Maravi

Reforming for the common interest of humanity

Reforming for the common interest of humanity
By Editor
Friday October 26, 2007 [04:00]

Over the last few years, calls for reform of the world’s multilateral institutions have become louder and more numerous. But they appear to be falling on deaf ears, at least going by the fact that the calls have not been matched with any progress. On our part, we have made it as plain and clear as possible that the reform of the world’s multilateral institutions - the United Nations, International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) - is inevitable.

And when we call for reform of these institutions, we are aware that reform is a process, not a one-time event, and it can therefore take a long time. However, we think that the procrastination that surrounds the reform of the world’s multilateral institutions has much to do with the same concerns those who are calling for reform harbour.

It is clear that the few rich and powerful nations of the world which control these institutions are not ready to give up their monopolistic hold on power in these organisations which were originally created to be an egalitarian platform for all nations of the world or at least for all member states.

However, when one looks at the transformation that the world has gone through since the creation of most of these institutions, it beats logic that the amount of resistance to reform is so vehement. And the irony is that those violently opposed to reform are nations which keep pounding into our heads the theories, tenets and principles of democracy, transparency, et cetera.

What has to be realised is that the needs of the world are constantly changing and there is definitely need to keep rearranging these multilateral institutions in order to realign them to the real needs of the world today. Of course we are appreciative of the fact that it will be impossible to fully satisfy the needs of each and every nation of the world in terms of how far or how much these multilateral institutions need to reform.

The fundamental point is that reform of the UN, the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO is an important process which needs to be undertaken and it will have to be a continuous process for as we have already stated, the needs of the world are constantly changing and we face new challenges which require new approaches in terms of trouble-shooting.

It is gratifying and encouraging that Fr Pete Henriot is again reminding us of the need to reform multilateral organisations because, as he has put it, these institutions were set up without the interest of the developing countries and there is, therefore, need to reform the power structures of these international institutions so that they are more representative.

As for the UN system, students of history will recall that these demands, despite having been brought up many years earlier, were formally presented by then United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan in 2005 at the UN General Assembly. It should be recalled that Annan had initiated a reform programme for the UN immediately after he assumed office in 1997.

According to Annan, the need for reform would have to be “from overhauling basic management practices and building a more transparent, efficient and effective United Nations system to revamping our major intergovernmental institutions so that they reflect today’s world and advance the priorities set forth in the present report, we must reshape the Organisation in ways not previously imagined and with a boldness and speed not previously shown”.

The calls for reform of UN are many, ranging from increased UN power and presence around the globe to an entire redesign of the UN Security Council. If anything, much of the debate has had to do with redesigning the Security Council so that it begins to reflect a post-World War II form as opposed to the present setup where power is centralised in the five most powerful countries during the post-Second World War world - the United States, the United Kingdom, China, France and Russia.

Considering the dramatic changes that the world has undergone since the Security Council’s formation after World War II, it is important that some reform is undertaken, in order to fairly balance power and in the interest of the present realities of the world.

As for the IMF and the World Bank, our position is still the same. There is need to reform these institutions so that their real function or purpose becomes that of promoting development and not perpetuating the misery of poor countries as the case is at present. It is well-known that these institutions were created for the sole purpose of rich nations controlling poor countries’ policies.


And this is how they continue to operate, although once in a while they come up with different economic policies which they claim are targeted at the development of poor countries.

But we know how disastrous these so-called economic policies have been in our countries and we do not have enough space in this column to outline the details of the not-so-nice neo-liberal policies from the IMF and the World Bank.


As for the WTO, its conduct over the years has shown that it is not a legitimate body - in its present form - to superintend the world’s trade affairs. The WTO has proved beyond any doubt that it is there only to protect rich nations’ markets and not to ensure free and fair trade between and among nations of the world.


Given all this, we have to admit that the present set- up of the world’s multilateral institutions has failed, or at least it is failing poor nations like Zambia, and it is this system which many people around the world are saying no to.

Yes, we live in a globalised world but we also know that globalisation at present is controlled by a few rich nations and basically driven by an insatiable appetite for more and more wealth and power for those who already have enough, if not more than enough.
What we are therefore calling for is a reform of the world’s multilateral institutions so that there is more democracy, representation, openness and accountability.

What we need is to reform and redesign the UN, the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO so that they can begin to respond to the common interests of humanity, not to the narrow and parochial interests of a few rich and powerful nations of the world. When we call for reform of these international or multilateral institutions, this is precisely what we mean.

Labels: IMF, World Bank

posted by MrK @ 7:16 AM