The United Nations is playing a pivotal role in global efforts to combat the ongoing world financial and economic crisis, especially with regards to building international consensus on its root causes and remedies, a top UN official said on Tuesday.
On the eve of the June 24-26 UN Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development, UN UnderSecretary-general for Economic and Social Affairs Sha Zukang made the comment in an exclusive written interview with Xinhua.
CRISIS THREATENS DEVELOPMENT
With the economy bogged down in the worst recession since the 1930s, the world is now faced with a financial tsunami that is bound to have negative impacts on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of antipoverty targets that world leaders have agreed to achieve by 2015, Sha said.
The crisis will annul part of what have already been achieved and make future efforts even more difficult, he noted.
The least developed countries, which contributed least to the crisis yet are most severely affected, do not have the adequate resources to map out stimulus plans and will require special assistance by the international community, he said.
Sha expressed hope that the UN meeting will urge rich countries to help improve the external development environment for poor countries by reaffirming aid and debt relief commitments.
The United Nations, as well as other relevant international agencies, should also take concrete and effective measures, including monitoring the economic condition of developing countries and providing humanitarian assistance, he said.
"The meeting should help the international community work out more comprehensive and more balanced policies and measures," he stressed.
RESTRUCTURING GLOBAL FINANCIAL SYSTEM
The global economic and financial crisis originated from the U. S. subprime crisis, which itself resulted from the excessive financial innovation on the Wall Street and mistakes in financial regulation, Sha said.
Founded over 65 years ago, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) now still employ decision-making mechanisms that should have long been rendered obsolete, he pointed out.
"Despite unremitting calls for reform over the years, little progress has been made," he said. "The financial tsunami should help promote the international community's awareness of the serious situation and expedite the process."
With the greater integration of the world economy and fundamental changes in the international economic structure, developing countries should play a more proactive role in the process of reform and make sure that it is conducted in a fair, balanced and effective manner, he stressed.
"It is helpful for major developing countries like China, India, Brazil and South Africa to engage in dialogue with the Group of Eight (G8) and be part of the Group of 20," he said. "There should be greater participation, greater representation and greater say of developing countries in regulating and monitoring the world economy."
UN'S COORDINATING ROLE
To deal with the crisis, relevant countries have made " unprecedented" efforts to stabilize the financial market and restore global growth, Sha said.
But even greater efforts should be made by the international community, in particular by strengthening policy coordination and promoting capital flows toward developing countries so that they can make adequate policy changes to protect their most vulnerable and achieve long-term sustainable development targets, Sha said.
"At present, the biggest challenge faced by the international community is to strengthen international cooperation and to turn challenge into opportunity," he noted.
Instead of responding to the crisis discretely, countries should promote policy coordination among themselves in relevant fields; and instead of taking stopgap measures, they should combine their fiscal stimulus packages more closely with long-term development goals to ensure sustainable development, he said.
As the most representative, democratic and authoritative intergovernmental organization, the United Nations provides the most important platform where the international community can discuss key issues, make recommendations, reach principled consensus and oversee implementation, he said.
"The United Nations is playing a pivotal role in combating the crisis," Sha concluded.
Through the world body, the international community can identify the root causes of the crisis as well as its remedies, balance short-term development targets with long-term ones, and help developing countries overcome difficulties, he added.