UN Conference on the financial crisis and development
Eurodad briefing note, May 2009
Background to the UN June Conference
The UN Conference on the World Financial and EconomicCrisis and its Impact on Development will take place from 1st to 3rd June at the UN Headquarters in New York. It is a direct outcome of the UN Conference on Financing for Development held in Dohalast November, and an important victory for developing countries and CSOs.
In fact, the most contentious issue in the section on “Systemic Issues” of the Doha Outcome Document (DOD), if not of the whole negotiating process, was that of the need to convene a conference under the UN umbrella to address the effects of the financial crisis on developing countries (paragraph 79 of the DOD). The final agreed wording reads: "the UN will hold a conference at the highest level on the world financial and economic crisis and its impact on development. The conference will be organised by the President of the General Assembly (PGA) and the modalities will be defined by March 2009 the latest."
Developing countries are now keen that the conference results in specific commitments. One of the co-facilitators for the conference, the Ambassador of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, expressed in a meeting with CSOs in NY on April 28ththat developing countries want to prevent this meeting from becoming “yet another UN conference whose outcome is simply calling for another meeting. We want to see specific deliverables and go back home with specific outcomes to report on.”
In April, governments agreed the modalities for the conference, including to hold the Conference at the “highest level” (i.e. Heads of States and Heads of Governments). The Conference will comprise four consecutive thematic roundtables involving participation of other stakeholders, including civil society, and will result in an inter-governmentally agreed outcome document.
Run-up to the Conference: official and CSO processes
The PGA has nominated two co-facilitators, the Ambassadors to the UN from the Netherlands and from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The co-facilitators and the President of the General Assembly (PGA) will have a key role drafting the outcome document of the conference.
The first draft outcome document for the conference is due to be released on Friday 8th May. Informal consultations between the country groupings, the co-facilitatorsand the PGAtook place during the last few weeks of April, with countries submitting their priorities for the draft outcome document. Therefore, country officials should already be able to inform you of their priorities and agenda for the conference.
Official preparatory meetings for the UN Conference include:
-The Special high-level meeting of the UN ECOSOC with the BWI, the WTO and UNCTAD, which took place in New York on 27th April; and
-The UNCTAD 2009 Public Symposium taking place in Geneva on 18th and 19th May.
Civil Society is getting organisedusing the platformswhich were set up in the run-up to the Doha Conference.They already held strategy sessions in New York at the end of March and the end of April. From May 4thonwards, there will be weekly callsevery Friday to share information and strategise in the run-up to the conference. A Google group has also been set up to disseminate information on the conference. If you wish to subscribe to the group or participate in the calls, please contact Matt Simonds at
On the Saturday prior to the Conference, CSOs are planning an event that will bring together international voices with local New York residents to talk about the impact of the financial crisis on their lives and livelihoods. A strategic discussion to prepare for the conference is also being prepared for the Sunday (May 31), with a debrief on the Thursday (June 4).
Further information on the conference and these events will be posted on will also be distributed through the UN-NGLS Weekly Bulletin aimed at informing stakeholders of relevant developments in the lead-up to the UN Conference.
The Stiglitz Commission’s recommendations and the conference
The UN Commission of Experts on reforms of the international monetary and financial system was created in October 2008 by the PGA and seeks to identify the broad principles underlying institutional reforms required to ensure sustained global economic progress and stability which will be of benefit to all countries. On 19th March the PGA published the interim recommendations of the Commission of Experts.
A final meeting of the Commission is scheduled to take place in The Hague on 17th and 18th May 2009. The meeting will take a final decision on the recommendations to be put forward by the Commission. These in turn will feed into the Commission’s final report. It is expected that the Commission’s interim recommendations and the final report will provide at least some of the informal basis for negotiating an outcome document at the June UN Conference.
Eurodad is in advanced discussions about organising an event with members of the UN Commission in Brusselson 19 Mayto disseminate and discuss the Commission’s findings and recommendations and compare these with the policy positions and actions of European governments.
Key CSO demands – making the conference a political milestone
Civil Society groups engaging in the preparatory process for the UN June conference drafted a statement which was presented at the ECOSOC meeting on April 27thin New York. The statement gathers most of the key issues that civil society will be advocating for at the June conference.
Given the limited time and effort we will be able to devote to the UN conference in the next few weeks. Eurodad will continue to focus on the priority issues for which we advocated in the context of the Doha conference. This includes pressing for tax justice, debt and reform of the international economic and financial institutions. An updated policy position on all these issues in the context of the financial and economic crisis was elaborated at the last EuroIFInet meeting in Brussels and has since been used in our advocacy efforts.
However, the most important thing at this stage is to ensure that this conference will not be totally dismissed by rich nations and that they will send representatives at the level of Heads of Government and/ or State. For Europe we only know at present that Czech President Vaclav Klaus is confirmed. We can’t let him be the only top-level representative of our continent.
Intelligence on government’s positions
The EU has already submitted their priorities, including a proposal for a Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism. At the 27th April UN ECOSOC meeting in New York, several developing country governments expressed concerns about availability of emergency finance resources, IFIs conditionality, and the flawed governance of the Bretton Woods Institutions. At the moment we are gathering more intelligence on governments positions which we hope to circulate soon.
Take action NOW!
Send a letter to your government urging them to give the UN conference the political weight it deserves and to participate at the conference at the level of Head of State or Government!
If you wish to attend the conference, please register online before the registration deadline of 13 May 2009!
For more information contact Nuria Molina at the Eurodad office. .