Sixty-first General Assembly

Second Committee

18^th Meeting (PM)

SPECIALIZED AGENCIES URGED TO DO MORE IN HEIGHTENING IMPACT OF SCIENCE,

TECHNOLOGY AS SECOND COMMITTEE CONCLUDES GLOBALIZATION DEBATE

Good governance and strong institutional frameworks could go a long way towards heightening the impact of science and technology policies on development, and United Nations specialized agencies should do more to help Member States bring about those conditions, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) heard this afternoon, as it concluded its general discussion on globalization and interdependence.

Libya’s delegate said developing countries should be given the help they needed to acquire new technology and use it to develop their human resource base, as well as increase their production and services capacity.  The framework for reducing the digital divide, agreed upon at the 2005 World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis, was an encouraging start.

Norway’s representative pointed out, however, that technology alone, without the appropriate democratic framework, would do little to promote sustainable development and bridge the digital divide.  Only by accepting diverging views and being willing to foster discussion of critical questions, could a society be innovative and prosperous in the long run.  “Any Government with the desire to make its people prosper as members of this new global information society must promote and protect human rights, including the right to freedom of expression,” he stressed.

An official of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said that to attract foreign direct investment in science, technology and innovation, would require a basic institutional framework to boost domestic innovative capabilities, especially since UNCTAD’s 2005 World Investment Report had reported that only a handful of developing countries were enjoying investment in research and development.  Developing countries would do well to build promotion agencies and science parks as an added incentive for would-be investors.

Regarding the question of migration, an official of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) noted that many countries, particularly in Africa, were suffering from a severe shortage of doctors and health workers who had migrated.  To strengthen their health-workforce capacity, such countries needed nationally defined strategies that must include attractive service conditions and remuneration.  UNFPA supported the building of national capacities to formulate, implement and monitor gender-sensitive migration policies and programmes.

Also speaking today were the representatives of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Qatar.

The representatives of the Russian Federation and Georgia spoke in exercise of the right of reply.

An official of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) also made a statement.

The Second Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 25 October, to take up sustainable development.

Background

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this afternoon to conclude its general discussion on globalization and interdependence.

Statements

ABDEL ALMAJID ( Libya), noting that globalization offered both development opportunities and challenges, said international cooperation must be intensified so that more countries could reap its advantages.  Assistance should be given to developing countries so they could acquire new technology and use it to develop their human resource base, as well as increase their capacity for production and services.  Libya was encouraged to see that new machinery to reduce the digital divide had been agreed upon at the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis.

He said the world also needed a more just multilateral trading system, and that new frameworks were needed to enhance the economic performance of developing countries, such as modern management systems and economic restructuring.  Commodities exporters, in particular, needed to modernize their processing facilities to increase the volume of commercial exchanges.  Where privatization alone was not enough, institutional reform and proper management would also be needed, so that unforeseen upheavals could be better dealt with.  To enable developing countries to take advantage of globalization, support was needed to instill sound management and the rule of law at all levels and to strengthen their full participation in international decision-making.

As for migration, he said economic sectors such as agriculture must be boosted, as to enable the absorption of surplus labour.  Libya supported the African Union objectives to integrate the economies of African countries, and its jointly-financed projects to absorb a large number of potential employees.  It was important to ensure the convening of a ministerial-level meeting between African and European countries on migration.  Meanwhile, the United Nations should focus also on the concept of “culture and development”, while strengthening national identities and preventing occupation or invasion.

TAMAR TCHITANAVA ( Georgia) said her country had been significantly affected by international migration and experts estimated that more than 20 per cent of its 1989 population -- more than 1 million people -- had left the country since independence.  Georgia’s socio-economic reality was the leading factor that forced thousands to travel abroad for work and education. Conflicts in the two breakaway regions of Georgia -- Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia -- were another driving cause of migration. Even though Georgia was a more attractive place to invest and work because of rapid economic reform efforts, remittances were an important source of revenue for many households.  For that reason, the issue of legal opportunities to work abroad was extremely important. International efforts should focus on the promotion and protection of the rights of migrant workers.

She said the full economic embargo imposed on Georgia had suspended air, railway, terrestrial and maritime connections as well as postal services and bank transfers. In the name of fighting organized crime, terrorism and illegal migration, the Russian authorities were actively profiling and discriminating against Georgians, including women and children. Mass deportations of migrants without respect to their legal status, including refugees, were conducted in an inhumane and humiliating manner, and were in violation of international humanitarian law.  The full embargo imposed by the Russian Federation damaged the Georgian economy and caused problems for its neighbours and other countries.

LARS S. ALSAKER ( Norway) said that technology alone, without the appropriate democratic framework, would do little to promote sustainable development and bridge the digital divide.  Therefore, any Government that wished its people to prosper in today’s global-information society must promote and protect their citizens’ right to seek, receive and communicate ideas of all kinds.  Only by accepting diverging views and by being willing to foster discussions on critical questions, could a society be innovative and prosperous in the long run.

On migration, he said the huge contrast between destination and origin countries, in terms of living conditions, would only get larger, due to growing economic disparity, demographic evolution and conflict.  The United Nations had an important role to play in helping the world address that issue, since no country could deal with it alone.  Indeed, regulated and reasonable migration could promote growth and stability in rich and poor countries alike, especially when its social effects were addressed properly.  Norway encouraged all countries to adhere to International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions on labour rights and to develop flexible regulations for dealing with different types of migration, as the country itself was doing.  Special attention should also be given to gender issues, children and youth, limiting brain drain and combating human trafficking.

EMIN TEYMUROV ( Azerbaijan) said science and technology were central to the advancement of societies and achieving socio-economic development.  To benefit from new technologies, developing countries needed a development-oriented intellectual property-rights regime and policies that facilitated technology diffusion and adaptation.  For its part, Azerbaijan had attracted much foreign investment in the past few years, resulting in a gross domestic product growth rate of over 26 per cent in 2005 and 37 per cent in the first half of 2006, despite the continued occupation of 20 per cent of its territory.  The Government had persistently worked to promote investment, so that more than $25 billion had been invested in the economy since 1995, the bulk of which was concentrated in the oil and gas sector.

At the Country Risk Experts meeting of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in June, the risk category for Azerbaijan had been raised from level 6 to 5, he said.  In addition, the country sought to diversify its economy by developing adequate institutional infrastructure and capacities, pursuing administrative reforms to enhance the efficiency of public administration, ensure good governance and fight bureaucracy and corruption.  To ensure transparency in oil-revenue collection and public spending, the Government had established the State Oil Fund and joined the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.  Meanwhile, a Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline would also contribute to the stability of the region surrounding Azerbaijan, while the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, to be completed soon, would help diversify hydrocarbon supplies to the Black Sea region and European Union consumers.

HAMED AL-HABABI ( Qatar) said globalization was a far-reaching trend with complex aspects that could be positive for the economic prosperity of people all over the world.  It could also be blamed for the contemporary problems that people faced as the poor carried most of its negative effects.  Tangible progress had not been achieved in dealing with the disparity between rich and poor.

He said the gap in the transfer of technology was increasing between developing and developed countries, as well as among developing countries, which had varying abilities to benefit from scientific knowledge.  While poor and marginalized countries needed maximum benefits from the use of technology, all countries should invest in promoting it.  Countries needed effective institutions to promote foreign direct investment, investment in youth, the promotion of trade and genuine partnerships.  There was a need to promote cooperation at the regional and international levels.

SAFIYE CAGAR, Director of the Information, Executive Board and Resource Mobilization Division, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said it was becoming increasingly clear that remittances sent back home by migrants played a big role in reducing poverty, keeping children in school and funding the start-up of small businesses.  Migrants were also a remarkable source of knowledge, new ideas and experience that could promote development in their country of origin.  However, many countries, particularly in Africa, were suffering from a severe shortage of doctors and health workers who had migrated.  To strengthen health-workforce capacity, donor support should be aligned with nationally defined strategies and would have to include attractive conditions of service and remuneration.

She said the UNFPA was working with Governments and other partners to facilitate policy dialogue and cooperation, as well as promote the human rights of migrants, including the right to sexual and reproductive health.  The agency supported national capacity building for formulating, implementing and monitoring gender-sensitive migration policies and programmes.  It also supported the collection, analysis, use and dissemination of age-disaggregated and sex-disaggregated migration data.  The Global Migration Group, of which the UNFPA was a member, was initiating an inventory of data sources on migration.  However, focus on those and other areas by agencies, such as the UNFPA, would put pressure on already limited resources.  The Committee might wish to consider possible ways to address those constraints.

SUSAN BRANDWAYN, Economic Affairs Officer, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said policy makers in developing countries had become increasingly aware of the importance for development of science, technology and innovation.  They were convinced that their countries must build solid capacity in that area in order to raise productivity, combat poverty and improve living standards.  As they sought advice in that regard from international and regional organizations, UNCTAD, as the lead United Nations system entity for technology-related issues and the Secretariat to the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, was expanding its work in that area.

She said it was widely recognized that foreign direct investment could be a vehicle for technology transfer and, as such, a way to promote local science, technology and innovation.  UNCTAD’s 2005 World Investment Report had revealed that only a handful of developing countries were receiving foreign direct investment in research and development.  They must create a basic institutional framework to foster innovation, boost domestic innovative capabilities and attract local investment in research and development through such institutions as promotion agencies and science parks.

UNCTAD was working towards implementing the findings of the World Investment Report, among other things, through the national investment policy reviews carried out at the request of Governments in developing countries, she said.  Another important contribution was the publication of the Resource Book on TRIPs and Development in partnership with the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development.

HASSAN H. BAHLOULI, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), said the High-level Dialogue had affirmed that international migration was a growing phenomenon in scope and complexity and a key component of development, for both developed and developing countries.  Bilateral, regional and global cooperation was needed to make it a positive force for development.  As the only United Nations specialized agency focused on supporting the creation of wealth in developing countries through the advancement of the manufacturing sector, UNIDO was ready to provide technical assistance, so as to bring about win-win solutions to countries and migrants alike.

UNIDO would help stimulate the economic growth of poor origin countries in order to provide increased economic opportunities for their population, with special attention to young people, he said.  Since economic growth required a transition from an agrarian-based economy to an industrial economy, UNIDO would provide advice on industrial policy and a strategy to create non-farm employment and income in manufacturing and services.  It could also offer services such as investment promotion, trade-capacity building and technology transfer, which would stimulate further economic growth.

Rights of Reply

The representative of the Russian Federation, speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said that while his country attached great importance to the issue of international migration and development, the Committee’s debate would only be productive if it held a constructive dialogue with all delegations.  Regrettably, a significant portion of Georgia’s statement was unobjective, misleading and not in keeping with the General Assembly’s agenda.  It was making the Committee’s political work.

The Russian Federation ensured compliance on its territory with laws relating to migrants, he said.  Illegal migration promoted crime, so it was natural that those who violated laws would be subject to proper law enforcement, which would be in keeping with international norms.

The representative of Georgia said the issues she had referred to, such as severe taxation, the checking of businesses affiliated with Georgians and the blocking of bank transfers, had been documented by international agencies and the international press and nothing was incorrect.

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For information media • not an official record