Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

Joint Position Paper of Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa participating in the G-8 Summit

In the last decade, the world has experienced significant, although uneven, economic growth and a decisive contribution by developing countries. Globalization has played an important role as a dynamic force for growth. However, its impact has left us with a world beset by acute economic and social inequalities. The marginalization of a large number of developing countries, especially in Africa, calls for intensified international co-operative efforts, international policy coherence and co-ordination, and faithful implementation of the outcomes of major Summits, especially the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

2. Development is a right, central to people's progress and critical to the eradication of poverty, fostering peace, stability and security of all nations. The MDGs constitute an internationally agreed benchmark according to which we will measure our efforts to advance sustainable development and eradicate poverty. We are committed to working with our partners to advance the development agenda and the eradication of poverty. We believe that eradication of poverty in the world is not only an issue of importance to developing countries, but also a matter of our collective global interest.

3. We are meeting with the G8 to consider and assess critical matters of global importance at a time when there is optimism regarding the performance of the world economy. We are, therefore, concerned to ensure that the benefits of global growth are equitably distributed to make a meaningful impact on poverty eradication. In this context, in addition to the topics to be examined at the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, we wish to call attention to matters of global governance, trade, migration, climate change and South-South co-operation, which constitute critical interventions in our efforts to eradicate poverty.

4. Achieving tangible progress on these matters hinges on the provision of adequate financial resources, effective policies and measures and enhanced international cooperation. Experience of the last two decades with development policies has demonstrated that there can be no "one-size-fits-all" approach to development and that, strategies work effectively when tailored to the national circumstances.

5. We recognize that a supportive and an enabling global policy environment, based on principles of equality, mutual respect, equity and justice, constitute a positive framework for international co-operation.

Global Governance

6. We reiterate the need to make the structures of global governance more democratic, representative and legitimate by increasing the participation of developing countries in the decision-making bodies of multilateral institutions. This is in line with discussions held at the UN World Summit in 2005. Priority should be given to the reform of the United Nations and its Security Council to make them more responsive to the needs and interests of developing countries, as well as to enhance international peace and security. Reform of the international financial architecture, especially enhancing the voice and participation of developing countries in the Bretton Woods Institutions, is also necessary.

7. Strengthening democratic governance implies a permanent endeavor to combat corruption in all its forms and in all countries, developed and developing ones alike. It also requires that efforts to improve the quality of public sector management are coupled with measures to stimulate greater corporate responsibility, transparency and accountability. Partnership between public and private sectors in social areas might be especially fruitful to promote new and innovative ways to promote social inclusion to tackle poverty.

8. Terrorism cannot be justified on any ground. The efforts of the international community to fight terrorism should be strengthened and conducted in accordance with international law, in particular human rights law, refugee law and international humanitarian law, and should avoid double standards. We stress the importance to take urgent action to prevent and combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and to implement the Global Strategy of the United Nations against Terrorism. In this context, States should consider becoming parties without delay to the existing international conventions and protocols against terrorism, and implementing them, and to make every effort to reach an agreement on and conclude the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. Measures should be taken to pursue and reinforce development agendas and social inclusion to reduce youth unemployment and marginalisation so that they may not be exploited. We reaffirm our commitment to ensure the timely and full realisation of MDGs, to eradicate poverty and promote sustained economic growth, sustainable development and global prosperity for all.

9. Security and development are interlinked and mutually reinforcing. Poverty and underdevelopment greatly increase the risk of instability and violence. Similarly, conflicts and war undoubtedly set back development.

10. We stress the need to build a truly global partnership for development as set out in the 8th Millennium Development Goal, the Monterrey Consensus and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. These efforts should address the eradication of poverty and hunger as a top priority. In this respect, it is extremely important that countries maintain the ownership of their development strategies and that they are not abandoned on the grounds of institutional weakness.

International Trade

11. Global trade plays a relevant role in fostering economic development and fighting poverty. Nevertheless, international trade continues to face important barriers and distortions particularly in the agricultural sector, which affect the overall efforts of developing countries to enhance the well-being of their societies.

12. We consider necessary that the major trade partners reaffirm their commitments to achieve the necessary agreements, so as to conclude the negotiations of the Doha Development Agenda. The successful conclusion of this process with an outcome that meets the objectives embodied in the Doha mandate (the Doha Ministerial Declaration complemented by the July 2004 Framework and the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration) will bring developing countries, and particularly to the least developed ones, newer and better benefits from globalization that will contribute to consolidate their economic development and to create the necessary domestic conditions that will help in the profound battle against hunger and poverty.

13. Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa as members of the WTO Group of 20, share the belief that the cornerstone of the current negotiations is the agricultural sector, which is of utmost relevance for the well-being of our most vulnerable population. In particular, agreement has to be reached to eliminate trade distortions, especially those derived from the limited access to the developed countries markets as well as from the substantial and effective reductions in trade-distorting domestic support and other forms of internal support instrumented by the developed countries. Meaningful and operable special and differential treatment, which includes development instruments of Special Products and the Special Safeguard Mechanism are vital to address the concerns of developing countries with subsistence and low-income farmers. We are confident that any progress towards achieving these aforementioned goals will have a positive impact on the overall process of the Doha Round, in particular in the NAMA and services negotiations.

14. We underline that a more open world economy takes into account the promotion of financial flows, notably foreign direct investment, in a way that contributes to the sustainability of development, the transfer of avant-garde technology and the creation of decent employment, all of which are tools for the definitive fight against poverty.

15. We consider that it is time for the governments of the relevant developed members of the WTO to express their political will to push forward the negotiations.

International Migration

16. We acknowledge international migration as an important aspect of globalization today, which demands objective, comprehensive, balanced and multidimensional approaches.

17. We emphasize the need of a new holistic and long-term framework for international migration based on a deep and wide understanding of the phenomenon, its causes and consequences, and its relationship with development, human rights, and security.

18. A new culture on migration demands increased and effective cooperation between sending, transit and receiving States and abided by the following criteria: -

a) Migrants, as human beings, should be at the center of any migratory programme or policy, including respect of their human rights, regardless of their migratory status and should be recognized as active contributors to development, as well as to the economic, cultural and social spheres in countries of origin and destination;

b) Policies and initiatives on migration should promote holistic and long-term approaches that take into account the causes and consequences of the phenomenon, as well as the full respect of the human rights of migrants;

c) In today's age of globalization, the importance of international labor mobility needs to be recognized on the same level as movement of goods and services. Negotiations under Mode 4 of GATS need to be speeded up. Labor markets, however, should not be the sole reference point in determining the kind and scope of migratory programmes or policies;

d) Mutual benefit and mutual responsibility are fundamental to reach balanced responses.

e) More and better coordination and cooperation between sending, transit and receiving States would lead to win-win situation for all;

f) We need to promote positive elements of migration, especially to enhance its development benefits, while addressing the whole spectrum of challenges related to it, particularly those of irregular migration and its causes;

g) Promotion of enabling conditions for the participation of migrants (Diaspora) in the development of their home countries;

h) Strengthening responses to the particular needs of migrant women, through integration of a gender perspective in migration management policies and strategies;

i) Combating trafficking and smuggling of migrants, including the falsification of documents, without criminalizing migrants based solely on their migratory status;

j) Eliminating all forms of violence, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance, inhuman and degrading treatment against migrants and their families, through the promotion of culture and education that values diversity; and

k) Promoting collaborative programmes in partnership with multilateral organizations between and within the sending, transit and receiving countries for capacity building, training and for establishing best practices in reinforcing the benefits of international migration and development.

19. We urge G8 countries to incorporate the above mentioned principles in the discussions that take place in different international and regional fora in order to find durable and comprehensive solutions that emphasize the positive aspects and minimize the negative elements of this global phenomenon, particularly in the upcoming Global Forum on Migration and Development, which will be held in Brussels in July 2007. The countries should commit on making the Forum work as an instrument for reaching political consensus on matters regarding international migration.

Climate Change

20. Climate change is a global challenge with strong economic, environmental and social dimensions. It impacts all countries, but is particularly severe for developing countries, given their vulnerabilities, inadequate means and limited capacities to adapt to its effects. The recent reports of the IPCC have reaffirmed the need for urgent action. We believe that at this critical juncture we all should do more in accordance with our common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. We also believe that immediate and real effect must be given to commitments on international cooperation in fighting climate change, especially in the areas of adaptation, technology transfer, capacity building and the development of the carbon market. This cooperation should be framed by the need to address unsustainable patterns of production and consumption.

21. Climate change is a global phenomenon that requires an international response under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Any new cooperative effort to tackle climate change should not undermine the UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol, but rather complement these instruments. GHG mitigation in developed countries is key to address climate change given their responsibilities in causing it. Developed countries must take the lead by making further truly significant commitments at an early date for GHG reductions in the period beyond 2012. Early and significant commitments would give a long term and strong signal to the private sector, including in its involvement in climate related investments, and spur the carbon market. The Clean Development Mechanism's contribution to sustainable development and transfer of clean technologies to developing countries would also be enhanced significantly.

22. In order for developing countries to contribute to the efforts to address climate change, access to adequate technology is a key enabling condition. We need an agreement on transfer of technologies at affordable costs for accelerated mitigation efforts in developing countries, inter alia through increased use of renewable energy, including biofuels, and enhanced energy efficiency. Rewards for innovators needs to be balanced with common good for humankind. We also consider it necessary and important to enhance developing countries' capacities to deploy mitigation and adaptation technologies.

23. Many needed technologies based on resource endowments of developing countries (e.g. biomass, biofuels, clean coal) do not yet exist, or are too expensive. Collaborative R&D between developing and developed country R&D institutions can address this gap. Financing can be through a Venture Capital Fund, located in a multilateral financial institution, with the resulting IPRs being held by the Fund, and deployed at concessional cost in developing countries. Additionally, there could be collaborative R&D projects with sharing of IPRs by the partner R&D institutions.

24. Resources required for adaptation are of magnitude order as those for GHG mitigation. For this we should mobilize resources from the entire carbon market, as is being done on a small scale from the 2% levy on the CDM proceeds. These resources are separate from the provision of new and additional resources to tackle the challenges of adapting to the adverse effects of climate change. Diversion of ODA resources from economic growth and poverty alleviation in developing countries for adaptation is not the answer as development is a prerequisite for achieving effective adaptation.

South-South Cooperation

25. We reaffirm the role of South-South cooperation in the overall context of multilateralism, as a continuing process vital to confront the challenges faced by the South, in particular its role as an important tool crucial for fostering and strengthening the economic independence of developing countries and achieving development as one of the means of ensuring the equitable global economic order.

26. We welcome the continued efforts by developing countries in furthering South-South cooperation and its new dynamics as manifested by recent meetings and initiatives such as South America-Arab Summit, China-Africa Summit, the Puebla-Panama Plan, India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Dialogue Forum, the New Africa-Asia Strategic Partnership (NAASP) and the Third Round of Negotiations of the Global System of Preferences among Developing Countries (GSTP).

27. We in order to expand both the strength and the scope of South-South cooperation, undertake the resolve to:

i) Enhance policy coordination and high-level dialogue. The common challenges shared by the developing countries are wide-ranging, inter alia, MDGs and international development cooperation, financing for development, market access in the global trading system, an enhanced voice and participation of developing countries in international financial institutions, fighting environmental degradation and infectious diseases. We need to work together to press for a favorable external environment and adequate policy space for development. In the field of South-South cooperation, we have both traditional mechanisms such as the G77 and new forms such as the dialogue among our five developing countries, all of which are playing a positive role in promoting South-South cooperation. We support all such arrangements;

ii) Enrich concrete cooperation in all fields. The growing strength of developing countries has created a wealth of opportunities for concrete South-South cooperation in such fields as trade, investment, S&T, infrastructure, health and education, etc. Efforts should be made to explore all forms of cooperation in all fields based on the principles of effectiveness, ownership, equality, complementarity and mutual-benefit; and

iii) Implement and follow up on the outcomes of major conferences on South-South cooperation such as the Second South Summit held in Doha. We call for a stable and regular dialogue mechanism and necessary financial resources in this regard to make the South-South cooperation more meaningful and effective.

28. We call for financial and institutional support from the international community for South-South cooperation including in the form of triangular cooperation.

29. We reiterate that South-South cooperation is complementary to and not a substitute for North-South cooperation. We welcome the convocation of the G8 Heiligendamm outreach session, which we hope will help further strengthen North-South cooperation.