Warning of Lost Generation in Economic Terms

57th Commission Session Ends with Call to Bridge Poverty Gap

BANGKOK (United Nations Information Services) -- The emerging trends of the information revolution and economic globalization will reinforce existing disparities between urban and rural areas, and create new ones.

This was one of the conclusions made at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific's (ESCAP) 57th annual Commission Session which had as its theme, Reducing Disparities: Balanced development of urban and rural areas and regions within the countries of the Asia and Pacific region.

ESCAP member countries were encouraged to implement a concerted effort to sustain development and provide for equitable distribution of wealth throughout the region.

“We have to accept rural-urban migration and urbanization as inevitable parts of development.  And we have to act and develop the urban areas accordingly,” said Mr. Kim Hak-Su, Executive Secretary of ESCAP.

Young people who are not receiving the right education may turn into a lost generation in economic terms and, unless proper support systems are created, they will also be a socially lost generation, Mr. Kim told a Ministerial Roundtable which was one of the special features of this year’s session.

Some of the solutions to these problems are education for change, preparing people for the knowledge society, decentralization and devolution of authority, capacity building and the creation of social and economic safety nets to ensure minimum level of security for those can not participate in development.

Under the implementation of Commission resolution 53/1 on restructuring ESCAP, the Commission supported Executive Secretary Kim Hak-Su's "dynamic and forward -looking approach" to streamline ESCAP's services.

Mr Kim had outlined his vision for ESCAP which focuses on poverty alleviation in line with the goal of the United Nations, as articulated by the Secretary-General, to halve absolute poverty by 2015. "Bearing in mind that out of the world’s 1.3 billion people living in absolute poverty, about two thirds lived in Asia makes it essential that ESCAP place strong emphasis on poverty alleviation."

The second focus, Mr Kim said, should be toward strengthening the weakening positions of developing countries in the context of the quickening pace of globalization, and the third focus on the emerging social issues including population aging, migration and trafficking of women and children, abuse and exploitation of children and youth, and disabled people.

Asian and Pacific Governments unanimously adopted the report of the 57th Commission Session which contains resolutions calling for regional cooperation in information and communication technologies for development; action to fight HIV/AIDs Asia and the Pacific as well as integration of Asian and  Pacific developing countries and economies in transition into the internal trading system.

The introduction of information and communications technologies  (ICT) and environmentally sound technologies in rural areas could facilitate sustainable development significantly. ESCAP members felt that ICT was central to the creation of a global knowledge-based economy and pledged to strengthen its activities in this area.

Other resolutions adopted include the Implementation of the Sustainable Energy Development Action Programme, Strategies and Implementation Modalities for the Asia and Pacific Region, 2001-2005 in support of the Bali Declaration on Asia-Pacific Perspectives on Energy and Sustainable Development; Follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, and Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development in Asia and the Pacific.

A special feature of this year's Commission Session was the regional preparation for the special session of the UN General Assembly on HIV/AIDs in June.

Two former heads of governments Khun Anand Panyarachun of Thailand and Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia made an emotional appeal to Governments to further south-south collaboration in the fight against HIV/AIDs.

Over 50 per cent of new infections were occurring among young people below the age of 24 years, they said, and something must be done to cope with this drain on human resources.

More than 400 delegates, including 21 ministers and deputy ministers from over 45 members and associate members, including 14 observers countries as well as representatives of United Nations bodies, specialized agencies, intergovernmental organizations and NGOs attended the session.