Daily report for 11 March 1995

PLENARY

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark, opened the first day of the Summit before 118 of the world's leaders.He appealed to countries to agree to cancel debt and to use resources to implement the commitments made inCopenhagen. He asked that we give the people of the Earth a decent life. UN General-Secretary Boutros Boutros-Ghalireiterated the need for a global social contract and stated that the presence of so many leaders is the best guarantee ofconcrete follow-up. He pledged that the UN would be an instrument to implement the Summit's results.

CHILE: President Eduardo Frei said that a new world order requires new moral and ethical consensus. Povertyis the slavery and tyranny of this century.

INDONESIA: President Soeharto referred to the Non-Aligned Movement's history of promoting selfdetermination and social justice. He called for a rule-based and non-discriminatory international trading system.

PAKISTAN: President Farooq Ahmad Kahn Leghari highlighted the resources of the private sector and NGOcommunity that have been harnessed and noted the efforts being made to ensure full participation of women in nation-building.

CHINA: Li Peng, Premier of the State Council, called for: a fair and rational new international order, based on theprinciple of non-interference; accelerated economic development; respect for national conditions; adherence to theprinciple of equality and mutual benefit; and a greater responsibility for the richer countries, including debt relief and thetransfer of funds and technology.

INDIA: Prime Minister P.B. Narasimha Rao called for "market-plus," without which the poor and marginalized facecontinued exclusion. He stated that India has amended its Constitution to provide for decentralized, participatory, village-level democratic institutions, and promised that India would set up a social development mechanism at the national level.

AUSTRIA: Chancellor Franz Vranitzky called for: expanded investment in infrastructure and environmentalprotection; global cooperation; enforcement of international labor standards; and improved education and training. Hepledged to write off 1 billion schillings of debt for the poorest and most indebted countries.

JAPAN: Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama emphasized the need for reduction of natural disasters. He said Japanwill strengthen its efforts in supporting women in development.

SWEDEN: Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson said enlightened men should learn from the feminist agenda that sharedpower and responsibilities are an investment not a cost. He recommended exploring a disarmament fund and improvedeconomic governance through a UN Economic Security Council.

UKRAINE: Prime Minister Leonid Kushma said former Soviet states face socioeconomic disaster as they adopt anew political and economic orientation. He called for international support to ensure peace and stability, and to assist theintegration of central and eastern European countries into the global economy.

SPAIN: Prime Minister Don Felipe Gonzalez called for solidarity based on the dignity of people, implemented withefficiency and action. Spain is committed to increasing resources for cooperation and development, especially socialdevelopment, and moving toward the 20:20 objective.

FRANCE: Prime Minister Francois Mitterand said leaders should not permit a global market without any rules orpurpose beyond maximum profit. He called for developing international social contracts between the ILO, UN and othersto support countries that follow ILO standards on workers rights, and suggested a tax on short-term financial transactions.

NETHERLANDS: Prime Minister Wim Kok encouraged developed and developing countries to enter into the20:20 compact. He also noted the important role of work to liberate people from poverty.

ZIMBABWE: President Robert Mugabe stated that his nation has sought to widen the decision-making base andrecently launched a poverty alleviation programme. International support is needed and the WTO must promote ratherthan inhibit countries' endeavors.

REPUBLIC OF KOREA: President Kim Young-Sam said his nation's experience can serve as a model for otherdeveloping nations. South Korea will expand its support for developing human resources in developing countries.

TURKEY: President Suleyman Demirel called for an examination of the link between social development andtechnological change. He also suggested increasing the importance accorded to economic and social development withinthe UN system.

NAMIBIA: President Sam Nujoma noted that Namibia appropriates almost half of its annual budget to educationand health. He stated that Namibia has made employment creation one of its four national development objectives.

BURKINO FASO: President Blaise Comparore stressed the importance of: renewed economic growth; rational useof natural resources; slowed population and urban growth; and good governance. He called for debt reduction,international technical cooperation, and financial resources.

ANDORRA: Marc Forne Molne, Head of Government, iterated principles that should always inspire leaders: peace;respect for the environment; dialogue between peoples and between generations; and the ideals of democracy andsolidarity.

GHANA: President Jerry Rawlings said that structural adjustment by developing countries should be reciprocatedby developed countries. He suggested adjusting the world trade system to provide equitable prices for commodities andopening markets to developing country products.

ITALY: Prime Minister Lamberto Dini said that social integration must reconfirm the key role of the family intransmitting values, as a social buffer in hard times and a center of production, consumption and savings. He saidcommunications media should be governed by principles of freedom and pluralism and should foster values that affirmhuman dignity and repudiate violence.

GUYANA: President Cheddi Jagan stated that financing can be found if the necessary political will exists, and henoted the possibilities of taxes on various transactions. He said that Guyana will implement its part of the 20:20 compactby the end of 1997.

FINLAND: President Martti Ahtisaari stated that the most important result of the Summit is the placement ofpeople-centered development firmly on the international agenda.

GERMANY: Chancellor Helmut Kohl stated that true progress is only available where freedom prevails. He urgedall Heads of State and Government to act on the issue of child labor.

NORWAY: Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland stated that it is not possible to fulfill the Summit commitmentswithout allocating at least 20 percent of national budgets to basic social services. She called for reliable sources offinance, and encouraged consideration of new systems of international taxation.

POLAND: President Lech Walesa expressed concern that the extensive development of science and technologyhas not been accompanied by the progress of social values. He stated that any Summit Declaration must contain efficientmethods for its enforcement.

BELGIUM: Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene noted that recent UN summits offer progress, but massive floatingcapital can undermine these advances. He noted a role for the IMF in providing an early warning system for crises thatcan result from capital movements.

ALGERIA: President Liamine Zeroual noted that while the threat of generalized conflict has disappeared, newmenaces based on ideological tensions exist. He stated that most of these conflicts and tensions feed on stalleddevelopment and on accentuated poverty. He called for international cooperation for social development with morecontinuity and adequate resources.

ROMANIA: President Ion Iliescu said that by disregarding social problems we are layng the groundwork for amajor social crisis that could prevent achieving the Summit's goal. He suggested that preservation of the sociosphere is asessential as that of the biosphere.

KUWAIT: Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah supported writing off a portion of least developedcountries' debt but preferred voluntary to obligatory commitments.

MALAYSIA: Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Bin Mohamad said Asian and Latin American economic successes areimpeded as the north tries to erode developing countries' limited comparative advantages in labor and natural resourcesand seeks to stifle developing countries' growth by invoking human rights and environmental conditionalities. He said thatchanges in social development should apply to developed as well as developing countries, especially related tounsustainable consumption and deterioration of values.

REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA: Prime Minister Dr. Janez Drnovsek said the challenge to leaders is to translatecommon aspirations into meaningful social policy and growth. He said responsibility for employment stimulation canbenefit from international assistance but must be managed nationally.

GABON: President El Hadj Omar-Bongo appealed to leaders, especially those of the EU, to make an effort forAfrica. He said that changes will not take place without help from developed countries in the form of the 0.7 percent ofGNP commitment on ODA and cancellation or exchange of debt.

ARMENIA: President Levon Ter-Petrossian noted that the transition of Armenia and other countries toward amarket economy required commitment and patience from the international community. He called for new programmesfrom international financial institutions so that SAPs foster lasting social and economic development.

CAMEROON: President Paul Biya stressed the need to improve education systems, and noted that socialdevelopment requires time and considerable financial resources. Cameroon will adhere to the Declaration and Programmeof Action.

SENEGAL: Prime Minister Habib Thiam stressed: developing the agricultural system and small and mediumenterprises; strengthening families; promoting education for peace; and creating a Marshall Plan for Africa.

CZECH REPUBLIC: Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus noted that development strategies must be multidimensionaland flexible. He stated that the development task is a domestic one, and noted that the best role for international actors isto stop all forms of protectionism, stop exporting ideologies and lifestyles that are alien to countries, and stop blockingtrade among developed and developing countries.

PERU: President Alberto Fujimori stated that Peru's armed forces have participated to bring peace to the countryand contribute today to promote social development in impoverished areas. He said that now, with a stable economy,order and democracy, it will be possible to apply a social development program in Peru. THAILAND: PrimeMinister Mr. Chuan Leekpai noted Thailand's three-pronged national strategy: placing the family as the basic socialinstitution; building a strong sense of community to create social involvement; and using education, including communitylearning networks, as a fundamental vehicle toward development and community building.

TANZANIA: President Ali Hassan Mwinyi expressed concern over the lack of commitment to social developmentthat increasingly pushes responsibility for poverty elimination onto developing countries. He called for targets, timetablesand commitment of resources to meet the Summit's minimal commitments.

SWAZILAND: King Mswati III Ngwenyama said Swaziland is developing a long-term strategy by consulting theentire nation to decide on the direction for the national economy and to identify obstacles to social development. He saidSwaziland is undertaking its own structural adjustment to avoid external involvement and encouraged countries to takethe same approach on a regional basis.

MOZAMBIQUE: President Joaquim Alberto Chissano noted that civil war had resulted in unemployment,environmental degradation and poverty for two thirds of the population of Mozambique. He called for new and additionalresources, with countries emerging from war and armed conflict given favorable treatment. DEMOCRATICPEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA: Vice President Kim Byong Sik called for peace and security, includingpeaceful dispute resolution without military actions which could violate sovereignty or escalate tensions. All countriesshould increase international cooperation, but financial and technical cooperation should not be used as a means ofpolitical pressure or interference.

RUSSIAN FEDERATION: Prime Minister Victor S. Chernomyrdin offered assistance through science training,including military conversion and space research. He called attention to emergency humanitarian situations and noted theneed for a mechanism to deal with such situations.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR TODAY

PLENARY: The Summit portion of the Plenary will continue today, beginning at 9:00 am. Approximately one-hundred Heads of State and Government are expected to speak. Following these statements, the draft Declaration andProgramme of Action will be formally adopted.