Indonesia govt told not to force through Bali Commitment
Indonesia govt told not to force through Bali Commitment
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali
The Indonesian government, currently hosting the UN meeting on
sustainable development here, should not insist that the final
document, called the Bali Commitment, be completed since there
are too many contentious issues blocking negotiations, NGOs say.
Martin Kohr, who represented NGOs at the multidialog meeting
with ministers on Thursday, said that forcing the completion of
the document could damage the image and the reputation of
Indonesia as the draft plan of implementations contain "bad
things."
"We understand that the Indonesian government would like to
have the name of Bali (on the document), but it would be better
to stick to the principles and to leave everything in bold rather
than have a Bali Commitment that contained unfavorable things,"
he told The Jakarta Post after the meeting.
The Indonesian government is required by UN resolution to seal
the draft plan of implementation for the World Summit on
Sustainable Development during the current ministerial meeting in
Bali.
Since negotiations have met with so many stumbling blocks,
Indonesia has been approaching opposite groups to ensure that the
draft plan of implementations is finalized in Bali before the
meeting ends on Friday.
Khor suggested that the unresolved points in the draft plan of
the implementation be left in bold or brackets and be brought to
Johannesburg, where world leaders will have their summit in
August and September.
"The name of Bali would be worse. There is no harm in having a
few square brackets in Johannesburg," he said.
The meeting lasted for more than an hour, with not that many
ministers attended the session, and only a few of them responded
to the major groups' statement.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the nine major
groups: NGOs, Youths, Women, indigenous people, scientists, local
governments, workers, farmers and businesses.
These groups also requested that the draft plan incorporate
measures to demand corporate accountability and review the
Bretton Woods institutions (the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund).
Youth, Women's, NGOs and indigenous people's groups are
demanding that business communities consider the environmental
impacts when conducting their activities.
Khor further added that the Bali meeting would be meaningful
if it could promote an alternative economic paradigm that opposed
current ones, now dominated by the World Bank, the IMF and the
World Trade Organization (WTO).
The problems at the World Summit of Sustainable Development
would remain the same, that is, that the implementation of
sustainable development would again be overshadowed by the World
Bank, the IMF and the WTO, he remarked.
The Bretton Woods institutions had stronger influence in the
world as their agreements and policies as independent bodies were
compulsory and legally binding.
These institutions are considered to represent the interests
of multinational corporations and developed countries like the
United States.
On the other hand, the United Nations' conventions and
summits, like the next one in Johannesburg, which favor
developing countries do not enjoy the same kind of authority as
the Bretton Woods institutions.
Khor also said that the groups had asked developed countries
to support developing countries, especially in dealing with their
mounting debts.
"We also warn the governments not to take the partnerships
issue as a substitute for political commitments of the developed
countries," he remarked.