European Parliament resolution on the third UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Brussels (14-20 May 2001)
Date: 2001-04-05
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: UN Conference, World Trade Organisation, development aid, development policy, least-developed country, poverty

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15. Third UN Conference on Least Developed Countries

B5-0246/2001

European Parliament resolution on the third UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries in
Brussels (14-20 May 2001)

The European Parliament,

(cid:129) having regard to the 1992 Rio Conference on Environment and Development, the 1993 Vienna Con-
ference on Human Rights, the 1994 Cairo Conference on Population and Development and the 1995
Peking Conference on Women and Development, and the New York follow-up Conference in 2000,

(cid:129) having regard to the Unctad Least Developed Countries (LDC) 2000 report,

(cid:129) having regard to the Commission(cid:146)s (cid:145)Everything but arms(cid:146) initiative,

(cid:129) having regard to the Cotonou agreement and the related trade protocols (of the 48 LDCs, 39 are ACP

states),

(cid:129) having regard to the oral questions to the Council and the Commission tabled on 13 February 2001

by the Committee on Development and Cooperation (B5-0155/2001 and B5-0156/2001),

A. whereas according to Unctad calculations, while the gross domestic product (GDP) of 49 LDCs offi-
cially rose by 3,2 % per year over the 1990-1998 period, the high population growth rates in those
countries brought the figure down to no more than 0,9 % per year in real terms, and only 0,4 % if
Bangladesh is left out (cid:129) by comparison with a worldwide GDP increase of 2,5 %,

B. whereas LDCs have an average GDP per capita of just USD 287, compared to an average of

USD 27 402 for developed countries,

C. whereas, according to Unctad, the export earnings of developing countries could rise by USD 700
billion a year, which is 14 times the amount of aid that the developing world receives annually, if
rich developed countries opened their markets,

D. whereas in 2000 OECD countries spent more than USD 300 billion on agricultural subsidies, which is

equivalent to the GNP of the whole of sub-Saharan Africa,

E. whereas since 1998 the terms of trade of most LDCs have deteriorated because of the collapse of raw

material prices ((cid:129)30 % in 1998-1999),

F. whereas a substantial reduction in poverty in the LDCs will require sustained growth of 7-8 % of GDP

in those countries,

G. whereas development in the LDCs has lagged behind the social targets set at the UN summits of the
Nineties, and the gap between them and the other developing countries has frequently widened, and
whereas, according to the UN, Unicef and the WHO, for example:

(cid:129) average life expectancy in the LDCs is 51 (62 in the developing countries as a whole), by com-

parison with 74 in the industrialised countries;

(cid:129) the literacy rate in the LDCs is 48 % (70 % in the developing countries as a whole);

(cid:129) infant mortality is 107 per 1 000 live births (64 in the developing countries as a whole);

(cid:129) installed electric energy capacity in the LDCs is only 33 kw per 1 000 inhabitants (386 kw per

1 000 inhabitants in the developing countries as a whole),

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H. whereas per capita aid to the LDCs has fallen by 45 % since 1990 and is now back at the early

Seventies level,

I.

convinced that the elimination of poverty is an essential condition for achieving peace and devel-
opment throughout the world and that action against poverty must be the prime objective of any
development policy,

J. whereas developing countries should retain the right to produce, market and import affordable generic

medicines,

K. whereas 60 % of the poorest people in the LDCs live in environmentally vulnerable regions,

L. whereas the richest 20 % of the world(cid:146)s population account for 85 % of world income, while the

poorest 20 % account only for 1,4 %,

M. whereas poverty is not to be measured in purely monetary terms, but also means being unable to
satisfy one(cid:146)s fundamental rights and needs in areas including food security and self-sufficiency, edu-
cation, health and cultural expression,

N. whereas support for sustainable development based on the rational husbandry of natural resources and
the environment, support for health and education and training, the promotion of democracy and the
rule of law, respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms and equality of men and women
are essential components of the EU(cid:146)s development policy,

O. whereas the World Education Forum in Dakar in April 2000 agreed to accelerate progress towards
meeting the International Development Targets for education, which are to achieve universal primary
education by 2015 and gender equality in education by 2005,

P. whereas more drastic reductions in the debt burden or additional financial support for the heavily
indebted poor countries (HIPCs), 30 of which are LDCs, and for the other indebted poor LDCs are
urgently needed, as the action taken so far under the HIPC initiative will, as a result of falling raw
material prices, be completely inadequate for any sustained financial relief,

Q. whereas the LDCs, despite some far-reaching political reforms, have been able to make little economic

progress for lack of the administrative and financial resources to carry it out,

R. whereas the LDCs must be given unrestricted duty-free access for all their products to the industrial-
ised countries(cid:146) markets, including the EU, as soon as possible, and whereas the (cid:145)Everything but arms(cid:146)
initiative is a first step and needs to be accompanied by further supporting measures, in particular to
expand administrative and logistic capabilities, and must also be brought into line with the Cotonou
agreements and the related trade protocols, maintaining guaranteed prices for the main sensitive pro-
ducts for the family-type small farming economy in both northern and southern countries,

S. whereas of the WTO(cid:146)s 140 member states only 12 LDCs have representation in Geneva,

T. whereas about one-third of LDCs are or have been afflicted by conflict,

U. whereas the results of the third UN LDC Conference must not be confined to non-binding declarations
but must comprise a plan of action including specific undertakings by the donor countries and the
LDCs,

1. Welcomes the decision to hold the third UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries in May
2001 on the European Parliament(cid:146)s premises in Brussels as an opportunity and commitment for the inter-
national community, and in particular the industrialised countries, to agree on specific measures in favour
of the LDCs going beyond diplomatic declarations;

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2.
Calls on the Conference to reiterate and reinforce the UN declaration of 1986 recognising the right
to sustainable development as an inalienable human right and calling for a new international economic
order based on equality, sovereignty, interdependence and mutual interest;

3.
Calls on the EU Delegation to the Conference to adopt the following political positions and to
advocate them to the other participants at the Conference, ensuring complementarity between the EU(cid:146)s
positions and those of the Member States;

4.
Points out that as a matter of principle EU development aid should be available to all developing
countries, but that the poorest and least developed countries must be given special attention, and in the
process the elimination of extreme poverty should be the primary goal;

5.
Calls on the Conference to adopt an action programme for the LDCs which could serve as a com-
mon framework for LDCs and their partner countries and institutions and lead to a real and significant
improvement in living conditions in the LDCs in the course of the present decade and to the halving of
extreme poverty by 2015; considers that the WTO and the IMF should contribute to the realisation of such
a programme;

6.
Calls on the Conference to reiterate the commitments made in Rio in 1992 and to undertake to
implement them; considers that the objective of sustainable development must become a political priority
and must be the basis for the guiding mechanisms of the world economy, so that poverty can be combated
effectively;

7.
Calls on the industrialised countries to reverse the trend towards reductions in financial aid to the
developing countries and to establish a precise timetable for increasing every industrialised country(cid:146)s public
contribution to development policy to 0,7 % of GDP, a substantial proportion of which should be used to
combat poverty in the LDCs, and for at least 50 % of aid to the LDCs to be spent in the LDCs themselves
in the medium-term;

Urges the Member States that have so far not yet provided their contribution to the special Poverty

8.
Reduction and Growth Facility to do so before the end of the year;

Considers that sustainable development is a political choice which requires participation of citizens
9.
and the mobilisation of internal resources (human, intellectual and natural) for the optimal use of local
knowledge systems, as well as the improvement and development of public services; calls on the indus-
trialised countries, in this connection, to support the LDCs(cid:146) internal efforts to reinforce their autonomy;

10.
Emphasises that effective strategies to eliminate poverty must also be designed to bring about
improvements in social (notably for universal access to education) and health infrastructures and produc-
tion capacity for the poor, i.e. access to land, technology, education, loans, etc;

11.
Considers financial and technical assistance to LDCs to build up institutional capacity and for
responsible government and administration, including control over public spending, to be an essential
condition for successful action against poverty on the basis of long-term planning, as is setting up methods
of capital accumulation, including micro-credits to promote and empower SMEs in LDCs;

12.
Points out that the promotion of democracy and human rights, equality between men and women,
environmental protection, an effective legal system, free media and the involvement of civil society in the
planning of sectoral policies are vital to sustainable economic and social development, and that these
horizontal aspects must be taken into account in all operations to support the LDCs;

13.
Points out that EU development aid cannot be effective where LDCs are involved in armed conflicts;
emphasises that direct EU cooperation with LDCs involved in armed conflicts or LDCs spending dispro-
portionate amounts on the purchase of weapons cannot be maintained;

14.
Calls on the governments of those States which still have the death penalty in their penal codes to
respect the democratic need for its abolition and for immediate application of the moratorium on capital
punishment; stresses that respect for fundamental rights cannot exist where there is no respect for life;

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15.
Stresses the vital role to be played by women in development cooperation and calls on the LDCs,
their partner countries and the international organisations to take proper account of the needs of women
and gender-related matters at all stages of the planning, implementation and assessment of development
cooperation;

16.
Emphasises that the development policies of the LDCs(cid:146) partner countries should concentrate on, for
example, nurturing rural economies so that they may make greater use of their natural resources and on
setting up small and medium-sized enterprises to sustain the rural economy;

17. Welcomes the Commission(cid:146)s initiative aimed at giving unrestricted access for all LDC products
except arms and munitions to EU markets, but points out that the EU has to give appropriate consider-
ation to the legitimate expectations of the ACP countries on the basis of the Cotonou Agreement, whilst
also recognising that the current Cotonou Agreement excludes the non-ACP countries, where the majority
of the poorest people live; considers that the EU must guarantee zero-duty import quotas at guaranteed
prices for sensitive basic products, notably sugar, while at the same time not reducing the ACP quotas;

Emphasises that market access alone is not enough to ensure economic growth, and that economic

18.
growth alone does not lead automatically to equitable development;

19.
Stresses in this context the need for a review of the WTO(cid:146)s rules and regulations to ensure that the
interests of sustainable development and the problems of the developing countries and in particular the
LDCs are comprehensively taken into account;

Calls for the urgent reform and democratisation of the WTO in order that LDCs can effectively

20.
participate;

21.
Stresses the need to enable developing countries to move towards self-sufficiency in food, especially
by supporting, within the WTO, their right to protect their national food production and their small
farmers;

Calls for the LDCs, including those belonging to the WTO, to be released on a case-by-case basis

22.
from commitments to refrain from national support measures or export subsidies;

Calls for complete debt relief for highly indebted LDCs on the part of the industrialised countries, in

23.
order to combat poverty, in particular in the education and health sectors;

24.
Stresses the need for guarantee funds to be set up or topped up in order to provide incentives for
private investment, and for the implementation of measures to encourage the small loan arrangements
introduced by the BRAC and the Grameen Bank and local (cid:145)people(cid:146)s banking(cid:146) initiatives;

Considers that, as a matter of urgency, loans from export and investment credit funds must be more

25.
suitably adjusted to the real sustainable development needs of the LDCs;

26.
Emphasises that the provision of adequate infrastructure in the information and communications
technologies (ICT) sector in the LDCs must be supported; draws particular attention to the role of (wireless)
access to the Internet with the vast opportunities it offers for distance learning and health services, job
creation, small firm start-ups, cooperative networks, etc;

Considers the introduction of sectoral programmes for education and health,

27.
in particular in
relation to HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis to be one of the most important contributions to short
and medium-term action against poverty, and stresses the need for greater financial support in these areas
from the industrialised countries as the LDCs(cid:146) partners;

28.
Calls for substantive progress in attaining the Education for All targets, including the development
of national participatory Action Plans by 2002, and for the donor community to agree the content of the
Global Initiative for Education during 2001;

29.
Calls on the industrialised countries, in conjunction with multinational pharmaceutical companies
and the LDCs, to develop a system allowing the LDCs to give poorer patients actual access to medicines
and vaccines at affordable prices;

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30.
Calls on the Commission and Council to act without delay to ensure recognition of the right of
countries affected by AIDS, AIDS-induced illnesses or other major epidemics, in accordance with a list to
be drawn up by the WHO, to manufacture and market the necessary medicines or to import them without
having to pay intellectual and industrial property-related fees;

31.
Calls on the LDCs and their partner countries to apply the ILO Conventions and in particular, if it
has not already been done, to ratify ILO Convention C 182 of 17 June 1999 concerning the prohibition of
child labour and to work for the immediate elimination of child labour, while promoting, as an internal
factor of development, compulsory education over the period of childhood and adolescence;

32.
Calls on the Commission, the Member States and the international community to strengthen their
conflict-prevention capacity in financial, manpower and organisational terms, paying particular attention
to arms-trading and to LDCs(cid:146) expenditure on arms, as years of development effort can be rapidly wiped
out by wars and armed conflict, which, in the case of the LDCs, is particularly damaging;

33.
Urges the Member States, the international organisations and the Commission to take due account
of the aspects relating to peacemaking, peace-building and peacekeeping at all stages (planning, execution
and assessment) of programmes in countries which have recently emerged from an armed conflict or in
countries in process of emerging from such a conflict and still having to deal with displaced persons and
refugee populations;

Urges the Commission, the Member States and the international community to take particular
34.
account, in the context of conflict prevention and management, of the plight of child soldiers and their
need of physical and psychological rehabilitation, and to take all possible action to prevent the recurrence
of this phenomenon;

Is convinced that the causes of armed conflicts can be economic inequality, social injustice, the
35.
absence of democracy, environmental degradation and conflicts of interest on the local, regional and inter-
national level, and believes that conflict prevention must be defined in such a way as to find solutions to
those structural causes:

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the Secretary-

36.
General of the United Nations.

16. United Nations Human Rights Commission and the People(cid:146)s Republic of

China

B5-0269, 0285 and 0294/2001

European Parliament resolution on the submission or co-sponsorship with the United States of a
resolution, at the 57th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva,
deploring the human rights situation in the People(cid:146)s Republic of China (PRC)

The European Parliament,

(cid:129) having regard to the conclusions of the General Affairs Council of 19 March 2001 which expressed
concern at the serious violations of human rights in the People(cid:146)s Republic of China, especially in
relation to the non-action motion on behalf of the PRC,

(cid:129) having regard to its previous resolutions on the human rights situation in the People(cid:146)s Republic of
China, on Tibet and on the Union(cid:146)s existing priorities and recommendations for the March 2001
session of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva,

(cid:129) having regard to the conclusions of the EU-PRC summit meeting of 21 December 1999 and the

Council conclusions of 22 January 2001 on the EU-PRC dialogue on human rights,

(cid:129) having regard to Article 18 on freedom of religion of the United Nations Universal Declaration of

Human Rights,