THE former EU Commissioner Mr Peter Sutherland, has called for international action to counter "a disturbing tendency to look on the widening gap between rich and poor [countries] with indifference. This trend has become more obvious following the collapse of ideological conflict between East and West he said
Mr Sutherland was addressing a meeting here of the Overseas Development Council (ODC) to which he has just been appointed as chairman of the board of directors.
The ODC is an international policy research institute which promotes multilateral approaches band solutions to global problems.
In a wide ranging address on "Redefining the agenda for global growth and equity", Mr Sutherland said that many in developed countries are refusing to acknowledge failures to give adequate help to poorer countries. "Indeed, some see the reduction in support for the poor and the increase in earnings of the wealthy as a positive encouragement for economic growth.
Other opponents of development programmes "condemn them as inherently ineffective, benefitting only a small proportion of the populations of less developed countries and never the poorest".
Mr Sutherland, who is also chairman of Goldman Sachs International, said: "In short, while they rarely articulate it bluntly, there are those who apparently oppose redistribution policies in principle whether in the domestic or international context.
"This is wrong. It is morally wrong it is pragmatically wrong and we ought not be ashamed to say so. We do have a shared responsibility for the well being of the poor on this planet and in our rapidly globalising economy, it is profoundly in our own interest to confront that responsibility aggressively.
Mr Sutherland admitted that "globalisation" in the form of freer trade can bring problems as well as benefits to poorer countries and to workers in richer countries. "While new enterprises emerge bringing new jobs, others must downsize or close with the consequential damage to local job prospects.
Many of the answers to these problems lie at the level of multi lateral co operation.