Economic issues

Governments must unite to create jobs or face the pressing danger posed by the massive movements organizing around the world, Juan Somavía, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), said today during a joint meeting of Second Committee (Economic and Financial) and the Economic and Social Council.

Arbitrary detention and disproportionate use of military force, the expansion of settlements and the blockade of the Gaza Strip continued to constrain the functioning of the Palestinian Authority while contributing to the growing economic and social hardship faced by its citizens, Rima Khalaf, Executive Secretary for Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today.

Farmers were not just farmers, they were also entrepreneurs and should be treated as such, the representative of the Netherlands told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today as it concluded its consideration of agriculture development and food security.

A Nobel Laureate’s pessimistic appraisal of global economic prospects at Headquarters today included a warning that the current emphasis on austerity in policy responses to the world financial crisis was not only failing to solve its underlying causes but might actually amount to “economic suicide”.

While hailing last May’s adoption of the Istanbul Programme of Action as a feat for the world’s poorest countries, many delegates in the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) warned today that further delaying its practical implementation would lead to a further deterioration in the lives of hundreds of millions of people.

Looking to move forward on agreements made at the Fourth United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries in Istanbul, delegates in the General Assembly’s Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today stressed the need for full implementation of the Programme of Action to address the many challenges and vulnerabilities still facing least developed countries, small island developing States, and landlocked developing countries.

While there was no longer any doubt that globalization was impacting every country on the planet, the costs and benefits of this new era of interconnectedness should be more equally shared, delegates in the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) said today as they took up their agenda item on globalization and interdependence.

With nearly 1.5 billion people still living in absolute poverty, eradication efforts had not succeeded and it remained the most significant challenge facing humankind, delegates in the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) said today.

Global economic recovery remained “very vulnerable to further negative shocks”, a panel of World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials told the Second Committee (Financial and Economic) today during a briefing on the outcome of the 2011 annual meetings of the Bretton Woods institutions.

The current global financial crisis should in no way impact upon the delivery of official development assistance pledges, and more must be done to meet those commitments, delegates in the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) stressed today.