Construction of a New International Economic Order
Program Action
Accessible and downloadable, the full documentation on the Progressive International PROGRAM ACTION
Preface
50 years ago, the nations of the Third World — having won their independence — united behind a vision of economic decolonization, sovereign development, and international cooperation across areas such as trade, finance, and technology. That vision became known as the New International Economic Order (NIEO) — and in 1974, they won a UN Declaration on its Establishment (3201 S-VI) and a Program of Action (3202 S-VI) for its implementation.
We, the Members of the United Nations, solemnly proclaim our united determination to work urgently for the establishment of a New International Economic Order based on equity, sovereign equality, interdependence, common interest and cooperation among all States, irrespective of their economic and social systems which shall correct inequalities and redress existing injustices, make it possible to eliminate the widening gap between the developed and the developing countries and ensure steadily accelerating economic and social development and peace and justice for present and future generations.
Five decades later, however, that gap has failed to narrow. On the contrary, the old crises of debt, dependency, and under-development have combined with an accelerating crisis of climate to threaten not only the developmental prospects of the South, but also — in the case of many small island states — their very existence.
The shape of the world economy has certainly undergone a profound transformation in the past 50 years, both in the institutional architecture of globalization and the distribution of its gains. The BRICS+ nations today, for example, account for a greater percentage of global GDP than the G7. But the line that Willy Brandt once drew across the map of the world — demarcating a developmental divide between North and South — is still visible today: an affront to peace and justice for present and future generations.
On its 50th anniversary, the NIEO thus merits revival, but also requires renovation. How might we adapt this vision to the conditions of the twenty-first century? How might we confront the crises of climate change, viral pandemics, and extreme poverty that threaten billions of lives and livelihoods across the planet? And how might we seize the opportunity of the present conjuncture — with the tectonic plates of the global economy drifting toward a multipolar formation — to ensure the success of such a program of action where its predecessor failed?
Over the past two years, the Progressive International has convened scholars, diplomats, and policymakers from over 50 countries to answer these questions. From Brussels to Kampala and beyond, these deliberations have called on representatives from across the Group of 77 to reimagine the New International Economic Order, and the tactics to win it.
At the 5th International Conference for World Equilibrium in Havana, these collective deliberations yielded a strategy to ‘assert Southern power’ to secure sovereign development, as set out in the Havana Declaration presented to the Conference presidium in January 2023:
The Congress recognizes that economic liberation will not be granted, but must be seized. Our vision can only be realized through the formation of new and alternative institutions to share critical technology, tackle sovereign debt, drive development finance, and face future pandemics together.
Since then, a collaborative effort has advanced a comprehensive Program of Action on the Construction of a New International Economic Order: a handbook for an insurgent South in the 21st century, with measures that combine clarity and audacity to drive sustainable development in turbulent times.
The Program of Action is divided into five main issue areas, each of which articulates both their objectives and the concrete measures to reach them. Such measures are neither instructions for Southern states nor pleas for the benevolence of their Northern neighbors. Rather, they offer a set of clear and concrete proposals for shared institutions and coordinated actions that Southern governments can take immediately, collectively, and unilaterally to transform the global economic architecture in the service of peace, justice, and shared prosperity.
The publication of the Program of Action coincides with the 50th anniversary of the original NIEO, and concludes the two-year phase of the Progressive International’s NIEO commemoration. But it remains a living document: a draft to be amended and adapted to the conditions of the nations and peoples that seek to implement its measures. The task of the Havana Group now is to accompany them on that historic journey toward the realization of a New International Economic Order.
FULL Document on the Progressive International PROGRAM ACTION with subsections covering:
I. Climate, Energy, and Natural Resources
II. Industry, Labour, and International Trade
III. Money, Debt,and Finance
IV. Technology, Innovation,and Education.
V. Governance, Multilateralism,
and International Law
