Jakarta – In an address at the Istana Negara today, former UN Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan, will pay tribute to Indonesia’s economic and democratic progress and say the nation is well-placed to demonstrate the leadership urgently needed in today’s multipolar world.
In a world of bewildering change, Mr. Annan will say the international community has been left struggling to adapt. The challenges we face – from threats to our peace and security, to the changing economic order, and the fight against global poverty and climate change – require a new kind of national and international leadership. This leadership must “look beyond narrow national interests and recognize that durable solutions will only come through multilateral action based on shared values and agreed goals”.
Mr. Annan will say the decisive international response to the global economic crisis demonstrated a welcome and more inclusive approach to tackling the world’s problems – but we have to build on this first step and go further, stating: “The G20 cannot become yet another exclusive group. I hope that members such as Indonesia, feel a responsibility to use their voice to expand this arrangement and champion the interests of the least developed countries”.
During the address Mr. Annan will:
• Call on the global community to improve the quality of governance at the international and national levels to ensure the demands of citizens or countries for voice and fair representation are met. “At the national level, leaders must strive for good governance based on a democratic political system, respect for human rights and the rule of law. At the global level, governments should ask themselves whether the existing architecture of international institutions are up to tasks we’ve set them”, he will say.
• Warn that we cannot afford to forget the lessons from the success of global co-operation in tackling the global financial crisis, nor forget those who continue to suffer from its impact. He will state: “As well as collective action to prevent any repeat of this crisis, we also have to consider how we are going to step up protection for the most vulnerable on our planet”.
• Call on the global community to draw deeply upon common values to do more to tackle the inequalities in our world, and not allow them to widen further: “Worryingly we are seeing wealthier countries use the financial crisis to wriggle out of their development pledges [...] If the G20 is to maintain its legitimacy as the right forum to tackle global economic issues, it must act in the interests of all”, he will say.
• Call for urgent leadership to tackle the global all-encompassing threat of climate change, stating: “There may now be widespread consensus on the need for deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions but the Copenhagen Summit failed to deliver the necessary agreement. The process of picking up the pieces and rebuilding trust between developed and developing countries must begin in earnest now”.
Mr. Annan will conclude by saying the challenges of our time are many, complex and interconnected. We must get out of the old dated mindset that the national security and economic growth of one country need come at the expense of another. He will say:
“In the modern inter-connected world, power and prosperity are not a zero-sum game. We all live in the same boat, and nations need not fear the success of another. It is co-operation as ASEAN is showing, not competition, which will lead to sustainable progress and durable peace. It is putting our common values of fairness and humanity into action which will heal divisions, spread prosperity and bring stability”.
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