New approach sought in poverty battle

Press, 27 November 1982, Page 15

New approach sought in poverty battle

By

ROSEMARY RIGHTER

A blast of fresh air has been injected into the stifling corridors of the United Nations by a report (“The North-South Dialogue: Making it Work”) which analyses the failure of 10 years of negotiations between rich and poor governments, calls for a totally new approach, and lists practical ways of setting about it. The report, prepared for the Commonwealth Secretariat by nine eminent veterans of the conference tables, is remarkable for the candour with which ■it calls down a plague on rich and poor alike. A decade of on a global new deal which would tackle poverty, debt, the tottering international finan-

cial system, and galloping protectionism has, it says, produced so little that “the path of negotiation is itself under challenge.” The team, seven of whom are top Third World negotiators, states flatly that poor countries’ use of ideology and rhetoric has antagonised Western governments and strengthened “the intransigent and alarmist elements in Western countries.” Privately, developing countries’ ambassadors have been conceding the point for some time; but stating it publicly will create a storm. Sir Shridath “Sonny” Ramphal, the Commonwealth’s ebullient Secretary-General, defends plain speaking. '‘lf the net effect of the so-

called dialogue is that the rich countries have become inhibited, even frightened, to the point where they are purely defensive and negative, the South has to ask whether it has contributed to this state of affairs,” he says. "We complain about the lack of political will. The plain reason, for absence is that the West sees nothing for itself in the new deal. They may be wrong — I am convinced that they are — but it is no good just shouting back, ‘You have to agree, because it is morally right’.” Rich countries come in for their share of blame. The report urges them to stop thinking that the demand for reforms is just a short storm

to be weathered, to recognise the risks of global instability . which are heightened by persistent stone-walling, and to look for policies which will revive economic growth, even if they involve apparent financial concessions to developing countries. It also suggests that Western governments should stop reciting incantations about the magic of the marketplace, when in their own countries they interfere very substantially in its operations. | The team concentrates on Third World negotiating tactics. “Make it work” is the theme of the report, and it is

clear that change will have to come from the developing countries, not necessarily because they have more at stake, but because the West is indifferent and complacent, while the Third World still believes it is worth talking. The report calls for: • A Third World secretariat, to provide technical back-up for negotiators, similar to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development which services Western governments. • Shorter agendas, concentrating on subjects and issues which are ready for resolution, and more single

issue conferences like the one which successfully dealt with debt relief for the poorest countries. ® Wider briefs for Third World negotiators, and more negotiation in small, representative groups rather than unwieldy plenary sessions. 9 The participation of ministers in decision-making at conferences. The Third World must also acknowledge the significance of domestic policies. Internal reforms may be difficult and even politically dangerous, particularly when most countries are reeling from the effects of recession, falling commodity prices, and high oil bills. But the report argues that if appeals to

Western leaders to show courage and foresight “are to be convincing, those that advance the arguments must be prepared to display the same qualities.” The report is the brainchild of Malcolm Fraser, Australia’s Prime Minister, in the wake of the failure of last year’s summit of rich and poor governments at Cancun. The team includes seasoned Realists such as Tommy Koh, Singapore’s ambassador to the United Nations. Commonwealth representatives at the United Nations — where bloc solidarity is at its most rigidly entrenched — are pressing the secretary-general, Javier Perez de Cuellar, to take up the report’s recommenda-

tions. Behind the team’s work is a sense of desperation as recession turns into world depression. Machinery in the West lies idle because debtcrippled developing countries can no longer import their products, and 750 million people go hungry while grain-stocks are so high that American farmers face ruin. The team hopes that a new start on talks on the world poverty gap in a different atmosphere will help stimulate global recovery. The gloomiest comment on its prospects was unwittingly provided, however, by Ramphai last week: “The United Nations,” he said, “could never have produced this report.”