UN-Truth

A UN Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development begins at UNHQ/NY today, after three intensive weeks of pre-conference diplomatic negotiations.

According to the spokesperson for the President of the UN General Assembly, “We have a total of 126 participants and 21 in the group of Heads of State and Heads of Government, including vice-presidents [including Iran's first Vice-President].  We have three deputy prime ministers, we’ll have 32 ministers, that is one more than last week, 27 vice-ministers, 36 chairmen of delegations and still we have five delegations to confirm the level of participation”.  In addition, the spokesman indicated, “several parallel events” are taking place.

Paul Oquist, pf the Office of the President of the General Assembly [Nicaragua's Jesuit priest, Father Miguel D'Escoto Brockman, General Coordinator of the Conference], told journalists at the UN’s regular noon briefing on Monday in New York that “The negotiators, as many of you know, worked on Saturday through 4 o’clock in the morning Sunday so they finished a second reading of the outcome documents that is being negotiated in the members-led negotiating process.  I think it’s important to realize that this entire Conference has been approved and led by all the members of the General Assembly. There have been some reports appearing as if this Conference was Father d’Escoto’s Conference.  But if you look at the history of this, it was approved in the Doha II December Declaration of the countries that attended the Doha Financing for Development Conference.  And it was stated there by the members, both North and South, that the President of the General Assembly would organize the meeting.  That was approved by consensus.  Then on the 24th of December in resolution 63/239, the full General Assembly approved by consensus the holding of the meeting and that the President of the General Assembly would be the organizer of the meeting.  Once again, the approval of the meeting is by consensus, of all of the Member States, including the North, including the South, all 192.  Subsequently, as you also know, there was intensive negotiations on the modalities of the meeting and that culminated in the 7 April United Nations General Assembly resolution 63/277, which determined the modalities of the Conference.  The question or debates over the scope of the Conference were addressed by consensus of all Member States in that modality resolution, whose second paragraph states, that among other things the Conference should do, it should analyse the international financial and economic system and architecture.  So the question of the analysis of the international financial system and architecture has been approved as part of the modalities resolution by all of the Member States.  Subsequently, there was the co-facilitator’s document.  Then Father d’Escoto had admitted another document.  As you all know, there was an impasse at that time.  And then there was a compromise.  And the compromise was that a third document was produced.  And that third document was the basis upon which the negotiations have been held in a members-driven process.  And it’s on the basis of that document that the negotiations has proceeded through 4 o’clock in the morning of Sunday.  Subsequently, the two co-facilitators have produced a summary of how they would piece together all that has been debated, all that has been discussed, and a new document that was circulated by e-mail at 4 o’clock in the morning, this morning, Monday morning.  So 4 o’clock in the morning seems to be the key time in all of this process.  So that was sent by e-mail to all of the Member States.  As we speak, the negotiating groups are discussing that.  Some countries are consulting their capitals also on the new text and this afternoon, the intergovernmental negotiations will resume.  And today is indeed a very important day.  Because the first statements by the different negotiating groups once the negotiating recommences will give us a clue of whether the co-facilitators text has managed to bring the two sides closer together.  And it will also point to where there are still outstanding contentious issues that need to be dealt with in the course of today and tomorrow, if need be, in order to get a consensus document prior to the initiation of the Conference, which would be highly desirable by all lights.  So that that document that then could be discussed by the assembled Heads of State and Government and other high representatives who would be heads of delegations to the Conference on the 24th, 25th and 26th of this month … during the course of this week … The Office of the President of the General Assembly has committed itself to steering this process in such a way that there would be a consensus document.  So that is what the President wishes … for a consensus to be arrived at — a consensus that is balanced, a consensus that has a good give-and-take on both sides”.

Though it is somehow hoped that this conference and its consensus outcome “should analyse the international financial and economic system and architecture“, Oquist added that this is also “the forum of the G-192″ — meaning of the entire 192 members of the UN General Assembly.  “[I]t is very important and many leaders of the developed world realize this, that this Conference [is supposed to reflect] positions of the developing countries.  The developed countries have several forums in which to express their opinions, they have the G-7, the G-8, the G-20, there’s the IMF Board of Directors, the World Bank Board of Directors, there’s the Bank of International Settlements, there’s the Financial Stability Fund, recently promoted to Financial Stability Board.  There are multiple instances, multiple entities within which they can express their points of view.  They should express them here, too, and there should be a balanced document.  But it would be very important to make sure that that balanced document does reflect important positions for the developing countries, since for many countries, this is the only forum in which their voice and representation will be real”.

Some of the major issues, Oquist said, are “the question of the stimulus — because of the $1.1 trillion approved at the G-20 meeting in London, only $50 billion of that $1.1 trillion is for the developing countries …  There’s another issue, the reform of the existing institutions and perhaps the creation of some new ones.  There’s a very widespread consensus that there needs to be a reform of the Bretton Woods institutions — [and] the different positions on how to reform the IMF and World Bank cover an extraordinary broad breadth … from strengthening them to practically ending their existence.  And all types of intermediate positions.  What is viable?  What is practical?  What can be worked out?”

And, of course, he said, “there should be a follow-up.  Most everyone would agree with that … that this should not be a one-off conference”

Oquist said that there is a dramatic situation in the developing countries right now: “Many countries are burning through their reserves … the squeeze is on in developing countries … the need of resolution is very real”.

One journalist’s question indicated that “there has been a discussion of the possible creation of an economic security council at the United Nations to deal with situation such as this”.  Oquist replied that “What is being discussed in this conference is an economic coordinating entity within the United Nations.  They (Commission on Experts) recommended an economic coordination entity linked to the United Nations, so as to coordinate the different entities and concentrate the information necessary for early warning of when there were systemic risks that could affect the economic financial and economic system”.

The entire discussion at the noon briefing can be consulted online here.

Filed under: Global Economy, UN General Assembly, United Nations