26 March 2012
On the eve of UNCTAD’s thirteenth ministerial conference, the UNCTAD Secretary-General has invited the UNCTAD Panel of Eminent Persons to consider issues and propose innovative solutions and options.
Issues to be addressed:
- How can current global economic policy making better reflect the development agenda and the key interests of developing countries, especially in the areas of finance, trade, investment, enterprise development, technology and commodities? What are the institutions and mechanisms that could facilitate this?
- What will be the key challenges for developing countries in coping with the emerging new global economic system, and what support will they need to build their capacity to participate effectively in the new global economic policy making?
- How to ensure coherence between new global economic policy making mechanisms and national development strategies?
- What could be major new initiatives at global (multilateral or plurilateral) and regional, and national levels to advance the interests of developing countries in the key economic development areas identified above?
- What should be the role of the United Nations in the above processes, and more specifically how can UNCTAD contribute to the process?
As recognized in its founding mandate, UNCTAD is the focal point of the United Nations for the integrated treatment of trade, investment, technology, finance, commodities and interrelated issues, in advancing inclusive growth and sustainable development.
The Panel of Eminent Persons was established by Dr. Supachai in 2005 when he became the Secretary-General of UNCTAD. The Panel members advised, in their personal capacities, the Secretary-General on how to revitalize UNCTAD and enhance its development role and impact. Specifically, the Panel focused on:
- Proposing options to improve the three pillars of UNCTAD´s work (i.e. research and policy analysis, consensus-building, and technical assistance) and their interface, with a view to making the organization more dynamic, effective and efficient in implementing its vision and mission;
- Exploring ways and means for UNCTAD to strengthen cooperation and create synergies with other international organizations and to enhance the interactions with other development partners, including the private sector and civil society.
The Panel submitted its report in June 2006. The Report looked at what strategies UNCTAD could follow in order to fulfil its development mission and enhance its effectiveness and impact. The report of the Panel was shared with UNCTAD member States and disseminated to the UN delegates in New York. The UNCTAD member States welcomed the report and after intensive deliberations endorsed most of the recommendations therein. A number of the recommendations were reflected in the final outcomes of the UNCTAD XII ministerial conference in Accra, Ghana in 2008, and were subsequently implemented.
In the wake of the global economic and financial crisis, a number of processes are underway with the aim of reforming the global economic and financial systems. The challenge for these interwoven processes is to ensure overall policy coherence and integrated approaches to development, as well as fairness and equity for all stakeholders in the global economy, especially the most-vulnerable, in the interest of promoting inclusive growth and sustainable development. In order to pursue a development-centred globalization, one challenge is how to address the key and emerging economic development issues and to advance developing countries' interests in the areas of trade, investment, enterprise development, technology, finance, commodities, as well as other development related issues – as they fall within the mandates and core competencies of UNCTAD.
The 2005 Panel included H.E. Mr. Fernando Cardoso, former President of Brazil, Ms. Gro Bruntland former Prime Minister of Norway, and Mr. Lawrence Summers, former Treasury Secretary of the United States. The three have now resigned, and the reconstituted 2012 Panel now includes, in addition to the other remaining original members, Mr. Thabo Mbeki, former President of South Africa, Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, former Minister of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the British Government, Ms. Mari Elka Pangetsu, Minister of Trade of Indonesia, Mr. Mohamed "Mo" Ibrahim, founder of Celtel and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, and Ms. Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez, First Lady of the Dominican Republic.
The Panel met recently in Geneva and is in the process of drafting a Report in the form of a think piece, focussing on the key interests of developing countries in key economic areas, and proposing major international initiatives that can be taken up by UNCTAD and other international institutions. Due account will be taken of the outcomes of UNCTAD XIII in Doha, Qatar in April 2012. The Report is expected to be submitted to Dr. Supachai in late summer this year for possible deliberations at UNCTAD's Trade and Development Board in September and eventual distribution to the UN Member States and General Assembly in New York.
Members of Eminent Persons Panel
