Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General
Distinguished Delegates,
Still fresh in our minds is the strong plea made by the leaders of the
world at their historic meeting on the eve of this 55th Assembly for a
universal recommitment to multilateralism and to the purposes and
principles of the United Nations. Their Declaration at the Summit's end
was unanimous and unambiguous. Humanity's future lies in the hands of
this organisation and its ability to create a new global order for the
promotion of peace and development. It is a conclusion which the
Assembly must take to heart if it is to fulfill this urgent mandate.
I am confident, Mr. President, that our task will be facilitated by your
skilful direction. Coming as you do from Finland, a country that has
been forged by history on the anvil of political, economic and social
endurance, you will undoubtedly bring to bear on our
deliberations, a sense of purpose and urgency. In congratulating you
on your election, Guyana pledges a readiness to cooperate with you to
make this Assembly abundantly successful.
My delegation also offers its appreciation and thanks to His Excellency
Mr. Theo Ben Gurirab for the able leadership which he provided the 54th
General Assembly.
Our gratitude is also due to Secretary-General Kofi Annan who continues
to manage the Organisation with a sure and steady hand. The report
which he has submitted to the Assembly - 'We the peoples - the Role of
the United Nations in the Twenty-first Century' -amply addresses the
many important challenges which lie ahead of us. It is well worth our
study to see what measures the Assembly can take to promote global peace
and development through the strengthening of the world organisation.
As the report demonstrates, a high level of tension now exists in the
governance of the global economy. While it has been generally
acknowledged that markets offer opportunities for growth and
development, there is still the caveat against excessive reliance on
it. As many developing countries have discovered, the market is often
blind to their particular circumstances and needs. Their concerns have
raised serious questions about the fairness of the trading system
leading to much public protest as was so dramatically expressed in
Seattle and almost every city where the Bretton Woods Institutions and
the World Trade Organisation have tried to hold meetings. The message is
clear: the international community must find a consensus on ways and
means to ensure more democratic governance in international affairs so
that the developing countries can have a greater say in shaping their
future.
The gap between the richest and poorest countries has widened so
dramatically during recent years that strong and urgent action must be
taken to avoid a major human disaster. The UNDP 1999 Human Development
Report has pointed out that this gap grew from 30:1 in 1960 to 44:1 in
1973 to 60:1 in 1990 and to 74:1 in 1999. The conclusion that must be
drawn is that the current international economic system allows the rich
countries to get richer while making poor countries rapidly poorer.
Recent statistics coming out of the World Bank estimate that of a world
population of some six billion people, nearly 1.3 billion people live on
a dollar a day or less, 80 percent live in substandard housing, 70
percent do not know how to read and 50 percent suffer from malnutrition.
When we consider this frightening reality, the situation can only be
deemed as perilous. For most developing countries such as my own, a
scarcity of financial and human resources place serious constraints on
the policy options that they are able to exercise. Despite the fact
that many have embraced market-based reforms and democratic governance,
they have had limited success in improving the socio-economic conditions
of their people. Their efforts to undertake important reforms and to
lift themselves up by their boot-straps have been rewarded by a denial
of much needed assistance to sustain the progress achieved. The hostile
international environment in which they find themselves not only
frustrates their economic and social development, but also renders the
strengthening of the democratic process extremely difficult.
Thus, while globalisation has benefited strong economies, it has
weakened many developing countries and forced them into the backwaters
of development. Severe economic and social dislocation has followed in
many cases, accentuating the particular vulnerabilities of small
developing countries, many of whom are often dependent on a single
agriculture crop for the livelihood of their peoples. While the
proponents of economic liberalisation contend that the market offers "a
level playing field," they conveniently fail to realise that the
players are not equally matched and that the rules of the game are
stacked in favour of the strong. The weak can hardly compete and are
eventually marginalised. Indeed it is a zero-sum game where both
winners and losers are known in advance.
The majority of developing countries continues to be crippled by weak
infrastructure such as roads, telecommunications, and other physical
requirements and the inadequacy of skilled labour to take advantage of
opportunities in the market. Moreover, they must face not only high
production costs, but also low prices and inadequate access to markets.
Trade liberalisation has also led to the rapid growth in imports by
developing countries while their own exports remain sluggish and their
trade deficit widens. In the process, governments lose much needed
revenues from duties and taxes which hitherto made an appreciable
contribution to the national budget.
Meanwhile, official development assistance has fallen to its lowest
since the target of 0.7 per cent of the GNP was established by the
United Nations in 1970. Only four countries - Denmark, the Netherlands,
Norway and Sweden - have reached the mark. On average, developed
countries contribute less than a third of this target figure, with the
richest countries contributing even less. Assistance is now apparently
seen by some as both wasteful and wasted, a perception which may serve
to explain the rapid decline. Yet, for many of the poor developing
countries such assistance is indispensable if they are to improve their
economic performance. To make matters worse, they find it difficult
without the requisite technology and human resource base, to attract FDI
which is increasingly concentrated in a small number of emerging
economies.
The challenge, therefore, for the international community and for policy
makers in the new millennium, is to redress these inequities in the
global economy in a comprehensive and sustainable manner so as to ensure
the smooth integration of developing countries, in particular the
smaller economies, into the globalising world economy. Developing
countries are not asking for charity - merely the opportunity to develop
their potential and to take their rightful place in the international
community. As they have said, they recognise the primary
responsibilitywhich they have for their own development. They ask only
for assistance in creating a domestic environment that would enable them
to participate fairly in the global economy.
A helpful measure would be to integrate transition periods into current
economic models and make provisions for targeted assistance to small
economies. Another would be to provide significant debt relief and
debt cancellation as necessary, together with development assistance to
boost the overall productive capability of developing countries.
Developed countries could also assist in promoting regional integration
as well as South-South cooperation to allow developing countries to
benefit from the many complementarities which they possess. Equally
indispensable is the provision of new and additional resources through
the establishment of a Global Development Fund - that would help to
bridge the gap between the developed and developing worlds.
Only an action-oriented programme - somewhat along the lines of the
Marshall plan is necessary to achieve meaningful progress. Policies
aimed merely at creating unsustainable social safety nets are hardly
lasting solutions. The root causes of the structural and endemic
problems of the developing countries, which ultimately lead to global
instability, must be addressed. To this end, we must find a way to
direct aid and investment into building capital, both human and
physical. We cannot speak seriously of closing the digital divide in an
environment where many Governments are struggling to meet even the most
basic needs of their populations and where degraded infrastructure does
not support a "communications revolution."
In this context, we have noted the Secretary-General's initiative to
forge a global compact between the United Nations, the private sector
and non-governmental organisations in an effort to maximise the
development effort. Such a strategic alliance can indeed enhance
cooperation on a wide array of global issues, including aid, trade and
investment, the protection of the environment as well as satisfy urgent
education, health and housing needs. To succeed, however, such a
compact must be based on mutual understanding and respect through aclear
definition of therespective roles of the partners. There must be common
objectives and agendas as well as a clear definition of the roles of
each partner.
Finally, Mr. President, the international community, and more
particularly the developed North must recognise the close link which
exists between freedom from want and freedom from fear - between
development, peace and stability. At the national level we know that
good governance must be practised to ensure that the population is
protected from all forms of oppression and allowed to enjoy their
inalienable human rights. Correspondingly, at the international level,
the principles of the Charter as well as the laws which we, as
civilised nations, have come to accept, must be respected to provide
an environment conducive to development. In Chapter IV of his report,
the Secretary-General remarks that "economic globalisation has largely
eliminated the benefits of territorial acquisition while the
destructiveness of modern warfare has increased its costs." This
lesson must be learnt by states which, despite their professed
commitment to the Charter, often resort to various forms of coercion in
international relations. The United Nations - and more particularly the
Security Council should not - and indeed, must not tolerate such
actions. All disputes must be resolved through peaceful means.
Mr. President,
While many of the proposals made by the distinguished Secretary-General
in his report will undoubtedly help to contain the threats to peace and
development in the twenty-first century, we rather fear that they will
be insufficient to our requirements if they are pursued in piece-meal
fashion without a more comprehensive and holistic framework. It is for
this reason that Guyana has placed an item on this year's agenda
entitled "A New Global Human Order." Time does not allow me to provide
the details of the initiative. However, so that the concept might be
more fully understood and widely supported, I have asked that along with
copies of my statement, an explanatory memorandum outlining the aim of
our proposal, be circulated. Very shortly, we will also make available a
more extensive document that could serve as the basis for a discussion
in the plenary. It is our hope that out of this consideration will
emerge a resolution that will express the determination of the
international community to find a consensus on the way forward to
securing global peace and development.
The time is now opportune, I believe, for us to summon up our
collective political will to devise a common and cogent strategy for
managing the global agenda in the 21st century. Should we fail to heed
this imperative, we will continue to plough the sea and reap only
disillusionment and despair. This Millennium Assembly affords us a
singular opportunity to define the terms and conditions of a new global
partnership. Let us not waste it in futile debate, but rather let us
use it to give new hope to our peoples for a better future.
I thank you.
The Role of the United Nations in
Promoting a New Global Human Order Purpose
Explanatory Memorandum
The proposal for a New Global Human Order is intended to prompt a
re-examination of international co-operation and partnership and to
explore the prospects of a viable consensus on people-centred
development as a central pillar of the work of the United Nations in
development in the twenty-first century.
Such an undertaking is now imperative in light of the manifold
initiatives on development that have been embarked upon over the past
five decades and the comparably meagre results that have ensued. The
series of UN Conferences held during the 1990s, which are among the most
recent démarches by the international community in this regard,
established the centrality of people-centred development, together with
a consensus on critical aspects to be addressed through national action
and international cooperation. However, the review processes that have
taken place to date point to a certain disappointment and frustration
over the lack of progress in implementation.
The urgent need therefore exists to impart fresh momentum to the
achievement of international economic and social cooperation, for new
approaches to development, including on the question of resources. This
is illustrated by the attempts on all fronts, including the leading
financial and trade institutions, to redefine and reconfigure the
parameters of development assistance. The functioning of the
international machinery in support of development also needs to be
examined with a view to promoting greater coherence and coordination.
The Millennium Assembly of the United Nations provides a unique
opportunity for a fresh look at both the problems and possibilities of
international cooperation.
Background and Rationale
The call for a New Global Human Order was first made at the World Summit
for Social Development held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1995 by then
President of Guyana, Dr. Cheddi Jagan. Since then, it has found echo in
a number of international fora, including the Caribbean Community, the
Movement of Non-Aligned countries and most recently, the Group of 77. At
the Sixteenth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the
Caribbean Community (Caricom) held in Georgetown, Guyana, in July 1995,
Caricom Heads expressed their support for the call for a New Global
Human Order.
In the Declaration of the South Summit held in Havana in April 2000,
Heads of State and Government of the Group of 77 and China stressed,
inter alia, "the need for a new global human order aimed at
reversing the growing disparities between rich and poor, both among and
within countries, through the promotion of growth with equity, the
eradication of poverty, the expansion of productive employment and the
promotion of gender equality and social integration."
The deepening interdependence of nations and peoples, the consolidation
of democracy in many countries across the globe, accelerated
technological innovation, and the end of the Cold War, offer potentially
enhanced prospects for the achievement of these aims. However, the
growing inequities and disparities that have accompanied the
globalisation of the world economy manifested by the increasing income
and technological divide between developed and developing countries
strongly militate against economic and social progress for the majority
of humanity.
Objectives and Proposed Actions
The proposal for a New Global Human Order seeks to build a strong
political consensus and a broad-based global partnership to combat
poverty and promote economic security throughout the world. This must be
based on a long-term integrated approach to development that takes full
account of how governments, markets and societies interact and provides
for the achievement of concrete development results.
Political will and an enlightened international partnership are
essential to successfully address the challenges of global poverty and
inequity and the promotion of full human development. Such a partnership
needs to involve all relevant actors, Member States, the international
community, and non-governmental actors. It could address the linkages
between issues of vital importance to the developing world and concerns
in the developed countries and promote solutions to common problems.
The partnership should endeavour to build on the vital work done to date
by the United Nations in development, including in the series of UN
Conferences held during the 1990s, and, more importantly to provide new
impetus to the implementation of the many development initiatives
undertaken under the auspices of the Organisation. To this end, the
proposal envisages the co-ordination by the world community of efforts
towards effective action that is people-centred, aimed at promoting
fully the social and economic welfare of the peoples of the world. It
will further sensitise the international community to the compelling
need to focus not merely on the financial and economic factors but also
on moral and social imperatives that place people's livelihood at the
centre of material development.
The proposal envisages a number of concrete initiatives aimed at
addressing critical issues of human development. Investment, technical
and economic assistance remain principal instruments to support the
development undertakings of developing countries. It seeks to advance
further action on three major fronts.
First, there is the fundamental need to facilitate a reshaping of the
role of government in order to build the democratic instruments
necessary for human development. This will facilitate the
strengthening of the capabilities to provide the services and
infrastructure necessary to forging the requisite synergies between
economic growth, poverty-reduction and social development.
Secondly, it seeks to mobilise enhanced political support for
development. The developed countries must be urged to take definitive
action to honour their obligations regarding the United Nations ODA
target of 0.7 percent of GNP, given the overall improvement in their
economic conditions. It is also important that official debt relief be
adequately financed though not at the expense of resources for
development assistance. Further, while the HIPC debt initiative is an
important step to assist developing countries to avail resources to
address poverty, greater effort is required to allow countries to
qualify for debt relief on the grounds of the incidence of poverty.
Thirdly, the proposal seeks to facilitate a genuine consensus on the
promotion of social justice, ownership and good governance, at both
national and international levels. These are key elements in the
promotion of human development. To this end, consideration should be
given to the establishment of an international arbitration process which
would balance the interests of donors, International Financial
Institutions, Transnational Corporations and developing countries, with
a view to introducing greater discipline in international cooperation.
Role of the United Nations
The United Nations remains the premier institution of the world
community for forging global consensus on issues of universal concern.
It spearheaded the struggles for decolonisation and political
independence. It must now, in an increasingly interdependent world, and
in keeping with the mandate of its Charter, play a pivotal role in
promoting higher standards of living in larger freedom, for the benefit
of all of the world's peoples.