Speech by President of the Republic Tarja Halonen at Columbia University’s World Leaders Forum in New York on 12 September 2005

It is a great honour for me to address the World Leaders Forum here at the Columbia University.

It is always a pleasure to visit the USA. But during the last two weeks, our thoughts have been with you because of the serious damages caused by the Hurricane Katrina. On behalf of myself and of the people of Finland, I would like once again to express my condolences due to the loss of human lives. Finland is also participating in the rescue effort by providing logistics experts and other assistance.

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The world is one. The United Nations has proved its importance over the past six decades. With the Major Event summit (High Level Plenary of the General Assembly), we are about to start a new chapter in the history of the UN. The prologue for this was created at the 2000 Millennium Summit. I still remember the very special atmosphere of the Summit. As the President of that meeting, I listened carefully the speakers and what was said and promised.

The United Nations Millennium Declaration is a truly fundamental and far-reaching political commitment for peace, security and development. The Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals were approved unanimously. The MDGs are ambitious and rightly so. The primary aim is to radically reduce poverty.

The UN conference in Monterrey in 2002 continued the work and agreed on means for financing development. In that same year, the UN Summit in Johannesburg focused on sustainable development and combined the social dimension and ecological issues.

There is no need to change these political commitments or lower the ambition. To a great extent, agreement has also been reached on the means to be used in order to achieve the goals. And as a part of this work and to seek means for fairer globalisation, the ILO appointed in 2002 a World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization.

Many good things have happened, but the timetable for attaining the MDGs is, in many respects, lagging behind the expectation set at the Millennium Summit in 2000. And yet, it is simply a question of transforming political commitment into action and implementation. We have the capacity: we have the knowledge and resources. The goals need to become natural part of the implementation of 'domestic policy' objectives and of the national democratic responsibility. But at the same time, we have to see the international dimension of the situation. That is why globalisation is so important.

Globalization is a mega-trend that has a decisive impact on development and people’s lives all over the world, and people feel that their possibility to govern their everyday lives is weakening.

The World Commission had 24 members who represented a broad variety of views. Three of the members were Americans and their views and expertise influenced strongly to our work. As I am sure you are aware, Professor Joseph Stiglitz was one of the American members. The other two were Ann McLaughlin Koronlogos, former US Secretary of Labor and a business woman, and John J. Sweeney, a trade-unionist and President of the AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations). The World Commission, originally a group of “not like-minded” people, nevertheless reached a consensus on its final report “A Fair Globalisation: Creating Opportunities for All”.

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The message of the World Commission is critical, yet positive. Globalization continues to have enormous potential for improving people’s quality of life. At present, that potential is not fully used. Not enough people are benefiting. Too many are suffering or entirely excluded from globalization. Therefore, globalization can — and should — be reformed.

The success of the World Commission report reinforces the fact that one must never fall into the ‘trap of one truth’. Globalization has a very different meaning to people depending on their personal experiences. People live their everyday lives as part of a local community and a nation, even in globalization. Fair globalization means more focus on people and on their needs.

Nation-states are still the main actors in globalization. The quality of global governance depends to a great extent on their actions. The way in which states pursue their own business has an impact on whether people benefit from globalization and whether they are spared from its negative effects. A strong, democratic state that respects human rights and the rule of law and applies good governance and social justice creates a solid foundation for the actions of individual citizens. Non-governmental organisations and civic movements are needed to support all this and they must be able to play fully their role. In addition, the business – proponents of globalization – also should hold social responsibility in globalization.

Alongside the nation-states, we need regional cooperation – such as the European Union and other co-operation organisations in Asia, Latin America and Africa – and global cooperation. The commitment of nation-states to multilateralism, general values and shared goals, their awareness of the impact of cross-border activities and their commitment to solidarity are essential for the quality of global governance.

I believe that efficient implementation of the Millennium Development Goals will help the developing countries join in globalization. And vice versa. More efficient governance of and fairer rules for globalization will turn it into a means to attain the MDGs.

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Each country has its own history, and no model can be transferred directly to another country. However, the basic components of development are the same in the North and in the South, in both developing countries and more developed countries – as we have agreed in the UN.

How all this works in practice? Allow me to present one example – my own country. Within half a century, Finland has developed from a poor and remote country to a prosperous and stable society. Our Nordic welfare state model is based upon social justice and equality. We have made investments in health care, education and equality. Finland and the other Nordic countries often come out on top in international comparisons, whether these concern competitiveness, the stability of the public economy, education, the equality between women and men, efforts to reduce poverty, absence of corruption or the level of sustainable development. The Nordic welfare model has proven to be just and competitive.

A membership in the European Union means economic and political security for Finland. Mutual cooperation helps the individual Member States succeed. The European Union strives to promote growth, employment and competitiveness in a socially fair and sustainable manner. The objectives are set down in the so-called Lisbon Strategy. This strategy is one model for ambitious regional cooperation that can promote better governance of globalization. Unfortunately, the Union and the Member States have not implemented the Strategy effectively or on schedule in all respects. This is the challenge and our task to accomplish.

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The World Commission focused on how the consequences of globalization can be taken into account in policy making. Usually, discussions on globalisation concentrate only on economic factors: growth, inflation, interest rates, economic deregulation or market access. Employment is a key means in eradication of poverty. Therefore, also employment should be made into a global goal. It is not too much to ask to have a decent job, which brings a livelihood for yourself and your family. However, for far too many people that is just a dream. If the employment impacts of economic policy decisions would be systematically assessed, that alone might bring improvement in this situation. We also need to do more for the equality between women and men. We cannot make success in reducing poverty unless the position of women is improved. It follows therefore that mainstreaming equality in all activities is a crucial and urgent goal.

A long-term approach and coherence of global policies are crucial for controlling the negative effects of globalization. International organizations must be willing for co-operation and welcome each other’s particular strengths. I have in mind for example the need to improve the coherency between trade regulations and the development agenda.

For a year now, we have been gathering feedback on the World Commission report, and I have been favourably surprised by the amount of interest in the report and people’s willingness to discuss its recommendations. I believe that our report is becoming part of the process of turning globalization into a fair process that creates opportunities for all.

The African Union has assumed the recommendations of the World Commission as part of their globalization work. The social dimension of globalization is also high up on the EU agenda. Last December, the UN General Assembly unanimously approved a resolution whereby the report of the World Commission was approved as one of the basic documents for the UN Major Event. In addition, the topic has come up at both the World Bank and the OECD.

A report is a report. We must concentrate on creating means and processes to reform globalisation and influence its direction. Finland and Tanzania have, together with friendly governments, initiated a Helsinki-process. Last week, a conference took place in Helsinki as a culmination event of the Helsinki Process. The key message of the conference was the need for multi-stakeholder co-operation in finding lasting solutions to global problems. The ultimate aim of the Helsinki Process is to make multi-stakeholder co-operation a permanent feature of global governance. President of Tanzania, Mr Benjamin Mkapa – who was the co-Chair of the World Commission with me, and I participated in the conference and were happy to see the outcome of the process so far. For the future, all interested parties are welcome to join the Helsinki Process.

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This year, the United Nations is the focus of celebration, but it is also subject to critical assessment. The world has changed, and the security threats are different. Nevertheless, the United Nations Charter represents the values that will enable us to preserve security and stable conditions in the world, as well as balanced development. All countries, both great and small, are needed in the international cooperation that will ensure development, security and human rights. This international cooperation particularly needs the participation of the United States, due to its political and economic power.

I have high expectations for the UN Major Event. It is a unique opportunity to give new vitality to the United Nations and the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals. I still hope that we will be able this week to reinforce people’s belief in the future, and that we will be prepared to openly acknowledge existing problems, including the lack of political will or the unfair distribution of resources. Multilateral work is needed in order to strengthen fair process of development.

Finally, I would like to highlight one important recommendation in the World Commission report, in particular for the benefit of this audience. Policy actions need to be grounded in better analysis on trends in globalization and its impact on people and communities. Better and more gender-sensitive monitoring, research, policy reviews, and systematic reporting are all necessary to mobilize public opinion and ensure better governance of globalization.

The World Commission encouraged all institutions and networks to collaborate and invest in a broad-based research on the social dimension of globalization. Networks of national, regional and international institutions can build the capacity needed to address different aspects of globalization in a coherent way.

In conclusion, I would like to encourage you to continue open and critical research, teaching and instruction, in your various expert areas and departments. I encourage you to share your information with the entire international community. Many of the leading academic institutions of the world are located here in New York, including Columbia University. You are in a position of great privilege in the worldwide academic community, and this brings with it great responsibility.