Journal of the Group of 77 Published since September 1982 by the Office of the Chairman of the Group of 77 Volume 15/2 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York April-July 2002 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345THE FIRST SOUTH-SOUTH HIGH-LEVEL 6 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345CONFERENCE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 6 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345TO BE HELD IN DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 6 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234527-30 OCTOBER 2002 6 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 "The South-South High-level Conference on Science and Technology will be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), from 27 to 30 October 2002. The Conference is being sponsored by the Group of 77 in New York in close coordination with the Paris Chapter of the Group of 77, currently chaired by the United Arab Emirates, and also in collaboration with the Municipality of Dubai." WWW.G77.ORG JOURNAL OF THE GROUP OF 77 • Volume 15 No. 2 G-77 NATIONS TO MEET IN DUBAI ON SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY ICT, Biotechnology & Safe Drinking Water top agenda UNITED NATIONS — July (IPS/G-77) The Group tries, however, lag far behind in knowledge generation. of 77 is holding its first-ever South-South High-level The disparity between the developed and developing Conference on Science and Technology in October 27- world in their capacity to produce scientific and techni- 30 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Ambassador Milos cal knowledge and to utilize this knowledge in support of Alcalay, Permanent Representative of the Bolivarian social and economic development has emerged as a Republic of Venezuela and Chairman of the Group of 77, major challenge facing the international community." announced here. To raise public awareness about the Conference, the The convening of this conference was decided at the Office of the Chairman of the Group of 77 is launching South Summit in Havana (10-14 April 2000) with the a new Web site devoted to the Dubai conference. The objective of formulating new Web site can be accessed global strategies and clear through the Group of 77 home policies within the South for page at the Internet address the promotion of science and http://www.g77.org. technology. Intended as a site for news The Conference is be- and general information con- ing sponsored by the Group cerning the Conference, the of 77 in New York in close Web site will be continuously coordination with the Paris updated by the Office of the Chapter of the Group of 77, Chairman. It features a joint currently chaired by the welcome message by the United Arab Emirates, and Chairman of the Group of 77 also in collaboration with and the Chairman of the Paris the Municipality of Dubai. Chapter of the Group of 77. The four-day Confer- Also offered are sections ence will bring together describing the general back- policy makers from mem- ground of the Conference and ber countries of the Group information about the host of 77, as well as representa- country and the city of Dubai. tives from relevant scien- Information on conference tific organizations, research registration and accreditation institutions, universities, for participants and the media foundations, business sector and other stakeholder groups is also available. A Press Centre in Dubai will provide dealing with science and technology. up-to-the minute press releases about the conference, To facilitate this objective, there will be a high-level statements and other public information. interactive dialogue among Ministers of Science and The Group of 77 is the largest single coalition of Technology, senior officials, scientists and researchers developing nations in the world. The Group was founded from the South, on October 27. on 15 June 1964, by 77 developing countries at the first Three workshops on information communication session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and technology, safe drinking water, and biotechnology will Development (UNCTAD). be held during the conference. Other parallel events, Since then, the Group has grown to 133 nations, including an exhibition, are scheduled to be organized by representing almost the entire developing world, includ- the Municipality of Dubai. ing China. The Group has five Chapters located at Geneva, In a joint message to the upcoming conference, Nairobi, Paris, Rome, Vienna and Washington, D.C. (G- Ambassador Milos Alcalay, Chairman of the Group of 77 24). Over the past nearly four decades, the G-77’s role in New York, and Ambassador Hussein Ghubash, Chair- and influence have expanded as seen most recently at the man of the Group of 77 Paris Chapter at UNESCO, said: first South Summit. "Rapid advances in science and technology, particu- For further information, please contact the Confer- larly in such areas as microelectronics, biotechnology ence Secretariat located at the Office of the Chairman of and information technologies, have played a critical role the Group of 77, telephone: (212) 963-3816; fax: (212) in economic and social development. Developing coun- 963-3515, E-mail: [email protected]. 2 JOURNAL OF THE GROUP OF 77 • 2002 Founded in September 1982 EDITORIAL Why the World Needs a Humanitarian International Fund... t the recently-concluded summit meeting on Financing for The JOURNAL OF THE GROUP OF 77 is pub- lished at the United Nations Headquar- ADevelopment (FfD) in Monterrey, we accepted with humble- ters by the Office of the Chairman of ness - but with a lot of firmness-- the flag of dignity, on behalf of the the Group of 77 in New York in collabo- peoples of the third world. ration with Inter Press Service (IPS). As president of Venezuela, and speaking on behalf of the Group Contributions to the Journal are wel- of 77 and China, I was the first speaker at this Summit meeting. come and should be addressed to the Managing Editor of the Journal: Of- In this forum, I presented a proposal for the creation of a fice of the Chairman of the Group of Humanitarian International Fund. 77, U.N. Headquarters, Secretariat building, Room S-3953, New York, Since the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is not an instru- N.Y. 10017, U.S.A. ment either to help the social development of the planet or to fight hunger and misery that kills millions of human beings, the Humani- tarian International Fund is aimed at filling this void. Publisher: According to UN statistics, a child dies every three-seconds either of hunger or of illnesses that can be avoided. You can count Ambassador Milos Alcalay up to 1, 2, and 3-- and misery takes away a life. Chairman of the Group of 77, New York Millions of human beings don't have employment, decent hous- Managing Editor: ing, drinking water, electricity, or property. They don't have the Mourad Ahmia right to health or education. Executive Secretary Millions of human beings are being forced to live with less than Editor: a dollar per day. Still they survive. Thalif Deen But there are more than enough reasons to declare a worldwide Inter Press Service emergency to redress these shortcomings. This is our clamor. Editorial Assistant: If 10% of the external debt of our countries, and 10% of the military expenses, are earmarked to finance this Humanitarian José Hernández International Fund, along with the call for official help for develop- ment, we will be able to give shape to a mechanism that allows us to fight this anguish of humanity. This is a contribution that Venezuela is willing to make to heal Telephone: the wounds of the planet. (212)963-3816 (212)963-0192 As everyone is aware, the present situation in the world is terrible, and it is an emergency that generates a lot of risks -- risks Fax: of violence, wars, and death and destruction. (212)963-3515 (212)963-0050 God didn't create us to find a way to hell. With this proposal for a Humanitarian International Fund, we E-Mail: may be able to return to life, dignity, equality and happiness of [email protected] humanity. The Journal of the Group of 77 is also Hugo Chavez Frias avaialble on the Internet at: President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela http://www.g77.org Chairman of the Group of 77 3 JOURNAL OF THE GROUP OF 77 • Volume 15 No. 2 GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS THREATENS STABILITY & GROWTH IN THE SOUTH UNITED NATIONS, May (IPS/G-77)-- The chairman of In fact, he said, all of the outcomes of the major UN the Group of 77 Ambassador Milos Alcalay of Venezuela, international summits and conferences have explicitly and who was invited to address the G-24 in Washington DC, told implicitly addressed and highlighted the indispensability of delegates that the economic crisis affecting developing nations is financial resources for development. a major threat to the future stability and growth in the South. The reviews undertaken