Beijing Declaration

The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

　　Adopts the following Declaration:

　　Beijing Declaration

General Provisions

　　1. We, members of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, express our deep appreciation to the Government and citizens of the People’s Republic of China for hosting this conference on Millennium Development Goals in Beijing.

　　2. We reiterate our firm conviction on the necessity to achieve Millennium Development Goals.

　　3. We re-emphasize the leading role of the United Nations and UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, in promoting the international cooperation and sustainable development for the Asia Pacific region.

　　4. We reaffirm the importance of the fulfillment of all relevant international agreements, including the Millennium Development Compact (2000), the Doha Declaration (2001), the Monterrey Consensus of the United Nations Conference on Financing for Development (2002) and Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (2002).

　　5. We also recall regional initiatives and organizations addressing MDG8, including Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Vision 2020 and Hanoi Plan of Action (1999), ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) Phnom Penh Regional Platform on Sustainable Development for Asia and the Pacific (2001), Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the UNESCAP Shanghai Declaration (2004).

　　6. We express our appreciation to the member states, who have made progress towards achieving MDG8 and strive to fulfill their commitments to the global partnership for development.

　　7. We underline the necessity of the fulfillment of the MDG8, including developing an open and rule-based trading and financial system, addressing the needs of the developing states and channeling cooperation with the private sector to promote global development.

　　8. We consider that debt relief and Official Development Assistance (ODA) for developing countries and especially for the least developed countries (LDCs) are essential for the achievement of Millennium goals.

　　9. We realize the critical importance of reforms, good governance and adherence to the rules of law in creating a sound environment for sustainable development in developing countries.

　　10. We are deeply concerned about the economic and logistical challenges, which have hindered the acquisition of sufficient ODA by developing countries

　　11. We, emphasize the necessity of the donor nations to honor their pledge arrived in various international conferences in granting 0.7% of their GNP as ODA to the developing nations.

　　12. We stress the importance of donor nations in granting financial and technical aid to recipient nations in consultation with the recipient nation pertaining to the sector of spending.

　　13. We stress the importance of the establishment of an independent commission under the auspices of UNESCAP to observe the distribution of the funds and the utilization of the aid granted.

　　14. We consider that it is necessary for all countries to work toward the ultimate objective of trade liberalization in terms of goods, services and FDI to promote the realization of MDGs. We also realize that developing countries will face difficulties with regard to the implementation of trade liberalization at the same pace as the developed nations.

　　15. We suggest greater cooperation between developed and developing countries to foster technological assistance in the areas of education, health sector, public utilities and environmental issues.

　　16. We urge Asia and Pacific countries to enhance regional cooperation, basing on the existing successful integration models in the areas of improving health and educational services and trade capacity with involvement of the private sector and civil society.

　　17. We also urge the developed nations and international financial institutions, including World Bank and IMF to promote the smooth implementation of the Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative on debt relief.

　　18. We urge member states to plan and work towards reducing youth unemployment by tripartite relationship between government, private sector and civil society.

　　19. We request ESCAP to review on an annual basis the progress made in implementing the provisions of the present Declaration.

　　20th August 2004