Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific:

This morning the representatives from the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) began work towards their report on innovative pathways to achieve sustainable consumption and production. Representatives made impassioned speeches yesterday evening and continued today, but the focus has shifted away from the necessity of action and toward the most efficient way to proceed. Within this discussion, there were two main approaches on how to proceed. The first was to allow the discussion to proceed without specific organization, and the second has been referred to as the “Mongolia plan” and it calls for the separation of the discussion into four sub groups: social status, employment, infrastructure, and education. The goal of this approach is to narrow down the conversations so that resolutions are passed efficiently and their topics are not overly broad, though there is intersectionality. The body has proceeded to implement the four point plan spearheaded by Mongolia.

One of the many challenges representatives face while negotiating is the influence that history and status have on Member State’s goals and perspectives. ESCAP is a commission focused on Asia and the Pacific, which means that Member States in Asia and the Pacific are the ones most affected by it. A divide has arisen between some of the smaller States in Asia and larger Western States, particularly having to do with financial support. While the representatives from these Western States have acknowledged the existence and importance of sovereignty, Member States such as Afghanistan and Pakistan have concerns about their intentions. Specifically, that the Western States will use their monetary contributions and these common goals as leverage to push their own political agenda, or they would allocate more funds to the solutions that would be most beneficial for them rather than quality of life as a whole. The Representatives of China have taken some of the pressure off of this conflict by offering financial support to smaller States that do not want to accept funds from states that contributed to their economic problems. All Member States seem eager to start getting things done but collaboration is not easy, particularly due to the significant cultural difference as well as the complicated historical relationships between Member States. 

Another idea that was discussed was to change or expand the working definition of disability, with the intent of improving the standards for inclusion. One of the representatives used the example of subtitles to explain the goal. When you go to a movie theater to see a movie, it typically will not have subtitles. So, if you happen to need subtitles you have a limited amount of opportunities to enjoy a movie, of course this applies to infrastructure and technology that is much more essential to daily life than movie theaters. This type of separate but equal “inclusion” is predominant, but the Representative of Singapore and several other States acknowledge this problem and are attempting to avoid it while they make their recommendations for policy.