United Nations Conference On Trade And Development
UNITED
NATIONS
TD
United Nations
Distr.
LIMITED
Conference
TD/L.382
on Trade and
17 June 2004
Development
Original: ENGLISH
Eleventh session
São Paulo, 13–18 June 2004
UNCTAD XI – The Spirit of São Paulo
We, the member States of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development,
gathered in São Paulo, Brazil, between 13 and 18 June 2004, for the eleventh session of the
Conference, agree on the following Declaration:
1.
UNCTAD was created in 1964 as an expression of the belief that a cooperative effort of the
international community was required to integrate developing countries successfully into the world
economy. Since then, UNCTAD has made a substantial contribution to the efforts of developing
countries to participate more fully and to adapt to changes in the world economy. UNCTAD has also
provided an invaluable forum for advancing the interrelationship between trade and development,
from both a national and an international perspective, across the three pillars of its mandate.
2.
The Millennium Declaration, the Monterrey Consensus, the Programme of Action for the
LDCs, the Almaty Programme of Action, the Barbados Programme of Action, the Johannesburg
Declaration on Sustainable Development and the Plan of Implementation agreed at the World Summit
on Sustainable Development, and the Declaration of Principles and the Plan of Action of the World
Summit on the Information Society, as well as initiatives for UN reform, strengthen multilateralism
and establish a roadmap for actions at the national and international levels in the process of
mobilizing resources for development and of providing an international environment supportive of
development. We are committed to joining all our efforts in the achievement of the goals established
in those texts in the agreed timeframes. The United Nation system should actively pursue agreed
development goals between now and 2015, as identified in the Millennium Declaration, and
UNCTAD has an important role to play in efforts towards the accomplishment of these common
objectives.
3.
In spite of all the efforts at the national and international level to promote growth,
development remains the central issue in the global agenda. The contrasts between developed and
developing countries that marked the world in the early 1960s are still present today. In fact, the gap
between them has increased in many respects. While globalization has posed important challenges
and opened up new opportunities for many countries, its consequences have been highly unequal
between countries and within countries. Some have reaped the benefits from trade, investment and
technology flows and seem to be winning the struggle for development and for poverty eradication.
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4.
Most developing countries, however, especially African countries and LDCs, have remained
on the margins of the globalization process. They still face major challenges for the realization of their
economic potential and the incorporation of large masses of unemployed into the productive sectors.
There is a need to focus on the ability of international trade to contribute to poverty alleviation. There
is also a need for an increased focus on commodities, including the issue of instability in world
commodity prices.
5.
For all countries, it is important that, at the international level, efforts can be deployed and
policies implemented in order to facilitate internal adjustments and to remove external constraints to
put the developing world on a firm and sustainable path to development. We can rightly say that, 40
years after the foundation of UNCTAD, the relationship between trade and development, which is the
cornerstone of its mandate, has become even more important with the deepening of globalization.
6.
We are committed to the struggle for the eradication of poverty and hunger. Policy
instruments and measures, at the national and international levels, should be adopted, in particular in
the areas of trade and financing including through new financial initiatives, to encourage the creation
of opportunities for the poor women and men of the world to have access to jobs and to stable and
adequate remuneration. This is the sustainable road to reforms, stability and growth.
7
The plight of the least developed countries should receive the utmost attention from the
international community. We are committed to generating and better utilizing additional international
resources, market access and technical assistance for the LDCs in order to enable them to establish, in
the context of effective national policies, a solid base for their development processes.
8.
Multilateral trade negotiations, under the Doha Work Programme, should be accelerated with
a view to an early and successful conclusion that fully reflects the level of ambition agreed to at Doha.
As it places development at the centre of the multilateral trade negotiations for the first time, the Doha
Work Programme converges with and reinforces the mandate of UNCTAD. In this regard, all WTO
members are committed to making the results of the trade negotiations truly responsive to
development concerns. The accession of developing countries, especially LDCs, and countries with
economies in transition to the WTO should be facilitated.
9.
We recognize that improved coherence between national and international efforts and
between the international monetary, financial and trading systems is fundamental for sound global
economic governance. We are committed to improving the coherence between those systems in order
to enhance their capacities to better respond to the needs of development. The institutional dimension
in terms of improved global governance is central here. We should also continue working on the
creation of positive synergies between trade and finance and on how to link these efforts to
development. In particular, attention should be devoted to improving international capital flows for
development, through, inter alia, innovative financial mechanisms, as well as to dealing with the
volatility of international capital markets. Measures to ensure long-term debt sustainability of
developing countries should also continue to be subject to serious consideration and appropriate
action.
10.
We should also focus on future challenges and opportunities. In addition to national
resources, capital accumulation and availability of labour, new factors such as information,
innovation, creativity and diversity constitute the dynamic forces of today’s world economy. We are
committed to bridging the digital divide and ensuring harmonious, fair and equitable development for
all and to building an inclusive information society, which will require partnership and cooperation
among Governments and other stakeholders, i.e. the private sector, civil society and international
organizations.
11.
A more positive integration of developing countries and countries with economies in
transition into internationa
