Mr. Chairman,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the countries members of the
Rio Group on agenda item 100 entitled
"Globalization and interdependence".
The revolution in information technologies has been closely associated
with the phenomenon of globalization. In
fact, it may be said that this phenomenon is the consequence of a sudden
leap in communications technology.
Globalization has forced the principal actors on the international
scene, namely States, the business sector and civil
society, to adapt rapidly to this new reality. In the case of the private
sector, globalization has meant that units of
production have had to compete on a global scale and deregulation has
given market forces new investment
horizons, in such sectors as telecommunications, medicine and transportation.
The Internet has helped to produce more informed consumers who can
use information networks to connect to a
legion of eager vendors, thereby generating nearly perfect inflow and
outflow data which clearly help to determine
price levels and client satisfaction. In addition, the fact that digitally
stored information is easily used and copied
permits an infinite array of very useful services to be offered free
of charge on the Internet.
The Rio Group is therefore of the view that the characteristics and
impact of globalization not only in the economic
sphere but also in the daily lives of individuals requires the international
community and States to prepare
themselves adequately to meet the challenges ahead.
We must not forget that the phenomenon of globalization and its benefits
are limited by this great mass of
individuals who, lacking any possibility of meeting their basic needs
for food, shelter and health, are today
completely excluded from the information highway and the benefits of
instant information.
The United Nations has a major key role to play in preventing the
digital gaps between "cyber citizens" and those
who are excluded from increasing. In this connection, we reiterate our
support to the Declaration adopted by
ECOSOC during this year High Level segment regarding Information and
Communication Technologies and
Development, including the decision on the establishment of a Working
Group to help solving this situations and to
help developing countries in their insertion to the globalized world.
We also consider that the initiative launched by the Secretary-General
in the document "We the People", which
concerns a group of volunteers who teach low-income individuals how
to apply their knowledge and improve the
well being of their societies, is of particular importance.
The Rio Group welcomes the Secretary-General's initiative known as
the "Global Compact", in which companies
are called upon to operate in a manner consistent with the commitment
given in the Declaration of Human Rights
and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.
We believe that the United Nations has an essential and influential
role to play in mitigating the undesired effects of
globalization.
It is important for governments to commit themselves to investments
in education and science in order to alleviate
the harshest effects of globalization by ensuring that low-income families
do not fall into a vicious cycle of
inadequate preparation, since, without wishing to, poor families perpetuate
the knowledge gap by sending their
children to low-achieving schools that contribute to high drop-out rates,
while better-off families send their
children to colleges of excellence from which they graduate and rapidly
achieve insertion into the new economy.
The countries members of the Rio Group wish to stress the need for
the process of globalization to take into
account the needs of the weakest. In our region, one of the vehicles
used to achieve that purpose has been the
strengthening of our institutions and political structures in order
to take advantage of the benefits of globalization
and to contain the risks inherent in the phenomenon. Even though our
countries have benefited from the increase in
the levels of trade, capital flows and economic integration, formidable
challenges still remain to be met if we are to
reduce the economic and social imbalances that still exist.
The positive aspects include the growing availability and better allocation
of resources in our economies, the freer
circulation of knowledge, improvements in public administration and
a more open and competitive environment.
Nevertheless, the volatility of capital, which was demonstrated during
the successive financial crises that affected
our region, as well as the decentralization measures adopted to satisfy
local demands, have the potential to create
macro-economic instability if fiscal discipline is not maintained and
complemented by social policies aimed at
stopping the spread of poverty, violence and misery.
In this connection, we wish to draw attention to the processes of
regional integration being pursued by our
countries, which, in addition to highlighting the consolidation of democracy,
have increased the potential of our
countries by improving its opportunities for growth, attracting direct
investments and facilitating our insertion into
the world economy.
Mr. Chairman,
The Rio Group, as a mechanism for regional political concertation,
believes that integration has served as a vehicle
for accentuating the positive elements of globalization by strengthening
national democratic regimes, and facilitates
the development of joint strategies and policies for the attainment
of our common interests.
Regional integration means, in our view, more than the liberalization
of markets. It means linking the interests of the
countries involved based on their geographical, economic, political
and cultural affinities. Our region's historical,
linguistic, religious and cultural unity must be strengthened and this
will no doubt help to consolidate the presence
of our region in this interdependent world, by expressing our common
ideas and our vocation to humanize the
often cold and mechanized face of globalization.
Thank you.
