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World Summit
Atmosphere Thaws at Friends Meeting
NEW YORK, New York, July 18,
2002 (ENS) - Countries edged closer
toward agreement on the toughest issues
blocking consensus on the outcome of
next month's World Summit on Sustainable
Development. The talks concluded late
last night with indications that
convergence is near on many of the most
contentious issues - trade and finance,
and the setting of new targets and
timetables for progress in poverty
alleviation and environmental
protection.
South African President Thabo Mbeki
has been building friendships in advance
of the Summit. He hosted Canadian Prime
Minister Jean Chretien in Pretoria on
April 7. (Photo courtesy 2002
G8 Summit)
United Nations officials said a new
feeling of agreement was reached at a
special "Friends of the Chair"
meeting convened at UN Headquarters
Wednesday by South African President
Thabo Mbeki as chairman of the Summit,
set for Johannesburg from August 26 to
September 4.
UN and South African leaders want a
common approach to be found before the
Summit, so that government leaders
arrive in Johannesburg with a clear idea
of how the negotiations can succeed and
launch concrete initiatives there.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told
the high-level delegates from 27
countries that "Johannesburg is a
test for multilateralism and for the
international community. It is a test
for all leaders who profess to care
about the well-being of our planet and
its people."
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in
Khartoum, Sudan on July 10. (Photo
by Eskinder Debebe courtesy UN)
"Johannesburg must send a message
of solidarity and concern, and must
produce real change, on the ground in
people's lives, where it matters
most," Annan said.
"Six clusters of issues hold the
key to agreement on a Plan of
Implementation," Annan told the
delegates, "the Rio principles,
finance and replenishment of the Global
Environment Facility, globalization and
trade, good governance, time-bound
targets, and technology transfers."
Progress since the last big UN
confererence on environment and
development - the 1992 Earth Summit in
Rio de Janeiro - has been "slower
than expected," said Annan,
"and - more important - slower than
what was needed. A setback now would be
a tragic missed opportunity."
Annan called for "flexibility
and mutual understanding," so that
the group of "friends" could
find a common approach that can bridge
the differences and produce a
broad-based agreement."
About three-quarters of the
implementation plan was agreed upon at
the last preparatory meeting for the
Summit in Bali, Indonesia in June.
Wednesday's meeting was not a
negotiating session, which must be open
to all UN Member States, but an exchange
of views among delegations to find
common ground so that countries could
bridge their remaining differences
quickly in Johannesburg.
The 27 countries invited by President
Mbeki to attend the meeting as Friends
of the Chair include Argentina, Brazil,
Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, France,
Germany, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Italy,
Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, Nigeria,
Norway, Russian Federation, Samoa,
Senegal, Spain, Sweden, Uganda, United
Kingdom, United States and Venezuela.
Many other countries also attended as
observers.
Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo at his
desk at UN Headquarters (Photo
courtesy South African Permanent Mission
to the UN)
South African UN Ambassador Dumisani
Kumalo said the 27 countries were
selected based on geographical
representation as well as "their
common interest in the pending issues,
and their overall commitment to the
success of the Johannesburg
Summit," Kumalo said the leaders of
the G8 were among the first to accept
President Mbeki's invitation.
"There is more hope now than
there was at the end of Bali," said
South African Minister of Foreign
Affairs Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma as
the meeting concluded. "I do not
see major differences in the positions
of the delegations. It should not take
long to get an agreement in
Johannesburg."
Zuma added that it is important, for
the success of the Summit, that all
world leaders attend. She said, "We
want to see everyone in
Johannesburg."
European nations have all pledged to
be in Johannesburg, but U.S. President
George W. Bush has still not indicated
whether or not he will attend the
summit. In the most recent indication he
has given, on June 20, a week before the
G8 meeting, President Bush told a dinner
audience in Washington, "We look
forward to advancing all of our
development priorities with African
countries at the upcoming World Summit
in Johannesburg."
To ensure the success of the
negotiations, proposals by Annan and
Mbeki are being considered to add two
extra days for consultations before the
Summit officially opens.
"There was a real change in
attitude and atmosphere here,"
Johannesburg Summit Secretary-General
Nitin Desai commented as the meeting
ended. "Countries have shown a
great willingness to move forward and
seek convergence. There was a good deal
of movement - it isn't tangible yet, but
the progress is perceptible."
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