Brazil
United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development
Second Preparatory Committee
Statement- Brazil
March 8, 2011
Session 3- Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development
We align ourselves with the statement made by Argentina on behalf of the G-77.
•The international debate on institutional arrangements is at the heart of the global
commitment towards sustainable development.
•There is need for enhanced coordination and cooperation among international
organizations and environmental agreements.
•The challenge remains to reach convergence on the reform of the international
institutions for sustainable development, while also catalyzing high- level political
commitment for the outcome.
• Progress towards sustainable development should be supported by institutional reform
at the global level, but it’s at the national level that sustainable development is
effectively implemented.
•But since national contexts differ, “standardized” blueprints for national level
institutional frameworks for sustainable development are neither beneficial nor
feasible.
•The institutional design at the national level should reflect the priorities of each country
to implement sustainable development.
•The international institutional arrangement has to be composed of solid institutions.
• Coordination and cooperation among should aim at leading to positive outcomes on the
ground.
• The strategy to strengthen institutions needs to be part of a broader reform process that
provides equal attention to the three pillars so as to guarantee policy coherence.
•This can only be reached in the context of a broader and integrated reflection in lieu of
the fragmented approaches which have been attempted so far. That reflection
should review the existing framework
United Nations General Assembly
•The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation assigned to the General Assembly the task of
“giving overall political direction to the implementation of Agenda 21 and its
review”.
•It also remains the forum of convergence between decisions related to economic and
social development as well as environmental protection.
•Ideally, such convergence should lead to transversal and integrated decisions towards the
implementation of sustainable development.
•Means to empower the General Assembly to coordinate the three pillars through a
sustainable development approach should be sought.
The ECOSOC
•ECOSOC has the mandate to integrate the three pillars of sustainable development.
• There currently is no integrated discussion that would add value to deliberations at the
ECOSOC.
•Even when sustainable development is the main topic proposed for discussion, as in the
2007 session, the concept is not debated comprehensively, nor is it revisited in
subsequent years.
•The debate on the reform of the ECOSOC should consider its specific role in the
implementation of sustainable development.
•It is necessary to renew the effort of strengthening ECOSOC as an effective forum for
the multilateral discussion of economic and social themes through a sustainable
development approach, which necessarily includes an environmental perspective.
•The process of UN reform should promote enhanced legitimacy and effectiveness to
ECOSOC’s work in the social and economic fields, as well as in the environmental
and humanitarian ones.
CSD
•The Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) is the subsidiary organ of the
ECOSOC with the mandate monitor progress in the implementation of Agenda 21.
•Its functions were defined by the General Assembly in resolution 47/191 and later
further detailed in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.
•The CSD also decided, in its Multi-Year Program of Work (MYPOW) to stagger the
consideration of specific sustainable development issues in biannual cycles until
2017. While the adoption of the MYPOW led to benefits (rationalization of work,
focused debate on small number of issues), a downside was the limitation of
discussions to topics agreed in the past and the ensuing incapacity of the
Commission to respond to new developments or pressing political issues.
•While there is the possibility of reviewing the themes of each biannual cycle, in practice
this has not happened.
• In a context of rapid institutional development, over the last twenty years, of policy and
regulatory tools in issue-specific areas under other treaty bodies or arrangements
(such as climate change, biodiversity, chemicals), this programming aspect of the
CSD has hindered the political role of the Commission.
•One can also observe a marked disconnection in the treatment of sustainable
development issues, erroneously viewed by some as restricted to environmental
aspects, separate from financial (e.g. the Monterrey Consensus, the financial crises)
and social issues.
The “Umbrella” concept
As a contributio n to the debate, Brazil offers the following reflection.
• An efficient and coherent institutional framework for sustainable development is key to
enhancing international governance to not only tackle present challenges but also
emerging issues. Four general principles should guide our efforts in defining how to
strengthen governance for sustainable development:
•(i) Coherence with the Rio Declaration, Agenda 21 and the JPOI;
•(ii) articulation with the MDGs and the Monterrey Consensus;
•(iii) Respect for the specific conditions and foremost, the particular needs, of developing
countries;
•(iv) Strengthening the international institutions and organizations that deal with
sustainable development, including the support to relevant local, national and
regional institutions.
•Brazil's vision for a coherent and efficient institutional framework for sustainable
development includes the concept of an "umbrella" structure, within the UN
system, providing practical guidance to the promotion of sustainable development
and the implementation of the existing multilateral commitments.
•The need for coherence and efficiency, as well as effectiveness, would necessitate the
redefinition of the role and the mandates of the present institutions, with an
emphasis on the ECOSOC, UNEP and CSD, with the "umbrella" or "roof"
articulation built on the existing structure.
•This overarching structure would have the objective of coordinating those institutions as
well as the MEAs, with an emphasis on integrating the economic, social and
environmental pillars.
UNEP
•UNEP should have a pivotal role in that process and in assisting governments in
implementing environmental commitments.
•UNEP should help countries in strengthening the environmental component of their
national policies, within the perspective of sustainable development, by means of,
in particular, capacity building and scientific knowledge.
•In that sense it is urgent to enable the implementation of Article 34 of Agenda 21 and the
Bali Strategic Plan for Technology Support and Capacity Building.
•Financing and Cooperation
•The availability of means of implementation is crucial for the attainment of sustainable
development.
•It is necessary to consider the role of the GEF in assisting developing countries in
implementing sustainable development policies.
•Likewise, traditional international cooperation should be improved and complemented
by a new paradigm: one that will strengthen the autonomy of recipient countries
and include other forms of cooperation such as South-South partnership and
trilateral initiatives (North-South-South).
•Rio+20 provides the appropriate context for a comprehensive discussion on the
institutional framework for sustainable development.
• The overarching structure with a central Secretariat should be based on existing
institutions.
•The structural arrangement resulting from already completed segments of the UN reform
could provide a template for discussion.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, Brazil is keenly aware of the responsibility for hosting the
Conference in 2012 and wishes to listen to all parties, including stakeholders. In
that sense Brazil wishes to announce that it will hold three meetings for informal
consultations, the first one on August 22 in Rio de Janeiro.
Second Preparatory Committee
Statement- Brazil
March 8, 2011
Session 3- Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development
We align ourselves with the statement made by Argentina on behalf of the G-77.
•The international debate on institutional arrangements is at the heart of the global
commitment towards sustainable development.
•There is need for enhanced coordination and cooperation among international
organizations and environmental agreements.
•The challenge remains to reach convergence on the reform of the international
institutions for sustainable development, while also catalyzing high- level political
commitment for the outcome.
• Progress towards sustainable development should be supported by institutional reform
at the global level, but it’s at the national level that sustainable development is
effectively implemented.
•But since national contexts differ, “standardized” blueprints for national level
institutional frameworks for sustainable development are neither beneficial nor
feasible.
•The institutional design at the national level should reflect the priorities of each country
to implement sustainable development.
•The international institutional arrangement has to be composed of solid institutions.
• Coordination and cooperation among should aim at leading to positive outcomes on the
ground.
• The strategy to strengthen institutions needs to be part of a broader reform process that
provides equal attention to the three pillars so as to guarantee policy coherence.
•This can only be reached in the context of a broader and integrated reflection in lieu of
the fragmented approaches which have been attempted so far. That reflection
should review the existing framework
United Nations General Assembly
•The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation assigned to the General Assembly the task of
“giving overall political direction to the implementation of Agenda 21 and its
review”.
•It also remains the forum of convergence between decisions related to economic and
social development as well as environmental protection.
•Ideally, such convergence should lead to transversal and integrated decisions towards the
implementation of sustainable development.
•Means to empower the General Assembly to coordinate the three pillars through a
sustainable development approach should be sought.
The ECOSOC
•ECOSOC has the mandate to integrate the three pillars of sustainable development.
• There currently is no integrated discussion that would add value to deliberations at the
ECOSOC.
•Even when sustainable development is the main topic proposed for discussion, as in the
2007 session, the concept is not debated comprehensively, nor is it revisited in
subsequent years.
•The debate on the reform of the ECOSOC should consider its specific role in the
implementation of sustainable development.
•It is necessary to renew the effort of strengthening ECOSOC as an effective forum for
the multilateral discussion of economic and social themes through a sustainable
development approach, which necessarily includes an environmental perspective.
•The process of UN reform should promote enhanced legitimacy and effectiveness to
ECOSOC’s work in the social and economic fields, as well as in the environmental
and humanitarian ones.
CSD
•The Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) is the subsidiary organ of the
ECOSOC with the mandate monitor progress in the implementation of Agenda 21.
•Its functions were defined by the General Assembly in resolution 47/191 and later
further detailed in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.
•The CSD also decided, in its Multi-Year Program of Work (MYPOW) to stagger the
consideration of specific sustainable development issues in biannual cycles until
2017. While the adoption of the MYPOW led to benefits (rationalization of work,
focused debate on small number of issues), a downside was the limitation of
discussions to topics agreed in the past and the ensuing incapacity of the
Commission to respond to new developments or pressing political issues.
•While there is the possibility of reviewing the themes of each biannual cycle, in practice
this has not happened.
• In a context of rapid institutional development, over the last twenty years, of policy and
regulatory tools in issue-specific areas under other treaty bodies or arrangements
(such as climate change, biodiversity, chemicals), this programming aspect of the
CSD has hindered the political role of the Commission.
•One can also observe a marked disconnection in the treatment of sustainable
development issues, erroneously viewed by some as restricted to environmental
aspects, separate from financial (e.g. the Monterrey Consensus, the financial crises)
and social issues.
The “Umbrella” concept
As a contributio n to the debate, Brazil offers the following reflection.
• An efficient and coherent institutional framework for sustainable development is key to
enhancing international governance to not only tackle present challenges but also
emerging issues. Four general principles should guide our efforts in defining how to
strengthen governance for sustainable development:
•(i) Coherence with the Rio Declaration, Agenda 21 and the JPOI;
•(ii) articulation with the MDGs and the Monterrey Consensus;
•(iii) Respect for the specific conditions and foremost, the particular needs, of developing
countries;
•(iv) Strengthening the international institutions and organizations that deal with
sustainable development, including the support to relevant local, national and
regional institutions.
•Brazil's vision for a coherent and efficient institutional framework for sustainable
development includes the concept of an "umbrella" structure, within the UN
system, providing practical guidance to the promotion of sustainable development
and the implementation of the existing multilateral commitments.
•The need for coherence and efficiency, as well as effectiveness, would necessitate the
redefinition of the role and the mandates of the present institutions, with an
emphasis on the ECOSOC, UNEP and CSD, with the "umbrella" or "roof"
articulation built on the existing structure.
•This overarching structure would have the objective of coordinating those institutions as
well as the MEAs, with an emphasis on integrating the economic, social and
environmental pillars.
UNEP
•UNEP should have a pivotal role in that process and in assisting governments in
implementing environmental commitments.
•UNEP should help countries in strengthening the environmental component of their
national policies, within the perspective of sustainable development, by means of,
in particular, capacity building and scientific knowledge.
•In that sense it is urgent to enable the implementation of Article 34 of Agenda 21 and the
Bali Strategic Plan for Technology Support and Capacity Building.
•Financing and Cooperation
•The availability of means of implementation is crucial for the attainment of sustainable
development.
•It is necessary to consider the role of the GEF in assisting developing countries in
implementing sustainable development policies.
•Likewise, traditional international cooperation should be improved and complemented
by a new paradigm: one that will strengthen the autonomy of recipient countries
and include other forms of cooperation such as South-South partnership and
trilateral initiatives (North-South-South).
•Rio+20 provides the appropriate context for a comprehensive discussion on the
institutional framework for sustainable development.
• The overarching structure with a central Secretariat should be based on existing
institutions.
•The structural arrangement resulting from already completed segments of the UN reform
could provide a template for discussion.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, Brazil is keenly aware of the responsibility for hosting the
Conference in 2012 and wishes to listen to all parties, including stakeholders. In
that sense Brazil wishes to announce that it will hold three meetings for informal
consultations, the first one on August 22 in Rio de Janeiro.
Stakeholders