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New World Order Must Be Even-handed
Peaceful environment, respect for each country's specific conditions and the establishment of a fair economic order are keys to a better world for all.
Such points, however, have yet to be fully acknowledged by the developed countries, especially a few big powers.
Poverty eradication has long been a priority of the United Nations, governments and communities. However, despite progress in certain countries, the hard fact is that, worldwide, the number of people living in extreme poverty is going up instead of going down.
What are the factors frustrating poverty eradication efforts?
In his report to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session in Geneva in June, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan listed some obstacles, including weak governance, natural disasters, limits to developing countries' access to global markets, the burden of debt, the decline in development aid and inconsistencies in donor policies.
The obstacles Annan cited are certainly true and the authority of the report is underscored by the fact that it was also signed by the chiefs of the UN, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
But we still can see that something is missing in the report. It failed to focus on a number of critical factors, such as regional wars and conflicts, a lack of respect to specific conditions of each country and the absence of a reasonable new economic order.
Peace, a prerequisite
As we enter the new century, peace and development remain the two overarching themes of the world. A peaceful and stable international environment is the prerequisite for social development.
Unfortunately such a prerequisite is not available in many areas. In Africa, regional wars are turning millions of people into refugees. In Asia, the tension of war pushes some countries to spend a large portion of their budget on defence. In Eastern Europe, religious and ethnic conflicts and outside interference are driving millions of people from their homes.
In fact, a very small minority of people are poor because they are the victims of natural disasters, such as floods, storms, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. A much larger group of people are poor because of disasters caused by man.
While UN-sponsored humanitarian aid to war-torn regions and peace-keeping deployments may be helpful, interference by some political and military groups very often intensifies misery, such as in Kosovo.
So far, the United Nations has not been very successful in stopping wars and avoiding the eruption of wars. If the United Nations can do a better job, it will be a blessing to poverty-stricken people worldwide.
International affairs should be handled in accordance with the purpose and principles of the UN Charter and every country has an obligation to safeguard peace. The role of the UN should be respected in dealing with international conflicts and interference by a few powers or a few political or military blocs in the name of human rights protection should be carefully checked.
Many cases have proved that conflicts, either internal or external, can be resolved with peaceful approaches if concerned sides are sincere and flexible.
Respect specific conditions
The right of a country to choose independently its path of development in light of its specific conditions is another principle that should be respected and firmly upheld.
We live in a diverse and colourful world. Its diversity is an objective fact, independent of man's will. Given the differences among countries in terms of environment, history, cultural tradition and social system and the disparities in their development level, it is impossible to ask all countries to adopt the same development model.
But we have seen too often the developed countries, especially a few powers, trying to enforce their value of democracy onto the developing countries. Any country that dares to say no to such enforcement may be confronted with military interference and economic sanctions.
Unsatisfactory progress in overseas aid programmes and debt forgiveness are largely the result of the developed countries' insistence on the developing countries' acceptance to such conditions.
The principles of sovereign equality and non-interference in each other's internal affairs should be upheld and nobody should be allowed to impose its development model upon others. The affairs of a country should be up to its own people to decide and developing countries should have the right to choose, in light of their own conditions, a development path tailored to their specific national characteristics.
Fair economic order
Economic globalization is an inevitable trend of economic development and it brings new opportunities to countries. Nevertheless, due to the hardened irrational international economic order, the globalization process has failed to benefit all countries evenly. Instead, it has even further widened the gap between the rich and the poor, making it a more serious problem.
To truly realize social progress that benefits all requires the establishment of a fair and reasonable new international economic order. Countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are all equal members of the international family and all have the right to take part in the discussion and formulation of the "game rules" for international affairs.
As developing countries are in a disadvantageous position in the globalization process, their reasonable statements and demands should be accorded adequate attention and their legitimate rights and interests effectively protected. (Chinadaily)
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