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Item [48]: integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields
Mr President
It is my pleasure to speak on behalf of Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Thank you for holding this important meeting on the global food and energy crisis. We are facing an unprecedented challenge. This global food crisis endangers the world’s poorest and most vulnerable. It threatens to reverse gains made toward reducing poverty and hunger as outlined in the MDGs.
CANZ is doing its best to assist those most affected by the food crisis. The context within which the current food crisis is unfolding makes it more difficult to reach the most vulnerable and to meet their ensuring needs.
Ensuring a coordinated analysis and response to the current food price situation is a priority for CANZ. While there is some debate about the relative importance of different drivers, the general consensus is that most of the drivers are medium to long term ones. As a consequence, food prices are likely to remain higher and more volatile than in recent decades.
We welcome the strong resolve on this issue shown by the leaders of the Group of Eight at their summit in Japan. We urge countries to follow their declarations with concerted action to address the underlying structural causes of the crisis, and improve the efficiency and productivity of the agricultural sector and markets in developing countries.
We stress the benefits for all countries, developed and developing alike, of contributing to a positive conclusion of the Doha round. It is critical that there be a breakthrough on negotiating modalities at next week’s meeting of Trade Ministers in Geneva. A successful outcome to the Doha Round would remove major barriers and distortions to global agricultural and food trade, and improve global food trade flows; open up new opportunities for agricultural and food productions and exports by developing countries; and make an important contribution to improving global food security.
CANZ appreciates and strongly supports the work of the Secretary-General’s Task Force on the Global Food Crisis, and the very strong collaboration we have seen between key UN agencies and the Bretton Woods institutions. The Comprehensive Framework of Action is particularly important and useful because it represents a consensus view of most of the key international organisations. We are very pleased with the overall approach of the CFA, with its response priorities in the immediate and medium term, and emphasis on building longer-term resilience.
CANZ will continue to be part of the global framework to address rising food and fuel costs. CANZ has already taken steps towards helping to address food insecurity through significant contributions to its aid budget of around US$300 million, including to the WFP’s Extraordinary Appeal; also through untying of food aid, with a special emphasis on procurement in developing countries.
CANZ welcomes the opportunity to work with other countries to ensure biofuels production does not have negative impacts on the environment, promotes renewable energy use, provides economic opportunities, and enables diversified agriculture. We are pursuing a balanced and responsible biofuels strategy, one which allows us to produce enough grain to meet our targets for biofuels production without any significant impact on agricultural products for consumption.
Now that we have the CFA in its final form, we need to turn our attention to implementation. The Framework provides valuable policy guidance and a “menu” of options for action which can be tailored to country circumstances in identifying priorities for action at country and regional level.
We agree that implementation of the recommendations of the Framework needs to utilise existing mechanisms, and note the importance of continuing and reinforcing the spirit of collaboration and partnership which has formed the basis for the Taskforce.
Over the coming months CANZ will be examining the final CFA to consider how we can contribute further. We see the need for a comprehensive approach, including scaled-up support in agriculture and rural development and exploration of the role of social protection mechanisms.
We stress it is important for all countries to adopt appropriate domestic policy responses, including avoiding food export restrictions and untargeted food subsidies. We call on Member States to remove restrictions on export of food for humanitarian purposes.
There is a challenge ahead to ensure that effective collaboration at a global level continues during implementation of the CFA. We suggest the Secretary-General may wish to consider a coordination approach modelled on the avian influenza taskforce, emphasising communication, liaison, and tracking and reporting on international response efforts. It will also be important that global coordination efforts filter through to the regional and national levels, ensuring good cooperation on the ground.
CANZ is especially concerned with making this happen in least developed countries and small island developing states which are particularly vulnerable. High fuel prices and weak agricultural sectors will combine to make it difficult for some islands to generate a viable supply of substitutes for food imports. The budgets of countries that have few reserves but which have tried to maintain only loosely-targeted fuel and food price subsidies will come under extreme pressure. Financing for existing levels of key services may be at risk, and debt levels are likely to increase.
CANZ sees a very strong need for the agencies involved in agriculture and rural development in LDCs and SIDS to increase their level of coordination and common programming, and to consider how the recommendations of the UN Task Force can best be applied in the region. For example, an initial meeting of donors and regional technical agencies took place in Sydney on 11 July to discuss possible regional coordination measures in the Pacific.
CANZ and other donors are already substantially increasing bilateral assistance and the assistance channelled through regional, multilateral and UN agencies working LDCs and SIDS. Longer-term assistance to the agriculture and fisheries sectors will be stepped-up.
The impact of increased fuel and food prices, combined with those of climate change, make it all the more important that such increased resources are used to maximum effect. This will require strong local and regional partnerships, improved coordination, strengthened local ownership and an enhanced mutual accountability for achieving real improvements in development outcomes and results.
Thank you Mr President.
