Statement by Ms Johanna Hart, Advisor on behalf of Canada, Australia and New Zealand (CANZ) to the United Nations Second Committee on Item 47: Macroeconomic policy questions
13 October 2008
(As delivered)
Mr Chair, on behalf of CANZ, I extend to you our heartiest congratulations on your assumption of the Chairmanship of the Second Committee, and our congratulations also to the entire bureau. We look forward to working with you and the Vice-Chairs during the coming months, and you can be assured of our full support and cooperation.
Mr Chair, if we are to successfully complete our work by 28th November – and CANZ intends for this to be the case – it will require a tremendous amount of cooperation on the part of all of us. CANZ intends to do its utmost to allow the Committee to complete its work on time; we will be as practical and pragmatic as possible.
Mr Chair, please allow us to briefly and specifically address the three areas of focus in the macroeconomic cluster: commodities, debt, and international financial systems.
In the area of commodities we have been struck, similar to other Members, by the recent sharp decline in many commodity prices as well as the recent volatility in various commodity prices on a day to day basis. The immediacy of these developments, including the recent impact of United States and global financial market developments, is underlined by the fact that the Report that we have before us, World Commodity Trends and Prospects, dated 12 August 2008, precedes these latest developments.
We are encouraged, however, that policymakers around the world are moving to address these challenges, including multilateral policy initiatives to address the current financial turmoil, specific actions to address commodity markets and recent efforts to address the global food crisis in a coherent and coordinated manner. We are also encouraged that many national authorities are actively moving to pursue policies to stabilize domestic financial conditions.
Against this backdrop, we continue to be encouraged by various commodity actions already underway including the comprehensive framework for action advanced by the High-level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis, as well as the actions envisaged within the Accra Accord by UNCTAD. These look to address commodities issues by addressing underlying factors which, to our mind, presents the most pragmatic approach to address specific commodity-related problems in a sustainable manner. The monitoring of these actions by the General Assembly would better ensure that these plans of action meet short term and long term goals.
Turning our attention to debt, CANZ welcomes the progress of global debt indicators, which improved overall in 2007, as outlined in the July 2008 Secretary General Report on External Debt and Development. We recognize, however, that debt sustainability remains a crucial problem for many low-income countries and we are committed to work with the Chairmanship of Second Committee to review the progress of existing debt relief and rescheduling initiatives. We wish to ensure the cooperation of all stakeholders in order to achieve the full benefits of existing frameworks including the HIPC and MDRI Initiatives and the Evian approach.
To this effect, CANZ supports the international efforts to make the international financial institutions more effective and accountable. These reforms will allow for more voices to be heard within these important institutions. Progress has been made to make the IFIs, including the Breton Woods Institutions, more accountable and more reflective of the global economy. The current global financial situation reinforces the need for strong, effective and accountable institutions.
The work of Second Committee must take into account and welcome the successful reforms that have occurred at the IMF and the other institutions. We believe that the changes at any institution will only be effective if changes to shares and votes are matched with reforms to internal governance.
Work to reform and improve the operation of these institutions is ongoing. While we should the support this work, we should not duplicate or undermine successes arrived at in other international fora.
In addition to the important work of Second Committee, CANZ will also be proactive in negotiations for the Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development, to review the implementation of the Monterrey Consensus. Many of the issues under negotiation in the context of Financing for Development fall under the macroeconomic policy cluster of Second Committee. With this in mind, we encourage all delegations to work towards ensuring the most efficient and practical use of our collective resources and efforts. CANZ is committed to achieving important progress in this regard and to giving these issues their due attention.
In conclusion Mr Chair, we stand ready to work with you, the Bureau and the Secretariat, and look forward to the flexibility and support of our partners, and to a successful execution of the programme of work that is before us.