Det danske indlæg på UNCTAD XI-konferencen 13-18 juni i Sao Paulo i Brasilien.
Af Danmarks FN-ambassadør i Geneve, Henrik Rée Iversen
(16 June 2004)
I would like to take this opportunity to briefly highlight three issues that from a Danish point of view merit special consideration.
The first issue relates to reform, both internal and external.
As a major UN donor and a country that for more than twenty-five years has met and exceeded the UN goal for Official Development Assistance, Denmark considers that UNCTAD should be held to the same standards as other UN conferences, programmes and organisations – no more and certainly no less!
UNCTADs effective participation in ongoing UN reform processes, including results-based management, is pivotal to ensure its continued relevance to trade and development efforts at global, regional and national levels. Active participation in the general reform process will also enhance UNCTAD’s ability to attract extra-budgetary donor funding.
The second issue pertains to UNCTADs mandate.
It would be unfair as well as unrealistic to see UNCTAD as the one size fits all solution to the multitude of complex problems in the area of trade and development. In our view there is an urgent need for Member States, within the broad outline of the Bangkok Plan of Action and its three pillars of work, to identify a limited number of priorities for UNCTAD corresponding to its comparative advantages.
The Danish position is clear – we favour a rebalancing of the three pillars in order to strengthen the Secretariats capacity to deliver effective technical assistance at country level, in particular to the Least Developed and commodity dependent Countries. Assistance towards mainstreaming trade and investment into nationally owned Poverty Reduction Strategies should remain a priority for UNCTAD.
The third and interrelated issue concerns division of labour with other relevant organisations.
The Bangkok Conference emphasized the need for increased policy coherence at national and international level. UNCTAD has a vital role to play in promoting common understanding between developed and developing countries and not least amongst developing countries themselves, in order to create the necessary enabling environment for the integration of trade into development.
Translating the trade-development nexus from plans, policies and strategies into poverty-reducing outputs at regional and national level, especially through enhanced South-South trade and regional integration, remains a mayor challenge for us all. The Doha Development Agenda and ongoing multilateral trade negotiations taking place in the WTO seek to address this challenge.
UNCTAD should continue to do its part by translating the results of these negotiations into effective benefits for developing countries, in particular the Least Developed Countries. In this connection we welcome the fact that developing countries, with UNCTAD’s assistance, have taken an important step in launching the General System of Trade Preferences.
In concluding, I also want to commend UNCTAD and especially Secretary-General Rubens Ricupero for the increased attention given to gender issues. This is very much in line with Denmarks priorities and I urge UNCTAD to pursue and intensify its noble endeavours in this field.
Kilde: www.um.dk
