THIRD UN CONFERENCE ON LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES OPENS IN BRUSSELS; FRANCE’S PRESIDENT SAYS WORLD’S POOREST ‘MUST BE HELPED’

Third UN Conference on LDCs

1^st Meeting (AM)

THIRD UN CONFERENCE ON LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES OPENS IN BRUSSELS;

FRANCE’S PRESIDENT SAYS WORLD’S POOREST ‘MUST BE HELPED’

(Received from a UN Information Officer.)

BRUSSELS, 14 May -- The international community could not just write off the fate of 600 million human beings –- the world’s poorest countries must be helped, Jacques Chirac, President of France, said this morning at the inaugural ceremony of the Third United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries, which is being held in Brussels from 14 to 20 May.

While the least developed country (LDC) share of international trade flows might be small, what happened to them affected everyone, he said.  Helping them was, therefore, part and parcel of good stewardship of the world’s public assets.  He stressed the importance of debt relief and the need to increase official development assistance (ODA).  He also noted that the international community could not assist corrupt, predatory or unethical regimes.  In conclusion, he said he was convinced that the LDCs would be the “newly emerging countries” and proposed that they be called that, as a sign of hope and confidence. 

Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, said the people of the world’s poorest countries were not asking for charity, but simply a chance to earn a living and support their families.  “We are here to give them that chance”, he said.  The LDCs would like to join in the global market as both consumers and producers, and it was in everyone’s interest for them to do so; however, they could not do it without support.

“We are here to consider what kind of support would be most useful to them and to make sure that they get it”, he said.  ”We are here to develop new partnerships, through which to make development aid more generous and effective.  We are also here to convince potential partners that the effort is worth making.”

Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Coordinator of the Global LDC Community, underscored that only through joint action and meaningful cooperation among partners could the continuing marginalization of LDCs be reversed.  Although the challenges faced by LDCs were formidable, they were not insurmountable, and those countries should be able to make progress in the not-too-distant future. 

Human and institutional capacities had to be built to make the people of the LDCs both the instruments and the beneficiaries of change, she said.  Tariff and

non-tariff barriers obstructed trade opportunities and should be speedily removed.  “We want an effective partnership between LDCs and their development partners”, she said.  The right course could end injustice, deprivation, stagnation and the ever-growing marginalization of LDCs.

Harri Holkeri (Finland), President of the United Nations General Assembly, said Member States must prove their true commitment to the goals of development, including the goal of halving the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by 2015.  For that purpose, it was important to improve market access for the LDCs and provide them with debt relief and assistance for development.  The programme of action to be adopted by the Conference must be followed by action, he stressed.

Also speaking this morning were Göran Persson, Prime Minister of Sweden, Nicole Fontaine, President of the European Parliament, Guy Verhofstadt, Prime Minister of Belgium, and Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission.

King Albert II of Belgium was also in attendance.

The Conference, which is being hosted by the European Union, is expected to be results-oriented and to reach agreement on concrete steps that will allow the 49 LDCs to reverse their slide into marginalization and extreme poverty.  Participants from all sectors of society will elaborate a programme of action to address the problems facing LDCs and engage in interactive thematic discussions on a variety of relevant topics.

Immediately following the inaugural ceremony, Conference participants began an interactive debate entitled, “The Challenge of Eradicating Poverty: International Community Response”.

[For background on the Conference, see Press Release DEV/BRU/1 of 11 May 2001.]

Statements

KOFI ANNAN, Secretary-General of the United Nations, said, for all too many people in the least developed countries, life was a continuous struggle against hunger, malnutrition, polluted drinking water, infectious diseases, ignorance, oppression and violent conflict.  They had not chosen to live like that.  They were not asking for charity, but simply a chance to earn a living and support their families.  “We are here to give them that chance”, he said.  The LDCs would like to join in the global market as both consumers and producers, and it was in everyone’s interest that they did so.

Those countries, he continued, could not do so without support.  “We are here to consider what kind of support would be more useful to them and to make sure that they get it”, he said.  ”We are here to develop new partnerships, through which to make development aid more generous and effective.  We are also here to convince potential partners that the effort is worth making.”

He said it was the third LDC conference in 20 years.  In that time, the number of countries on the list had grown longer, not shorter.  Only one country had graduated from the list -- Botswana.  But, by a cruel twist of fate, that nation now saw its prospects blighted by HIV/AIDS.  It had the highest rate of infection in the world.

He said the Conference had been clearly planned to ensure that no source of ideas was neglected, and that people with different roles and viewpoints listened to each other.  Moreover, it had been designed to produce agreements, not only on targets, but also on precise mechanisms for achieving those targets and for monitoring progress towards them.

      Speaking on behalf of the European Union, GÖRAN PERSSON, Prime Minister of Sweden, said that it was an honour for the Union to host the event.  Fighting poverty was a moral question, for it represented a struggle for human dignity and democracy.  Poverty was not rational.  All progressive forces understood that leaving people behind, in the reality of poverty, was to throw away creativity and dreams for the future.  The world was at a historic junction where global progress was within reach.  Never had the capabilities been greater.  Such an open window of opportunity might not last forever.  The Conference should do justice to its cause and deliver instruments for the eradication of poverty worldwide.  On the part of the European Union, he welcomed all those present to the Conference.

NICOLE FONTAINE, President of the European Parliament, said that an alarm bell had been sounded in the face of the world challenge to alleviate the suffering of the poorest countries.  The countries of the world had failed to eradicate poverty and underdevelopment in the countries that needed it most.  There should not be such an imbalance between the rich and the poor in the world.  She expressed the wish that the Third World Conference would produce practical results, completely overhauling the world systems, opening the world markets without duties or restrictions, restoring the flow of official aid, and allowing for debt eradication.  Access to land, microcredit and development of the countries’ infrastructure and education were of great importance, as was the eradication of arms trade.

She went on to say that it was not conceivable that the gap between the rich and the poor would increase in the new millennium, leaving millions in poverty, hunger and disease.  Such a situation should not be met with indifference.  Economic liberalization should take the human dimension into account.  The European Union would be expanding, taking in the States of Eastern and Central Europe, but that should not be done at the cost of international aid to the poorest countries.  Europe would be open to the countries of the world.  The European Parliament would track the deliberations of the Conference with the greatest interest.

ROMANO PRODI, President of the European Commission, said the cancer of poverty needed to be urgently removed.  It was the international community’s responsibility to do that.  The European Community was keenly aware of its responsibility:  with the Lomé Convention, the generalized system of preference (GSP) and now the Cotonou Agreement, it had pioneered a truly innovative approach to development cooperation, which successfully combined aid and trade instruments.  The Commission had also drawn a five-year Programme of Action to fight communicable diseases that severely affected the least developed countries.  Among its other initiatives, the European Commission had also decided to completely untie drug procurement from all other forms of development aid.

Aid was not the only weapon in the war against poverty, however, he continued.  Debt relief and a fair trade policy were essential, too.   The Commission was already, by far, the largest contributor to debt relief managed through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, and now it was going beyond that.  To mark the occasion of the Conference, the Union had decided to forego payments on all outstanding LDC obligations arising from special loans under earlier Lomé Conventions.  A groundbreaking decision had been recently taken to grant duty-free access to all LDC products, except arms.  That meant that the poorest countries would soon enjoy unprecedented access to their largest export market.  For those countries to take full advantage of the world trading opportunities, they needed to be fully integrated into the world economy.  Thus, they must have their place at the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiating table, and a genuine say in setting world trade rules.  As it sought to launch a new trade round this year, one of the priorities for the Union was to make globalization work for the good of all.

The European Community was determined to continue leading the fight against poverty in the LDCs, focusing on a limited number of sectors for greater impact.  Such sectors as education, health, gender equality, food security and good governance were of the utmost importance.  Good governance in all its aspects, including democracy, citizen participation, respect for human rights and the rule of law, would help to fight against poverty.  Also, the fight against corruption must be at the very heart of development policies.  The Commission would practice development cooperation in accordance with the principle of mutual respect, giving priority support to partners that showed tangible commitment to internal reforms.  There would no blank checks, but there would be constant dialogue. 

            Action by the European Community could only achieve so much, he said.  If poverty was to be truly eradicated, the whole of the international community must commit themselves to joint action.  The Conference had the potential to be truly landmark event in that respect. 

SHEIKH HASINA, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, said she was speaking on behalf of the 600 million people of the 49 LDCs who were engaged in the ongoing struggle to overcome poverty and marginalization.  Bangladesh had been raising related issues of concern in various multilateral forums.  She underscored that only through joint action and meaningful cooperation among partners could the continuing marginalization of LDCs be reversed. 

Many economic and democratic reforms had been undertaken in her country, she said.  Housing, education and health were all being addressed.  The main objective was to achieve economic emancipation through poverty alleviation.

She said that, although the challenges faced by LDCs were formidable, they were not insurmountable and those countries should be able to make progress in the not-too-distant future.  Human and institutional capacities had to be built, so the people of the LDCs could be both the instruments and beneficiaries of change.  Tariff and non-tariff barriers obstructed trade opportunities, and should be speedily removed.  Also, the current market access being provided by the European Union was welcome, and she hoped other major players would come up with similar measures.  She cited Japan and the United States in that respect.

The new programme of action must succeed, she said.  “We want an effective partnership between LDCs and their development partners.”  The right course   could end injustice, deprivation, stagnation and the ever-growing marginalization of LDCs.

Guy verhofstadt, Prime Minister of Belgium, said there were three major challenges:  the battle against HIV/AIDS; debt reduction; and the conflict in the central African region. 

He said the HIV/AIDS figures were still frightening, despite major efforts by a number of institutions, while the economic costs of the virus were horrendous.  The idea of a United Nations HIV/AIDS fund to collect $10 billion per year to fight the disease should, therefore, be pursued.  Yet, the virus could not be combated, unless poverty was combated as well.

Regarding the debt of LDCs, he said absolute priority should be given to those countries that were over-indebted.  Unless they were free of such debt, they could not move forward.  In that respect, as of 1990, a law was put in place in Belgium to cancel the principal sums and interests owed by some States and foreign companies.

Over the last few months, things had developed favourably in the central African region.  He hoped that would lead to the full application of the Lusaka Agreement.  In resolving the issues of that region, the legitimate interests of the related countries must be taken into account.  Foreign troops must also be removed from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while the inter-Congolese dialogue must be resumed.

He said specific measures were needed to help the poorer counties reorganize their finances and give them better prospects.  They must also be given real commitments and concrete mechanisms, so they could take their future in their   own hands.

HARRI HOLKERI (Finland), President of the General Assembly, said that today marked the opening of the first major international conference since the adoption of the Millennium Declaration, which had reaffirmed the global goals of development and the eradication of poverty.  It reflected a unique consensus on the values and principles of the international community, representing the political will of Member States, which must now prevail.  Member States must prove their true commitment to the goals of development, including the goal of halving the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by 2015.  For that purpose, it was important to improve market access, provide debt relief and ensure provision of assistance for development.

The programme of action to be adopted by the Conference was extremely important for the Organization, he continued, for it would demonstrate the commitment to declared goals and strengthen the credibility of the Millennium Declaration.  Other conferences would follow, covering such subjects as small arms, children, financing for development and human settlements.  They had all been requested by the General Assembly to address the main challenges before the international community today.  The current Conference could set an example.  Adoption of the programme must be followed by action, he said.  Member States themselves had the main responsibility for implementing the decisions, but a cohesive response from the industrialized countries was also needed.  Development cooperation and trade were of great importance.  Despite the fact that ministers of finance were conspicuously absent from the Conference, he went on to express hope that those present would prevail.  Action by the North must have first priority, because the LDCs themselves had already walked an extra mile, trying to implement the prescribed remedies for their problems.  The Assembly needed to be informed about the contribution of its major conferences.  It was prepared to endorse the programme of action as soon as the Member States made such a request.

JACQUES CHIRAC, President of France, host of the Second United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, said that in 49 countries the majority of the population suffered the consequences of non-development.  The international community could not just write off the fate of 600 million human beings -- LDCs must be helped.  The situation in those countries mattered to the rest of world.  While the LDC share of international trade flows might be small, what happened to them affected everyone.  Helping them was, therefore, part and parcel of good stewardship of the world’s public assets. 

He said LDCs were not attracting private sector development.  The question to be asked, therefore, was how could that handicap be overcome.  First, by reducing their debt burden.  A process must be put in place to ensure that virtually all LDC debts were cancelled.  Also, to safeguard against a return to indebtedness, the World Bank should give LDC grants to facilitate social spending and programmes to combat poverty.  The official development assistance (ODA) must also be increased.  While pledges had been made in that respect, many of those who had pledged assistance had not given anything close to the figures they had advanced.

He said France intended to be more generous with its aid and more concerned about the quality of that aid.  It was essential to mobilize related private sector initiatives and involve fellow citizens in international solidarity.  His country would, therefore, increase tax concessions for aid providers.  He also proposed a new broad-based trade round, which would directly address the needs   of LDCs.

He said the building of democratic and peaceful political systems was why there was such a high priority placed on the search for peace.  The international community could not assist corrupt, predatory or unethical regimes.  In addition, economic expansion could not be conceived at the expense of the dignity of men and women.  He also stressed the social commitment of development.

In conclusion he said that he was convinced that the LDCs would be the “newly emerging countries” and proposed that they be called that, as a sign of hope and confidence.  He also nominated Göran Persson, Prime Minister of Sweden, as President of the Conference.

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