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It is satisfactory, however, that the no less important philosophy of Pythagoras and Empedocles, and the Plantonists, take the contrary view, and declare the soul to be immortal; affirming, moreover, in a way which most nearly approaches (to our own doctrine), that the soul actually returns into bodies, although not the same bodies, and not even those of human beings invariably: thus Euphorbus is supposed to have passed into Phythagoras, and Homer into a peacock. They firmly pronounced the soul's renewal to be in a body, (deeming it) more tolerable to change the quality (of the corporeal state) than to deny it wholly: they at least knocked at the door of truth, although they entered not. Thus the world, with all its errors, does not ignore the resurrection of the dead. (Tertulian, On the Resurrection of the Flesh).
Humans constantly prove the value of Fidel Castro+s insight that ideas cannot be killed. They live on, whether in the flesh, or in the flesh or another, or through some other mechanism that perpetuates the conceptual in the flesh of something else. So it is with the now ancient New International Economic Order--a concept that once played significantly in the devolution of the post-colonial, anti-imperialist, and European Marxist-Leninist camp, but that after the mid-1970s, appeared to drown in its own contradictions, and the contradictory agendas of all of its adherents in a world about to go mad about markets and development.
Resurrection in part propels notions about the importance of a body postmortem. It also suggests, in some cultures, particularly those from Africa transformed through the horrors of the experience of slavery, that the care of the body is not merely one of preservation but also of control and animation during the time that the spirit and body are apart or before the spirit is able to depart to one+s ancestors.
African scholars who deign to seriously discuss such topic as the zombie, say the word comes from the Kongo word for "soul", nzambi. When slaves were brought to Haiti and the Vodou religion grew amidst old African traditions and the harsh conditions of slavery, the idea of the zonbi was born. It is estimated that 80-90% of Haitians "serve the spirits" or practice Vodou. In Vodou, all people die in two ways--naturally (sickness, gods' will) and unnaturally (murder, before their time); those who die unnaturally linger at their grave, unable to rejoin ancestors until the gods approve. Souls are vulnerable at this time: their will may be snatched up by a powerful sorcerer (boko) and locked in a bottle which the boko uses to control their un-dead but un-living body. Other times he lets their body rest but uses just the soul. (Haiti & the Truth About Zombies)
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These are the principal thoughts that come to mind as a read through the re-animated New International Economic Order--"Towards a New International Economic Order" UNGA A/RES/79/215 (23 December 2024). One might be excused for wondering whether this effort at re-animation is Tertulian or more likely the manifestation of boko magic on the body of an old idea, the spirit of which has departed from its body. a body of text re-animated by powerful contemporary boko long after its spirit has departed and is seeking to go join its ancestors. But it cannot--for the contemporary sorcerers within the community of nations have managed to capture the soul of the dead New International Economic Order, and seek to use it to re-animate its ancient flesh(text) in the service of the sorcerer's interest. In the process the soul of the boko drives the flesh of the text of the body (NIEC) which now appears to be itself but is actually another. The essence of deceit and of usurpation runs deep; deeper still the effort to appear to embody the spirit and flesh of a time now long gone and withered.
The text of the UNGP Resolution on the New International economic Order follows below. The untangling of the treads of the old body from the agency of its re-animators I leave for personal reflection. What is unavoidable is the sense that this old corpse was resurrected as a means of providing a body that once moved the Global South (before there was a Global South and its discourse) as an instrument for the achievement of the aims of the boko who now control that re-animation. A body, then, appeared to be needed to give more coherence to the assemblage of actions, hopes, dreams, narratives, directives, and actions undertaken over the course of this century but which lacked a body through which it could be rationalized and made manifested, in the flesh.
¶2 Notes that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development and the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change carry forward many of the ideas and recommendations of the Declaration on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order and the Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order;
The effort is not unique and follows a pattern of resurrection after a long period of diminution toward irrelevance, except in the propaganda offices of certain states and within the normative aspirations of certain elements of civil societyt. I have suggested, for example, the way that those who have been driving the forms and norms of the current effort to draft a legally binding international instrument for business and human rights have also sought to animate their text with the spirit of the NIEC (see here). Still, here on witnesses an effort at a more comprehensive resurrection into the body of the aspirations of a certain group of boko in the post-global. That alone is worth a careful study.
Seventy-ninth session
Agenda item 20
Globalization and interdependence
79/215. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly
on 19 December 2024
[on the report of the Second Committee (A/79/439, para. 11)]
Towards a New International Economic Order
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolutions 55/186 of 20 December 2000 and 56/181 of 21 December
2001, entitled “Towards a strengthened and stable international financial architecture
responsive to the priorities of growth and development, especially in developing
countries, and to the promotion of economic and social equity”, as well as its resolutions
57/241 of 20 December 2002, 58/202 of 23 December 2003, 59/222 of 22 December
2004, 60/186 of 22 December 2005, 61/187 of 20 December 2006, 62/185 of
19 December 2007, 63/205 of 19 December 2008, 64/190 of 21 December 2009, 65/143
of 20 December 2010, 66/187 of 22 December 2011, 67/197 of 21 December 2012,
68/201 of 20 December 2013, 69/206 of 19 December 2014, 70/188 of 22 December
2015, 71/215 of 21 December 2016, 72/203 of 20 December 2017, 73/220 of
20 December 2018, 74/202 of 19 December 2019, 75/204 of 21 December 2020, 76/192
of 17 December 2021, 77/152 of 14 December 2022 and 78/136 of 19 December 2023,
Bearing in mind the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations
to promote the economic advancement and social progress of all peoples,
Recalling, especially in the year of their fiftieth anniversary, the principles of
the Declaration on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order and the
Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order,
as set out in resolutions 3201 (S-VI) and 3202 (S-VI), respectively, adopted by the
General Assembly at its sixth special session, on 1 May 1974,
Recalling also its resolutions 63/224 of 19 December 2008, 64/209 of
21 December 2009, 65/167 of 20 December 2010, 67/217 of 21 December 2012,
69/227 of 19 December 2014, 71/236 of 21 December 2016, 73/240 of 20 December
2018, 75/225 of 21 December 2020 and 77/174 of 14 December 2022,
24-24341 (E)A/RES/79/215 Towards a New International Economic Order
Reaffirming the United Nations Millennium Declaration,1
Recalling the high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly on the
Millennium Development Goals and its outcome document,2
Recalling also the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development, entitled “The future we want”,3
Reaffirming its resolution 70/1 of 25 September 2015, entitled “Transforming
our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, in which it adopted a
comprehensive, far-reaching and people-centred set of universal and transformative
Sustainable Development Goals and targets, its commitment to working tirelessly for
the full implementation of the Agenda by 2030, its recognition that eradicating poverty
in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global
challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development, its
commitment to achieving sustainable development in its three dimensions – economic,
social and environmental – in a balanced and integrated manner, and to building upon
the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals and seeking to address their
unfinished business,
Reaffirming also its resolution 69/313 of 27 July 2015 on the Addis Ababa
Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development,
which is an integral part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, supports
and complements it, helps to contextualize its means of implementation targets with
concrete policies and actions, and reaffirms the strong political commitment to
address the challenge of financing and creating an enabling environment at all levels
for sustainable development in the spirit of global partnership and solidarity,
Recalling the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits
in the economic, social and related fields, including the development goals and
objectives contained therein, and recognizing the vital role played by those
conferences and summits in shaping a broad development vision and in identifying
commonly agreed objectives,
Stressing the need to fulfil all financing for development commitments,
including those contained in the Monterrey Consensus of the International
Conference on Financing for Development,4 the Doha Declaration on Financing for
Development: outcome document of the Follow-up International Conference on
Financing for Development to Review the Implementation of the Monterrey
Consensus,5 the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and other relevant outcomes of major
United Nations conferences and summits,
Noting that there have been systemic challenges to the global economic
architecture, demanding a review of global economic governance, calling for the
reform of the international financial system and the relevant institutions and the
broadening and strengthening of the voice and participation of developing countries
in international economic decision-making and norm-setting and in global economic
governance, in order to address the unique needs and capacities of developing
countries when designing macroeconomic policies, recognizing that it is important
that the International Monetary Fund continue to be adequately resourced, and
__________________
1 Resolution 55/2.
2 Resolution 65/1.
3 Resolution 66/288, annex.
4 Report of the International Conference on Financing for Development, Monterrey, Mexico,
18−22 March 2002 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.02.II.A.7), chap. I, resolution 1,
annex.
5 Resolution 63/239, annex.
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24-24341Towards a New International Economic Order A/RES/79/215
supporting and reiterating its commitment to further governance reform at both the
Fund and the World Bank to adapt to changes in the global economy,
Noting with great concern the severe negative impact on human health, safety
and well-being caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as
the severe disruption to societies and economies and the devastating impact on lives
and livelihoods, and that the poorest and most vulnerable are the hardest hit by the
pandemic, reaffirming the ambition to get back on track to achieve the Sustainable
Development Goals by designing and implementing sustainable and inclusive
recovery strategies to accelerate progress towards the full implementation of the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development and to help to reduce the risk of and build
resilience to future shocks, crises and pandemics, including by strengthening health
systems and achieving universal health coverage, and recognizing that equitable and
timely access for all to safe, quality, effective and affordable COVID-19 vaccines,
therapeutics and diagnostics are an essential part of a global response based on unity,
solidarity, renewed multilateral cooperation and the principle of leaving no one
behind,
Recognizing that achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is intrinsically
linked to the successful implementation of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda,
emphasizing that additional and timely financing is essential to reach the Goals by
2030, and in this regard stressing the urgent need for the adequate mobilization of
resources,
Noting with concern that the total external debt of developing countries reached
a record level of 11.4 trillion United States dollars in 2023, an increase of 3.4 per
cent, and deeply concerned that 3.3 billion people live in developing countries that
spend more on interest payments than on either education or health, limiting further
countries’ abilities to invest in sustainable development and the implementation of
the 2030 Agenda,
Concerned that more countries have been paying International Monetary Fund
surcharges, which add extra costs for precisely those countries that face the most
severe balance of payment challenges,
Recognizing the need to help developing countries to bridge financing gaps,
including when it comes to disparities in financial costs and in access to technologies
to fully achieve a digital transition, stressing that the financing needs of developing
countries remain very high, and calling for the reform of the international financial
architecture,
Concerned about the multiple interrelated and mutually exacerbating current
global crises, in particular the world financial and economic crisis, volatile energy
and commodity prices, the food crisis and the challenges posed by climate change,
which have a negative impact on the development prospects of developing countries
and threaten to further widen the gap between developed and developing countries,
including the technological and income gap, and which could further undermine the
achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the
Sustainable Development Goals,
Concerned also, in this regard, that the proportion of workers living in extreme
poverty, including workers in the informal economy, continues to increase, as does
the proportion of the population living on less than 1.90 dollars a day, and that
progress towards ending extreme poverty has been reversed by three to four years at
the global level,
Concerned further about recent economic developments in the context of the
continued challenges to achieving sustained economic growth, in which persistently
high levels of inequality pose a challenge to robust growth and sustainable
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3/7A/RES/79/215 Towards a New International Economic Order
development, declining private investment in infrastructure highlights the obstacles
to bridging the infrastructure financing gap and advancing the long-term financing of
sustainable development, emerging debt challenges and vulnerabilities have
intensified across developing countries, global exchange rate volatility has intensified
and global inflationary trends have diverged, and that the weak prospects for the
global economy put at risk vital public investment in education, health and action on
climate change, as well as progress in poverty eradication, especially in developing
countries,
Concerned that billions of the world’s citizens continue to live in poverty and
are denied a life of dignity and that there are rising inequalities within and among
countries and enormous disparities of opportunity, wealth and power,
Stressing the lack of strong coordinated international response in dealing with
the challenges referred to above, illustrating that the calls made in the Declaration
and the Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic
Order are still highly relevant,
Underlining the need for a more sustainable economic growth and recovery, and
recognizing that this goal can be achieved through inclusive multilateralism and the
equal participation of all countries, as envisioned, inter alia, in the Declaration and
the Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic
Order,
Recognizing that innovative and enhanced approaches to financing for
development are needed to address the challenges posed by the current global
economic situation, poverty and the achievement of the internationally agreed
development goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals, and stressing that
these approaches should neither be a substitute for nor negatively affect the level of
traditional sources of development financing, including official development
assistance and concessional finance, and that they need to be developed in a spirit of
partnership, cooperation and solidarity, bearing in mind the common interests and
national priorities of each country,
Noting with regret that, 50 years later, many relevant aspects of the Programme
of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order have not been
implemented and that, consequently, many developing countries continue to face
significant challenges to their development prospects, including vulnerability to
external shocks and lack of adequate representation in global economic governance,
Recognizing the role played by regional, subregional and interregional
cooperation as well as regional economic integration, based on equality of
partnership, in strengthening international cooperation with the objective of
facilitating economic coordination and cooperation for development, the achievement
of development goals and the sharing of best practices and knowledge,
Recognizing also that widespread financial deregulation has contributed to
larger net capital outflows from developing countries to developed countries,
Noting with deep concern the impact of illicit financial flows on the economic,
social and political stability and development of developing countries, resulting in
the urgent need to adopt measures to combat them, which could enhance fiscal space
for Governments to finance the achievement of the 2030 Agenda,
Stressing the need for policy space to allow for the formulation of national
development strategies by developing countries, aimed at bringing prosperity for all,
Concerned with the increasing protectionist measures and adoption of inward-
looking policies that undermine the multilateral trading system and increase the
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vulnerabilities of developing countries, and emphasizing the importance of promoting
an open world economy and generating greater positive effects of globalization,
Emphasizing that multilateralism, including a universal, rules-based, open,
transparent, predictable, inclusive, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral
trading system, is the most appropriate platform of international cooperation for
addressing the challenges facing humanity,
Concerned about the financial risks associated with ongoing monetary policy
adjustments in developed countries, which could induce instability in the international
monetary system, leading to exchange rate depreciation and unsustainable levels of
external debt in many developing and emerging economies,
1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General;6
2. Notes that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,7 the Addis Ababa
Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development 8
and the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change 9 carry forward many of the ideas and recommendations of the
Declaration on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order10 and the
Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order; 11
3. Reaffirms the need to continue working towards a new international
economic order based on the principles of equity, sovereign equality,
interdependence, common interest, cooperation and solidarity among all States;
4. Reiterates that States are strongly urged to refrain from promulgating and
applying any unilateral economic, financial or trade measures not in accordance with
international law and the Charter of the United Nations that impede the full
achievement of economic and social development, particularly in developing
countries;
5. Reaffirms that national development efforts need to be supported by an
enabling international economic environment, including coherent and mutually
supporting world trade, monetary and financial systems and strengthened and
enhanced global economic governance, as well as by respect for each country’s policy
space;
6. Welcomes the Secretary-General’s call for a new Bretton Woods moment
to place the dramatic needs of developing countries at the centre of every decision
and mechanism of the global financial system;
7. Reaffirms the need to step up coordination of macroeconomic policies
among countries to avoid negative spillover effects, especially in developing countries;
8. Calls for the fulfilment of the commitment to pursue policy coherence and
an enabling environment for sustainable development at all levels and by all actors
and to reinvigorate the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development;
9. Reaffirms the recommitment to broadening and strengthening the voice and
participation of developing countries, including African countries, the least developed
countries, landlocked developing countries, small island developing States and middle-
income countries, as well as countries and peoples under foreign occupation, in
international economic decision-making, norm-setting and global economic governance,
__________________
6 A/79/320.
7 Resolution 70/1.
8 Resolution 69/313, annex.
9 See FCCC/CP/2015/10/Add.1, decision 1/CP.21, annex.
10 Resolution 3201 (S-VI).
11 Resolution 3202 (S-VI).
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5/7A/RES/79/215 Towards a New International Economic Order
including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, to deliver more
equitable, effective, credible, accountable and legitimate institutions that are more
responsive to the needs and concerns of developing countries;
10. Also reaffirms the necessity to respect the territorial integrity, national
sovereignty and political independence of States;
11. Calls upon States to strengthen cooperation, including through relevant
organizations of the United Nations system and other relevant regional or
international forums, to combat illicit financial flows in all their forms;
12. Reaffirms that international trade is an engine for development and
sustained economic growth, as well as the eradication of poverty in all its forms and
dimensions, and also reaffirms the critical role that a universal, rules-based, open,
non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system can play in stimulating
economic growth and development worldwide, thereby benefiting all countries at all
stages of development;
13. Expresses concern over the increasing debt vulnerabilities of developing
countries, the net negative capital flows from developing countries, the fluctuation of
exchange and interest rates and the tightening of global financial conditions, and in
this regard stresses the need to explore the means and instruments needed to achieve
debt sustainability and the measures necessary to reduce the indebtedness of
developing countries;
14. Stresses that urgent reforms are needed in the global international financial
system to address the challenges of deteriorating public finances, fiscal constraints,
debt, monetary and financial stability risks and the dearth of productive and
sustainable investment, and in this regard welcomes the convening, in 2025, of the
Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, in the context of the
urgent need to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the achievement
of the Sustainable Development Goals and to support reform of the international
financial architecture;
15. Decides to continue to advance with urgency towards a Sustainable
Development Goal stimulus through the Secretary-General’s proposal at the United
Nations and in other relevant forums, and reiterates his calls for action for a new
allocation of special drawing rights, which should be handled according to developing
countries’ needs, taking into account that special drawing rights play an important
role in enabling developing countries to invest in recovery and the Goals, on the need
for an increase in concessional funding from multilateral development banks and to
reform the global financial system, which must include lending criteria that go beyond
gross domestic product and provide a true view of the vulnerabilities faced by
developing countries;
16. Expresses concern that the global trade financing gap has increased
sharply in recent years, estimated at 2.5 trillion dollars annually, and encourages
multilateral development banks and development finance institutions to scale up
ongoing efforts to support trade finance and seek opportunities in digital trade finance
to help to narrow the trade finance gap;
17. Calls upon Member States and international financial institutions to
provide more liquidity and long-term finance for development, especially in all
developing countries, in order to enable them to achieve sustainable development,
emphasizes the need to strengthen development cooperation and to increase the
volume of and access to concessional finance and grants, and calls upon developed
countries that have not done so to fulfil their respective official development
assistance commitments, particularly to least developed countries;
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18. Reiterates the significance of addressing the constraints on technology
transfer to developing countries, including the transfer of sound technology from
developed countries to developing countries on favourable terms, including on
concessional and preferential terms;
19. Reaffirms the full permanent sovereignty of every State over its natural
resources and all economic activities, and calls for enhanced international cooperation
to develop mineral value chains, among other natural resources, for economic
diversification, value addition at source, industrialization and sustainable development;
20. Decides to continue considering the international economic situation and
its impact on development at its eighty-first session, and in that regard requests the
Secretary-General to include in his report to the General Assembly, under the item
entitled “Globalization and interdependence”, an updated overview of the major
international economic and policy challenges for equitable and inclusive sustained
economic growth and sustainable development and of the role of the United Nations
in addressing those issues, as well as possible ways and means to overcome those
challenges, bearing in mind the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences
and summits in the economic, social and related fields and the principles contained
therein, and the 2030 Agenda, in the light of the relevant principles contained in the
Declaration and the Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International
Economic Order.
54th plenary meeting
19 December 2024
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