KL anxious about RI commitment<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Developed nations should honor the promise
\nmade more than two years ago to help developing countries sustain
\nthe environment, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
Financial commitments by developed countries utilizing freely
\nthe rich resources of developing nations was not forthcoming
\nalthough more than two years had lapsed after the landmark Earth
\nSummit in Rio de Janeiro.<\/p>\n
\"Developing countries require assistance and technology
\ntransfers but these have been subjected to conditions imposed by
\nthe developed nations,\" he said in opening the International
\nConference of Asian Parliamentarians on the Environment and
\nSustainable Development.<\/p>\n
The four-day conference was being attended by 40 delegates
\nfrom 22 countries.<\/p>\n
Mahathir said development aid from the Organization for
\nEconomic Cooperation and Development countries to developing
\nnations had dwindled to US$54.8 billion last year from $60.8
\nbillion the previous year.<\/p>\n
The only new source of funds was from the restructured Global
\nEnvironment Facility (GEF), which had been pledged $2 billion by
\n26 countries, but conditions had been attached to the release of
\nthe money, he said.<\/p>\n
The UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio
\nde Janeiro in June 1992 had adopted the GEF to finance a
\nprogram of action to sustain development and guide environment
\nconservation into the 21st century.<\/p>\n
\"I get the impression that, during the discussion of the
\nimplementation of various environment-related conventions, the
\ndeveloping countries are treated like beggars for aid,\" Mahathir
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He hoped that a global arrangement could be established to
\nensure that developed countries honor commitments to environment
\nconservation.<\/p>\n
\"The continued attempts by the developed countries to
\nintroduce the social clause for workers and other conditions are
\ndisguised protectionism to erode the competitive edge of
\ndeveloping nations,\" Mahathir said.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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