Overall Grading: B+

Jobs: A

The UK was seeking and achieved a statement regarding inclusion and employability through high quality education and training to increase the responsiveness of labour markets to economic conditions which will better aid people to adjust to all types of structural changes. With the promise of a conference to take place in early 1998 covering growth, employability and inclusion, the discussion on jobs in Denver lays the groundwork for employment policies for Birmingham next year.

Hong Kong: B

The communique stated that human rights would be at the heart of the concerns of the participating members and that they were committed to preserving stability and the way of life for the people of Hong Kong. The British failed to secure agreement from their G-7 counterparts on not attending the swearing in of the provisional legislature; in the final British briefing, Prime Minister Blair conceded that this choice was ultimately one that was to be made freely by the leaders of his G-7 counterparts.

Human Rights: B

The communique stated that human rights would be at the heart of the concerns of the participating members. The British secured the eradication of global poverty as an ultimate objective, but failed to obtain a firm list initiatives to tackle same. There was, however, a promise to develop a manageable list of priorities on global poverty.

Environment: A-

The communique contained positive statements on climate change, forests, fresh water, oceans and children's environmental health which were all British priorities. There were no firm targets established on environmental issues, however, there was support for reaching consensus on quantified and legally binding emission targets in Kyoto. There was a call for the establishment of a mechanism for monitoring and ensuring compliance among parties.

Aid and Development: A- The communique supports the efforts of African countries to participate fully in the expansion of global prosperity and states that the G-7 members are committed to a results oriented approach to aid and development in Africa. The G-7 members are committed to improving access to their markets for African exports and look to successful integration of African countries into global markets through market oriented economic policies. While the British failed to convince the Americans to allow unconditional access to markets, Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown stated that the British would go ahead on their own in this regard.

Landmines: A-

The G-7 leaders failed to obtain an agreement on a universal ban of anti-personnel landmines, however, the communique stated that the G-7 members welcomed the restrictions declared by individual States and endorsed controls on the export and production of landmines which was an important objective for the UK. The communique affirmed G-7 support for the UN General Assembly resolution calling for concluding an effective legally binding international agreement to ban anti-personnel landmines as soon as possible.

Russian Participation in the G-7 Process: B+

Although there was no mention in the communique about the summit being designated the G-8 next year in Birmingham, the Denver communique did state that this year's Summit of the Eight marked "a new and deeper participation by Russia..." and that "cooperation to integrate Russia's economy into the global economic system represents one of our most important priorities." During the final briefing of the summit, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said that Russian participation in certain issues was useful, mentioning nuclear power and Bosnia in particular. There was no unequivocal statement regarding British support of full Russian participation in Birmingham.

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Contributors:Allison Smith and Aron Halpern - June 22, 1997.

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