2nd Plenary Meeting of General Assembly: 19th Special Session - Part 3

In the five years since the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, the concept of sustainable development had come to inform economic planning worldwide, the General Assembly special session on the implementation of Agenda 21 was told this afternoon. The principles of Agenda 21 were being codified into national legislation, and major new conventions on global warming and on biodiversity were being applied.

But despite commitments made at Rio, official development assistance had actually declined, deforestation continued and developing countries lacked essential "green technologies". Several speakers pointed out that one third of the world's population did not have access to clean drinking water.

Addressing the Assembly this afternoon were the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation; the Prime Minister of Portugal; the Prime Minister of Romania; the Deputy President of South Africa; the Prime Minister of Norway; the Prime Minister of Denmark; the Prime Minister of Ireland; the President of the Republic of Korea; the Prime Minister of Belgium; the President of Nicaragua; the President of the Federated States of Micronesia; and the Vice- President of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Also speaking this afternoon were the Minister for the Environment of Mexico; the Minister for Environment of Tunisia; the representative of Philippines; the Minister for International Development Cooperation of Sweden; the Minister for the Environment of Australia; the Minister for Environment of San Marino; and the representatives of China, Uruguay, Papua New Guinea and Algeria.

The special session will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 24 June, to continue its general debate on the implementation of Agenda 21.

For further details please see official record:
A/S-19/PV.2

For further details please see source:
MEETINGS COVERAGE