Indivisible Relationship between Good Governance, Durable Economic Growth in Least Developed Countries Subject of Thematic Debate in Istanbul
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| Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York |
Indivisible Relationship between Good Governance, Durable Economic Growth
in Least Developed Countries Subject of Thematic Debate in Istanbul
(Received from a UN Information Officer.)
ISTANBUL, 11 May — The inexorable collapse of autocratic regimes in Africa, the stirring cries for free expression in the Middle East, and the demand for transparent political processes worldwide were vivid examples of why good governance practices should be encouraged –- and reinforced -- in all societies, experts said this morning during a high-level panel at the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries.
“Improving governance should include more people having more of a meaningful say in the decisions that shape their lives,” said Helen Clark, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in her keynote address to an interactive debate on “Good Governance at All Levels”, the fourth of six scheduled during the Conference.
The 2001 Brussels Programme of Action on the Least Developed Countries had flagged good governance as essential for human development and economic growth, she noted. With a new 10-year plan of action under negotiation, the panellists weighed governance issues that would be crucial for securing sustainable development in the world’s 48 most vulnerable countries.
Ms. Clark stressed that all countries, developed and developing alike, needed to work tirelessly towards better governance. At the international level, good governance must enable all countries to contribute meaningfully in the decisions that were shaping their futures. “Full diversity” were the watchwords for managing risks that flowed from interdependence, advancing political and economic inclusion, and legitimizing the institutions needed to resolve disputes peacefully and build social cohesion critical to thwarting violence and crime.
She said that many of the least developed countries were rich in commodities, which were in high demand today. But where benefits from their exploitation accrued largely to the few, the result could be high levels of social tension, corruption, crime and even conflict. Yet, when citizens were encouraged to speak freely and openly with their elected representatives, and where those officials could question executive authorities without fear of reprisal, decisions about public investment and resource allocation were more likely to reflect the demands of the people.
Joining Ms. Clark during the introductory segment were co-chairs, Jean Marie Ehouzou, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Benin, and Marie-Josee Jacobs, Minister for Cooperation and Development Aid of Luxembourg.
Mr. Ehouzou said that to him, “good governance” was the institutional capacity of administrative bodies to provide basic goods and services in a transparent and responsible manner, given the financial restraints of specific countries. Spotlighting the situation in Africa, he said that after years of autocratic regimes and political and economic decline, the African people were crying out for democratic elections and the equitable and transparent use of public funds. While there was certainly more work to be done in that regard, African Governments were making significant strides in combating corruption and bolstering election processes.
“Good governance at all levels is an inseparable element of all the development programmes to be implemented in support of developing countries,” added Ms. Jacobs, who stressed that democratic governance also called for protecting and promoting human rights and political freedoms. She also emphasized that at the international level, good governance should be applied to the multilateral trade system to ensure that it strengthened the development of productive capacities in the least developed countries and helped ensure sustainable development for all.
Following the keynote address and introductory remarks, an interactive debate was led by several featured discussants, including: Maxwell Mkwezalamba, Commissioner for Economic Affairs of the African Union; Rima Khalaf, Under Secretary-General, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA); Karel de Gutch, Commissioner of Trade for the European Union; Abdalla Hamdok, Director of the Governance and Public Administration Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UN-ECA); Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant Secretary General, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs; and Amir Dossal, Founder and Chairman of the Global Partnership Forum.
A key reference point throughout the discussion was the work under way in Africa to promote good governance. Mr. Mkwezalamba said such efforts were vital to reducing poverty, achieving sustainable development and attaining the Millennium Development Goals. He cited several landmark mechanisms created by the African Union over the past two decades, such as the Declaration on Unconstitutional Changes of Government, the Convention on Combating Corruption, the African Charter on Values and Principles of Public Administration, which, specifically, aimed to facilitate and coordinate public reform processes throughout the continent.
Further, he noted the ongoing success in implementing the African Peer Review Mechanism, an 8-year old instrument designed to encourage progress in political, economic and corporate governance values, codes and standards, and meet the objectives of socio-economic development set out in the United Nations-backed New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). Overall, he said, one-party systems and military dictatorships were slowly disappearing, and free and fair elections were on the rise. Further, civic space was being created and press freedoms were increasing.
But even as Africa was pressing ahead with its governance reforms, challenges remained –- many of which could only be successfully tackled if donors and development partners carried out related reforms. In that regard, he called for greater transparency in reporting on status of aid commitments. He also noted that there were “still issues of voice and recognition in key decision-making bodies such as the G-8 and the Bretton Woods institutions”.
Picking up on some of those themes, Mr. Hamdock said that during the 1990s, the issue of good governance had been seen as donor-driven, but now, Africans and others in the developing world were beginning to understand that as an essential pursuit leading to the full development of their societies. To that end, he cited Rwanda and Lesotho as among the African nations that had instituted national action plans in governance and public administration.
Yet, he stressed that the challenge of building democratic institutions was real, and while democratic elections were an absolute necessity, it was crucial for African Governments to provide more space for civil society organizations and to enhance electoral processes. “Soft issues”, such as respect for diversity, peaceful dispute settlement and acceptance of election results, must also be addressed.
For her part, Ms. Khalaf said her comments on governance were shaped by the “breathtaking uprisings rocking Arab States since December” when Mohammad Bouazizi, a 24-year-old Tunisian street vendor set himself on fire because he could no longer live with the fear, abuse and humiliation heaped upon him and the majority of Tunisians “by one of the most despotic regimes in the region”. His self sacrifice, tragic as it was, had ushered in the most powerful wave of protests in contemporary Arab history. Two regimes, in Tunisia and Egypt had since fallen. Some, like Libya, had responded violently, while others, like Morocco, had embarked on reforms that promised to bring a better life and a brighter future for their citizens.
Whereas such regimes represented the failure of governance at the national level, the continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian and Arab territories was a glaring example of such failure at the global level. She said that the responsibilities of the international community in the proposed new programme of action would be incomplete if they did not include explicit commitment to uphold the United Nations Charter, human rights and international covenants.
“This is not a call to commit military intervention. It is a call to commit to moral values and act accordingly,” she said, stressing that the underdevelopment trap could only be broken by systems of good governance, where fundamental freedoms were respected, where the rule of law was implemented, where women were empowered and no one was marginalized.
When the floor was opened for audience participation, several speakers stressed that solidifying good governance and democratic institutions should be a top priority for least developed countries. Lesotho’s representative said that, while that “made sense”, everyone must be honest and admit that attempts to implement good governance could be frustrated by the “very people who are preaching its virtues to us”.
As an example, he said that his Government had created a mechanism to tackle corruption, and while, admittedly, it needed to be adequately resourced and equipped to carry out its mandate, it was working and finding success. While it had investigated acts of corruption committed by nationals “everything was fine”, but when it had begun to go after the practices of large multinational corporations, its efforts had been frustrated.
Indeed, Lesotho had seen development assistance from the home States of some of those companies begin to diminish. Similarly, he stressed that many of those countries castigating autocratic regimes today had been the very States that had sold the arms and munitions “willy nilly” so that those despots could oppress their people. “As long as strategic interests are put first, issues of good governance would never be adequately addressed,” he said.
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