GLOBALIZATION SHOULD BE CENTRAL ISSUE FOR UN

5:46 AM Apr 4, 1997

GLOBALIZATION SHOULD BE CENTRAL ISSUE FOR UN
New York 3 Apr (TWN) -- In the five years since the Rio Earth Summit, environment and development objectives have been downgraded or sidelined at the United Nations, in the face of the globalization process which has been left by the international community to proceed on its own without proper monitoring or guidance.

The Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) beginning next week, and the UN General Assembly Special Session in June and the processes leading to it, should address globalization as the central issue and come out with a commitment to monitor and examine this process from the perspective of sustainable development, and recommend measures to channel and influence the process, moving it away from narrow commercial or national interests towards broader international and sustainable development interests.

In winding up a two-day workshop on "Globalization and Sustainable Development", organized jointly by the Group of 77 and the Third World Network, Mr. Martin Khor, Director of the Third World Network outlined the summary conclusions that the organisers drew out of the rich discussions.

Mr. Mangachi of Tanzania, who co-chaired the final session in the absence of the Chairman of the G77, Amb. Daudi Ngelautwa Mwakawago, said that the Group of 77 had benefited a great deal from the Round Table and the high quality of presentations by the panellists.

Mangachi thanked the TWN for having responded at such short notice in organizing the Round Table and bringing experts to contribute to and address the various aspects of the issues.

The two-day session, besides addressing the general theme of globalization and sustainable development, had focused on a number of economic and trade issues:

* technology transfer issues and IPRs and the TRIPs agreement and their implications for sustainable development in the South;

* the imbalances and deficiencies of the WTO Agreements and the Trade system and proposals for developing countries;

* the new WTO issues after the Singapore Ministerial Conference, and the Trade and Environment issue in the CSD and the WTO;

* Review of Environment and Development, five years after Rio and, in particular the implications for financial resources and the CSD;

* critical environment issues for the CSD, arising out of other environmental agreements (like biodiversity, climate change, desertification etc) and issues relating to toxic substances and waste;

* debt, structural adjustment alternatives, trade and investment with special reference to LDCs and Africa.

Mr. Khor, at the end summed up the TWN's perception of the discussions and the broad conclusions that emerged:

* Globalization linked to liberalization is a major and even an over-riding process in the world today and it is characterized by uneven global development -- significant growth in a relatively few countries and marginalization of many poorer countries.

The differential impacts of globalization must be examined more deeply and appropriate implications and policy recommendations should be drawn up, specially for the weaker countries and for an international or multilateral framework for policy and action.

* The relationship between globalization and sustainable development was examined in depth at the Round Table. It was felt that, given the experience of the five years since Rio, the globalization process has been left by the international community to proceed on its own without proper monitoring or efforts to influence it towards sustainability goals.

Environment and development objectives have been downgraded or sidelined in the face of globalization. The CSD and the processes for the Special Session of the General Assembly should discuss this as a central issue and come out with a commitment to monitor and examine globalization from the perspective of sustainable development and recommend measures to channel and influence the processes of globalization -- away from narrow commercial or national mercantalist interests towards broad and international goals and sustainable development objectives.

* The globalization process has been increasingly institutionalized through the legally-binding rules of the WTO. The Uruguay Round introduced several new areas into the GATT/WTO system. The programme decided upon at the Singapore WTO Conference could lead to even more issues, not traditionally trade issues (investment policy, competition policy, and government procurement practices) being brought within the WTO framework.

Developing countries should pay great attention to this and organize themselves well to prepare for the forthcoming WTO negotiations, otherwise, there is a danger that the WTO will adopt new issues and in ways detrimental to development interests of developing countries.

* the external environment for development is now even more unfavourable for most developing countries: ODA is declining and commodity prices are still at low levels and terms of trade are deteriorating. At the CSD, developing countries should resist any attempt to dilute the North's ODA commitment and point out that private sector flows are a grossly inadequate substitute for ODA, because of the uneven distribution of FDI, and its tendency to bypass or neglect poor countries. Also the short-term capital flows will come in the way of sustainable development, and the long-term time horizons needed.

* In the area of technology transfer, the experience of recent years shows that the tightening of IPR laws, especially under the impetus of the WTO TRIPs Agreement, can have a negative effect on technology transfers, including on transfers of environmentally sound technology. The CSD should support proposals being made by some developing countries (including in the WTO) to adjust and modify the IPR rules to facilitate transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies (ESTs), and future negotiations on IPRs should take into account the need to transfer the ESTs.

* the WTO and the WIPO in providing technical assistance and guidance to developing countries to enact laws to conform to the TRIPs, are providing a highly restrictive interpretation of the TRIPs agreement, in line with the US views, and not placing the various options that are available to developing countries.

Developing countries should not rely on such technical advice.

* The erosion of the principle of development (development needs and objectives) in various fora such as at the CSD, the UN and WTO is of grave concern. Developing countries must strengthen their efforts to articulate the development principle and roll-back this erosion.

* The Round Table also examined the various critical environment issues and proposed several measures to improve on the texts to be considered by CSD-V. These proposals are in the areas of finance, technology transfer, the links between globalization and environment, toxic materials and wastes, land degradation, mining, tourism and energy. These proposals will be put forward at the CSD session.

* the TWN and the G77 are pleased that the Round Table has strengthened their cooperation on behalf of the South and that it contributes to greater collaboration in the future.

Mr. Mangachi, on behalf of the Group of 77, thanked the TWN for responding at such short notice to organize the Round Table and the various panellists and experts who had presented high quality papers and made oral presentations.