GA/EF/2932

DISASTERS, CONFLICTS, DISEASE AND LACK OF EDUCATION NEGATIVELY IMPACT DEVELOPING COUNTRIES' FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY, SECOND COMMITTEE TOLD

Natural disasters, conflicts, disease and lack of education made it more difficult for developing countries to alleviate poverty, the representative of Haiti told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) as it met this afternoon to conclude its consideration of the implementation of the First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006).

The goal of halving the number of people living in extreme poverty by 2015 seemed to be a pipe dream, he said. More than 1.2 billion people lived on less than one dollar a day and 800 million people suffered from malnutrition. Haiti welcomed the various initiatives taken in the United Nations system to eradicate poverty, such as the Decade for the Eradication of Poverty. However, it seemed to many developing countries that after the first three years of the Decade, it was not receiving the support that it deserved.

Guinea�s representative said the serious conflicts in Liberia and Sierra Leone had caused a large inflow of refugees into his country, which had led to the deterioration of the quality of life of the host population. After coping as best it could and facing budget constraints, his Government had rewritten its budget and redistributed its resources, which meant that it had to divert necessary resources from poverty-reduction efforts.

The representative of China said it was the firm goal of her Government to shake off poverty. Over the past decade, 200 million farmers had achieved food sufficiency. The Government had expanded its work relief programmes to help farmers improve the sustainability and efficiency of their farmland. Efforts had been made to stabilize food sufficiency in poverty areas. The living and working conditions of the poor had been improved, as had the economic and social sectors. Despite those efforts, China was still a low-income developing country -- poverty reduction was a long-term, arduous task.

Mozambique was facing the scourge of poverty, which was derived from the country�s underdevelopment coupled with the severe floods earlier in the year, that country�s representative said. In 1999, the Government had approved a Plan of Action for the Eradication of Absolute Poverty, whose primary goal was the reduction of absolute poverty by 30 per cent by 2010.

Second Committee - 1a - Press Release GA/EF/2932 25th Meeting (PM) 25 October 2000

Statements were also made by the representatives of Kenya, Uruguay, Israel, Myanmar, Japan, Andorra, Cambodia, El Salvador, Uganda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Nepal and the United Republic of Tanzania.

Also this afternoon, the representative of the Nigeria, speaking on behalf of the �Group of 77� developing countries and China, introduced a draft resolution on culture and development.

The Committee will meet again on Thursday, 26 October, at 10 a.m. to consider macroeconomic policy questions.

Second Committee - 3 - Press Release GA/EF/2932 25th Meeting (PM) 25 October 2000

Committee Work Programme

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this afternoon to conclude its consideration of the implementation of the first United Nations Decade on the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006). (For background, please see Press Release GA/EF/2931 issued this morning.)

The Committee was also expected to hear the introduction of a draft resolution, sponsored by Nigeria (on behalf of the �Group of 77� developing countries and China), on culture and development (document A/C.2/55/L.10). The text would have the General Assembly invite all Member States, intergovernmental bodies, organizations of the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations to ensure, in cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), continuous and effective implementation of the Action Plan on Cultural Policies for Development.

The Assembly would also invite them to further intensify their efforts to integrate cultural factors into their development programmes and projects; to implement fully the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace adopted by the Assembly on 13 September 1999; to commit themselves to promoting the dialogue among civilizations as an essential process for human development and mutual understanding and for strengthening international cooperation; and to analyze the connection between culture and poverty in the context of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty.

Introduction of Draft Resolution

BORIS E. SVETOGORSKY MARINO (Uruguay) introduced the draft resolution on culture and development. He said the text took into consideration the importance of cultural values and cultural diversity as important elements of sustainable development and emphasized the need to enhance the potential of culture as a means of prosperity, sustainable development and global co- existence.

Statements

JEAN MAXIME MURAT (Haiti) said that poverty was not just about income, it was also about security, vulnerability, culture and integration. Its tentacles spread over all the continents and knew no borders. At the World Summit for Social Development, held in Copenhagen in 1995, countries had committed themselves to undertake actions to alleviate poverty. In many developing countries, natural disasters, conflicts, disease and the lack of education made it more difficult to implement those commitments. The goal of halving the number of people living in extreme poverty by 2015 seemed to be a pipe dream. More than 1.2 billion people lived on less than one dollar a day and 800 million people suffered from malnutrition. He welcomed the various initiatives taken in the United Nations system to eradicate poverty, such as the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty. However, it seemed to many developing countries that after the first three years of the Decade, it was not receiving the support that it deserved.

The 1999 Cologne Initiative was a good step in the right direction for alleviating the debt burden of the poorest countries, he said. He pleaded for greater generosity and flexibility within the Initiative. He also sought greater commitment by the international community to support micro-credit initiatives, which helped the poor to become economically independent. Many developing countries were facing a future in which they would be marginalized in the global economy. They simply did not have the means to compete. He called for better terms of trade for developing countries, capacity-building, improved access to markets in developed countries and ways to earn foreign currency.

FARES M. KUINDWA (Kenya) said that since the Copenhagen Summit, many countries had set national poverty-reduction targets and formulated poverty eradication plans and strategies. In Kenya, poverty remained a pervasive problem that presented formidable challenges. The poor constituted half of the population and women constituted the majority of the poor. Three quarters of the poor lived in rural areas.

The Government of Kenya had undertaken a number of measures aimed at achieving economic recovery and sustainable growth, hence social development and employment creation. At the core of the development process had been the creation of a conducive environment for economic activity to thrive. The pillar of this effort had been sustained peace and political stability. The Government had also formulated various policies that included strategies to tackle poverty.

National efforts aimed at reducing poverty had been hampered by a number of factors, both internal and external, he said. His delegation called upon the United Nations to strengthen its development agencies to enable them to adequately fulfil their mandates. It also called upon the United Nations to play a more active role in poverty reduction initiatives, especially in making sure that Member States met their financial commitments.

Mr. SVETOGORSKY MARINO (Uruguay) said that all men, women and children had the right to be free from hunger. Today however, 1.2 billion subsisted on less than a dollar a day and that figure might remain constant until at least 2008. While speeches and declarations at the United Nations described excellent intentions, the reality was that very little had been achieved.

During the Rome Summit in 1996, it had been considered unacceptable that some 800 million around the world lacked sufficient food to meet their basic nutritional needs. There were 200 million children suffering from chronic deficiency for lack of food. This world panorama made it apparent that formal declarations had not done enough. His delegation applauded the General Assembly�s decision to declare the First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty. This was a social, moral and economic imperative for all human beings.

Uruguay was aware that there had to be greater efforts that would allow sustained economic growth without ignoring the basic needs of the population. It was important to invest in human resources and the basic needs of health and social security in order to avoid marginalization. According to a report of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), young people had no inclination to carry out agricultural work, as it was linked to physical dexterity and meager income. Governments should therefore implement national programmes that improved the living standards of young people in rural areas. The goal of reducing poverty by half must remain on the horizon so that each human being could live a decent life.

ALPHA OUMAR DIALLO (Guinea) said that while it could be said that the world economy was looking better, that relative improvement was nothing but a dream for at least 25 per cent of the population. It was not only globalization, the debt burden and the decline in official development assistance that had contributed to worsening poverty. Another harmful reality which affected the efforts of countries to development was conflict. The serious conflicts in Liberia and Sierra Leone had caused a large inflow of refugees into Guinea, which had led to the deterioration of the quality of life of the host population. After coping as best it could and facing budget constraints, his Government rewrote its budget and redistributed its resources, which meant that it had to divert necessary resources away from poverty- reduction efforts.

The way things stood today required greater mobilization of the international community to ensure that the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty achieved its aims. Also necessary were domestic measures, including well-drafted development policies with well-defined targets. The Government had aimed to reduce poverty by 30 per cent by the year 2010. To achieve that, it had embarked on a programme to strengthen macroeconomic programmes and improve the domestic climate for the private sector. Since the poorest lived in the rural areas, the Government decided that its poverty reduction strategy would make that sector its priority. Thanks to a participatory approach, people were able to participate in the design and implementation of local development programmes. The success of the strategy depended on the availability of resources and the ability to keep the peace in the region.

BAI YONGJIE (China) said that the elimination of poverty was an important benchmark for the advancement of humankind. For many developing countries, poverty continued to grow. In order to free more people from poverty, the world leaders at the Millennium Summit had committed themselves to reducing the number by half by 2015. It was clear that the only way out of poverty was through development.

In order to achieve the goal of poverty reduction, there was a need for coordinated international activity, she said. Governments should play a leading role and include poverty-reduction strategies in their national policies. The international community should create positive external conditions and provide practical support. Financial institutions had to be reformed so that financial crises could be properly addressed. China also hoped that United Nations agencies would strengthen cooperation with the poverty-reducing institutions of the recipient countries in order to increase efficiency.

In China, she said, it was the firm goal of the Government to shake off poverty. Over the past decade, 200 million farmers had achieved food sufficiency. The Government had expanded its work relief programmes to help farmers improve the sustainability and efficiency of their farmland. Efforts had been made to stabilize food sufficiency in poverty areas. The living and working conditions of the poor had been improved, as had the economic and social sectors. Despite this, China was still a low-income developing country. Poverty reduction was a long-term, arduous task.

NUNO TOMAS (Mozambique) said that while he did not want to establish a direct link between globalization and the prevalence of poverty, he stressed that the benefits of globalization were unevenly shared and that its costs were unevenly distributed. Therefore, developing countries had to shoulder an unfair burden that seriously undermined their developmental efforts. The central challenge today was to ensure that globalization became a positive force for all the world�s people. It was necessary to enact and implement, at the global level, policies and measures that addressed the needs of developing countries to ensure that globalization became inclusive and equitable.

Mozambique, he said, was facing the scourge of poverty deriving from the country�s underdevelopment, coupled with the severe floods that ravaged the country earlier in the year. Poverty eradication was the backbone of the Government�s five-year plan for 2000 to 2004. In 1999, the Government approved a Plan of Action for the Eradication of Absolute Poverty, whose primary goal was the reduction of absolute poverty by 30 per cent by 2010. To achieve that goal, the plan emphasized the need to maintain rapid and sustainable growth, increase agricultural productivity, develop basic infrastructure in rural areas and improve national capacity to monitor and evaluate poverty, among other things.

YAACOV AVRAHAMY (Israel) said that the growing dependence of nations on emergency food aid, mainly on the African continent, was logistically problematic, and ultimately unsustainable. The only way to alleviate the problem and attain basic food security was by promoting and engaging countries in the enhancement of their primary sector -- agricultural. That goal would only be achieved if basic investments were undertaken in water development, conveyance and distribution, and in the organization of support systems that could ensure the timely delivery of farm inputs, storage facilities and market outlets. These steps must be taken in order to avoid the unmanageable logistical problems that were evident today.

Over the last decade, the Centre for International Cooperation for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs had initiated a number of demonstration projects in selected semi-arid regions of the world, he said. These projects were designed to test and demonstrate new technologies and to instruct farmers in less developed areas in more efficient agriculture techniques. The Israeli Government was seeking the cooperation of donor countries and United Nations bodies to introduce a massive programme aimed at developing small and medium demonstration projects in vulnerable regions, including Africa, Asia and the Middle East. This could serve as an initial step in the effort to promote inter-disciplinary actions to reduce poverty.

AUNG HTOO (Myanmar) said that the experience of the past three decades had shown that high economic growth was the necessary precondition for reducing poverty, as was evident in most of the emerging economies. However, economic growth alone was not enough to solve poverty-related problems. Poverty reduction strategies must address access to basic social services and education. In addressing poverty reduction, one must not only focus on creating opportunities but also on strengthening the capacity building of the poor, which would include providing access to productive resources, employment, access to micro-credit, stimulating agriculture and rural development, strengthening food security and providing basic social services. It must also promote equitable income distribution and minimize environmental degradation. Therefore, an integrated and coherent strategy must be pursued on several fronts with the cooperation of the international community.

Expansion of trade played a critical role in bringing about sustained economic growth and implementing poverty reduction strategies in developing countries, he said. Further trade liberalization by both developed and developing countries was needed to ensure that poorer countries could benefit from the expanding global trade system. Developing countries should also have wider market access, particularly in agricultural commodities and textiles.

HIDEAKI MARUYAMU (Japan) said that poverty and great inequality were still apparent in today�s world. In too many countries, population growth had wiped out per capita gains in income. In too many countries, HIV/AIDS had wiped out improvements in life expectancy and caused incalculable grief and hardship. In East Asia, per capita incomes were more than seven times what they had been in 1960 and three times what they were in 1980. Conversely, in sub-Saharan Africa and in the least developed countries, per capita incomes were lower than they had been in 1970 in real terms. It was evident that Africa continued to require special attention. Therefore, the Government of Japan called on the international community to redouble its efforts to promote African development.

There was no consensus on how to put an end to poverty, which was a complex phenomenon linked with a variety of other issues. Certainly, there seemed to be clear linkages between poverty and environmental deterioration, conflict, basic education, safe water and natural disasters. His Government requested that the United Nations system work with the Bretton Woods institutions and the World Bank in a coordinated manner in order to facilitate cooperation with the private sector and civil society. The international community should make every effort to achieve the goal of reducing by half the population of people living in extreme poverty by the year 2015.

JELENA PIA COMELLA (Andorra) said that poverty took on a whole new dimension when one factored in globalization. The Secretary-General�s report stated that a major challenge facing the world economy was to preserve the advantages of the global market and competition while ensuring that the benefits of globalization were more evenly distributed. In order to protect vulnerable groups, it was vital that domestic policies be complemented by efforts at the global level to tackle the problems of a world economy that was not balanced.

She stressed three points with regard to poverty. First, economic and social policies aimed at addressing poverty were even more difficult to implement under the heavy burden of debt. Second, women continued to be the most affected by poverty. If the number of women living in poverty were reduced, productivity would be raised. She welcomed micro-credit programmes that reinforced a sense of independence to women. If poverty among women were eliminated, that would also decrease poverty among children. Third, combating child poverty was an extremely urgent task. The number of children living in poverty was growing. In recent years, child poverty had increased due to the AIDS crisis. The study of poverty should take into greater account non-monetary factors such as conflicts, disease and natural disasters.

OUCH BORITH (Cambodia) said that poverty alleviation, the provision of food security and housing, and meeting the basic needs of vulnerable groups were the top priorities for his government at the current juncture of its development. To deal with them, it had articulated a triangular strategy. The three pillars of the strategy were: peace and stability; integration of Cambodia into the international community; and the development and reform of the fiscal, administrative and judiciary structure. While peace and stability had been largely achieved, Cambodia was continuing to take the necessary steps to integrate itself fully into the international community, as well as to carry out the tasks of internal development and reform.

Getting out of the poverty trap was the major concern for a substantial majority of the population in both rural and urban areas, he continued. What was needed was a thorough understanding of the links between economic vulnerability and poverty, and to focus on priority issues and problems that stood in the way of efforts aimed at reducing poverty and vulnerability. Among Cambodia�s development goals were to, by the year 2010, reduce the level of extreme poverty by half, raise adult literacy to over 90 per cent, ensure access to safe drinking water and sanitation for everyone and achieve greater gender equality.

LAURA CRUZ (El Salvador) said that since the World Summit on Social Development, addressing poverty had been a prime component of the world agenda. Unfortunately, the progress achieved had been insufficient. There were no simple answers to the question of whether globalization increased poverty. El Salvador had made efforts to implement policies aimed at reducing poverty levels. Her Government�s five-year plan, known as the New Alliance, had four components: employment, solidarity, food security and the future of the country. In the area of health, far-reaching reforms had been initiated and the budget of the Ministry of Health had been doubled.

Many countries had achieved progress but had fallen short in the crucial areas, she said. The challenge of reducing by half the number of people living in extreme poverty by 2015 was supported by her delegation. The economies of the developing countries had to be adapted for market exports, and there had to be an increase in financial resources set aside for development. Her delegation supported the role of the United Nations as the only organization with a broad- enough scope to take on the eradication of poverty. The ongoing cooperation between the United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutions and the World Bank would be important in achieving the goal of poverty reduction, as would be the participation of civil society.

L. B. LUKWIYA (Uganda) said that poverty eradication was a long-term objective, which would take time to achieve in real terms because of the rapidly changing circumstances in which the world was operating. The immediate concern should be alleviating the suffering of the people and progressively reducing poverty with a view to eventually eradicating it in the long run. The implementation of the Decade must receive attention both at the national and international levels if the international community was to achieve any measure of success between now and the year 2006. At the national level, governments must show more commitments in their economic and social policies by, among other things, creating a framework for economic growth and structural transformation and taking actions which directly enhanced the quality of life of the people, such as increased access to education and healthcare.

At the international level, he continued, emphasis should be on increasing and fulfilling commitments in the provision of wider and deeper debt relief to poor countries, increase in official development assistance, greater market access for products of developing countries and strengthening of the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Emphasis should also be on guaranteeing the integration of all developing countries into the increasingly globalized world economy and reducing the risks of marginalization, increasing assistance to complement national efforts in combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic in developing countries, and strengthening the role of the United Nations in dealing with the issues of economic and social development.

DENNIE M. J. WILSON (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said that in order to obtain a clearer picture of poverty within a country, one should use a �gender filter�, since present data indicated that poverty was not uniform among the female and male sections of society. A major cause of the problem appeared to be differential access to resources. Macro-policy and institutional biases that perpetuated poverty, such as little spending on empowerment, needed to be restructured to form part of the mainstream planning within government ministries.

The profile of the poor in the subregion included the elderly, children, the disabled, small-scale farmers, unskilled workers, among others, he said. The two elements which converged to improve the status of those living in poverty were the creation of employment opportunities and the preparation of those groups for participation in the labour force. Being poor should place affected groups in a position for more urgent attention in the areas of education, enrollment and levels of education attained. At the very least, they should not be disadvantaged either by education or economic environment.

He said that taking into account the thrust of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action, the CARICOM countries had devised strategies, plans and programmes to: achieve high economic growth rates; increase productivity and efficiency within the labour sector; increase and facilitate the proliferation of small enterprises; develop social contracts and partnerships to avoid social conflicts which hampered implementation; increase the equitable distribution of benefits; strengthen institutions for policy analysis and management; and seek participation in the global economy and regional economic integration.

TAPAS ADHIKARI (Nepal) said that region-specific information showed that the majority of people in Asia, Africa and Latin America were living in poverty. Poverty was more rampant in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa where almost half of the population lived below the poverty threshold. In the past several years, the international community had made and reiterated its commitment to reduce and eventually eradicate poverty at various global conferences from Rio to Copenhagen and Beijing. His delegation was compelled to conclude that what had been done so far fell short of what was necessary. Development assistance had declined overall while more and more countries were falling into the debt trap.

The global community should work hand in hand to substantially improve the social and economic conditions of developing countries, he said. The benefits of globalization had to be more evenly distributed and information technology should expand its outreach. Developing countries, particularly the least developed countries, needed help in enhancing their institutional capacities, mobilizing domestic resources, and building infrastructures that were fundamental for development. They also needed help to promote sustainable development. Nepal, a country committed to democracy, development and good governance, would continue its effort to make a difference in people�s lives.

DAUDI N. MWAKAWAGO (United Republic of Tanzania) said that comprehensive poverty eradication entailed accelerated economic and social development through, among other things, assisting poor countries to attain food security, improving infrastructure and producing goods and services to enhance their full participation in regional and global trade. Implementation of such measures would very much depend on the availability of technical assistance. Therefore, it was expected that the United Nations, through its relevant agencies, as well as the donor community, would render increased technical assistance and make resources for development and investment available.

Development was a continuous process, he said. Hence, his country had implemented various poverty reduction measures since independence in 1961. During the 1980s, the Government had embarked on structural adjustment and economic recovery programmes. Beginning in 1996, it had started preparing the National Vision, an initiative aimed at eradicating poverty in the country by 2025. In June 1998, the Government had adopted the National Poverty Eradication Strategy, whose goal was to prepare a conducive environment that would enable the country to reduce by half the number of its citizens living in poverty by 2010, with the ultimate goal of completely eliminating poverty by 2025.

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