STATES MUST STOP TALKING, TAKE REAL POLITICAL ACTION TO END POVERTY, SAYS GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT IN POVERTY ERADICATION DAY MESSAGE

17 October 1996

Press Release
GA/9137

STATES MUST STOP TALKING, TAKE REAL POLITICAL ACTION TO END POVERTY, SAYS GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT IN POVERTY ERADICATION DAY MESSAGE

19961017 Measures Urged Include Military Expenditure Reduction, Unconditional Debt Relief, Protection from Private Sector Excess

The following is the text of the message of the President of the General Assembly, Razali Ismail (Malaysia), to commemorate the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, on 17 October:

A year ago at the World Summit for Social Development, over 100 political leaders committed themselves to "the goal of eradicating poverty through national actions and international cooperation, as an ethical, social, political and economic imperative of humankind". This year, 1996, has been proclaimed the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty, its objective being "to create greater awareness of the fact that the eradication of poverty is fundamental to reinforcing peace and achieving sustainable development", and to catalyse concrete actions resulting in a "distinct and significant contribution to the efforts to eradicate poverty".

I find it somewhat distressing that the international community still needs to design a commemorative campaign, complete with logo, to remind us of our responsibilities and promises to eradicate the scourge of poverty, which affects billions of lives. Surely the international community no longer needs descriptive narratives and data about the scale of the problem. How can we not be aware of poverty, when its multi-dimensional causes and effects have been analysed, and its solutions been prescribed year after year through programmes, research and conferences? And yet, the tentacles of poverty widen to ensnare a greater number of people each year, despite repeated pledges by governments to fight the scourge, and despite the expansion of the global economy. Central to the battle to eradicate global poverty is the inertia of those who proclaim their political intentions to do so, but fail to follow through. The time has arrived when political commitments to combat poverty must no longer be confined to making hollow declarations and holding commemorations.

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The United Nations Charter enshrines the ideals of social justice and equity for all nations, and for all peoples. We are still struggling to meet those lofty goals. It is unfortunate that the delivery capacity of the United Nations inter-governmental process to eradicate poverty and meet the needs of the majority of people have not succeeded very well, if at all. The facts and figures speak for themselves. But experience has taught us that a peaceful and sustainable future will only be possible if the human person is placed at the centre of the development process, and only if the structural causes of poverty, unemployment, social disintegration and environmental degradation are addressed. It is important that we recognize that mistakes have been made, and that development models and policies can no longer assume a lone and central role for the nation State.

Today the discourse on development revolves around new terms and concepts. The framework of international development cooperation and official development assistance (ODA) has given way to "globalization", free-market forces and private sector-led economic growth. Bearing in mind that development and poverty are complex problems requiring integrated solutions, I would urge caution before this new doctrine is freely applied as the global solution to achieve equitable and sustainable social development. If a reinvigorated United Nations is to retain a central and determining role in poverty alleviation and the coordination of development policy, the United Nations must be able to redress the negative effects of debt and structural adjustment policies as an urgent priority.

We all know that poverty generates social dislocation, encourages racism and mass movements of people across borders, increases the risks of disaffection and civil strife, and undermines the basic rights of people, particularly of women and indigenous peoples. It is equally well known that social development and the eradication of poverty can only be achieved if all human rights -- civil, political, economic, social and cultural, are recognized and fulfilled as prerequisites for equitable and sustainable development.

Why then, with all this knowledge, do we seem unable to put words into practice? It remains a puzzle and a disappointment that Member States of the United Nations seem able only to define the pressing issues of our times such as poverty, and to repeat the call for "political commitment" to alleviate such problems. But the manifestations of political will as the most critical ingredient in our efforts for a better world remain elusive. If the international community concedes that democratic principles and popular participation in the development process are necessary for its success, we are led to question the motives of governments that pledge to meet ODA commitments and transfer technology, but do not in fact honour those promises. How do the electorates of these countries view such actions, if the effect is to

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perpetuate poverty? Is there not an international consciousness of these electorates, even if their governments renege on commitments? At the same time, we see that many developing countries have manifested political will by making enormous economic, political and social adjustments to harmonize market access and trade regulations, even though these policies are often to their disadvantage.

I urge all Member States of the United Nations to stop speaking about the eradication of poverty, and concentrate instead on real and political actions that do so. The possibilities are numerous:

-- For example, governments should commit themselves to reducing military expenditure and increase spending on health care and education instead. We should no longer tolerate the industries and merchants of sophisticated weapons who sell destructive technologies to countries whose resources could be better used for development.

-- There should be immediate cancellation of bilateral, multilateral and commercial debt of developing countries, and without imposing conditionalities that hurt the poor and the vulnerable.

-- The Bretton Woods institutions should be made transparent and decisions taken there should be coordinated with those taken at the United Nations. Only then will the solemn political commitments made at Copenhagen to treat poverty as an "ethical, social, political and economic imperative of humankind" be judged as genuine, and not merely empty rhetoric.

-- Governments of rich countries, and the elites of the North and South must recognize their special responsibility in alleviating poverty by making choices that alter their unsustainable consumption patterns and lifestyles.

-- Governments must recognize the importance of public policy that regulates against the excesses of the market place and the private sector. If the private sector is to be acknowledged as an equal partner to governments in the development process, they must be guided by minimum standards of conduct and practice in order to safeguard social equity and the environment.

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