M. Martin Khor, directeur exécutif du Centre Sud, a prononcé un discours, le 25 mars 2009, devant l’Assemblée générale des Nations unies dans le cadre du dialogue thématique sur la crise financière et économique mondiale et ses conséquences sur le développement. Il a détaillé les effets de la crise économique sur les pays en développement et a émis des propositions pour changer l'ordre financier et économique mondial.

Depuis 2002, les prix mondiaux des denrées alimentaires ont été en constante hausse ; rien que pendant la période de 2007 à 2008, ils ont augmenté de 52%. Ces derniers mois, la flambée des prix des aliments a créé des zones de tension dans de nombreux pays en développement.

Pourtant, dans toute crise, il y a une occasion à saisir. C’est bien pour cette raison que les causes de la crise actuelle doivent être dûment étudiées et comprises. L’occasion qui se présente aujourd’hui aux pays du Sud est de repenser certains concepts tels l’autonomie, l’autosuffisance et la souveraineté alimentaire, tout comme d'examiner quels sont les aspects de l’environnement mondial qui ont conduit des pays à privilégier la production de produits alimentaires par rapport aux cultures d’exportation et les importations par rapport à la production locale, ce qui a eu des répercussions sur l’appropriation et la maîtrise nationales des principales ressources de production alimentaire.

South Perspectives - November 2002

FOREWORD

The 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) is the third global conference on environment-related issues in the last three decades. It is a further, important stage in the process initially charted and launched by the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment (UNCHE) and carried forward by the 1992 Rio Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).

Today, as in the past, the same basic issues that have been central to North-South debates on environment and development over these past three decades are once again stirring passions and controversy. The preparatory process, especially the final meeting of the Preparatory Committee for WSSD, held in Bali in May 2002, as well as the Johannesburg Conference itself were characterized by major disagreements between the North and the South, which ultimately proved impossible to bridge. The developing countries were unhappy, in particular, by what they felt was a negative stand of some developed countries and their reneging on earlier commitments and decisions.

During the preparatory process, as in the case of the 2002 Monterrey U.N. Conference on Financing for Development, the developing countries experienced some difficulty in articulating and defending their views. Nor did the Draft Plan of Implementation for the WSSD allow much scope for their major concerns to be properly reflected, given the need to be sensitive to the views of the major countries of the North and what their respective governments were prepared to consider.

 click here to download 

South Perspectives -August 2000

OVERVIEW

Many national governments and their international organizations, as well as several non-governmental development agencies, in the 1990s declared “sustainable development” and “sustainable agriculture” to be among their overarching goals. This paper examines the crucial importance of agriculture in “sustainable development” and some of the conceptual ambiguities and practical difficulties that must be faced by developing countries in attempting to approach “sustainable agriculture”.

 click here to download 

South Perspectives - April 1999

SUMMARY (excerpt)

A New South Agenda: The Rationale

Recent political, economic, technological and institutional changes have had a major impact on the global environment for development. In particular, the end of the cold war signified the beginning of a new era in international relations, in which the political and economic ideologies of the major market economies gained a new ascendancy. Liberalization, deregulation, privatization and monetary-fiscal discipline as policy prescriptions came to be presented as a universal panacea of benefit to the developing and developed countries alike.

There have been significant developments in the global economy under the influence of this new doctrine. However, initial high hopes in developing countries have given way to concern. Many countries have taken significant steps to deregulate, liberalize and integrate further into the world economy, but major benefits have not been realized. The development of the poorest countries has in some cases been prejudiced. Several richer developing countries, with a long history of fast growth and sound economic fundamentals, have recently experienced a severe economic setback, arising from a financial crisis generated by the instabilities associated with financial liberalization and from inappropriate policy prescriptions to deal with the crisis.

 click here to download

South Perspectives - December 1998

OVERVIEW

A little more than three years ago the most comprehensive round of multilateral trade negotiations, launched in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in 1986, was concluded and a new organization, the WTO, came into being. The WTO has been entrusted with the implementation and enforcement of multilateral agreements negotiated during the Uruguay Round, covering wide-ranging aspects of the trade in goods and services, including the protection of intellectual property rights. These agreements entail an extensive programme of work with respect to implementation, reviews and further negotiations as mandated in the agreements. Moreover, provided there is a consensus among the WTO membership, new issues will be placed on the multilateral trade agenda. This is a formidable work programme requiring commitment of substantial human and material resources by all WTO members.

However, the experience of the past three years has demonstrated that the developing countries have not been able to participate in WTO matters in a way which effectively serves their interests, due to their lack of knowledge, resources and coordination. This has further tilted the balance of rights and obligations in the multilateral trading system as embodied in the WTO in favour of the developed countries. A major and sustained effort on the part of developing countries individually and as a group is therefore required to rectify the situation. The present document is an attempt to outline the challenges and broad directions that this involves.

 click here to download 

South Perspectives - November 1996

Summary

The present publication reviews the historical evidence and presents the key economic arguments to sustain the case against the now conventional wisdom regarding liberalization, growth and development policy and it sets out the main elements of a South platform and a rationale for a strengthened UNCTAD. The analytical points and policy conclusions are set out at some length in this summary in order to provide a full and coherent statement of the argument.

First, however, in order to forestall possible misunderstanding, attention needs to be drawn to two important points. The first point to be emphasized is that the publication gives considerably more space to the problems of low economic growth and mass unemployment in the North than it does to similar problems and that of poverty in the South. The main reason for this is not that the economic difficulties of developing countries are regarded as being any less serious. Far from it. The reason is that one of the central aims of the publication is to assess the merits of liberalization and globalization as policy options for the South. It is therefore essential to assess the experience of the advanced industrial countries which, over the last fifteen years, have taken this process furthest.

 click here to download 

South Perspectives - March 1996

FOREWORD

The aim of the present report is to encourage the developing countries to bring the commodities issue back onto the international agenda, and to suggest some broad directions that an initiative by the South could take, including proposals for specific action by the international community or by the South itself, through the Non-Aligned Movement or the Group of 77. The report has two principal components. The first -- Part 1 -- comprises an overview of commodities issues as they affect developing countries. This part also presents the broad lines of a possible strategy that developing countries could pursue to improve their individual and collective situation in world trade in commodities.

Part 2 presents a more detailed analysis of recent experience with regard to commodities and to international commodity policy. It considers the main trends in world commodity markets over recent decades, and highlights the nature and magnitude of the present problems facing the commodity-dependent developing countries. Then, the inadequacy of past international policy responses is examined, with particular attention to the limitations of a policy of complete reliance on the free play of market forces in dealing adequately with the commodity problems of developing countries. This is followed by detailed consideration of possible policies for dealing effectively with each of the major commodity problems. While collaborative action by the South and North on each issue would be the preferable approach, in cases where Northern governments are unwilling to take action -- for example, because opposed in principle to intervention in the commodity markets -- then it is argued that Southern commodity producers should seriously consider whether they themselves could take appropriate measures in common to safeguard their trade interests.

Finally, all the major suggestions for specific action by the South are brought together.

 click here to download 

South Perspectives - February 1996

Introduction

The attached document examines a number of issues related to South- South co-operation in trade. A brief review of past measures taken to increase trade between developing countries and an examination of the new challenges that developing countries now face -- and are likely to face -- suggests that they should further reinforce their efforts to expand their co-operation in trade, as well as enhance their current integration endeavours. A framework for such co-operation is presented in the document.

In this executive summary, the rationale for promoting South-South trade is summarized, and the elements of a NAM action programme for promoting South-South co-operation -- one that draws on the framework presented in the document -- is suggested.

 click here to download