Global Policy Forum

By John Rice

Havana - Leaders of developing nations worked on a plan Tuesday to urge rich countries to forgive debts, increase aid and trade, share new technologies and shift more decision-making to the United Nations away from institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

"We want to achieve a more democratic and equitable arrangement," said a draft of the proposed plan of action for the Group of 77, which has swelled to a 133-nation organization and is holding the first summit in its 34-year history.

About 40 heads of state or government were to take part in the top-level talks scheduled for Wednesday through Friday aimed at bringing the benefits of globalization to poor nations.

"To those already enjoying them, the benefits of globalization are clear," U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a speech at the University of Havana. But he added, "Many millions experience globalization not as an agent of progress but as a disruptive force, capable of destroying jobs, traditions and even a society's cohesion, sometimes with lightening speed."

Annan told The Associated Press Tuesday that he planned to meet Wednesday with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to discuss ways to break the deadlock in efforts to try Khmer Rouge leaders for genocide. Annan said that earlier reports that the pair met Monday were incorrect. "We did some make some progress at the last discussions, but the talks are ongoing and we have not concluded them yet. I haven't met Prime Minister Hun Sen yet. It will be tomorrow," Annan said.

Annan on Tuesday issued a statement praising the decision for a summit between leaders of North and South Korea and offering "to contribute to efforts aimed at reducing tensions and promoting mutual confidence in the region." Among those attending the summit is North Korea's ceremonial head of state, parliament President Kim Yong Nam, though it was not clear if he would have a private session with Annan.

In documents under discussion, the country's representatives urged richer nations to forgive debts of poorer countries while increasing aid to the level of 0.7 percent of gross domestic product, the amount promised in 1970. Nigerian President Olesegun Obasanjo, whose nation chairs the G-77, told a news conference Tuesday that such steps would help promote democracy and stability, citing the case of Nigeria, where his elected government replaced a military dictatorship last year.

"We have just established a new dispensation, a democratic situation where we want to do everything right," he said. Obasanjo said that if he goes to villagers and tells them, "I wanted to give you water but I have to pay debts ... even though the origin of these debts are dubious, and therefore I will not be able to give you water ... they will say 'get away with your new dispensation"' of democracy.

He ruled out a joint decision by poor countries to suspend debt payments, saying it would interfere with aid transfers that some nations depend upon for part of their domestic budgets. The draft documents call for giving poor countries a greater voice in development decisions by encouraging the United Nations to take a bigger role in economic aid, rather than channeling it through organizations controlled by rich nations.

They also suggest easing patent restrictions that keep poor nations from benefiting from new technologies and of setting up mechanisms to share inventions. The drafts also called on rich countries to give preferential trade concessions to poorer nations and to liberalize rules on movement of labor as they have with movement of capital.

"Our peoples have run out of patience," Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque told a meeting of foreign ministers Tuesday. "For decades they have suffered broken promises and are today living in an economic and social situation that is increasingly serious and unsustainable."

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