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Contact:
Chris Satney
Wednesday, July 06, 2005 - CARICOM has called for an overhaul and
modernization of the global economic machinery to enable developing countries to
cope with the challenges they are currently facing. The developing world is
giving importance to the strengthening of the United Nations to place a greater
focus on the issues of global development. CARICOM believes dialogue on the
expansion of democracy throughout the world must commit the international system
to the strengthening of the multilateral process to allow for a greater voice
and participation of developing countries in the decision making process.
Prime Minister of Jamaica PJ Patterson who has lead responsibility for trade
within CARICOM said the global situation has changed dramatically since the
Second World War, which in itself led to the formation of the United Nations. As
such he said the approach should be altered to match the present time.
“There is a need to address the issue of global systemic imbalances in such
areas as trade, finance, money and technology and to reform the global
architecture in a manner that would among other things enhance the voice and
participation of developing countries in the decision making processes of the
international financial institutions,” Patterson said.
Reform of the Security Council has been a dominant issue in UN reform, while
CARICOM and developing states believe the preoccupation of larger countries with
reform of the Security Council, is important Mr. Patterson said there are other
areas which deserve no less attention.
“The need to create or strengthen national, sub-regional, regional and
international mechanisms to predict, prevent or mitigate the destructive effects
of the increasing event of natural disasters especially in vulnerable developing
countries. I don’t have to stress for a Caribbean audience how important that is
to us,” the Jamaican Prime Minister said.
The Caribbean Community has been paying close attention to several high level
meetings being undertaken by richer countries including the G-Eight Summit
currently underway in Edinburgh and the meeting of the G-Seventy-Seven and China
which took place in Qatar in June.
Of special significance to CARICOM is the meeting of the African Union, which
took place in Tripoli this week. Africa and the Caribbean account for 50 percent
of the member states of the United Nation and it is believed their position on
UN reform will be decisive.
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