Roads to world peace more complex (2)

Roads to world peace more complex (2)

This article is based on statement made by Indonesian Foreign
Minister Ali Alatas at the 49th session of the United Nations
General Assembly on Oct. 4. This is the second of a two-part
article.

NEW YORK: I do agree with the Report of the Secretary-General
on an Agenda for Development (A/48/935) when it cites the economy
as being the engine of progress and of development as a whole. If
I may bring the metaphor a little further, it may be appropriate
to say that at present the world economy is a flawed engine that
has stalled but is beginning to warm up again. It is flawed by
the imbalances and inequities that have distorted the
relationship of one of its most important parts, the relationship
between the developed and the developing economies. It has broken
down in a long and devastating recession, but in recent times it
has shown signs of recovery. However, the aggregate statistics of
world economic growth often conceal as much as they reveal. As
aptly put by the 1994 World Economic and Social Survey, the world
economy remains a complex mosaic of sharp contrasts, in which
most developing countries are often too weak and vulnerable to be
able to compete successfully in the world market, thus risking
their further marginalization and decline into extreme poverty.
Hence, apart from the need to sustain non-inflationary, global
economic growth, the urgent imperative continues to be the
eradication of poverty and acceleration of the socio-economic
development of the developing countries on a sustained and
sustainable basis.

If the engine for global progress and development is to carry
humankind to a brighter future into the next century, then its
parts must be brought into a more balanced, synergistic
relationship and its functioning be made more effective and
efficient. We have no alternative but to forge a new partnership
for development involving all nations, developed and developing.
It is therefore crucial that we bring to full realization General
Assembly resolution 48/165 on the "Renewal of the Dialogue on
Strengthening International Economic Cooperation for Development
through Partnership". By adopting this resolution, the
international community has acknowledged the indispensability of
the principles of genuine interdependence, of mutual interest and
benefit, and of equitably shared responsibility, in a new spirit
of global partnership. As a necessary corollary to this North-
South partnership. South-South cooperation has become even more
compelling, for the developing countries are called upon to
shoulder an increasing share of the responsibility for world
growth and development. We look forward to the report of the
Secretary-General on this issue and also to the deliberations
toward the adoption of "An Agenda for Development" As many have
advocated during the World Hearings on Development in June this
year, as well as at the High Level Segment Meeting of the ECOSOC,
the Agenda should be action-oriented and should present an
overall policy and priority framework for a balanced and
comprehensive approach to development. It should reflect
universal recognition and acceptance of the United Nations as the
only Organization capable of dealing with issues of development
as well as with the issues of peace and security. It will also be
necessary that the agencies, bodies and programs of the United
Nations be organized in such a way as to enable them to implement
the Agenda in an effective, efficient and coordinated manner,
without necessarily creating a new body for this purpose.
Obviously, there will be the need to generate the required
political will in support of the Agenda. We look forward to
seeing the Agenda for Development serve as a fitting complement
to the Agenda for Peace.

One of the most important recent developments in the
international economic sphere is the completion of the Uruguay
Round with the signing of its Final Act in Marrakesh and the
agreement to establish the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Indonesia and the other developing countries have accepted the
Uruguay Round package, in spite of the heavy obligations and
challenges that it entails, because they anticipate that
considerable opportunities for increased market access and indeed
for world economic growth and prosperity will be forthcoming.
They also expect that the Uruguay Round package would provide the
long-sought assurance of a rule-based and non-discriminatory
multilateral trading system, free of the arbitrariness of
unilateral action. Yet, we must confess to being concerned with
the possibility of a tardy and long drawn-out process of
implementing the Final Act of the Uruguay Round. Such an
eventuality will negate much of its original intent and rob it of
its positive impact, as was, regrettably, the experience with the
Tokyo Round. Furthermore, the attempts to over-load the WTO work
program with social clauses represent in our view protectionism
in a thin guise and tend to nullify the few remaining comparative
advantages of developing countries. For this reason, we feel
strongly that the process of ratification and implementation of
the Uruguay Round agreements should not be linked to new issues
that have little or no relevance to the development of a new
international trading regime. All nations are called upon to
marshal their political will and to accept inevitable shifts in
comparative advantage without transferring the burden of
adjustment to the weaker economies.

Had relationships between developed and developing countries
been more equitable. We would not today be faced with the problem
of developing countries staggering under their external debt
burden. While aggregate debt indicators have undoubtedly
improved, mainly in response to various debt relief measures, the
external debt crisis still persists especially in the Least
Developed Countries where debt ratios have significantly worsened
and continue to hamper the prospects for economic growth and
development. A durable solution to the perennial debt question, I
believe, can only be secured through a development-oriented
strategy formulated within the framework of shared responsibility
and genuine partnership. Thus, rather than taking a one-sided
view of the causes of external debt, there is an urgent need for
all sided involved to adopt a coordinated approach.

As Chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement, Indonesia has given
the highest priority to resolving this crisis. President Soeharto
has taken the initiative of conveying a memorandum on debt of
development countries to the Chairman of the Group of Seven on
the eve of their Tokyo Summit last year, inviting the G-7 to
engage in dialogue on this issue. We are encouraged that the G-7
has responded positively to the NAM on this issue in Tokyo and
then again last July in Naples, where among others, it urged the
Paris Club to pursue its efforts to improve the debt treatment of
the poorest and most indebted countries and, where appropriate,
to reduce the stock of debt as well as to increase
concessionality for those countries facing special difficulties.
Moreover, Indonesia has also recently hosted a ministerial
meeting of Non-Aligned Countries on Debt and Development,
involving the most heavily indebted Least Developed Countries
(LDCs). The meeting called upon the international community,
particularly donors and international financial institutions
inter-alia to adopt a common set of principles for future debt
negotiations, which include a one-and-for-all arrangement for
settling all outstanding debts, and the application of debt
reduction to all categories of debt, including multilateral
debts. A report of the meeting has been submitted to the
Secretary-General for possible consideration at this session of
the General Assembly.

As a firm believer in the rights of peoples to development,
including social development, Indonesia is deeply committed to
participate actively in the World Summit for Social Development.
We do hold that economic development can only be meaningful if
guided by social values and directed at humanist goals. The World
Conference on Women in 1995 equally deserves total support from
the international community. Indonesia is committed to the
adoption of a conference declaration calling for de facto as well
as de jure equality between men and women, the integration of
gender concerns into sustainable development, and a program of
action to achieve those goals.

Some of these issues have likewise been addressed in the
Program of Action on Population and Development which was adopted
at the International Conference in Cairo in September this year.
We consider that the Cairo Program of Action has laid a solid
foundation upon which population and development policies can be
integrally implemented. The interrelationship between population,
sustained economic growth and sustainable development has been
greatly reinforced in the program. In the preparations for that
Conference, Indonesia, as Chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement,
organized three meetings of its member countries at the
Ministerial and expert levels which we believe contributed
towards the comprehensive outcome of the Conference. It is now
crucial, however, to ensure that the recommendations of the Cairo
Program be fully implemented in accordance with the sovereign
rights, the national laws and development priorities of each
country as well as with full respect for various religious and
ethical values and cultural backgrounds of its people. It is
equally important that the international community provides
additional financing for its full implementation.