International Issues
Multilateral relations - United Nations
1. Historical and Organisational Background
Environmental concerns did not figure on
the international agenda when the UN was created. This explains
the absence of a UN role in environmental protection in the
UN Charter. However, with increasing evidence of deterioration
of the environment scale in the following decades, the UN
became a leading advocate for environmental concerns and sustainable
development.
Following the United Nations Conference on
the Human Environment, held in Stockholm in 1972, the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
was established as the main UN body in the field of environment.
As a subsidiary of the General Assembly, the Governing Council
of UNEP reports to the Assembly, which considers and decides
on selected environmental and environment-related issues,
including institutional arrangements and related international
processes.
After the general debate at the beginning
of each regular session of the General Assembly, most questions
are discussed in six main Committees. Environmental and sustainable
development issues are considered in the Second
Committee (Economic and Financial).
The Economic
and Social Council may make or initiate studies and
reports with respect to international economic, social, cultural,
educational, health and related matters (including environment)
and may make recommendations to the General Assembly, to the
UN members to the concerned specialised agencies.
In the post-Stockholm years, mounting concern
over continuing environmental degradation led the UNGA to
convene the World Commission on Environment and Development
in 1983. The report of the Commission (the Brundtland Report)
was a catalyst for the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCCD), also known as the Earth
Summit. Among other outcomes, the Summit adopted Agenda
21, a comprehensive plan of action for addressing both
environment and development goals in the 21st century
and the Rio
Declaration.
To ensure effective follow-up of Agenda 21
and UNCED as a whole, the General Assembly established in
1992 the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)
as a functional commission of the ECOSOC. The UN Department
of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)
provides the secretariat for CSD.
A five-year review of UNCED progress, what
became known as Rio+5,
was made in 1997 by the UNGA meeting in special session.
A Summit-level ten-year review of UNCED, the
World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)
was held from 26 August - 4 September 2002, in Johannesburg,
South Africa, with the purpose of reinvigorating the global
commitment to sustainable development. The WSSD negotiated
and adopted two main documents: the Johannesburg Declaration
and a Plan of Implementation designed as a framework for action
both to implement the commitments originally agreed at UNCED
as well as new commitments (see here)
2. European Commission and UN Cooperation on the Environment
Conscious of the gains to be made by cooperating actively
with the UN, in 2004 and 2005 the European Commission significantly
upgraded its links with UNEP. In September 2004 the Commision
and UNEP signed a Memorandum
of Understanding which aims inter alia to reinforce synergies,
thereby contributing to the achievement of the environmentally
related UN Millennium Development Goals and to the implementation
of the WSSD environment commitments. Further objectives include:
policy exchanges on issues of common interest, cooperation
on analysis and assessment and utilisation of each other's
comparative advantage.
Under the MoU, the Commisison and UNEP held a first High-Level
Meeting on 23 May 2004. The meeting discussed major technical
and operational policy issues and agreed a joint Work Programme
designed to further the work of the MoU link
to the press release
Subsequent meetings under the MoU (with review meetings every
six months) will review progress on the Work Programme and
concentrate on achieving practical outcomes through cooperation.
One aspect of practical cooperation will be the provision
of information in preparation for the February 2006 UNEP Governing
Council / Special Session at which issues such as chemicals
management, energy and tourism and their respective influence
on the environment will be considered. On these issues the
European Commission can offer significant experience and will
be keen to feed this experience in to the global debate.
On a further level, that of international environmental governance,
the European Commission and UNEP see opportunities for synergy
and cooperation. At its June 2005 European Council, the EU,
conscious of the need to improve international environmental
governance, called for negotiations at the UN which could
lead to the gradual upgrading of UNEP into a Nairobi-based
United Nations Environment Organisation (UNEO). Such an organisation
should better be able to address the environmental dimension
of sustainable development in an integrated and consistent
manner.
Link
to the Council conclusion, see paragraph 39
Finally, in 2005 the European Commission also agreed to support
UNEP policy on sustainable consumption and production, mercury
reduction and strategic chemicals management through a number
of direct grants. The Commission sees that support for UNEP
in theses areas is an excellent way to further European standards
and policies on a wider, indeed on a global scale.
3. Links
For more information on UNEP, see www.unep.org/
Information about the UN
The main UN website is http://www.un.org/
The UN System (the whole UN family of organisations)
has a separate website at http://www.unsystem.org/
UN documents can be found at: http://www.un.org/documents/
There is a comprehensive website on the EU
at the UN, under the following address: http://europa-eu-un.org/.
This contains extensive links, a description of EU policies
at the UN, EU Statements, EU priorities for each General Assembly,
EU publications on UN issues, etc.Specific information about
the European Commission's environmental policy of global relevance,
statements and speeches on the environment and sustainable
development can be found the above-mentioned website.
The External Relations DG has created a webpage on the EU's
relations with the UN, including an overview of relations
between the two bodies, useful links and publication. This
is to be found at : /external_relations/un/index.htm
Other useful links:
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