Homework for Copenhagen (2)

Homework for Copenhagen (2)

By Mely G. Tan

This is the second of two articles on the what, who and how to
address some of the issues discussed at the Copenhagen summit.

JAKARTA (JP): Now about civil society. I have not made as
thorough a count of the times this term was mentioned in the
documents as I did with women, but there are strong references
about the imperative of partnership between government, civil
society and the private sector, especially in the implementation
of the Program of Action. For instance, in chapter 5 on
Implementation and follow-up, section B is entirely on
"involvement of civil society". What "civil society" refers to is
spelled out in the "chapeau" of this section "Effective
Implementation of the Declaration and Program of Action of the
Summit requires strengthening community organizations and non-
profit non-governmental organizations in the sphere of education,
health, poverty, social integration, human rights, improvement of
the quality of life, relief and rehabilitation, enabling them to
participate constructively in policy-making, and implementation".

We have taken care of the question "what", and it is now clear
who the "who" are. These are the government in partnership with
all the organizations, groups and individuals in society
concerned with the present and future condition of society, that
are not government, i.e. the civil society. As a matter of fact,
one could say that the official Summit at the Bella Center was
dealing with the problems of social development at the macro
level, while the NGO forum at Holmen was dealing with the
problems at the micro level. It is the civil society that is most
appropriate to bridge the two levels.

Now we have come to the "How". As a matter of fact this
bridging process is already being done in Indonesia with some
NGOs participating in government projects on the grassroots
level, as for example the Bina Swadaya being involved in the
Inpres Desa Tertinggal poverty program. There are also several
health NGOs working on family planning and quality of care
programs, women's reproductive health, and advocacy as well as
legal aid in matters such as labor disputes, disputes on land,
sexual harassment and violence against women.

Thus, the activities involved in the implementation and
follow-up of the Summit can be distinguished into two main
groups: programs and research. More appropriate and effective
programs will primarily be generated for the eradication of
poverty, creation of employment and promotion of social
integration. However, for programs to be relevant and effective
it would be necessary to have an assessment of what has already
been done or is still being done and the impact of these
programs. This type of assessment is in the category of policy
research evaluating government policies and programs.

Another type of research has to do with the knowledge,
understanding and explanation of the causes and consequences of
the persistence of poverty, unemployment and underemployment, and
the incidence, causes and consequences of social disintegration.
It will also be necessary to study the policies, and conditions
favorable for an enabling environment for social development,
focusing on the economic, political, legal, cultural environment
on the national and international level. In other words, we need
to formulate a research agenda.

Finally, mechanisms should be formulated for an assessment of
the implementation and follow-up that will refer to institution
building, international cooperation and financial assistance, and
mechanisms for the monitoring and periodic assessment of the
implementation of the outcome of the Summit.

In Indonesia, the office of the Coordinating Minister for
People's Welfare is in charge of the coordination of the
activities involved in the implementation and follow-up of the
Summit. A meeting was held on April 13, 1995, with the minister
present, and it was agreed to set up a national task force that
will start with identifying and formulating the activities to be
done.

Dr. Mely G. Tan was a member of the official Indonesian
delegation (as a representative of the Bina Swadaya Foundation)
at the Summit and prior to that at the Prepcom III in New York in
January 1995. She is a senior researcher with the Indonesian
Institute of Sciences.