PRESS BRIEFING BY UNDP ON CIS COUNTRIES REPORT

Press Briefing

PRESS BRIEFING BY UNDP ON CIS COUNTRIES REPORT

There was enormous strain on the societies of the former Soviet Union whose situation resembled a ticking time-bomb, Anton Kruiderink, Director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), said at a Headquarters press briefing today.

He said the situation became even more explosive when linked to such issues as minorities and ethnicity. Kosovo, to a large extent, was a time- bomb that had exploded. Mr. Kruiderink was launching a report summarizing the experiences of each of the countries in transition and reflecting five years of national human development reports -- Transition 1999 - Europe and CIS Human Development Report.

The countries in transition were still in the midst of an extremely severe crisis that could not be looked at solely from the perspective of gross national product (GNP), he said. Beyond the economic dimension, such indicators as education, health, demography and the role of the State revealed a disappointing performance.

The UNDP's position was that there must be much more focus on issues of governance, he said. Economic policies, in the absence of an environment that made them sustainable, were bound to fail. Greater attention should be paid to central issues like the strengthening of democratic instruments and of independent media. Human rights were also extremely important.

While the lifting of the "iron curtain" had introduced political and cultural freedoms, the countries of the former Soviet bloc were still under pressure because they had failed to get it right on the economic front.

What message did the report have for Latin America and Africa? a correspondent asked.

Mr. Kruiderink said UNDP was building bridges between the countries of Europe and the CIS and Latin America. The transformation of Latin America from military rule and centrally planned economies to more democratic forms held many lessons for the countries of Europe and the CIS. Many newly-created countries in the region of Europe and the CIS had no experience to fall back on regarding governance. That was making a big difference for the region in relation to Latin America and Africa.

What had caused a drop in literacy? another journalist asked.

Mr. Kruiderink replied that there were major problems in education, including questions relating to budget, motivation of teachers and others.

UNDP Briefing - 2 - 2 August 1999

What was Mr. Kruiderink's view of globalization? another correspondent asked.

He answered that from an information perspective, globalization was magnificent. In its totality, all humanity both benefited and suffered from it. For the CIS countries, globalization was just one more element complicating the transition process.

Was the report advocating a return to the social safety net? another journalist asked.

It did not, Mr. Kruiderink replied. However, all societies needed a certain type of minimum safety net. Some parents wanted a safety net in relation to education services, others wanted a safety net in relation to minimum health services. There was an urgent need to review economic policies -- in their sequence, not in their objectives -- and to link them to governance issues to create a balance between what was right from the economic perspective and what had to be right for the people.

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