Monitoring Policy Making at the United Nations |
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July 2 - 6, 2001 - Global Policy Forum - Email 'Listserv' News
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July 2 - 6, 2001Greetings from Global Policy Forum!
Baghdad Wins One, Loses Two
The threat of a Russian veto forced the US and UK to abandon their plan to overhaul the sanctions regime against Iraq. Thus, the US quest for "smarter sanctions" against Iraq stalled, and the Security Council grudgingly extended the current sanctions with no changes.
US Ambassador James Cunningham remarked on Tuesday "The real losers here are the Iraqi people." But of course he neglected to mention that the people of Iraq would still have lost if the US/UK draft resolution had been approved. Unlike the French and Russian proposals, the US/UK plan forbade outside investment in Iraq's private sector, making it virtually impossible for Iraq to rebuild its tattered infrastructure.
Almost everyone agrees that that the status quo sanctions are ineffective. They have caused an excessive amount of suffering among the Iraqi people, yet they have failed to weaken Saddam's regime. However, since the Council could not agree on a new resolution, the current sanctions remain in place, and Saddam's hold on power remains secure.
But while Saddam was winning on the floor of the Security Council, they lost two senior diplomats in New York. On June 1, Iraq's deputy ambassador, Mohammed Humaimidi, finished his day's work at the UN, then walked into a police station near the UN and asked for political asylum for himself, his wife and child, police officials said Tuesday. His defection came two weeks after another Iraqi diplomat, Fela Hesan Rubaie, the No. 4 official at the mission, failed to show up with his family for his flight home to Baghdad.
Observer Mission in Palestine?
Last weekend, US Secretary of State Colin Powell suggested that the Bush administration would support an international observer mission to the West Bank and Gaza. Palestinians and human rights groups have pleaded for an international observer force for years, but each time their movement gathered momentum at the UN, the US rebuffed it. The idea that the US is now willing to accept an observer force came as a welcome surprise for Palestinians and their supporters.
However, Mr. Powell quickly reneged on his statement, saying that the international monitors would not be "some outside group of forces coming in," rather that both sides would have to invite the observer group--something Israel has always been staunchly opposed to.
But as the violence in the Occupied Territories mounts, the need for an observer force becomes ever more evident. Moderate politicians in Israel feel increasingly alienated by Sharon and his war machine. Amidst the crumbling cease-fire, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres threatened to quit the coalition government. "I didn't enter this government in order to betray my soul," Mr. Peres told Mr. Sharon.
An international observer force would not be a panacea to the current crisis, but it might curb the violence against civilians.
Report on Financing for Development
Former President of Mexico Ernesto Zedillo presented the report on "Financing for Development", authored by an international panel of 11 financial leaders, to the UN. The report's proposals on financial mechanisms are supposed to ensure global economic development and stability and to fight against ever-growing poverty in developing nations. The panel launched the report to build political momentum for the upcoming International Conference on Financing for Development to be held in Mexico City in 2002.
The report acknowledges that by far the main beneficiaries of trade liberalization have been the industrial countries. Exports of developing countries continue to face significant impediments in rich country markets. In other words, the panel admits that trade liberalization is a cause of the ever-growing polarization of wealth and income distribution between the developing nations and developed world.
However, the report hypocritically endorses further liberalization of agriculture, the most important sector for national food security, and the launching of a new round of trade liberalization at the next WTO ministerial meeting in Qatar in November 2001. The report argues that the primary responsibility for economic growth and equity lies with national governments, and thus urges developing nations to actively play a role of entrepreneurship in balanced fiscal policies, macroeconomic discipline, fair and effective governance, secure tax bases, support for human capital and pension plans.
While in contrast to IMF and World Bank policies, the report calls for state interventionism in financing for economic development, at the same time the report also discourages states from implementing measures to keep foreign private capital at bay. Following free-trade principles, the report also recommends that national governments treat FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) no less favorably than domestic investors, even though it is highly crucial for national governments to maintain stronger ties with domestic investors, rather than foreign investors, in order to ensure domestic development at the highest productivity rate.
The report further calls for the total elimination of remaining trade barriers in manufacturing sector. The imposition of this claim will doubtlessly benefit developed nations with an advanced capitalist system and mature manufacturing sectors. However, for most developing nations with little industrialization experience and a premature manufacturing sector, the further liberalization of the manufacturing sector would not necessarily enhance development of these nations.
The G8 Summit in Genoa Casts Its Shadow
After riots at EU summits in Gothenburg (Sweden) and Salzburg (Austria), some peaceful NGOs have decided to move their protests to other cities because they want to separate themselves from the rioters that are expected to show up in Genoa. Others argue that it would be more effective to set an example against violence at the venue of the summit itself. Also, members of the Genoa Social Forum, an association of NGOs in the globalization reform movement, have announced that they will try to carry their peaceful protest inside the security cordon in order to make a more powerful statement.
Nations, States, Flags and Passports
On time for the US national holiday, E. J. Dionne discusses patriotism and sovereignty. International cooperation in organizations such as the UN does not mean that nation states give up sovereignty. On the contrary, states can protect their national sovereignty only within an international framework. Does Dionne try to appease unilateralists by pointing out that democratic (national) control is essential for any international organization to succeed?
In the shipping industry, vessels often register under and fly the flag of a country other than the country of ownership - a Flag of Convenience (FOC) - to avoid expensive registration fees, taxes and to employ cheap labor under sub-standard conditions. Some 'national' ship registries may be run by private companies rather than the national administration - such as Liberia, whose registry is run by a US private company. Several nations are known for their FOCs, many developing and small sea-island states among them (see http://www.itf.org.uk/seafarers/foc/Body_foc.html#countries). The International Transport Worker's Federation (ITF) believes that there should be a "genuine link" between the vessel and its flag, to increase accountability to international shipping standards - something that does not commonly occur with FOC states. This week, we posted a comment on a recent SIRC study - commissioned by the ITF - which measured the performance of shipping administrations, finding Singapore at the bottom of the performance list. The study found Malta and Cyprus towards the top of the list, causing some "raised eyebrows". Although the study fits with ITF's campaigning to improve labor conditions by scrutinizing registries and lessening FOC 'open' registries, some national registers, such as Russia, Turkey and the Ukraine achieved low scores. Furthermore, the top 14 flags on the performance list included nine registers that the ITF counts as utilizing FOCs.
Fake passports are a convenient means of increasing one's international mobility and the danger lies in increasing cross-border terrorism, which can flourish as long as terrorists can move freely between countries. Border controls will certainly help, but states ought to do more to prevent the easy reproduction of fake documents in the first place.
Here are this week's links…
