About Dr. Jagan's New Global Human Order (NGHO)
Introduction - A New Global Human Order - by Dr. Jagan
Advancing The Initiative Of The New Global Human Order - Summary of Key Issues
New Global Human Order Symposium - Bio-Data of International Participants
The Role of the United Nations in
Promoting a New Global Human Order Purpose - Explanatory Memorandum
Inspired by a vision of the enormous potential for human development created by the end of the Cold War, the accelerated rate of technological development, and the deepening interdependence of nations, the late President Dr Cheddi Jagan urged that States should now grasp the opportunity to build an enlightened international partnership based on mutual respect, democratic governance, popular participation and equal opportunity for all peoples to live in peace and prosperity. At the heart of the proposal is the eradication of poverty and overall human development. Essential to its success is the political will to address these challenges by identifying new and innovative ways of financing development and by mobilizing all actors on the domestic and international stage in support of this cause.
The concept of the New Human Global Order calls for a people-centered sustainable development policy and programme aimed at the eradication of poverty and the establishment of a just and more humane system of international relations.
In August 1996, the Government of Guyana organized an International Conference to discuss the creation of the New Global Human Order. The assessment and many of the recommendations administered on the occasion of that Conference, have since appeared in various forms and fora and translated in diverse programmes for international action, though not in a coherent and comprehensive manner.
As part of its strategy to advance advocacy of the initiative the Government of Guyana with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme convened a Symposium on August 26-27, 2000 in Georgetown, to increase awareness of the issues involved and to meet the challenges of the emerging New Global Human Order.
Arising out of the Symposium the following key issue areas were adumbrated as pivotal to move the process forward:
1. Philosophical/Intellectual Framework
There is an urgent need for a new consensus on socio-economic development. The New Global Human Order addresses in a coherent manner a number of inter-related issues that provide economic security and sustainable human development. In so doing:
** To empower the United Nations capacity in developmental matters. The United Nations must be the main trust of global policy making.
** The New Global Human Order seeks to enhance global governance through the strengthening of multilateralism.
** The New Global Human Order seeks to establish partnerships between North and South and South and South.
** The New Global Human Order is not about welfarism, it is about empowering people with the capacity to meet their basic needs.
** The New Global Human Order seeks to integrate the key elements of human development, human rights and human security issues.
2. Development Agenda
Over the last two decades the development agenda has been subjugated to the process of globalization. As a result there is urgent necessity for emphasis on a development agenda that empowers developing countries and their autonomy in decision making. This involves:
** Coherence between actions at the domestic level and actions at the international level.
** The development perspective of the New Global Human Order is people-centered and multi-dimensional in its strategy and focus.
** Eradication of Poverty with emphasis on empowering vulnerable groups such as women, youth and indigenous populations.
** Access to affordable credit for micro-enterprises entrepreneurs.
** The use of science and technology including new information technologies, to build capacity for training and education and research and development.3. Global Humanism
The New Global Human Order recognizes the linkage between peace and development concerns. The initiative links developing country’s issues with concerns in the developed countries and suggests common solutions to common problems which are underscored in the broad areas of human development, human rights and human security concerns.
4. Partnership
The effective realization of the New Global Order calls for strengthened partnership among the various actors at the inter-state and intra-state levels. This would necessitate a renewed role of the State i.e., that the State is no longer the dominant actor in society and must function with a view to accentuating the social partnership and ensure the effective delivery of social services. This social partnership is seen in the following contexts:
** North - South relations - Government/Government. The South needs the active support and participation of the North to achieve viable solutions including, in particular, the need for resources.
** South - South Cooperation - Government/Government.
** South - South Cooperation Government/Civil Society; Intra-State Cooperation.5. Financial Reforms
The issue of reforms to the financial infrastructure was addressed in the context of the need for new resources for development and greater transparency and collaboration between borrowers and lenders. Special mention was made of the following points:
** The Bretton Woods Institution and the WTO should be brought into close working relationship with the UNGA and ECOSOC.
** The need for faster and deeper Debt Forgiveness.
** Increase the level of ODA to fulfil the United Nations target of 0.7% of GNP and to address the new developmental concerns.
** Access to affordable loans and credit.
** The imposition of a tax on international currency transactions. Reference was made to a recent proposal which was adopted at a Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly in Geneva. This proposal was tabled by Canada and supported by the European Union.6. Advocacy and Propagandization
In order to advance discussion of the initiative on the international agenda a number of practical steps were outlined.
— First organize a series of actions to coincide with the Millennium Assembly of the United Nations.
– Organize a High-Level Panel Discussion in New York. This could include representatives at the UN, NGO representatives, etc.
– Initiate discussions at the UNDP Ministerial Meeting scheduled for September 11, 2000.
– Encourage Heads of States to speak of the issue at Regional “Round Tables.”
– Get a number of co-sponsors (say 25) to support the matter being placed as an item on the Agenda of the Millennium Assembly, in particular, the Plenary Session.
– Discussion of the issue by Ambassadors in the South Summit Follow-up Meeting and the Ministerial Meetings of the G-77 and NAM in mid-September.
** Advance the issue for discussion within regional organizations (including the OAS General Assembly) and regional institutions, international institutions, the media and NGOs.
** Place the issue for discussion at the Caribbean Community’s “Civil Society Encounter” in 2001.
** Establishment of a NGHO Website.
** Circulate the Final Document of the Symposium to various institutions, including Ministerial level representatives of Foreign Affairs and Finance.
** The President of Guyana may consider addressing the President of the UN General Assembly on the matter and request that the Final Document be circulated at the Millennium Assembly.
Ambassador Percy Metsing Mangoaela: -- Permanent Representative of Lesotho to the United Nations
Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury: -- Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations
Ambassador Makarim Wibisono: -- Permanent Representative of Indonesia to the United Nations
Ambassador Baghder Asadi: -- Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations (in charge of Economic and Social Issues)
Ambassador S.R. Insanally: -- Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations
Ambassador Adriano Benedetti: -- Ambassador, Embassy of Italy, Venezuela
Ambassador Rolf Berg: -- Ambassador and Special Envoy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway
Sir Alister McIntyre: -- Chief Technical Adviser, RNM; -- Former Vice Chancellor, UWI - - Assistant Secretary General, Development and International Cooperation, UN - Deputy Secretary General, UNCTAD
Professor Denis Martin Benn: - - Michael Manley Professor of Public Affairs/Public Policy; -- Former Director of UNDP’s Special Unit for TCDC; -- UNDP Resident Representative and Resident Coordinator in Jamaica (1991-1994); -- Head, Economic Affairs Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1973 - 1979)
Dr. Uner Kirdar: -- Former Director, UNDP Development Study Programme; -- Extensive experience and expertise in field of Human Development
Dr. Joseph Edmunds: -- Director, Office of the General Secretariat of the OAS in Suriname
Mr. John Langmore: - Director of the Division for Social Policy and Development, UN - Chairman of Australian National Committee for WSSD
Mr. Richard Nunes de Souza: -- Coordinator, Circle of Friends for the Promotion of the New Global Human Order, UK; -- Working Toward Debt Cancellation and a Definitive Solution of the Guyana Debt Problem
Ms. Liana Cisneros: -- Coordinator, Latin America, JUBILEE 2000; -- Working Towards Debt Cancellation and a Definitive Solution of the Guyana Debt Problem.
The proposal for a New Global Human Order is intended to prompt a re-examination of international co-operation and partnership and to explore the prospects of a viable consensus on people-centred development as a central pillar of the work of the United Nations in development in the twenty-first century.
Such an undertaking is now imperative in light of the manifold initiatives on development that have been embarked upon over the past five decades and the comparably meagre results that have ensued. The series of UN Conferences held during the 1990s, which are among the most recent démarches by the international community in this regard, established the centrality of people-centred development, together with a consensus on critical aspects to be addressed through national action and international cooperation. However, the review processes that have taken place to date point to a certain disappointment and frustration over the lack of progress in implementation.
The urgent need therefore exists to impart fresh momentum to the achievement of international economic and social cooperation, for new approaches to development, including on the question of resources. This is illustrated by the attempts on all fronts, including the leading financial and trade institutions, to redefine and reconfigure the parameters of development assistance. The functioning of the international machinery in support of development also needs to be examined with a view to promoting greater coherence and coordination. The Millennium Assembly of the United Nations provides a unique opportunity for a fresh look at both the problems and possibilities of international cooperation.
Background and Rationale
The call for a New Global Human Order was first made at the World Summit for Social Development held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1995 by then President of Guyana, Dr. Cheddi Jagan. Since then, it has found echo in a number of international fora, including the Caribbean Community, the Movement of Non-Aligned countries and most recently, the Group of 77. At the Sixteenth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) held in Georgetown, Guyana, in July 1995, Caricom Heads expressed their support for the call for a New Global Human Order.In the Declaration of the South Summit held in Havana in April 2000, Heads of State and Government of the Group of 77 and China stressed, inter alia, "the need for a new global human order aimed at
reversing the growing disparities between rich and poor, both among and within countries, through the promotion of growth with equity, the eradication of poverty, the expansion of productive employment and the promotion of gender equality and social integration."
The deepening interdependence of nations and peoples, the consolidation of democracy in many countries across the globe, accelerated technological innovation, and the end of the Cold War, offer potentially enhanced prospects for the achievement of these aims. However, the growing inequities and disparities that have accompanied the globalisation of the world economy manifested by the increasing income and technological divide between developed and developing countries strongly militate against economic and social progress for the majority of humanity.
Objectives and Proposed Actions
The proposal for a New Global Human Order seeks to build a strong political consensus and a broad-based global partnership to combat poverty and promote economic security throughout the world. This must be based on a long-term integrated approach to development that takes full account of how governments, markets and societies interact and provides for the achievement of concrete development results.
Political will and an enlightened international partnership are essential to successfully address the challenges of global poverty and inequity and the promotion of full human development. Such a partnership needs to involve all relevant actors, Member States, the international community, and non-governmental actors. It could address the linkages between issues of vital importance to the developing world and concerns in the developed countries and promote solutions to common problems.
The partnership should endeavour to build on the vital work done to date by the United Nations in development, including in the series of UN Conferences held during the 1990s, and, more importantly to provide new impetus to the implementation of the many development initiatives undertaken under the auspices of the Organisation. To this end, the proposal envisages the co-ordination by the world community of efforts towards effective action that is people-centred, aimed at promoting fully the social and economic welfare of the peoples of the world. It will further sensitise the international community to the compelling need to focus not merely on the financial and economic factors but also on moral and social imperatives that place people's livelihood at the centre of material development.The proposal envisages a number of concrete initiatives aimed at addressing critical issues of human development. Investment, technical and economic assistance remain principal instruments to support the development undertakings of developing countries. It seeks to advance further action on three major fronts.
First, there is the fundamental need to facilitate a reshaping of the role of government in order to build the democratic instruments necessary for human development. This will facilitate the strengthening of the capabilities to provide the services and infrastructure necessary to forging the requisite synergies between economic growth, poverty-reduction and social development.
Secondly, it seeks to mobilise enhanced political support for development. The developed countries must be urged to take definitive action to honour their obligations regarding the United Nations ODA target of 0.7 percent of GNP, given the overall improvement in their economic conditions. It is also important that official debt relief be adequately financed though not at the expense of resources for development assistance. Further, while the HIPC debt initiative is an important step to assist developing countries to avail resources to address poverty, greater effort is required to allow countries to qualify for debt relief on the grounds of the incidence of poverty.
Thirdly, the proposal seeks to facilitate a genuine consensus on the promotion of social justice, ownership and good governance, at both national and international levels. These are key elements in the promotion of human development. To this end, consideration should be given to the establishment of an international arbitration process which would balance the interests of donors, International Financial Institutions, Transnational Corporations and developing countries, with a view to introducing greater discipline in international cooperation.
Role of the United Nations
The United Nations remains the premier institution of the world community for forging global consensus on issues of universal concern. It spearheaded the struggles for decolonisation and political independence. It must now, in an increasingly interdependent world, and in keeping with the mandate of its Charter, play a pivotal role in promoting higher standards of living in larger freedom, for the benefit of all of the world's peoples.