United
Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
(UNECE) was set up in 1947 by ECOSOC. It is one of five regional
commissions of the United Nations. The others are the
- Economic Commission for Africa (ECA),
- Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(ESCAP),
- Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
(ECLAC),
- Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).
UNECE's major aim is to promote pan-European
economic integration. To do so, it brings together 56 countries
located in the European Union, non-EU Western and Eastern Europe,
South-East Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
and North America. All these countries dialogue and cooperate
under the aegis of UNECE on economic and sectoral issues. However,
all interested United Nations member States may participate in
the work of UNECE. Over 70 international professional organizations
and other non-governmental organizations take part in UNECE activities.
UNECE's terms of reference have been defined
by ECOSOC.
As a multilateral platform, UNECE facilitates
greater economic integration and cooperation among its member
countries and promotes sustainable development and economic prosperity
through:
- policy dialogue,
- negotiation of international legal instruments,
- development of regulations and norms,
- exchange and application of best practices as well as economic
and technical expertise,
- technical cooperation for countries with economies in transition.
UNECE contributes to enhancing the effectiveness
of the United Nations through the regional implementation of outcomes
of global United Nations Conferences and Summits. It gives focus
to the United Nations global mandates in the economic field, in
cooperation with other global players and key stakeholders, notably
the business community.
UNECE also sets out norms, standards and conventions
to facilitate international cooperation within and outside the
region.
Read
More
Inception
The establishment of an Economic Commission for
Europe was recommended by the "Temporary Sub-Commission on
the Economic Reconstruction of Devastated Areas", which convened
in London on 29 July 1946 and reported to the Economic and Social
Council on 13 September 1946.
On 11 December 1946, the General Assembly of
the United Nations, at its fifty-fifth plenary meeting, unanimously
recommended "in order to give effective aid to the countries
devastated by the war, the Economic and Social Council, at its
next session, give prompt and favourable consideration to the
establishment of an Economic Commission for Europe".
The Council, at its fourth session, complied
with the General Assembly's wishes by adopting, on 28 March 1947,
resolution 36 (IV) setting up ECE and giving it its terms of reference.
The Economic Commission for Europe was thus, together with the
Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE), which was
established on the same date, one of the first two regional economic
commissions to be established by the Council. Subsequently the
Council established the Economic Commission for Latin America
(ECLA) in March 1948, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
in April 1958 and the Economic Commission for Western Asia (ECWA)
in August 1973.
During the first four years after its founding,
ECE functioned on a provisional basis: the Council expressly provided
for a special review of the Commission's work, to be undertaken
not later than 1951, "with a view to determining whether
the Commission should be terminated or continued, and if continued,
what modifications, if any, should be made in its terms of reference".
According to article 1(a) of its terms of reference,
the Commission's prime objective is to "initiate and participate
in measures for facilitating concerted action for the economic
reconstruction of Europe, for raising the level of European economic
activity, and for maintaining and strengthening the economic relations
of the European countries, both among themselves and with other
countries of the world".
To this major aim was added that of making or
sponsoring investigations and studies of economic and technological
problems and developments as well as the collection, evaluation
and dissemination of economic, technological and statistical information
(article 1(b) and (c)). In view of the special concern of the
General Assembly and the Council for the problem of repairing
war damage, and in the light of the winding up of the United Nations
Relief and Rehabilitation Agency (UNRRA) in the spring of 1947,
ECE was also called upon to "give prior consideration, during
its initial stages, to measures facilitating the economic reconstruction
of devastated countries of Europe which are Members of the United
Nations" (article 2).
The Commission is empowered to make recommendations
on any matter within its competence directly to the participating
Governments of the region, subject to two qualifications: (a)
the activity of the Commission, which functions within the framework
of the policies of the United Nations and under the general supervision
of the Council, is subject to the provision that the Commission
"takes no action in respect to any country without the agreement
of the government of that country" (article 1); and (b) the
Commission is required to "submit for the Council's prior
consideration any of its proposals for activities that would have
important effects on the economy of the world as a whole"
(article 4).
Acting upon the instruction contained in article
19 of the ECE terms of reference, the Secretary-General of the
United Nations convened the first session of the Commission in
Geneva in May 1947 at the seat of the European Office of the United
Nations which, under article 18 of the ECE terms of reference,
is also the location of the Commission's headquarters. Subsequent
sessions of the Commission have taken place in the Palais des
Nations in Geneva, except for the twenty-ninth session, which
was held in Bucharest in 1974, at the invitation of the Government
of Romania.
At its sixth session (May/June 1951) the Commission
unanimously adopted resolution 1 (VI) on its future, in which
it considered that constructive economic co-operation was essential
to the maintenance of peace, reaffirmed its faith in the possibility
of such co-operation within the framework of the Commission, and
recommended that it should continue its work in this direction.
Earlier (December 1950), the General Assembly,
in resolution 409 A (V) taking note "with satisfaction of
the Economic and Social Council's decision to undertake in the
near future a complete review ... of its commissions", had
expressed the opinion "that the regional economic commissions
should be maintained". This review was carried out by the
Council's ad hoc Committee on the Organization and Operation of
the Council and its Commissions in April and May 1951.
As a result of that Committee's recommendations
the Council, in its resolution 414 C (XIII), expressed unanimous
appreciation of the work of the regional commissions and decided
to continue them indefinitely. By virtue of this decision the
ECE became a permanent body of the United Nations.
Cold War period
When it was established in 1947, ECE was given
the mandate of helping to rebuild post-war Europe, develop economic
activity and strengthen economic relations between European countries
and between them and the other countries of the world. However,
the Iron Curtain which separated East and West shortly after ECE's
establishment forced it to deal only with questions that were
of common interest to East and West, despite their different economic
systems and their political and ideological confrontation.
For more than 40 years, ECE was the only instrument
of economic dialogue and cooperation between these two radically
different systems, and it may legitimately be proud of the results
achieved in such a difficult context including the network of
``E'' roads linking all European countries, the harmonization
of road signs and signals, safety and anti-pollution standards
for motor vehicles, standards for the transport of dangerous goods
by road, the agreement for the development of combined transport,
standards for perishable agricultural produce, agreements on customs
procedures and various trade regulations, standards for the electronic
exchange of trade and transport data and conventions on transboundary
air pollution, the protection of watercourses and the transboundary
effects of industrial accidents. At the same time, its analyses
and statistics on regional economic development are considered
authoritative.
Post Cold War
With the end of the Cold War, the transition
from a centrally planned economy system to market economy and
the integration of the so-called countries in transition into
the global economy became the major concern. ECE was able to adapt
by focusing its analytical capacities on the transition process
and by using its experience of harmonization to facilitate the
integration of the central and east European countries. In order
to meet the needs of the economies in transition and, in particular,
those of the Newly Independent Countries resulting from the dissolution
of the Soviet Union and the Yugoslav Federation, as well as from
the separation of the Czech and Slovak Republics, the number of
ECE members increased from 34 to 55 within four years. ECE developed
an entirely new form of assistance activity, consisting of seminars
and workshops on aspects of the operation of the market economy
and of advice provided by a team of specialists set up to help
countries implement ECE recommendations, standards and conventions.
At the end of the Cold War ECE, along with others,
extended its activities to central and east European countries
and to the central Asian republics which desired to be members
of both ECE and ESACAP. Since then, ECE has continued to adapt
to the changing geopolitical landscape in Europe and has undergone
two major reforms, one in 1997 and one in 2005 to better tailor
its activities to the current needs of its now 56 member States
– good proof that it is possible to effect meaningful reforms
within the United Nations.
Read
More |