Materials :
Basic Documents :
60/1. Shanghai Declaration
The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Adopts the following Declaration:
Shanghai Declaration
I. General provisions
1. We, members and associate members of the United Nations Economic and
Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, on the occasion of the historic
sixtieth session of the Commission, express our deep appreciation to the
Government and citizens of the People’s Republic of China for hosting the
present session in Shanghai, the birthplace of the Commission, and to the
government and citizens of Shanghai municipality.
2. We reiterate our commitment to multilateralism and to addressing
global issues through dialogue, consultation and cooperation.
3. We reaffirm that the United Nations has a central role in promoting
international cooperation for development and in promoting policy coherence
on global development issues, including in the context of globalization and
interdependence.
4. We support further reform of the United Nations with a view to
promoting its important role in peace and development and in establishing a
cohesive and effective system for responding to global threats and
challenges as well as enhancing the effectiveness of the United Nations
through increased coordination and cooperation between the various agencies
and their programmes within the United Nations system.
5. We note the diversity in the levels of development of countries and
areas of the Asian and Pacific region and the special needs of the least
developed economies, landlocked and island developing economies, and
economies in transition.
6. We emphasize the Commission’s unique role as the most representative
body for the Asian and Pacific region and its mandate as the main general
economic and social development centre within the United Nations system for
the Asian and Pacific region.
7. We reaffirm our determination to strengthen further the role, capacity
and efficiency of ESCAP to respond more effectively to the needs of its
members and associate members and to existing and new global challenges.
8. We welcome the achievements of the region in economic and social
development, including progress made in achieving the internationally agreed
development goals, including those contained in the United Nations
Millennium Declaration, adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution
55/2 of 8 September 2000, and the outcomes and final documents of major
United Nations summits and international conferences.
9. We renew our commitment to enhancing subregional and regional
cooperation and remain conscious of the need to further improve national
capacities in order to promote sustainable development in the Asian and
Pacific region.
10. In this context, we acknowledge the importance of the main theme of
the Shanghai session, “Meeting the challenges in an era of globalization by
strengthening regional development cooperation”.
11. We reaffirm that South-South cooperation, South-North cooperation and
triangular cooperation play important roles in promoting development and
contribute to the achievement of the internationally agreed development
goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration.
12. We note that globalization offers opportunities and challenges to the
world, particularly for the developing countries, and that it is only
through greater economic growth coupled with broad, sustained and
collaborative efforts that globalization can be made fully inclusive and
equitable so that the poor are not left behind. At the same time, the
benefits of globalization can be realized only when environmental pressure
from the impact of globalization is properly addressed through strengthened
common strategies in the Asian and Pacific region.
13. We welcome the conclusion and holding of the signing ceremony of the
Intergovernmental Agreement on the Asian Highway Network and the inaugural
session of the Asia-Pacific Business Forum, and look forward to the first
meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement as
part of the efforts to strengthen the development of infrastructure and
foster closer trade relations within the region.
14. We reaffirm the importance of focusing ESCAP work on its three
thematic areas: poverty reduction, managing globalization and addressing
emerging social issues.
II. Poverty reduction
15. In the area of poverty reduction, we will strive:
- To maximize the contribution of economic growth in reducing poverty
and hunger, by consolidating successes and facilitating the sharing of
best practices, with a view to halving, by 2015, the proportion of people
suffering from poverty and hunger, thus making the region a forerunner in
the global campaign against poverty;
- To implement policies aimed at engendering confidence in the operation
of markets to assist in the creation of a favourable business environment;
- To emphasize the importance of according priority to the fight against
hunger and poverty and, in this context, put in place the necessary policy
and institutional framework and implement programmes that are designed to
overcome hunger and poverty;
- To encourage the efficient utilization of existing financial, physical
and human resources and the involvement of all stakeholders, including
Governments, international organizations, international and regional
development and financial institutions, donors and civil society, to
achieve the internationally agreed sustainable development goals,
including those contained in the Millennium Declaration;
- To eliminate corruption at all levels, in that regard welcoming the
adoption of the United Nations Convention against Corruption and inviting
all member States to sign and ratify it as soon as possible in order to
ensure its rapid entry into force.
III. Managing globalization
16. In the area of managing globalization, we will strive:
- To address the regional and interregional aspects of the follow-up to
the Monterrey Consensus of the International Conference on Financing for
Development;
- To revitalize the multilateral trading system, taking into account the
importance of promoting the objectives set out in the Millennium
Declaration of ensuring an open, equitable, rule-based, predictable and
non-discriminatory multilateral trading system;
- To work towards a successful, timely and development-oriented
conclusion of the Doha negotiations;
- To take action to enable those countries in the region that are not
yet members of the World Trade Organization to accede to it in order to
participate more effectively in the multilateral trading system;
- To strengthen national capacities to negotiate, conclude and implement
multilateral and regional agreements designed to promote interregional and
intraregional trade and investment flows;
- To implement, in a timely fashion, the various regional and
subregional economic cooperation initiatives in promoting trade and
investment, with a view to expanding economic interaction and promoting
stable growth and prosperity for the entire region;
- To mobilize investment from domestic and foreign resources by
strengthening and developing domestic financial systems and creating an
enabling environment;
- To advance current efforts to reform the international financial
architecture as envisaged in the Monterrey Consensus and promote the
effective participation of developing countries and countries with
economies in transition in those efforts;
- To take action at the regional level to ensure the effective
implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on
Sustainable Development, including the Johannesburg Plan of
Implementation, in which some of the salient features of the Phnom Penh
Regional Platform on Sustainable Development for Asia and the Pacific were
reflected to move the region towards a more sustainable path to
development, with the developed countries taking the lead and with all
countries benefiting from the process, taking into account the principles
of common but differentiated responsibilities, while taking note of the
recent follow-up activities, including the Kyoto Ministerial Declaration
and the Jeju Initiative;
- To make the next ten years a decade of economic growth and sustainable
development in the region, striving to meet the various internationally
agreed goals;
- To undertake regular studies and analyses of regional environmental
trends, strengthen national capacities for protecting the environment
consistent with national commitments and support regional and subregional
environmental cooperation;
- To assist in capacity-building, formulation and implementation of
strategies and action plans for the sustainable use of water resources
with a special focus on problems of water quality and access to safe
drinking water for the poor;
- To promote capacity-building in sustainable energy development,
enhanced utilization of renewable energy and energy efficiency improvement
and to support subregional cooperation in energy sector development;
- To develop an integrated intermodal transport network in Asia and the
Pacific as well as Asia-Europe transport corridors;
- To implement the Plan of Action adopted at the first phase of the
World Summit on the Information Society, held at Geneva in December 2003,
and take action to achieve the objectives of the World Summit as
enunciated in the Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action adopted at
the first phase, and to prepare for the second phase in 2005, paying
special attention to least developed countries, landlocked developing
countries, small island developing States and countries with economies in
transition;
- To promote regional cooperation and effective integration of
satellite-based information and communication technology applications with
other information technologies for informed sustainable economic and
social development planning and management and improved quality of life;
- To promote the development of transport and tourism in the region so
as to provide opportunities for increased national, regional and
international trade and better access to health and education services,
and to promote cultural exchanges.
IV. Emerging social issues
17. In the area of emerging social issues, we will strive:
- To promote social policy development and the mainstreaming of social
dimensions in national development programmes;
- To improve the development and delivery of basic social services, such
as education, health and nutrition, focusing on vulnerable population
groups;
- To enhance cooperation in capacity-building in public health, inter
alia, through the exchange of information and the sharing of experience,
as well as research and training programmes focusing on surveillance,
prevention, control, response, care and treatment in respect of infectious
diseases;
- To coordinate a more effective and comprehensive response to HIV/AIDS
and other serious diseases in the region by prioritizing effective
strategies against them in national development planning, committing
sufficient resources, mobilizing the private sector and civil society,
enhancing sustained and comprehensive intervention and strengthening
regional cooperation in establishing preventive measures and increasing
the availability of affordable quality drugs;
- To foster an integrated social safety net, and particularly to
establish a social safety net which provides necessary assistance to the
unemployed, the poor and senior citizens as well as other vulnerable
groups;
- To promote and support gender equality and eliminate discrimination
against women;
- To promote human security in the region through greater regional
cooperation, especially for vulnerable people;
- To support and encourage the active participation of all relevant
stakeholders, including the business community, for the promotion of
social development.
V. Overarching issues
18. On overarching issues, we will strive:
- To fully implement the Monterrey Consensus;
- To promote regional cooperation by inviting the United Nations
regional commissions, in collaboration with other regional and subregional
organizations and processes, as appropriate, to contribute, within their
mandates, to the review of progress made towards achieving the
internationally agreed development goals contained in the Millennium
Declaration, which synthesizes and prioritizes the key elements of major
international conferences held in prior years, and to provide input to the
discussions of the Economic and Social Council on the cross-sectoral
thematic issues to be addressed during the coordination segment of its
substantive session, in accordance with the rules of procedure of the
Council;
- To intensify our efforts to effectively implement in the Asian and
Pacific region the International Plan of Action for the United Nations
Literacy Decade;
- To implement the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries
for the Decade 2001-2010 and the Almaty Plan of Action: Addressing the
Special Needs of Landlocked Developing Countries within a New Global
Framework for Transit Transport Cooperation for Landlocked and Transit
Developing Countries;
- To promote initiatives for the least developed countries in the
context of South-South cooperation by implementing projects that address
the special needs of those countries;
- To support the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of
Small Island Developing States and work towards a positive outcome at the
review of the implementation of the Programme of Action in Mauritius;
- To strengthen and support the implementation of the United Nations
Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia;
- To encourage the establishment of a regional network of research
institutions and universities in the ESCAP region by 2006 in order to
promote education, technical skills development and technology transfer
through the exchange of programmes, students and academics.
VI. Strengthening of ESCAP
19. We reaffirm the vital role of ESCAP in fostering sustainable economic
and social development in Asia and the Pacific.
20. We request the Executive Secretary to design programmes, within
ESCAP’s existing mandate and resources, that reflect the overall vision
contained in this Declaration, to present the programme of work for
endorsement by the Commission and to report on these matters to the
Commission at future sessions.
21. We resolve, therefore, to support efforts by the Executive Secretary
to mobilize and make effective use of additional financial and in-kind
resources in support of ESCAP activities and for the further revitalization
of ESCAP in line with the needs and priorities of its members and associate
members.
22. We also request the Commission to review on a regular basis the
progress made in implementing the provisions of the present Declaration.
5th meeting
28 April 2004
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