72quater. Promote international cooperation to support regional and national efforts in the development and use of gender-related analysis and statistics by, inter alia, providing national statistical offices, upon their request, with institutional and financial support in order to enable them to respond to requests for data disaggregated by sex and age for use by national Governments in the formulation of gender-sensitive statistical indicators for monitoring and policy and programme impact assessment, as well as to undertake regular strategic surveys.

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115. Develop, strengthen and make more effective indicators at the national level for assessing and guiding social development, in collaboration with research institutions and civil society, as appropriate. These could include quantitative and qualitative indicators for assessing, inter alia, the social and gender impact of policies. Also develop and strengthen national information systems to produce reliable statistics on social and economic development. The relevant bodies of the United Nations and other relevant institutions should support, upon request, these national efforts.

116. Invite the Statistical Commission, with the assistance of the Statistics Division and in close cooperation with other relevant bodies of the United Nations system, including the Administrative Committee on Coordination, and, as appropriate, other relevant international organizations, to review, with a view to facilitating future consideration by the Council, the work undertaken in harmonizing and rationalizing basic indicators in the context of follow-up to United Nations conferences and summits, taking fully into account the decisions taken in other functional and regional commissions and, in that process, to identify a limited number of common indicators from among those currently accepted and widely used by the States Members of the United Nations, in order to lessen the data provision burden on Member States, bearing in mind the work done so far in this area.

http://www.earthsummit2002.org/toolkits/Women/un-doku/un-conf/c+5%20outcome.htm

Habitat II Conference

III Commitments

G. Assessing progress

51. We commit ourselves to observing and implementing the Habitat Agenda as a guide for action within our countries and will monitor progress towards that goal. Quantitative and qualitative indicators at the national and local levels, which are disaggregated to reflect the diversity of our societies, are essential for planning, monitoring and evaluating progress towards the achievement of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements. In this regard, the well-being of children is a critical indicator of a healthy society. Age and gender-sensitive indicators, disaggregated data and appropriate data-collection methods must be developed and used to monitor the impact of human settlements policies and practices on cities and communities, with special and continuous attention to the situation of those belonging to disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. We recognize the need for an integrated approach and concerted action to achieve the objective of adequate shelter for all and to sustainable human settlements development and will strive for coordinated implementation of international commitments and action programmes.

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Habitat II Conference

III Commitments

D. Gender equality (1)

46. We commit ourselves to the goal of gender equality in human settlements development. We further commit ourselves to:

(b) Developing conceptual and practical methodologies for incorporating gender perspectives in human settlements planning, development and evaluation, including the development of indicators;

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Habitat II Conference

IV Global Plan of Action

C. Sustainable human settlements development in an urbanizing world

2. Sustainable land use

113. Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities and other interested parties, with the support of the relevant international and regional institutions, should support the efforts of human settlements to establish sustainable urban land-use patterns and planning and, to that end, should:

(k) Promote the use of tools and the development of capacities for transparent urban monitoring and reporting activities based on appropriate indicators for the environmental, social and economic performance of cities;

http://www.earthsummit2002.org/toolkits/Women/un-doku/un-conf/hab%202%20IV%20C%202.htm

IV Global Plan of Action

C. Sustainable human settlements development in an urbanizing world

5. Environmentally sustainable, healthy and

Actions

136. To improve the health and well-being of all people throughout their life-span, particularly people living in poverty, Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities, in partnership with other interested parties, should:

(a) Develop and implement national, subnational and local health plans or strategies and strengthen environmental health services to prevent, mitigate and respond to diseases and ill health resulting from poor conditions in living and working environments and the conditions of people living in poverty, and continue work towards the Agenda 21 objective of achieving a 10 to 40 per cent improvement in health indicators by the year 2000;

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Habitat II Conference
IV Global Plan of Action
D. Capacity-building and institutional development

7. Information and communications

193. To increase the knowledge and strengthen the information base, Governments and local authorities, together with research institutions, statistical offices and other interested parties, should:

(b) Strengthen existing human settlements related information systems by adopting efficient and sustainable methodologies and institutional arrangements, by systematically incorporating research results and by compiling, analysing and updating data for human settlements and shelter statistics and policy-sensitive indicators;

(c) Disseminate research indicators and other information widely, mainstream their results in policy-making at all levels and ensure a two-way flow of information between producers and users of information.

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Habitat II Conference

IV Global Plan of Action

E. International cooperation and coordination

1. Introduction

197. Innovative approaches and frameworks for international cooperation in the development and management of human settlements must be sought and developed to include the active participation of all levels of government, the private and cooperative sectors, non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations in decision-making, policy formulation and resource allocation, implementation and evaluation. These approaches and frameworks should also include new and improved forms of cooperation and coordination between and among countries, multilateral and bilateral assistance agencies, international financial institutions, international organizations, and various organs and bodies of the United Nations system, including South-South, North-South and South-North exchanges of best practices, and the continuous development of tools and instruments for policy, planning and management, such as the application of shelter and urban indicators, human resources development and institutional capacity-building.

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Habitat II Conference

IV Global Plan of Action

F. Implementation and follow-up of the Habitat Agenda

5. Performance evaluation, indicators and best practices

240. All partners of the Habitat Agenda, including local authorities, the private sector and communities, should regularly monitor and evaluate their own performances in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda through comparable human settlements and shelter indicators and documented best practices. The Centre's responsibilities will include providing assistance to establish guidelines for national and local monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda through the use of housing and human settlements indicator programmes. The data collection and analysis capabilities of all these partners should be strengthened and assisted, where appropriate, at all levels, especially the local level.

241. As part of their commitment to strengthening their existing shelter- and settlements-related data collection and analysis capabilities, Governments at all levels, including local authorities, should continue to identify and disseminate best practices, and should develop and apply shelter and human settlements development indicators, including those that reflect the rights and well-being of children. The key indicators, augmented by policy-oriented national and subnational level indicators specific to the different regions, and other relevant information, as appropriate, will be used by Governments for assessing national implementation of the Habitat Agenda. The indicators should cover key areas of the Habitat Agenda, such as shelter, health, transport, energy, water supply, sanitation, employment and other aspects of urban sustainability, empowerment, participation and local responsibility, and should be gender-specific where possible. Such information, which should be available and accessible to all, will be provided to the United Nations, taking into account the different reporting procedures in the economic, social and environmental fields, and the need for reporting procedures to reflect diversity in regional, national, subnational and, in particular, local characteristics and priorities.

http://www.earthsummit2002.org/toolkits/Women/un-doku/un-conf/hab%202%20IV%20F%205.htm

Secretary General Reports

Report of the Secretary-General to the Commission on the Status of Women, 39th Session, 27 Feb. 1995 regarding

PREPARATIONS FOR THE FOURTH WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN:

ACTION FOR EQUALITY, DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE: REVIEW AND APPRAISAL OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NAIROBI FORWARD-LOOKING STRATEGIES FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN

II. CRITICAL AREAS OF CONCERN
C. Inequality in access to health and related services

6. The need to encourage participation of local women's organizations in primary-health-care activities was part of the focus of the Strategies, as were the application of gender-specific indicators for monitoring women's health and the necessity of enhancing the concerns with occupational health and the harmonisation of work and family responsibilities.

http://www.earthsummit2002.org/toolkits/Women/un-doku/otherun/secretar.htm#csw95

UN ECE Regional Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention)

http://www.unece.org/env/pp/

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa

Paris, 17 June 1994

Section 2: Scientific and technical cooperation

Article 16. Information collection, analysis and exchange

(c) support and further develop bilateral and multilateral programmes and projects aimed at defining, conducting, assessing and financing the collection, analysis and exchange of data and information, including, inter alia, integrated sets of physical, biological, social and economic indicators;

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United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa

Annex I. Regional Implementation Annex for Africa

Article 9. Preparation of national action programmes and implementation and evaluation indicators

Each affected African country Party shall designate an appropriate national coordinating body to function as a catalyst in the preparation, implementation and evaluation of its national action programme. This coordinating body shall, in the light of article 3 and as appropriate:

d) establish pertinent, quantifiable and readily verifiable indicators to ensure the assessment and evaluation of national action programmes, which encompass actions in the short, medium and long terms, and of the implementation of such programmes; and

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CSD 1993

MATTERS CALLING FOR ACTION BY THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL OR BROUGHT TO ITS ATTENTION

B. Issues relating to the future work of the Commission

26. The Secretariat should take into account the particular clusters of the multi-year thematic programme of work of the Commission and be guided by the following list of issues as regards the information to be included in the analytical reports envisaged in paragraph 28 below:

(d) Measures taken, including indicators, and progress achieved to reach sustainable production and consumption patterns and lifestyles, to combat poverty and to limit the demographic impact on the life-supporting capacity of the planet;

30. Bearing in mind the evolving nature of Agenda 21 and the concept of sustainability in general, the Commission, in its analysis of the reports requested above, will focus on sharing local, national, subregional and regional experiences and on the elaboration of recommendations on mobilizing support for national efforts to implement Agenda 21. In the light of future progress in the elaboration of realistic, usable and easily understandable indicators that would provide a basis for a meaningful assessment of progress towards sustainable development, the Commission will consider the possibility of integrating such indicators in the process outlined above.

40. The Commission takes note of the processes launched within the United Nations system to improve the coordination of programmes related to development data, and requests the Secretary-General, with the assistance of the Administrative Committee on Coordination, to continue to formulate proposals regarding Development Watch, envisaged in paragraph 40.13 of Agenda 21, as well as the elaboration of realistic, usable and easily understandable indicators that would allow the Commission to assess the progress made towards sustainable development.

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Chapter I

MATTERS CALLING FOR ACTION BY THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL OR BROUGHT TO ITS ATTENTION

A. General discussion on progress in the implementation of Agenda 21, 1/ focusing on the cross-sectoral components of Agenda 21, and the critical elements of sustainability

1. Information for decision-making

1. The Commission, having examined the report of the Secretary-General on information for decision-making and Earthwatch (E/CN.17/1995/18), noted and welcomed the important measures taken by Governments to make information more accessible to decision makers at the national level, and calls upon national Governments to utilize this information for sustainable development at the country level. The aim of such measures includes the development of a comprehensive and coherent information programme, drawing upon public participation in data collection and assessment. In this context, developed countries are urged to utilize both bilateral and multilateral channels to facilitate access by developing countries, and countries whose economies are in transition, to sources of information relative to sustainable development. The Sustainable Development Networking Programme of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is one model for such initiatives.

2. The Commission calls attention to the feasibility study undertaken by UNDP to provide access to information on sustainable development to 35 small island developing States, 2/ which was welcomed by the General Assembly in its resolution 49/122 on the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States.

3. The Commission expresses its appreciation to the organizers of the six workshops that furthered understanding of the issues addressed in chapter 40 of Agenda 21, particularly the efforts related to developing a work programme on indicators of sustainable development, and it supports and encourages further work in this area as elaborated in paragraphs 7 and 8 below.

4. The Commission welcomes the contribution of non-governmental organizations to the process of generating information for decision-making, including the articulation of views from local and grass-roots levels and from major groups, and expresses its desire that these activities continue and be integrated, to the extent possible, with those of national Governments, organizations of the United Nations system and other intergovernmental organizations.

5. The Commission expresses appreciation for the extensive international collaboration in the United Nations system-wide Earthwatch and its responsiveness to the priorities of Agenda 21 and to user needs. It urges Governments and major groups, as well as relevant international organizations and the scientific community, to participate actively in strengthening Earthwatch as an international partnership to ensure an adequate flow of information on the global and regional environment, to support decision-making and to give early warning on the state of the environment. Special attention is drawn to the need for improved delivery of information to decision makers and to increased participation in environmental observations at the local and national levels within regional and international frameworks. In this regard, the Commission welcomes all appropriate participation in the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Programme, as described in General Assembly resolution 49/112.

6. The Commission recalls that, in addition to Earthwatch, which is a global system for environmental information, Agenda 21, in paragraph 40.13, calls for the more effective coordination also of development data, "perhaps through an equivalent and complementary 'Development Watch'". In this context, the Commission noted the cooperative effort of the organizations of the United Nations system to prepare proposals for the creation of such a Development Watch. It requests UNDP, with the Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development of the United Nations Secretariat, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Bank, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and in cooperation with the regional commissions and other interested organizations, to further define Development Watch and, in this regard, to submit a progress report on the implementation of the programme of work for Development Watch to the Commission at its session in 1997, taking into account the need for a close linkage between Development Watch and Earthwatch.

7. The Commission noted the importance of developing, among the organizations of the United Nations system, a common or compatible system of access to their respective databases, in order to share data fully, to streamline the collection and interpretation of data and to identify data gaps, for the purpose of providing more comprehensive and integrated data to decision makers at the national, regional and international levels. The Commission invites the Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable Development to refine measures for establishing such a common or compatible system and to report thereon to the Commission at its fourth session. The Commission notes also the rapidly growing number of information systems for sustainable development at the national and regional levels, and invites the Secretary-General to consider ways of enhancing compatibility among and access to these systems and to report his findings to the Commission at its session in 1997.

8. Governments are encouraged to develop or conduct studies on the development of indicators of sustainable development in accordance with specific national conditions. In this context, there is a need for coordination, especially through the Commission, of the many intergovernmental and scientific institutions working in this area, as well as a need for intensive international dialogue.

9. The Commission urges bodies such as the Statistical Division of the United Nations Secretariat, the statistical services of Member States and other appropriate institutions, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Statistical Office of the European Communities and major groups to cooperate in the development of indicators of sustainable development. Furthermore, the Commission encourages the scientific community, including the project on indicators of sustainable development undertaken by the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE), to focus its efforts on the development and improvement of such indicators.

10. The Commission reiterates the importance of developing indicators of sustainable development for use by decision makers at the local, regional and national levels and expresses its appreciation to the organizations, both intergovernmental and non-governmental, and the Governments that have contributed to the process of defining a programme of work for the further development of indicators of sustainable development.

11. The Commission approves the programme of work on indicators for sustainable development contained in annex I to the report of the Secretary- General (E/CN.17/1995/18) and calls upon the organizations of the United Nations system, with the support of other intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, and through the coordination of the Department for Programme Coordination and Sustainable Development of the United Nations Secretariat, to implement, within existing resources, the following, as outlined in the programme of work: (a) enhancement of information exchange among all interested actors; (b) development of methodology sheets to be made available to Governments; (c) training and capacity-building at the regional and national levels; (d) testing of an appropriate combination of indicators and monitoring of experiences in a few countries; (e) evaluation of the indicators, including those mentioned in the report of the Secretary-General (E/CN.17/1995/18), and adjustment, as necessary; (f) identification and assessment of linkages among the economic, social, institutional and environmental elements of sustainable development; (g) development of highly aggregated indicators; and (h) further development of the conceptual framework for sustainable development indicators, involving experts from the areas of economics, the social sciences and the physical sciences and policy makers, as well as incorporating non-governmental organization and indigenous views. The Commission requests the Secretariat to provide it with a progress report on the implementation of the programme of work at its fourth session, in 1996.

12. The Commission took note of the report of the Statistical Commission on its twenty-eighth session, 3/ and expresses its appreciation to the Statistical Commission for its offer to collaborate with and support the Commission in its work on indicators for sustainable development. In this context, the Commission also welcomes the action taken by the Statistical Commission with respect to the international compilation of environmental indicators from national statistical services and looks forward to the contribution of this work to the overall programme of work on indicators of sustainable development. The Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development of the United Nations Secretariat should promote and assist these efforts.

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(* Chapter 40 of Agenda 21. For the discussion, see chapter V below.)

1. The Commission on Sustainable Development, having taken note of the report of the Secretary-General on information for decision-making (E/CN.17/1996/18 and Add.1), welcomes the measures taken by Governments to make information more accessible to decision makers at the national level.

2. The Commission expresses its appreciation of the meetings held during the inter-sessional period to further the work and understanding of issues addressed in chapter 40 of Agenda 21, particularly as they relate to indicators of sustainable development, Earthwatch, Development Watch, the establishment of common and compatible systems of access to data, and common core data sets.

3. The Commission takes note of the progress made in the implementation of the work programme on indicators of sustainable development, approved at its third session, and welcomes that progress, particularly with regard to the preparation of methodology sheets for the various indicators.

4. The Commission invites Governments to test, develop and use the indicators of sustainable development based, inter alia, on the work done to date, as appropriate, on identifying the indicators and preparing the corresponding methodology sheets. In this regard, Governments are encouraged, as appropriate, to adopt indicators at the national level and to consider the advantages of working in partnership with other countries in the testing, further development and use of the indicators. For example, twinning between countries with more and less experience in using indicators could prove beneficial to both.

5. The Commission expresses its appreciation of the conclusions of the meeting on common and compatible systems of access to data, and requests the Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development of the Secretariat, in cooperation with other organizations of the United Nations system, and within available resources, to establish a sustainable development home page on the World Wide Web, with "hot links" to relevant databases throughout the United Nations system, as a means to facilitate access by countries to sources of information relevant to sustainable development.

6. The Commission requests the Economic and Social Council's Ad Hoc Open- Ended Working Group on the Need to Harmonize and Improve United Nations Information Systems (for Optimal Utilization and Accessibility by States) to give particular attention to devising a means of facilitating the access of States Members of the United Nations to environmental databases throughout the United Nations system, within available resources.

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Annex : United Nations guidelines for consumer protection

G. Promotion of sustainable consumption

53. Governments, in cooperation with business and other relevant groups, should develop indicators, methodologies and databases for measuring progress towards sustainable consumption at all levels. This information should be publicly available.

Effective policy development and implementation

7. Governments, in cooperation with relevant international organizations and in partnership with major groups, should:

(f) Further develop, test and improve the preliminary set of indicators for sustainable consumption and production developed under the Commission's work programme, focusing on the practical use of the indicators for policy development, taking into account the special needs and conditions of developing countries;

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CSD 2000

Decision on Integrated Planning and Management of Land Resources

7. International cooperation, including that for capacity building, information sharing and technology transfer

31. Governments and relevant international institutions are encouraged to develop and to use at all levels appropriate land-use indicators, best practices and related monitoring systems.

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CSD 2000

Decision on Agriculture adopted

3. International cooperation

(c) United Nations and other international activities

41. Relevant organizations and bodies are encouraged to make further efforts, with special attention to the gender perspective, in developing methodologies and improving coordination for data collection, indicators analysis, monitoring and evaluation of public and private efforts to support sustainable agriculture and rural development.

http://www.earthsummit2002.org/toolkits/Women/un-doku/un-comm/csd/csd2000sard.htm

UN CSD page on CSD-9 topic: information for decision-making and participation: documents, upcoming meetings, etc.

http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/info.htm

The UN CSD / DESA Indicators for Sustainable Development, pilot countries, etc. http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/isd.htm

http://www.un.org/esa/agenda21/natlinfo/niau/csd9/part6e.htm

CPD 1994

Chapter III. Programme questions

B. Proposed programme of work for the biennium 1994-1995

2. World population projections

84. The Commission noted with satisfaction that the 1994 revision of the global population estimates and projections was currently in preparation, that the projection horizon had been extended to the year 2050, and that the 1994 revision would provide age and sex distributions and demographic indicators for countries with 150,000 or more inhabitants, and for the numerous newly independent States

http://www.earthsummit2002.org/toolkits/Women/un-doku/un-comm/cpop/pop1994.htm

III. WORK PROGRAMME OF THE COMMISSION ON POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT

The following reports […] will be prepared annually

(3) World Population Monitoring. This will be an annual report on a special set of themes of the Programme of Action. Its preparation will be coordinated by the Population Division. In their in-depth consideration of the annual set of themes, each of these reports could be structured so as to give adequate attention to, inter alia, the following items: (a) issues and trends, with appropriate attention to progress to date, cross-cutting concerns and problems of different regions and subregions, including developing countries; (b) relevant policies, plans, programmes and activities of Governments, the United Nations system and non- governmental organizations, and what is known about their impact; (c) priority areas for future action; and (d) requirements for data, indicators and future research. A concise summary of the report will be made available in all the official languages.

1. The Commission has reviewed the work programme for the biennium 1996-1997. It underlines the need for the work programme to take fully into account the outcome of the International Conference on Population and Development and forthcoming conferences and summits such as the World Summit for Social Development, the Fourth World Conference on Women and the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), and the ongoing consideration of an agenda for development, as well as annex I to the present report. It suggests that the work programme:

(a) Continue to give high priority to the monitoring of population trends and policies;

(b) Undertake biennial preparation of estimates and projections of global, national, urban, rural and city populations, including demographic indicators and age structure, in order to provide internationally comparable data as the basis for policy and programme formulation and implementation;

3. The Commission noted that the follow-up to the International Conference on Population and Development would require the Population Division to be involved in new work such as the elaboration of reproductive health indicators and the interrelationship between migration and development. The Commission recommends the strengthening of the Secretariat in the field of population, from within existing resources, in order to ensure adequate preparation and support for the Commission on Population and Development.

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CPD 1996

Chapter I. Matters calling for action by the Economic and Social Council or brought to its attention

A. Draft resolution

12. Requests the Task Force on Basic Social Services to coordinate the development of appropriate indicators, taking into account relevant research, so that progress in addressing reproductive health needs by individual countries can be assessed on a reliable basis;

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CPD 1997

Chapter I. Matters calling for action by the Economic and Social Council or brought to its attention

C. Matters brought to the attention of the Council

Resolution 1997/1. Technical symposium on international migration*

The Commission on Population and Development,

4. Also invites the Working Group to develop an agenda for the technical symposium that builds on existing recommendations on definitions of international migration, focuses on the identification of measurable indicators, and analyses the complex interrelationships between international migration and development, including the experiences on policies concerning the management of international migration;

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