9 July 1987

37th plenary meeting

Net transfer of resources from developing to developed countries

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling General Assembly resolutions 3201 (S-VI) and 3202 (S-VI) of 1 May 1974, containing the Declaration and the Programme of Action for the Establishment of a New International Economic Order, 3281 (XXIX) of 12 December 1974, containing the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, 3362 (S-VII) of 16 September 1975 on development and international economic co-operation and 35/56 of 5 December 1980, containing the International Development Strategy for the Third United Nations Development Decade,

Recalling also Economic and Social Council resolution 1986/56 of 22 July 1986 and General Assembly resolution 41/180 of 8 December 1986,

Recalling further General Assembly resolution 41/202 of 8 December 1986,

Noting with appreciation the report of the Secretary-General on the net transfer of resources from developing to developed countries, the World Economic Survey 1987 and the report of the Committee for Development Planning on its twenty-third session,

Expressing its profound concern at the persistence of a net overall transfer of real resources from the developing to the developed countries,

Alarmed at the ever-increasing net outflows from the developing countries, which in 1986 were of the order of $24 billion in financial transfers and $94 billion in terms-of-trade losses, and which when added amounted to $118 billion, triggering, inter alia, a decline in standards of living in the developing countries,

Aware that this dangerous situation threatens the economic, social and political stability of the world and subverts the development process in the developing countries,

Deeply concerned that the debt-service burden of the developing countries seriously diminishes the resources available to them for promoting and sustaining economic growth and development and impedes the allocation of adequate resources to social services in such sectors as health, nutrition, education and housing, which are vital to the most vulnerable population groups,

Stressing that a balanced and sustained recovery of the world economy requires the restoration of economic growth and development in the developing countries,

1. Emphasizes the need for the urgent adoption of specific measures to reverse the negative net transfer of resources by reducing the outflow of resources from developing to developed countries and by increasing the flow of resources to developing countries;

2. Urges developed countries, in particular, to adopt measures:

(a) To increase and improve access to their markets for products from the developing countries and to take steps to improve and protect the purchasing power of the export earnings of developing countries;

(b) To increase the flow of official development assistance to developing countries so as to achieve, by the end of the 1980s, the established target of 0.7 per cent of the gross national product of the developed countries;

(c) To encourage the increase of both private finance and non-concessional public long-term lending and, in that regard, to improve the terms of lending, through, inter alia, a substantial reduction of real interest rates and longer grace and repayment periods;

(d) To provide substantial debt relief, bearing in mind the capacity of debtors to pay;

3. Calls upon developed countries to take concrete action directed towards correcting the major imbalances in the world economy which contribute to the net reverse transfer of resources, in particular through the reduction or elimination of their budget deficits and simultaneous reactivation of the economies of countries with trade surpluses and the redirection of trade surpluses to developing countries to help promote accelerated growth and sustained development in the developing countries and to co-ordinate and harmonize macro-economic policies in a multilateral framework, including policies pertaining to exchange-rate stability, for the benefit of global development;

4. Requests the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development at its seventh session to give in-depth consideration to the net transfer of resources from developing to developed countries;

5. Requests the Secretary-General to monitor the evolution of that phenomenon and developments having a bearing on the implementation of the present resolution and to report thereon to the Economic and Social Council at its second regular session of 1988.