ifda dossier 74 - Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation

ifd;i dossier 74 . noven~bcr/december 1989 regional space
The South Commission:
New horizons or the same old song?
by Loh Wei Leng
University of Malaya
Kuala Lumpur 22-11, Malaysia
(The publication of die "Objectives and Terms of Reference of the South Cotntnission"
(Dossier 66, J ~~~/'AII~I.Y~ 1988, pp.43-56) did not trigger much discussion among
our readers. So when the following paper was received, we decided to publish it in
tile Iwpe that its title, at least, will provoke a discussion.)
The proliferation of international organizations, global, regional and
sub-regional, since 1945 is a phenomenon that the postwar world has
become accustomed to. And, in the case of that grouping of countries
known variously as "less developed countries", "underdeveloped
countries", "developing countries", the Third World, or more recently,
the South (the use of which, depends, inter alia, on the perceptions and
preferences of the writers, the particular forum and audience that one
is addressing), the question of interest with the appearance of yet
another body on the international arena, the South Commission, is
whether, :is the French saying goes, plus $a change, plus c'est la m$me
chose. Put in another way, to what extent is the South Commission
envisioning new horizons in the way of new agendas, objectives or even
merely a new modus operandi, or is the South Commission really singing
the same old song and beating on the same drum that the poor
countries of the world have been harping on since the 1950s within
various existing international organizations?
The objective of this short paper is to present, very briefly, the historical
development of the formation of global international organizations and
international eroupings of a less formal nature, which were established
with a view of representing the interests of the Third World in the
different fields; after which we can determine the relevance of the
preceding question, namely the title of this paper. This is because the
purposes of the Third World would not be well served by a duplication