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Leaders trash trade agreements |
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Monday, 06 October 2008 |
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Page 1 of 2 UNITED NATIONS – Every September, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders travel to New York to attend the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) hoping to influence discussions that could affect their socio-economic development.
The leaders have traditionally used the forum as a platform on which to outline their concerns about trade, climate change and other global issues and this past week, when the 63rd session convened, was no exception.
For instance, they urged a revision of the international financial architecture to advance the development of poorer countries.
Among those making the case was Jamaica’s Prime Minister Bruce Golding, who argued that the gap had widened between the rich and poor, within and among countries. Golding also warned of turbulent times ahead for vulnerable societies with the global economy seemingly headed for a severe downturn.
He said the international financial system, designed more than 60 years ago, has undergone very little change in its governance structure and practices, adding that Jamaica was supporting the call for reform of the existing financial infrastructure to reflect the new global realities and make it more pro-active and responsive to the needs of the entire world community.
"...it must involve more than merely expanding the membership of an exclusive club. It must be development-driven, recognising that poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity elsewhere,” the Jamaican leader said.
His St. Vincent and the Grenadines colleague, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, also believes there is need for change. In fact, he argued for “genuine negotiations" between developed and developing countries aimed at alleviating the suffering of the poor and hungry of the world.
“Our farmers, tradesmen and private sector are still waiting for the oft promised opportunities that community has inadvertently institutionalized and entrenched poverty within a system of global winners and losers.”
He added that "the ironically titled development round of Doha looks less and less like a negotiating process and more and more like a suicide pact within the World Trade Organization, in which the major economic powers want everything and concede little or nothing to the poor and developing nations of the world.
"The solutions to our economic crises hinge upon genuine negotiation and compromise in the interest of the world's least privileged. We are ill-served by benign neglect, unequal enforcement, and concepts of welfare colonialism," Gonsalves said.
In his address to the world body, Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit appealed for meaningful change at the international level.
“For small and vulnerable states such as ours in the Caribbean, globalization continues to significantly change the dynamics of economic survival and sustainability. Our efforts to diversify our economies, adjust to global developments and stay competitive represent a formidable undertaking.”
The CARICOM leaders have noted limited progress in meeting the targets set by the 2002 landmark anti-poverty agreement known as the Monterrey Consensus on Financing for Development, which produced “grand, unfilled commitments” to poorer nations.
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