2008 HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT

UN Emblem
Date: - Location: UNHQ

During its four-day High-level Segment (30 June - 3 July 2008), held at United Nations Headquarters in New York, ECOSOC focused on a range of issues on the UN's development agenda:

  • High-level policy dialogue (30 June) - Executive heads of the international financial and trade institutions discussed the state of the world economy and its implications for the achievement of the United Nations development agenda.
  • Development Cooperation Forum [DCF](30 June-1 July) - The DCF discussed “how to make development cooperation more coherent and more effective" in several Q&A sessions and special policy dialogues.
  • Annual Ministerial Review [AMR](2-3 July) - Eight developing and developed countries reported on the progress they have made towards the goals and targets of the United Nations Development Agenda. Ministerial roundtables addressed the question of how to put the world onto a sustainable development path.
  • Thematic debate(3 July) – The debate on integrated approach to rural development provided a follow-up to the Ministerial declaration of 2003, taking into account new developments, including the global food crisis and recent discussions on the role of bioenergy. Two roundtable panels discussed bioenergy and long-term solutions to the global food crisis.
  • Innovation Fair(30 June-3 July) - Private sector, foundations, other civil society organizations and the UN system shared examples of innovative development projects, approaches or practices.

Amongst others, the High-Level Segment featured Rajendra K Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and Lord Stern of Brentford, author of the Stern Review.

Member States, United Nations organizations and other stakeholders from civil society, including the private sector, NGOs and academia, were represented. A Ministerial Declaration, on the theme of the High-level Segment, was adopted at the end of the High-level Segment. It provided policy guidance and recommendations for action.

Programme       
 

STATEMENTS

Monday, 30 June 

Morning session  

Opening of the High-level Segment

Opening address

Address

  • Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations (statement delivered by Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General)

Keynote addresses on the theme “achieving sustainable development” followed by Q&A

High-Level Policy Dialogue with the international financial and trade institutions on current developments in the world economy (Trusteeship Council Chamber)

  • Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General, UNDESA
  • Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General, UNCTAD
  • Murilo Portugal, Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
  • Justin Lin, Chief Economist, World Bank
  • Valentine Rugwabiza, Deputy Director General, World Trade Organization

Comments

Afternoon session 

Opening of the Development Cooperation Forum

  • Leo Mérorès, President of ECOSOC (English, French)
  • Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations (statement delivered by Thomas Stelzer, Assistant Secretary-General , UNDESA)

Introduction of the report of the Secretary-General

Keynote Q&A

“A new vision for development cooperation in the 21 st century”

  • Louis Michel, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid (English, French)

Development Cooperation Forum roundtables (parallel) (back to top)

A.  Identifying gaps and obstacles

“Allocating more aid: where should it go?”

  • Sambou Wagué, Secretary-General, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Mali
  • Paul Collier, Professor and Director, Oxford University
  • Richard L. Greene, Deputy Director of Foreign Assistance, U.S. Department of State

B.  Reviewing trends and progress

“South-South and triangular development cooperation: what can development actors learn?”

  • Liu Guijin, Ambassador and Special Envoy on African Affairs, China
  • Karen Zelaya, Minister of International Cooperation, Honduras
  • Masato Watanabe, Deputy Director-General, International Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan

C.  Reviewing trends and progress

“How are civil society and new actors enhancing impact at the country-level?”

  • Kumi Naidoo, Chief Executive, CIVICUS
  • Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
  • Shona Grant, Managing Director, World Business Council for Sustainable Development
  • Peter Msola, Minister of Science, Technology and ICT of Tanzania

 Tuesday, 1 July 

Morning session

Keynotes Q&A

“The changing landscape and dynamics of international development cooperation”

  • Trevor Manuel, Minister of Finance, South Africa and Special Envoy for the Doha Review Conference
  • Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General, UNCTAD

Development Cooperation Forum roundtables

A.  Identifying gaps and obstacles

“Are capacities ready for more aid at the country-level?”

  • Gerard Niyibigira, President, Economic and Social Council of Burundi & former Minister of Finance
  • John Rwangombwa, Secretary-General and Secretary to the Treasury, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Rwanda
  • Ingrid Hoven, Director-General, Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany

B.  Exchanging lessons learned

“How can development aid support national development strategies?”

  • Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, Minister of Economy and Finance, Niger
  • Park Kang-ho, Director General for Development Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Republic of Korea
  • Bernard Petit, Deputy-Director-General for Development, European Commission

Afternoon session (back to top)

Development Cooperation Forum

Special presentation

“Key policy messages and recommendations of the Rome Stakeholder Forum”

  • Gerald Tremblay, Mayor of Montreal and Chair of Montreal Metropolitan Community, Canada
  • Kumi Naidoo, Chief Executive, CIVICUS

Development Cooperation Forum roundtable

A. Identifying gaps and obstacles

“Aid effectiveness agenda: towards consensus at Accra and Doha”

  • Trevor Manuel, Minister of Finance, South Africa and Special Envoy for the Doha Review Conference
  • George Y. Gyan-Baffour, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Ghana (via teleconference)
  • Eckhard Deutscher, Chair, OECD/DAC
  • Ramesh Singh, Chief Executive, Action Aid International

Closing of the Development Cooperation Forum

  • Concluding remarks by Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant Secretary-General, UNDESA
  • Summary statement by Léo Mérorès, President of ECOSOC


General debate for the High-level Segment

Opening address

Introduction of the reports of the Secretary-General on the Annual Ministerial Review and the t hematic discussion

Member States

United Nations entities

Non-Governmental Organizations

Wednesday, 2 July

Morning session

Annual Ministerial Review: National Presentations (ECOSOC Chamber)

  • Charles Michel, Minister for Development Cooperation, Belgium (presentation)
  • Paula Quintana, Minister of National Planning and Cooperation, Chile
  • Andrew Steer, Director General, Policy and Research, Department for International Development, United Kingdom
  • Peter Msola, Minister of Science, Technology and ICT of Tanzania

Afternoon session (back to top)

General debate for the High-Level Segment (concluded)

Member States


United Nations entities

Non-Governmental Organizations, Permanent Observers and other Intergovernmental Organizations with Observers Status


Annual Ministerial Review roundtable (back to top)

“The role of ecosystem services in sustainable development ”

  • Jorge Mario Rodriguez, Director, National Forestry Financing Fund, Costa Rica
  • Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity
  • Hillary Masundire, Chair, Commission on Ecosystem Management, The World Conservation Union (IUCN)
  • Dane Gobin, Director General, Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development, Guyana
  • Magnus Ngoile, Director General, National Environment Management Council, Tanzania
  • Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director, UN-HABITAT (Lead discussant)


Thursday, 3 July 

Morning session

Annual Ministerial Review: National Presentations

  • Bounkeut Sangsomsak, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lao PDR
  • Jean-Louis Schiltz, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, Luxemburg
  • Nurlan Danenov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kazakhstan
  • Paavo Väyrynen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Finland


Afternoon session 

Thematic discussion: “Promoting an integrated approach to rural development in developing countries for poverty eradication and sustainable development, taking into account current challenges”

Panel discussions

A.  “Bioenergy, sustainable livelihoods and rural poor”

  • Alexander Mueller, Assistant Director-General, FAO
  • Sonja Vermeulen, Programme Director, International Institute for Environment and Development
  • Lionel Lopez, Director, Technoserve, Guatemala
  • Suzanne Hunt, Bioenergy Expert, Independent Consultant

B.  “Harnessing the current boom in agricultural commodities for poverty eradication and sustainable development: the case of small scale farmers”

  • Frank Tumpale Mwenifumbo, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Malawi
  • Robert Watson, Chief Scientific Advisor for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
  • Steven Schonberger, Lead Operations Officer in Agriculture and Rural Development, World Bank
  • Sandra Polaski, Senior Associate and Director, Trade, Equity and Development, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
  • James Borel, Group Vice-President responsible for DuPont Crop Protection and Pioneer Hi-Bred
  • Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN-Habitat

Adoption of the Ministerial Declaration

OUTCOME

Informal Summaries

HIGH-LEVEL POLICY DIALOGUE

The High-Level Policy Dialogue with the Heads of International Financial and Trade Institutions (World Bank, IMF, UNCTAD and WTO) [30 June 2008], focused on major developments in the world economy and international economic cooperation, in the broader context of the follow-up to the 2005 World Summit.

The event, which was moderated by Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Mr. Sha Zukang, featured Supachai Panitchpakti, Secretary-General of UNCTAD, Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Justin Lin, Chief Economist at the World Bank and Murilo Portugal, Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund.

Documentation


THEMATIC DEBATE

The thematic debate focused on “Promoting an integrated approach to rural development in developing countries for poverty eradication and sustainable development, taking into account current challenges”. In addition to the plenary debate, two parallel roundtable dialogues took place on various aspects of the theme. A report of the Secretary-General and Issues Notes served as the background information for the roundtables. An informal preparatory meeting of the Council was held for the Thematic Debate on 17 April 2008 entitled "Land and Vulnerable People".

Panel 1: “Bioenegry, sustainable livelihood and the rural poor”, (Programme / Summary) 3 July 2008, 3:00-5:30 pm

The roundtable addressed:

  • How biofuel affect the food security, energy needs and employment opportunities of poor, rural people;
  • How can the agriculture sector meet biofuel demand without compromising food security or availability of water for food production;
  • ow can land rights be safeguarded and secured in the face of increasing demand for biofuel and rising competition for land use for food and fuel crop production

Panel 2: “Harnessing the current boom in commodity markets for sustainable development and poverty reduction - the case of small producers”, (Programme / Summary) 3 July 2008, 3:00-5:30 pm

The roundtable discussed:

  • What are some of the domestic policies required for increasing productivity (technological innovation, including ICTs, rural infrastructure and access to credit) that can advance the objectives of food security and sustainable development;
  • What are some of the new business models and innovations that can help small producers to respond to market forces as well as to penetrate the global market?
  • How to improve access to local, urban, regional and international markets?

SIDE EVENTS