African Mosquitoes, Bush Philanthropy and G-8 Sovereignty

World Bank and Asian Development Bank representatives directly call on Nepali leaders and tell them to increase commodity prices in order to be eligible for getting more loans. They even select certain hydroelectric and other development projects in Nepal.

A similar tradition in Nepal can be found among Indian, American and some European ambassadors, who often diplomatically and subtly lobby for certain international contractors. They even pressurize political parties to take up certain agenda. Some within Nepal view this tradition as an instance of direct interference with Nepal's internal affairs.

It can be felt that such a tendency of the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and ambassadors may not be uncommon in African, South American and other Asian nations, mostly dependent on loans for their national budgets. When sovereignty in the decision-making process is trodden upon, no developing nations can ever think of mapping their future by themselves.

One person's poverty may mean the prosperity of another. One nation's prosperity may, similarly, mean another nation's poverty. But as far as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is concerned, all nations, developing and advanced, accept the equal sovereignty of all of them.

Contrary to the essence of the human rights declaration, advanced nations have not bothered much about the sovereignty of the developing nations. As sovereignty, in essence, means self-deciding, advanced nations should not impose their multinational corporation strategies on the developing world. But it definitely does not mean that the decision-making process is completely isolated from the globalization process. The only point is the supreme decision-making authority lies with the concerned nations, not with external forces, which are invited as helpful friends.