June 22, 1999
The following is an excerpt from the final communique released yesterday by the G-8 Summit leaders:
We, the heads of state and government of eight major democracies and the President of the European Commission, met in Cologne for the 25th Economic Summit. On the threshold of the new millennium we discussed growing opportunities as well as forward-looking solutions to the challenges facing our nations and the international community.
We have decided to give a fresh boost to debt relief to developing countries. In recent years the international creditor community has introduced a number of debt relief measures for the poorest countries. The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) framework has made an important contribution in this respect. Recent experience suggests that further efforts are needed to achieve a more enduring solution to the problem of unsustainable debt burdens.
To this end we welcome the 1999 Cologne Debt Initiative, which is designed to provide deeper, broader and faster debt relief through major changes to the HIPC framework. The central objective of this initiative is to provide a greater focus on poverty reduction by releasing resources for investment in health, education and social needs. In this context we also support good governance and sustainable development.
We are aware that new proposals will require additional substantial financing. While several means of financing are under consideration, credible progress in identifying additional funding possibilities is needed, and we stand ready to help with financing solutions. In this context we recognize the importance of fair burden sharing among creditors.
In many countries, violent conflicts and civil wars continue to be an obstacle to making good use of the opportunities of globalization. Effective crisis prevention and management must address the root causes of these conflicts. These causes include the political manipulation of ethnic tensions, economic and social inequality, and extreme poverty as well as the absence of democracy, the rule of law and good political and economic governance. They are often exacerbated by human rights violations, environmental degradation, scarcity of resources, rapid population growth and the rapid spread of diseases.
In order to improve our ability to prevent crises, it is necessary, consistent with the principles and purposes of the UN Charter, to: Enhance the capacity to recognize and address the potential for conflict at an early stage. Risks and causes of violent conflicts must be more effectively monitored and the information shared to forestall them;
Ensure that our security, economic, environmental and development policies are properly coordinated and are conducive to the prevention of violent conflict. We will, in our dialogue with other countries and international institutions, work to coordinate our policies;
Recognize the important role the United Nations plays in crisis prevention and seek to strengthen its capacity in this area;
Monitor systematically military expenditures in the larger context of public expenditure patterns and in the macroeconomic context for growth and development;
Encourage and support the efforts of regional organizations and arrangements to expand their jurisdictional and operational ability, in accordance with international law, to help control and resolve conflict in their area;
Promote a free press, establish fair electoral processes, help improve the democratic accountability and functioning of legislatures, of judicial systems and of the military and the police forces, and improve human rights monitoring and advocacy.
Developing countries are essential partners in a globalized world. We are committed to working with them, especially with the poorest countries, to eradicate poverty, launch effective policies for sustainable development and develop their capacity to integrate better into the global economy, thus benefitting from the opportunities offered by globalization. We will continue to provide substantial support and assistance to developing and transition economies in support of their own efforts to open and diversify their economies, to democratize and improve governance, and to protect human rights.
We will strive gradually to increase the volume of official development assistance (ODA), and to put special emphasis on countries best positioned to use it effectively. To ease future debt burdens and facilitate sustainable development, we agree to increase the share of grant-based financing in the ODA we provide to the least developed countries.
Non-governmental organizations also have an important role to play.
While international assistance and debt relief are clearly important, their positive effects depend on sound national efforts towards economic and structural reform and good governance, where the private sector and civil society are able to play productive roles.
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