International statement of solidarity with UNCTAD

21 April 2012

The undernamed organisations and individuals are appalled and dismayed by proposals to remove from UNCTAD’s mandate its distinctive central element of research and advice on the relationship between developing countries and the international , especially but not only in the areas of trade and finance.

We therefore express our full support for the Statement by Former Staff Members of UNCTAD, made in on 11 April 2012, which is reproduced below.

We call on all member countries of UNCTAD to accept the distinguished former staff members’ recommendations in full; to withdraw ahead of the UNCTAD-XIII conference in Doha all proposals which would disrupt this traditional focus of UNCTAD; and accept the new mandate originally proposed in the draft text for the Doha conference.

Contact: Tom Lines, Brighton, U.K. [email protected] +44 1273 628693

List of signatories:

1. Organisations

Name of organisation Country 1. ActionAid International International 2. Alliance for Communities in Action United States 3. Asociación Española para el Derecho Internacional de los Spain Derechos Humanos (AEDIDH) 4. Association Internationale de Techniciens, Experts et Chercheurs/Initiatives Pour un Autre Monde (Aitec-Ipam) 5. ATTAC Austria Austria 6. ATTAC Finland Finland 7. ATTAC Germany Germany 8. ATTAC Guinea Guinea-Conakry 9. ATTAC Spain Spain 10. Banana Link United Kingdom 11. The Berne Declaration Switzerland 12. Bexhill and Hastings Association United Kingdom 13. Bexhill Fairtrade Town Steering group United Kingdom 14. Both ENDS The Netherlands 15. CADTM International (Comité pour l’Annulation de la International Dette du Tiers Monde) 16. Campaign for Real Farming United Kingdom 17. Center for Encounter and Active Non-Violence Austria 18. Center of Concern United States

1 19. Centre Afrika Obota Benin 20. Centre Europe - Tiers Monde (CETIM) Switzerland 21. Centro Nuovo Modello di Sviluppo Italy 22. CERIDA (Centre d’Étude et de Recherche pour l’Intégration Guinea-Conakry Régionale et le Développement de l’Afrique) 23. CNCD -11.11.11 Belgium 24. COECOCEIBA - Friends of the Earth Costa Rica 25. Comhlámh Ireland 26. Conf édération Paysanne France 27. The Corner House United Kingdom 28. Corporate Europe Observatory International 29. Dynamique des Organisations de la Société Civile d’Afrique Benin Francophone (OSCAF) - Programme CIRSE 30. ECA Watch Österreich Austria 31. Ecologistas en Acción Spain 32. European Coordination Via Campesina International 33. FEMNET Cameroun (African women’s development and Cameroun communication network) 34. Focus on the Global South International 35. FONAC (national organisations’ front against corruption) Benin 36. Fondation pour le Développement au Sahel (FDS) Mali 37. FONG Guinée (national federation of NGOs) Guinea-Conakry 38. FONGTO (national federation of NGOs) Togo 39. Food & Water Europe International 40. Food & Water Watch United States 41. Friends of the Earth Europe International 42. Friends of the Earth Togo Togo 43. GegenStrömung - CounterCurrent Germany 44. Global Responsibility (platform for development and Austria humanitarian aid) 45. Global Social Justice Belgium 46. GM Freeze United Kingdom 47. GRAPAD (Groupe de Recherche et d’Action pour la Benin Promotion de l’Agriculture et du Développement) 48. GRESEA (Groupe de Recherche pour une Stratégie Belgique Économique Alternative) 49. Holy Cross International Justice Office United States 50. Ibon International International 51. Infoe e.V. (Institute for Ecology and Action Anthropology) Germany 52. Institut pour la Solidarité et le Développement (ISD) Benin 53. Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy United States 54. Jubilee Debt Campaign United Kingdom 55. Jubilee South - Asia/Pacific Movement on Debt & International Development (JSAPMDD) 56. Kenya Debt Relief Network (KENDREN) Kenya 57. KEPA (Finnish NGO platform) Finland 58. KOO - Koordinierungsstelle der Österr. Bischofs-konferenz Austria f. internationale Entwicklung und Mission 59. KRuHA – people’s coalition for the right to water Indonesia

2 60. La Via Campesina International 61. Latin American Solidarity Centre Ireland 62. Local to Global Advocates for Justice United States 63. Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns United States 64. National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association United States 65. Oxfam International International 66. Plateforme haïtienne de Plaidoyer pour un Développement Haïti Alternatif (PAPDA) 67. Public Citizen United States 68. Quixote Center United States 69. Ré seau des Jeunes pour l’Environnement (RJE-Togo) Togo 70. RIFONGA -Benin Benin 71. RNDD -Niger (national debt and development network) Niger 72. ROSYB (trade union network of Benin) Benin 73. SEATINI (Southern and East African Trade Institute) - South Africa South Africa Chapter 74. Seattle to Brussels Network International 75. The Second Chance Foundation United States 76. Slow Food International International 77. Social Watch International 78. SOMO The Netherlands 79. Südwind Austria 80. Terra Nuova Italy 81. Third World Network International 82. Trade Matters Ireland 83. Traidcraft United Kingdom 84. Transnational Institute (TNI) International 85. Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation Austria (VIDC) 86. War on Want United Kingdom 87. WEED – World Economy, Ecology & Development Germany 88. WhyHunger United States 89. World Development Movement United Kingdom 90. World Development Movement (Bexhill & Hastings United Kingdom Branch) 91. World Family United Kingdom 92. Zakir/Solidarity Workshop Bangladesh

2. Individuals

Name of person Organisation or job Country 1. Kokou Amegadze Information and Communications Togo Officer, Friends of the Earth Togo 2. Samir Amin Professor of Economics; President, Senegal World Forum for Alternatives 3. Almudena Armenta Professor, Complutense University Spain Deu of 4. Aurélien C. Atidegla President of GRAPAD Benin 5. Louis Augustin-Jean University of Tsukuba Japan

3 6. Kurt Bayer Board Director, European Bank for United Kingdom Reconstruction & Development 7. Jean -François Researcher, CIRAD (Centre de France Bélières Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement) 8. Walden Bello Congressman of the Republic The Philippines 9. Phyllis Bennis Director, New Internationalism United States Project, Institute for Policy Studies 10. Jacques Berthelot Solidarité France 11. Praful Bidwai Independent columnist and India researcher; Fellow of TNI 12. Aboubacar Bizo Programme Officer, RODADDHD Niger (network of development NGOs and associations for human rights and democracy) 13. Pierre -Marie Bosc Agro-, CIRAD; World France Agriculture Watch 14. Jean Luc Bosio Supagro, Montpellier France 15. Jean -Marie Economist France Bouquery 16. Jean -Marc Boussard Economist, member of the French France Agricultural Academy 17. Jean -Pierre Researcher, INRA/SAD France Boutonnet 18. Patrick Braouezec Deputy in the National Assembly for France Seine-Saint-Denis 19. Robin Broad Professor, International Development United States Program, American University, Washington 20. Maithé Candau Livestock specialist France 21. Marilena Caneve Belgium 22. Alain Capillon Professor of Agronomy, Supagro, France Montpellier 23. Alicia Carlino Professor of Economic History, Argentina National University of the North-east 24. John Cavanagh Director, Institute for Policy Studies United States 25. Camille Chalmers Executive Director, PAPDA (Haitian Haïti Advocacy Platform for Alternative Development) 26. Pierre Comblin Belgium 27. Ernest Compaoré Secretary-General, Secrétariat Burkina Faso Permanent des ONG 28. Jovite de Courlon Consultant France 29. Peter Damary Consultant, REDD sa Switzerland 30. Karim Daoud Syndicat des Agriculteurs de Tunisie Tunisia (SYNAGRI) 31. Ana Del Sur Mora Faculty of Applied Economics, Spain Autonomous University of Madrid

4 32. Demba Moussa Director, Forum for African Senegal Dembele Alternatives 33. Jacques Deplace Planning officer France 34. James T. Dette Alliance for Communities in Action United States 35. Evelyn M. Dette Alliance for Communities in Action United States 36. Antonin Devin Student, Institut Bioforce France Développement 37. David Dewhurst United Kingdom 38. Marie -Hélène Dor Translator Belgium 39. Siméon Toundé Réseau des Organisations Syndicales Benin Dossou Béninoise sur le commerce et le Développement (ROSYB-ED) 40. Fiona Dove Executive Director of TNI The Netherlands 41. Michel Dulcire Researcher, CIRAD France 42. Albert Dupagne Professor Emeritus, University of Belgium Liège 43. Ama Elise Esso President, Groupe d’Action et de Togo Réflexion pour l'Environnement et le Développement (GARED) 44. Jean -Max Estéban Montpellier France 45. Hippolyte Falade Agronomist, GRAPAD (Groupe de Benin Recherche et d’Action pour la Promotion de l’Agriculture et du Développement) 46. Mireille Fanon- Member, UNHCR Working Group France Mendès France of Experts on People of African Descent 47. Yann Fiévet Economics and social science France teacher 48. John Fowler World Development Movement United Kingdom (Bexhill group) 49. José Manuel García Professor, Autonomous University of Spain de la Cruz Madrid 50. Diéry Gaye Coordinator, Coopérative Nationale Senegal pour le Développement de l'Horticulture (CNDH) 51. Jonas Gbeffo Economic journalist Benin 52. Susan George Author; Board President of TNI The Netherlands 53. Ben M. Ghalmi Business consultant and advisor; United States former market economist on Wall Street 54. Fran çois Gobbe Kairos Europe (Brussels Office) Belgium 55. Anne -Sophie Grard Grâce-Hollogne public library Belgium 56. Gérard Guérin Engineer for animal husbandry France 57. Joseph Henrotte Retired. Formerly: Conseil Belgium Économique et Social de La Région Wallonne 58. Christiane Herman Teacher in Liège Belgium 59. Moi sés Hidalgo Professor, University of Alicante Spain

5 Moratal 60. Jean -Claude Huot Board member, Action de Carême Switzerland (Catholic Lenten Fund) 61. Paul J. Jorion Economic columnist, Le Monde and France Le Vif/L'Express 62. Raymond Jussaume Sociologist United States 63. Kiama Kaara Programmes Coordinator, Kenya Kenya Debt Relief Network (KENDREN) 64. Franziska Keller Member of Development Germany MEP Committee, European Parliament (Greens/EFA Group) 65. Jürgen Klute MEP Member of Economic and Monetary Germany Affairs Committee, European Parliament (GUE/NGL Group) 66. Léontine Konou President of RIFONGA (network of Benin Idohou 47 NGOs) 67. Jean -Christophe Professor, Higher National Institute France Kroll of Agronomic Sciences of Food and the Environment, Dijon; member of the Academy of Agriculture 68. Olgierd Kuty Professor Emeritus, University of Belgium Liège 69. Charles La Via A&C International Linguistic France Consultants 70. Véronique Labarre France 71. Alain Lançon Agricultural Engineer – Livestock France Specialist 72. Fré déric Lançon Economist, CIRAD France 73. Tim Lang Professor of Food Policy and United Kingdom Director of Centre for Food Policy, City University, 74. Michel Lecomte ATTAC-Liège Belgium 75. Thierry Linck Economist, INRA France 76. Thomas Lines Writer and consultant; author of United Kingdom Making Poverty: A History 77. Fadhil A. Mahdi Former Chief of Economic Analysis Iraq Division, UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia 78. Maurice Mahieu Researcher in Animal Husbandry, France Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) 79. Ibrahim Mamadou Trade unionist (ROSYB) Benin 80. Valérie Martin Member of Rouen City Council France 81. Olivier Maurel Associate Professor, XII (Val France de Marne) University 82. Myriam M’Barki Artist Belgium 83. Nathalie M’Dela- Author France Mounier 84. Kathleen McAfee Associate Professor, San Francisco United States

6 State University 85. Georges Menahem Research Director, Centre France d’Économie de l'Université Paris Nord au CNRS 86. Joan P. Mencher Chair and Managing Director, The United States Second Chance Foundation 87. Gérard Mercier Consultant France 88. Pierre Mocka- France Célestine 89. Ad éline Moutegoto Association pour le Renforcement de Togo la Solidarité entre les Peuples (ARSP) 90. Alessandro Nardone Tuscia University Italy 91. Andrianna Natsoulas Consultant for NGOs United States 92. Michel Naves Researcher in Animal Husbandry, France Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) 93. Norbert Neuser MEP Member of Development Germany Committee, European Parliament (Socialists & Democrats Group) 94. Susan Newman International Institute of Social The Netherlands Studies 95. Christine Pagnoulle Senior lecturer, University of Liège Belgium 96. Manuel Pérez Rocha Associate Fellow, Institute for Policy United States Studies 97. Charles Perraud Former director of salt workers’ France cooperative 98. Erich Pinzón Fuchs Researcher, Université de Paris 1 France Panthéon-Sorbonne 99. Jean Pluvinage Professor of Rural Economy, France Mediterranean Agronomy Institute, Montpellier (IAMM); former Research Director, INRA 100. Alain Pouliquen Economist, member of the French France Agricultural Academy 101. Daniel Puissant ATTAC-Liège; trade unionist Belgium 102. Vinod Raina President, Alternatives Asia India 103. Maria Ramon ATTAC-Liège Belgium 104. Juan Carlos Professor, University of Jaén Spain Rodríguez Cohard 105. Lucia Romanescu Director of ONPTER (national office Romania for traditional and organic produce) 106. Virginie de Romanet Coordinator, CADTM Brussels Belgium 107. Florent Schaeffer Association Internationale de France Techniciens, Experts et Chercheurs / Initiatives pour un Autre Monde (Aitec-Ipam) 108. Lionel Seydoux Tropical Agricultural Engineer France 109. Ashok B. Sharma Global Trade & Diplomacy Analyst; India

7 Freelance Journalist and Columnist 110. Harry Shutt Development Economist United Kingdom 111. Tiana Smadja- PhD Student - Université Paris Ouest France Rakotondramanitra Nanterre La Défense 112. John M. Talbot Senior Lecturer in , Jamaica University of the West Indies, Mona 113. Yash Tandon Former Executive Director of the Uganda South Centre, Geneva; also SEATINI 114. Geoff Tansey Writer and consultant; Member and United Kingdom Trustee, Food Ethics Council 115. Étienne Tchibozo Executive Director, Ehuzu Africa Benin International 116. Aminata Traoré Essayist, Forum pour un Autre Mali Mali 117. Laurence Tubiana Director, Institut du Développement France Durable et des Relations Internationales, Sciences Po, Paris 118. Colin Tudge Campaign for Real Farming United Kingdom 119. Jean -Luc Tur France 120. Oscar Ugarteche Instituto de Investigaciones Mexico Económicas, Coyoacán 121. Marie -Jeanne Engineer, Faculty of Agronomy, France Valony SupAgro, Montpellier 122. Rob van Drimmelen General Secretary of APRODEV International 123. Gaëtan Vanloqueren Guest Professor in Development Belgium Economics, ICHEC Brussels Management School 124. Marie -Hélène Agrosup, Dijon France Vergote 125. Bill Vorley International Institute for United Kingdom Environment and Development 126. Thomas ECA Watch Österreich Austria Wenidoppler 127. Ruth West Campaign for Real Farming United Kingdom 128. Markus Wissen Institute of Political Science, Austria University of Vienna 129. Bernard A. Wolfer Honorary Research Director, INRA; France former accredited consultant of UNCTAD 130. Josep -Antoni Ybarra Professor, University of Alicante Spain 131. A. Yessoufo Yolou Director-General, Centre de Benin Bamisso Promotion de la Société Civile 132. Gabriele Zimmer GUE/NGL Group, European Germany MEP Parliament

8 Statement by former staff members of UNCTAD Geneva, 11 April 2012

Silencing the message or the messenger .... or both?

Since its establishment almost 50 years ago at the instigation of developing countries UNCTAD has always been a thorn in the flesh of economic orthodoxy. Its analyses of global macro-economic issues from a development perspective have regularly provided an alternative view to that offered by the and the IMF controlled by the west.

Now efforts are afoot to silence that voice. It might be understandable if this analysis was being eliminated because it duplicated the work and views of other international organizations, but the opposite is the case - a few countries want to suppress any dissent with the prevailing orthodoxy.

No multilateral institution is perfect, but UNCTAD’s track-record of analysis and warnings on global trends and problems certainly stands up to those of other organisations. As otherwise unfavourable commentators have occasionally admitted, UNCTAD was ahead of the curve in its warnings of how global finance was trumping the real economy, both nationally and internationally. It forecast the Mexican tequila crisis of 1994/5. It warned of the East Asian crisis of 1997 and the Argentinian crisis of 2001. It has consistently sounded the alarm of the dangers of excessive deregulation of financial markets. It has stressed the perils of rapid, non- reciprocal trade liberalization by developing countries. UNCTAD have not had to suffer the psychology of denial so prevalent in other organisations.

So why is the UNCTAD message so unwelcome? The fact that UNCTAD has no formal responsibility for the global management of the international economy and none of its own funds to dispense means that its analysis is free of vested interests. No organisation correctly foresaw the current crisis, and no organisation has a magic wand to deal with present difficulties. But it is unquestionable that the crisis originated in and is widespread among the countries that now wish to stifle debate about global economic policies, despite their own manifest failings in this area.

Because of the crisis, we do now have a better explanation of the inter-relationships between the real economy and the world of finance. Those explanations are now a good deal closer to what UNCTAD has been saying for nigh on three decades about the dangers of finance-driven globalization. And it is precisely in its analysis of interdependence that UNCTAD brings added value to an understanding of how the functioning of the global economy impacts on the majority of the world’s population who live in developing countries. Given the current pressure on the organisation and its secretariat, that contribution could now be gone for good.

Why now? UNCTAD is about to have its next quadrennial conference (Doha, 21-26 April). UNCTAD conferences are a shadow of their past, being now simply a time to agree on secretariat work programme priorities for the next four years. But that is precisely what is at stake.

9 Developing countries in Geneva, again, are struggling to resist the strong pressure piled on them by OECD countries and to defend the organisation to which they had been “umbilically” tied. They are not fully succeeding, in spite of the BRICS pledge of support manifested at its recent summit. So the developed countries in Geneva have seized the occasion to stifle UNCTAD’s capacity to think outside the box. This is neither a cost-saving measure nor an attempt to “eliminate duplication” as some would claim. The budget for UNCTAD’s research work is peanuts and disparate views on economic policy are needed today more than ever as the world clamours for new economic thinking as a sustainable way out of the current crisis. No, it is rather – if you cannot kill the message, at least kill the messenger.

All of the undersigned have worked as senior officials for UNCTAD at one time or another. Individually, we may not necessarily have agreed with what UNCTAD was saying on specific issues. We have no vested interest in this matter except that we all fervently believe in the value of maintaining an independent research capability that serves to focus inter- governmental debates on how the workings of the global economy affect developing countries.

At time when pluralism is finally being meaningfully discussed in the election of the President of the World Bank, it is ironic that OECD countries are endeavouring to stifle freedom of speech within another multilateral organization.

If those who were proud to work for UNCTAD do not speak out now, who will?

List of signatories*

Eugene Adoboli Manuel Agosin Yilmaz Akyuz Xavier Alphaize Jamshid Anvar Mehmet Arda Gerry Arsenis Awni Behnam Michael Bonello John Burley Victor Busuttil Hans Carl Patrizio Civili Andrew Cornford Giovanni Andrea Cornia B.L. Das Dan Deac Edward Dommen Bijan Eslanoo Reinaldo Figueredo Carlos Fortin Peter Froehler Thomas Ganiatsos Murray Gibbs Iqbal Haji Khalil Hamdani Philippe Hein Ian Kinniburgh Gloria V. Koch Gabrielle Koehler Detlef Kotte Kamran Kousari Kurt Kwasny Roger C. Lawrence Tony Lydon Chandrakant Patel Jan Pronk Rubens Ricupero Dani Rodrik Lorraine Ruffing David Saca Sergei Safronov Jagdish Saigal Michael Sakbani Mehdi Shafaeddin Jack I. Stone Anh-Nga Tran-Nguyen Thomas Weiss Michael Zammit Cutajar

* This letter in no way engages any responsibility on part of any of the organisations with which any of the signatories are currently affiliated.

Contact: John Burley, Divonne-les-Bains, France, +33 (0)4 50 20 20 91 [email protected]

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