North-South Relations and the UN 506 Ing of the Cold War. China

North-South Relations and the UN ing of the Cold War. China made clear strengthen NAM as a mechanism for the in 1991 that it would like to become an political coordination of developing Observer within the movement since, in countries. Now more than ever it is es- the view of most non-aligned, it is too sential that our nations remain united influential to become a member. But it and steadfast and are increasingly active is able to pursue non-aligned interests as in order to successfully confront unilat- a permanent member of the UN Security eralism and interventionism.” (Summit Council, as well as to use non-aligned Declaration, see below) support in the UN. It became an Ob- The Group of 77 which only started server in the movement in 1992 because having Summits every five years in India, which opposed its application, 2000 will need time to make their Sum- had lost influence in the non-aligned on mits work as well as those of the non- account of the break up of the Soviet aligned. Union. The Fourteenth Non-Aligned Summit Sally Morphet took place in Havana in September Lit.: Non-Aligned Movement: Final Docu- 2006. The documents produced showed ment of the 14th Summit Conference of that a majority continued to remain part Heads of State or Government of the Non- of the moderate mainstream of the Aligned Movement, Havana, Cuba 11th to movement. 16th of September 2006, Doc. NAM 2006/ Chapter 1 of the main document, Doc.1/Rev.3; Non-Aligned Movement: Dec- called “Final Document” (see below), laration on the Purposes and Principles and dealt with global issues and devoted 26 Role of the Non-Aligned Movement in the of 128 paragraphs to UN reform. This Present International Situation, 14th Summit Conference of Heads of State or Government should include the strengthening of the of the Non-Aligned Movement, Havana, General Assembly and ECOSOC as Cuba 11th to 16th of September 2006, Doc. well as reforming the Security Council NAM 2006/Doc.3. and other relevant UN bodies while ad- Internet: Websites of the Non-Aligned- dressing systemic issues at the same Movement: a) http://www.nam.gov.za; time (para. 38ff.). These challenges in- b) http://canada.cubanoal.cu/ingles/index.html clude bolstering multilateralism and the multilateral decision making process as well as updating the role of the organi- North-South Relations and the UN zation. The non-aligned are also asked to promote greater democracy, effec- I. Development Prior to the Onset of the tiveness, efficiency, transparency and First Oil Crisis accountability within the UN System Initially the United Nations played no and to mainstream the development di- role at all in the reform of North-South mension within the General Assembly, relations. These relations may be de- ECOSOC, and the economic sectors of fined as a conflict between country the UN system. The document included groups or blocs (in this case, North and chapters on Regional and Sub-Regional South) over form, structure, content and Political Issues and Development, So- distribution impact of frameworks for cial and Human Rights Issues: the usual economic, financial and cultural trans- chapter on economic questions was fers between them. dropped. While the UN involvement in these The Summit both agreed a declaration issues later increased, since the end of on methodology and a Declaration on the 1970s the UN has again experienced the Purposes and Principles and Role of a decreasing influence in this field. The the Non-Aligned Movement in the Pre- fact that the United Nations did not play sent International Juncture. The Summit a major role shortly after World War II heads of state stated “their firm belief is explained by the small number of in- that the absence of two conflicting blocs dependent developing countries at that in no way reduces the need to 506 North-South Relations and the UN time, and the preoccupation of de-colon- riods), the International Development izing states (especially in the late 1950s Agency (IDA) and new Regional Devel- and early 1960s) with their own political opment Banks were established and fi- consolidation. The United Nations was nally, at the request of developing coun- relevant for those countries, as for those tries, the first United Nations Confer- territories yet dependent, mainly as ve- ence on Trade and Development (→ hicle for the removal of all remaining UNCTAD) was convened in 1964, and residues of colonialism, a task to which → UNIDO was founded in 1966. The the UN contributed remarkably effec- main achievement of UNCTAD in the tively (→ Decolonization). In addition, following years was that of gaining ac- the newly independent countries did not ceptance for the idea of trade pre- possess at first an instrument for the ex- ferences for developing countries. De- pression of their collective interests, veloping countries, however, did not which later took shape in the Movement succeed in pushing through the desired of the Non-Aligned Countries (first development fund of the United Nations summit 1961) and the → Group of 77 as an alternative to the World Bank, or within the United Nations Conference to achieve any reform in the or- on Trade and Development (→ ganizational structures of the Bretton UNCTAD, 1964). The Movement of the Woods Institutions or GATT. → Non-Aligned Countries ( Non- II. The Programme of a New Interna- Aligned Movement and the UN) con- tional Economic Order fined itself during its first decade to questions of political, not of economic From the early 1970s, the traditional in- independence. Moreover the growing ternational economic order came under “bloc” of developing countries within strong and rising attack during several the UN System lacked the political or UN conferences. Representatives of de- economic power to pressure others for veloping countries held this order re- assistance in their development. Their sponsible for the increasing economic demands intended foremost to increase and social gap between North and official development assistance (→ De- South, for declining commodity prices, velopment Cooperation of the UN Sys- mounting balance of payments deficits tem) and to reorient the programmes of and debt burdens of Third World coun- the → specialized agencies of the UN to tries. They portrayed their countries as the needs of developing countries. They being manipulated by transnational cor- demanded also to give the developing porations and international institutions countries a more pronounced influence dominated by Western countries. This on established multilateral agencies or – perception was thought to justify the alternatively – to create new institutions, demand for a complete restructuring of more responsive to their needs and in- the international economic relations, a terests and organized in a more democ- demand which gained momentum ratic way (according to the formula „one through the oil crisis and the seemingly country, one vote“) than were the World increasing commodity power of the Bank (→ World Bank, World Bank South. The programme of the New In- Group), → IMF and GATT (→ ternational Economic Order (NIEO) (→ WTO/GATT). International Economic Relations and Developing countries succeeded in New International Economic Order winning quite a few concessions in (NIEO)), as presented in the course of these early years: The World Bank several UN conferences up to the end of Group was complemented by a new the 1970s, included: agency for encouraging private invest- - easier access for products and services ments (the International Finance Corpo- of developing countries to the markets ration, IFC), and – more important – by of the North (by lowering duty rates, a soft loan-window (for loans with very expansion of trade preferences, lower- favorable rates and long repayment pe- 507.

Load more