RULES OF DEVELOPMENT GAME "LOADED" AGAINST POOR COUNTRIES, SECOND COMMITTEE HEARS AS IT CONCLUDES DEBATE

Press Release
GA/EF/2873

RULES OF DEVELOPMENT GAME ‘LOADED’ AGAINST POOR COUNTRIES, SECOND COMMITTEE HEARS AS IT CONCLUDES DEBATE

Speakers Stress Crucial Role of External Support, Weight Pros and Cons of Conference on International Migration

The success of human resources development was not dependent only on internal policy choices, but also critically dependent on a conducive external economic environment, the representative of Uganda told the Second Committee this afternoon as it concluded its consideration of sustainable development and international economic cooperation.

When people from poor countries bewailed the state of their economic and social affairs, he said, it was not because they had lost the will to emancipate themselves, but rather because the rules of the game were so loaded against them. A practical and relatively cheap arrangement to help in the development of human resources could be to exploit the high turnover in developed-country educational materials by channelling those discarded materials away from landfills into libraries, classrooms and community centres of the least developed countries (LDCs).

The representative of Jamaica said that there was a need to continue the traditional and basic approaches to human-resources development, while recognizing the value of new and innovative approaches. In assisting governments, the United Nations and its agencies must continue to take into account the complexities of each country’s own socio-economic, cultural and political environment in order to respond with the necessary flexibility. It must continue, in collaboration with developing and donor countries, to set a clear course based on a strategic vision of development that would emphasize the improvement of human conditions, including environmental sustainability and participation of all groups in society.

Human-resources development strategies, said the representative of Iran, should be responsive to the challenges resulting from globalization and create a conducive environment, particularly at the international level. The overarching objectives of human-resources development should be the provision of services for the creation of an enabling environment for people to enjoy long, healthy and creative lives. It should also equip them with the requisite skills and knowledge for competing in international markets.

Second Committee - 1a - Press Release GA/EF/2873 17th Meeting (PM) 20 October 1999

Knowledge, communication and information technologies were becoming the major factors for the international division of labour, which determined the competitiveness of national economies in different sectors, he added. Access to those technologies on a continuous basis, as one of the major factors for sustainable human development, was closely linked to the degree of integration of countries into the world economy.

The representative of Malaysia said that the Second Global Knowledge Conference (GKII), to be held in Kuala Lumpur next year, was particularly concerned with the widening gap between information-rich and information-poor countries, as well as the many other challenges of development now rendered acute by the technology-driven creation of a borderless world. GKII had three core components: the Global Knowledge Forum, the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) Action Summit, and the Knowledge Fair. The Knowledge Fair would showcase best practices on enabling access, empowerment and governance from around the world.

Statements were also made by the representatives of El Salvador, Kenya, Iraq, Mongolia and Haiti. The Director of the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) made concluding remarks.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. on Friday, 22 October, to begin its consideration of environment and sustainable development.

Work Programme

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this afternoon to continue its consideration of sustainable development and international economic cooperation. For background information see press release GA/EF/2871 of 19 October.

Statements

CARLOS ENRIQUE GARCIA GONZALES (El Salvador), speaking on behalf of the Central American group composed of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Dominican Republic, said that during the 1980s, conflict- driven migration flows had increased considerably in the Central American region. The flows had continued throughout the following decade, but for a different reason. The Central American region was now immersed in a democratization process aimed at bringing the people employment opportunities, good governance, health care and education. But those efforts had been negatively affected by the recent natural disasters.

Migration flows had been important for countries of origin, because money was sent back by the emigrants to their families at home. The impact of that phenomenon was considerable. On the one hand, families were protected against sudden economic changes, but on the other hand the emigrant remittances promoted unproductive consumption. There was a need for improved international migrational statistics to provide governments with a solid basis for implementation of their policies. As for the proposal to convene a United Nations conference on international migration and development, he thought that the Central American region’s experience with regional conferences could have a positive impact.

MARY D. ODINGA (Kenya) said that provision of adequate shelter must remain a central theme of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) Agenda. Though attention was increasingly being focused on cities and their problems, the rural dimension of human settlements must not be overlooked. The inter- relationship and interdependency between the rural and urban sectors and their problems must be looked at objectively. The rural and urban sectors must be mutually supportive in order to achieve sustainable development. Seeking to solve one without the other would only compound the problems. It was therefore vital to ensure any new policies and strategies to manage urban growth should recognize that important aspect.

Without firm commitment, rhetoric alone would not secure a habitable environment or transform Habitat into an effective channel for human settlements in the next millennium. The challenges could only be met if there were funds to finance the campaigns. The current financial situation of the Centre did not look healthy enough to carry those campaigns through. Everyone must not only pay their pledges but must increase their contributions so as to carry the process forward.

Kenya supported the recommendations contained in the Secretary-General’s report and hoped for their speedy implementation, she added. In particular, she urged the Secretary-General to appoint a full-time executive director to enable the Centre to deal with the increasingly complex demands of shelter and human settlements.

AGGREY S. AWORI (Uganda) said the challenges the world faced at the dawn of a new era were: the eradication of poverty, coping with globalization and liberalization, and achieving humane and sustainable development. The scope of those challenges warranted a thorough review of the International Strategy for the Fourth United Nations Development Decade, followed by the establishment of new targets that reflected present realities. “This should form our vision and task towards the new millennium”.

The implementation of Habitat II would be highly facilitated by the effective participation of local authorities and the other Habitat Agenda partners, he said. Those entities should be assisted in all possible ways throughout the process leading to the special session. As the citizen of a least developed country, the vast majority of whose population lived in rural areas, he firmly believed that future directions for the work of the Centre should adequately reflect that reality.

When people from poor countries bewailed the state of their economic and social affairs, it was not because they had lost the will to emancipate themselves, but rather because the rules of the game were so loaded against them. The success of human-resources development was, therefore, not dependent only on internal policy choices, but was also critically dependent only on a conducive external economic environment. A practical and relatively cheap arrangement to help in the development of human resources might be to exploit the high turnover of educational materials in the developed countries by channelling those discarded materials away from developed-country landfills into libraries, classrooms and community centres of the least developed countries.

ABDUL MUNIM AL-KADHE (Iraq) said it was important to hold a United Nations conference on international migration and development, in order to consider both the reasons for migration and migration’s consequences on the countries of origin and destination. Existing mechanisms within the United Nations and elsewhere should not prevent the holding of such a conference. The results of the regional meetings on the subject and the existing mechanisms would enhance the conference’s ability to deal with migration issues. Iraq was one of the countries, which received migrants. That phenomenon had grown during the period of boom in the country in the 1970s, particularly increasing during the period from 1975 to 1990. Their presence in Iraq had helped their countries of origin as well as Iraq to reach their development goals.

That situation had been reversed when, due to the economic blockade imposed on Iraq, those migrants had to leave the country. Sanctions imposed on Iraq had caused a two-thirds drop in Gross National Product (GNP) in 1991, the result of an 85 per cent decline in oil production. The agricultural sector had continued to deteriorate ever since. Thus numerous projects had come to a halt in the private and government sectors. There had been an increase in unemployment and a drop in the standard of living for families due to the rise in prices of goods and services. The result had been a hemorrhage of qualified workers from the country to the outside world, and a consequent negative impact on development. Moreover, neigbouring countries were unable to provide adequate working conditions for those individuals. If the international community was serious about considering the reasons for migration, it should reduce the obstacles enforced by one single state on Iraq’s development. That would first require the lifting of the economic embargo imposed on Iraq.

ABDUL AZIZ ABDUL RAHMAN (Malaysia) said that his country would leapfrog into the Information Age through the creation of a Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) which would bring together, for the first time, an integrated environment with all the unique elements and attributes necessary to create the global multimedia climate. Two of the world’s first Smart Cities were being developed in the Corridor, with multimedia industries, research and development centres, a Multimedia University and operational headquarters for multinational companies wishing to direct their worldwide manufacturing and trading activities using multimedia technology.

The Second Global Knowledge Conference (GKII) would be held in Kuala Lumpur next year, he said. The conference was particularly concerned with the widening gap between information-rich and information-poor countries, as well as the many other challenges of development, now rendered acute by the technology-driven creation of a borderless world. The GKII had three core components: the Global Knowledge Forum, the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) Action Summit and the Knowledge Fair. The Knowledge Fair would showcase best practices on enabling access, empowerment and governance from around the world. He asked for support from United Nations agencies to assist in ensuring that decision-makers and change- agents from the developing world were adequately represented at the GKII.

MOHAMMAD ALI ZARIE ZARE (Iran) said that human-resources development strategies should be responsive to the challenges resulting from globalization and should create a conducive environment, particularly at the international level. The overarching objectives of human-resources development should be the provision of necessary services for the creation of an enabling environment for people to enjoy long, healthy and creative lives. It should also equip them with the requisite skills and knowledge for competing in international markets. New funds should be raised to make necessary investments in technologies needed for human- resources development, to further the capacities of developing nations for integration into the world economy. Knowledge, communication and information technologies were becoming major factors in the international division of labour, which determined the competitiveness of national economies in different sectors. Access to those technologies on a continuous basis, as one of the major factors for sustainable human development, was closely linked to the degree of integration of countries into the world economy.

Turning to the implementation of the commitments agreed upon in the Declaration on International Economic Cooperation, he said that at the end of the decade, even those developing countries which had benefited from globalization were now facing major setbacks as a result of recent financial crises in the developing world. It became clear that even those developing countries with sound macroeconomic policies could be adversely affected by the developments of globalization in other regions or other continents. In light of the gradual expansion and deepening of development towards the attainment of social objectives, and the consequent correlation between economic growth and social development, it had become clear that sustained social development could not be achieved without sustained economic growth.

DAVID PRENDERGAST (Jamaica) said that there was a need for a continuation of the traditional and basic approaches to human-resources development while recognizing the value of new and innovative approaches. The United Nations had a comparative advantage in helping governments to develop their human skills and strengthen their institutions. In assisting governments, the Organization and its agencies must continue to take into account the complexities of each country’s own socio-economic, cultural and political environment in order to respond with the necessary flexibility. It must continue, in collaboration with developing and donor countries, to set a clear course based on a strategic vision of development that stressed the improvement of human conditions, including environmental sustainability and participation of all groups in society. A comprehensive approach to human-resources development was still required.

Human development strategies must include the goals of equity, poverty eradication and sustainable human development, he said. Several elements were urgently needed. First, stronger policies to protect and promote human development, including “social protection” policies. Second, enhanced international cooperation, since many human development problems went beyond what countries could tackle on their own. Third, continued support from United Nations organizations for policies and approaches that served to narrow the gaps in connectivity and bring remote and disadvantaged communities into the global networks. Fourth, broad-based partnerships among governments, the private sector, local communities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to protect and promote human development. Moreover, the United Nations must continue its work at the country level, and needed the necessary financial support to continue to make an impact. Starving it would only starve the potential that might otherwise be encouraged. The development of human resources was one of the surest means to promote long-term and sustainable human development.

P. NARANGUA (Mongolia) emphasized the importance of trade on development, poverty alleviation and sustained global economic recovery. The next round of trade negotiations should deliver substantial benefits for developing and transition countries. Land-locked developing countries lost all competitive advantages they might have to high transit transportation costs, which in some cases constituted 40 per cent of total costs. Future reports on international economic cooperation and development should also focus on the situation of such countries, duly reflecting their special needs and problems as well as ways and means of overcoming them.

She said that the major international conferences and summits of the 1990s had largely defined the development agenda and plans of action as well as the commitments for their implementation. However, the most pressing issue for developing countries remained the financing of development. The forthcoming high- level intergovernmental meeting on that issue would be of great importance. A reversal of the decline in the ratio of official development assistance (ODA) to the GNP of donor countries was important to developing countries at this stage, especially for those that were still largely dependent on ODA for their development.

JEAN MAXIME MURAT (Haiti) said that a general consensus existed on ways to implement the outcomes of the various summits and conferences of the 1990s. However, the hope for growth, especially in developing countries, had not been met. The principles set out in the Declaration on Economic Cooperation were important, and there was an urgent need to implement the objectives stated therein. Integration of all countries into the global economic system was necessary for that implementation to become reality. The widening gap between North and South, the dwindling ODA, and the trade preferences of developed countries were a cause of concern.

Economic globalization and liberalization had considerably contributed to migration flows, he said. Supply and demand of the labour market made it unavoidable that workers, even skilled workers, went from one place to another. Migration was not always negative. It offered opportunities to share culture, experience and technology. However, it required good planning. A dialogue on that vital topic should be started, and his Government therefore supported the convening of the United Nations International Conference on Migration and Development.

JOSEPH CHAMIE, Director of the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), said that he wanted to make five main points in response to comments by delegations and by way of general observation. First, the need to further compile, analyze and distribute statistics on migration was crucial. Without such action, it would be difficult to hold substantive discussions on international migration and development. Second, migration was a complex phenomenon that should be viewed in the context of population and development, since the dynamics of population, development and change varied across regions. Third, the trends in government policies towards immigration were clear. Today, one in three governments had policies aimed at lowering immigration. Fourth, recent efforts to find common ground on the issue of migration and development, especially at the regional level, had been useful and had led to some areas of agreement, such as the need to address regular and irregular migration flows. Finally, according to recent analysis world migration flows were projected to continue well into the twenty-first century. The prospects for the convening of an international conference on migration seemed slim, at least for the near future. However, given the character of international migration and its implications for development, the possibility of such a conference in the coming decade should not be ruled out.

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