PGMA's Speech during the Conferment Ceremonies of Doctor of Laws Degree Honoris Causa by Waseday University in Japan

PGMA's Speech during the Conferment Ceremonies of Doctor of Laws Degree Honoris Causa by Waseda University in Japan

The Masaku Ibuka Auditorium, International Conference Center Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan (20 May 2002)

MR. TAKAYASU OKUSHIMA, PRESIDENT, WASEDA UNIVERSITY; MR. KATSUHIKO SIRAI, VICE PRESIDENT, WASEDA UNIVERSITY; MR. NORIO OKUSAWA, VICE PRESIDENT, WASEDA UNIVERSITY; MR. HIKOTA FUGUCHI, DEAN OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS; MR. YASUSI KEKUCHI, PROFESSOR INSTITUTE OF PACIFIC STUDIES; MEMBERS OF THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS; MEMBERS OF THE PHILIPPINE DELEGATION; FACULTIES; STAFF AND STUDENTS OF WASEDA UNIVERSITY; DISTINGUISHED GUESTS; LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:

I AM DEEPLY HONORED TO RECEIVE THIS DOCTORATE OF LAW FROM ONE OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS UNIVERSITIES IN ASIA AND THE WORLD -- WASEDA UNIVERSITY.

YOUR INSTITUTION IS RENOWNED NOT ONLY FOR ITS ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE BUT ALSO FOR ITS VALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO JAPANESE SOCIETY. THROUGHOUT ITS 120 YEARS OF EXISTENCE, WASEDA HAS PROVIDED THIS COUNTRY WITH LEADERS AND ROLE MODELS IN THE VARIOUS FIELDS -- THE NATURAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES ESPECIALLY LAW AND ECONOMICS.

I FEEL A SPECIAL AFFINITY FOR WASEDA UNIVERSITY, WHICH HAS INSTITUTIONAL TIES WITH MY ALMA MATER, THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES. WASEDA ALSO HAS ACADEMIC TIES WITH TWO OTHER PHILIPPINE UNIVERSITIES -- DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY AND MAPUA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY -- UNDER WASEDAŐS GLOBAL NETWORK PROGRAM. AND I AM VERY HAPPY TO LEARN ALSO THAT SOON MY OTHER ALMA MATER, THE ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY, MAY ALSO JOIN WASEDAŐS GLOBAL NETWORK PROGRAM.

MY DEGREE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES WAS IN ECONOMICS. NOW, THIS CONFERMENT OF A DOCTORATE IN LAWS BRINGS ME CLOSER TO MY FATHERŐS ACHIEVEMENT, THE LATE PRESIDENT DIOSDADO MACAPAGAL, WHO HELD TWO DOCTORAL DEGREES -- ONE IN ECONOMICS AND THE OTHER IN LAW.

INCIDENTALLY, IT WAS DURING THE PRESIDENCY OF MY FATHER THAT MY COUNTRY HAD THE HONOR OF RECEIVING THE STATE VISIT OF THEIR IMPERIAL MAJESTIES THE EMPEROR AND EMPRESS OF JAPAN WHEN THEY WERE STILL CROWN PRINCE AND PRINCESS.

MY FATHER TAUGHT ME THAT BEYOND THE RULES AND JURISPRUDENCE, LAW IS A FORCE FOR EMPOWERING THE POOR. IN THE PHILIPPINES, THE OVERARCHING MISSION OF MY ADMINISTRATION IS TO ADDRESS THE PLIGHT OF THE UNDERPRIVILEGED WHO MAKE UP 40 PERCENT OF PHILIPPINE SOCIETY.

I REALIZE THAT TO ENSURE THE WELFARE OF PEOPLES, STATES MUST NOT ONLY STRENGTHEN INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND REGULATORY SYSTEMS AND LAWS, BUT MUST ALSO STRENGTHEN RULE MAKING AND UNIVERSAL NORMS -- INTERNATIONAL LAWS, IF YOU WISH -- IN SUCH AREAS AS TRADE, ENVIRONMENT AND SECURITY. I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON EACH OF THESE THREE AREAS.

THE ENVIRONMENT IS ONE AREA THAT SHOULD TOP OUR GLOBAL AGENDA WHERE NORMS MUST BE AGREED UPON AND PROPERLY ADDRESSED. FOR INSTANCE, THE KYOTO PROTOCOL DESERVES SPECIAL MENTION, BECAUSE IT OUTLINES THE SPECIFIC MEASURES WHICH THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY HAS AGREED UPON TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GASES BASED ON SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS.

AT THE 1992 EARTH SUMMIT IN RIO, GOVERNMENTS SIGNED THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE, AN INTERNATIONAL TREATY THAT SET THE GOAL OF PREVENTING A DANGEROUS DISRUPTION IN THE CLIMATE CHANGE CAUSED BY HUMAN ACTIVITY. BUT THE CONCRETE PLAN FOR REDUCING GREENHOUSE GASES WAS SET FORTH BY THE KYOTO PROTOCOL IN 1997, WHERE 160 NATIONS MET AND NEGOTIATED AND AGREED THAT THE WORLDŐS 41 INDUSTRIAL NATIONS WOULD CUT EMISSIONS BY 5.5 PERCENT BELOW 1990 LEVELS BY THE YEAR 2012. THE DETERMINATION OF INDUSTRIALIZED ECONOMIES SUCH AS JAPAN AND THE EUROPEAN NATIONS TO MAKE THE AGREEMENT A SUCCESS IS TRULY REASSURING.

ANOTHER AREA WHERE NORMS ARE CRUCIAL, INTERNATIONAL NORMS IS THE ECONOMY. TRADE EXPANSION AND MARKET ACCESS ARE NECESSARY TO FURTHER SPUR GROWTH IN OUR ECONOMIES. BUT THE NEW DOHA ROUND OF NEGOTIATIONS UNDER THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION MUST BE A DEVELOPMENT ROUND. IT MUST BE BROAD ENOUGH TO INCLUDE AREAS THAT WOULD BENEFIT ALL MEMBERS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, IT MUST NOT BE SO BROAD AS TO ENTAIL COMMITMENTS THAT WOULD BE BURDENSOME ON SOME MEMBERS ESPECIALLY THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

SINCE MANY MEMBERS ARE STILL STRIVING TO IMPLEMENT COMMITMENTS AGREED UPON IN THE PREVIOUS URUGUAY ROUND, IT IS IMPORTANT IF WE HAVE A DEVELOPMENT APPROACH. WE NEED AN APPROACH THAT WOULD BE MORE SUSTAINABLE AND WITH REINFORCED CREDIBILITY AND TRUSTWORTHINESS IN THE ECONOMIC WORLD. BECAUSE IF WE IMPOSE TOO MUCH ON DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, THEN IT WOULD NOT BE A CREDIBLE DEVELOPMENT ROUND.

SECONDLY, THE NEW ROUND SHOULD MAINSTREAM ECONOMIC TRENDS, PARTICULARLY GLOBAL TRADE INTO A WIDER DEVELOPMENT AGENDA OF ERADICATING POVERTY. TO DO THIS, THERE SHOULD BE GREATER COHERENCE AND POLICIES AMONG INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTIONS. IN OTHER WORDS, AMONG WTO, THE WORLD BANK, THE IMF, THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK.

THE TRADE REGIME MUST ACCORD SUFFICIENT FLEXIBILITY TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES FOR THEM TO PURSUE DEVELOPMENT GOALS SUCH AS POVERTY ALLEVIATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING IN AREAS WHERE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RULES NEGOTIATED UNDER THE URUGUAY ROUND HAD BEEN DIFFICULT. FOR INSTANCE, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES HAVE FOUND DIFFICULTY IN THE RULES REGARDING VALUATION, IN TRADE INVESTMENT MEASURES, IN TRADE RELATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTIES, IN SANITARY AND PHYTO-SANITARY STANDARDS, IN TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE. IN ALL THESE, THERE SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT CONCERN FOR THE CAPACITY BUILDING AND FLEXIBILITY OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. THUS, THE PHILIPPINES LOOKS AT THE DOHA ROUND AS AN AREA WHERE WE CHOOSE WHAT WE WANT TO SUPPORT IN THE NEGOTIATIONS OR WHAT WE DO NOT WANT TO SUPPORT. IF THE NEGOTIATIONS WILL BE DIFFICULT FOR THE PHILIPPINE DEVELOPMENT THEN WE OPPOSE THESE NEGOTIATIONS.

FOR INSTANCE, THE PHILIPPINES OPPOSES CERTAIN NEGOTIATIONS IN THE FOLLOWING: LABOR, THE ENVIRONMENT, COMPETITION POLICY, AND INVESTMENT. THERE ARE OTHER AREAS WHERE THE PHILIPPINES HAS AGREED TO JOIN THE CONSENSUS. IN OTHER WORDS, IF THE REST OF THE COUNTRIES WANT TO PROCEED WITH NEGOTIATIONS, WE WILL AGREE. IF THE REST OF THE COUNTRIES FEEL THAT NEGOTIATIONS SHOULD NOT MOVE FORWARD, WE WILL AGREE AS WELL. SO WE WOULD HAVE NO SPECIFIC PREJUDICE FOR ANY PARTICULAR OUTCOME. THESE AREAS ARE THE FOLLOWING: TRADE FACILITATION, TRANSPARENCY AND OPENNESS IN GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT, AND THE LIBERALIZATION OF E-COMMERCE. SO THIS IS AN AREA WHERE IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO DEVELOP NEW RULES OF THE GAME. THE DOHA ROUND OF THE WTO. THESE ARE AREAS WHERE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAWS WILL HAVE TO BE DEVELOPED IN THE 21st CENTURY.

BUT, THE FIELD WHERE NORMS ARE PERHAPS MOST CRITICAL IN THE 21st CENTURY, IS ALSO THE MOST SENSITIVE AREA IN GLOBAL RELATIONS, AND THAT IS SECURITY. THE WORLD USED TO TEND TO TAKE SECURITY FOR GRANTED. BUT AFTER SEPTEMBER 11, WE HAVE SEEN THAT EVEN TERRORISM CAN RIDE THE WAVE OF GLOBALIZATION. THEREFORE, THERE MUST BE INTERNATIONAL LAWS AND INTERNATIONAL RULES TO ADDRESS HUMAN SECURITY.

WE HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY CULTIVATING ECONOMIC LINKAGES IN THE ASIA PACIFIC. BUT IF WE ARE TO PROGRESS TO A TRUE REGIONAL COMMUNITY, WE HAVE TO CULTIVATE DEEPER SECURITY RELATIONS AS WELL IN THE ASIA PACIFIC.

THE ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM OR ARF HAS A LOOSE STRUCTURE, BUT IT HAS ALLOWED US TO ADVANCE INTO THE SECURITY FRONTIER. ITS MAJOR ACHIEVEMENT HAS BEEN CONFIDENCE BUILDING. STILL THERE IS A NEED FOR ARF TO ADVANCE FURTHER INTO PREVENTIVE DIPLOMACY IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION. IT MAY BE TIME FOR OUR REGION TO EXPLORE MORE FORMAL REGIONAL SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS. IN SUGGESTING THIS, TWO MAJOR CONSIDERATIONS MUST BE BORNED IN MIND:

FIRST, FULL IMPORTANCE SHOULD STILL BE ACCORDED TO BILATERAL ARRANGEMENTS AND EVEN MULTILATERAL INITIATIVES IN ORDER TO ENSURE MULTIPLE LINKAGES; SECOND, THERE SHOULD BE NO INTENTION AT ALL TO FASHION A REGIONAL ALLIANCE LIKE NATO WHICH SPECIFICALLY AIMS AT CAMPAIGNING MILITARY CRISIS.

AN ORGANIZATION WITH A MORE COMPREHENSIVE OUTLOOK IS PREFERABLE, INCORPORATING NOT ONLY POLITICAL AND SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS BUT ALSO ECONOMIC AND HUMAN SECURITY, AND EVEN ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATION. IN THIS REGARD, THE ASIA-PACIFIC MAY LEARN FROM THE ARF, WHICH IS RIGHT NOW ONLY ASEAN. THE ARF HAS MORE POTENTIALS AS A LEGALLY ORIENTED ORGANIZATION. IT OPERATES BY CONSENSUS AND DEPENDS ON ITS MEMBERS CONFORMING TO NORMS AND ACTING UPON PRINCIPLES THEY HAVE DEFINED AND AGREED TO.

AS RECENTLY AS A DECADE AGO, THE VERY PROPOSAL OF A MULTILATERAL MECHANISM FOR REGIONAL SECURITY WAS NOT A WELCOME IDEA. DURING AN ASEAN POST- MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE IN 1991, HOWEVER, JAPAN PROPOSED A MULTILATERAL FORUM THAT WOULD DISCUSS REGIONAL SECURITY ISSUES. MANY PARTIES IMMEDIATELY EXPRESSED RESERVATIONS. HOWEVER, SOON ENOUGH THE PARTIES PROVED TO BE QUICK IN SEEING THE LOGIC AND SOUNDNESS OF THE PROPOSAL. THE U.S. IN FACT PROPOSED A MULTILATERAL SECURITY DIALOGUE IN ASIA IN 1993 AS ONE OF THE PILLARS OF A NEW PACIFIC COMMUNITY. AN ASEAN POST-MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE TOOK THIS UP THAT SAME YEAR, AND IN JULY THE FOLLOWING YEAR, THE ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM WAS BORN.

THE KEYS TO A PROSPEROUS AND STABLE ASIA PACIFIC REGION ARE MULTIPLE LINKAGES, AND THIS WOULD HAVE TO INCLUDE A SECURITY DIMENSION AS WELL. THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES AND THE ORGANIZATION FOR AFRICAN UNITY ARE PROVIDING SUCH A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO REGIONAL PROBLEMS IN THE AMERICAS AND AFRICA, RESPECTIVELY. WE SHOULD HAVE A SIMILAR MECHANISM FOR OUR PART OF THE WORLD.

WE ARE BEING CALLED UPON TO ACCELERATE OUR BROAD-BASE AND MULTIPLE LINKAGES BECAUSE THE END OF THE COLD WAR HAS CHANGED THE GLOBAL SECURITY CONFIGURATION. THE IMMEDIATE SECURITY PROBLEMS NO LONGER ARISE FROM STRONG STATES, BUT FROM THE INTERNAL BREAKDOWN OF THE WEAK STATES, OR THOSE THAT ARE FAILING OR HAVE ALREADY FAILED. THESE ARE THE TERRITORIES WHERE SYSTEMIC BREAKDOWN HAS OCCURRED, WHERE CITIZENS HAVE TO CONTEND WITH COMMUNAL STRIFE, CRIMINALITY, CIVIL WAR, MASS STARVATION, AND IN SOME CASES, WITH MASS DESTRUCTION OF HUMAN LIVES.

WHERE WE WOULD UPHOLD NON-INTERFERENCE IN DOMESTIC AFFAIRS AS A CARDINAL PRINCIPLE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, WE FIND IT DIFFICULT TO REMAIN INDIFFERENT BYSTANDERS WHEN WE ARE REAL-TIME WITNESSES TO GENOCIDE OR TO OTHER ABUSE BY A STATE OF THE RIGHTS AND DIGNITY OF ITS POPULATION, OR TO HUMAN CATASTROPHIES IN FAILED STATES.

OUR COMMON HUMANITY ENTAILS US TO TAKE ACTION AS AN INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY. ASIDE FROM HUMANITARIAN CONSIDERATIONS, WE KNOW THE FACT THAT THE DISORDER IN FAILED STATES CAN BE EXPLOITED BY OTHER STATES OR NON-STATE ACTORS. FOR INSTANCE, AFGHANISTAN HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT FAILED STATES CAN BECOME A BASE OF OPERATIONS FOR TERRORISTS. ELSEWHERE, FAILED STATES AS A ÔNO MANŐS LANDŐ CAN BECOME A SAFE HAVEN FOR CRIMINALS OR THE DUMPING GROUNDS OF TOXIC WASTE OR OTHER HARMFUL MATERIALS. FOR THESE REASONS, THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY HAS A VESTED INTEREST IN RESCUING FAILED STATES. THE IMPORTANT POLICY QUESTIONS ARE BY WHOM AND WITH WHAT DEGREE OF COMMITMENT. THE UNITED NATIONS IS UNIVERSALLY REGARDED AS HAVING THE AUTHORITY FOR CONCERTED ACTION IN FAILED STATES. TO THE REASSURANCE OF THE WORLD, IT HAS ACTED SEVERAL TIMES IN THIS CAPACITY.

RECENTLY, HOWEVER, THE U.N. HAS BEGUN DELEGATING SOME STAGES OF INTERVENTION TO WHAT WE CALL ÔCOALITIONS OF THE WILLING.Ő THIS IS NOW THE PREFERRED MECHANISM FOR DEALING WITH FAILED STATES. IT NOT ONLY PREVENTS UNILATERAL ACTIONS BY SINGLE ACTORS, BUT IT ALSO HELPS GUARANTEE THE SUSTAINABILITY OF POLICY IMPLEMENTATION.

LET ME GIVE EXAMPLES OF HOW ÔCOALITIONS OF THE WILLINGŐ HAVE HELPED. IN OUR PART OF THE WORLD, CAMBODIA AND EAST TIMOR ARE EXAMPLES OF HOW THE CONCERTED EFFORTS OF INTERESTED PARTIES HAVE HELPED ENSURE REGIONAL STABILITY. AND I AM PROUD TO SAY THAT THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS OR ASEAN WAS VERY ACTIVE IN NURSING CAMBODIA BACK TO HEALTH IN THE EARLY 1990s. AS FOR EAST TIMOR, WHICH WILL INAUGURATE ITS INDEPENDENCE TODAY, JAPAN AND THE PHILIPPINES ARE COOPERATING TO ENSURE THAT EAST TIMOR WILL HAVE STRONGER STATE INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE JAPAN-PHILIPPINES PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM, WHICH IS A FORM OF SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION. THIS WAS SIGNED IN MANILA LAST JANUARY 9th. JAPAN, THROUGH JICA, HAS BEEN PROMOTING SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION WHERE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES WHICH HAVE SHOWN EXPERTISE IN CERTAIN DEVELOPMENT AREAS ARE ASSISTED IN EXTENDING TECHNICAL KNOW-HOW TO LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES SUCH AS THROUGH THIRD PARTY EXPERT PROGRAMS. JAPAN ALSO HAS PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMS WITH SINGAPORE AND THAILAND. THIS ARRANGEMENT -- SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION -- INVOLVES A DONOR COUNTRY OR AGENCY, AND THAT IS USUALLY JAPAN. BUT THE U.N., THROUGH THE UNDP, IS ALSO ACTIVE IN PROMOTING THIS TYPE OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

THE CHALLENGES TO THE 21st CENTURY ARE DAUNTING. TODAY, MORE THAN EVER, I BELIEVE, AS DID THE YOUNG REFORMERS OF THE MEIJI PERIOD DURING JAPANŐS RAPID MODERNIZATION, THAT A NATION WILL STAND OR FALL ON HOW WELL IT COULD TRAIN AND EDUCATE ITS PEOPLE.

I CONGRATULATE WASEDA FOR ITS CONTRIBUTIONS TO JAPANŐS GREATNESS. AND I THANK WASEDA FOR GIVING ME THIS DOCTORATE IN LAW. BECAUSE NOW HAVING EARNED A DOCTORATE IN LAW FROM THE GREAT WASEDA UNIVERSITY, I FIND IT NOW MY DUTY TO STUDY MORE NOT ONLY ABOUT ECONOMICS BUT ALSO ABOUT INTERNATIONAL NORMS AND RULES ESPECIALLY IN THE AREAS THAT I TALKED ABOUT -- TRADE, THE ENVIRONMENT AND SECURITY. AND I HOPE THAT IF ALL OF US WILL DO THIS KIND OF STUDY, ALL THE FACULTY, ALL THE STUDENTS OF WASEDA, THEN WASEDAŐS PRINCIPLES AND TEACHINGS WOULD HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO PEACE AND PROSPERITY AS IT HAS CONTRIBUTED IN THE PAST, IT WILL CONTRIBUTE ONCE AGAIN TO PEACE AND PROSPERITY IN THE 21st CENTURY.

THANK YOU.

[HOME]