UNITED
NATIONS 
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
REMARKS BY
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED NATIONS
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
H.E. MR JULIAN R. HUNTE TO
THE
VIENNA
GLOBAL AGENDA FORUM
VIENNA AUSTRIA
2 JUNE 2004
THE
ROLE OF THE BUSINESS SECTOR IN THE ACHIEVEMENT OF SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
Professor
Hordijk, members of the Vienna Global Agenda Forum,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen:
As
you would have heard, I have come to the Presidency
of the Fifty-eighth Session of the United Nations General
Assembly through a circuitous route. As a young man
in my country, St Lucia, I was first drawn to service
organisations and to the business sector. Later, the
world of politics beckoned, and I answered the call.
Politics set me on a course for diplomacy at the United
Nations, the world's premier international organisation.
Later, politics brought me back to serve as Minister,
and endorsed candidate of my Government and the Latin
American and Caribbean region for President of the General
Assembly. I was honoured with the unanimous support
of the membership of the United Nations for this high
office.
I
hope you would have gathered two points from my brief
notes on my background. The first is that my initial
training was in business, and it is business that has
underpinned my contribution in all other areas, whether
individually, nationally, regionally or internationally.
The second point, following logically from the first,
is that I am pleased to have this opportunity to address
the Vienna Global Agenda Forum, because it allows me
to bring together my divergent experiences - politics
and diplomacy, and above all, business.
Let
me express my appreciation to the Forum for inviting
me to participate in this meeting, and for the opportunity
to share some thoughts on the topic, "The role
of the business sector in the achievement of sustainable
development".
The
conventional wisdom about the business sector is that
it takes up the most promising opportunities for profit,
and that it seeks to maximize those profits through
efficiency. It has also been asserted that the business
sector - corporations in particular - has become a dominant
force in a rapidly and dramatically changing global
economy. This assertion is beyond question.
I
believe it fair to say, also, that few developments
in today's world have expanded the reach and influence
of business enterprise as has globalisation and trade
liberalisation. These twin developments, spurred by
rapid advances in technology and communications, are
undoubtedly now the principal driving forces in the
global economy.
Until recently, globalisation and trade liberalisation
- ever closer integration of markets, ever larger economies
of scale, ever bigger opportunities for profits and
prosperity, clearer rules set by the World Trade Organization
and new terms of trade to replace existing system of
preferences - was seen as the way forward for the global
economy. Proponents of globalisation and trade liberalization,
including in business circles, seemed convinced that
there was a simple formula that would surely lead to
sustainable development, "open your economies,
liberalise and you will grow, and as you grow, poverty
will be reduced".
The
distinct impression proponents gave was that there simply
is no viable alternative to globalisation and trade
liberalisation. This may indeed be so. However, in the
face of poverty, inequity, environmental degradation,
the ravages of deadly diseases such as HIV/AIDS, marginalisation
and other grave global problems, the deep sense of uncertainty
engendered by globalisation and trade liberalisation
is calling the global economic order into question.
The
United Nations 191 Member States are all on different
national paths to development. It is expected, however,
that the paths will eventually converge in the same
place - economic growth and development for each country,
and if I dare say so, accelerated development for the
countries of the developing world. This would be especially
so for the least developed countries, landlocked developing
countries and Small Island Developing States (SIDS)
like those of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Now,
however, the paths are not leading to the same place
- more economically advanced states appear to be the
primary beneficiaries of globalisation and trade liberalization.
The
hopes of the developing countries had been raised that
Doha would trigger a truly development round of world
trade negotiations. Instead, we stand on the brink of
stagnation in moving Doha commitments forward. Developed
countries' subsidies, particularly to agriculture, lack
of, or limited market access and no significant movement
on special and differential treatment or other concessions
- all these and more loom large in the path to sustainable
development of numerous developing countries. Cancun,
I believe, underscored the inherent problems.
Many
countries are only just beginning to shake the impact
of the global economic slow-down - but many impediments
remain. The growing threat of terrorism and the way
in which we react to it could well stand in the way
of a steady march towards greater international openness
and sustained economic growth and development. At the
same time, world-wide events, problems and issues including
the military action in Iraq and escalating oil prices,
are creating resource challenges for development efforts.
It is, indeed, an uphill struggle to bring development
back to centre stage on the United Nations, or indeed,
the international agenda.
It
is becoming increasingly difficult for governments in
many developing countries to take control of their economic
future. Foreign direct investment is an important source
of financing for development, but it is fraught with
uncertainty. Investments might well move out of a region
regardless of whether stability, good governance and
other factors are very much in place there, to another
area because of lower production costs.
Many
developing countries have seen prices for their commodities
continue to fall, as official development assistance
(ODA) continues to decline, with many countries in the
developed world falling short of the 0.7% of GDP target.
In the meantime, debt continues to be a major economic
issue, while the pace of the revolution in technology
and communications is leaving many developing countries
behind.
We
know that all countries, developed or developing, have
primary responsibility for promoting their own development.
Many developing countries have made progress, even significant
progress. If, however, we are to make their exception
the rule, we must take a decisive stand in support of
multilateral approaches to sustainable development.
We need to approach global economic problems from new
perspectives.
There
is no one single entity - not Government, not the United
Nations system and not civil society and the business
sector - that can singularly spur sustainable development.
How, then, do we deliver on sustainable development
objectives across the broad spectrum of priorities on
the global economic agenda? Partnerships are needed.
The United Nations has increasingly emphasised partnerships
as a decisive way to move sustainable development objectives
forward, particularly in respect of implementing the
outcomes of the more than one decade of United Nations
conferences and summits in the economic and social fields,
commencing with the 1992 United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development to the International Conference
on Financing for Development and the World Summit for
Sustainable Development, both convened in 2002.
Many
of you would know that in 2005, the Sixtieth Anniversary
of the United Nations, the General Assembly will review
implementation and follow-up to major United Nations
summits and conferences in the economic and social field,
and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). All issues
set out in the Millennium Declaration will be reviewed.
I expect that this review will draw significantly on
the partnerships between Governments, the United Nations
system, other organisations, civil society and the business
sector, in assessing how far we have come, and what
remains to be done.
The
increasing involvement of the business sector in the
United Nations sustainable development efforts is, in
my view, a most encouraging development. I believe that
the business sector, because it has resources, both
human and financial, management and technological capacity
and the capacity to take risks which governments cannot,
can partner with governments and institutions in the
setting and implementation of internationally agreed
goals.
There
is scope for business enterprises, whether national
entity or transnational corporation, formal or informal,
large or small, to enhance the role they play in socio-economic
development, particularly in the developing world. Job
creation, entrepreneurial development, technology transfer,
market access, development of new private sector initiatives
- these are but some of the myriad areas in which the
business sector does make, and should continue to make,
significant contributions when governments provide an
enabling environment.
Since
the 1992 UNCED, countries, communities and businesses
have been urged to adopt development strategies and
policies compatible with the sustainable development
of the environment. I believe that the business sector
has a critical role to play here, by strictly adhering
to sound environmental practices, and scrupulously observing
governmental and international environmental protection
laws and standards. More efficient production technologies,
environmental protection strategies, cleaner production
processes, and cleaner technologies - these critical
standards should be the norm.
Many
governments continue to take the lead in providing social
goods - water, sanitation, electricity, health and education
to name a few - for the benefit of the wider society
and community - an expensive proposition by any yardstick.
The profit margins in these areas may not be great.
Good corporate citizenship, however, should encourage
the business sector to work with governments to create
the right balance between laws and regulatory frameworks
and the investment of business sector resources. This
should be particularly so, I believe, regarding the
provision of essential services, where entrepreneurship
and management skills are needed to ensure the production
and delivery of the highest quality service, efficiently
and effectively. Public-Private synergies can in this
way have a positive impact on sustainable development.
The
influence of the business sector in world trade is beyond
question. That influence can, I believe, make an important
contribution towards breaking the current impasse in
the Doha development round. Similarly, the business
sector can facilitate movement on agricultural subsidies,
an issue that seriously impacts the multilateral trading
system. An equitable resolution of this issue would
contribute significantly to relieving the trade challenges
of many poor developing countries.
Some
1200 corporations from more than 70 countries from developed
and developing countries, have stepped forward to join
the Global Compact, initiated by the United Nations
Secretary General in 1999. The Compact underscores the
importance of human rights, labour and the environment,
areas in which the activities of the business sector
have a direct and major impact. The challenge to the
business sector is to join the United Nations in integrating
the developing world into the global economy in a way
that would raise living standards for all. Need I say
that the more corporations responding to the Global
compact, the better.
Similarly,
the more business sector entities taking part in the
United Nations review of the outcomes of United Nations
summits and conferences in the economic and social fields,
the better. Many of the commitments made in respect
of internationally agreed goals and targets for sustainable
development have specific time frames. Let me emphasise
here that a number of reports, including some presented
by United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, state
that we are in danger of falling short in achieving
our goals and targets, particularly in the developing
world. The business sector needs to ensure that it is
implementing its commitments, even as it assists government
and others to do likewise.
Experience
is every day teaching us that partnerships work - nationally,
bilaterally, multilaterally and with non-state entities,
including the business sector. But each partner is different,
works at a different level, and brings different resources
and perspectives to the table. If we are to continue
to develop, improve and maintain sustainable development
partnerships with the business sector, there is a challenge
we must all take up. That challenge for governments,
the United Nations system, and for non-state actors,
including the business sector, is to contribute meaningfully,
setting and maintaining a cooperative framework that
would enable us to achieve together what it would be
impossible for us to achieve separately.
For
I believe that it is through partnerships that we create
cooperation and mutual understanding, and that we achieve
common goals when we engage in "the art of the
possible".
I
thank you.
