High-Level Expert Group Meeting
11 March 1990
Lisbon, Portugal
Chaired by Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo
I. TOWARDS GLOBAL ORDER
The world is at a crucial turning point in its history.
Behind us: forty years of cold war, superpower
confrontation and ever-burgeoning military arsenals.
Before us: the chance to move towards a new era of peace,
co-operation and dialogue. But this new era will only
begin if we take positive and concrete steps to seize the
opportunity for change. It is in the interest of all
mankind that the changes that we have so far witnessed
should not be reversed.
The management of this era will require new instruments,
new forms of leadership and a new definition of the
interrelationship between national and global
interests.
Global interdependence increasingly affects all aspects of
human activity. As such, it is a reality which can no
longer be ignored. Yet approaches to problem solving
remain largely focused at the national level. The concept
of national sovereignty, the inviolability of borders and
the autonomy of the nation-state, encapsulated as they are
by international law, now function against a backdrop of
ever-shrinking national autonomy. Unilateral national
instruments cannot solve the growing number of global
problems which confront us. Alone, the nation-state cannot
cope.
To ensure stability for the twenty-first century,
effective and co-operative steps must be taken to curb
environmental degradation; to redress both the persistent
economic imbalances between North and South and the
financial disequilibria among industrialized countries; to
stabilize population growth ; to eradicate absolute
poverty; and to reduce consumer demand in developed
nations.
Managing interdependence will require the establishment of
a new - essentially holistic - global order encompassing
the areas of peace and security, the global economy, the
population- environment-development nexus and human
rights. This order will be characterized by the exercise
of delegated sovereignty based on the principle that
decisions should be taken at the lowest possible level at
which they can be effective. This will entail the
strengthening of existing, or the creation of new,
institutions. Religious leaders, scientists, educators,
non-governmental organizations and the cultural community
have a central role to play. But, ultimately, the global
order will depend on the understanding of the citizens of
all nations and on the commitment, quality and
accountability of political leaders. Education is vital to
the promotion of global citizenship.
II. MANAGING INTERDEPENDENCE
The following actions will be required:
Peace and Security
a) An early conclusion of further arms reduction
agreements.
b) The establishment of international agreements to limit
and control arms production and trade, particularly in the
field of aircraft and ballistic missiles.
c) The radical reduction of defence expenditures.
d) Agreement to utilize and strengthen the United Nations
Security Council and the Conference on Security and
Cooperation in Europe (CSCE).
The Global Economy
a) The correction of the economic imbalances between the
North and the South through the elimination of the debt
burden, improvement in the terms of trade, and access to
knowledge and skills of developed countries.
b) The correction of financial imbalances between the
United States on the one hand, and the Federal Republic of
Germany and Japan on the other.
c) The development of a system of international financial
law leading to the establishment of a regulatory authority
for financial markets and the international harmonization
of rules governing the operations, financial transactions,
social policies and practices of transnational
corporations.
d) The restoration of a system of stable and co-ordinated
exchange rates.
e) The acceptance of the principle of binding targets for
Official Development Assistance (ODA) flows to developing
countries linked to the progressive reduction of
recipients' military expenditures.
f) The conclusion and full application of international
agreements among all those countries involved to check the
growth, spread, trafficking and use of drugs.
Population
a) The recognition that population is intimately linked to
economic development and the availability of resources.
b) The stabilisation of global population in the
twenty-first century at eight to ten billion. A doubling
of the resources allocated to international population
assistance programmes for contraception, accompanied by a
programme of education for birth control.
Environment
a) The implementation of the agreement reached at the
Hague in April 1989 for the establishment of a High
Authority to set an internationally binding policy
framework with regulatory powers.
b) The convening of an international conference to adopt a
convention on global warming with binding commitments.
c) The creation of regional institutions to manage
specific issues such as deforestation, shared water
resources etc.
d) The adoption of a convention on transboundary
co-operation in environmental matters.
e) The recognition that toxic wastes should be disposed of
in the country of origin and should not be sent to
developing countries or dumped at sea.
f) Strict application of the 'polluter pays principle' at
the national and the international level.
g) The establishment and progressive reduction of targets
for fossil fuel emissions by the major industrialized
countries; the establishment of a monitoring system by the
International Energy Agency (IEA) and the publication of
its results.
h) The creation of a facility to assist developing
countries in the development and implementation of
environmental programmes.
Energy
a) The launching of a massive international research
programme into the development of renewable energy sources
- in particular nuclear fusion, solar energy
(photovoltaics), and geothermal energy.
b) The intensification of efforts, co-ordinated by the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to find
solutions for safe and stable nuclear waste disposal and
safe procedures for the decommissioning of nuclear
reactors.
Human rights
a) The promotion of the democratic process and
international recognition of the fundamental principle of
free access and unimpeded movement of observers in
national elections.
b) The international recognition and protection of the
right to individuals to monitor their Government's
observation of human rights.
c) The ratification of existing human rights agreements,
including the Optional Protocol to the Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights which provides for the right of
individuals, non-governmental organizations and
governments to submit petitions to the United Nations
Human Rights Committee.
d) The incorporation into international law of the right
of humanitarian assistance i.e. the right of humanitarian
organizations to assist, the right to request assistance
and the right to receive assistance.
e) The extension of international law to cover United
Nations-approved international sanctions against human
rights violations.