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MESSAGE TO THE GROUP
OF 77
Distinguished participants in the meeting to commemorate the
40th anniversary of the Group of 77:
Four
decades ago, we Third World countries decided to join forces to bolster our position in the world
economy. On the eve of the first United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development, we were already identifying the urgent problems facing
underdeveloped countries and we were demanding, as we still do, our right to
social and economic development and to a better life for our peoples.
In the years that followed, other
Third World peoples acceded to their
independence and new members joined our group. Today, we are 132 countries. We are a force that, if we act together, has
the capacity to successfully defend our right to live in a better world with
more justice.
Most of the problems that we identified at the inception of the
Group of 77 not only still exist but have become worse as the exploitative and
unjust economic order, which is a characteristic of neoliberal globalization,
has become more firmly rooted.
Today we are up against a world where:
20 percent of the world population
realizes 86 percent of the total consumption.
More than 850 million adults are
illiterate.
More than 12 million children die
every year in the Third World from curable illnesses.
325 million children in
underdeveloped countries do not attend school.
In the international market the
terms of trade have worsened. The purchasing power of commodities other than
oil is less than a third of what it was when UNCTAD was founded.
It is obvious that the present international economic order,
which gives rise to more inequalities and injustices only works for a minority
of the planet’s population and excludes the great majority from its benefits.
There are enough resources to finance development. It is the
political will of the developed countries’ governments that is lacking.
The level of foreign debt in the
Third World is unsustainable and incompatible
with the economic development of our countries. We are daily faced with new
conditions from the creditor countries and organizations which, in this way,
try to impose models which have only led to even greater impoverishment for [Third World] peoples.
The problem of the foreign debt must be solved once and for
all. The debt must be condoned. It is impossible to reach any development goals
with such an onerous burden on our backs.
There is still a long way to go to reach the goals for Official
Development Aid promised by the industrialized countries and agreed to by the
United Nations. It is the developed countries’ duty and obligation to finance
the development of countries which used to be their colonies.
Today we live in a world where an increasingly large
proportion of resources are invested in the war industry while millions and
millions of people live in extreme poverty and ten of millions die every year
from malnutrition and curable illnesses.
Environmental deterioration is increasingly alarming as is
the devastating effect of climate change on
Third World countries. In our countries there
is a scarcity of food and sources of drinking water, whereas the developed
countries waste resources unceasingly.
In today’s world, characterized by a unipolar, neoliberal
world order under the economic and military dictatorship of a superpower which
tries to impose its model as the one viable for humanity, we countries in the
South should continue to reinforce our unity and cooperation. Only united can
we hope to make our rights prevail. There is an extraordinary important role
for the Group of 77 to play in this essential effort.
In the
South Summit, held in
Havana four years ago now, the priorities
and mechanism of our Group were reactivated and brought up to date.
Nevertheless, we still have a lot to do to carry out fully the plan of action
adopted at that time. Therefore, it seems to us of paramount importance to hold
a second
South
Summit that
would be a forthcoming occasion to defend our ideal of preserving peace,
reasserting multilateralism and strengthening international cooperation.
Cuba, the victim for more than 40 years of blockade,
economic war and all kinds of aggressions from the United States government, which
in the last few weeks has stepped up its hostile actions to try to subjugate
our people, once again states its commitment to cooperation and to a
coordination of efforts by our countries and reiterates that it will not
hesitate to continue offering its selfless solidarity and support to the peoples
of the Third World.
Fidel Castro Ruz
Havana, June 10,
2004
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