IMPORTANCE OF NATIONAL EXECUTION IN FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY STRESSED BY ZIMBABWE'S REPRESENTATIVE IN SECOND COMMITTEE

14 October 1997

Press Release
GA/EF/2761

IMPORTANCE OF NATIONAL EXECUTION IN FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY STRESSED BY ZIMBABWE'S REPRESENTATIVE IN SECOND COMMITTEE

19971014 As Debate on World Economic Situation Continues, Role of UN In Counterbalancing Negative Effects of Globalization Addressed by Speakers

The achievement of rapid economic growth did not necessarily lead to the elimination of poverty, the representative of Zimbabwe told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) this morning, as it continued its general debate on the world economic situation.

He said the national execution modality of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was a good example of the macroeconomic policies and development programmes which were necessary in the fight against poverty. That programme gave the host country meaningful ownership, and the UNDP should not let such an innovative approach be killed by bureaucratic and accounting bottlenecks.

The representative of Israel said that without food security, the world would never be able to successfully eradicate poverty. Serious attention should also be given to education, health, changing technologies and empowerment of the rural sector.

The United Nations could counterbalance the negative aspects of globalization, the representative of Indonesia said. The Organization could also assist countries to effectively integrate into the mainstream global economy without incurring disruptive and punitive economic, social and cultural costs.

The representative of Papua New Guinea called for the rejection of conditions on cooperation and assistance often imposed by international financial institutions. Those conditions were subjective and counter- productive to the development needs of countries that were already burdened by structural adjustment programmes, market volatility and rising external debts.

Statements were also made by Mexico, Algeria, Senegal, Ethiopia, Peru, Ukraine, Fiji and Kazakhstan. A representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also spoke.

The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its general debate.

Committee Work Programme

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this morning to continue its general debate on the world economic situation.

Statements

MARCO PROVENCO (Mexico) said the current session of the General Assembly would allow Member States the opportunity to move forward in the process of United Nations reform, particularly in the restructuring and revitalizing of the social and economic sectors. Although economic reports, including that of the World Bank, showed that the prospects for the world economy were favourable in the short-term, the international community must pledge to redouble efforts to ensure that the benefits were disseminated to all countries.

It was vital that the opportunities of globalization benefited all countries in every region of the world, he said. Recently the Economic and Social Council had adopted agreed conclusions recognizing that partnership was needed to create a favourable environment for development, but all of those decisions would come to nothing if the weakest members of the international community were not adequately supported. Companies and governments must seek to become part of the global dynamics in the best possible way. States must also be more effective in their responses to social demands, particularly in the context of the realities created by globalization.

Virtually no country nor region of the world was immune to the dynamics of migratory flows, he said. His Government supported the principle of shared responsibility and concerted action among countries, respectful of sovereignty. Only then could constructive, integral and long-term solutions be found to that troubling problem. Mexico recognized that all countries should be allowed to watch over their borders and regulate foreigners coming into their territory, but those rights should not violate the rights of migrants. His Government rejected repressive police measures which were used to prevent and control migratory flows as such methods interfered with the relations amongst bordering countries.

JIMMY OVIA (Papua New Guinea) said markets alone, brewing its own independent recipe for prosperity, would not resolve the recurring problems faced by developing countries in the era of trade liberalization and globalization. The principles of free global markets were still being selectively applied.

Stressing that financing for development remained a critical issue to long-term stability, peace and security not just for individuals but also for States, he called for the strengthening of multilateral cooperation. The Committee had a great opportunity to push development to the forefront of the

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international debate. Pledging his support for universal principles of stable and democratic good governance, he, however, rejected the conditions often imposed by international financial institutions on cooperation and assistance. Such conditions were subjective and counter-productive to development needs of countries already stressed by structural adjustment programmes, market volatility and rising external debts.

ABDALLAH BAALI (Algeria) said the growth of the world economy reflected a real recovery that hopefully would benefit all countries. But in order to benefit all, there must be greater participation of all countries in global markets. The contribution made by developing countries was ridiculously small when compared to their potential and the role they aspired to play. The uncertainties and negative trends present in certain regions of the world should force the international community to judiciously pursue solutions in order to develop an economic situation that could afford the participation of all countries.

The United Nations also had a major role to play along those lines, he continued. In the context of globalization, it was appropriate to confirm the driving role played by economic growth in any development process. It was imperative to integrate developing countries into globalization, and that process should deal with the essential concerns and renewed commitments made in terms of technology transfer, debt relief and poverty eradication.

The "Agenda for Development" was the fruit of extensive negotiations, he said. Therefore, it was regrettable that at a time when globalization was imperative for all, there had been attempts to sideline the United Nations as an organization committed to achieving a concerted approach in negotiations on economic issues. Any real reform of the Untied Nations must have the following objectives: to affirm the role of the United Nations; to institute a real democratic process in institutional decision-making; to enhance the role of the South in economic issues; and to expand resources to spur development. The continued decline in resources seriously compromised multilateral United Nations action and damaged the credibility of certain organs and bodies of the Organization. Development must be viewed as a whole in order to be truly sustainable, and its parts could not be divorced for themselves.

IBRA DEGUENE KA (Senegal) said for globalization and liberalization to be meaningful it must be people-centred. Human beings must remain the goal of development. He warned about a deepening gulf between the rich nations of the North and the poorer ones of the South. The coexistence of wealth and poverty had become too flagrant and intolerable. Persistent imbalances in international economic system contained in them the seeds of destabilization and insecurity.

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Warning about growing poverty and marginalization of more than 1 billion people, he called for a common understanding of needs and interests to solve the many problems faced by the world today. Senegal and other African countries had begun the implementation of the treaty on harmonization of business laws in Africa. That treaty would strengthen legal instruments in Africa and between Africa and the world and make the business environment attractive to foreign investment. That was one of the ways in which Africa was fighting back against the grim predictions and cliches of a continent beset by fratricidal conflicts and humanitarian emergency.

MAKARIM WIBISONO (Indonesia) said that despite the efforts of the least developed countries to adjust to globalization, many of those countries remained in the grip of wrenching poverty, acute unemployment and crushing external indebtedness. A majority of the world's population lived under subsistence level. It had become clear that the basic problems of globalization had not yet been seriously addressed. Rather than asking the vulnerable economies to further open up their economies, top priority should be assigned to developing an external environment to facilitate their development efforts. Even those developing countries which were in a better position to avail themselves to the more liberalized markets and investment flows ran profound risk, as clearly demonstrated by the recent currency upheavals in south-east Asia. It was imperative, particularly in the globalized economy, to redouble efforts to achieve a spirit of multilateral cooperation for development and to eradicate poverty.

The United Nations could counterbalance the negative aspects of globalization and assist all countries in effectively integrating into the mainstream global economy without incurring disruptive and punitive economic, social and cultural costs, he said. For those reasons, his Government welcomed the Secretary-General's report on United Nations reform.

In order to strengthen the role of the Untied Nations in achieving the basic goals of sustainable human development and the eradication of poverty, reforms should seek primarily to promote the core issues of development, particularly trade, money, finance, indebtedness, technology and information, he said. Unless those areas were adequately addressed, it might be impossible to attain the development objectives. It was also important that the reform process was complemented by efforts to ensure that the United Nations was financially sound and that its development activities were assured of continued and predictable financing.

BERHANU KEBEDE (Ethiopia) said existing imbalances and inequalities in the international economic system could be corrected through the cardinal principles of genuine partnership. Despite the efforts of many developing countries to liberalize their economies, cut government spending, institute sound macroeconomic policies and enhance the role of the private sector and civil society, they had not gained access to or enjoyed the benefits of the

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expanding global market and growing investment opportunities. He blamed that situation on underdevelopment, protectionism and the ever-deteriorating terms of trade.

Stressing that special attention should be given to the full implementation of the specific measures in the Marrakesh agreements concerning their possible negative effects on the least developed countries, he called for those countries' increased participation in processing, marketing and distribution of commodities. The international community must improve the functioning of the commodity markets to make them more transparent, stable and predictable. The international community should also respond favourably to requests for technical assistance to diversify the export sector of developing countries which were dependent on the export of a limited number of commodities.

MARITZA RODRIGUEZ (Peru) said during the current session the Committee was faced with two challenges: to lay the groundwork to make it more dynamic and effective and to formulate more focused resolutions that would rally greater interest and support from the Member States. Now was the time to act. Her Government had high hopes that the international community might manage to work in concert on the important economic issues of the day. The work of the United Nations in that area meshed and dovetailed with work of other organizations and bodies, including the World Trade Organization and the Bretton Woods institutions and the conventions on climate change and desertification, as well as other "post-Rio" conventions. The Committee's work in those areas must be infused with fresh energy, especially when considering the continued downturn in development aid.

A resolution concerning financial worldwide integration and the imbalance of monetary markets was important in the context of the work of the Second Committee, she said. Recently, her Government had witnessed with concern how imbalances adversely affected the economies of many countries, particularly nascent market economies. For that reason a dialogue on development financing should be pursued, and the most recent high-level segment of the Economic and Social Council recognized the worth of following through on that subject.

Expressing concern over the heavy social and economic consequences brought by El Nino to Peru and its neighbours, she proposed that the United Nations improve its follow-up operations concerning natural disasters. She called on all Member States to ensure that the Third Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change would result in a realistic agreement that would benefit all of mankind.

SERHIY REVA (Ukraine) said the state of the world environment remained a source of concern, with patterns of consumption and production changing too

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slowly and insufficient attention being paid to the ecological factors in national strategies. The mechanism of transfer of environmentally sound technologies needed to be substantially improved.

Explaining that it was impossible to tackle environmental problems without addressing the consequences of large-scale man-made catastrophes such as the Chernobyl nuclear power disaster, he called on the international community to assist Ukraine and other nations in the region to find a comprehensive solution to the Chernobyl problem, which could not be eliminated simply by decommissioning the plant.

MACHIVENYIKA T. MAPURANGA (Zimbabwe) said it had been over one year since the United Nations System-wide Special Initiative on Africa had been launched. During that period, African countries had not seen any discernable progress in its implementation. It was difficult for Africans to claim ownership of the Initiative, and more work needed to be done at the country level in popularizing its objectives.

The economic gap between Africa and the rest of the regions of the world was widening, he said. The 1997 World Investment Report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) stated that African countries had experienced small growth in investment flows amounting to $5 billion in 1996, which was only 3.8 per cent of the total inflows to developing countries. Yet, progress had been made in regional economic cooperation in promoting intra-regional trade, harmonizing fiscal and monetary polices and eliminating impediments to cross-border movement of goods and services. Despite those innovative approaches to Africa's economic problems, the continent was plagued by major problems, particularly growing external indebtedness, worsening terms of trade and capital flight.

Poverty was fast becoming the gravest human challenge. However, the question of addressing poverty was absent from the national agenda of most developing countries, he said. Poverty eradication was seen as an automatic offshoot of economic growth, but that had not been the case. Achieving rapid economic growth did not necessarily eliminate poverty. Instead, poverty- sensitive macroeconomic policies and development programmes were required. His Government applauded the national execution modality of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which gave the host country meaningful ownership and put them in the driver's seat. The UNDP should not let that innovative approach be killed by the exigencies of bureaucracy and accounting bottlenecks.

JUSTIN B. ZULU, Special Representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to the United Nations, summarized the key conclusions and decisions on globalization, governance and sustainable development of the recent joint IMF and World Bank annual meeting, held in Hong Kong, China. He said global opening and integration in economies, finance and trade offered the surest

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path to greater overall prosperity, and the countries best placed to enjoy the benefits of globalization were those restructuring their economies to make them more market-based and outward-growth oriented.

Explaining the long-term benefits of the productive use of capital inflows, he said the IMF had been empowered by its Board of Governors to promote the orderly liberalization of capital movements. Governors had also recognized the vital importance of sound policies on the part of member countries and the continuing need for effective surveillance by the IMF.

To achieve sustainable development, he said bolder reforms were needed, including the administration of taxes and public expenditure systems as well as improving the transparency of fiscal accounting. Countries should also focus social programmes on sectors like health and education, and reduce their excessive military expenditures. Reforms must be aimed at achieving more private sector development. Sound banking systems were also essential for macroeconomic stability and strengthening markets.

POSECI BUNE (Fiji) said it was clear that the current trends in globalization and liberalization were marginalizing developing countries and enriching the already powerful and wealthy countries. The World Trade Organization (WTO) was designed as a vehicle for enhancing international trade at the global level and in creating a level playing field for all Member States. That was unrealistic since the realities were that economies of members of the WTO differed in terms of economies of size, resource base, technology, level of skilled personnel, geographical location and transport problems. As a member of WTO, Fiji was concerned with the lack of tangible and visible benefits since the organization had been set up. Recent reports had highlighted that even before the new WTO agreements became operational, pressure was exerted on developing countries to prevent them from exercising their sovereign right to take import-control measures for balance of payment reasons. Putting such pressures on developing countries was highly detrimental to their sustained economic growth.

He went on to say that it was difficult for middle-income countries like Fiji, to obtain access to loans when needed due to certain criteria such as structural adjustment, good governance and gross national product (GNP) per capita, which were to be fulfilled before loans were approved from either the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Those criteria should be reviewed as soon as possible. For example, Fiji's GNP per capita was above the recommended rate, which made it ineligible to get access to loans. The GNP criterion, while presentable on paper, did not fully address the rising poverty in both rural and urban areas of the country. He urged that a review be undertaken using analytical tools, including social indicators, as part of the package in appraising a country's overall development performance.

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ARIEL KEREM (Israel) said food security was still an overriding necessity in much of the world and without it, the world would not be able to eliminate poverty. Serious attention must also be given to education, health, changing technologies and the organization, security and political empowerment of the rural sector.

In cases of conflicts, the peace process must be linked to the developmental process, he said. Assurances of development and better life guaranteed conflict settlement. Reviewing Israel's development over the past 50 years, he said his country had been always ready to share its experience, approaches, ideas and mistakes with others. The denial of its membership of a regional group would continue to hamper Israel's contributions to the United Nations system as well as to the progress and development of the world.

AKMARAL ARYSTANBEKOVA (Kazakhstan) said the economic environment for development had undergone substantial changes in recent years. The times themselves required a country to give up a national approach in solving economic problems and to join the efforts of the entire international community in finding solutions to global economic problems. The United Nations should seek ways to move forward in achieving that fundamental goal in the context of the current conditions of change, and that should also be the main goal of the United Nations reform process. She supported the Secretary- General's reform proposals to strengthen the Economic and Social Council and enhance the units of the Organization that specialized in economic and social matters. The establishment of United Nations development group should also be approved. One of the main tasks of the United Nations was to assist in the formation of a favourable economic environment for all Member States, she stressed.

It was vital for Kazakhstan that the "Agenda for Development" reflected the specific problems of countries in transition and landlocked countries, she said. The results of measures undertaken by the United Nations were some of the factors which contributed to the overall improvement of the countries in transition, but those countries continued to experience social and economic difficulties that hindered their full integration into the world economy. Further technical assistance from United Nations agencies and bodies was needed to help speed up market reforms, attract foreign investment and ease the distribution of those countries' goods into the world market.

For the first time since its independence, Kazakhstan had recently recorded real economic growth, she said. Her Government was actively trying to make use of various methods for cooperation with the United Nations, as well as other regional organizations, in the process of providing assistance. Kazakhstan was also preparing to become a member of the WTO, which would help the country become an integral part of world trade relations.

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