| | While European attention focused on the problems of ratifying the Maastricht treaty during 1992, and the year of the single EC market turned into a year of variable speed and frequent gear changes, development prospects in many other parts of the world went form bad to worse. The UN conference on the environment and development (UNCED) in Rio was a disappointing affair with little progress made on tackling global ecological crises. In two other important international fora, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), powerful northern nations put on the brakes, undermining efforts to improve the world trade system for the benefit of the poor in the third world countries. |
