MONDAY, 08 May 2006:
A high ranking South African interdepartmental
delegation led by the Ministers of Environmental
Affairs & Tourism, Minerals & Energy,
Trade & Industry, Foreign Affairs, and Science
& Technology arrived today at the United Nations
in New York, to participate in the 14th Session
of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable
Development (CSD).
The CSD convened at the United
Nations Headquarters in New York on 1 May 2006
and will continue until 12 May 2006 and will this
year review progress and recommend further action
in the areas of energy, air pollution, climate
change and industrial development policies.
The CSD was established to review
progress at the international, regional and national
levels in the implementation of recommendations
and commitments contained in the final documents
of the United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development (UNCED), and the World Summit
on Sustainable Development held in South Africa
in 2002.
Speaking before the departure
of the ministerial delegation in Pretoria on Monday
8 May 2006, Ms Pamela Yako , Director General
of the Department of Environmental Affairs and
Tourism said that “ South Africa intends to ensure
that CSD 14 as a review session lays a firm foundation
which will outline challenges and constraints
faced by developing countries in meeting the Johannesburg
Plan of Implementation (JPOI) targets and to ensure
that global partners meet their financing and
technology commitments and support poorer countries
in providing energy and limiting the impact of
climate change”.
South Africa which also chairs
the G77 and China, a coalition of more than 120
developing countries, will this year play a pivotal
role in ensuring the successful outcome of CSD
14, which takes into account the concerns and
broader interests of all developing and poor nations,”
further added Yako.
A High level 3 day ministerial
segment of the meeting will commence from 10 to
12 May 2006 and will include discussions with
representatives of business, non-governmental
organisations and other United Nations agencies
on how best to accelerate the implementation of
various agreements.
It is expected that South Africa
will further request the United Nations to convene
a five year review of the progress in 2007 on
implementing the decisions agreed to in Johannesburg
during the 2002 World Summit.
“To remain committed to the
Johannesburg targets, and to convince ourselves
that they are still within reach we need to continuously
take stock, whilst shaping future action and it
is within this spirit that in 2007 the United
Nations should be able to integrate in its programme
a modest appraisal of the 5 years since Johannesburg”
said Ms Pam Yako.
