29 July 2011: The 2011 Substantive Session of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) agreed on, inter alia, a Ministerial Declaration on education; recommendations on preparing for the 2012 Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR) of the UN system’s operational activities by the General Assembly; follow-up to the Fourth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC IV); and postponing consideration of a review of UN support for small island developing States (SIDS).

The Session took place from 4-29 July 2011, in Geneva, Switzerland, on the theme “Education for All: Accelerating Progress.” The Session’s High-Level Segment included the Annual Ministerial Review (AMR), which resulted in the adoption of a Ministerial Declaration on the theme “Implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to education.”

The Session also included an Operational Activities segment, during which States: reviewed the UN system’s progress in making its operational activities more relevant, effective and efficient; and provided recommendations on the best way to prepare for the QCPR. The Coordination Segment focused on the theme of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The Council also adopted a resolution addressing follow-up to LDC IV, which calls for reviewing the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action in the 2015 AMR.

The Council decided to postpone consideration of a draft resolution on the review of UN support for SIDS (E/2011/L.5) to a later session of the Council, after concerns were voiced about the programme budget implications. The draft resolution had been sponsored by: Fiji, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Palestine. Per the resolution, ECOSOC would have: requested the Committee for Development Policy (CDP), within existing resources, to submit to ECOSOC, prior to its substantive session of 2013, a report providing the independent views and perspectives of the CDP on how to further the full and effective implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action (BPoA) and the Mauritius Strategy (MSI), including through refocusing efforts towards a result-orientated approach and considering what improved and additional measures might be needed to more effectively address the unique and particular vulnerabilities and development needs of SIDS; recommended that the requested report may be considered a contribution to the ongoing review process initiated under paragraph 33 of General Assembly resolution 65/2; invited the Secretary-General to facilitate the work of the CDP as requested above, upon the request of the CDP; and noted the recommendations contained in the report of the Secretary-General to ECOSOC. Speaking on the issue during the ECOSOC session were the Maldives, Poland on behalf of the EU, New Zealand, the US, Belgium and France.

In addition, ECOSOC established a new UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management, which will compile and disseminate best practices and experiences relevant in the context of sustainable development and humanitarian assistance.

Nikhil Seth, Director of the Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination, speaking on the conclusion the substantive session, said, “Let’s carry the momentum of Geneva on to the June 2012 Rio+20 Summit.” [Website of Session] [Sustainable Development Policy & Practice Story on Ministerial Declaration] [Climate Change Policy & Practice Story on Geospatial Information Committee] [Summary of Session and Decisions] [Draft Resolution on Reviewing UN Support for SIDS] [DESA News Story] [UN News Centre Story]