SECOND COMMITTEE HEARS CALL FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY BASED ON RECOGNITION OF OWNERSHIP AND DIGNITY OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

14 October 1997

Press Release
GA/EF/2762

SECOND COMMITTEE HEARS CALL FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY BASED ON RECOGNITION OF OWNERSHIP AND DIGNITY OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

19971014 Sustainable Development of Small Island States, Multilateral Trade And Regional Integration, Transition from Conflict to Development Also Addressed

The time had come for a new development strategy constructed on the philosophy of global partnership and grounded on the clear recognition of the ownership and dignity of developing countries, the representative of Japan told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) this afternoon, as it continued its general debate on the world economic situation. For development efforts to succeed, each State must take the initiative in formulating its own strategy, and the donor community must provide fully coordinated support, he continued. Ownership and partnership must also be vigorously pursued in the development activities of the United Nations. The funds and programmes should also emphasize capacity-building, which would contribute to the enhancement of the sense of ownership. The sustainable development of small island States was a global concern that required partnerships between developed and developing countries, the representative of Jamaica said. Speaking on behalf of the members States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), he said those States expected concrete proposals from the forthcoming review of the implementation of the programme of action adopted by the Barbados Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Island Developing States. The representative of Uruguay, speaking for the member countries of the Common Market of the Southern Cone (MERCOSUR), said liberalization and strengthened multilateral trade systems should be complemented by regional integration. Such an approach would act to promote trade expansion and investment growth. Guatemala's representative said countries which were making the transition from conflict to development needed international cooperation in the social, economic and environmental areas. Statements were also made by the representatives of the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Czech Republic, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Azerbaijan, Colombia and Malawi. Representatives of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) also spoke. The Committee will meet again at 11 a.m. tomorrow, Wednesday, 15 October, to continue its general debate.

Committee Work Programme

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

Statements

JOSE FERNANDEZ (Philippines) said the United Nations could not remain indifferent to the widening divide in the social and economic conditions of developed and developing countries or to the widening gap between rich and poor, among and within countries. The United Nations must be strengthened in order for it to fulfil its role and functions in the development field, and the Committee must provide the leadership in attaining that goal. The Organization remained the only universal international institution and must play a key role in promoting international cooperation for sustained economic growth and development of the developing countries. Core economic issues must be returned to the top of the agenda of the United Nations, including international trade, money and finance, external debt and access to science and technology.

The international community must demonstrate the political will to ensure an open, rule-based and equitable multilateral trading system, he said. That system must be non-discriminatory, transparent and predictable and should aim at achieving the complete integration of the developing countries into the world economy and the new international trading system. He called for the full implementation of the Uruguay Round agreements. The provisions of the Final Act of the Round on special and differentiated treatment for developing countries -- particularly the least developed countries and the net food- importing countries -- must be translated into concrete measures, including compensation, enhanced market access provisions and financial assistance towards structural economic transformation.

PARK SOO GIL (Republic of Korea) said it was no coincidence that both the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the President of the World Bank had recently called attention to the dangers inherent in globalization. Yet there were also signs that globalization could also affect positive change, including economic growth in an increasing number of countries throughout the world. Developing countries posted a 5.6 per cent growth rate in 1996, which was the highest rate in 20 years. In light of the mixed blessing brought by globalization, a pressing issue before the United Nations was the role of public policy to maximize the role of global market integration. The United Nations should strengthen its role in seeking new paradigms in economic cooperation, including greater market access and strategic flows of investment. However, market integration needed to be accompanied by well-crafted public policy in order to maximize the benefits and minimize the negative affects of globalization.

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Africa was one of the most important topics in any discussion of economic or social development, he said. The international community should do more to support African States in assisting them to achieve full market access and increase foreign direct investment. His Government also intended to build upon its earnest investment for development in Africa, which would include workshops and a group meeting on micro-credit.

Regarding United Nations reform, he agreed that the Organization's role in economic and social affairs should be strengthened. His Government also supported the strengthening of the Economic and Social Council as a means of enhancing international cooperation on economic and social issues. In the process of reform, Member States should ensure that changes were not made that inadvertently undermined the unique identity of individual United Nations agencies.

KAREL ZEBRAKOVSKY (Czech Republic) said his country supported efforts to simplify and streamline the structure of subsidiary bodies of the Economic and Social Council in line with General Assembly resolution 50/227, on further measures for the restructuring and revitalization of the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields.

He said growing political instability, illogical economic measures and security problems were obstacles to international development efforts. The marginalization threat in the global economic environment was one of the consequences of those political and security problems. The challenge posed by the post-cold-war situation and the newly differentiated world had not been effectively addressed by world organizations. The United Nations must be strengthened to be a respected force in the economic and social fields and to reaffirm its global policy guideline.

Explaining that the protection of the environment and sustainable development constituted the most dynamic aspects of international cooperation, he called on all the relevant United Nations bodies to implement their mandate in those areas with new vigour.

HUSSAM EDIN A'ALA (Syria) said the growth rates of most developing countries remained insufficient to meet the difficult challenges caused by globalization and liberalization. Those countries continued to pay a social cost as they faced those challenges, and the international economic environment was not sufficient for the developing countries to achieve sustainable development. Protectionist trends and unilateral measures were some of the practices that kept the old economic order. All of that presented great obstacles and challenges that further worsened the danger of marginalizing a large number of economies.

At major United Nations conferences held in the 1990s, plans of action were adopted which laid down measures for a partnership for development, he

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said. But real political will was needed to bring forth the pledges made by developed countries at those conferences. There were several other problems which must be dealt with by the United Nations, including matters concerning the protection of intellectual property. The June General Assembly's special session to review implementation of Agenda 21, the programme of action adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) (Rio de Janeiro, June 1992), had supplied another opportunity to attack those problems by stimulating development and environment efforts. Yet, the special session had not been successful, and had not led to a renewal of commitments to the promises made at Rio.

His Government was aware that there must be a collective facing-up to the challenges of globalization and, along with other countries, had formed a collective Arab market, he said. Sustainable development efforts in the Middle East, however, continued to encounter problems due to the Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan, West Bekka and Palestinian territories. Israel's failure to meet commitments under the principle of "land for peace" was the major obstacle to a just and lasting peace in the region. The spirit of aggression must be overthrown if there would ever be peace and security in the Middle East.

JORGE PEREZ-OTERMIN (Uruguay), speaking on behalf of the countries members of the Common Market of the Southern Cone (MERCOSUR), said regional integration was conceived of as a development tool to open economies to the world and the new set of regulations governing international trade. That formation was the outgrowth of joint efforts to reduce tariff barriers and establish and common tariffs. The MERCOSUR was designed to serve as springboard to propel its member countries forward and toward global integration. Regarding gross national product (GNP), MERCOSUR had turned into an emerging market with the most output to distribute to its citizens, and it was a clear-cut model of open regional integration.

Liberalization and the strengthening of multilateral trade systems were priorities and must be complemented by regional integration to promote trade expansion and investment growth, he said. Priority attention must also be paid to the evaluation and implementation of the various Uruguay Round agreements, particularly in the area of agriculture. For the member countries of MERCOSUR, agriculture was essential to maintaining an adequate level of food production and fundamental in reducing the level of poverty. The MERCOSUR emphasized the need for full compliance with the commitments reached at the conclusion of the Uruguay Round. Its member countries were firmly convinced that fighting poverty was the most important mission to be pursued in the next century.

JULIO ARMANDO MARTINI HERRERA (Guatemala) said the issue of international cooperation deserved special attention because of its importance to development in his country and its complex linkage to peace, political stability and the consolidation of democracy.

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As a country in transition from conflict to development, he said, Guatemala was in need of international cooperation that would include social, economic and environmental components. Support for the economic integration of Central America, the fight against poverty, and continued progress in the protection of the environment and sustainable development constituted building blocks in the efforts to consolidate development in the subregion.

TALAAT ABU-RASHID (Saudi Arabia) said the international community should create a favourable environment for global trade by discouraging protectionist measures and barriers that were often placed on the path of developing countries in their attempt to enter the global market.

Calling sustainable development the main challenge to mankind at the threshold of a new millennium, he said meeting the food needs of the world population and solving the debt problems of developing countries was essential to the attainment of the goals of sustainable development.

HISASHI OWADA (Japan) said the time had come for the composition and implementation of a new development strategy, adding that it was necessary to get rid of the yokes of psychological inertia from the days of East-West confrontation. The new strategy should be constructed on the philosophy of global partnership and firmly grounded on the clear recognition of the ownership and dignity of the developing entities. Such a strategy would constitute the framework into which the international community could focus its efforts on the genuine problem of development in cooperation with the developing world.

He said that his Government advocated that the new strategy adopt two major approaches: the comprehensive approach and the individualized approach. The development strategy should be comprehensive so that the issue of development was not just the question of official development assistance (ODA) alone. In terms of securing financial inflows, foreign direct investment, trade and market access were also of high importance. Equally important were the issues of socio-economic infrastructure, both in terms of hardware aspects, such as telecommunications and transportation systems, and software aspects, such as human capacity-building through education and basic health care, institution-building and good governance.

For development efforts to succeed, each national government must take the initiative in formulating its own strategy based on the importance of ownership, he said. The donor community must provide fully coordinated support in the spirit of genuine partnership. In addition, ownership and partnership must be vigorously pursued in the operational activities of the United Nations for development. The funds and programmes should strengthen their efforts for activities at the field level. Their operational activities should place a high priority on the problem of capacity-building, which would contribute to the enhancement of the sense of ownership.

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DAVID A. PRENDERGAST (Jamaica), speaking on behalf of the 14 States members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said globalization had produced few winners and more losers. That was due to fundamental variations in the capacity of nations to exploit the opportunities presented by the global market place, which challenged the prevailing notion that liberalization and globalization would result in the free flow of trade, finance and investment.

Explaining that the sustainable development of small island States was of global concern, he said it required forging effective partnerships between peoples and governments and between the developed and developing countries. The small island States expected concrete proposal to foster the requisite political commitment to the outcome of the forthcoming review of the implementation of the programme of action adopted by the Barbados Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Island Developing States.

MILOSLAV HETTES (Slovakia) said the Secretary-General's reform efforts should lead to rationalizing the activities of the United Nations in the economic and social sphere and to improving their coordination and, consequently, their effectiveness. His Government held a very positive view of the measures already implemented or envisaged by the Secretary-General: setting up the development group; the integration of all development programmes into the United Nations Development Assistance Framework; and the creation of the Office of Emergency Relief Coordinator. The participation of the UNCTAD and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) together with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs in the work of the Executive Committee on Economic and Social Affairs would also make it possible to improve coordination in the areas of development, environment and trade, investment and technology.

Slovakia played an active part in the work of the specialized international organizations of the United Nations system in the economic and social fields, he said. He expressed appreciation for the role played by the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) in that region and its importance in the process of integration, noting the comparative advantages that ECE offered to pan-European cooperation. The successful completion of the Commission's reform indicated the road which should be followed in the Untied Nations reform process in the economic and social fields. At the same time, it proved that member countries could reach consensus concerning the issues of United Nations reform.

AGERICO O. LACANLALE, Officer-in-Charge of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in New York, said the organization had decided to focus its activities in the strengthening of industrial capacities and in cleaner and sustainable industrial development. The UNIDO would concentrate on providing services to least developed countries in Africa, supporting agro-based industries and fostering the growth of small- and medium-scale industries.

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Noting the threat to UNIDO's existence when three of its major contributors announced last year that they would leave the organization, he said the organization had reviewed its priorities and restructured itself on the basis of comparative advantage. The UNIDO would become an even leaner organization in the coming year. Acknowledging the reforms taking place in UNIDO, the British Government had announced in July that it would remain in the organization and Germany had said it would stay pending a review at the end of the year. The fundamental changes taking place in UNIDO would reshape it into a more coherent, cost-effective and responsible instrument for the industrial development of the developing countries.

RUFAT NOVRUZOV (Azerbaijan) said his Government knew the high toll of war measured in human casualties, lost territories and destroyed shelters. Since 1988, Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan had resulted in the deaths of 30,000 people and occupation of 20 per cent of the most fertile land in the country. More than 1 million people -- 15 per cent of the total population -- had been expelled from their homes as a result of Armenian advances. Hundreds of towns and villages had been levelled, and approximately 200,000 refugees have lived in tent camps for more than four years.

He went on to say that without international humanitarian assistance provided by the United Nations, as well as other international organizations and governments, it would be difficult for his Government to afford the costly programme of comprehensive economic reforms and structural adjustment. However, according to the World Bank, since 1989 gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in Azerbaijan had dropped from $2,700 to $500 in 1995. That meant that Azerbaijan was one of the most impoverished nations in the world.

The people and Government of Azerbaijan believed in the right of every nation to develop independently, or in voluntary cooperation with friendly partners, its own model of economic development, including the sovereign use of its natural resources, he said. While his Government valued the importance of international development assistance, it also believed that national governments themselves should be the driving force behind the process of the economic reforms. The international community could provide aid in emergencies, on a case-by-case basis, but only the national governments' persistence and strategy could solve the problem in the long run. In addition, the United Nations should become a truly global leader and the practical implementer of projects which would have a profound impact on world development in the next century.

MARTA GALINDO (Colombia) said discussion of United Nations reform proposals should ensure the advancement of other prior processes, including the revitalization of the economic and social fields, the implementation of the "Agenda for Development", and the solution of the Organization's financial crisis. The United Nations, through UNCTAD, the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly, should actively participate in the debate on

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macroeconomic policy and its coordination to ensure that the monetary, financial and international trade issues were guided to favour a fair distribution of opportunities and the equal development of all countries.

The issue of mobilization of resources was a constant priority for the economies of countries, she said. In the negotiations of the "Agenda for Development", one of the more controversial issues concerned financing for development. Her Government requested a summit at the highest level to discuss the relevant aspects of that issue. The work performed by the special session of the General Assembly to review implementation of Agenda 21 managed to safeguard the commitments and principles of UNCED. But the lack of political will by some developed countries in the fulfilment of commitments in environmental issues and in promoting international cooperation, was evident.

Turning to the external debt problem, she said the solution to the debt of the most affected countries should be accompanied by an adequate economic strategy in order to guarantee the future success of the debt policies. Access to markets, stabilization of prices on the basis of production and secure macroeconomic conditions in the international environment were essential factors for the good economic performance of nations.

DOROTHY D. THUNYANI (Malawi) said her country was concerned about the slow decline in the current dollar terms in the net transfer of official resource flows in spite of the widely acknowledged rise in foreign direct investment in recent years.

For a least developed and landlocked country like Malawi, she said, declining ODA remained the primary source of external resources. She paid tribute to Denmark, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden for exceeding the target of 0.7 per cent of their GNP for ODA. She urged other donor countries to do the same.

R. OMOTAYO OLANIYAN, representative of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), said the international community had a fundamental role to play in ensuring realistic and sustainable development in the developing countries as they embark on major reforms. The international environment must be conducive to more equitable economic growth and development. The limitations in the mechanisms for the promotion of equitable economic growth and development must be critically examined.

Regarding the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative of the World Bank and IMF, he said there should be more flexibility in the conditions for eligibility and that a high level of rigidity in conditionalities could limit the number of benefiting countries and confine several others to debt peonage. The greater the debt burden of African countries, the less the promotion of sustainable economic growth and development even at the best of times of economic reforms.

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Emphasizing the importance of foreign aid in the short-run, he said it could play a critical role in the development process of the least developed countries experiencing consistent decline in foreign exchange earnings. Progress as a result of economic reforms had shown that increased technical support, capacity building and the consolidation of infrastructures were crucial to the building of momentum for sustainable economic growth and development.

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