The constant gardener
South Commission/South Centre
Adam Sneyd,
McMaster University
When leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement met in Harare in September
1986 it was clear that the 1980s were to become a "lost decade" for economic development in the Global South. Citing debt crises, high interest rates, low world prices for commodities, and ongoing Northern protectionism, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad announced that a Commission on the development experience would be struck.
Julius Nyerere, former President of Tanzania, agreed to Chair the Commission. Having established a Secretariat in Geneva with the financial assistance of Switzerland and developing countries in 1987, the South Commission set out to independently assess development and articulate future policy options. Operating for three years, the Commission issued statements on the debt problem and the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations, and released its final report, The Challenge to the South, in August 1990. The report emphasized the need to focus efforts on human development, and the desirability of increased cooperation amongst Southern countries to raise their bargaining power in global economic negotiations.
Building upon the Report's recommendations and the work of the South Commission's follow-up office, forty-six developing countries agreed to establish a permanent centre on South-South cooperation in July 1995. The South Centre was tasked with promoting South solidarity, knowledge sharing, and cooperation, as well as coordinating common development policy positions on the world economy. To meet the goal of functioning as a think tank and a policy support organization for the Global South, the South Centre was mandated to disseminate its research output widely. Overall, the Centre seeks more policy space or autonomy for Southern countries interacting with the global economy, and a more equitable distribution of global income.
Members meet at least every three years as the Council of Representatives to set the direction of the Board, which is charged with day-to-day oversight and fundraising. Under the leadership of current Board Chair and former UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the South Centre typically produces news and policy reports on topics that the Group of 77 has suggested. Its principal research focuses on intellectual property and trade. On the latter, the Centre helps to coordinate developing country policy positions in the WTO's Doha Round of negotiations. Its output helped to facilitate the South's united front evident at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun.
Suggested Readings:
South Centre website.
www.southcentre.org (accessed 14 July 2005).
South Commission. 1990.
The challenge to the South. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.