Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport; requested governments to promote standardization; and called upon the Commission's subsidiary bodies to actively promote sustainable development. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) was established in 1947. The United States was one of the original 10 members. At present, there are 38 members and 10 associate members. Five members (France, Netherlands, U.S.S.R., United Kingdom and the United States) are from outside the region, which covers an extensive area from Mongolia south to New Zealand, and from Iran east to the island nations in the Pacific. ESCAP's headquarters are in Bangkok, although some subsidiary bodies and other activities are located in other Asian cities. ESCAP's primary role is to serve member countries by identifying problems in the area of social and economic development, providing a forum for debate on development issues, providing technical assistance and advisory services, and helping members attract outside assistance. ESCAP does not itself provide capital resources, but helps establish institutions to attract funds for regional and subregional projects which, in turn, supply development assistance. The annual Commission sessions provide the main guidance on ESCAP's program and activities to the Secretariat, which prepares reports and compiles statistics on current economic issues in the region for distribution to member governments. The Secretariat also prepares and services the meetings of the Commission and the following seven substantive committees: Agricultural Development; Development Planning and Statistics; Industry, Human Settlements and Technology; Natural Resources; Population and Social Development; Trade; and Shipping, Transport and Communications. The present work program and activities are concentrated in six priority areas: food and agriculture; energy; raw materials and commodities; transfer of technology; international trade; and integrated rural development. ESCAP is primarily funded by the UN regular budget. In addition, ESCAP receives funding from other UN agencies, most notably UNDP, to which the United States is a major contributor. Finally, the United States has from time to time participated in individual ESCAP programs of special interest by providing extra-budgetary contributions. The 45th Commission session was held in Bangkok from March 27 to April 5. At that meeting, the Commission adopted five resolutions on the following issues: regional social development strategy; depository center for UN human rights materials; International Literacy Year; integrated rural development program; and International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction. All the resolutions were adopted by consensus. Discussion at the 45th session centered on the need for increased regional trade as a cushion against protectionist pressures; implementation of the Jakarta Plan of Action which was agreed to at the 44th session; resolution of a long-standing dispute between India and Bangladesh on the study on the viability of establishing a regional inland water transport center in Bangladesh; and special problems facing the Pacific island countries. Almost all members of the commission, including significantly the Soviet Union, spoke out in favor of restructuring their economies along market oriented lines. While there was general agreement that restructuring was necessary, the relevance of the experiences of Japan, the newly industrialized economies (Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan), and most recently ASEAN, as models for development for all the countries of the region was questioned. There was general endorsement of the need to rely more on intraregional trade and regional cooperation to offset the potentially adverse impact on trade of the trend towards protectionist pressures. The U.S. Delegate to the session emphasized the role of the U.S. administration in resisting such pressures. During the discussion of restructuring and the role of human resources development, the United States, strongly supported by the Australians and others, insisted on a reference in the Secretariat's study on human resources development about the need for ESCAP to avoid duplication of the efforts of other UN agencies. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) was established in 1948 as a regional organization to promote the economic development of Latin America and to strengthen economic ties among Latin American countries and between them and the rest of the world. To this end, ECLAC produces studies of various sectors and issues within the Latin American economy, analyzes economic and social conditions in the region, reviews the progress of development plans and programs, and provides training and technical assistance. ECLAC has 35 Western Hemisphere members (including the United States and Canada), five nonregional members (France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain) and five associate members (Aruba, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Netherlands Antilles and Montserrat). ECLAC is headquartered in Santiago, Chile, and has branch offices in Washington, D.C., and in six Latin American countries. ECLAC's primary role is to serve member countries by identifying problems in the region in the area of economic development. ECLAC produces studies of various sectors and issues within the Latin American economy, analyzes economic and social conditions in the region, reviews the progress of development plans and programs, and provides training and technical assistance. The biennial Commission sessions provide guidance for ECLAC's programs and activities. ECLAC is funded by the UN regular budget. In addition, ECLAC receives funding from other UN agencies, most notably UNDP and UNFPA, as well as from bilateral sources. ECLAC's general sessions or plenaries are held in even years, usually in a different Latin American capital each time. The 22nd ECLAC plenary, which met in Rio de Janeiro April 20-27, 1988, adopted resolutions on technical and economic cooperation among developing countries and regions; the preparation of the new International Development Strategy (IDS) for the Fourth UN Development Decade; and the need to take the environment into account in fostering sustainable development. In addition, the plenary session approved ECLAC's work program for 1990–1991. A majority of delegations which spoke during the plenary debate called for additional measures by the creditor nations and commercial banks to address the debt problem, with a number of developing countries demanding outright debt reduction or relief. The plenary interventions by a number of delegations, however, particularly the Caribbeans, were more positive than in previous sessions. There was greater emphasis by the developing countries themselves on the need for domestic reforms as a basis for making progress on their economic and financial problems. The statement of the head of the U.S. Delegation, Ambassador Richard Williamson, focused on the direct relationship and interplay between economic and political freedom. Outlining the U.S. position on the external debt problems of the Latin American countries, Ambassador Williamson stated that there was a need for economic reforms as the basis for growth. He emphasized the need to develop the private sector, get governments out of the productive sectors, and remove excessive government regulation of economic activity. Ambassador Williamson further stressed the importance of a freer trading system and the critical role of the Uruguay Round in advancing the trade prospects of developing countries as well as those of the industrialized world. Finally, Ambassador Williamson emphasized the willingness of the United States to pursue a cooperative approach to the development of the region and called for ECLAC to help meet the needs of the present and the future—not of times past. The ECLAC Committee of the Whole, which meets in the intervening years between Commission plenary sessions, met in New York, March 30-31, to discuss recent economic trends in the region and ECLAC's contribution to the formulation of a new International Development Strategy (IDS). The Committee of the Whole adopted two resolutions: one dealing with the IDS and the other inviting reconstruction assistance to Nicaragua in the wake of a 1988 hurricane. The U.S. Delegation called for a vote and voted against the resolution on assistance to Nicaragua. The vote was 23 for, 1 against (U.S.) and no abstentions. In an explanation of vote, the U.S. Delegate said that the Sandinista regime, rather than the hurricane, was to blame for the dismal state of the Nicaraguan economy and called on the Sandinistas to live up to their commitments under the Esquipulas II Accord to bring about truly democratic conditions in Nicaragua. Economic Commission for Africa The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) was established in 1958 as a regional organization to promote economic development in Africa. Full membership is limited to independent African countries, of which 51 are currently members. The United States, while not a member, maintains liaison with ECA headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and attends some of its meetings as an observer. During 1983-1987, the United States provided financial and technical assistance through the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID). The ECA is charged with promoting the economic and social development of Africa; strengthening economic relations among African countries and territories; undertaking studies on economic development; collecting, evaluating and disseminating economic and technical information; and helping to formulate policies to promote economic development. ECA also provides advisory services to its members in various economic and social fields. The ECA is funded primarily by the UN regular budget. In addition, the ECA receives funding from other UN agencies and bilateral donors. U.S. AID concluded a technical assistance agreement with the ECA in 1983 to provide $710,000 during 1983-1987 for the support of two projects aimed at: (1) strengthening human resources planning and development management training at the Institute for Economic Development and Planning in Dakar, Senegal, and (2) improving the communications capability of ECA's African Training and Research Center for Women. The 24th session of the Commission and 15th meeting of the Conference of Ministers met in Addis Ababa, April 6-10. The Conference adopted resolutions relating to, inter alia, the following topics: proclamation of a Second Industrial Decade for Africa, an African Alternative Framework for Structural Adjustment Programs, women in development and the current economic situation in Africa. The central issue discussed at the Conference was the African Alternative Framework to Structural Adjustment Programs. A report on the African Alternative was adopted by the African Ministers of Economic Planning and Development and the Ministers of Finance during the 24th session of the Conference. The African Alternative Framework asserts that World Bank/IMFsponsored structural adjustment programs in Africa have failed and suggests changes in the implementation of these programs. Delegates to the session called into question findings of a joint World Bank/UNDP_report_that structural adjustment programs had led to improvements in a number of African countries. Resolutions on the African Alternative Framework were adopted by the ECOSOC and the UN General Assembly. The United States cast the sole vote against the Assembly resolution. In its explanation of vote, the U.S. Delegation stressed that while the United States believed that the African Alternative Framework has made a useful contribution to the dialogue on African economic policies, it did not accept the underlying assumptions of the African Alternative that adjustment had not worked and that a new "framework" was needed. Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) was established in 1974. Currently, there are 14 members including the PLO. Although a UN member of the region involved, Israel was effectively excluded from membership because of the original wording of the 1973 ECOSOC resolution establishing the Commission. The United States objected at the time, considering that the language was contrary to the terms of the UN Charter. The Commission's headquarters was moved from Beirut to Baghdad in 1981 because of war damage in Beirut. The name of the Commission was changed in 1986 from the Economic Commission for Western Asia (ECWA) to its current name to reflect the Commission's greater emphasis on social issues. ESCWA is funded by the UN regular budget. The 15th session of ESCWA was held May 13-18, in Baghdad. The United States did not participate in the proceedings. Discussions in the 15th session of current issues of importance to the region. focused on privatization and the experience of member countries with turning over public entities to the private sector. In addition, the Commission adopted 14 resolutions dealing with the following topics: the economic and social condition of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Territories, environment and development in the region, activities of the Transport and Communications Decade in Western Asia, and the Commission's contribution to the International Development Strategy (IDS) for the Fourth UN Development Decade. In interventions during the session, delegates expressed concern about the world economic situation, debt crisis, lack of progress in resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict, and economic and human destruction in Lebanon. UN Development Program The UN Development Program (UNDP) is a voluntary fund which finances the world's largest multilateral program of grant technical cooperation. UNDP |