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Globalization, Statement on Globalization
UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
May 11, 1998
1. On the eve of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights it is essential to reflect upon the impact of globalization on the economic, social and cultural rights recognized in the Universal Declaration and further developed in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Although it is capable of multiple and diverse definitions, globalization is a phenomenon which has wrought fundamental changes within every society.
2. It is usually defined primarily by reference to the developments in technology, communications, information processing and so on that have made the world smaller and more interdependent in very many ways. But it has also come to be closely associated with a variety of specific trends and policies, including an increasing reliance upon the free market, a significant growth in the influence of international financial markets and institutions in determining the viability of national policy priorities, a diminution in the role of the State and the size of its budget, the privatization of various functions previously considered to be the exclusive domain of the State, the deregulation of a range of activities with a view to facilitating investment and rewarding individual initiative, and a corresponding increase in the role and even responsibilities attributed to private actors, both in the corporate sector, in particular to the transnational corporations, and in civil society.
3. None of these developments in itself is necessarily incompatible with the principles of the Covenant or with the obligations of Governments thereunder. Taken together, however, and if not complemented by appropriate additional policies, globalization risks downgrading the central place accorded to human rights by the Charter of the United Nations in general and the International Bill of Human Rights in particular. This is especially the case in relation to economic, social and cultural rights. Thus, for example, respect for the right to work and the right to just and favorable conditions of work is threatened where there is an excessive emphasis upon competitiveness to the detriment of respect for the labor rights contained in the Covenant. The right to form and join trade unions may be threatened by restrictions upon freedom of association, restrictions claimed to be 'necessary' in a global economy, or by the effective exclusion of possibilities for collective bargaining or by the closing off of the right to strike for various occupational and other groups. The right of everyone to social security might not be ensured by arrangements which rely entirely upon private contributions and private schemes. Respect for the family and for the rights of mothers and children in an era of expanded global labor markets for certain individual occupations might require new and innovative policies rather than a mere laissez-faire approach. If not supplemented by necessary safeguards, the introduction of user fees, or cost recovery policies, when applied to basic health and educational services for the poor can easily result in significantly reduced access to services which are essential for the enjoyment of the rights recognized in the Covenant. An insistence upon higher and higher levels of payment for access to artistic, cultural and heritage-related activities risks undermining the right to participation in cultural life for a significant proportion of any community.
4. All of these risks can be guarded against, or compensated for, if appropriate policies are put in place. The Committee is concerned, however, that while much energy and many resources have been expended by Governments on promoting the trends and policies that are associated with globalization, insufficient efforts are being made to devise new or complementary approaches which could enhance the compatibility of those trends and policies with full respect for economic, social and cultural rights. Competitiveness, efficiency and economic rationalism must not be permitted to become the primary or exclusive criteria by which governmental and inter-governmental policies are evaluated.
5. In calling for a renewed commitment to respect economic, social and cultural rights, the Committee wishes to emphasize that international organizations, as well as the Governments that have created and manage them, have a strong and continuous responsibility to take whatever measures they can to assist Governments to act in ways which are compatible with their human rights obligations and to seek to devise policies and programs which promote respect for those rights. It is particularly important to emphasize that the realms of trade, finance and investment are in no way exempt from these general principles and that the international organizations with specific responsibilities in those areas should play a positive and constructive role in relation to human rights.
6. Thus, for example, the Committee welcomes the increasing importance being accorded to human rights in the activities of the United Nations Development Program and hopes that appropriate emphasis will be accorded to economic, social and cultural rights. It also welcomes the initiatives taken by the Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development to explore more fully the linkages between the principal concerns of the organization and respect for the full range of human rights.
7. The Committee calls upon the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to pay enhanced attention in their activities to respect for economic, social and cultural rights, including through encouraging explicit recognition of these rights, assisting in the identification of country-specific benchmarks to facilitate their promotion, and facilitating the development of appropriate remedies for responding to violations. Social safety nets should be established by reference to these rights and enhanced attention should be accorded to such methods of protecting the poor and vulnerable in the context of structural adjustment programs. Effective social monitoring should be an integral part of the enhanced financial surveillance and monitoring policies accompanying loans and credits for adjustment purposes. Similarly the World Trade Organization should devise appropriate methods to facilitate more systematic consideration of the impact upon human rights of particular trade and investment policies. In that regard the Committee urges the Secretary General to undertake, if possible in collaboration with WTO, a careful study of the potential impact upon respect for economic, social and cultural rights of the draft multilateral agreement on investment being negotiated within OECD.
8. Finally, the Committee emphasizes the need for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to develop an enhanced capacity to monitor and analyze trends in relation to these issues. Regular briefings should be provided to the Committee to enable it to take full account of relevant policies and trends in carrying out its responsibility for monitoring State parties' compliance with their obligations contained in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
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