09/09/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-10119

POWELL AT JOHANNESBURG SUMMIT

The World Summit on Sustainable Development ended on September 4^th. It was the first such global meeting since the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992.

The United States has a commitment to sustainable development. In remarks made at the summit, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said, "The American soul has always harbored a deep desire to help people build better lives for themselves and their children. We have always understood that our own well-being depends on the well-being of our fellow inhabitants of this planet earth."

At the Johannesburg summit, the U.S. unveiled programs to expand access to clean water and affordable energy, reduce pollution, provide jobs, and improve food supplies for millions of people. In developing countries, said Mr. Powell, "nearly one person in four still ekes out a bare existence on a dollar a day or even less." In Zimbabwe, "the lack of respect for human rights and rule of law has exacerbated these factors to push millions of people toward the brink of starvation. In the face of famine," said Mr. Powell, "several governments in southern Africa have prevented critical U.S. food assistance from being distributed to the hungry by rejecting biotech [genetically engineered] corn, which has been eaten safely around the world since 1995."

President George W. Bush made clear the link between good governance and human well-being earlier this year when he proposed the Millennium Challenge Account. Under this program, assistance will only go to developing nations that are governed reasonably well, are committed to investing in health and education, and are following policies that encourage entrepreneurship and spur growth.

"Official development aid alone is not enough," said Secretary of State Powell. "Countries must also be able to attract the trade and investment that account for eighty percent of the money that is available for development." As President Bush said, "Trade is the engine of development."