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Group on Small States
Commonwealth Ministerial Group on Small States
Fifth Meeting
Coolum, Australia, 1 March 2002
Chairperson's Report to CHOGM
Introduction
1. The Commonwealth Ministerial Group on Small States (MGSS) held its
fifth meeting on 1 March 2002, in Coolum, Australia, on the eve of the
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). The meeting was chaired
by the Hon. Alexander Downer, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Australia.
Representatives from 38 member governments and observers from the World
Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Commission (EC),
the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Pacific Forum Secretariat attended
the meeting.
2. The meeting was opened by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Rt Hon
Don McKinnon. He welcomed the publication of the Commonwealth Secretariat/World
Bank Joint Task Force Report on Small States as a landmark step by the
international community in addressing the special needs of small states.
He noted that the Commonwealth had played a crucial role in promoting
the interests of small states and contributed to greater international
awareness of the particular vulnerabilities of these countries. He emphasized
the need to obtain broad support for further work in implementing the
recommendations of the Task Force and urged MGSS to clarify the most productive
areas in which further work could be undertaken by the Commonwealth and
other agencies. The Secretary-General affirmed that small states were
an integral part of the Commonwealth's diverse identity.
3. Following his election, the Chairperson said Australia had an enduring
interest in and concern for small states. This had been influenced in
part by Australia's proximity to a number of small states. He pointed
out that more than 30 per cent of Australia's aid programme was dedicated
to working with the Pacific's small states. This was in addition to the
support Australia had given to a number of Commonwealth activities which
addressed small states concerns. This included the proposing and continued
support for the Commonwealth Small States office at the UN in New York.
He urged the meeting to provide feedback on the progress of the recommendations
of the Joint Task Force report and to advise the Secretariat on the priorities
to be pursued under the New Agenda for Commonwealth Work on Small States.
Implementation of the recommendations of the Joint Task Force Report
4. In reviewing the implementation of the Recommendations of the Joint
Task Force Report, Ministers welcomed the presentations made by the partner
organisations (the Commonwealth Secretariat, World Bank, IMF, the EC Pacific
Forum Secretariat and Indian Ocean Commission) on the work that was being
undertaken in their respective organisations, in implementing its recommendations.
5. Ministers expressed broad support for the programme of work that had
been undertaken on behalf of small states. They called on the international
community to provide comprehensive support to assist small states integrate
into the global economy. They emphasised the need for follow-up work to
pay particular attention to the special needs of small states in meeting
the challenges and taking advantage of the opportunities presented by
globalisation. In this context, they identified trade, particularly representation
at the WTO, and graduation policies as areas that required particular
attention and welcomed the donor support for small states representation
at the WTO, particularly the A$250,000 pledged by the Australian Government.
A New Agenda for Commonwealth Work on Small States
6. The Group welcomed the proposals for future Commonwealth work on small
states' issues set out in a paper prepared with the help of the Advisory
Group on Advancing the Small States Agenda. They agreed that the Commonwealth
can be most effective by working in partnership with other relevant international
institutions, and requested that the Secretariat continues to do so. They
stressed the importance of co-ordination and co-operation among the various
agencies to avoid duplication.
7. Ministers identified the following priority issues for immediate Commonwealth
action over the months ahead.
- Assistance on trade issues. Following the agreement in Doha
on a new WTO work programme on small states issues, the Secretariat
should continue to work closely with Commonwealth members, the WTO and
with other donors to strengthen the level of WTO support for its small
state members, further strengthen small states' representation at the
WTO, and provide assistance to individual states and regional organisations
in building capacity to negotiate and implement WTO agreements.
- Promoting dialogue on the OECD Harmful Tax Practices Initiative.
The Secretariat should continue work under its mandate to promote dialogue
between the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
and non-OECD jurisdictions in this area, taking into account the OECD's
attempt to respond to earlier concerns. The Secretariat should support
the affected jurisdictions to mobilise assistance to meet international
standards, strengthen and deepen their financial sectors and diversify
their economies. The need to distinguish clearly between money laundering
and tax competition was highlighted.
- Action to help mitigate the impact on small states of the events
of September 11th and their aftermath, which are having a highly
damaging impact on the economies of many small developing states. It
will be particularly important for the Secretariat to work with partner
institutions like the World Bank to encourage them to recognise the
special impact on many small economies, and to provide relevant assistance.
The Secretariat should also be ready to provide assistance with implementing
stronger anti-terrorism measures such as those required under UN Resolution
1373, guided by decisions taken by Heads of Government on the Plan of
Action recommended by the Commonwealth Ministerial Committee on Terrorism
- World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) and UN Conference
on Financing for Development. The Secretariat should identify elements
of follow up to the conclusions of the forthcoming UN Conference on
Financing for Development that are most relevant to small states, and
seek to mobilise support for taking them forward. It was noted that
the Commonwealth stands to gain from a comprehensive and ambitious WSSD
summit agenda, one that strengthens the social, economic and environmental
pillars of sustainable development. Ministers looked for outcomes from
the WSSD dedicated to poverty eradication, health, regional initiatives
for small island developing states, and sectoral initiatives on oceans,
energy and fresh water.
8. Looking beyond these immediate issues, Ministers suggested that the
Secretariat's medium term programme of work on small states issues should
attach high priority to the following areas, taking into account the Secretariat's
comparative advantage, limited resources and the need to avoid duplication
of the extensive work of other organisations.
- Providing stronger advocacy. The Secretariat should continue
its efforts to use the results of its own and other relevant research
to demonstrate the special vulnerability of small states. In this respect,
it will be important to maintain pressure on other international institutions
to implement fully recommendations of the Commonwealth Secretariat/World
Bank Joint Task Force'
- Attracting private investment. The Secretariat should initiate
consultations with the relevant IFIs and donors to secure greater recognition
of the special difficulties faced by many small states in this respect,
and to encourage an atmosphere conducive to increasing private investment
in small and medium sized enterprises in developing small economies
- Addressing the impact of global initiatives, and assistance with
capacity building. Global initiatives and rules such as WTO rules
and procedures, the pressing issues covered by the UN Framework convention
on climate change, the new security measures required to comply with
UN Resolution 1373, and actions to counter money-laundering, international
tax crime, terrorist financing, drug trafficking and other transnational
crimes affect all countries, advanced as well as developing. But the
Secretariat should take action to draw attention to the particular implications
of some of these initiatives for the economies of many small states,
as well as to the special challenges they face in building capacity
to implement them.
9. Other areas mentioned by Ministers included:
- Disaster mitigation and insurance. New ideas for disaster mitigation
and insurance are being developed in the private sector, in the multilateral
institutions, such as the World Bank, and in some small states. The
Secretariat could develop a programme to help small states understand
these new ideas and take advantage of them.
- Promoting regional approaches. The Secretariat should explore
whether it can play a role in promoting regional approaches, for example
by helping small states and their regional organisations to compare
experiences and develop good practice.
Novotel Twin Waters Resort
Coolum
Australia
1 March 2002
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