TALE UNAM: Perspectives for global cooperation in the 21st century. Distinguished Dean, professors, students, ladies and gentlemen. Buenas tardes. It is a true pleasure for me to be here today at the prestigious National Autonomous University of Mexico. And I am very happy to have the opportunity to address you on a matter which I believe is important to all of us: Perspectives for global cooperation in the twenty-first century. It is easy to get the impression that development is going in the wrong direction. We constantly hear about conflicts, wars, terrorist attacks, violence and lawlessness around the world. Is the world becoming a more dangerous, violent and repressive place? My answer is no! In many ways the world has become a much better place during the last 50 years. We have more freedom, more democracy and less violence than at any other time of history. Great steps have been taken in the global fight against poverty and in the efforts to improve 1
health, education and equality. Great steps have been taken to strengthen the respect for human rights. One of the most important reasons for this progress has been a close and determined cooperation through international organisations such as the United Nations and through regional organisations such as the EU and the Organisation of American States. Firstly, I would like to emphasize the progress in freedom and democracy. Since the 1970-ies the number of countries which are democratic, pluralistic, have a free press and respect human rights have doubled. Many are to be found in Latin America, but also in Europe and most lately in the Arab world new democracies have been born. The lesson we have learned is that the road to freedom and democracy is never easy. However, the good news are that history tells us that once democracy takes roots, it almost never reverses back to dictatorship. Moreover, democracy reduces the inclination to go to war. It is extremely rare that two countries which are true democracies start a war against each other. It can be argued that it has actually never happened. 2
We must ensure that a democracy is not just about election day. Ordinary citizens should be able to trust the politicians they elect; in their civil servants and in the media. Democracy is not an end or a finished product. It is not something that countries are. It is something that countries do. It is a living thing. The international community is there to safeguard and support democracies whenever needed all over the world. Secondly, I would like to emphasize the impressive social and economic development which has taken place globally during the last decades. The United Nations has been instrumental in this development. The 8 Millennium Development Goals established in 2000 provided us with a clear roadmap and common goals. Undoubtedly, we have made significant progress on reaching many of these goals. Poverty has declined globally. That happened faster than expected and some of the goals for 2015 were already met in 2010. There are 620 million fewer extremely poor people in the world today than in 1990. 3
Today only 19 per cent of the world population live in extreme poverty. Still, we can all agree that this is 19 per cent too many. Thirdly, people live longer. In 1960 the life expectancy of the global population was 53 years of age. In 2010 it was almost 70 years. More children survive. At the end of the 1970-ies 140 out of 1000 children died before they were 5 years old. In 2011, the number was 51 children out of 1000. A last example I want to mention is that more children go to school. 40 years ago about 70 per cent of all children in the world went to school. Today the figure is 90 per cent. Let me dwell for a minute on the question of education. I truly believe that education is a key to progress and development. When fighting poverty, reducing child mortality and increasing life expectancy. When promoting equality between rich and poor, men and women. When promoting peace, democracy and understanding amongst peoples. Education is the river that feeds change. 4
Globally, we have already come a long way in fulfilling the second Millennium Development Goal. Today, 50 million more children are in school compared to a decade ago. Unfortunately, more than 60 million children are still not in school. We need to act on that. The positive global developments we have experienced did not just happen. They are the result of close international cooperation and they are based on 50 years of immense efforts and hard work. They happened at a time of historic strengthening of international cooperation. Multilateral cooperation is a cornerstone of Danish development policy. It is absolutely essential for the identification and implementation of global solutions to problems without passports - to use the words of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Such as climate change, persistent poverty and international terrorism. Multilateral organisations have significant roles to play in promoting economic and social development, human rights, and peace and security, not least in fragile states. Through their universal membership and 5
mandates, these organisations have high legitimacy. They are in a position to assist countries in taking ownership for their own development and adhering to global norms and values. It is a political priority for Denmark to strengthen the engagement with the multilateral organisations, and over the coming years to channel more development funds through the multilateral system. In order to implement the Strategy for Danish Development Cooperation (The Right to a Better Life) we will pursue a policy of New Multilateralism. The objective of New Multilateralism is two-fold: 1) To strengthen the multilateral system and its ability to effectively deliver development results and address complex global challenges, and 2) To promote specific Danish policy priorities. The world has changed since the United Nations was established in 1945. Today, global power is dispersed and new alliances are being created in reply to the issues that need to be addressed. This is a challenge to the role of the United Nations. 6
The fact that global power has been dispersed also opens new opportunities for the UN. Regional organisations such as The Arab League and the Organisation of African States are ready to take responsibility and play a role within regional conflict solution. Experiences are good so far in Somalia and West Africa. It is important that the UN acknowledges this and reaches out to collaborate. Denmark believes in the necessity of a United Nations that has the means and the political strength to efficiently solve global problems, regional conflicts and emergency situations. A challenge for the UN is the distrust of some new global players who associate the organisation with past times, when Western countries were still the dominant powers. Therefore, we believe in a reform of the UN which must assure that the balance of power in the Security Council reflects the world of today. It is important to us that rule-based international organisations continue to have the capacity to act. 7
We need to strengthen the United Nations and its capacity to act in areas such as preventive diplomacy and peace operations. Reconstruction in former conflict areas, establishment of norms for international law, human rights and climate change are fields which are equally important. Denmark will therefore continue to support reforms and strive to ensure maximum predictability and flexibility in funds. The terrible experience of the Second World War was instrumental in establishing a strong United Nations. This experience was also crucial in the birth of the European Union. For a small country like Denmark, the cooperation within the European Union is very important. The European Union has shown itself capable of taking important decisions on economic cooperation and has strengthened the Economic Monetary Union in spite of many challenges and a severe economic crisis. Focus is now on implementation, fiscal consolidation and structural reforms to ensure growth and employment. 8
I believe that in the twenty-first century we will see closer collaboration between regional players. An example of this is the development of closer ties between the European Union and Latin America during the past decade. The EU-CELAC meeting in January in Santiago confirmed and strengthened our relationship. Denmark would very much like to see this partnership grow in substance and importance. Our regions share many values and visions. We are likeminded partners in the promotion of human rights and democracy all over the world. And we are natural partners in promoting green economy both on our own continents and globally. In the area of climate change the United Nations has of course played a crucial role. Climate change is a serious threat to our efforts to curb poverty. Mexico and Denmark has an excellent and longstanding cooperation on environmental issues. Our collaboration on climate change, COP15 in Denmark and COP16 in Mexico are examples of how we have influenced the global agenda together. 9
Mexico, South Korea and Denmark are among the founding fathers in initiating the Global Green Growth Forum (called 3GF among friends). Since the establishment in 2011, three additional partner countries have joined: China, Kenya and Qatar. The Global Green Growth Forum is a great example of international collaboration which unites many different stakeholders from government, international organisations, the business world and civil society. The annual forum takes place in our capital Copenhagen and we look very much forward to hosting the forum again in October. The heart of 3GF is to develop public-private partnerships to promote the transition to green growth at the global level. 3GF is an important platform for international collaboration, not only between governments but also between a number of other stakeholders in this field. 3GF is a platform which provides access to the latest thinking and knowledge. It gives access to innovations on green growth, both in terms of technology and strategic approaches. It opens up access to new markets 10
and potential new partners. Experiences are shared and developed in order to find practical and tangible solutions. The influence of Latin America is increasing in 3GF. We are delighted that the Inter-American Development Bank has now also become a partner. The bank will organise a regional 3GF meeting in June in Colombia where focus will be on renewable energy in the LAC-region. Green growth is a key policy priority of the Danish Government. Denmark highly appreciates our partnership with Mexico on 3GF and the valuable support from Mexico from the very beginning. Now the global community is looking beyond the UN Millennium Development Goals into a Post-2015 world. We cannot just lean back and be satisfied with ourselves and our successes. There is still a long way to go to make the world a better place. Our fight for global security, democracy, development and justice and for many other problems without passports - must continue in the 21 st century 11
with no loss of momentum and involvement. Only by close international collaboration we will be able to face the challenges of the new millennium. Thank you for your attention! -------- 12
[Forslag til spørgsmål som oplæg til den efterfølgende drøftelse:] What do you see as the major global challenges in the world? And how should we deal with these? I would also be very interested in learning about your views on the relationship between Mexico and the EU, and Mexico and the US? How do you see the role of international and regional organisations in the future? 13