E.C.A.F.E. — new title

Press, 2 March 1984, Page 14

E.C.A.F.E. — new title

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The acronyms for United Nations bodies seldom delight with their euphony. Among the exceptions was E.C.A.F.E. (pronounced ek-aa-fey) — the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East Little has been heard of this body for some time.

E.C.AF.E. is alive and well, and has assumed the name E.S.C.A.P. — the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. The euphony was not preserved against the opportunity to describe the region more precisely. It is an immense region. The executive secretary of E.S.C.A.P., Mr S. Kibria, in New Zealand as a guest of the Government said in Christchurch that the region extends from Iran in the west to the Cook Islands in the east, and from

Mongolia in the north, to New Zealand in the south. It contains 56 per cent of the world’s popula tion. Further, 81 per cent of all those who live below the poverty line live in the region.

STUART McMILLAN

E.S.C.A.P. is based in Bangkok and, although it does not undertake development programmes itself, it co-ordinates advice to governments in the region. Mr Kibria describes E.S.C.A.P. as the forum for the region, where all the countries get together to discuss

the region~in all its aspects. It is this that Mr Kibria sees as being distinctive of E.S.C.A.P. Other bodies, such as the International Labour Organisation, deal with only one sector. E.S.C.A.P. is a forum for discussing regional and sub-regional matters. What is less clear is whether the discussion gets anywhere. E.S.C.A.P. disseminates a great deal of information to governments. But do governments take much notice?

Mr Kibria’s comment on the suggestion that little was heard about E.S.C.A.P., was that most news attention was given to the political activities of the United Nations, not to development matters, although 80 per cent of the

United Nations budget was spent on social and development programmes.

New Zealand, Mr Kibria said, was one of the three developed countries of the region, along with Australia and Japan. It had played a constructive role.

E.S.C.A.P. appreciated, he said, the particular concern New Zealand had shown for countries of the South Pacific. Mr Kibria said that New Zealand could do a lot more, and that more could be accomplished with the expertise that New Zealand could provide.

"The very important point to remember in the development field is that it is not the wealth of the donor that is the most significant factor. It is the willingness to help. Sometimes you can share your wealth. Sometimes you can share your experts, your students. Sometimes you can be very wealthy and not share anything at all ... It is the willingness

to share, the willingness to help . .