World Bank Building, Washington, DC
The matter of reform of major global institutions, such as The World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the United Nations– is not a new issue. Particularly over the last decade or so, many have called for reforms to be undertaken by these institutions, in keeping with the new realities of the 21st Century.
Reforming these institutions will be the subject of discussion by some 12 Commonwealth heads of government that will be brought together by Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma in London in June 2008.
This mini-summit is the first step in implementing one of the decisions arising from the November 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, at which it was agreed that a small representative group from the 53 members of the Commonwealth would undertake to advocate and lobby for reforming international institutions.
The upcoming meeting next month will focus on concrete steps which Commonwealth member states can take to achieve reform and coherence of global institutions like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations’ system.
In the discussions, environmental governance will be high on the agenda. According to Sharma, “Some of today’s key international institutions, established more than half a century ago, are not aligned to the way that the world has changed. Meanwhile, in areas like environmental governance, there are gaps in the architecture of international organizations, which must be filled.”
“There is need for change, and that change must reflect the full global spectrum of interests and needs. International institutions must support an inclusive and comprehensive globalization, which benefits the entire global community,” he added.
Jamaica’s Prime Minister Bruce Golding who will be attending the mini-summit, noted that, “there is an urgent need for a comprehensive analysis of the way global institutions operate.”. He added, “It is not that these multilateral institutions have not themselves changed…. but we need a broader look and a more comprehensive analysis of the deficiencies (of these institutions.)”
Prime Minister Golding opined, “I am particularly concerned that middle-income countries like Jamaica, which are not classified as extremely poor, but at the same time have not yet got to the stage where they are at that point of take off to sustainable growth, are not factored into the general scheme of things.”
He added, “There are provisions for very poor countries and there are requirements or expectations of rich countries. Those of us in the middle tend to be marginalized in terms of the agenda.”
Food security will also come in for much discussion at the mini-summit. Both Sharma and Golding hold the view that multi-lateral organizations should respond to the problem with a sense of real urgency. They highlighted the adverse effects of the crisis on small Commonwealth states, which already suffer from inherent vulnerabilities.
The mini-summit will be chaired by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
