CUTS calls for a multilateral agreement on trade and competition
policy
April 21, 2012
“UNCTAD should conduct
studies on the primary commodities sector to promote better
understanding of the issues of commodity speculation, the interaction
between trade and competition policy, and others, with the aim of
developing proposals that address the global food and commodity
crisis. It should work on the strengthening of multilateral
arrangements to minimize commodity price volatility and other related
problems.” This is one of the many recommendations placed by civil
society organisations to UNCTAD member states who will meet in Doha,
Qatar from 21st to 26th April 2012 to discuss contemporary issues and
challenges of globalisation.
The theme of the 13th quadrennial conference of the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development is “Development-centred
globalisation: Towards inclusive and sustainable growth and
development”. Its sub-themes are:
Enhancing the enabling economic environment at all levels in support
of inclusive and sustainable development
-
Strengthening all forms of
cooperation and partnerships for trade and development, including
North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation.
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Addressing persistent and
emerging development challenges as related to their implications for
trade and development and interrelated issues in the areas of
finance, technology, investment and sustainable development
-
Promoting investment,
trade, entrepreneurship and related development policies to foster
sustained economic growth for sustainable and inclusive development
Reacting to the Civil
Society Declaration to UNCTAD XIII, CUTS Secretary General Pradeep
S. Mehta said: “UNCTAD has a historically significant role to
provide necessary checks and balances to the global economic
governance system. This role is under stress. I am particularly
happy to see that many former UNCTAD staff have taken the cudgel for
this cause.”
On the eve of UNCTAD XIII, Mehta reminded the world community what
Raul Prebisch, the founding father of UNCTAD, said in 1986: “To
renew our ideas is an imperative. UNCTAD should progress by critical
enquiry through its own critical research.”
The Civil Society Declaration to UNCTAD XIII has many progressive
ideas and their effective implementation will provide much needed
direction to address the causes of global financial crisis and to
mitigate its effects.
“UNCTAD should conduct a comprehensive study on the linkages between
the financial economy and the real economy, and on how effective
regulation of the financial economy as well as the real economy can
help the impoverished not just to insulate themselves from future
financial crisis but to put in place a rapid-response mechanism to
deal with new challenges that could emanate from future financial
crises,” the Civil Society Declaration says.
In a Statement to UNCTAD
XIII, CUTS International said: “It is UNCTAD’s publicly stated credo
to work with civil society in every which way, as indeed other
intergovernmental organisations like WTO and the World Bank, and
governments in many countries work closely with the civil society.”
CUTS supports the civil society’s “call to governments to ensure the
active, meaningful and effective inclusion and participation of
civil society in policymaking and policy implementation. The
inclusion and input of civil society is essential for ensuring
ownership and effectiveness in the design of development and
economic policies, processes and institutions, and in the
elaboration and implementation of international cooperation.”
CUTS International is a non-governmental organisation having more
than three decades of experience of working on trade, regulatory and
governance issues, particularly in Asia and Africa. It has a
permanent observer status as an NGO accredited to UNCTAD. A CUTS
delegation led by its Secretary General and from among its centres
in Geneva and Lusaka will take an active part in UNCTAD XIII by
presenting its views on several high-level panels on contemporary
issues of trade, development and regulations and organising events
on a number of issues including on interaction between trade and
competition policy.
For more information, please contact:
Pradeep S. Mehta, +91 98290 13131 (India), +97470210711 (Doha,
Qatar),
psm@cuts.org |