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NGOs
UN Should Refuse Report, Say
By Brian Kenety
Some 80 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and people’s movements, organised in caucuses for the Social Summit, yesterday called on the United Nations to withdraw its endorsement of a poverty reduction report, “A Better World for All,” released here by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday .
The NGO statement called on UN Member States to re-commit to the Social Summit process by analysing the root causes of poverty and gender inequality within the current macro-economic framework of globalisation, reverse the decline in ODA, and pledge to immediate and full debt relief for the poorest countries so that resources can be released for investment in social development
The NGOs, charge that the report “represents only the northern countries, the same as those who are the majority shareholders of the World Bank and the IMF.” The UN “represents the nations of the world,” the NGOs pointed out in a statement, and as such “it provides the principal forum for reaching political consensus in a participatory process that includes both the North and the South.”
Wednesday’s call on governments to withdraw support from the document appeared to be a retreat from an earlier position take here by some NGOs who had vowed they would press governments to censure Annan for signing off on a document which they claimed does not reflect a UN consensus .
The report, which was signed by Annan and heads of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) called for a halving of extreme poverty in the world by 2015. It also set targets for reducing infant mortality and boost primary school enrolment. .
It has drawn sharp criticisms since its release as many developing country delegates and NGOs objected to the inclusion of the IMF and World Bank which have been charged with imposing harsh conditions on loans to developing countries .
“(The report) undermined the very concept of political inclusiveness that defines the UN,” said the NGOs, and advocates a “partisan vision forward” at a time when delegates to the Social Summit are in the final stages of negotiating a wide range of complex issues. In his keynote speech to the opening session of the UN General Assembly Special Summit, Annan heralded the report as a unique effort, in which the world body had combined forces with the other “main international bodies concerned with development” The joint NGO statement Wednesday pointed to the past export-led growth policies of the Bretton Woods institutions as an obstacle that prevented national governments from developing social policies.
Separately, African NGOs issued a statement saying that “the Bretton Woods institutions should be ashamed of themselves to gate-crash such an historic gathering to pre-empt serious deliberations by sovereign representatives of the peoples. What alarms us even more is the manner in which they co-opt (the UN Secretary-General) in their deceptive ploy.”
The African civil society group said “We must remind (the IFIs) that Africa is now poorer than it was a decade ago, primarily due to the destabilisation of the IMF and World Bank-imposed policies”. “In case they are truly sincere in wanting to know what it will take to eradicate poverty by 2015,” the African contingent offered the following proposal: cancel the debt of African countries unconditionally and comprehensively and make access to affordable and appropriate treatment to HIV/AIDS a human rights issue. “This will free sufficient resources to be redirected to health, education, and food production,” it said. Official Development Assistance (ODA) is still far below agreed targets of 0.7 percent of gross domestic product for member states of the OECD for general aid and 0.15 percent of funding for least developed countries .
The World Council of Churches(WCC), one of the signatories to the NGO statement, noted that monitoring the concrete results of Copenhagen is imperative. “Therefore world leaders must gather again in 2005 the mid-point between the Summit and many of the targets set to assess achievements and set new goals,” said the WCC, a fellowship of 337 churches in more than 100 countries.
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The 1996 Copenhagen Social Summit final report in English, French and Spanish.