RI denounces rich countries' unilateral actions

RI denounces rich countries' unilateral actions

UNITED NATIONS (Agencies): Indonesia on Monday denounced "unilateral and arbitrary" actions by industrialized countries which could undermine multilateral bodies such as the World Trade Organization (WTO).

In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas also indirectly criticized the United States for controversial legislation punishing states for trading with Cuba, Iran and Libya.

He argued for a strengthening of the United Nations, saying that "constructive initiatives are needed, and multilateralism has to be reasserted and strengthened."

Concerning the WTO, which is due to meet in Singapore in December, Alatas expressed alarm "at the tendency of some developed countries to resort to a new form of protectionism in the guise of linking labor standards and other social and environmental concerns to trade."

"Such efforts will not only denigrate the developing countries, it will also ultimately debilitate the WTO itself."

He called on all trading partners to refrain from overloading the Singapore meeting with "issues extraneous to trade."

"Let us together nurture the WTO as the guardian of a predictable, non-discriminatory multilateral trading system and the guarantor of the rights of the weaker trading partner against unilateral and arbitrary actions by the strong."

Some countries are pressing for the WTO's Dec. 9 to Dec.13 meeting to take up investment rules, labor and environmental standards, government procurements and corruption as issues which affect trade.

But Asian and other developing countries fear that bringing in such issues could result in new forms of protectionism, such as demands for them to raise workers' wages or comply with tough environmental standards for their exports.

Alatas added that his country shared concern "at the practice of some countries of promulgating national laws with extra- territorial application that adversely have impacts on the legitimate interests of other countries."

"We cannot accept the imposition of the law of the strong in place of dialog and negotiation," he said.

Without referring directly to Washington, Alatas said that "no one country, no matter how powerful, should be allowed to unilaterally regulate the lives of other sovereign countries."

Council

In another part of his speech Alatas said that there are too many European countries on the United Nations Security Council and called for redefining criteria to choose permanent members in the body.

Alatas said the track records of candidates for permanent membership should cover both regional and global achievements.

"It is an anachronism and a gross anomaly that Europe is over- represented, Asia underrepresented and Africa and Latin America not represented at all in the roster of the council's permanent members," he noted.

Alatas called for setting up criteria for the selection of new permanent members, including their economic, political and demographic importance, and their commitment to responsibilities inherent to a permanent member.

The Indonesian foreign minister focused his address on reform of the world organization and decried the body's chronic financial crisis. He said there was a "real danger" that UN peacekeeping operations might collapse because of the cash shortage.

"No organization can function through starvation," Alatas said.

Turning to nuclear disarmament, Alatas called for creating a special committee in the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva to begin negotiation on the elimination of nuclear weapons now that the world has a nuclear test ban treaty.

He added that Indonesia is in the last stage of ratifying the UN convention on chemical weapons.