The financial crisis and rising prices of fuel and food were among the issues most talked about at the first day of general debate during the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly.
"To put it bluntly, we face a development emergency," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. "Over the past year, we watched with alarm as the price of fuel, food and commodities rose sharply. Wealthy countries worry about recession, while the poorest of the poor can no longer afford to eat."
Ban noted that in a single year, the food staple that feeds half of the population more than doubled in price. "The global financial crisis endangers all our work – financing for development, social spending in rich nations and poor, the Millennium Development Goals," he said. "If ever there were a call to collective action – a call for global leadership – it is now."
Ban called for "a new understanding on business ethics and governance, with more compassion and less uncritical faith in the 'magic' of markets."
Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, president of the UN General Assembly, urged people to "move beyond lamentations, speech-making and statements of good intentions and take concrete action."
US President George W. Bush told the meeting that his country has taken "bold steps to prevent a severe disruption of the American economy, which would have a devastating effect on other economies around the world."
He said his administration and the US Congress are working together to quickly pass legislation approving a strategy to "address the root cause of much of the instability in our financial markets – by purchasing illiquid assets that are weighing down balance sheets and restricting the flow of credit."
"I can assure you that my administration and our Congress are working together to quickly pass legislation approving this strategy. And I'm confident we will act in the urgent time frame required.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy called world leaders to "learn to manage the most acute crises together that no one can resolve alone."
"I am convinced that it is the duty of the heads of state and government of the countries most directly concerned to meet before the end of the year to examine together the lessons of the most serious financial crisis the world has experienced since that of the 1930s," he said.
Mwai Kibaki, the president of Kenya, said energy crisis, high food prices and instability in the financial markets are serious problems that could "erode the gains the world economy has made in the last 10 years."
He pointed out that while food prices have risen globally, their impact has been most severe and adverse on the poorest people living in developing countries.
Kibaki called for more effective global partnerships between developed nations, international institutions, and developing nations to address the crises.
On the issue of escalating global oil prices, he appealed to oil-producing nations to "consider the plight of non-oil-producing nations, especially those in the developing world."
"Indeed, the rapid increase in oil prices is hurting developing countries the most, and does not augur well for international peace and stability," Kibaki added.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for mechanisms of both prevention and control to "provide total transparency to international finance" at a time when an economic and financial crisis grips the world.
"A crisis of such magnitude will not be overcome with palliative measures," Lula said. "Mechanisms for both prevention and control are needed to provide total transparency to international finance."
He said international economic institutions today "have neither the authority nor the workable instruments they need to inhibit the anarchy of speculation."
"We must rebuild them on entirely new foundations," Lula said.
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said the developing world is "at a tipping point".
"Economic uncertainty has moved like a terrible tsunami around the globe, wiping away gains, erasing progress – not just here in Manhattan Island, but also in the many islands of the Philippines," she said.
President Bharrat Jagdeo of Guyana said the global financial system is confronting "its sternest test in recent memory".
"The current crisis is systemic in nature, historic in scale, and global in reach," he said, stressing that for small vulnerable economies such as Guyana, even if they are not fully integrated with the global financial system, they will still "bear the full effect of these developments as demand for exports tightens, the cost of capital rises, foreign direct investment becomes scarce, and tourist arrivals and migrant remittances decline."
Among all talks of crises, Ban, the UN secretary-general, gave a touch of optimism.
"We have before us a great opportunity. We have ample reason to be optimistic," he said. "Today's uncertainties will pass."
"By acting wisely and responsibly, we will set the stage for a new era of global prosperity, more widely and equitably shared," the UN chief said.
(Xinhua News Agency September 24, 2008)
