United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

Map showing the member states of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP or UNESCAP) is one of the five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council.<ref name="UIA">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was established in order to increase economic activity in Asia and the Far East, as well as to foster economic relations between the region and other areas of the world.<ref name="E-RES-37(IV)" />

The commission is composed of 53 member states and nine associate members, mostly from the Asia and Pacific regions.<ref name="Member States" /> In addition to countries in Asia and the Pacific, the commission's members includes France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The region covered by the commission is home to 4.1 billion people, or two-thirds of the world's population, making ESCAP the most comprehensive of the United Nations' five regional commissions.<ref name="About">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

HistoryEdit

The commission was first established by the Economic and Social Council on 28 March 1947 as the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) to assist in post-war economic reconstruction. Its main mandate was to "initiate and participate in measures for facilitating concerted action for the economic reconstruction and development of Asia and the Far East."<ref name="E-RES-37(IV)">Template:UN doc</ref>

On 1 August 1974, the commission was renamed to the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) by the Economic and Social Council to reflect both the economic and social aspects of the Commission's work, as well as geographic location of its members.<ref name="History">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:UN doc</ref>

Member statesEdit

There are a total of 53 full ESCAP member states and nine associate members, four of the member states are not geographically located in Asia or Oceania.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Full member statesEdit

The following countries are the full member states of the commission:<ref name="Member States">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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Notes:

^* Not geographically located in Asia or Oceania

^# Least Developed Country

^† Continuation of membership of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)

^ǂ Continuation of membership of the Republic of China (ROC)

^{^} Continuation of membership of the French Fourth Republic

Associate membersEdit

The following countries and territories are the associate members of the commission:<ref name="Member States" />

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Template:Flagcountry^* (28 July 1988)
Template:Flagcountry^* (11 July 1972)
Template:Flagcountry^* (31 July 1992)
Template:Flagcountry^* (24 July 1981)
Template:Flagcountry^{* †} (25 November 1947)
Template:Flagcountry^{* ǂ} (26 July 1991)
Template:Flagcountry^* (31 July 1992)
Template:Flagcountry^* (03 August 1979)
Template:Flagcountry^* (22 July 1986)

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Notes:

^* Not a member state of the United Nations

^† Change of name from Hong Kong to Hong Kong, China (01 July 1997)

^ǂ Change of name to Macau, China (20 December 1999) and further changed to Macao, China (04 February 2000)

LocationsEdit

HeadquartersEdit

File:United Nations Building Bangkok at Evening with Riot Police.jpg

The commission's headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand

The commission was originally located in Shanghai, China, from its foundation until 1949, when it moved its headquarters to the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand.<ref name="History" />

Subregional officesEdit

The commission maintains five subregional offices in order to better target and deliver programs, given the large size of the region.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The subregions and their headquarters are as follows:<ref>List of countries in the Asia-Pacific region and subregions</ref>

East and North East Asia (ENEA) subregional headquarters – Incheon, Republic of Korea
North and Central Asia (NCA) subregional headquarters – Almaty, Kazakhstan
South and South West Asia (SSWA) subregional headquarters – New Delhi, India
South East Asia (SEA) / ASEAN subregional headquarters – Jakarta, Indonesia
The Pacific (PACIFIC) subregional headquarters – Suva, Fiji

Executive secretariesEdit

The following is a list of the executive secretaries of the commission since its foundation:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Dag Hammarskjöld">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Member states
	Secretary	Country	Term
11	Armida S. Alisjahbana	Template:Flagcountry	2018–present
10	Shamshad Akhtar	Template:Flagcountry	2014–2018
9	Noeleen Heyzer	Template:Flagcountry	2007–2014
8	Kim Hak-su	Template:Flagdeco Republic of Korea	2000–2007
7	Adrianus Mooy	Template:Flagcountry	1995–2000
6	Rafeeuddin Ahmed	Template:Flagcountry	1992–1994
5	Shah A M S Kibria	Template:Flagcountry	1981–1992
4	J. B. P. Maramis	Template:Flagcountry	1973–1981
3	U Nyun	Template:Flagcountry	1959–1973
2	Chakravarthi V. Narasimhan	Template:Flagcountry	1956–1959
1	Palamadai S. Lokanathan	Template:Flagcountry	1947–1956

Themes and programmesEdit

Implementing Sustainable Development GoalsEdit

The road map of ESCAP on coherent implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals has not prioritized specific SDGs, but rather it has identified priority areas. Third-party consultations have fed into this road map, which also aimed to activate third parties, such as UN funds, specialized agencies, and regional organizations, to provide more support to Member States. The commission furthermore engages with other regional actors to link their agendas to the SDGs. One example is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Community Vision 2025. However, regional agendas outside the SDG framework are continually evolving, as exemplified by the new ASEAN Recovery Framework and ASEAN’s Vision 2040.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite journal File:CC-BY icon.svg Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</ref>

ESCAP has also established novel tools to structure its support to its member states and others. Examples include ESCAP’s SDG Rapid Response facility, used for individual and shared support requests, and its SDG Helpdesk, which offers a platform with tools, knowledge products, expertise, good practices, advice, opportunities for peer learning, and regional South-South Cooperation.<ref name=":2" /> ESCAP also seeks to create interaction between debtors and creditors with a focus on the small island states in the Pacific. To date, this has been done through a Regional Debt Conference, rather than some more permanent tool.<ref name=":2" />

ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

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