Title: DEVELOPMENT: Will the UN Summit Reduce Poverty and Create Jobs? By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Sep 6 (IPS) - The opening Wednesday of a summit meeting at the United Nations, described as the largest gathering of world leaders, was dominated by a litany of complaints by the world's poorer nations. Speaker after speaker voiced serious concern over the rising gap between rich and poor, the marginalisation of Africa and the failure of the international community to meet its commitments to the world's poorer nations. Setting the political tone for the summit, Guyanese President Bharrat Jagdeo said that when he returns home, his people will be sure to ask: "What good has this summit brought us? Will it serve to reduce poverty and create jobs? Will it help our country bridge the development and digital divides?". "I would like to be able to respond positively to these concerns and to assure them that the new millennium will bring them both peace and prosperity," he told the more than 150 heads of state and heads of government present at the opening of the Millennium Summit Wednesday. But Jagdeo was not harbouring any illusions of instant redemption. "I know, however, that the hopes and promises of this event will only be realised if there is strong and shared determination by all states to create a new global human order that is free from fear and free from want," he added. The three-day summit, which is scheduled to conclude Friday, will adopt an historic Millennium Declaration projecting a global vision for the 21st century. President Sam Nujoma of Namibia said "the glaring disparity between the North and the South is the most burning issue of the times." The United Nations, he said, has a critical role to play in narrowing that disparity. "That is the fundamental question which the Millennium Summit is called upon to address," he added. Lester Bird, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, blasted the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the world's industrial nations for the economic injustices meted out to the poor. "Is it not a woeful indictment that although 25 countries were identified by the IMF and the World Bank to benefit by the end of the year 2000 under a much vaunted Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, not one has yet received an actual cash draw down?" he said. The world's economic and political agenda, he pointed out, is now devised by a few of its most powerful governments. The Group of Seven - the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan - has "arrogated to itself not only the role of the world's decision-maker, but also of its enforcer," he added "And, it appears that in arrogating this role to themselves, the members of the Group of Seven have been motivated by narrow, national political concerns at the expense of the wider interests of global economic growth and international political stability," Bird said. Even the United Nations - "the repository of mankind's highest aspirations" - has become marginalised by the dictates of a few, he added. Colombian President Andres Pastrana said that in an increasingly globalised world, trade and finance cannot afford to lose sight of man and his needs. "In Latin America and the Caribbean, there are more than 200 million poor who hope to share the benefits of progress. And we cannot leave them behind," he said. "What we seek is growth and social equity. For this, we need international co-operation to finance the networks of social protection and investment in human capital and infrastructure," he said. "We need to increase the flow of international trade, and put an end to the protectionist measures of the wealthier and more developed countries. We need a just and lasting solution to the problem of foreign debt in our economies," he noted. Chinese President Jian Zemin said the gaps between North and South, and between rich and poor, are widening. The developed countries, he said, possess 86 percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP) and account for 82 percent of the world's export markets, while the developing nations, which account for the overwhelming majority of the world's population, possess only 14 percent of GDP and 18 percent of the export markets. If there is no fundamental change in such a situation, he warned, it would be difficult to avoid turbulence in the international community, promote economic development for all countries or achieve worldwide prosperity. Shifting the focus to Africa, Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi complained that the first few months of the new millennium have not been kind to Africa. "We have suffered from severe and extreme weather conditions. In my own country, we have had to face the worst drought since independence," he said. The African continent, he said, is also faced with other man-made disasters: civil wars and endless conflicts that have destroyed years of painstaking development. "But the overall international reaction is inevitably an eroding confidence in Africa. And, this in turn, leads to a cutback in foreign investment which is already at pitifully low levels," he added. Perhaps the strongest case for Africa was made not by an African head of state but by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. "There is a dismal record of failure in Africa on the part of the developed world that shocks and shames our civilisation," he said. Twenty-one of the 44 countries in sub-Saharan Africa are affected by conflict which undermines efforts at development, he said. But even worse, 10 times as many people died of AIDS in Africa last year as were killed in all the continent's wars combined. "Nowhere are more people dying needlessly from starvation, from disease, from conflict. Deaths caused not by acts of fate, but by acts of man. By bad governance, factional rivalries, state- sponsored theft and corruption," he added. Yet, 30 years ago, the same depressing analysis might have been made of parts of Asia and Latin America, Blair argued. "There can be change. There can be hope for Africa. There is political leadership, business opportunity and above all, the will on behalf of people for a better future in Africa. We must be partners in the search for change and hope," he added. "We should use this unique summit for a concrete purpose: to start the process of agreeing a way forward for Africa," Blair added. (END/IPS/DV/IP/td/da/00) Origin: SJAAMEX/DEVELOPMENT/ ---- [c] 2000, InterPress Third World News Agency (IPS) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface ----------------------------------------------------------------------------