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''Towards a Shared Global Destiny"
G77 Summit, 10-14 April 2000
Havana,Cuba
The Rt. Hon. P.J. Patterson, QC, MP
Prime Minister of Jamaica
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Address by Rt. Hon. P.J. Patterson, QC, MP
Despite the severe constraints of time, I am obliged to begin
with words of tribute.
Tribute. first of all, to a Leader of the South, who looked to a
Summit such as this, as an essential dimension of the life of the
South; yet did not live long enough to see its inauguration. I
refer, of course, to Julius Nyerere - to "Mwalimu".
The last years of his life were spent in special service to the South,
with his invaluable work as Chairman of the South Commission.
Its report, The Challenge to the South, retains its validity today,
not only as a landmark document, but as a beacon pointing the
way forward for us.
The spirit of Julius Nyerere is here with us in Havana to give
strength to this Summit of which he dreamed.
I pay tribute also to another great son of Africa, whose moral
authority will forever hold sway in the Councils of the South,
indeed of all the world.
I refer of course to Nelson Mandela - 'Madeba' to his people
- whose steadfastness to freedom and justice has inspired the
South in its larger struggle against destructive forces of any kind
which threaten the people of developing countries everywhere.
The example of his life gives legitimacy to our highest ambitions
for this Havana Summit.
And I pay deserving tribute to the President of our host country
- to Fidel - who is so quintessentially of the South and indeed,
of my Caribbean part of it.
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Cuba - itself under siege - has been generous in its many
programmes of co-operation with countries of the South.
But I speak today of a special contribution that must never be
forgotten - the contribution that Cuba made to freedom in
Southern Africa; the sacrifice that Cuba made through its sons
and daughters who crossed the seas to Angola to share in the
fight for liberation in the south of that great continent.
No tribute is too high for Cuba: to Fidel and the people of
Cuba. for that unique act of selfless sacrifice in solidarity with a
cause that rallied all the South.
These tributes, Mr. Chairman, are not mere courtesies. They
are, for me. a testimony to the values of the South that have
brought us here at this Summit - testimony to the integrity, to
the strength, to the quality, to the resolve of the South; testimony
to our capacity to overcome whatever challenges may
confront us in worthy ways.
When we act together, we cannot be ignored.
When we fight as one, only we can defeat ourselves.
THE DANGERS OF MARGINALISATION
Our culture may be diverse, our languages may differ, but our
shared experiences and expectations have inevitably evoked a
unity of purpose.
More than three decades have elapsed, since the countries of
the South initiated collective action to accelerate the pace of
development.
We set out 36 years ago to promote an enlightened pattern of
supportive international co-operation; to establish a global eco-
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nomic system in which the benefits of . . .
wide are equitably distributed amo ellconom,c act,v,ty world-ng
a countnes.
Today, we operate in an environm t th .
ferent from that which existed at t~n f at ,s_ fundamentally dif-
77. Yet. the needs which in . e ormat,o~ of the Group of
remain largely unmet Th spired that_ collect.'ve action in 1964
now. . ey must still continue to inspire us
This first South Summit, at the start of
century is therefore both tim I d a n~w and challenging
e Y an symbolic.
Our Summit takes place at a critical .
pace of globalisation demands Juncture._ Indeed, the rapid
part of all developing countrie~rget\colle_ct,ve response on the
would deny us any benefit fro~ ~:~ ure is unth,nkable_. That
,nternat1onalisation of trade d . opportunities which the
cation and technology prese~~ ca~1tal markets, of communimarginalisation.
· an condemn us to perpetual
Let our meeting send a signal to the
of the South considering the ,·m wt· orld that we the countries
us, are not pr'e pared to await thep de ra 1ve. s. of the ag en d a b ef ore
in place the mechanisms necessa isfos,t1on ?f t_~e North to put
meaningful participation in the neJ lo~ ot v1ab1lity and for our
we are committed to makin mor go ~ environment. Rather,
eration a reality. g e effective South/South Coop-
Let our meeting in Havana b b . .
South, of the commitment to e stm olic of the solidarity of the
we pursue for the further de;:l~pu~veenntessf inllany strategy which
0 a our countnes.
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OUR SPACE WITHIN THE GLOBAL ORDER
Recent experience has taught us that for globalization to benefit
developing countries, it must be managed. This cannot be left
to other hands. We must have our own handle at the wheel.
Continued South-South work on priority areas such as macroeconomic
policy coordination; increased production and employment,
trade expansion. poverty eradication and environmental
preservation will unquestionably have a major impact on the lives
of hundreds of millions of our people.
We have to be sure as we enter the new Millennium of our
space within the global order: space to survive with dignity; space
to grow and prosper; space to develop the talents of our people;
a secure space in a world that is shrinking, yet enlarging its disparities;
space to be one's self in a time that looks more to
homogeneity than to harmony.
Above all, we must ensure space, as countries of the South, to
exercise our fundamental right to full developm~nt.
The last two decades have produced few gains for the South.
Multilateralism has succumbed to the powerful waves of globalization.
The North has dropped all pretences of seeking the
South's concurrence. Consensus, with all its intimations of Southern
participation and agreement, heralded an era of exclusion
and dictation - nowhere more so than at the WTO.
In fact, 'consensus' became the North's veto of the South's
efforts to secure global change through the multilateral institutions
generally. But the lack of consensus with the South did
not preclude a Northern thrust for change, or even a 'consensus'
within the North - the 'Washington consensus· - on the
way the world economy should be run - for themselves.
The G-77 has appropriated global economic power and arrogated
to itself the role of the world's economic directorate.
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In the process of liberalisation and globalization, the South is
relegated to the role of spectator.
A unipolar world has turned out to be a dangerous place for the
South - and perhaps even for the North as well, where unbridled
liberalisation is not surprisingly spinning a global economic
system out of control.
DEBT AND DEVELOPMENT
Here in Havana, and in every corridor of power, let the collective
voice of the G-77 be heard and respected on the fundamental
issues of debt, the terms of trade and the reform of the international
financial architecture.
The debt overhang of developing countries generally, remains
critical. One of the recent successes of this Group is the sustained
international pressure it applied in order to realize debt
relief for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs). However,
there can now be no doubt that the debt burden borne by the
HIPCs and the resultant constraints imposed on their development
are similarly reflected in the experience of many so-called
middle income countries. There is therefore an urgent need to
adopt a more comprehensive and creative approach to debt relief.
Our prospects for successful integration into the global economy
will be determined largely by our ability to access adequate levels
of financing for development. These levels, in turn, will be
determined in part by the efficacy of debt relief measures and
the extent to which the international financial system is restructured
to facilitate the redirection of investment flows from traditional
target countries.
Experience is indeed the consummate teacher. It has also taught
us that we must resist divisive and piece-meal approaches to the
problem of financing our development. For this reason , we
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welcome the decision taken by the United Nations General
Assembly to hold a high level event on Financing for Development
in 2001 . We must play an active role in this initiative to
address this burning issue in a comprehensive and holistic manner
and use this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to the
process.
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE SOUTH
As we strive for greater equity and space in the global economy,
we must concurrently develop strategies, policies and measures
to reposition ourselves in the global system and to seize opportunities
wherever they arise to pursue our effective integration
in world production and trade. This requires unrelenting efforts
to modernize our structures of production, utilizing wherever
feasible the latest technology, to lift productivity and increase
efficiency in all the sectors of our economies, thereby upgrading
our international competitiveness, and to make our countries
more dynamic participants in international trade and investment.
For those of u_s who are significantly dependent on agricultural
production and trade, we have to look towards the improvements
and innovations in technology, especially bio-technology
that can increase yields; improve quality and storage; reduce postharvest
losses, thereby providing better returns to our farmers
and improve performance in the markets with which we trade.
We have to be on the lookout for any problems arising from
genetically modified organisms but there are now growing markets
for production of organic fruits and vegetables.
In manufacturing, we have to re-tool, upgrade production and
marketing systems, and pursue openings for research and
development that could result in more attractive products, Rew
products and competitive marketing of them .
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. ices sector needs increasing atten-ln
all of our countries, the ~e; t sector can lead to greater co~tion.
The development o a d . sector. Many service
petitiveness in the good:~p;o u~~;ave the potential to conactivities
are already contn u mg,
tribute, to export growth.
f on pursuing international
In all of these cases we ~ave t:rk~~~~ and trade. Without this,
best practices in production, m g to the challenges of glowe
cannot mount an effective respc:;in securing rules and disbalization,
however,_ much ;e s~ctrading system, responsive to
ciplines within the mterna iona
our circumstances and needs.
h Id uide our efforts to develop
Much of a similar approach s o~ c!-o eration. The growth of
South-South trade and econ~~~ be siimulated by competitive
trade among ourselves ~ee s Given the growth in global comand
up-to-date production. ct high quality goods and
munications, our consumers expe
services.
d . ·ngly the Internet, they are
Thanks to the television an m~eas~d s~rvices available in the
very abreast of the latest goo s a
markets of the North.
dernize production should be seen
Our efforts therefore to mo h S th and South-South requireas
a response both to Nort - ou
ments.
TECHNICAL CO-OPERATION
. us and where especially does it
So where does all th1s leav~_ ? If my analysis is even partly
leave South-South co-opera/o~ . the 21st Century with anyright,
the South shouldvJ':ile a:1~i~tling in the dark may be good
thing but confidence. d. I the threats that lurk in the darkfor
morale; it does not ispe th n whistle . Faced with
ness. We have to do i:nore I a d economic and political
marginalisation on a massive sea e an
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?ominion of a magnitude not seen .
ism, the South must say 'no' to s~nce_ the heyday of colonial-the
21st Century. any emal of economic space in
The traditional TC0C agenda m t . .
will lose relevance and potent" ~~f ~~ntinue; but, increasingly it
brokers are left free to mould t~ I I be !global economic power
logical heart's desire and in f rt~ g o a econo':1y to ~heir ideonomic
interests. u erance of their particular eco-
South-South co-operation in an .
marginalisation in the world eco~nv1ron~ent of the South's
equal shares of poverty d omy, will be as satisfying as
- an as doomed.
But there is a new factor which should .
Globalization brings with it, for ev cause us to reJect despair.
control, of insulation. The North f e ~~-ne, a loss of power, of
dominion has to recognise a or a ,ts vaunted ambition for
South, a measure of leverage. measure of powerlessness; the
The Asian financial crisis and th f -
duced in the North - indeed . teh r, ght of 'contagion' it pro-
. d , m e world - are a t · h
win . The North cannot wish th S s raw m t e
world economy, John Donne's e . ~ut~ away. In a globalized
a new and startling meaning: poetic , ns1ghts centuries ago have
Any man's death diminishes me
because I am involved in Mankind
And therefore never send to know
for whom the bell tolls·
It tolls for thee. '
Ihne ethde t hgelo sboaul ncdosm thmautn itrye th e worI d h~s become, the North must
must listen. But the siut~e~~:~: toll~~g of the b_ells. The North
convincing way. pea in a technically sound and
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Technical collaboration is required in the development of collective
positions of the South. The issues - in trade, and finance,
for example - demand a pooling of the best technical talents
of the South - what the South Commission called ''the technical
foundation for the collective action" of the developing
countries.
To assure the South economic space in the 21st Century
deserves and demands no less.
For the South, such technical co-operation is an act of selfdefence:
defence of the right to development. That is why
this first South-South Summit in Havana comes not a moment
too soon.
A SIGNAL FOR FUNDAMENTAL CHANCiE
All this calls for a major restructuring of international economic
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governance on lines which provide developing countries greater
participation in decision making. It must allow the UN system a
return to its legitimate role under the Charter in the economic
no less than the political domain. There is urgent need for an
effective global forum that brings together developing and
developed countries within a new financial architecture so that
they might respond together to the challenges that are at hand.
What is needed is a greater sense of a shared global destiny and
of the compulsion for all countries and people to be involved in
shaping it. Only enlightened leadership and a creative spirit will
meet that need .
The South cannot afford the status quo; but so, neither, in the
long term, can the North . We must pursue together a different
path towards human survival.
The documents that issue from this Conference at the conclusion
of our Meeting must, therefore, send a clear signal of that
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need for fundamental change, for global economic restructuring,
for a new emphasis on affirmative action for development
and. above all, of the resolve of the South to resist every
attempt to deny it a just and equitable place in the 21st Century
and beyond.
Let us repay the graciousness of the hospitality we have enjoyed
from the Government and people of Cuba by departing from
Havana with a clear sense of purpose - single-minded in our
intent and unified in our determination to pursue a satisfactory
resolution of those issues critical to the sustainable development
of our countries and peoples.
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