United States of America
Opening Statement of the United States
United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development
Agenda Item no . 3
21 April 2004
Mr. Chairman, the United States appreciates this opportunity to take stock of
where we are on achieving our goals on water, sanitation, and human settlements .
Thanks to your leadership, the Bureau and the Secretariat have structured an
innovative session that we hope marks the beginning of an "era of
implementation ."
Our focus on implementation will require a shift in our discussions from a focus on
the global level to the regional, national, and local levels - the places where action
really takes place . Certainly for the issues we will consider over the next two
weeks - water, sanitation, and human settlements - this is where we must focus
our attention . It's the work of local actors - individuals, villages, and
municipalities - that will solve these issues .
I would like to suggest four themes worthy of our attention . First, as agreed at
Monterrey, each country is responsible for promoting the economic and political
freedoms that establish an enabling environment and foster local action, growth
and development. Where countries have committed to investing in their people
and institutions, donors and international organizations should assist them . There
are common elements to successful sustainable development - domestic good
governance, rule of law, economic reform, engaging the private sector, and sound
policies. Our challenge now is to work country-by-country to translate these
common elements into results that expand the circle of development .
Second, we need to build capacity, locally and nationally . Capacity building must
include efforts to enable individuals, communities, and municipalities to participate
actively in identifying and meeting their own needs, as well as mobilizing
resources.
Third, we need to harness the power of public-private partnerships to continue
delivering results . Partnerships provide flexible ways of bringing together the
strengths and capabilities of governments, civil society, and the private sector .
Partnerships may also require that we adapt our way of doing business . For
example, the first-ever "International Forum on Sustainable Development
Partnerships," hosted by the Italian government last month in Rome, began a
public, transparent discussion of partnership activities in a variety of sectors . We
may need to experiment with other ways to discuss, learn from, and expand
partnership efforts. I am encouraged, though, that here at CSD 12, both the
Partnerships Fair and the Learning Center are oversubscribed with interested
participants .
Finally, we need to build on what works . To achieve internationally agreed goals
on water, sanitation, and human settlements, we need to find ways to broaden and
multiply our efforts by disseminating best practices and replicating proven
approaches so that local actors can use them to meet growing demands .
Mr. Chairman, the United States trusts that, with your leadership, the next two
weeks will enable us to identify barriers to implementation, find practical
approaches to overcome those barriers, strengthen and develop partnerships, and
provide capacity building that will strengthen the "infrastructure" for sustainable
development, both in terms of the institutional framework or "software," as well as
on-the-ground "hardware . We look forward to sharing our own experiences and
to learning from others . Thank you.
United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development
Agenda Item no . 3
21 April 2004
Mr. Chairman, the United States appreciates this opportunity to take stock of
where we are on achieving our goals on water, sanitation, and human settlements .
Thanks to your leadership, the Bureau and the Secretariat have structured an
innovative session that we hope marks the beginning of an "era of
implementation ."
Our focus on implementation will require a shift in our discussions from a focus on
the global level to the regional, national, and local levels - the places where action
really takes place . Certainly for the issues we will consider over the next two
weeks - water, sanitation, and human settlements - this is where we must focus
our attention . It's the work of local actors - individuals, villages, and
municipalities - that will solve these issues .
I would like to suggest four themes worthy of our attention . First, as agreed at
Monterrey, each country is responsible for promoting the economic and political
freedoms that establish an enabling environment and foster local action, growth
and development. Where countries have committed to investing in their people
and institutions, donors and international organizations should assist them . There
are common elements to successful sustainable development - domestic good
governance, rule of law, economic reform, engaging the private sector, and sound
policies. Our challenge now is to work country-by-country to translate these
common elements into results that expand the circle of development .
Second, we need to build capacity, locally and nationally . Capacity building must
include efforts to enable individuals, communities, and municipalities to participate
actively in identifying and meeting their own needs, as well as mobilizing
resources.
Third, we need to harness the power of public-private partnerships to continue
delivering results . Partnerships provide flexible ways of bringing together the
strengths and capabilities of governments, civil society, and the private sector .
Partnerships may also require that we adapt our way of doing business . For
example, the first-ever "International Forum on Sustainable Development
Partnerships," hosted by the Italian government last month in Rome, began a
public, transparent discussion of partnership activities in a variety of sectors . We
may need to experiment with other ways to discuss, learn from, and expand
partnership efforts. I am encouraged, though, that here at CSD 12, both the
Partnerships Fair and the Learning Center are oversubscribed with interested
participants .
Finally, we need to build on what works . To achieve internationally agreed goals
on water, sanitation, and human settlements, we need to find ways to broaden and
multiply our efforts by disseminating best practices and replicating proven
approaches so that local actors can use them to meet growing demands .
Mr. Chairman, the United States trusts that, with your leadership, the next two
weeks will enable us to identify barriers to implementation, find practical
approaches to overcome those barriers, strengthen and develop partnerships, and
provide capacity building that will strengthen the "infrastructure" for sustainable
development, both in terms of the institutional framework or "software," as well as
on-the-ground "hardware . We look forward to sharing our own experiences and
to learning from others . Thank you.
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