Globalization and Interdependence

About

In the span of one generation global economic interdependence has grown extraordinarily as a consequence of enormous technological progress and policies aimed at opening national economies internally and externally to competition.

Globalization has brought benefits and opportunities for many people in many parts of the world. However, many others have been excluded from its positive impact. Extreme poverty remains a daily reality for more than 1 billion people who subsist on less than $1 a day. More than 800 million people have too little to eat to meet their daily energy needs. Inequality between countries and within countries has also increased and global environmental risks have increasingly become a matter of global concern.

Promoting a coherent approach to policy making through greater coherence and co-ordination is essential to ensuring that the benefits of globalization are expanded and spread more broadly and that its potentially negative effects are diminished. The globalization of production, finance and information, among others, has not been matched by a corresponding reshaping of institutional mechanisms. Addressing this institutional and governance gap is the second great challenge of globalization. With its universal membership the General Assembly is particularly well placed to serve as a forum for building consensus on how to better manage globalization in order to promote development.

Globalization and interdependence has been included on the agenda of the Economic and Finance (Second) Committee of the General Assembly since 1999, following a High-Level Dialogue held on 17 and 18 September 1998 on the social and economic impact of globalization and interdependence and the policy implications. The General Assembly debates and in particular the special events of the General Assembly Second Committee have provided a forum for exchange of views among Member States and have helped to forge a global consensus on actions which need to be taken at the global, regional and national level to turn globalization into a positive force for development that benefits all. For its 2008 debate, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General in resolution 62/199 to prepare a report on the on the “Impact of globalization on the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals” under the broader theme of “Globalization and interdependence”.

Reports of the Secretary-General on Globalization and Interdependence prepared by the Office of ECOSOC Support and Coordination:  

General Assembly Resolutions on Globalization and Interdependence:  

General Assembly Special Events on Globalization and Interdependence organized by OESC:

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

Links:

United Nations System:

Intergovernmental Processes: