June 26, 2009, New York, NY-- After months of negotiations, the United Nations Conference on the Financial and Economic Crisis closes today, June 26th, 2009. The Global Social Economy Group (GSEG), representing more than 200 trade unions, social movements, and non-governmental organizations evaluated the result of the Conference and are seriously disappointed in the official outcome document. In no way do the results of the Conference measure up to the actions needed to address the scale and depth of the economic meltdown, most evident in the jobs crisis, particularly in developing countries.
During the negotiations civil society urged governments to make social justice the goal of all crisis-related measures, with fulfillment of human and environmental rights as well as gender justice as key elements. This UN Conference could have been the beginning of a process for systemic change, crisis resolution and significant movement towards economic justice between developed and developing countries and economies in transition. Although the unique role of the UN in coordination has been affirmed, the historic opportunity to start a longer-term inclusive process for fundamental transformation of the economic and financial system has yet to be achieved.
The document does not go beyond an appeal for strong global fiscal stimulus measures, the delivery of aid promises, debt sustainability and additional grants. The necessity for counter-cyclical policies - also in developing countries - is mentioned, but agreements on concrete actions have not been reached. There is an appeal for greater flexibility, but no measures to end to the practice of policy conditionality. On these issues, as well as on IMF reform, the Outcome Document failed to go beyond existing inadequate agreements (e.g. the Doha Declaration and the G20 Recommendations). The danger remains of reverting to the same export-led growth model based on unsustainable over-production and over-consumption patterns.
Civil society welcomes the agreement to strengthen the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation on Tax Matters and the proposal to create a new Global Panel on Systemic Risks in the World Economy to become an advisory body for the UN, bringing together academics, civil society and policy makers. We regret, however, that the vague formulation leaves its implementation up in the air. Totally missing is the proposal to establish a Global Economic Council within the UN system - as a globally representative forum to comprehensively address areas of concern in the global economic system.
However, the Conference established one working group to deal with follow-up on the agreements of the Outcome Document. Civil society is prepared to collaborate with the working group to reach concrete commitments for an intergovernmental, time-bound, follow-up process towards long-term structural reforms in order to prevent future financial bubbles and economic busts. All that is needed now is political leadership.