(MENAFN- Caribbean News Now) Dear Sir:
'Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) must also capitalise on its higher visibility to promote, wherever possible, our economic interests such as the marketing of tourism and enhancing international economic ties' (New Democratic Party [NDP]press release , Sunday, June 9, 2019).
So reads part of a statement from the NDP applauding the happy and wonderous news that this small and internationally unknown Caribbean country was elected to a two-term membership in the powerful United Nations Security Council [UNSC] on Friday, June 7.
Not only was the country elected, it received nearly every vote cast in its category. Truly SVG's political leaders and UN support staff should be praised to the skies for years of hard work and patience needed to achieve the singular honour ofbreaking the record as the smallest ever UNSC seat holder .
Though there has been much rejoicing in Caribbean and diasporic Vincyland over this prestigious achievement, one that will doubtless raise the country's international profile, this must be tempered by words of caution.
Moses led the Biblical Israelites – His chosen people since the days of Abraham, out of bondage in Egypt, then guided them through a dry an inhospitable wilderness for 40 years, and finally brought them to a Promised Land of milk and honey then known as Canaan.
Over the centuries and up to the present, the milk has often gone sour and the honey rancid. There is even an old Jewish sardonic joke that nicely summarizes thousands of years of Hebrew history: 'Please, Yahweh, choose somebody else next time.'
SVG's very own Moses, Ralph Everard Gonsalves, who has led his afflicted people through the parched wilderness of economic hardship and intractable unemployment for nearly 19 years, has said of this miraculous UNSC achievement, ' It's a sweet victory; sweet, sweet victory .'
Indeed it is, but the prime minister has been careful to never promise that this victory, based on a campaign that began in 2001, could ever give the people of SVG the milk and honey implied in the NDP's press release.
This is surely because Papa or Comrade Ralph, as he is affectionately called by his army of supporters, is well aware of the following.
None of the five permanent members would ever offer SVG any economic giveaways except in exchange for loyalty and votes. Both the United States and Great Britain have offered the country very little in recent years, not even help with building the new Argyle International Airport.
Indeed, America has always been displeased with the nation's close ties to Cuba and Venezuela while Great Britain cannot be happy that the prime minister is the founder and leader of the extortionary slavery reparations movement. Conversely, would Dr Gonsalves throw Cuba or Venezuela under the bus for a few pieces of silver? Never.
Meanwhile, China would not give SVG a penny as long as its supports the Taiwan sovereignty movement. As for France and Russia, the former is preoccupied with giving aid to its Caribbean possessions while Russia, which has meddled in Caribbean countries like Cuba and Grenada in the past, has no reason to do anything for SVG in the future. As for the non-permanent members of the UNSC, including the five newly elected representatives, most are at least as poor or poorer than SVG.
Actual evidence that temporarily joining the UNSC has enhanced the economic well-being of those who have done so is also mixed.
There is research that suggests that have-not, ' temporary [UNSC] members trade their votes for cash ,' based on the fact that nearly all hard-up General Assembly members do so. These studies also suggest that, 'Whether used to bribe or reward, IMF [International Monetary Fund] loans are funneled not just to developing countries facing economic crises, but also to politically important developing countries, such as those serving a term on the UN Security Council.'
This is credible because four of the five top IMF shareholders who control the funds – America, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, are permanent Security Council members. But getting more IMF money with fewer restrictions is a mixed blessing at most because it encourages more reckless spending of funds that would have to be eventually repaid.
Not so for grants and other forms of aid.Another study found that , '… a country's U.S. aid increases by 59 percent and its U.N. aid by 8 percent when it rotates onto the council. This effect increases during years in which key diplomatic events take place (when members' votes should be especially valuable) and the timing of the effect closely tracks a country's election to, and exit from, the council. Finally, the U.N. results appear to be driven by UNICEF, an organization over which the United States has historically exerted great control.'
On the other hand,there is research suggesting that , 'Nations elected to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as temporary members have lower levels of economic growth, become less democratic, and experience more restrictions on press freedoms than comparable nations not elected to the UNSC.… [O]ver the two-year period of UNSC membership and the following two years during which a nation is ineligible for re-election, UNSC nations experience a 3.5 percent contraction in their economy relative to nations not elected to the UNSC.'
It cannot be claimed that any of this will necessarily or invariably apply to SVG's membership on the UNSC, only that the experience of other developing countries shows that the temptation to trade votes for cash is nearly irresistible, even if the economic impact is negative or insignificant.
Only the future will tell whether SVG's two-year tenure will be successful or not. But one thing is certain, joy and pride are now bursting among most Vincentians, regardless of political party affiliation, which is why the NDP was compelled to issue such a positive statement, albeit debating their response for over two days knowing full well that the die had been cast by the General Assembly which has now virtually determined the outcome of the next election schedule for this year or next.
How many conscious Vincentians would rush to vote against a Unity Labour Party government whose 18 years of lobbying have been recognized, embraced, and honoured in this way by nearly the entire world of nations?
C. ben-David
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