INTERNATIONAL

Equality Revolutionizes Political Life

-Annik BIANCHINI, France

From the next municipal elections in March 2001, there will be an equal number of men and women. This is provided for in a bill adopted by the French Cabuine. However, not everyone is in favor of equality by law. Part of the intelligentsia it and present its own view of sexual equality.

Everybody agrees, today, on the need not to exclude women from the political scent. Over the last few years, opinion polls have indicated that a growing desire of the French is to see their political establishment lift the ban on women in national representation. Thus, on 8th December last, the cabinet adopted the bill on equality to ensure that women and men had equal access to electoral mandates and to elective positions. For the French president and for the Prime Minister, this reform is a key element in the <<modernization of political life>>.

Women ministers acclaimed the bill as a victory and it was described as <<historic>> by the Minister of Justice, Elisabeth Guiogou. Yet the recommendation in the text are far from being unanimously approved by those who usually take up the female cause, especially among the intellectuals. There is disagreement between <<differencialists>> and <<universialities>>.

For the principal but against the means

Sylviane Agacinski, a philosopher and feminist, who is also the wife of the Prime Minister, Francoise Gaspard, sociologists, and Blndine Kriegel, a philosopher, are adamantly in favor of changing the institution. They maintain that the difference between the sexes is essential and cannot be compared with any other. It affects al beings, whatever their social standing, their age, their political leaning or their religion. So it is not by feigning to ignore this difference that it will be possible to substitute a model of egalitarian society for the male monopolies descending from a long line of history. The political effacement of women in France does not, according to the philosopher, come from the fact that they do not vote or they fail to be elected, but <<from the fact that they have the greatest difficulty to be chosen as candidates by their parties>>. Some only a law could force attitudes to change. It would be, they maintain, a contract of circumstances which would be cancelled as soon as mores have changed.

In the opposite camp, it is on the means chosen and not on the principles of equality in itself that opinions differ,. Some feminists, for instance, reject the notion of parity because it would turn women into a projected species. The philosopher Elisabeth Badinter considers that egalitarianism by a law presents two risks. Firstly it calls into question the idea of republican universalism. No one denies that the difference between men and women is essential, but it s not ontological. The biological difference is not frontier. It does not modify that way of reasoning, nor the conception of rights and duties. The subject stops being sexual when the matter at hand concerns the citizen. Hence, in the 18thcentury, the Declaration of Human Rights, one of the great conquest of freedom, was created in the vein. Moreover, making a naturals difference into justification for equality between two sexes would pave the way for all the aspirations of fundamentalists or totalitarians, using the fact that they are under-represented in the universal Republic as an argument.

As many men as women, or a difference of just one person

The text comprises two main measures. The first makes it compulsory to have an equal number of men and women candidates for all kinds of elections where voting is for a list. In European, regional, municipal ( in towns of more than 2,000 inhabitants) and senatorial elections ( in departments which today elect five senators or more, and, soon, three senators or more), the lists have to have as many men as women, or a difference of just one person.

The second measures provide for financially penalizing political parties presenting more than women in legislative elections. Public aid to the party will; be reduced as soon as the party presents 52% of men. The grant will be decreased in proportion to the difference, with a 1% cut for 2% of difference, 5% for 10% of difference and so on up to a 50% cut in grants for the parties only presenting men. It is enough to make one think.

The government bill, which passed a first reading by the National Assembly on 25th January, is partly inspired by a report presented at the beginning of September by the Member of Parliament. Dominque Gillot who has, in the mean time, become Secretary of State for Health. The report proposes a threshold of 40% of women on the list for the municipal elections of 2001 and then 50% in 2007. The Prime Minster, Lionel Jospin has gone even further, >> For me, equality means 50-50>>, he said at the parliamentary days in Strasbourg. However the bill doesn't satisfy the keenest advocates of promoting women in politics. It makes no mention of the order of presenting candidates, which could leave scope for relegating women to the end of the list, in non-eligible positions. So the head of the state, Jacques Chirac, has expressed the wish, at the Cabinet meeting, << that their should be a significant number of women in an eligible position in forth coming elections and, first of all, in the municipal elections>>. In the future, there may be as many women as men in the political establishment, but perhaps not so long as the responsibility for the home and the children still lies on their shoulders. On the score of the under-representation of women in politics, free tinge is a problem that should clearly also be dealt with. It is true, however, those solutions are not easy.   

Regional Economic Cooperation: initiatives within SAARC -2

AMIT DASGUPTA, Director, SAARC Secretariat, Kathmandu

The Tenth Summit (Colombo 1998) decided that to accelerate progress in the next round of SAPTA negotiations, deeper tariff concessions should be extended to products which are being actively traded, or are likely to be traded, among Members; that discriminatory practices and non-tariff barriers should be simultaneously removed on items in respect of which tariff concessions are granted or have been granted earlier. Measures to remove structural impediments should also be taken in order to move speedily towards the goal of SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Area). The Summit also directed that the domestic content requirements under SAPTA Rules of Origin be reduced. The Summit affirmed that benefits of the process be equitably shared by all Member States.

One of the core principles of the SAPTA Agreement is that there should be special treatment for Least Developed Countries through the consideration of additional measures. It was accordingly decided (in 1999) to reduce the domestic content requirement further under the SAPTA Rules of Origin to enable the smaller and Least Developed Countries to benefit equitably from economic liberalization. This reduction would apply to all products covered so far in the trade negotiations.

Recognizing the need  to address complex asymmetries in development that may stand in the way of such a tight schedule, the Colombo Summit directed that at the least, the text of the regulatory framework for creating a free trade area in the Region should be finalized by 2001. In this connection a Committee of Experts has been constituted to draft a comprehensive treaty which has, following its first meeting in Kathmandu worked out its broad terms of reference. Eventually, the treaty would incorporate inter alia, binding time frames for freeing trade, measures to facilitate trade, protection of LDCs including mechanisms for compensation of revenue loss, etc. With the setting up of the Committee of Experts, the IGEG was wound up.

The Region has also initiated action on a series of practical measures to facilitate the process of economic integration. A Group on Customs Cooperation was set up in 1996 and so far, has held three meetings, the most recent one in August 1998. It was inter alia decided to harmonize HS lines and customs rules and regulations; simplify procedures for intra-regional exports; upgrade infrastructural facilities and provide training facilities. A Customs Action Plan was drawn up in Islamabad (April 1997) and agreed to by all Member States.

The need to improve the transport infrastructure and transit facilities in the region was recognized and the 11th Session of the SAARC Council of Ministers (Colombo, 8-9 July 1992) directed the CEC to take appropriate steps in this regard. Accordingly a study was commissioned to assess the existing transport infrastructure and transit facilities including procedural and documental issues in the region in relation to volume and composition of the existing trade in the region and to make recommendations for their improvements with a view to enhancing trade within and outside the SAARC region. The study was completed in 1994 and has made far reaching recommendations.

It is relevant to mention at this stage that the Technical Committee on Transport was established in 1983, covering three major segments of transport i.e. land transport, divided into railways and roadways; sea transport sub-divided into inland waterways and shipping and air transport. So far seventeen meetings of this Committee have been organized.

A draft Regional Investment Agreement is under consideration of the Member States and is meant to create conditions favourable for promoting and protecting investments in  Member States by investors from other Member States of the region. The objective is to finalize the Regional Investment (Promotion and Protection) Agreement prior to the commencement of the implementation of SAFTA.

Linked to the Regional Investment Agreement is the setting up of a SAARC Arbitration Council for which proposals are under examination by Member States. Discussions have also commenced on harmonizing tax laws within the region to assess the possibility of having a Regional Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation.

Recognizing the importance of standards and measurement, standards, testing and certification bodies of the Member States met in New Delhi (June 1999) to identify how national standards may be harmonized and Regional Standards agreed upon.  Key elements of a Regional Action Plan on Standards, Quality Control and Measurement were also agreed upon.

In the area of trade and tariff which are critical to the Member States individually and to the region as a whole, particularly those relating to multilateral negotiations in WTO, WCO, WIPO etc., regular consultations are held not only at the headquarters of such international organizations, such as Geneva, but also in the Member States themselves, so as to effectively coordinate, project and protect their collective interests. This process of consultations has been intensified so that wherever possible, a regional position may be taken which is compatible with the overall principles of SAARC,  and which reflects the needs and requirements of the LDCs in the region through the provision of special and more favourable concessions.

In this regard, SAARC Commerce Ministers issued a Declaration on the eve of the Second WTO Ministerial Conference (Geneva 1998). Consultations were also held with regard to the Seattle WTO Ministerial Conference and the SAARC Commerce Ministers have already issued a preliminary Joint Statement on the issues likely to be considered at that Meeting.  Positions were also coordinated for the Seattle Meeting.

The important role played by the Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the Region has been given special emphasis. The SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry was set up in 1992 (as the first recognized regional Apex Body). SCCI brings together under one umbrella the national chambers of commerce and industry of the Member States and is actively engaged in the promotion of trade and the interaction of the business community within the SAARC region. SCCI has been actively engaged not only in increasing public awareness through workshops and studies they have been commissioning, including the publication of books and other material, but also through the interactive sessions between Government and Industry aimed at providing pertinent input to the process of regional economic cooperation. Regular consultations with the SAARC Secretariat have also commenced.

Indeed, it was in recognition of the positive role played by the SCCI that the Member States decided to wind up the Technical Committee on Tourism (which was set up in 1991) to replace it with SCCI Tourism Council based on inputs from the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  This Council which represents the private sector perspective towards enhancing and gainfully exploiting the tourism potential of the region would provide policy and other inputs for the consideration of the CEC.

The organizing of SAARC Trade Fairs has become a regular feature  since 1996 when the first Trade Fair was held in India. The Second SAARC Trade Fair was held in Colombo 1998. Pakistan is to host the next  SAARC Trade Fair . The trade fairs have succeeded not only in  projecting the potential of the region but also in promoting the wide variety of  products the region produces which match international quality and standards.

The SAARC Secretariat has also set up stalls at Trade Fairs to inform the public of SAARC activities.

At the Colombo Summit, there was consensual recognition of the need to strengthen the individual financial systems of the SAARC countries through the enhancement of their institutional capacity, surveillance mechanism, as well as through closer consultations on, and coordination of, macro-economic policies where appropriate. It was felt that the region needs to enhance the collective capacity of SAARC in respect of policy analysis with specific emphasis on international financial and monetary, trade and investment issues along with their domestic ramifications. In this regard meetings of finance officials of the SAARC countries have been held, including among the Governors of Central Banks to not only put into position early warning mechanisms but also to coordinate policies to respond to global financial and economic developments that affect the region.

It was also agreed at the Colombo Summit in 1998 to establish a network of researchers comprising members of the private sector, central banks, planning ministries, research institutes and eminent economists nominated by Governments to identify, analyse and help SAARC face up to current global, financial and economic developments affecting the region. Such a network has since been set up and has decided on an immediate and longer-term research agenda which would help identify areas of common concern, as also new areas of cooperation among the Member Countries. The Network   is working on a South Asian Economic Journal and a Directory of Research Institutes in South Asia focussing on global financial and economic issues.

Successive Summits have acknowledged the importance of SAARC pursuing mutually beneficial cooperation with regional, UN and other international organisations on Association’s agreed areas of cooperation.

In terms of external linkages, SAARC and UNCTAD signed a Memorandum of Understanding (in February 1993) on the basis of which the UNCTAD Database on Trade Control Measures is regularly updated for the SAARC Member States by the SAARC Secretariat.

Similarly, a Framework Cooperation Agreement was signed between SAARC and ESCAP (in February 1994) to provide for cooperation on developmental issues through joint studies, workshops and seminars and exchange of information and documentation in poverty alleviation, human resource development, trade promotion, foreign direct investment, environmental protection and prevention of drug trafficking, infrastructure development etc.  ESCAP has also established an institutional mechanism of Consultative Meetings of the Executive Heads of Sub-regional Organisations in Asia and the Pacific (SAARC, ECO, ASEAN, South Pacific Forum) and ESCAP. SAARC hosted the last such Consultative Meeting in Kathmandu in 1998.

A  Memorandum of Understanding on Administrative Cooperation between SAARC and the European Commission has been signed (July 1996). The Secretary-General was authorised by the Twenty-sixth Session of the Council of Ministers (Nuwara Eliya, 18-19 March 1999) to discuss with EC specific areas of possible cooperation under the SAARC-EC MOU. It has accordingly been decided to negotiate acceptable programmes which are of particular  relevance to SAARC countries including (a) facilitating access into the Single European market; (b) implementation of the EU-GSP Scheme including cumulative rules of origin; (c) drawing on the EU experience for the SAFTA process; and (d) evolving common SAARC standards and harmonisation with international obligations including certification, testing etc. Four projects are close to finalization following consultations between SAARC and the European Commission.

Since 1998, SAARC has had an informal Ministerial-level dialogue with ASEAN and the European Union on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Informal discussions of an exploratory nature at the level of  Secretary-General have also been initiated  with the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Among the various areas of cooperation within SAARC, economic cooperation appears to have gained considerable momentum. This is derived to some measure from the changing global economic environment and its apparent unpredictability. The Tenth Summit Declaration (Colombo; 1998) expresses serious concern over the severe distortions produced by the process of unrestrained globalization as has been evidenced in the downturn of economies of several Asian states. At the same time, negotiations in the multilateral economic forums appear to disadvantage developing and Least Developed Countries and there is urgent need to not only develop joint positions and strategies but also to find ways and means of protecting natural resources, heritage and knowledge. In addition to both the above compulsions is the recognition within the region that it is indeed blessed with considerable resources, both natural and human, which not only identifies it as a market but also as a major trading partner provided it is in a position to build on its competitive and comparative advantages.

Amit Dasgupta is currently Director (Economic & Trade) at the SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu. This paper is an amplified version of the one carried in Dasgupta, Amit and Debroy, Bibek (eds.), SAARC Means Business : Opportunities for Partnership (Federation of Indian Chamber of  Commerce and Industry, New Delhi, 2000; $50/-

SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS OF CEC

Assess the potential for intra-regional cooperation in the trade and economic spheres;

Analyse inter-regional and global developments which have implications for intra-regional cooperation in these spheres;

Recommend policies and measures for promoting intra-regional trade, joint ventures, industrial complementation, investments, marketing cooperation and transfer of technology;

Evolve joint strategies, plans and common approaches in international fora for mutual benefit;

Formulate, implement and  coordinate action-oriented programmes and projects with priorities in respect of the above mentioned areas;

Suggest ways and means, including sources of finance and institutional mechanisms, for implementing the above mentioned programmes and projects; and

Consider any other matter on the direction/request of the Council of Ministers or other SAARC bodies.

CEC MEETINGS HELD SO FAR