unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (10/11/89)
comprehensive anti-drug policies.
REUVEN HILLEL (Israel) said the last decade had been noted for a
significant development effort in many countries and the
participation of a number of donor countries, through both
bilateral and multilateral channels, in several projects
world-wide. That had not been reflected, however, in the
amelioration of living standards. In many countries, the quality
of life had
severely deteriorated and poorer countries suffered from food
shortages as food production remained deficient.
In that context, he said, agriculture was still at the heart of
the present economic challenge, but the rural society had been
left lagging in development in most countries. Further, the
degradation of cultivable land and desertification of semi-arid
regions continued, reducing the potential for food production. A
change of direction in development goals was urgently needed in
order to increase world food production and overcome hunger and
malnutrition. Those problems were insufficiently dealt with in
the context of a multilateral approach. He listed some of the
needs in that respect, including the amplification of efforts in
research and development in multiple cropping, seed
improvements, reduction of post-harvest losses, irrigation
practices and fertilizer use. Israel would continue to share its
experience with the international community in those areas.
The question of protection of the environment was urgent, he went
on. Industrialized and developing countries should implement
development policies that took into account ecological needs.
Degradation of the environment showed no regard for national or
continental borders; it was an international problem which
transcended political and ideological differences. He looked
forward to the debate on the preparations for the United Nations
conference on environment and development to be held in Brazil
in 1992. Finally, research and development could no longer be a
prerogative of industrialized societies, he stated. Stressing
the need for technical and economic co-operation among
countries, he said scientific research and development of human
resources had become the key to technological expansion.
EVANS KING (Trinidad and Tobago) said that in the 1980s the third
world had seen the prices of commodities traditionally exported
to the North plunge to their lowest levels in half a century.
Some commodity agreements designed to keep price fluctuations
within a reasonable range were unable to respond adequately to
the fall in prices. The terms of trade of developing countries
had deteriorated, and many were confronted by an unbearable debt
burden. Voluntary or prescribed structural adjustment had been
a common response, but those programmes had carried a high
social cost. In many countries the foundations of political
institutions became fragile.
National initiatives would not strengthen the economies of
developing countries if the international economic environment
remained hostile. Collective solutions were of the greatest
urgency, and the measures taken by France, Japan and the United
States represented the type of joint action needed to revitalize
the economies of the South. Policy co-ordination among the
economies of the North was essential if success was to be
guaranteed, and the strategy must be founded on the premise that
there was an inescapable linkage between trade, debt and
development. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
should play a greater role, and bilateral measures were harmful
and therefore had to be reduced in order to promote trade
liberalization and discourage the mis-allocation of global
resources.
The special session of the Assembly and the formulation of the
new international development strategy presented a good
opportunity to develop a co-ordinated response with appropriate
political input, he said. The strategy should take account of
the experiences of the 1980s. Co-ordinated international action
was also necessary to deal with the environment, as individual
countries did not have independent ecosystems.
Right of Reply
Speaking in exercise of the right of reply, A. GOPINATHAN (India)
said his Government was committed to the harmonious conduct of
relations. In its intervention this morning Nepal had said the
lapse of a particular treaty was India's fault. That had
occurred through no fault of India and the treaty had not been
abrogated as alleged. Well before the lapse of the treaty India
had offered to resolve outstanding differences, but Nepal had
not responded. In the meantime transit points to Nepal had been
kept open, guaranteeing the transit of goods. The mention of
deforestation in Nepal had no relevance to the use of petroleum
products. Earlier this year negotiations had been sought at the
highest levels in demonstration of India's willingness to solve
them bilaterally.
* Origin: UNITEX --> Toward a United Species (1:107/501)
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