Delegates may miss Friday deadline on Bali Commitment<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali<\/p>\n
Despite a few days of intense meetings, a slew of unresolved
\nissues will likely push negotiations on governments' commitments
\non sustainable development past Friday's deadline. This will
\nlikely force Indonesia as host country to extend the talks until
\nSaturday or possibly Sunday.<\/p>\n
As of Thursday, differences remain too far a field for a final
\ndocument called the Chairman's Text to emerge on Friday, the
\ndeadline after which delegates expect to start discussing the
\npolitical declaration based on the Chairman's Text.<\/p>\n
A senior government official explained on Thursday that the
\nChairman's Text was originally supposed to be finalized during
\nthe third preparatory meeting in New York.<\/p>\n
\"As yet there hasn't been a compromise between the different
\ninterests,\" said the official, who refused to be named.<\/p>\n
The Chairman's Text, which is to be called the Bali
\nCommitment, is a set of action plans on sustainable development
\nprinciples that delegates expect to finalize before world leaders
\nmeet for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in
\nJohannesburg, South Africa, next August through September.<\/p>\n
Over the past two days, working groups negotiating the
\nChairman's Text have been meeting from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. But
\nissues which from the start were deemed tough remain largely
\nuntouched.<\/p>\n
They mostly cover paragraphs under chapter IX on the means and
\nimplementation of the action plan. Others on which negotiations
\nhave just begun relate to the effectiveness of international
\nbodies dealing with sustainable development.<\/p>\n
We have to push ahead, if Friday is not possible, we'll
\ncontinue on Saturday and Sunday,\" the official said, adding that
\nas host, Indonesia must ensure it meets the UN mandate to
\nfinalize negotiations here.<\/p>\n
\"Mr. Emil Salim -- as the chairman of this UN meeting -- has
\nmade this very clear. We will continue to seek common ground.\"<\/p>\n
Negotiations on the 39-page Chairman's Text are divided into
\nthree working groups discussing the nine chapters of the text.
\nDjumala Darmansjah representing Indonesia in working group II,
\ndiscussing the means and implementation, said demands to
\nincorporate time targets into sustainable development programs
\nwere tough to meet.<\/p>\n
He said a number of developed countries, notably the United
\nStates and Japan, opposed the measures, while developing
\ncountries and the European Union supported the time targets.<\/p>\n
Developing countries and many non-governmental organizations
\nview time targets as crucial to get concrete actions.
\nThe 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil fell short of
\nproducing the measures promised under the Rio declaration in the
\nabsence of time targets.<\/p>\n
Djumala said that while including time targets on promised
\nprograms forced governments to commit to concrete actions, the
\nU.S. argued it could not commit any resources without Congress'
\napproval.<\/p>\n
But according to him, this is a negotiation tactic. The U.S.,
\nhe was sure, was willing to compromise despite its unflinching
\nstance over the issue.<\/p>\n
These compromises would likely be made once the committee as a
\nwhole meets to wrap up the negotiation with all three working
\ngroups joining.<\/p>\n
Djumala estimated three scenarios in which the debate on the
\ntime targets could end. One was that the U.S. and other developed
\ncountries agree to include time targets in the Chairman's Text.
\nSecond was that no time targets make it to the text. And third
\nwas that developed countries agree only to time targets on social
\nprograms that were already pledged under the UN Millennium Goals,
\nwhich aim to cut poverty and stop over-exploitation of planet
\nearth.<\/p>\n
Other issues that would likely make it to the committee
\ninclude the use of the Official Development Assistance (ODA),
\nproposals on debt payment schemes, and reforming the
\nInternational Monetary Fund (IMF).<\/p>\n
Indonesian delegate Slamet Hidayat at working group III on
\ninstitutional architecture said that talks on improving the
\neffectiveness of the UN's Commission on Sustainable Development
\n(CSD) and the UN Environment (UNEP) were still in the early
\nstages.<\/p>\n
The negotiation aims to seek ways for the two UN bodies to
\nbetter coordinate with each other, as the CSD also lacks
\nauthority to accelerate sustainable development programs.<\/p>\n
Differences remain over whether to empower CSD or UNEP, as
\nboth bodies handle environmental issues, with CSD covering the
\nother two pillars of sustainable development -- economics and
\nsocial affairs.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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