Delegation from Tunisia

l Position Paper for the General Assembly Second Committee

Represented by MUNICH

The issues before the 2nd Committee of the General Assembly are: national sovereignty over natural resources, the impact of external debt on developing countries and the promotion of sustainable development practices for transnational corporations. The Republic of Tunisia is fully committed to solve these issues and remains a keen supporter of the agenda of the United Nations. I. Ensuring Developing Countries Sovereignty Over Their Natural Resources The right of all peoples, nations and countries of permanent sovereignty over their natural resources remains a topic of utmost importance for the United Nations, despite being on the agenda from almost the beginning of the UN existence. In recognition of the examples of other African countries we still live in a world in which not all people can exercise their fundamental right of sovereignty over their natural resources. This intensifies the danger of instability and loss of security due to socio-economic disillusion, death, intra- as well as inter-state conflict. Tunisia is saddened by this issue and will continue to voice our concerns, especially in connection with all other countries in favour of a peaceful solution to ongoing conflicts. Tunisia calls upon the international community not to forget about this important issue and will not rest until all people can freely rule over and dispose of their natural resources in the context of international law. As a result of this, Tunisia not only is part of a set of international treaties, strengthening the economical boundaries with the European Union and our Arab friends and neighbours. Additionally, Tunisia also allows the transport of raw gas through its territory via the important Trans-Mediterranean pipeline. Furthermore, Tunisia has been committed to the process by taking up an important role in the process of making the natural resources of Africa available for the needs of the international community. Also, Tunisia has been supporting A/3171 of the United Nations, which explicitly underlines that each nation has the right to execute sovereignty over its natural resources. Affirming A/3171 and trusting the principle set in the second part of the Charter of the United Nations Tunisia has on the long struggle for freedom, democracy and the rule of law as basic principles of a nation's wealth been a keen supporter of the right to freely shape a nations destiny without any external influences. Furthermore, Tunisia has eagerly worked on improving the economic relationships both with the European Union and neighbour countries in trade-free arrangements in order to improve the affluence of each trade partner. Tunisia expects to further strengthen the principles included in A/3171 and A/1803 in connection with stable rules of free trade of goods, especially referring to long-term contracts enabling all parties involved to develop further. In regard to the problems of the Middle-East conflict Tunisia calls upon all participants to respect the rights of the people of Palestine to form an independent national body and to have direct, free, and unconditional access to the natural resources on their territory. Out of our firm belief that each nation has the right to develop freedom and independence and shape its own future, we strongly encourage any movement in favour of this. Tunisia urges all countries to grant the right of permanent sovereignty over their natural resources to every state, people and country so that they shall be able to rule over and dispose of them freely. The freedom and sovereignty of any nation is regarded as an unalienable right which might not in any case be abridged. International or bi-lateral support of any nation, which is unable to use their natural resources independently, may not be in any way connected with a setback of these basic principles. In addition to this, Tunisia strongly urges resolutions written must not remain a single document only but are to be transformed into real actions so that all people will be able to escape poverty and live in peace with their neighbours. II. External Debt and Development: Towards a Durable Solution to the Debt Problems of Developing Countries External debt or Foreign Aid is a means provided by developed countries to immediately provide developmental aid to developing countries. However the immediate benefits often do not outweigh the adverse effects that external borrowing has on developing countries in the long run. While external borrowing does not contribute to a countries economic growth but rather leads to negative growth: external borrowing often leads to a viscous cycle in which developing countries end up needing to borrow more and more. This is especially notable on the African continent where countries struggle to reach their Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) due to the global economic crisis. Taking into account resolution A/28/508 which focuses on the heavy load of external debt on developing countries in conjunction with the report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations (A/65/155) in 2010 stressing the importance of the most recent developments of foreign debt for the North African countries, the Republic of Tunisia strongly supports any movement reducing the external debt of countries in need. With our

Delegation from Tunisia

Represented by MUNICH

key role in the Arab Maghreb Union we have been a mediator between the creditor countries of the European Union and the debtor countries of Africa. The world economic crisis of 2008 had a very serious impact on the developing countries, as outlined in the 2009 report of the 2nd committee (A/64/418/Add.3). Tunisia has always been supporting motions to provide relief to the burden of external debt for countries in need. In addition to this Tunisia strongly urges to realize the importance of the second article in the Charter of the United Nations, focusing on the right of self-determination of each nation. Tunisia, as a medium income country without many natural resources, has achieved impressive economic growth through self-reliance over the past twenty years and thus now ranks highly on human development indicators. We are likely to exceed our MGDs by 2015 and are now in a position where we can think about how to provide further help to other countries in need As our country now goes through a period of upheaval and reorganization Tunisia would like to add its experience on democracy and freedom and stand up for the fundamental rights of each nation. Recalling A/RES/64/191 only adopted last year Tunisia calls upon the international community to work in unison when trying to find ways to deal with debt relief more efficiently so that developing countries will be able to escape the daunting viscous circle of external debt. Tunisia strongly beliefs that a genuine partnership between Africa and the developed nations is the most effective method to advance development in order to reach the Millennium goals and fill millions of African hearts with hope for a better future. Thus, Tunisia calls upon the G8 and G20 states to renew their commitment to the African continent. Tunisia also highly values the SouthSouth relations without whom Africa would not able to reach their MDGs. Further movements to improve the situation are strongly encouraged to include an African perspective. In addition to that further steps promoting the path of freedom and independence are necessary, enabling more countries to proceed further. III. Promoting Sustainable Development Practices in Transnational Corporations The concept of sustainability as defined by the Brundtland Report (1987) does not only refer to the concept in an environmental sense alone but also aims to comprise social and economic factors. As our global economy is heavily characterized by transnational corporations (TCNs), global players, it is of utmost importance that these entities adopt sustainable practices so that people around the world, now and in the future, will be able to live in environments able to fulfill the needs of this society. As the key players in the global economy are TNCs, Tunisia firmly beliefs that not only nations need to do everything to counteract climate change but also work with TCNs to achieve the best possible outcome for the entire globe. The last decade has seen an important growth of transnational corporations. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has been closely monitoring the progress of code conducts for transnational corporations which are, due to their monetary influence, able to alter the living conditions of countless human beings. Especially when exploiting important resources for a region it is of viable interest to provide sustainable development practices. According to the Division for Sustainable Development of the United Nations this process requires the integration of its economic, environmental and social components at all levels. Tunisia has been affected by the power of TCNs in its important textile industry: Over 40% of Tunisias GDP are earned through this field. The role of women as indicated in the OECD report (2009) on the world's economic status has been continuously improved throughout the last decade. The role of female citizens in Tunisia is outstanding, they have equal rights and get paid almost comparable wages to men, have access to education which is one of the most important factors for success. Tunisia is one of the leading North African countries with regard to a sustainable development, which is also anchored in our constitution. The tourism industry of Tunisia is committed to the challenge of connecting sustainable development with a growth in various fields and is improving its outstanding position further. Tunisia's tourist industry is committed to adopt sustainable development practices more and more and will thus further improve its outstanding position further. Tunisia knows that it is our duty to protect to resources of our country and it has always been a part of Tunisia's policy to include regulations on sustainability. The Republic of Tunisia firmly believes that it is in the best interest of all UN member states that transnational corporations adhere to a code of conduct that encourages sustainability in the wider sense, thus including also economic and social sustainability as well as the more obvious environmental sustainability. Therefore UNCTAD has to continue their valuable work so that a code of conduct that all countries and transnational corporations can agree upon will be established in the near future. Tunisia urges for the further proceeding of the road taken, especially focusing on funds for aiding countries with lower economical standards on their way. A focus on the regions in Africa would be supported by Tunisia, so by providing an example for further movements in the region. Highlighting the importance of any regulations on transnational corporations, the Republic of Tunisia strongly supports further regulation efforts.