§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on(a) the positions taken by her delegation at the 12 Commission on Sustainable Development in New York and (b) the outcome of that meeting. [172020]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 10 May 2004]: The Twelfth UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD 12) met in New York from 19 to 30 April to review progress towards implementation of the Millennium Development Goals and World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) commitments on water, sanitation and human settlements. Over 100 Ministers attended the ministerial segment (28 to 30 April) including my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and myself, along with senior representatives of the major UN and other international institutions. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan addressed the opening session.
The UK delegation, led by the Secretary of State, played a leading role at CSD 12, in concert with EU partners, in identifying obstacles to progress and examples of best practice. Amongst the priorities we identified were: incorporation of water, sanitation and 343W human settlements issues in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers and national Sustainsable development strategies; integrated water resource management plans to be in place by 2005; innovative financial mechanisms, such as the UK's proposed International Finance Facility; promotion of small-scale local initiatives and partnerships; and improved coordination between UN agencies and with international financial institutions.
CSD 12 raised the profile of these issues and stimulated inclusive and interactive debate by all parties. The Chairman's Summary of the ministerial segment recognises that we are not yet on track to meet the targets, identifies the main obstacles faced and picks up on most of the UK's priorities. It also sets out a number of challenges to be addressed in the second year of the cycle on water, sanitation and human settlements, culminating at CSD 13 in May 2005, which has the task of agreeing the policy responses needed to get back on track with these international targets.