His voice rising
slightly as he leans in to make
a point, former Ambassador Anwarul
Karim Chowdhury of Bangladesh
is
clearly passionate about the
United Nations and about the work
it does
for the poorest of the world. "The
UN spends 80 percent of its resources
on economic development issues," he
said. "Every aspect of life
in Bangladesh, my home country, has
been touched by the UN‹roads,
telecom, housing. I always tell my
colleagues that they should take
time to let the world know about
the UN and the good work it does,
because sometimes people don't fully
understand." The UN has
been a part of Chowdhury's professional
life for more than two decades,
and
now he has committed to another
decade of UN development work.
On
International Women's Day, March 8, Chowdhury was named
the UN's high representative for the Least Developed
Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries and
Small Island Developing States.
A man who says he is optimistic about the future
of LDCs but aware of the hurdles in the road to
development, Chowdhury will serve as a focal point
in the UN's development efforts.
"This high office was created to follow up
on, review and regularly monitor implementation
of the program of action decided upon in Brussels," said
Ambassador Chowdhury the day after his appointment.
That program of action, the Brussels Declaration,
is the product of a UN conference on the Least
Developed Countries in May 2001. It calls for the
opening of markets to LDC products, cancellation
of their debts and an increase in financial aid
to them.
"Over
the last two decades programs of action were
well
drawn out but failed mostly because of
a lack of follow-up and implementation. There was
no one central office that could look at the wide
spectrum of issues."
The
UN designates 49 nations as LDCs, and they account
for 10.5
percent of the world's population.
Adding "landlocked developing countries" and "small
island developing states" brings the number
almost to 60 countries. Chowdhury, who was the
UN's coordinator for the Least Developed Countries
for 10 years, will focus on the review and implementation
of the Brussels Declaration to benefit these countries.
According
to Chowdhury, three areas in the declaration
are key: providing
duty-free market access for
LDC products, the cancellation of bilateral debt
and an increase in the flow of financial resources
to LDCs. "LDC products today have a 0.05 percent
share of world trade," he said. "There
is a general fear that LDC products would flood
the market, but this is simply not true. They need
help to enter the market. Also, two-thirds of all
Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) are LDCs,
and many of them are paying more in debt servicing
than they earn from exports. The reality is they'll
never be able to get out of debt and this is affecting
their development. We have to work on canceling
their debt."
Apart
from the obvious development-related areas, the
ambassador
said that three other areas have
to be given special attention when promoting development
in LDCs. "Out of 30 countries identified as
being at the highest risk for HIV/AIDS," he
said, "sixteen are LDCs. It is very necessary
to provide resources to these countries because
their development prospects are complicated by
HIV/AIDS."
These
poorest of poor countries have also seen some
of the worst
conflicts in recent years. Of
34 LDCs in Africa, 15‹including Rwanda, Burundi
and Angola‹have suffered severe conflicts,
which has hampered their development. "Special
resources should be provided for these countries‹rehabilitation
for child soldiers, help in rebuilding and disarming," said
Ambassador Chowdhury.
The
third area the ambassador wants to see given
more attention
is governance. "Democracy helps
development," he said. "Good governance
is needed to distribute aid fairly, to ensure proper
participation." Good governance is also the
key, he said, in gaining the confidence of donor
countries and institutions by showing them that
the money they give is effectively spent. "What
the UN has done is provide a forum to bring all
the parties together on an equal footing," he
said. "Now the problem is whether there will
be a real commitment toward development. Perceptions
differ and donor objectives differ. Ultimately,
we all need resources; LDCs just need more."
Since
1971, when the LDC criteria were established,
the number
of countries in the category has risen
from 25 to 49. This is because, said Chowdhury,
gross national product per capita has fallen, the
Human Development Index has not progressed in these
countries and their share in global manufacturing
and industry has fallen. In the past three decades
only one country, Botswana, has "graduated" out
of the category.
"It is very depressing," said Chowdhury,
shaking his head. "Unless we really implement
the Brussels Declaration, there'll be more additions
to the LDC list. We hope that at the Fourth LDC
conference we can say that there are fewer than
49 members, not more."
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