THE WORLD SOLIDARITY
FUND
In Tunisia, solidarity as a model of development has
proved its efficiency. Based on this experience and on
a humanist vision of international relations premised
on the belief in humanity's common destiny and on the
necessity for co-development between rich and poor countries
as a prerequisite for international stability, President
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali launched, in October 1999 in Tunis,
the idea of a world solidarity fund, as a complement to
the existing mechanisms for the fight against poverty.
For Ben
Ali, the globalization of economy must be accompanied
by the globalization of solidarity, so as to prevent social
gaps and to fight more efficiently against marginalization
and exclusion.
As most
of the international poverty reduction programs have proved
their limits in the face of the immensity and intensification
of the scourge of poverty, especially in certain regions
of the world, the international community did not take
long to support the Tunisian initiative. This support
was materialized in 2000 by the UN General Assembly's
unanimous adoption of the initiative. In December 2002,
a resolution was adopted by the General Assembly calling
for the immediate creation of the Fund. The establishment
of this Fund was entrusted to the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP)
The Fund's
action falls within the framework of the Millennium Summit
objectives, one of which consists in reducing by half
the proportion of poor people in the world by the year
2015. The
World Solidarity Fund complements the different initiatives
taken during the last few years by international and UN
conferences, mainly the debt alleviation plans for the
most indebted poor countries, coordinated by the International
Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the actions taken to
develop micro-financing institutions, the reinforcement
of the NGO actions, especially in the micro-finance field,
or the aid granted to poor countries by bilateral donors.
The
World Solidarity Fund is a mechanism complementing and
reinforcing international action against poverty. It acts
in a specific field : that of accelerating the pace of
social and human development, particularly in the poorest
countries.
In his
call of August 25th, 1999, President Ben Ali defined the
scope of action of the World Solidarity Fund, namely the
most deprived regions in many parts of the world, and
most particularly in the poorest countries. The Fund's
actions will be a part of the anti-poverty strategy of
each state.
In addition,
the following objectives, included in the Copenhagen Declaration
and action program, as well as in the texts emanating
from big UN conferences and summit meetings held during
the last few years, will be given priority :
Ensuring
the access of the poorest countries' populations to
basic social services and amenities, mainly health,
education, drinking water, and decent housing.
Promoting
and valorizing human resources in these regions and
encouraging the creation of income sources and productive
jobs, in order to help with the social and economic
integration of the concerned populations.
Increasing
the participation of the target populations in decision-making
in the fields that are of concern to them, and facilitating
their access to new technologies.
Acting
against poverty and exclusion will strongly contribute
to reducing tensions in the world. Such is the conviction
of President Ben Ali who, since 1989, has undertaken to
draw the attention of the international community as to
the danger posed by the widening gap between rich countries
and poor ones, and to call for an international partnership
for co-development in which no nation of the world would
be excluded from growth and its fruits.
All
steps have been taken by the General Assembly to establish
and make operational the World solidarity Fund, awaited
by hundreds of millions of persons all over the world
suffering from poverty and marginalization.
