By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 30 1995 (IPS)

Threatened with budgetary cuts and possible extinction, a Geneva-based U.N. body is fighting back Western attempts to dismantle it.

Rubin Ricupero, the new Secretary-General of the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development, (UNCTAD) says the case against his organisation hinges on a single word.

“There is a mistaken impression that UNCTAD and the recently established World Trade Organisation (WTO) will duplicate each other because the word ‘trade’ is common to both U.N. bodies,” he said. “This is a superficial impression. There is no duplication between UNCTAD and WTO.”

Speaking to reporters, Ricupero said he is “100 percent sure” the two organisations can work together in a complementary manner.

Both the Geneva-based Commission on Global Governance and the United States have called for either the closure of UNCTAD or the restructuring of its functions and mandates.

In a report released early this year, the North-South think tank urged the closure of two U.N. bodies that had apparently outlived their usefulness: UNCTAD and the U.N. Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in Vienna.

“The winding up of these two organisations will not be without anguish, for all organisations develop constituencies that support them even after their reason for existing has disappeared,” it said.

The report said that if a case can be made for the retention of UNCTAD and UNIDO in some form, “it will have to rest on the need to provide substantial support to the least developed and smallest countries in trade and industrial production.

Co-chaired by Swedish Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson and former Commonwealth Secretary-General Shridath Ramphal, the Commission urged the creation of an Economic Security Council to replace UNCTAD, UNIDO, and the U.N. Economic and Social Council.

Following the report, the United States has also suggested reform.

In a series of proposals spelled out in a “non-paper” released in July, the United States says that as the new WTO becomes fully operational, “it will at some point be necessary to reconsider the function of UNCTAD.”

The paper calls for some understanding about the relation between UNCTAD and WTO and decisions regarding overlapping UNCTAD and WTO roles.

An outgrowth of the Uruguay Round of trade talks and tariff negotiations, the WTO was set up in January, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). As the major U.N. entity overseeing international trade, the WTO is mandated to implement about 20 agreements finalised under the Uruguay Round.

UNCTAD, on the other hand, was established in 1964 to accelerate trade and economic development, particularly of developing nations. UNCTAD’s annual operational budget — about 55 million dollars — is drawn from the regular U.N. budget.

Technical cooperation activities, financed from extra-budgetary resources, amount to about 20 million dollars.

While the WTO is mandated to settle trade disputes, UNCTAD is not. The only exception is in the area of commodity agreements or accords covering maritime and transportation.

“UNCTAD does not deal with implementation of agreements or dispute settlement or negotiations,” Ricupero said. “It provided technical assistance to least developed countries (LDCs) on negotiation and implementation of agreements reached.”

Ricupero said UNCTAD was the only agency with a division dealing with the problems of the world’s 48 LDCs. He also pointed out that UNCTAD had done a lot to foster trade for developing countries.

One of its most important achievements was the creation of the General System of Preferences — tariff concessions that helped developing countries export more of their products.

Excerpt:

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 29 1995 (IPS)

Threatened with budgetary cuts and possible extinction, a Geneva-based U.N. body is fighting back Western attempts to dismantle it.

Rubin Ricupero, the new Secretary-General of the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development, (UNCTAD) says the case against his organisation hinges on a single word.

“There is a mistaken impression that UNCTAD and the recently established World Trade Organisation (WTO) will duplicate each other because the word ‘trade’ is common to both U.N. bodies,” he said. “This is a superficial impression. There is no duplication between UNCTAD and WTO.”

Speaking to reporters, Ricupero said he is “100 percent sure” the two organisations can work together in a complementary manner.

Both the Geneva-based Commission on Global Governance and the United States have called for either the closure of UNCTAD or the restructuring of its functions and mandates.

In a report released early this year, the North-South think tank urged the closure of two U.N. bodies that had apparently outlived their usefulness: UNCTAD and the U.N. Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in Vienna.

“The winding up of these two organisations will not be without anguish, for all organisations develop constituencies that support them even after their reason for existing has disappeared,” it said.

The report said that if a case can be made for the retention of UNCTAD and UNIDO in some form, “it will have to rest on the need to provide substantial support to the least developed and smallest countries in trade and industrial production.

Co-chaired by Swedish Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson and former Commonwealth Secretary-General Shridath Ramphal, the Commission urged the creation of an Economic Security Council to replace UNCTAD, UNIDO, and the U.N. Economic and Social Council.

Following the report, the United States has also suggested reform.

In a series of proposals spelled out in a “non-paper” released in July, the United States says that as the new WTO becomes fully operational, “it will at some point be necessary to reconsider the function of UNCTAD.”

The paper calls for some understanding about the relation between UNCTAD and WTO and decisions regarding overlapping UNCTAD and WTO roles.

An outgrowth of the Uruguay Round of trade talks and tariff negotiations, the WTO was set up in January, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). As the major U.N. entity overseeing international trade, the WTO is mandated to implement about 20 agreements finalised under the Uruguay Round.

UNCTAD, on the other hand, was established in 1964 to accelerate trade and economic development, particularly of developing nations. UNCTAD’s annual operational budget — about 55 million dollars — is drawn from the regular U.N. budget.

Technical cooperation activities, financed from extra-budgetary resources, amount to about 20 million dollars.

While the WTO is mandated to settle trade disputes, UNCTAD is not. The only exception is in the area of commodity agreements or accords covering maritime and transportation.

“UNCTAD does not deal with implementation of agreements or dispute settlement or negotiations,” Ricupero said. “It provided technical assistance to least developed countries (LDCs) on negotiation and implementation of agreements reached.”

Ricupero said UNCTAD was the only agency with a division dealing with the problems of the world’s 48 LDCs. He also pointed out that UNCTAD had done a lot to foster trade for developing countries.

One of its most important achievements was the creation of the General System of Preferences — tariff concessions that helped developing countries export more of their products.

Excerpt: