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Globalization - Global Policy Forum Globalization and the Human Rights Framework
A panel discussion during the PrepCom
of the Conference on Financing for DevelopmentBy Elsa Stamatopoulou
United Nations
October 18, 2001
Introduction
I am very pleased to be participating in this discussion; not only because the FFD process is a very important one, but also because I am convinced that a dialogue between the discipline of human rights and that of economics will help bridge the policy gap that still exists.
The Secretary-General proclaimed in his Reform of the UN that human rights should be mainstreamed, in other words we should not simply confine the human rights agenda within the specialized human rights bodies.
At the FFD PrepCom on 16 October 2001 the High Commissioner said:
"The September 11th terrorist attacks in the U.S. still cast a shadow over all of us. I have condemned those abhorrent acts of terrorism as crimes against humanity. In the aftermath of these events, there has been remarkable, unprecedented and welcome international co-operation through the United Nations in combating terrorism.
It must be all our hope that the new spirit of international solidarity can also lead to new thinking about the role of international co-operation in development and in creating a more equitable and balanced world. We must focus our attention on making increased resources available for development. Financing for development is the best investment we can make today, in order to ensure security and human dignity for all in the future.
Inequality, injustice and discrimination generate conflict. From Seattle to Genoa, protest on the streets reflects the deep concern over the perceived inequality and injustice in the global economy. In view of the current economic slowdown, these concerns may be expected to deepen further in the coming months, and perhaps, years.
A central response in addressing these concerns is to strengthen participation. That is to say, to give an effective voice to countries that feel they are left out of the process, and to people who are marginalized and denied access to resources for their development. This in turn requires the institutions of governance – both at national and international level – to be transparent and accountable."
The High Commissioner also said that "many of the issues that are on the agenda for FFD Conference find normative and legal basis in international human rights instruments. In particular, article 2 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recalls the importance of obligations arising out of international co-operation. The Declaration on the Right to Development obliges individual States to formulate appropriate national policies and to ensure equal and adequate access to essential resources. Further, the Declaration stipulates the duty of States to take steps, individually and collectively, to formulate international development policies with a view to facilitating the full realization of the right."
I would also like to quote three more articles of the Declaration on the Right to Development which is one of the most important human rights instruments relevant to the globalization debate:
Article 2 of the Declaration on RTD, states: "1. The human person is the central subject of development and should be the active participant and beneficiary of the RTD. …3. States have the right and duty to formulate appropriate national development policies that aim at the constant improvement of the well-being of the entire population and of all individuals, on the basis of their active, free and meaningful participation in development and in the fair distribution of the benefits resulting therefrom".
Article 3.3 of RTD Declaration, states: "States have the duty to cooperate with each other in ensuring development and eliminating obstacles to development".
Article 4.2: "As a complement to the efforts of developing countries, effective international co-operation is essential in providing these countries with appropriate means and facilities to foster their comprehensive development".
Millennium Summit
The Process of FFD may also be seen in the context of the Millennium Summit, which consolidated the goals and commitments of the global summits and conferences of the 1990s at the highest level and feeds into the ongoing review and follow-up processes.
The General Assembly adopted the “Millennium Declaration” which proclaimed:
“We are committed to making the right to development a reality for everyone…”“We resolve therefore to create an environment – at the national and global levels alike – which is conducive to development and to the elimination of poverty …”
“We are concerned about the obstacles developing countries face in mobilizing the resources needed to finance their sustained development …”
If there was one theme that dominated discussions in the MS, it was globalization. If there was one goal that dominated the commitments voiced at the MS, it was poverty eradication.
Consider these numbers: the world is increasingly becoming global, yet inequality is widening:
Þ 50 years ago, the world traded around a billion dollars a day; today, the same one-billion-dollar-trade is happening every 90 minutes.
Þ Today, 2 billion dollars of foreign direct investment (FDI) moves around the world every day. Africa receives 6 to 8 billion dollars of FDI a year – which means investors spend at most 4 days a year thinking about Africa!
Þ 20% of world’s population commands 80% of its income.
This focus on globalization as the major factor that the international system has to cope with, and on poverty eradication as the primary goal of policy, particularly development cooperation policy, was something which was also asserted very strongly at the Copenhagen+5 and Beijing+5, and is at the backbone of the FFD process.
What is globalization?
The Secretary-General’s preliminary report on globalization (A/55/342) sets out a framework definition of globalization. It assumed that globalization is multi-dimensional and that it can be broken down into numerous complex and interrelated processes that have a dynamism of their own, resulting in both varied and often unpredictable effects.
The preliminary report notes that, while there have been previous eras that have experienced globalization, the present era has certain distinctive features. These include, although they are not limited to:
- trade liberalization;
- increasing and changing patterns of financial flows;
- cheaper and quicker transport;
- the growth in the size and power of corporations; and,
- impressive advances in new technology, in particular information and communications technology.
Generally, these processes are evolving, partly through their own dynamism and partly through the implementation of international, regional and national rules, standards and policies - in particular, the rules of the WTO, and the policies of the IMF and the World Bank.
A. A human rights approach to globalization – rules for the road
In Prague in September last year, the High Commissioner chaired a dialogue on “The main problems of contemporary civilization, including the responsibility of mankind for the development of the poorest regions of the world”, an event on the occasion of the Annual Meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. In opening the dialogue, the High Commissioner noted that “it would be wrong to be blind to the economic benefits that globalization has brought to some. It would also be wrong to imagine that we can turn back the clock on globalization. The real question I see is how can we humanize globalization, how can we shape it in such a way that it can benefit all instead of some?”.
In response, the High Commissioner noted that there are rules for environment protection, trade, finance and human rights that operate more or less independently but in parallel with very little overlap. The High Commissioner promoted multi-linguism between these sets of rules and underlined the relevance of a human rights approach to poverty reduction and a need for closer dialogue between development, finance, environment, trade and human rights organizations.
Taking a human rights approach to globalization involves the following three steps:
Ø The first step is an examination of globalization’s rules and policies for their compatibility with the principles, norms and standards of international human rights law. In the context of the WTO, this involves examining the WTO Agreement and its annexes – such as the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, or the General Agreement on Trade in Services - for their compatibility with human rights. In the context of the World Bank or the IMF, it involves examining their macro-economic policies and poverty reduction strategies for their compatibility with human rights law. Questions to be asked include:
- are the rules and policies discriminatory in any way?
- do they include public interest safeguards?
- do they include specific references to the promotion and protection of human rights?
- do they promote popular participation in decision-making processes?
- do they include mechanisms for special treatment for poorer countries?
- how do they address impact on the poor?
- are their enforcement procedures transparent?
The examination requires a comparison of the agreements and policies as written texts for their compatibility with the norms and standards of human rights.
Ø The second step requires a determination of the human rights impact of the rules and policies of globalization. This is a more difficult step as it requires empirical evidence. Empirical evidence gathering takes time and requires an appropriate methodology as well as funding. One relatively easy way to access empirical evidence however is through the treaty body reporting system. Empirical evidence is important for a number of reasons. First, it can put to the test free market philosophies that argue that liberalization has positive flow on effects or trickle down effects for the social sector. These are common arguments used by trade and finance organizations. Next, empirical evidence on the impact of globalization’s rules and policies demonstrates best and worst practices. This can enable the development of clearer human rights responses to globalization.
Ø The third step moves from examination to action. Depending on the findings of the first and second steps, action could involve the amendment, adaptation or adoption of rules and policies governing globalization. At the international level, this might involve making express linkages with human rights in trade agreements or macro-economic policies/structural adjustment programmes. At the national level, this involves ensuring democracy, the rule of law, popular participation, accountability and transparency in decision making and non-discrimination as the means of ensuring that the benefits of globalization are shared equally among everyone in a nation not only a few. National action is as important as international action as studies suggest that unequal societies share the benefits of globalization unequally.
B. Significant work of the OHCHR in this area
Over the past year, the OHCHR has made progress on elaborating the first step of the above process – namely the examination of the rules and policies concerning globalization for their compatibility with the norms and standards of human rights.
First, the OHCHR is examining globalization’s rules. The High Commissioner has submitted her report on the impact of the WTO’s TRIPS Agreement on the enjoyment of all human rights (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2001/13). The TRIPS Agreement has been widely criticized for being skewed in favour of private (often corporate) rights over the public interest. This can have flow on effects for public health, food security, indigenous peoples, bioethics and development. The High Commissioner’s report therefore examines the WTO’s minimum standards for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in light of the requirements of the ICESCR – with a special focus on the right to health. The report notes that 111 of the 141 Member States of the WTO have also ratified the ICESCR, so it will be important to ensure compatibility between human rights norms and intellectual property standards. The report notes that the TRIPS Agreement includes important public interest safeguards and encourages the interpretation of these safeguards that is compatible with states’ obligations under the ICESCR.
Next, the OHCHR is examining globalization’s policies. The past year has seen deepening dialogue between the OHCHR, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the World Bank. This has culminated in an in-house meeting on 23 June 2001 on “Developing Guidelines for Integrating Human Rights in National Poverty Reduction Strategies”. A poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) is an annually updated document that a country prepares in collaboration with the Bank and the IMF. The PRSP outlines the country’s plans to foster growth and reduce poverty through three-year economic adjustment programmes that include macro-economic, structural and social policies. The PRSP’s are closely linked to debt relief and to long term national poverty reduction. In this way, integrating the norms and standards of human rights into the PRSPs will be a significant step in introducing human rights approaches to globalization’s policies.
C. Specific points that will help our future thinking and action
1. We are still a long way off from the multi-linguism in international law and policy that the High Commissioner proposed last autumn in Prague. Nonetheless, some progress has been made, with increasing dialogue, in particular, between the WTO and the OHCHR, as well as between the World Bank and the OHCHR.
2. The nature of this contact is still very much at the level of dialogue. The closest example of action that could lead towards multi-linguism is the project of the CESCR to develop human rights guidelines for PRSPs.
3. A human rights approach is not only about trade and finance groups understanding human rights and coming to terms with the social dimension of globalization. It is also about human rights groups becoming fluent in trade and finance law and policy.
4. Dialogue is important. Human rights and economic globalization are not at odds with each other. However human rights adds new perspectives to economic globalization by emphasizing its many social dimensions.
5. Once multi-linguism is possible, the next step will be to work out how to marry the various obligations under international law. The Member States of the WTO, the shareholders of the Bretton Woods Institutions and the States Parties to the human rights treaties are more or less the same. Consistency in international law means consistency between human rights, environment and trade law.
6. A human rights approach to globalization brings to the rules and policies of trade and finance liberalization the human rights goals and principles of non-discrimination, popular participation, accountability, justice and equity and the rule of law. It makes the protection and promotion of the social sector more than just a good idea, it makes it a legal right.
7. A human rights approach to globalization can provide the means to channel the benefits of globalization so that they can be shared equitably and fairly both between and within nations. Thus a human rights approach requires good governance, democracy and the rule of law at the national level as well as the international level.
8. A human rights approach emphasizes the need to protect against increased vulnerability of people and peoples in a globalizing world. Thus a human rights approach stresses the need for culturally appropriate social safety nets.
9. A human rights approach to globalization ensures that poverty eradication becomes an essential objective of the globalization process. However, poverty eradication is not the only objective of a human rights approach to globalization. Human rights including the right to development, are the rights of all – rich and poor, adults and children, women and men.
10. There are still many challenges ahead. Human rights groups have a lot of work to do before they are fluent in trade and finance policy. In particular, dialogue on finance policy requires the formulation of clear and convincing strategies.
11. There will also be difficult decisions to make. Human rights approaches to globalization are not universally applauded. Human rights approaches cannot be all things to all people and difficult decisions will have to be taken.
12. Finally, I would like to emphasize the usefulness of facts, figures and examples to indicate the real impact of globalization and refer to the work already being done in the UN system on this, for example in the ILO or the FAO, as indications of further work for the future.
Recommendations on FFD outcome
1. Human rights instruments should be explicitly referred to in the outcome document and recommendations
2. Further, the promotion and protection of specific human rights - in particular the right to development - should be referred to explicitly in the outcome document.
3. The promotion of the principles and goals of human rights - in particular, popular participation in development, empowerment of the beneficiaries of development, non-discrimination, accountability, justice and equality - should be comprehensively woven into the outcome document and recommendations.
4. The beneficiaries of finance for development should be clearly defined as rights holders.
5. International co-operation should be defined in terms of States obligations under human rights instruments, in particular the Declaration on the Right to Development and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
6. Good governance - both at national and international levels - should be explicitly linked to human rights and emphasize the principles of transparency, responsibility, accountability, participation and responsiveness.
7. Close linkages in any outcome document should be established between the FFD process and UN human rights machinery established to analyze, implement and monitor relevant rights.
8. The commitment of developed countries to attain the agreed target of 0.7 per cent of GNP for overall development assistance as soon as possible should be included as one of the means of States fulfilling their international obligations under human rights.
I would like to end this brief presentation by quoting the statement of the Committee on Economic and Cultural Rights to the Third Ministerial Conference of the WTO in Seattle, 30 November to 3 December 1999 (document E/C.12/1999/9).
"The Committee recognizes the wealth-generating potential of trade liberalization, but it is also aware that liberalization in trade, investment and finance does not necessarily create and lead to a foreseeable environment for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights. Trade liberalization must be understood as a means, not an end. The end which trade liberalization should sense is the objective of the human well being to which the international human rights instruments give legal expression."
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