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.