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Polity
Published: 05 Feb 2003
Moosa: UNEP Governing Council (05/02/2003)
Date: 05/02/2003
Source: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
Title: Moosa: UNEP Governing Council


STATEMENT BY MINISTER MOHAMMED VALLI MOOSA - 22ND SESSION OF THE UNEP GOVERNING COUNCIL, 5 February 2003

HE President Wade, President of the Republic of Senegal,
HE Hon Michael Wamalwa Kijana, Vice -President of Kenya,
HE Dr Rugunda, President of the UNEP Governing Council,
Dr Klaus Topfer, Executive Director of UNEP,
Mr Nitin Desai, Under Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs,
Ms Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN Habitat,
Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen

It is a wonderful opportunity for me to address this forum of environment ministers - the first after the WSSD held in Johannesburg.

At the outset, I would like to express my deep gratitude to UNEP and to its Governing Council; and to my colleagues, the Ministers of Environment, for the support South Africa received in the build-up to and during the hosting of the WSSD. We are also grateful to the various NGOs, and indeed all the major groups, for the influential roles they played during the Johannesburg Summit. I also thank those countries that provided South Africa with material support. This assistance made a significant contribution to the success of the Summit.

I remember our meeting here two years ago where we began to explore what the WSSD should be about. When we look back now to what we said then it is clear that the WSSD outcomes are close to the parameters we had set out. The UNEP Governing Council therefore played an important role in shaping the outcomes of the WSSD.

The Johannesburg Summit emerged with a number of important outcomes. These include:

* The extremely high level of commitment to sustainable development globally. We as the international community now have a higher level of awareness of the need for sustainable development at all levels.

* We now have an action oriented Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, with the main focus on the WEHAB areas, and including 37 very specific targets and timeframes.

* Johannesburg established a clear link between sustainable development and poverty. This meant that the WSSD process and outcomes gained the support of developing countries and other representatives of the world's poor.

* Clear and inextricable links between the three pillars of sustainable development were established. The practical meaning of these links unfolded in Johannesburg. Notably, the Johannesburg Summit served as an important point of integration. We had all the global institutions involved in implementation represented at the highest level.

* The Johannesburg Summit committed the international community to implement sustainable development also through regional frameworks and initiatives.

* The Summit accepted the concept of voluntary partnerships for sustainable development among the various government and non-government stakeholders. We have been speaking about this concept for many years, but it was given practical meaning in Johannesburg. A large number of concrete partnerships were announced at the Summit.

The 11th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, which will take place during April and May this year, would serve as a very important platform to develop a programme of work to ensure action for the realisation of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.

This will be the first session of the CSD after Johannesburg. It has to set out a clear vision for the next ten years. It is important that the work of the CSD will not just be "business as usual." We have had the WSSD, with its plan of implementation, with dozens of clear targets and timeframes to achieve. The new multi-year work programme should take the CSD into a completely new phase, with new challenge to be addressed in a new framework.

Some of the issues highlighted by Mr Desai will have to be examined further. The process of IEG reform is important. It is important to have a strong, well-supported, and well-resourced UNEP. This would have to be an important call we should make from CSD11.

The CSD would have to integrate the work being done on various fronts to implement sustainable development, as was done in Johannesburg. The CSD is not an umbrella body. It should, however, serve as a platform for dialogue and integrative discussion among the various institutions that have a stake in the implementation of sustainable development at all levels.

We would also want to look at the partnerships for sustainable development that have been announced thus far, to see that participating countries and institution fulfil their commitments. CSD should track what is being done to achieve implementation.

CSD11 would be an important occasion for all governments and other stakeholders. It should give sufficient attention to the work programme and actions for the next ten years. Relevant ministers should thus make time to attend CSD11 and subsequent sessions. These are deeply political matters, and unless we attend the CSD sessions ourselves, proper implementation will not be achieved.

I will be having discussions with Mr Desai and others over the next few days, to discuss and start to set out a meaningful work programme for the CSD. We hope that you would interact with us over the next few days, to make sure we achieve this together.

There is a significant build up of events, including The CBD meeting on benefit-sharing of biodiversity resources, and the World Water Forum.

Lastly, I would like to pick up on a comment by the Vice-President of Kenya. There is presently a tremendous level of insecurity in the world. We must all condemn those who commit terrorism in the name of the poor; they are acting as agent's provocateurs. We must also say that war is bad for the environment and for sustainable development. All those who stand for advancing the cause of sustainable development and of the poor should call for peace, especially when the world is going in the disastrous direction of war.

I thank you.

Source: Department of Foreign Affairs (http://www.environment.gov.za)