 *

53/198 Implementation of the First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty *

III. TWENTIETH SESSION OF THE UNEP GOVERNING COUNCIL *

20/17 Views of the Governing Council on the report of the Secretary-General on environment and human settlements *

I. FIFTY-SECOND SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

52/81. Follow-up to the International Year of the Family

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolutions 44/82 of 8 December 1989, 46/92 of 16 December 1991, 47/237 of 20 September 1993 and 50/142 of 21 December 1995 concerning the proclamation, preparations for and observance of the International Year of the Family,

Recognizing that the basic objective of the follow-up to the International Year of the Family should be to strengthen and support families in performing their societal and developmental functions and to build upon their strengths, in particular at the national and local levels,

Noting that the family-related provisions of the outcomes of the world conferences of the 1990s provide policy guidance on ways to strengthen family-centred components of policies and programmes as part of an integrated comprehensive approach to development,

Emphasizing that equality between women and men and respect for the rights of all family members is essential to family well-being and to society at large,

1. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General on the International Year of the Family, and welcomes the proposals contained therein;

2. Invites Governments to continue their actions to build family-friendly societies, inter alia, by promoting the rights of individual family members, in particular gender equality and the rights of the child;

3. Emphasizes the need for a more focused and coordinated approach towards family issues within the United Nations system;

4. Calls upon Governments, non-governmental organizations, other organizations of civil society, the private sector and individuals to contribute generously to the United Nations Trust Fund on Family Activities;

5. Urges Governments to take sustained action at all levels concerning families, including studies and applied research on families, and to promote the role of families in development, and invites Governments to develop concrete measures and approaches to address national priorities to deal with family issues;

6. Recommends that all relevant actors in civil society, including research and academic institutions, contribute to and participate in action on families;

7. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to play an active role in facilitating international cooperation within the framework of the follow-up to the International Year of the Family, to facilitate the exchange of experiences and information among Governments on effective policies and strategies, to facilitate technical assistance, with a focus on least developed and developing countries, and to encourage the organization of subregional and interregional meetings and relevant research;

8. Calls upon Governments to encourage the active follow-up to the International Year of the Family at the national and local levels;

9. Reaffirms Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/7 of 22 July 1996, in which the Council decided that the follow-up to the International Year of the Family should be an integral part of the multi-year programme of work of the Commission for Social Development.

70th plenary meeting
12 December 1997

52/93. Improvement of the situation of women in rural areas

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 34/14 of 9 November 1979, in which it endorsed the Declaration of Principles and the Programme of Action as adopted by the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, and its resolutions 44/78 of 8 December 1989, 48/109 of 20 December 1993 and 50/165 of 22 December 1995,

Recalling also the importance attached to the problems of rural women by the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and by the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women,

Recalling further its resolution 47/174 of 22 December 1992, in which it welcomed the adoption of the Geneva Declaration for Rural Women by the Summit on the Economic Advancement of Rural Women, held at Geneva in February 1992, and urged all States to work for the achievement of the goals endorsed in that Declaration,

Welcoming the growing awareness of Governments of the need for strategies and programmes to improve the situation of women in rural areas,

Welcoming also the Declaration and Plan of Action adopted by the Microcredit Summit, held in Washington in February 1997, in which micro-finance was identified as an important instrument of poverty alleviation, including for rural women,

Noting with deep concern that the economic and financial crises in many developing countries have severely affected the socio-economic status of women, especially in rural areas, and the continuing rise in the number of rural women living in poverty, including girls and older women,

Mindful of the need for fuller recognition and appreciation of the contribution of rural women to socio-economic development, including human capital development,

Mindful also that, despite the global trend towards rapid urbanization, many developing countries are still largely rural,

Recognizing the urgent need to take appropriate measures aimed at further improving the situation of women in rural areas,

1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the improvement of the situation of women in rural areas;

2. Invites Member States, in their efforts to implement the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the World Conference on Human Rights, the International Conference on Population and Development, the World Summit for Social Development, the Fourth World Conference on Women, the World Food Summit and the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), and bearing in mind the Geneva Declaration for Rural Women, to attach greater importance to the improvement of the situation of rural women, including older women, in their national development strategies, paying special attention to both their practical and strategic needs, by, inter alia:

(a) Integrating the concerns of rural women into national development policies and programmes, in particular by placing a higher priority on budgetary allocation related to the interests of rural women;

(b) Strengthening national machineries and establishing institutional linkages among governmental bodies in various sectors and non-governmental organizations concerned with rural development;

(d) Increasing the participation of rural women in the decision-making process at the local and national levels;

(e) Designing and revising laws to ensure that women have equal access to and control over land, unmediated by male relatives, in order to end land rights discrimination; according women secure use rights and full representation in the decision-making bodies that allocate land and other forms of property, credit, information and new technologies; in the implementation of the Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women, according women full and equal rights to own land and other property, inter alia, through inheritance; acknowledging, in the context of land reform programmes, the equality of women's rights to land and taking other measures to increase land availability to poor women and men;

(f) Investing in the human resources of rural women, particularly through health and literacy programmes and social support measures;

(g) Promoting and strengthening micro-financing policies and programmes, cooperatives and other employment opportunities;

(h) Ensuring that women's unpaid work and contributions to on-farm and off-farm production, including income generated in the informal sector, are visible and recorded in economic surveys and statistics at the national level;

3. Requests the international community and relevant United Nations organizations and bodies to promote further the realization of the programmes and projects aimed at the improvement of the situation of rural women within the overall framework of integrated follow-up to recent global conferences;

4. Requests the Secretary-General to prepare, in consultation with Member States and relevant United Nations organizations, a report on the implementation of the present resolution and to submit it, through the Economic and Social Council, to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session.

70th plenary meeting
12 December 1997

52/108. International Decade of the World's Indigenous People

The General Assembly,

Recalling its previous resolutions on the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People,

Recalling also that the goal of the Decade is to strengthen international cooperation for the solution of problems faced by indigenous people in such areas as human rights, the environment, development, education and health and that the theme of the Decade is "Indigenous people: partnership in action",

Recognizing the importance of consultation and cooperation with indigenous people in planning and implementing the programme of activities for the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People, the need for adequate financial support from the international community, including support from within the United Nations system, and the need for adequate coordination and communication channels,

1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the programme of activities for the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People;

2. Affirms its conviction of the value and diversity of the cultures and forms of social organization of indigenous people and its conviction that the development of indigenous people within their countries will contribute to the socio-economic, cultural and environmental advancement of all the countries of the world;

3. Emphasizes the importance of strengthening the human and institutional capacity of indigenous people to develop their own solutions to their problems, recommends once again, for these purposes, that the United Nations University consider the possibility of sponsoring, in each region, one or more existing institutions of higher education as centres of excellence and the diffusion of expertise, inter alia, by conducting relevant studies, and invites the Commission on Human Rights to recommend appropriate means of implementation;

4. Notes that the programme of activities for the Decade may be reviewed and updated throughout the Decade and that, at the mid-point of the Decade, the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly should review the results of the activities in order to identify obstacles to the achievement of the goals of the Decade and to recommend solutions for overcoming those obstacles;

5. Decides to appoint the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights as coordinator for the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People, and requests the High Commissioner, in that capacity:

(a) To promote the objectives of the Decade, taking into account, in the fulfilment of her functions, the special concerns of indigenous people;

(b) To consider organizing a workshop for research and higher education institutions, as outlined in Commission on Human Rights resolution 1997/32 of 11 April 1997, focusing on indigenous issues, in consultation with indigenous people and the relevant United Nations bodies;

(c) To give due regard to the dissemination of information on the situation, cultures, languages, rights and aspirations of indigenous people;

(d) To submit, through the Secretary-General, an annual report to the General Assembly on the implementation of the programme of activities for the Decade;

6. Reaffirms the adoption of a declaration on the rights of indigenous people as a major objective of the Decade, and underlines the importance of effective participation by indigenous representatives in the open-ended inter-sessional working group of the Commission on Human Rights established pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolution 1995/32 of 3 March 1995;

7. Also reaffirms, among the objectives of the Decade listed in the programme of activities, the consideration of the establishment of a permanent forum for indigenous people within the United Nations system;

8. Welcomes the holding of the second workshop on the establishment of a permanent forum for indigenous people within the United Nations system at Santiago, from 30 June to 2 July 1997, takes note of the report thereon, and recommends that the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-fourth session take into account the outcome of the workshop and the comments received by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from Governments, the relevant United Nations bodies and organizations, the specialized agencies, non-governmental organizations and indigenous organizations in its further consideration of the possible establishment of a permanent forum for indigenous people within the United Nations system;

9. Also welcomes the holding of the workshop on traditional knowledge and biological diversity at Madrid, from 24 to 28 November 1997, convened to address the implementation of article 8 (j) of the Convention on Biological Diversity with regard to the role of traditional knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities in the sustainable use of biological diversity;

10. Encourages Governments to support the Decade by:

(a) Preparing relevant programmes, plans and reports in relation to the Decade, in consultation with indigenous people;

(b) Seeking means, in consultation with indigenous people, of giving indigenous people greater responsibility for their own affairs and an effective voice in decisions on matters that affect them;

(c) Establishing national committees or other mechanisms involving indigenous people to ensure that the objectives and activities of the Decade are planned and implemented on the basis of full partnership with indigenous people;

(d) Contributing to the United Nations Trust Fund for the International Decade for the World's Indigenous People;

(f) Considering contributing, as appropriate, to the Fund for the Development of Indigenous Peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean, in support of the achievement of the goals of the Decade;

(g) Identifying resources for activities designed to implement the goals of the Decade, in cooperation with indigenous people and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations;

11. Invites the United Nations financial and developmental institutions, operational programmes and the specialized agencies, in accordance with the existing procedures of their governing bodies:

(a) To give increased priority and resources to improving the conditions of indigenous people, with particular emphasis on the needs of those people in developing countries, including through the preparation of specific programmes of action for the implementation of the goals of the Decade, within their areas of competence;

(b) To launch special projects, through appropriate channels and in collaboration with indigenous people, to strengthen their community-level initiatives and to facilitate the exchange of information and expertise among indigenous people and other relevant experts;

(c) To designate focal points for coordination of activities related to the Decade with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights;

12. Recommends that the Secretary-General ensure coordinated follow-up to the recommendations concerning indigenous people of relevant world conferences, namely, the World Conference on Human Rights, held at Vienna from 14 to 25 June 1993, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 3 to 14 June 1992, the International Conference on Population and Development, held at Cairo from 5 to 13 September 1994, the Fourth World Conference on Women, held at Beijing from 4 to 15 September 1995, and the World Summit for Social Development, held at Copenhagen from 6 to 12 March 1995;

13. Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to submit, through the Secretary-General, a report on the implementation of the programme of activities of the Decade to the General Assembly at its fifty-third session;

14. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-third session the item entitled "Programme of activities of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People".

70th plenary meeting
12 December 1997

52/136. Right to development

The General Assembly,

Reaffirming the Declaration on the Right to Development, which it proclaimed at its forty-first session, and noting that the Declaration represents a landmark and a meaningful instrument for countries and people worldwide;

Reaffirming also the commitment contained in the Charter of the United Nations to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Recalling its previous resolutions and those of the Commission on Human Rights relating to the right to development,

Also recalling the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights on 25 June 1993, which reaffirms the right to development as a universal and inalienable right and as an integral part of fundamental human rights and reaffirms that the human person is the central subject of development,

Emphasizing that development-oriented approaches to the promotion of human rights, as expressed by the Declaration on the Right to Development, constitute an important contribution to the development and strengthening of alternative approaches to the promotion and protection of all human rights,

Recalling that, in order to promote development, equal attention and urgent consideration should be given to the implementation, promotion and protection of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, and recognizing that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated and that the universality, objectivity, impartiality and non-selectivity of the consideration of human rights issues must be ensured,

Also recalling that democracy, respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development, transparent and accountable governance in all sectors of society, as well as effective participation by civil society, are essential parts of the necessary foundation for the realization of social and people-centred sustainable development,

Further recalling the principles proclaimed in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development of 14 June 1992, and taking note of the deliberations of the General Assembly at its nineteenth special session,

Acknowledging that, in this regard, a number of positive results have been achieved, but deeply concerned that the overall trends with respect to sustainable development are worse today than they were in 1992,

Mindful that the Commission on Human Rights continues to consider this matter and that the second session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts established by the Commission on Human Rights to elaborate a strategy for the implementation and promotion of the right to development, as set forth in the Declaration on the Right to Development, in its integrated and multidimensional aspects, was held at Geneva from 29 September to 10 October 1997, with a view to further enhancement and implementation of the right to development,

Noting the need for improved coordination and cooperation throughout the United Nations system for more effective promotion and realization of the right to development,

Recognizing that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has an important role to play in the promotion, protection and realization of the right to development, including in seeking enhanced support from the relevant bodies of the United Nations system for this purpose,

Reaffirming that lasting progress towards the implementation of the right to development requires effective development policies at the national level, as well as equitable economic relations and a favourable economic environment at the international level,

Recognizing that the implementation of the Declaration on the Right to Development requires effective development policies and support at the international level through the effective contribution of States, organs and organizations of the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations active in this field,

Expressing its concern about the lack of participation of developing countries at the global level in the decision-making process on macroeconomic policy issues, with far-reaching impacts on the world economy and with negative implications for the exercise of the right to development in developing countries,

Reaffirming the need for action by all States at the national and international levels for the realization of all human rights and the need for relevant evaluation mechanisms to ensure the promotion, encouragement and reinforcement of the principles contained in the Declaration on the Right to Development,

Also reaffirming that all States should promote the establishment, maintenance and strengthening of international peace and security and, to that end, should do their utmost to achieve general and complete disarmament under effective international control and to ensure that the resources released by effective disarmament measures are used for comprehensive development, in particular that of developing countries,

Noting that aspects of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, adopted by the Conference on 13 September 1994, the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and the Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development, adopted by the Summit on 12 March 1995, the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action, adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women on 15 September 1995, and the Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements and the Habitat Agenda, adopted by the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) at Istanbul, Turkey, on 14 June 1996, are relevant to the universal realization of the right to development, within the context of promoting and protecting all human rights,

Affirming the need to apply a gender perspective in the implementation of the right to development, inter alia, by ensuring that women play an active role in the development process,

Expressing concern that, more than ten years after the adoption of the Declaration on the Right to Development, obstacles to the realization of the right to development still persist at both the national and international levels and that new obstacles to the rights stated therein have emerged, including, inter alia, the negative effects of globalization on the right to development, particularly in developing countries,

Expressing further concern that the Declaration on the Right to Development is insufficiently disseminated and should be taken into account, as appropriate, in bilateral and multilateral cooperation programmes, national development strategies and policies and activities of international organizations,

Having considered the note by the Secretary-General on the right to development, prepared pursuant to General Assembly resolution 51/99 of 12 December 1996,

1. Takes note of the note by the Secretary-General;

2. Reaffirms the importance of the right to development for every human person and for all peoples in all countries, in particular the developing countries, as an integral part of fundamental human rights, as well as the potential contribution its realization could make to the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms;

3. Recognizes that the Declaration on the Right to Development constitutes an integral link between the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action through its elaboration of a holistic vision integrating economic, social and cultural rights with civil and political rights;

4. Reiterates its commitment to implementing the results of the World Conference on Human Rights, which reaffirm that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated and that democracy, development and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms are interdependent and mutually reinforcing;

5. Also reiterates that lasting progress towards the implementation of the right to development requires effective development policies at the national level, as well as an equitable economic environment at the international level;

6. Reaffirms the need for States to cooperate with a view to promoting, encouraging and strengthening universal respect for and observance of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without any distinction as to race, sex, language or religion;

7. Stresses that human rights should not be used as an instrument of trade protectionism;

8. Takes note of the importance given to human rights by the Secretary-General in his measures and proposals for the reform of the United Nations, and urges him to give high priority to the promotion and realization of the right to development;

9. Calls upon the Commission on Human Rights to consider carefully the report of the second session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts to elaborate a strategy for the implementation and promotion of the right to development, as set forth in the Declaration on the Right to Development, in its integrated and multidimensional aspects, bearing in mind the conclusions of the Working Group on the Right to Development established by the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 1993/22 of 4 March 1993 and the conclusions of the World Conference on Human Rights, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the International Conference on Population and Development, the World Summit for Social Development, the Fourth World Conference on Women and the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II);

10. Notes the efforts made by the High Commissioner, within her mandate, and encourages her to continue the coordination of various activities with regard to the implementation of the right to development;

11. Notes also that measures taken for the promotion and realization of the right to development should be more effective, and calls upon the High Commissioner to explore further ways and means to achieve this objective;

12. Requests the High Commissioner, within her mandate, to continue to take steps for the promotion, protection and realization of the right to development by, inter alia, drawing on the expertise of the funds, programmes and the specialized agencies of the United Nations system related to the field of development;

13. Requests the Secretary-General to inform the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-fourth session and the General Assembly at its fifty-third session of the activities of the organizations, funds, programmes and the specialized agencies of the United Nations system for the implementation of the Declaration on the Right to Development, as well as obstacles identified by them to the realization of the right to development;

14. Calls upon all Member States to make further concrete efforts at the national and international levels to remove obstacles to the realization of the right to development;

15. Calls upon the Commission on Human Rights to continue to make proposals to the General Assembly, through the Economic and Social Council, on the future course of action on the question, in particular on practical measures for the implementation and enhancement of the Declaration on the Right to Development, including comprehensive and effective measures to eliminate obstacles to its implementation, taking into account the conclusions and recommendations of the Global Consultation on the Realization of the Right to Development as a Human Right, the reports of the Working Group on the Right to Development and the report of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts to elaborate a strategy for the implementation and promotion of the right to development;

16. Notes that the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an ideal occasion for the international community to assess the progress achieved in:

(a) Realizing freedom from fear and freedom from want as the highest aspiration of the common people;

(b) Promoting the advent of a world where the inherent dignity of all members of the human family is recognized;

17. Affirms, in the above regard, that the inclusion of the Declaration on the Right to Development in the International Bill of Human Rights would be an appropriate means of celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

18. Encourages all States to address, within the declarations and programmes of action adopted by the relevant international conferences convened by the United Nations, the elements for the promotion and protection of the principles of the right to development as set out in the Declaration on the Right to Development;

19. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report on the implementation of the present resolution to the General Assembly at its fifty-third session;

20. Decides to consider this question at its fifty-third session under the sub-item entitled "Human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms".

70th plenary meeting
12 December 1997

52/190. Implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on

Human Settlements (Habitat II)

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 51/177 of 16 December 1996, in which it endorsed the Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements and the Habitat Agenda, adopted by the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) at Istanbul, on 14 June 1996,

Cognizant of the importance of maintaining the momentum already generated at the national, regional and international levels for the implementation of measures designed to address the economic, social and environmental consequences of rapid urbanization,

Stressing the need to improve conditions of shelter, access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and basic social services in both rural and urban areas,

Recalling paragraph 218 of the Habitat Agenda, in which the Conference requested the General Assembly to consider holding a special session in the year 2001 for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the outcome of Habitat II, and paragraph 15 of resolution 51/177, in which the Assembly reaffirmed that a decision on the matter should be taken at its fifty-second session,

Noting the delay in the submission of the report of the Secretary-General on the final comprehensive and in-depth assessment of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) with a view to its revitalization, as called for in paragraph 19 of resolution 51/177, and stressing that that has constrained consideration by the Assembly of those issues,

Recalling its resolution 51/225 of 3 April 1997, and noting with concern the report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services, in which serious concern is expressed about the financial irregularities in the Centre, and recognizing that the serious management and financial situation at the Centre should be addressed as a matter of urgency,

1. Takes note of the reports of the Commission on Human Settlements on its sixteenth session and on the implementation of the Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000, and the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II);

2. Requests the Secretary-General to address urgently the serious management and financial situation at the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) to meet its responsibilities in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda,2/ in accordance with Commission on Human Settlements resolution 16/8;

3. Urges the Executive Director of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) to take further action towards the reform of the administrative and financial management of the Centre pursuant to the recommendations of the Office of Internal Oversight Services, as well as the relevant reports of the United Nations Board of Auditors and Commission on Human Settlements resolutions 16/8 and 16/19, and decisions 16/28 and 16/29;

4. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to it at its fifty-third session the comprehensive and in-depth assessment of the Centre with a view to its revitalization called for in paragraph 19 of resolution 51/177, taking into account Commission resolution 16/8 and other relevant resolutions adopted by the Commission at its sixteenth session;

5. Urges all Governments and other actors concerned with human settlements and urban management issues, such as local authorities, relevant intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations, parliamentarians, the private sector, trade unions, academicians and other community groups, to implement fully and effectively the Habitat Agenda;

6. Invites Governments to consider, where appropriate, including in their delegations to future sessions of the Commission, in accordance with the specific conditions of each country, representatives of local authorities and the relevant actors of civil society, particularly the private sector, non-governmental organizations and research organizations, in the field of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development;

7. Affirms that, in a rapidly urbanizing world, the pivotal role of local authorities in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda should be recognized and enhanced;

8. Requests all relevant organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, including the regional commissions, and invites the Bretton Woods institutions, to support fully the effective implementation of the Habitat Agenda, at all levels, and to enhance their cooperation for that purpose, with a view to promoting an integrated, interrelated and coherent implementation of, and coordinated follow-up to, the outcomes of United Nations conferences;

9. Stresses that the full and effective implementation of the Habitat Agenda, in particular in all developing countries, especially those in Africa and the least developed countries, will require the mobilization of additional financial resources from various sources at the national and international levels and more effective development cooperation in support of national efforts in order to promote assistance for shelter and human settlements activities;

10. Invites all Governments and the international community to consider providing further support to the United Nations Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation in its activities, taking into account the need to continue to improve its effectiveness;

11. Invites the Commission on Human Settlements to promote the use of a set of key indicators to be developed further by the Centre and used by Governments, as appropriate, for national and local monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda;

12. Decides to hold a special session of the General Assembly in the year 2001 for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), the modalities of which will be decided on at its fifty-third session;

13. Invites the Economic and Social Council to consider devoting one high-level segment before the year 2001 to human settlements and the implementation of the Habitat Agenda;

14. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-third session a report on the implementation of the present resolution;

15. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-third session the sub-item entitled "Implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II)".

77th plenary meeting

18 December 1997

52/191. Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 43/181 of 20 December 1988, in which it adopted the Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000 and designated the Commission on Human Settlements as the United Nations intergovernmental body responsible for coordinating, evaluating and monitoring the Strategy, and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) as the lead agency for the Strategy,

Noting that the conclusions of the mid-term review of the Strategy, conducted by the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), were incorporated into the Habitat Agenda,

Having considered the fifth report of the Commission on Human Settlements on the implementation of the Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000,

Noting with satisfaction the support given to the implementation of the Global Strategy by donor Governments, international bodies and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations,

1. Commends Governments that are already revising, consolidating, formulating or implementing their national shelter strategies based on the enabling principles of the Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000, as elaborated in the Habitat Agenda;

2. Urges Governments, in connection with the implementation of their national plans of action on human settlements, to adopt or strengthen integrated national shelter strategies based on the enabling approach and sustainable development;

3. Also urges Governments to integrate fully the environmental dimension in the formulation and implementation of national shelter strategies, taking into account the relevant components of Agenda 21;

4. Recommends that Governments extend the application of urban and housing indicators to cities and rural settlements for monitoring the progress of their national shelter strategy and the performance of the shelter sector, taking into account local conditions and sensitivity to gender considerations;

5. Urges the international community to strengthen its support for national efforts to formulate and implement enabling shelter strategies in developing countries, as recommended in Agenda 21;

6. Urges the organizations of the United Nations system, particularly the United Nations Development Programme, and other multilateral and bilateral agencies to provide, on the basis of an approach consistent with the Global Strategy, increased financial and other support to Governments for achieving the objective of adequate shelter for all;

7. Adopts the plan of action for the implementation of the Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000 during the biennium 1998-1999, and urges Governments, relevant United Nations and private sector organizations, and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to prepare and implement their specific plans of action;

8. Decides to subsume the sixth report of the Commission on Human Settlements to the General Assembly on the implementation of the Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000, as called for in Assembly resolution 43/181, under the report of the Secretary-General to the Assembly on the implementation of the Habitat Agenda, to be submitted pursuant to Assembly resolution 51/177 of 16 December 1996.

77th plenary meeting
18 December 1997

52/192. Follow-up to the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements

(Habitat II) and the future role of the Commission on

Human Settlements

The General Assembly,

Welcoming the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), held at Istanbul from 3 to 14 June 1996,

Bearing in mind its resolutions 2718 (XXV) of 15 December 1970, 3001 (XXVII) of 15 December 1972 and 3327 (XXIX) of 16 December 1974, and in particular its resolution 32/162 of 19 December 1977, by which it decided that the Economic and Social Council should transform the Committee on Housing, Building and Planning into the Commission on Human Settlements,

Taking into account its resolutions 51/177 of 16 December 1996 on the implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) and 50/227 of 24 May 1996 on further measures for the restructuring and revitalization of the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields,

Recalling that, in its resolution 51/177, the General Assembly reaffirmed that the Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and relevant resolutions, including Assembly resolutions 48/162 of 20 December 1993 and 50/227, and together with the Commission on Human Settlements, should constitute a three-tiered intergovernmental mechanism to oversee the coordination of activities for the implementation of the Habitat Agenda,

Convinced that the follow-up to the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) will be undertaken on the basis of an integrated approach to human settlements development and within the framework of coordinated follow-up to and implementation of the results of the major international conferences in the economic, social and related fields,

I. FRAMEWORK FOR THE FUNCTIONING OF THE COMMISSION

1. Reaffirms that the Commission on Human Settlements, as a standing committee of the Economic and Social Council, should have a central role in monitoring, within the United Nations system, the implementation of the Habitat Agenda and advising the Council thereon;

2. Calls upon all the relevant United Nations organizations and specialized agencies to identify specific actions that they will undertake, within their mandates, towards the implementation of the Habitat Agenda, and invites them to inform the Administrative Committee on Coordination of their actions;

3. Calls upon the funds and programmes of the United Nations system and the regional commissions, consistent with their respective mandates, to support fully the effective implementation of the Habitat Agenda, particularly at the field level, as appropriate;

4. Invites the Bretton Woods institutions to consider how they might be actively involved in the implementation of and follow-up to the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), and to enhance their cooperation with the United Nations system for that purpose;

5. Decides, in view of the importance of non-governmental organizations, local authorities, the private sector and research organizations in the promotion of human settlements development, that such organizations should be encouraged to participate in the work of the Commission, in accordance with the relevant provisions of Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31 of 25 July 1996 on the consultative relationship between the United Nations and non-governmental organizations;

II. TERMS OF REFERENCE

6. Reaffirms the existing mandate of the Commission on Human Settlements as set out in resolution 32/162, while stressing the normative and catalytic character of the mandate;

7. Reaffirms in particular the responsibility of the Commission to give overall policy guidance to and to supervise the operations of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), including the United Nations Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation;

8. Takes into account that the Commission should fulfil its mandate in line with paragraphs 222 to 227 of the Habitat Agenda and in harmony with recommendations made by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, particularly chapter 7 of Agenda 21;

9. Decides that the Commission, in fulfilling its mandate, shall assist the Economic and Social Council in monitoring, reviewing and assessing the progress made in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda, inter alia, through the analysis of relevant inputs from Governments, local authorities and their associations, relevant non-governmental organizations and the private sector;

10. Also decides that the Commission shall identify issues on which system-wide coordination needs to be improved and modalities for promoting such coordination, in order to assist the Council in its coordination function;

III. STRUCTURE OF THE AGENDA AND WORK PROGRAMME OF THE COMMISSION

11. Urges the Commission to adopt a multi-year work programme for a focused and thematic approach that would, inter alia, provide a framework to assess the progress achieved in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda and that would be in line with the coordinated follow-up to conferences, culminating in an overall review and appraisal of the Habitat Agenda in the year 2001;

12. Decides that the work of the Commission, in relation to its programme of work, shall be primarily focused on the relevant provisions of the Habitat Agenda, with a view to ensuring the effective implementation of the Habitat Agenda;

13. Also decides that the agenda of the Commission on Human Settlements at its future sessions shall include the following substantive items derived from the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II):

(a) Issues identified in the multi-year programme of work

(b) Relevant United Nations plans and programmes of action pertaining to the themes "Sustainable human settlements development" and "Adequate shelter for all";

14. Further decides that, at its seventeenth and eighteenth sessions, the Commission will focus on monitoring the implementation of the Habitat Agenda and assessing its impact, structuring those sessions around the following four substantive areas of the Habitat Agenda:

(a) Adequate shelter for all, also incorporating the monitoring of the Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000;

(b) Sustainable human settlements in an urbanizing world, also incorporating the monitoring of chapter 7 of Agenda 21;

(d) International cooperation and coordination;

15. Decides that:

(a) At its seventeenth session, in 1999, the Commission will address the above-mentioned substantive areas;

(b) At its eighteenth session, in 2001, the Commission will focus on preparations for the special session of the General Assembly, if appropriate;

(c) In 1998 and 2000, the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) will analyse the progress made on national implementation status, organized around the four above-mentioned substantive areas, and will prepare synthesized reports to be submitted for consideration by the Commission at its seventeenth and eighteenth sessions;

IV. DOCUMENTATION

16. Requests that all United Nations documentation be kept concise, clear, analytical and timely, with a focus on relevant issues, that to the greatest extent possible use be made of integrated reporting, that reports contain recommendations for action and indicate the actors involved, that reports be made available in all official languages in accordance with the rules of the United Nations, and that the use of other methods of reporting, such as oral reports, also be explored;

V. METHODS OF WORK OF THE COMMISSION

17. Recognizes that the methods of work of the Commission should be revitalized in order to improve the profile of the Commission and attract high-level political participation;

18. Decides that preparation of thematic discussions in the Commission should be broadened by:

(a) Inviting countries to contribute to the preparation of the sessions by, for example, organizing seminars or expert panels on issues directly related to the themes that will be discussed at a particular session, and to report thereon;

(b) Involving local authorities, non-governmental organizations, the private sector and other partners in the preparatory phases of Commission sessions;

19. Also decides that, during Commission sessions, dialogues with major groups and panel discussions may be organized, the format of which, as with all other agenda items, should be decided upon at preceding Commission sessions;

20. Further decides to consider organizing interactive high-level segments on key policy issues during future Commission sessions;

VI. SECRETARIAT

21. Urges the Secretary-General to ensure the effective functioning of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) in line with paragraph 232 of the Habitat Agenda so as to enable it to discharge its mandate fully and to serve as an efficient secretariat to the Commission, and also to ensure that clear lines of responsibility are drawn so as to facilitate the implementation of the follow-up to Habitat II and secure close cooperation at the secretariat level among all United Nations entities involved in the follow-up;

22. Requests the Executive Director of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) to submit to the Commission on Human Settlements at future sessions a detailed report on the activities of regional offices, paying special attention to the status of implementation of the work programmes elaborated for the implementation of the Habitat Agenda in each region.

77th plenary meeting
18 December 1997

52/193. First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolutions 48/183 of 21 December 1993, 49/110 of 19 December 1994, 50/107 of 20 December 1995 and 51/178 of 16 December 1996 related to the observance of the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty (1996) and to the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006), and all its other relevant resolutions relating to international cooperation for the eradication of poverty in developing countries,

Recalling also all declarations and programmes of action of the United Nations major conferences and summits organized since 1990 and the reports and publications on the outcomes of those conferences and summits as they relate to poverty eradication,

Taking note of the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, adopted by the General Assembly at its nineteenth special session for the purpose of an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of Agenda 21, the Report on the World Social Situation, 1997, the Human Development Report, 1997 and the Trade and Development Report, 1997,

Expressing its concern that, as underlined in the reports mentioned above, the number of people living in absolute poverty is still increasing, especially in developing countries, and that a majority of them are women,

Noting decisions, measures and activities undertaken to eradicate poverty by countries and by organizations, agencies, funds, programmes and bodies of the United Nations system, including the World Bank, as well as by non-governmental organizations and the entire civil society within the framework of the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty and the first year of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty,

1. Reiterates that the main objective of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty is to achieve the goal of eradicating absolute poverty and reducing overall poverty substantially in the world through decisive national actions and international cooperation in implementing fully and effectively the relevant resolutions and decisions of the United Nations and all agreements and commitments agreed upon at the United Nations major conferences and summits organized since 1990 as they relate to poverty eradication;

2. Reaffirms that, within the context of overall action for the eradication of poverty, special attention should be given to the multidimensional nature of poverty, to the national and international framework conditions and policies that are conducive to its eradication, which should aim at the social and economic integration of people living in poverty, and to the promotion and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, including the right to development;

3. Reaffirms also that the causes of poverty should be addressed in the context of sectoral strategies, such as those on environment, food security, population, migration, health, shelter, human resources development, including education, fresh water, including clean water and sanitation, rural development and productive employment, and of the specific needs of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, in such a way as to increase opportunities and choices of people living in poverty and enable them to build their strengths and assets so as to achieve social and economic integration;

4. Reaffirms further that all Governments and the United Nations system, in particular the relevant funds, programmes and agencies, should promote an active and visible policy of mainstreaming a gender perspective and use gender analysis as a tool for the integration of a gender dimension into the planning and implementation of policies, strategies and programmes on poverty eradication;

5. Emphasizes that, in developing countries, rural development remains central to poverty eradication efforts, and this often includes agrarian reform, investment in infrastructure, extension of rural financial intermediation ensuring food security, better education and greater utilization of appropriate technology, ensuring fair prices to provide incentives for agricultural investment, and increasing productivity, including productivity in the informal sector;

6. Emphasizes also that in all countries, urban poverty should be addressed, inter alia, by promoting sustainable livelihoods for people living in urban poverty through the provision or expansion of access to training, education and other employment assistance services, in particular for women, youth, the unemployed and the underemployed;

7. Decides that, every year, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (17 October) should be marked by concentrating on the themes that the General Assembly chooses for that year;

8. Renews its recommendation that all Governments formulate or strengthen integrated poverty eradication strategies and policies and implement national poverty eradication plans or programmes in a participatory manner, to address the structural causes of poverty, encompassing action at local, national, subregional, regional and international levels, and stresses that those plans or programmes should establish, within each national context, strategies and affordable time-bound goals and targets for the substantial reduction of overall poverty and the eradication of absolute poverty;

9. Calls upon developed countries to reaffirm the commitments undertaken to fulfil, as soon as possible, the agreed target of 0.7 per cent of their gross national product for overall development assistance and, where agreed, within that target, to earmark 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of the gross national product for the least developed countries;

10. Invites the international community, including multilateral financial institutions, to implement fully and effectively all initiatives taken regarding debt relief for developing countries, including the Naples terms and the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative, and to continue their efforts in this field with a view to contributing to a durable solution to the debt problems of developing countries, and encourages donors to ensure adequate financing of these mechanisms or initiatives, particularly in African countries and the least developed countries, and thus support their efforts to eradicate poverty;

11. Takes note of the various international microfinance initiatives launched in recent years, such as the Microcredit Summit, held in Washington, D.C., from 2 to 4 February 1997, and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest, and invites all Governments, the United Nations system, including the Bretton Woods institutions, the relevant non-governmental organizations, the private sector and other actors of civil society to focus on the importance of increasing access to microcredit and related financial services for self-employment and income-generating activities for people living in poverty, in particular women in developing countries, particularly in Africa and the least developed countries, and to support the corresponding programmes and actions;

12. Invites the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme/United Nations Population Fund to consider extending projects under the rubric "Poverty Strategies Initiative" to all developing countries in order to make the initiative closely geared to the poverty eradication goals of the commitments adopted at the World Summit for Social Development and to strengthen assistance in the elaboration of national plans, programmes and strategies to eradicate poverty, particularly in African countries and the least developed countries, and calls upon all countries to contribute to the Initiative;

13. Calls upon all donors to give high priority to the eradication of poverty in their assistance budgets and programmes, on both bilateral and multilateral bases, and invites the relevant funds, programmes and agencies of the United Nations system to support developing countries, particularly African countries and the least developed countries, in their efforts to achieve the overall goal of eradicating poverty and ensuring basic social services, by supporting national efforts to formulate, coordinate, implement, monitor and assess integrated poverty strategies, including capacity-building, and by supporting efforts to empower people living in poverty;

14. Reaffirms the importance of agreeing on a mutual commitment between interested developed and developing country partners to allocate, on average, 20 per cent of official development assistance and 20 per cent of the national budget, respectively, to basic social programmes, and recalls the outcome of the Oslo meeting which reaffirmed that promoting access for all basic social services was essential for sustainable development and should be an integral part of any strategy to overcome poverty;

15. Requests the Secretary-General to report to it at its fifty-third session on progress made in the implementation of measures, themes, recommendations and activities related to the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty, including recommendations for possible actions and initiatives for the rest of the Decade, as well as proposals for better coordination of actions taken by the United Nations system;

16. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-third session an item entitled "Implementation of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006)".

77th plenary meeting
18 December 1997

II. FIFTY-THIRD SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

53/120. Follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and full

implementation of the Beijing Declaration and

the Platform for Action

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolutions 50/42 of 8 December 1995, 50/203 of 22 December 1995 and 51/69 of 12 December 1996,

Recalling also its resolutions 52/100 of 12 December 1997 and 52/231 of 4 June 1998, in which it decided to convene a high-level plenary review as a special session of the General Assembly to appraise and assess the progress achieved in the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, and the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women, five years after their adoption, and to consider further actions and initiatives,

Taking note of Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/6 of 22 July 1996 on the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women, Council agreed conclusions 1997/2 of 18 July 1997 and resolutions 1998/43 of 31 July 1998 on mainstreaming the gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations system and 1998/26 of 28 July 1998 on the implementation of the Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the role of operational activities in promoting, in particular, capacity-building and resource mobilization for enhancing the participation of women in development,

Reaffirming that the full implementation of the Platform for Action requires immediate and concerted action by all to create a peaceful, just and humane world based on all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the principle of equality for all people of all ages and from all walks of life, and, to that end, recognizing that broad-based and sustained economic growth in the context of sustainable development is necessary to sustain social development and social justice,

Deeply convinced that the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women are important contributions to the advancement of women worldwide in order to achieve gender equality and must be translated into effective action by all States, the United Nations system and other organizations concerned, as well as by non-governmental organizations,

Recognizing that the implementation of the Platform for Action rests primarily at the national level, that Governments, non-governmental organizations and public and private institutions should be involved in the implementation process and that national mechanisms also have an essential role in this regard, and bearing in mind that enhanced national efforts and international cooperation are essential for the effective implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action,

Reaffirming its decision that the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Commission on the Status of Women, in accordance with their respective mandates and with Assembly resolution 48/162 of 20 December 1993 and other relevant resolutions, constitute a three-tiered intergovernmental mechanism that plays the primary role in the overall policy-making and follow-up and in coordinating the implementation and monitoring of the Platform for Action, and reaffirming also the need for a coordinated follow-up to and implementation of the results of major international conferences in the economic, social and related fields,

Reaffirming that the Commission on the Status of Women has a central role as a functional commission assisting the Economic and Social Council in the monitoring, within the United Nations system, of the implementation of the Platform for Action and in advising the Council thereon, and serves as the preparatory body for the special session of the General Assembly, open to the participation of all States Members of the United Nations, members of the specialized agencies and observers, in accordance with the established practice of the General Assembly,

1. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women;

2. Welcomes the initiatives and actions taken by Governments, the United Nations system and other international organizations, including their secretariats, as well as by non-governmental organizations and other actors of civil society, towards the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action adopted by the Conference, and calls upon them to implement effectively all the critical areas of concern of the Platform for Action;

3. Calls once again upon States, the United Nations system and all other actors to implement the Platform for Action, in particular by promoting an active and visible policy of mainstreaming a gender perspective at all levels, including in the design, monitoring and evaluation of all policies and programmes to ensure effective implementation of all critical areas of concern in the Platform for Action;

4. Stresses that Governments have the primary responsibility for implementing the Platform for Action, and reaffirms that Governments should continue to commit themselves at the highest political level to its implementation and should take a leading role in coordinating, monitoring and assessing progress in the advancement of women;

5. Welcomes the progress achieved, calls for further intensified efforts at the international level to integrate the equal status and all human rights of women into the mainstream of United Nations system-wide activity and to address those issues regularly and systematically throughout relevant United Nations bodies and mechanisms, and welcomes, in this context, Economic and Social Council agreed conclusions 1998/2 of 28 July 1998 on the coordinated follow-up to and implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights, held at Vienna from 14 to 25 June 1993;

6. Also welcomes the steps already taken by the Secretary-General to draw the attention of all senior managers in the United Nations system to Economic and Social Council agreed conclusions 1997/2 and resolution 1998/43 on mainstreaming the gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations system, and urges the Secretary-General to intensify his efforts to ensure that managers are held accountable for gender mainstreaming in their areas of responsibility and that gender mainstreaming is systematically integrated into the reform process of the United Nations, including the work of the executive committees;

7. Directs all its committees and bodies, and draws the attention of other bodies of the United Nations system to the need to mainstream a gender perspective systematically into all areas of their work, in particular in such areas as macroeconomic questions, operational activities for development, poverty eradication, human rights, humanitarian assistance, budgeting, disarmament, peace and security and legal and political matters;

8. Requests all bodies that deal with programme and budgetary matters, including the Committee for Programme and Coordination and the governing bodies of the United Nations funds and programmes, to ensure that all programmes, medium-term plans and, in particular, programme budgets visibly mainstream a gender perspective;

9. Reiterates the request of the Economic and Social Council to the Secretariat to present issues and approaches in a gender-sensitive manner when preparing reports, so as to provide the intergovernmental machinery with an analytical basis for gender-responsive policy formulation;

10. Requests the Economic and Social Council to ensure that gender mainstreaming is an integral part of all its activities concerning integrated follow-up to recent United Nations conferences, building upon its agreed conclusions 1997/2 and its resolution 1998/43;

11. Re-emphasizes the need for the United Nations system to strengthen the role of gender units and gender focal points;

12. Urges Governments that have not yet done so to establish or strengthen appropriate national machineries for the advancement of women at the highest political level, including by making appropriate budgetary allocations to ensure their effective operation, appropriate intra- and inter-ministerial procedures and staffing and other institutions with the mandate and capacity to promote women?s participation and integrate gender analysis into policies and programmes;

13. Notes with appreciation that many Governments have developed national strategies and action plans, some of them in consultation with non-governmental organizations, and urges all Governments that have not yet done so to complete their national action plans as soon as possible, but no later than June 1999, and to submit these plans to the Secretariat;

14. Encourages Governments to submit responses to the questionnaire prepared by the Secretariat in consultation with the regional commissions, which, together with the national action plans, are an essential contribution to the special session of the General Assembly;

15. Reiterates its invitation to Governments to prepare national evaluations of the implementation of the Platform for Action with the involvement of civil society;

16. Recognizes the importance attached to the regional and subregional monitoring of the global and regional platforms for action by regional commissions and other subregional or regional structures, within their mandates, in consultation with Governments, and calls for the promotion of cooperation in that respect among Governments and, where appropriate, national machineries of the same region;

17. Calls upon States to take action to fulfil the commitments for the advancement of women and for the strengthening of international cooperation made at the Fourth World Conference on Women, and reaffirms that adequate financial resources should be committed at the international level for the implementation of the Platform for Action in developing countries, in particular those in Africa and the least developed countries;

18. Invites the Secretary-General, in the implementation of the United Nations System-wide Special Initiative on Africa, to pay special attention to the needs and role of women as actors and beneficiaries in the development process;

19. Reaffirms that, in order to implement the Platform for Action, adequate mobilization of resources at the national and international levels, as well as new and additional resources for the developing countries, in particular those in Africa and the least developed countries, from all available funding mechanisms, including multilateral, bilateral and private sources for the advancement of women, will also be required;

20. Recognizes that implementation of the Platform for Action in the countries with economies in transition requires continued national efforts and international cooperation and assistance, as indicated in the Platform for Action;

21. Reaffirms that, in order to implement the Platform for Action, a reformulation of policies and reallocation of resources may be needed, but that some policy changes may not necessarily have financial implications;

22. Calls upon Member States to allocate sufficient resources for the provision of data disaggregated by sex and age for undertaking gender impact analyses in order to develop successful national implementation strategies for the Platform for Action;

23. Stresses that full and effective implementation of the Platform for Action will require a political commitment to making available human and financial resources for the empowerment of women, the integration of a gender perspective in budgetary decisions on policies and programmes and adequate financing of specific programmes for securing equality between women and men;

24. Invites Member States to encourage non-governmental organizations, the private sector and other institutions to mobilize additional resources to facilitate the full implementation of the Platform for Action in order to achieve gender equality;

25. Recognizes that the creation of an enabling environment at the national and international levels is necessary to ensure the full participation of women in economic activities, and calls upon States to remove obstacles to the full implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action;

26. Again calls upon Member States to commit themselves to achieving gender balance by, inter alia, aiming at gender balance in the composition of delegations to the United Nations and other international forums, and by presenting, promoting and appointing women candidates in all government-appointed committees, boards and other relevant official bodies, as well as in all international bodies, institutions and organizations;

27. Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to ensure that the Division for the Advancement of Women of the Secretariat can carry out effectively all the tasks foreseen for it in the Platform for Action, play a catalytic role in support of gender mainstreaming, including through policy advisory services at the request of Governments, in cooperation with other bodies of the United Nations system, and serve as the secretariat for the special session of the General Assembly by, inter alia, providing sufficient human and financial resources within the regular budget of the United Nations;

28. Notes with appreciation the work done by the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, inter alia, in her role as the Chairperson of the Inter-Agency Committee on Women and Gender Equality, towards the system-wide implementation of the Platform for Action and gender mainstreaming and towards the achievement of gender balance in the Secretariat and system-wide, and, in that regard, stresses the importance of increasing human and financial resources from all available funding sources;

29. Takes note of the statement of the Administrative Committee on Coordination on gender equality and mainstreaming in the work of the United Nations system: a commitment for action, adopted by the Committee in March 1998, in which gender equality was established as a strategic objective of the international community and of the organizations of the United Nations system;

30. Encourages the Inter-Agency Committee on Women and Gender Equality to continue its cooperation with the subsidiary bodies of the Administrative Committee on Coordination to develop strategies, tools and methodologies, such as gender-sensitive budgeting, to enhance the implementation and monitoring of the Platform for Action and gender mainstreaming in the United Nations system;

31. Requests the Secretary-General, in keeping with Economic and Social Council resolution 1998/26, to ensure that a gender perspective is integral to all operational activities, is fully integrated into the triennial comprehensive policy review of those activities and that resident coordinators, in the execution of their mandates, fully incorporate a gender perspective, in particular into the coordinated follow-up to recent global United Nations conferences, utilizing fully all the expertise available in the United Nations system;

32. Invites States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women to include information in their reports on measures taken to implement the Platform for Action;

33. Notes the importance of the activities undertaken by the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women in the implementation of the Platform for Action, and encourages the strengthening of their cooperation and coordination within their respective mandates;

34. Encourages international financial institutions to continue to review and revise policies, procedures and staffing to ensure that investments and programmes benefit women, and invites the Secretary-General to include information on any such steps in his annual report on follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women, to be submitted to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session;

35. Invites the World Trade Organization to contribute to the implementation of the Platform for Action, including through activities in cooperation with the United Nations system;

36. Reiterates that the special session, which will take place from 5 to 9 June 2000, should review and appraise progress in implementation, focusing on examples of good practices, positive actions, lessons learned, obstacles and key challenges remaining, and identify further actions and initiatives for achieving gender equality in the next millennium;

37. Decides that the special session shall be entitled ?Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century?;

38. Encourages appropriate regional preparatory activities for the special session, inter alia, by Governments in cooperation with the regional commissions, and recommends the submission of the results as an input to the Commission on the Status of Women at its forty-fourth session, in 2000;

39. Invites the Commission acting as the preparatory committee for the special session to propose the agenda (structure and themes) and documentation for the special session, taking into account resolution 52/231, and, at its forty-third session, to focus in particular on the report requested on suggestions for further actions and initiatives that might be considered during the review in order to achieve gender equality, with attention to mainstreaming a gender perspective and to common trends and themes across the twelve critical areas of concern;

40. Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to submit to the Commission at its forty-third session a report on suggestions for further actions and initiatives;

41. Requests the Secretary-General to provide by the end of 1999 a compilation of updated statistics and indicators on the situation of women and girls, including older women and those with special needs, in countries around the world, including by issuing a new volume of The World's Women;

42. Reiterates that participation in the special session should be at a high political level;

43. Emphasizes the important role of non-governmental organizations in implementing the Platform for Action and the need for their active involvement in the preparations for the special session, as well as the need to ensure appropriate arrangements for their contributions to the special session;

44. Recalls the interim measures put forward by the Economic and Social Council in its decision 1997/298 of 23 July 1997 for the participation of non-governmental organizations in the work of the Commission on the Status of Women with a view to their application for the forty-third session, and recommends that the Council extend their application to the forty-third session of the Commission;

45. Invites the Commission, meeting as the preparatory committee for the special session, in March 1999, to recommend to the General Assembly appropriate arrangements for the involvement and participation of non-governmental organizations in the special session;

46. Recommends to the Economic and Social Council to decide that, in the absence of a recommendation from the Commission at its first meeting as the preparatory committee for the special session, in 1998, the non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Council, as well as the non-governmental organizations that participated in the Fourth World Conference on Women whose applications for consultative status with the Council are still under consideration, may participate in the sessions of the Commission meeting as the preparatory committee, in 1999 and 2000;

47. Requests the Secretary-General to report annually to the General Assembly, the Commission on the Status of Women and the Economic and Social Council on follow-up to and progress in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action;

48. Decides to appraise the progress on this question on an annual basis and to retain on the agenda of its forthcoming sessions the item entitled ?Implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women?.

85th plenary meeting
9 December 1998

53/129. International Decade of the World?s Indigenous People

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 52/108 of 12 December 1997 and previous resolutions on the International Decade of the World?s Indigenous People,

Recognizing the importance of consultation and cooperation with indigenous people in planning and implementing the programme of activities of the International Decade of the World?s Indigenous People, the need for adequate financial support from the international community, including support from within the United Nations system, and the need for adequate coordination and communication channels,

1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the programme of activities of the International Decade of the World?s Indigenous People;

3. Emphasizes the importance of strengthening the human and institutional capacity of indigenous people to develop their own solutions to their problems, recommends for these purposes that the United Nations University, as a follow-up to the planned workshop for research and higher education institutions, as outlined in Commission on Human Rights resolutions 1997/32 of 11 April 1997 and 1998/13 of 9 April 1998, consider the possibility of sponsoring, in each region, one or more existing institutions of higher education as centres of excellence and the diffusion of expertise, inter alia, by conducting relevant studies, and invites the Commission to recommend appropriate means of implementation;

4. Notes that the programme of activities of the Decade may be reviewed and updated throughout the Decade and that, at the mid-point of the Decade in 1999, the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly should review the results of the activities in order to identify obstacles to the achievement of the goals of the Decade and to recommend solutions for overcoming such obstacles;

5. Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, as coordinator for the International Decade of the World?s Indigenous People:

(a) To continue to promote the objectives of the Decade, taking into account, in the fulfilment of her functions, the special concerns of indigenous people;

(b) To proceed with the organization, from within existing resources and voluntary contributions, of the workshop for research and higher education institutions focusing on indigenous issues in education, in consultation with indigenous people and the relevant United Nations bodies, which the Government of Costa Rica has offered to host in 1999;

(c) To give due regard to the dissemination, from within existing resources and voluntary contributions, of information on the situation, cultures, languages, rights and aspirations of indigenous people and, in that context, to consider the possibility of organizing projects, special events, exhibitions and other activities targeting the public, in particular young people;

(d) To submit, through the Secretary-General, an annual report to the General Assembly on the implementation of the programme of activities of the Decade;

6. Reaffirms the adoption of a declaration on the rights of indigenous people as a major objective of the Decade, and underlines the importance of effective participation by indigenous representatives in the open-ended inter-sessional working group of the Commission on Human Rights charged with elaborating a draft declaration on the rights of indigenous people, established pursuant to Commission resolution 1995/32 of 3 March 1995;

7. Also reaffirms, among the objectives of the Decade listed in the programme of activities, the consideration of the establishment of a permanent forum for indigenous people in the United Nations system;

8. Urges Governments to participate actively in the open-ended inter-sessional ad hoc working group that the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 1998/20 of 9 April 1998 decided to establish from within existing overall United Nations resources, which is to meet for five working days prior to the fifty-fifth session of the Commission to elaborate and consider further proposals for the possible establishment of a permanent forum for indigenous people in the United Nations system;

9. Encourages Governments to support the Decade by:

(a) Preparing relevant programmes, plans and reports in relation to the Decade, in consultation with indigenous people;

(b) Seeking means, in consultation with indigenous people, of giving indigenous people greater responsibility for their own affairs and an effective voice in decisions on matters that affect them;

(d) Contributing to the United Nations Trust Fund for the International Decade of the World?s Indigenous People;

(e) Contributing, together with other donors, to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations in order to assist indigenous representatives in participating in the Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities of the Commission on Human Rights, the open-ended inter-sessional working group charged with elaborating a draft declaration on the rights of indigenous people and the open-ended inter-sessional ad hoc working group charged with elaborating and considering further proposals for the possible establishment of a permanent forum for indigenous people in the United Nations system;

(f) Considering contributing, as appropriate, to the Fund for the Development of Indigenous Peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean, in support of the goals of the Decade;

(g) Identifying resources for activities designed to implement the goals of the Decade, in cooperation with indigenous people and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations;

10. Invites United Nations financial and developmental institutions, operational programmes and the specialized agencies, in accordance with the existing procedures of their governing bodies:

(b) To launch special projects, through appropriate channels and in cooperation with indigenous people, to strengthen their community-level initiatives and to facilitate the exchange of information and expertise among indigenous people and other relevant experts;

(c) To designate focal points for coordination of activities related to the Decade with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; and commends those institutions, programmes and agencies that have already done so;

11. Recommends that the Secretary-General ensure coordinated follow-up to the recommendations concerning indigenous people of relevant world conferences, namely, the World Conference on Human Rights, held at Vienna from 14 to 25 June 1993, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held at Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992, the International Conference on Population and Development, held at Cairo from 5 to 13 September 1994, the Fourth World Conference on Women, held at Beijing from 4 to 15 September 1995, and the World Summit for Social Development, held at Copenhagen from 6 to 12 March 1995;

12. Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to submit, through the Secretary-General, a report on the implementation of the programme of activities of the Decade to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session;

13. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session the item entitled "Programme of activities of the International Decade of the World?s Indigenous People".

85th plenary meeting
9 December 1998

53/155. Right to development

The General Assembly,

Recalling all its previous resolutions and those of the Commission on Human Rights relating to the right to development,

Emphasizing that the promotion, protection and realization of the right to development are an integral part of the promotion and protection of all human rights at the national and international levels,

Noting that the human person is the central subject of development and that development policy should therefore make the human being the main participant in and beneficiary of development,

Stressing the importance of creating an economic, political, social, cultural and legal environment that will enable people to achieve social development at the national and international levels,

Expressing its concern that, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the unacceptable situation of absolute poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter, illiteracy and hopelessness remains the lot of over one billion people,

Reaffirming the commitment contained in the Charter of the United Nations to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Mindful that the Commission on Human Rights continues to consider this matter and, by its resolution 1998/72 of 22 April 1998, established a follow-up mechanism, initially for a period of three years,

Noting the need for coordination and cooperation throughout the United Nations system for the more effective promotion and realization of the right to development,

Recognizing that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has an important role to play in the promotion, protection and realization of the right to development, including through enhanced cooperation with the relevant bodies of the United Nations system for this purpose,

Emphasizing that full respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms is necessary for lasting progress towards the realization of the right to development,

Expressing its concern that, more than ten years after the adoption of the Declaration on the Right to Development, and while noting that new challenges and opportunities for development have emerged in an increasingly globalized world, obstacles to the realization of the right to development still persist at both the national and the international levels, that new obstacles to the rights stated therein have emerged and that the progress made in removing these obstacles remains precarious,

Also expressing its concern that the Declaration on the Right to Development is insufficiently disseminated and should be taken into account, as appropriate, in bilateral and multilateral cooperation programmes, national development strategies and policies and activities of international organizations,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-General on the right to development, prepared pursuant to General Assembly resolution 52/136 of 12 December 1997,

1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General;

2. Reaffirms the importance of the right to development, as established in the Declaration on the Right to Development, and reaffirmed in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights on 25 June 1993, for every human person and for all peoples in all countries, in particular the developing countries, as an integral part of fundamental human rights, as well as the potential contribution its realization could make to the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms;

3. Recognizes that the Declaration on the Right to Development constitutes an integral link between the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, through its elaboration of a holistic vision integrating economic, social and cultural rights with civil and political rights;

4. Reiterates the importance of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action which reaffirms the right to development, as established by the Declaration on the Right to Development, as a universal and inalienable right and an integral part of fundamental human rights and also reaffirms that the human person is the central subject of development;

5. Reaffirms that democracy, development and respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development, are interdependent and mutually reinforcing, and in this context affirms that:

(a) Development experiences of countries reflect differences with regard to both progress and setbacks, and that the development spectrum has a wide range, not only between countries but also within countries;

(b) A number of developing countries have experienced rapid economic growth and remain dynamic partners in the international community;

(c) At the same time, the gap between developed and developing countries remains unacceptably wide and developing countries continue to face difficulties in participating in the globalization process and may risk being marginalized and effectively excluded from its benefits;

(d) Democracy, which is spreading everywhere, has raised development expectations everywhere, that the non-fulfilment of those expectations risks rekindling non-democratic forces, and that structural reforms which do not take social realities into account could destabilize the processes of democratization;

(e) Effective popular participation is an essential component of successful and lasting development;

(f) Democracy, respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development, transparent and accountable governance and administration in all sectors of society, and effective participation by civil society, are an essential part of the foundations necessary for the realization of social and people-centred sustainable development;

(g) The participation of developing countries in the international economic decision-making process needs to be broadened and strengthened;

6. Also reaffirms that democracy, development and respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms would be strengthened by enhanced international cooperation, in particular, for development;

7. Urges all States to eliminate all obstacles to development at all levels by pursuing the promotion and protection of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights, implementing comprehensive development programmes at the national level, integrating these rights into development activities and promoting effective international cooperation;

8. Reiterates that the existence of widespread absolute poverty inhibits the full and effective enjoyment of human rights and renders democracy and popular participation fragile;

9. Invites the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, within her mandate, to give due regard to the impact of the problem of the external debt burden of developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, on the full enjoyment of the right to development in those countries;

10. Expresses deep concern about the overall decline in official development assistance flows, and calls upon the developed countries, in a spirit of partnership, to mobilize further resources for development assistance to support the efforts of States towards the realization of the right to development, with a view to fulfilling as soon as possible the commitments undertaken to meet the agreed United Nations targets;

11. Affirms the need to apply a gender perspective in the implementation of the right to development, inter alia, by ensuring that women play an active role in the development process, and emphasizes that the empowerment of women and their full participation on a basis of equality in all spheres of society is fundamental for development;

12. Expresses concern about the adverse impact of the current financial crisis on the realization of the right to development and the full enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights in affected countries, especially on the right to food, health, education and work;

13. Affirms that international cooperation is acknowledged more than ever as a necessity deriving from recognized mutual interest and, therefore, that such cooperation should be strengthened in order to support the efforts of developing countries to solve their social and economic problems and to fulfil their obligations to promote and protect all human rights;

14. Welcomes the intention of the Secretary-General to give high priority to the right to development, and urges all States to promote further the right to development as a vital element in a balanced human rights programme;

15. Also welcomes the efforts made by the High Commissioner for Human Rights towards the promotion and realization of the right to development, and invites her to explore further ways and means to achieve this objective;

16. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to inform the Commission on Human Rights and the General Assembly of the activities of the organizations, funds, programmes and specialized agencies of the United Nations system for the implementation of the Declaration on the Right to Development, as well as obstacles identified by them to the realization of the right to development;

17. Welcomes the establishment of a follow-up mechanism, initially for a three-year period, in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 1998/72, consisting of an open-ended working group of the Commission and an independent expert, in order to make further progress towards the realization of the right to development;

18. Calls upon the Commission on Human Rights to continue to make proposals to the General Assembly, through the Economic and Social Council, on the future course of action on the question, in particular on practical measures for the implementation and enhancement of the Declaration on the Right to Development, including comprehensive and effective measures to eliminate obstacles to its implementation;

19. Recognizes that the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides an important opportunity to place all human rights, and the right to development in particular, at the top of the global agenda;

20. Calls upon the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as appropriate:

(a) To examine ways and means to provide the Declaration on the Right to Development with a profile commensurate with its importance;

(b) To continue to accord priority to the right to development and provide commensurate support in terms of staff, services and resources for its programmatic follow-up;

(c) To ensure widespread dissemination and promotion of the Declaration on the Right to Development, in close cooperation with States and intergovernmental organizations, national institutions, academia and interested non-governmental organizations worldwide by making booklets and publications freely available, in a similar way as for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and through workshops and seminars;

(d) To project the role and importance of the right to development, as part of the overall promotion and protection of human rights;

(e) To consult regularly on a formal and informal basis with all States on the follow-up to the Declaration on the Right to Development;

(f) To continue the welcome initiative to organize regional seminars which should focus on all aspects of the realization of the right to development;

(g) To undertake a dialogue with the World Bank with regard to the right to development, including initiatives, policies, programmes and activities that can promote the right to development, and to inform Member States on a regular basis of the progress made in such a dialogue;

(h) To involve relevant entities of the United Nations, such as those participating in the Executive Committee on Economic and Social Affairs, to promote and advocate the right to development and its realization, especially at the international level;

21. Requests the Commission on Human Rights:

(a) To invite the independent expert appointed by the Chairman of the Commission to include in his study on the current state of progress in the implementation of the right to development proposals for measures that could be taken for the more effective realization of the right to development at the national and international levels, and to submit his studies to the General Assembly;

(b) To invite the follow-up mechanism, inter alia, to consider the question of elaborating a convention on the right to development;

22. Encourages all States to address, within the declarations and programmes of action adopted by the relevant international conferences convened by the United Nations, elements for the promotion and protection of the right to development;

23. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report on the implementation of the present resolution to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session;

24. Decides to consider this question at its fifty-fourth session under the sub-item entitled ?Human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms?.

85th plenary meeting

9 December 1998

53/180. Special session of the General Assembly for an overall review

and appraisal of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolutions 51/177 of 16 December 1996 on the implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) and 52/192 of 18 December 1997 on the follow-up to the Conference and the future role of the Commission on Human Settlements,

Also recalling that, in paragraph 13 of its resolution 51/177, the General Assembly reaffirmed that the Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, together with the Commission on Human Settlements, should constitute a three-tiered intergovernmental mechanism to oversee the coordination of activities for the implementation of the Habitat Agenda,

Further recalling paragraph 218 of the Habitat Agenda, adopted by the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), in which the Conference recommended that the General Assembly consider holding a special session in the year 2001 for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the outcome of the Conference,

Recalling its resolution 52/190 of 18 December 1997, in which it, inter alia, decided to hold a special session of the General Assembly in the year 2001 for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), the modalities of which were to be decided on at its fifty-third session,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-General containing proposals on the scope and organizational aspects of the special session of the General Assembly for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda,

1. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General concerning the modalities for the special session of the General Assembly for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda;

2. Decides that the special session for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) will be held in June 2001 for a period of three working days;

3. Reaffirms that the special session will be undertaken on the basis of and with full respect for the Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements and the Habitat Agenda and that there will be no renegotiation of the existing agreements contained therein;

4. Decides to invite States members of the specialized agencies that are not members of the United Nations to participate in the work of the special session in the capacity of observers;

5. Also decides that the Commission on Human Settlements, which is currently scheduled at its seventeenth and eighteenth sessions to focus on monitoring the implementation of the Habitat Agenda and assessing its impact, should serve as the preparatory committee for the special session;

6. Further decides that the Commission, meeting as the preparatory committee for the special session, shall be open-ended to allow full participation of all States;

7. Stresses the need for the effective participation of local authorities, other Habitat Agenda partners and relevant actors of civil society, in particular the private sector and non-governmental organizations, in the preparations for the special session, as well as the need to ensure appropriate arrangements, taking into account the practice and experience gained at the Habitat II Conference, for their substantive contributions to and active involvement in the preparatory meetings and the special session, and invites the President of the General Assembly, in consultation with Member States, to propose to Member States appropriate modalities for their effective involvement in the special session;

8. Invites Governments to play an active role in the preparatory process, inter alia, through an intensified exchange of experiences, and welcomes the proposals received so far from Singapore to hold an international conference on model cities, from 19 to 21 April 1999, and from Germany to hold an international conference, entitled "Urban 21", in 2000;

9. Invites the Commission on Human Settlements, serving as the preparatory committee, to meet for two working days back-to-back with its forthcoming seventeenth session in order, inter alia, to elect its officers, adopt appropriate rules of procedure and consider the organization of work for its first substantive session, to be held at Nairobi for five working days in May 2000, and invites the preparatory committee, at its first substantive session, to consider the modalities, duration, date and agenda for the second substantive session, to be held in 2001;

10. Invites the Economic and Social Council to devote its coordination segment in 2000 to human settlements issues and the implementation of the Habitat Agenda;

11. Also invites the Economic and Social Council actively to promote and coordinate the role of the regional commissions in the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda at the regional and subregional levels;

12. Invites the regional commissions, within their mandates and in cooperation with regional intergovernmental organizations and banks, to consider convening high-level meetings to review the progress made in implementing the outcome of the Conference and to report the results of their review to the Economic and Social Council;

13. Requests other relevant organizations and agencies of the United Nations system and the funds and programmes, consistent with their respective mandates, to contribute, as appropriate, to the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda at the national, regional and global levels;

14. Requests the Secretary-General to seek extrabudgetary resources to assist developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, to send representatives to the sessions of the preparatory committee and the special session of the General Assembly in June 2001 for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda;

15. Also requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session on the implementation of the present resolution;

16. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session the sub-item entitled ?Implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II)?.

91st plenary meeting

15 December 1998

53/188. 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 General Assembly,

Recalling the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held at Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992, and the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly for the purpose of an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of Agenda 21, held in New York from 23 to 28 June 1997,

Reaffirming that Agenda 21 is the fundamental programme of action for achieving sustainable development and that the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, adopted at the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly, will enhance the full implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development,

Recognizing that the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 includes a statement of commitment to Agenda 21 and the goals of sustainable development, an assessment of progress made since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in all main areas of Agenda 21 and other outcomes of the Conference, and recommendations on the future methods of work of the Commission on Sustainable Development and the programme of work of the Commission for the period 1998?2002,

Recognizing also that mutually supportive efforts at the national and international levels are needed in the pursuit of sustainable development and that the gap between developed and developing countries points to the continuing need for a dynamic and enabling international economic environment supportive of international cooperation, particularly in the fields of finance, technology transfer, debt and trade, if the momentum for global progress towards sustainable development is to be maintained and increased,

Noting with concern that, during the assessment and review of progress made at its nineteenth special session, the General Assembly concluded that although some progress had been made, especially at the local level, the overall trends with respect to the global environment had not improved, and emphasizing that the implementation of Agenda 21 in a comprehensive manner remains vitally important and is now more urgent than ever,

Noting the convening of the first meeting of the Assembly of the Global Environment Facility at New Delhi from 1 to 3 April 1998 and the conclusion of the negotiations on the second replenishment of the Facility,

Noting also that the next review of the implementation of Agenda 21 is scheduled to be carried out by the General Assembly in 2002,

1. Stresses the need to accelerate the full implementation of Agenda 21 and the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21;

2. Recognizes that the Commission on Sustainable Development, within its mandate as specified in General Assembly resolution 47/191 of 22 December 1992 and in the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, will continue to provide the central forum for reviewing progress and for urging further implementation of Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 and other commitments made at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development or as a result of it, for conducting a high-level policy debate aimed at consensus-building on sustainable development and for catalyzing action and long-term commitment on sustainable development at all levels;

3. Calls upon the Commission on Sustainable Development to continue to undertake these tasks in complementing and providing interlinkages to the work of other United Nations organs, organizations and bodies active in the field of sustainable development, to play its role in assessing the 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, within its mandate, to the Council, bearing in mind the interrelated outcomes of recent United Nations conferences;

4. Emphasizes that the achievement of more substantive results by the next review of the implementation of Agenda 21 in 2002 will require concerted efforts at all levels, including by Governments, calls upon all countries to fulfil their commitments to Agenda 21, and in this context also calls upon developed countries to fulfil the commitments they have undertaken with respect to financial resources and the transfer of environmentally sound technology;

5. Underscores the importance of the continued active and collaborative involvement of all relevant bodies of the United Nations system in the implementation of Agenda 21 and the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, and requests the Secretary-General, in close collaboration with all relevant bodies of the United Nations system and taking into account the outcome of the deliberations in the Commission on Sustainable Development, to submit to the General Assembly for its consideration at future sessions, through the Economic and Social Council in view of its coordination function, an analytical report on the measures taken within the United Nations system to accelerate the implementation of Agenda 21 and the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, including identification of constraints and recommendations on how to address those constraints;

6. Stresses the importance of high-quality preparations for the forthcoming ten-year review of Agenda 21 and the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, and requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly for consideration at its fifty-fifth session a report on possible ways and means of ensuring effective preparations for the review;

7. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session, under the item entitled ?Environment and sustainable development?, a sub-item entitled ?Implementation of Agenda 21 and the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21?.

91st plenary meeting

15 December 1998

53/197. International Year of Microcredit, 2005

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 52/194 of 18 December 1997 on the role of microcredit in the eradication of poverty,

Recognizing that microcredit programmes have successfully contributed to lifting people out of poverty in many countries around the world,

Bearing in mind that microcredit programmes have especially benefited women and have resulted in the achievement of their empowerment,

Recognizing that microcredit programmes, in addition to their role in the eradication of poverty, have also been a factor contributing to the social and human development process,

Bearing in mind the importance of microfinance instruments such as credit, savings and related business services in providing access to capital for people living in poverty,

Noting the support to microcredit in the outcomes of different summit and high-level meetings, including the Twelfth Ministerial Conference of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, held at New Delhi on 7 and 8 April 1997, the Ninth Summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, held at Male from 12 to 14 May 1997, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity at its thirty-third ordinary session, held at Harare from 2 to 4 June 1997, the statement on economic and financial issues of the Group of Seven, issued at Denver, United States of America, on 21 June 1997, the substantive session of 1997 of the Economic and Social Council, held at Geneva from 30 June to 25 July 1997, the meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government, held at Edinburgh from 24 to 27 October 1997 and the Thirteenth Ministerial Conference of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, on 19 and 20 May 1998,

Noting also that 2005 is the final year of the campaign of the Microcredit Summit, which was held in Washington, D. C., from 2 to 4 February 1997 and which, through its Declaration and Plan of Action, endorsed a global campaign to reach 100 million of the world?s poorest families, especially the women of those families, with credit for self-employment and other financial and business services, by that year,

Noting further that the international community is observing the period 1997?2006 as the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty,

1. Proclaims the year 2005 as the International Year of Microcredit;

2. Requests that the observance of the Year be a special occasion for giving impetus to microcredit programmes throughout the world;

3. Invites Governments, the United Nations system, all concerned non-governmental organizations, other actors of civil society, the private sector and the media to highlight and give enhanced recognition to the role of microcredit in the eradication of poverty, its contribution to social development and its positive impact on the lives of people living in poverty;

4. Invites all involved in the eradication of poverty to consider taking additional steps, including the strengthening of existing and emerging microcredit institutions and their capacities, so that credit and related services for self-employment and income-generating activities may be made available to an increasing number of people living in poverty, and to develop further, where appropriate, other microfinance instruments;

5. Invites the Secretary-General to submit to it at its fifty-eighth session a report containing a draft programme of action for the effective observance of the Year, in consultation with all relevant actors including United Nations bodies, under an item entitled ?First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006)? to be included in the provisional agenda of that session.

91st plenary meeting

15 December 1998

53/198. Implementation of the First United Nations Decade for the

Eradication of Poverty

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolutions 50/107 of 20 December 1995 and 52/193 and 52/194 of 18 December 1997 relating to the observance of the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty and the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997?2006) and all of its other resolutions relating to international cooperation for the eradication of poverty in the developing countries,

Recalling also the declarations and programmes of action of the United Nations major conferences and summit conferences in the 1990s as they relate to the eradication of poverty,

Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997?2006) and the report of the United Nations Development Programme, Overcoming Human Poverty,

Expressing its concern that the total number of people living in poverty is still increasing, especially in developing countries, and that a large majority of them are women and children,

Recognizing that, while the rates of poverty in some countries have been reduced, some developing countries and disadvantaged groups are being marginalized while others are at risk of being marginalized and effectively excluded from the benefits of globalization, thereby constraining efforts to eradicate poverty,

Expressing its concern that the financial crisis has aggravated the existing poverty in the countries affected and placed a large number of people once again in conditions of poverty in the developing countries affected either directly or indirectly by the crisis,

Recognizing that, while it is the primary responsibility of States to attain social development, the international community should support the efforts of the developing countries in eradicating poverty and ensuring basic social protection,

Noting the decisions, measures and actions taken to eradicate poverty by countries and by organizations, agencies, funds, programmes and bodies of the United Nations system, including the World Bank, as well as by civil society, including non-governmental organizations, within the framework of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty,

2. Calls for strengthened efforts at all levels to implement fully and effectively the relevant resolutions and decisions of the United Nations and all agreements and commitments agreed upon at United Nations major conferences and summit conferences organized since 1990 as they relate to the eradication of poverty, with a view to achieving the objectives of the Decade as early as possible;

3. Reaffirms that, within the context of overall action for the eradication of poverty, special attention should be given to the multidimensional nature of poverty and the national and international framework conditions and policies that are conducive to its eradication by fostering, inter alia, the social and economic integration of people living in poverty, thus empowering them to participate in decision-making on policies that affect them, the promotion and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, including the right to development, and an efficient, transparent and accountable public service and administration;

4. Reaffirms also that the causes of poverty should be addressed in the context of sectoral strategies, such as those on environment, food security, population, migration, health, shelter and human resources development, including education, fresh water, rural development and productive employment, and of the specific needs of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, in such a way as to increase opportunities and choices for people living in poverty and enable them to build their strength and assets so as to achieve social and economic integration;

5. Stresses the importance of tackling the root causes of poverty and the necessity of meeting the basic needs of all, and in this context emphasizes the fundamental role in the eradication of poverty of economic growth that favours the poor and creates employment and promotes equitable income distribution;

6. Recognizes that the process of globalization brings with it opportunities but also poses new challenges, in particular for the developing countries and the least developed among them, in their efforts to eradicate poverty;

7. Recognizes also the importance of appropriate policy responses to the challenges of globalization at the national level, in particular by pursuing sound and stable domestic policies, including, inter alia, sound macroeconomic and social policies, so as to realize the objective of the eradication of poverty;

8. Calls for continued action by the international community to create an enabling economic environment and to assist developing countries further in their efforts to combat the negative impact of globalization, to fight marginalization and to pursue their development;

9. Reaffirms that all Governments and the United Nations system, in particular the relevant funds, programmes and agencies, should promote an active and visible policy of mainstreaming a gender perspective and use gender analysis as a tool for the integration of a gender dimension into the planning and implementation of policies, strategies and programmes on the eradication of poverty;

10. Emphasizes that, in developing countries, rural development remains central to efforts to eradicate poverty and that this often includes agrarian reform, investment in infrastructure, extension of rural financial intermediation, measures to ensure food security, the provision of better education, greater utilization of appropriate technology, fair prices to provide incentives for agricultural investment and increased productivity, including productivity in the informal sector;

11. Emphasizes also that, in all countries, urban poverty should be addressed, inter alia, by promoting sustainable livelihoods for people living in urban poverty through the provision or expansion of access to training, education and other employment assistance services, in particular for women, youth, the unemployed and the underemployed;

12. Welcomes the fact that a considerable number of countries have formulated plans and programmes to fight poverty, and in this context notes the efforts made to achieve the target of reducing by one half, by 2015, the proportion of people living in extreme poverty, and invites all Governments that have not yet done so to formulate or strengthen integrated poverty eradication policies and implement national poverty eradication plans or programmes, in a participatory manner, in order to address the structural cause of poverty, encompassing action at the local, national, subregional, regional and international levels, and stresses that those plans or programmes should establish, taking into account specific national circumstances, strategies, including affordable time-bound goals and targets, for the substantial reduction of overall poverty and the eradication of absolute poverty;

13. Calls upon the developed countries to strengthen their efforts to achieve, as soon as possible, the agreed target of 0.7 per cent of their gross national product for overall official development assistance and, where agreed, within that target, to earmark 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of gross national product for the least developed countries;

14. Calls upon the international community, including multilateral financial institutions, to implement fully and effectively all initiatives taken regarding debt relief for developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, and thus support their efforts to eradicate poverty;

15. Emphasizes the importance of increasing the control of the poor over resources, including land, skills, knowledge, capital and social connections;

16. Emphasizes also the role of microcredit as an important anti-poverty tool that promotes the generation of productive self-employment and empowers people living in poverty, especially women, and therefore encourages Governments to adopt policies that support the development of microcredit institutions and their capacities, and calls upon the international community, in particular the relevant organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system and international and regional financial institutions involved in the eradication of poverty, to support and to explore the incorporation of the microcredit approach in their programmes and the further development, as appropriate, of other microfinance instruments;

17. Welcomes the initiative taken by the Economic and Social Council to strengthen coordination for an integrated implementation of the outcome of the major United Nations conferences and summit conferences in the 1990s, where the eradication of poverty had been a cross-cutting theme;

18. Notes with appreciation the efforts made within the United Nations system to enhance inter-agency coordination among relevant organizations, funds and programmes and the Bretton Woods institutions for the integrated follow-up to the United Nations major conferences and summit conferences, including the adoption by the Administrative Committee on Coordination of the statement of commitment for action to eradicate poverty, and encourages those agencies to take more effective action in support of Member States in their efforts to achieve the objectives of the Decade;

19. Reiterates its call to all donors to give high priority to the eradication of poverty in their development assistance programmes, on both a bilateral and a multilateral basis, and invites the relevant funds, programmes and agencies of the United Nations system to support developing countries, in particular African countries and the least developed countries, in their efforts to achieve the overall goal of eradicating absolute poverty, to reduce substantially overall poverty and to ensure basic social services, by supporting national efforts to formulate, coordinate, implement, monitor and assess integrated poverty strategies, including capacity-building, and by supporting efforts to empower people living in poverty;

20. Notes with appreciation all initiatives aimed at or contributing to the eradication of poverty that have been undertaken by countries and international organizations, and encourages continuous action and further cooperation among the various initiatives;

21. Reaffirms the importance of agreeing on a mutual commitment between interested developed and developing country partners to allocate, on average, 20 per cent of official development assistance and 20 per cent of the national budget, respectively, to basic social programmes, and welcomes the efforts made to implement the 20/20 initiative, which emphasizes that promoting access for all to basic social services is essential for sustainable and equitable development and is an integral part of the strategy for the eradication of poverty;

22. Decides that the themes for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty in 1999 and 2000 shall be, respectively, ?Women and the eradication of poverty? and ?Globalization and the eradication of poverty?;

23. Requests the Secretary-General to report to it at its fifty-fourth session on progress made in the implementation of measures, recommendations and activities related to the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty, including recommendations for possible action and initiatives towards the new millennium and proposals for better coordination of action taken by the United Nations system;

24. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session the item entitled ?Implementation of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997?2006)?.

91st plenary meeting

15 December 1998

III. TWENTIETH SESSION OF THE UNEP GOVERNING COUNCIL

20/17. Views of the Governing Council on the Report of the Secretary-General on environment and human settlements

The Governing Council,

Taking into account the fact that the report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on environment and human settlements is under consideration in the General Assembly and also taking into account the request of the Secretary-General to the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme to provide its views thereon,

Recalling the Nairobi Declaration on the Role and Mandate of the United Nations Environment Programme, adopted by the Governing Council at its nineteenth session, which emphasizes that the United Nations Environment Programme has been and must continue to be the principal United Nations body in the field of the environment and that its role is to be the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, that promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and that serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment,

Recalling its decisions 19/32 of 4 April 1997, on the governance of the United Nations Environment Programme, and SS.V/2 of 22 May 1998, on revitalization, reform and strengthening of the United Nations Environment Programme, in which it decided, inter alia, to review the ongoing reform of the United Nations Environment Programme,

Noting the distinction made by the Secretary-General between recommendations requiring action at the Secretariat level from those requiring decisions and measures at the intergovernmental level,

1. Responds to the request of the Secretary-General to the Governing Council and decides to express its views as follows:

The Governing Council:

(a) Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General on Environment and Human Settlements submitted to the General Assembly at its fifty-third session, in which he puts forth the recommendations of the United Nations Task Force on Environment and Human Settlements on reforming and strengthening United Nations activities in the field of environment and human settlements, and expresses its appreciation for the comprehensive and forward-looking recommendations of the Task Force under the chairmanship of the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme;

(b) Notes with appreciation the intention of the President of the General Assembly that the Assembly, at its current session, consider in a fully open and transparent manner, as soon as possible, the recommendations contained in the report of the Secretary-General on environment and human settlements;

(c) Takes note of the recommendations intended for action by intergovernmental bodies relating to linkages among and support to environmental and environment-related conventions; intergovernmental forums; and involvement of major groups, as outlined in part IV of the report of the Secretary-General on environment and human settlements;

(d) Welcomes the general thrust of the actions proposed to be taken by the Secretary-General and the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme at the Secretariat level relating to: inter-agency coordination; linkages among and support to environmental and environment-related conventions; the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) and the United Nations Office at Nairobi; information, monitoring, assessment and early warning; involvement of major groups; and future initiatives, as outlined in part III of the report of the Secretary-General on environment and human settlements;

(e) Expresses its support for the proposal of the Secretary-General regarding the establishment of an Environmental Management Group for the coordination of the environmental and human-settlements activities of the United Nations system, and encourages the Secretary-General to undertake consultations with the members of the Administrative Committee on Coordination to develop its scope, appropriate criteria for membership and working methods in a flexible and cost-effective manner for its expeditious establishment;

(f) Welcomes the proposals for the facilitation and support by the United Nations Environment Programme of enhanced coordination amongst the bureaux and secretariats of environment and environment-related conventions, taking into account the status of the respective convention secretariats and the autonomy of the conferences of the parties to these conventions, and in this regard notes its decision 20/18 B of 4 February 1999, on strengthening the role of the United Nations Environment Programme in promoting collaboration among multilateral environmental conventions and in providing programmatic support to multilateral environmental conventions;

(g) Expresses its support for the proposal of the Secretary-General that an annual ministerial-level global environmental forum be instituted and that regular biennial sessions of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme constitute that forum in the years that the Council meets, and that in alternate years the forum should take the form of the special session of the Governing Council, meeting in different regions as a ministerial-level forum in which participants can gather to review important and emerging policy issues in the field of the environment, and keeping in mind the need to retain the effective and efficient functioning of the governance mechanisms of the United Nations Environment Programme, as well as possible financial implications;

(h) Welcomes the recommendations of the Secretary-General on future action-oriented agendas of the Governing Council and the structuring and timing of its meetings in order to enhance coordination with the Commission on Sustainable Development and the conferences of the parties to environmental and environment-related conventions;

(i) Takes note of the proposal concerning universal membership of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme and the on-going debate in this regard;

(j) Agrees with the proposal of the Secretary-General that, particularly in the light of the recommendation to establish an annual ministerial-level forum, the future role of the High-level Committee of Ministers and Officials of the United Nations Environment Programme should be considered;

(k) Welcomes the proposals of the Secretary-General on further enhancing the role of the United Nations Environment Programme in providing environmental advocacy, analysis and advice in shaping the priorities and programmes of the Global Environment Facility consistent with the United Nations Environment Programme's envisaged role in the Instrument for the Establishment of the Restructured Global Environment Facility, and in this regard notes its decision 20/7 of 5 February 1999, on the Global Environment Facility;

(l) Welcomes the recommendations concerning the facilitation of coherent approaches to the need to constructively engage non-governmental organizations and civil society in the work of the United Nations, in the light of the experiences gained in the Habitat II and Commission on Sustainable Development processes;

(m) Expresses the hope that its views will assist in further deliberations and an expeditious resolution of this important matter in the competent forums;

2. Requests the Executive Director to convey to the Secretary-General the views of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme as contained in the present decision.

11th meeting

5 February 1999

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