| Statement by New York, 15 November 2005 Mr. Chairman, Let me first of all through you thank the Secretary-General for providing his report and other related documents pertaining to the agenda item under deliberation. In this regard, my delegation aligns itself with the statement of the distinguished representative of Jamaica on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. Mr. Chairman, For us, without a doubt, poverty eradication and development are the most pressing problems in Africa and pockets of poverty in Asia and the Pacific region as well as other regions that need our continued urgent attention and action. Therefore, let me start with the question: what should we decide during this current committee’s session? It is in this context that my delegation would like to offer the following observations for the committee’s consideration. First, we must not merely revisit and glance at the various aspects of poverty eradication. There are several important issues presented before us. This time, the Secretary-General put employment into perspective. The Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) reminded us of the special needs of LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS. Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization underlined the urgent case of food security in relation to the production and consumption of rice. While the International Labour Organizations focused on social justice and its rights-base approach. Again the international community, developed and developing countries as well as civil society have an opportunity to echo one voice in our fight against poverty. Evidently, the 2005 World Summit in September 2005 was the most recent opportunity where our leaders jointly expressed their strong commitment to address the issue of poverty. Following that there have been more recent events to move things forward. Just recently ECOSOC initiated a special event to discuss food crises in Africa, which is a welcome step forward after the Summit. However, considering the urgency of action, it is time that we the international community go beyond slogans. It should be more than to make poverty history. It should be more than to convince that poverty eradication is within reach or to act based on deeds rather than words. It is also true with global partnerships for development. We have to think deep and decide on practical action to follow-up the quick-impact initiatives as agreed upon in 2005 World Summit and to monitor its implementation. Second, the responsibility of governments of developing countries for its own development, based on its national conditions, sovereignty and priorities cannot be overemphasized. The fact is that good governance and the rule of law as well as the fight against corruption is no longer the property of the developed but has already become the order of the day in many developing countries. Moreover, developing countries have demanded for good governance at all levels. But efforts by the developing countries will be meaningless without an effective and stronger voice and participation in the international economic and decision-making and norm-setting. It is also important that the commitment for open, equitable, rule-based, predictable and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system be delivered. In this context, the Hong Kong Ministerial Meeting of WTO must not fail. This will contribute tremendously
in making financing for development flow. In turn it will open up
better possibilities for employment for all, uplift living standards,
provide adequate health and education facilities, and promote the
protection of the environment. It will also help developing countries
to achieve its sustained economic growth, sustainable development
and human resources development based on the commitments and decisions
agreed upon in various United Nations major international conferences
and summits in the economic and social fields. Evidently the international
migration and development is one issue that deserves our comprehensive
attention and understanding. For Indonesia, in our part, we will continue in our quest to eradicate poverty. The Indonesian Government has established an economic plan since 2004 to achieve sustainable higher economic growth; stimulate the performance of the real sectors to create employment and; promote the development of the rural economy and agriculture to alleviate poverty. As a free, independent and democratic nation, Indonesia remains faithful to the responsibility of providing the means for its people to better their lives. The Indonesian Government is steadfast in implementing the strategy of pro growth, pro employment and pro-poor. By gradually reducing the government subsidies for oil, the newly re-allocated funds can now be counted in the fiscal budget for quarterly cash subsidies to assist the poor. Indonesia is also promoting micro-finance and micro-credit as well as gender empowerment. Last but not least, the fight against corruption at all levels is one of the priority agendas. At the same time, Indonesia continues with its commitment to address the special needs of other developing countries within the framework of South-South Cooperation to complement the North-South Cooperation including by utilizing bilateral, regional and inter-regional frameworks such as the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership together with South Africa and the Non-Aligned Movement Centre for South-South Technical Cooperation in Jakarta in cooperation with Brunei Darussalam. These efforts have also been done with the tri-partite arrangement in collaboration with donor communities including JICA, the Colombo Plan, UN-ESCAP, UNEP, and the Islamic Development Bank. Let me stop here and emphasize once again that the key now is to turn the talk into the walk. Thank you.
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