8:09 AM Sep 26, 1996

NEEDS TO ENHANCE NEGOTIATING CAPACITY

New York, 25 Sep 1996 (Martin Khor) -- A round table meeting on "The future role of the Group of 77" held here Wednesday concluded that the G77 should strengthen its secretariat and the offices of its Chapters and enhance the group's negotiating capability in various fora.

A number of participants warned about the dangers to the South of proposals by the North to introduce a multilateral investment agreement in the World Trade Organisation. Many were also concerned about the danger that development issues might be further sidelined in the ongoing exercise of reforming the UN.

Developing countries, and the Group of 77, were also cautioned against the new issues like investment being sought to be brought on the agenda of the World Trade Organization.

The meeting recommended the setting up of a task force to look into the present working methods of the G77 as well as ways to strengthen the office of the G77 chairman and the possibility of a permanent secretariat.

Organized by the Group of 77 in conjunction with the 21st meeting of the chairmen/coordinators of the G77 chapters, the round table was attended by the coordinators of the various G77 chapters, as well as several past chairmen of the G77, South Centre chairman Julius Nyerere, UNCTAD Secretary-General Rubens Ricupero, UNDP Administrator Gus Speth, former UNCTAD Secretary-General Gamani Corea and several other Ambassadors.

Many of the participants stressed that in the post-Cold War period, there was an even greater need for the existence of the G77 and the Non-Aligned Movement. Particularly, these organisations have to articulate the response of developing countries to the new challenges and problems posed by globalisation and liberalisation.

Some participants urged that the G77 organise the drawing up of a document or platform outlining the response of the South to these new challenges, or the construction of a shared development paradigm for the new post-Cold War period. A task force, or task forces on specific issues, could be set up for this purpose.

At the opening session, Ambassador Fernando Berrocal Soto, current chairman of the G77, said the main issue now facing the G77 was the reform and restructuring of the United Nations. The issue of the Agenda for Development remained open and it was "inconceivable" to think of a UN without a development agenda which, he said, was as important as security issues.

Amb. Soto said the G77 was also involved in responding to globalisation and liberalisation which had both positive and negative effects. "Whilst some developing countries are better prepared and have taken advantage of the new world economy, other countries had worsening conditions and the reality of the world economy is hitting them more dramatically than we could ever have imagined," he said.

Amb. Soto added that this year the G77 had tried to improve its negotiating leverage. The group now faced the following questions: should it have a permanent secretariat? Should a think tank be set up to help formulate negotiating positions? He proposed greater collaboration with the South Centre to strengthen the G77's capacity in New York.

The meeting's co-chair, Ambassador Jamsheed Marker of Pakistan (former G77 chairman), said in the changed international climate and conditions, some things had become worse. In particular, the world poverty situation had worsened and this had to be tackled as it caused political instability and threatened international peace.

South Centre Chairman, Julius Nyerere, said some people had asked whether the G77 was needed at all after the end of the Cold War.

"My own belief is that solidarity is a necessity for the poor of the world," he said. "The basic problem is imbalance of power within and between countries, and the deprived must build solidarity. "The end of the Cold War has defined the division of the world more clearly.

"During the Cold War the division was among the powerful. Today the division is between the powerful and the poorer countries trying to have some say. If we can work together we can get somewhere."

UNDP Administrator Gus Speth said the UN was now at an extraordinarily critical period, with expectations and doubts over reform. He urged the G77 to take up the challenge and place itself in the leadership role to revitalise the UN. Speth said this was also a critical period for the future of development cooperation. Excluding humanitarian aid, there was a 25 percent cut in development aid between 1992 and 1996.

The UNDP's Human Development report, he said, had stressed that poverty, inequities and imbalance between the haves and have-nots are emerging in very stark terms. "There is no group of countries other than the G77 with more at stake in a strengthened UN taking up policy leadership and programmes to address the greatest challenge of poverty," Speth said.

UNCTAD Secretary-General Rubens Ricupero recalled that UNCTAD and the G77 were born together and are twin brothers. The G77 was born as an influential group inside UNCTAD, he said.

Some people had felt that UNCTAD could provide developing countries with a way to coordinate their positions, like the OECD did for developed countries.

However, being a universal organisation, UNCTAD could not play this role but instead had a balancing function with the possibility of attempting to gain consensus between the developing and developed countries. Ricupero said in the next few months, the G77 and the cause of development faced a threat that in the process of UN reform, "we could lose sight of the centrality of development as the core of the UN's work."

Some parties had tried to make the case that the UN should focus on peace and humanitarian concerns, leaving development to the Bretton Woods institutions, the WTO and regional banks.

However, said Ricupero, only the UN could provide a comprehensive approach to development. Without the UN playing a development role, there would be only a fragmented approach.

Ambassador Kamal of Pakistan (and former president of ECOSOC), said it was essential for the G77 to define tasks and decide on intellectual as well as action-oriented measures to be taken, as all members agreed that the global economic environment requires a stronger G77 more than before. On the intellectual measures, Amb. Kamal proposed that the G77 set up a task force with the South Centre's assistance to draft a document constructing a shared development paradigm in the new post Cold War world.

In the action-oriented area, a host of problems should be overcome. The working methods of the G77 should be improved by strengthening the inadequate capacity of the Secretariat and the offices of all the Chapters. The G77's institutional memory had to be built up, and contacts between the Secretariat and think-tanks like the South Centre should be institutionalised.

There should also be enhanced coordination between the different Chapters of the G77 which should circulate the papers they prepare, and video conferencing once a month between the different Chapters could be arranged. It was also important to better coordinate between the G77 and the G24 in Washington as the Bretton Woods institutions are increasingly important.

Amb. Kamal also proposed the G77 enhancing its negotiating capability, which is still inadequate especially compared with the North. The G77 should meet in advance of the General Assembly sessions, to decide on priorities, positions and initiatives.

The consensus concept also had to be looked at. Where consensus was possible, this was the best situation, but if it was not possible, there must be a system where should individual positions be taken, the group should know in advance and not have surprises sprung on it.

Amb. Mounir Zahran of Egypt agreed that solidarity between the poor countries were especially important following the ending of the Cold War. At UNCTAD-9 in Midrand, such solidarity made it possible to save and reinforce UNCTAD. He added the G77 did not exist in the WTO as the membership was different there. He thanked Third World Network for help to developing countries in preparing for the WTO Ministerial Meeting. UNCTAD should be used as a forum especially to discuss the new issues being proposed on the trade agenda.

On how to treat the issue of consensus, Amb. Zahran said as far as possible the rule of consensus should be adhered to but in cases where consensus was not possible there should not be the "tyranny of the minority" that opposed the major trend. The consensus rule should not be used to modify the will of the majority.

Ambassador Francois-Xavier Ngoubeyou of Cameroon (current chair of G77 Geneva chapter) said that the issue of investment in the WTO was important for G77 countries to look at. Developing countries should be guided by documents prepared by Third World Network and the South Centre, which had warned that G77 countries should not decide too quickly to adopt the measures proposed by the OECD countries.

Ambassador Luis Fernando Jaramillo of Colombia (which presently chairs the NAM), said there was an effort by some countries to erode many institutions that have served the South. For example, the Centre on TNCs that had done important studies on the ethical conduct of companies had been eliminated, thus closing down one of the efforts at monitoring TNCs. There were also efforts to close down UNIDO and UNCTAD. Fortunately these efforts were not successful, Amb Jaramillo said, but further similar attempts would be made in future.

Measures are now sought to be taken to try to get a multilateral investment agreement discussed at the WTO. This, Amb Jaramillo said, would apparently give a free hand to TNCs to make use of developing countries, without any strings or conditions. In the name of globalisation, markets are to be opened to companies of the industrial countries. These are serious issues which developing countries ought to look at. Amb Jaramillo added that in the Uruguay Round the issues reflecting the aspirations of industrial countries, such as TRIPS and TRIMS had been concluded. However there was minimal progress in issues which the South countries were interested in.

South Centre board member and former UNCTAD Secretary-General Gamani Corea said the G77 had to take stock of the new changes since the Cold War ended and the motivation for aid had receded. Many countries of the South had turned inward, having their own relationship with donors and loan agencies. The stress had shifted to internal adaptation instead of multilateral dialogue.

Corea suggested that a stocktaking be carried out to see how a new platform could be forged. "The G77 is on the threshold of a new phase and must respond to the new challenges," he said. To the extent that the international secretariats could not play the same role as in the past, the G77 must do its own work, and also mobilise the South Centre and Third World Network and set up task forces on specific issues.

Prof. Kofi Awoonor of Ghana (former G77 Chairman in 1991) said the developing countries had to face the reality of financial centres dictating new directives to them. He also warned that aid was being touted as complementary to the inequitable trade regime. Aid was thus being used to sustain the old structure. The key to development was to establish a fair and equitable trading system and phase out aid dependence.

Prof Awoonor said the G77 should also have dialogues with the Bretton Woods institutions on economic policy options as they too were groping for a way out of their previous mistakes.

In a brief summing up, the Costa Rica Deputy Permanent Representative said a task force, aided by the South Centre, should be set up to study the feasibility of a permanent secretariat for the G77 as well as measures to strengthen the office of the Chairman. The relations between G77 and South Centre should be institutionalised.

The use of informatics and better communications between G77 chapters should be explored.

The G77 should also encourage support from friendly organisations such as the Third World Network.

The South-South Conference on Finance, Trade and Investment in Costa Rica in January should be welcomed. Institutions for the South, such as UNCTAD and UNIDO, ought to be defended in future. Finally, the round table discussion should be continued at the next meeting of G77 chapter coordinators and chairmen in Geneva.