Caribbean L 18 ife, Feb. 22–28, 2019 BQ
Democratic global governance
the idea. And, in fact, it took
nearly 15 years before such
a conference could be held
in the UN — the 2009 Nairobi
High-level Conference
on South-South Cooperation
— and before the
concept of South-South
cooperation was anointed
in this Organization.
One can argue that the
suspicion harboured by key
actors in the North vis-àvis
SSC has not basically
changed, even though
these countries now exhibit
a greater tactical flexibility
due to the changing
realities, including the
emergence of and the challenge
posed by “the rising
South”.
Given the differences
of outlook between the
North and the South, and
political and administrative
constraints that UN
organizations and staff
experience in their work
to advance the process of
South-South cooperation
and to assist the developing
countries in this domain, a
satisfactory outcome of the
three-day BAPA+40 North-
South encounter does not
seem likely from the point
of view of the Group of 77.
It would, thus, be propitious
for the Group to
begin considering a similar
approach to the one it
had adopted after the 1978
Buenos Aires TCDC Conference,
when it decided to
hold its own ECDC conference
in 1981 in Caracas.
In view of the existing
situation, possibly in the
final stage of the 2019 Buenos
Aires Conference, the
Group of 77 should highlight
the coming 40th anniversary
of the 1981 Caracas
Conference by announcing
the launching of its own
South-South follow-up, as
a sequel to BAPA+40.
In this way, G77 and
its member states would
commit themselves to
review and formally consider
the nature of South-
South cooperation and its
role in development and
in the evolving geopolitical
setting.
This would be a collective
undertaking, pursued
within one’s own circle
and policy space, with the
goal being to elaborate a
Global South’s policy and
action-oriented agenda
for South-South cooperation,
without the developed
countries present to
influence the parameters
of that cooperation.
While centred on SSC
actions and needs within
the Global South, the
proposed follow-up would
also need to address, as a
separate issue, the role of
the UN and UN system in
actively supporting South-
South cooperation, as an
important dimension of
international development
cooperation and, indeed,
of democratic global governance.
Two events already on
the agenda could contribute
to the follow-up process
in the initial stage.
The Group of 77 ministerial
conference, planned
to mark the 55th anniversary
of the Group’s establishment,
could consider
SSC issues and follow-up
to BAPA+40, including the
re-launching of some ideas
and projects agreed on in
the past but not implemented.
Also, as suggested by
the G77 Geneva Chapter in
its comment on the Zero
Draft, the next quadrennial
UNCTAD conference,
UNCTAD XV in 2020, will
be an opportunity to pave
the way for a far more
active policy and substantive
and action-oriented
role of the UN by entrusting
UNCTAD with some
key domains of SSC.
These include ECDC,
trade, finance, investment,
technology, services, and
regional and sub-regional
integration, in which it had
played an important and
pioneering role in the past.
UNCTAD XV would also
be an appropriate forum
where to consider the
larger institutional issue,
namely of a leading role
that UNCTAD, in partnership
with and the support
of the UN regional economic
commissions and
the South-South economic
groupings, could play in
spearheading and energizing
the role of the UN and
UN system in support of
SSC.W
hen considering a possible
G77 follow-up process
to BAPA+40 and how to
deal with shortcomings
and weaknesses that have
affected SSC and how to
reinvigorate it in the coming
period and beyond, the
issue that merits priority
attention is the need for
institutional self-empowerment
of the Global
South, which is seriously
handicapped by not having
its own global institution,
one similar to the North’s
OECD.
A strong organization
of the South is a sine qua
non of the necessary drive
and long-term institutional
leadership and focus
for the evolving process of
South-South cooperation.
This institutional deficiency
cannot be overcome
by relying solely on the UN,
especially in its present vulnerable
situation when it is
under the pressure of the
key developed countries.
Nor can one expect this
function to be undertaken
by individual developing
countries.
A collective self-organization
at the global level
is of utmost priority and
importance, including for
a common review of the
problems and challenges
faced, for distilling common
views and positions,
and for the participation of
all countries of the Global
South.
BAPA+40 and its followup
process in the fold of
the Group of 77 would provide
a political impulse to
inaugurating a vital action
for establishing an organization
that would serve as
the Global South’s own lead
mechanism in the promising
and all-important
domain of South-South, as
well as international and
multilateral cooperation,
an organization that would
work in parallel with, complement
and stimulate the
efforts of the UN family as
a whole.
A decision to establish
a major, significant global
organization of the Global
South for South-South
cooperation would represent
a landmark event on
the world scene.
In conclusion, it can be
argued that, despite problems
and political tensions
within the South, between
and within its countries,
often with the involvement
of actors from the North,
and also despite crises in
the global economy and
turbulences in the multilateral
system of international
cooperation, the
overall context today is
favourable for South-South
cooperation.
Continued from Page 10
On February 14, 2019,
history was made with the
signing into law by Governor
Andrew Cuomo of the
“Child Victim’s Act.” This
Act will ensure that those
who abuse children are held
accountable criminally and
civilly for their wrongdoing.
In addition, this new
statue creates a path to justice
for victims. The bill
extends the civil statute of
limitations to allow civil
actions to be brought until
a victim’s 55th birthday for
child sexual abuse which occurred
before age 18. A one
year window has been created
for adult survivors to
commence civil actions for
damages which under current
law are barred because
of the statute of limitations.
This one year window will
begin on August 14, 2019 so
victims up until their 55th
birthday can bring civil
lawsuits against individuals
or public and private
institutions from churches
to public school districts for
child sexual abuse that they
may have suffered many decades
ago.
The Legislature also removes
the current Notice
of Claim requirements for
public entities in cases involving
child sexual abuse
so a Notice of Intention to
make claim against municipalities
within 90 days is not
required in order to bring a
lawsuit.
Sexual abuse against a
child is a shameful unforgivable
act. It is a traumatizing
experience that can
take a lifetime to come to
terms with. While this new
law cannot erase what happened
to victims, it will give
victims an opportunity to
recover damages in a Court
of Law for what happened to
them.
While the one year window
to bring a legal action
will not begin August 14,
2019, victims should consult
an attorney as soon as possible
to begin the painful
and arduous task of their
gathering medical records
and other evidence of their
victimization.
Governor Cuomo and the
state Legislature are to be
commended for making the
“Child Victim’s Act” a reality.