Cull Your Hens

A-17

C. The Time is Ripe

SUMMARY Alfred Herrhausen's article emphasises the need for important changes to the debt strategy. It also presents his own proposal for dealing with the debt problem. RESUME L'article d'Alfred Herrhausen insiste sur le besoin de changements importants dans la gestion des dettes. Il présente également des propositions personnelles pour aborder le problème du déficit. RESUMEN El artículo de Alfred Herrhausen enfatiza la necesidad de introducir cambios substanciales a la estrategia de la deuda. También presenta su propia propuesta para enfrentar el problema de la deuda

The European Community and Food Security

Summary Food security has been one of the major concerns of the European Community's development cooperation policy. Over the past decade, the approach has evolved from a focus on projects to expand agricultural production towards a more general emphasis on food policies and rural development programmes. In relation to food security, the EC has underlined the essential comlementarity in the roles of the public and the private sectors. In a parallel evolution, the food aid instrument has been adapted to make it a better resource for development, more integrated with financial and technical assistance

THE UNITED NATIONS AT 50, SOME UNSOLVED PROBLEMS

SUMMARY Ambassador Johan Kaufmann takes a look at the present?day usefulness of the UN Charter. Practically everything that is discussed today, e.g. new style peace operations and humanitarian intervention can be done by interpreting the UN Charter as it now stands. Of course, enlargement of the Security Council does require a Charter amendment; it will be difficult to reach agreement on such large enlargement and especially on adding new permanent members, e.g. Germany and Japan which so far have not been making outstanding contributions to peace operations. Amending the Charter in order to create a new peoples’ assembly is not recommended: such an assembly could seriously complicate and delay the decision?making process of the General Assembly. On economic issues Kaufmann advocates a revitalization of the UN Economic and Social Council, rather than creating a new Economic Security Council which would run into exactly the same difficulties as the existing Council. He suggests to look with urgency at the possibilities for a system of supra?national finance, e.g. a tax on airline tickets, in order to obtain the necessary funds for peace operations and other urgent purposes. This, and the structure of the present system of specialized agencies could be useful subjects for urgent study, to be decided at the 50th Anniversary rather than merely making jubilee speeches

The Security Sector, the Budget and Development

SUMMARY While security expenditure — including both military spending and expenditures on paramilitary forces — is not the sole cause of underdevelopment, most Third World countries would benefit by spending less on their security sectors. This article first examines some of the problems surrounding the collection of reliable security expenditure data. It then argues that the preponderance of salaries and other operating costs in Third World security budgets complicates efforts to obtain reductions in security spending and to translate such reductions into development. SOMMAIRE Le secteur de la sécurité, le budget et le développement Alors que la dépense relative à la sécurité — les dépenses militaires et le dépenses sur les forces paramilitaires — n'est pas la seule cause de sous?développement, la plupart des pays du Tiers Monde bénéficieraient d'une réduction des dépenses dans le secteur de la sécurité. Cet article examine tout d'abord quelques problèmes entourant la collection d'information de dépenses de sécurité de source sure. II prouve ensuite que la prépondérance des salaires et d'autres coûts d'opération dans les budgets de sécurité du Tiers Monde complique les efforts pour obtenir des réductions dans les dépenses et de transférer ces réductions dans le développement. RESUMEN El sector seguridad, presupuesto y desarrollo La mayoría de los países del Tercer Mundo se beneficiarían si gastaran menos en sus sectores de seguridad, aún cuando este gasto, incluyendo tanto el gasto militar como en fuerzas paramilitares, no sea la única causa del subdesarrollo. El artículo examina algunos de los problemas que existen en la colección de datos fidedignos sobre gastos de seguridad. Argumenta que la preponderancia de salarios y otros gastos operativos en los presupuestos de seguridad de los países del Tercer Mundo complica los esfuerzos desplegados para rebajar dichos gastos y para transferir tales fondos a proyectos de desarrollo