(Adds EU chief Barroso, Nigerian minister, paragraphs 13-17)

By David Lewis

ACCRA, Oct 1 (Reuters) - The world's poorest states, facing a "disastrous" cut in aid and capital flows due to the global banking crisis, must not be made to suffer for the mistakes of rich, developed countries, they said on Wednesday.

Ministers from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries called on international institutions to shore up funding to the poorest peoples of the planet with the same urgency as the rich world's banks were being bailed out.

Gathering for a summit of the 79-nation ACP group starting on Thursday in Accra, Ghana, they said they were bracing for the impact of the international financial turmoil on their often-fragile, commodity-exporting economies.

"The consequences for the ACP, especially for small vulnerable countries, will be disastrous," Arvin Boolell, Mauritius's minister for foreign affairs, regional integration and international trade, told Reuters in Accra.

"There will be less overseas development assistance money. There will be less obligations on behalf of developed countries to honour their commitments of monetary agreements," he added.

Several ministers cited estimates that flows of funds for emerging markets would drop by as much as 25 percent as a result of the developed world's banking crisis, which has toppled Wall Street firms, frozen lending among banks and forced the U.S. and European governments to rescue failing banks and companies.

They noted that many ACP countries were already grappling with budgetary shortfalls and pressures caused by sharp rises over the last year of global food and fuel prices.

"We need to take active steps to make sure that developing countries do not disproportionately pay for problems which were not of their creation," Rob Davies, South Africa's deputy minister for trade and industry, said.

"I would suggest engaging international institutions about what can be done, including the deployment of funding, to ensure that capital flows and aid flows to developing countries are not interrupted," he added.

"SAVING HUMAN BEINGS"

The ACP ministers noted that the U.S. government had put forward a $700 billion financial rescue plan to try to restore market confidence, while European central banks were also pumping out billions to try to keep credit flowing.

"They can find the money for this purpose at this moment but apparently not for development," Davies said.

"I do think this says something about the priorities of the current governance of the world economy," he added.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso also urged rich donor countries not to neglect development aid.

"Even if the media's attention is focusing above all today on 'saving the financial system', we mustn't forget about 'saving human beings'," Barroso said in Brussels after meeting the head of the African Union Commission, Jean Ping.

"There are millions and millions of people who are living in extreme poverty and hunger increased last year in the world ... international aid must not weaken," he added.

Some ACP ministers hoped their nations' strong trade with China, India and Brazil could initially shield them from the worst effects of the international financial chaos. But they recognised the repercussions would be felt sooner or later.

Even top African oil producer Nigeria might not escape feeling some impact. "It is of concern, there is no economy in the world that is isolated, we are all intertwined," said Mohammed Sanusi Daggash of Nigeria's National Planning Commission, who has ministerial rank.

The global financial turmoil and its trade and aid implications for developing states were expected to dominate the ACP summit, which will be presided over by Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, outgoing chairman of the ACP group.

Bashir will attend the summit despite moves by the International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief prosecutor to indict him for war crimes in Darfur. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/) (Additional reporting by Ingrid Melander in Brussels; Editing by Louise Ireland and Pascal Fletcher)

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