RIGHTS: UN Forum Prescribes a Social Focus for the Economy

By Gustavo Capdevila Reprint | | Print |

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, Aug 14 2001 (IPS) - The United Nations-sponsored Social Forum commenced activities Monday with considerations of how to convince governments and corporations to keep human rights in mind when making decisions and investments.

The aim of the Social Forum, a division of the UN Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, is to incorporate economic, social and cultural rights into globalisation policies, explained Chilean expert José Bengoa, author of the initiative.

The Subcommission, made up of 26 independent experts representing all regions of the world, is an advisory body of the Commission on Human Rights, the UN’s highest authority on the matter.

The Forum, which held its inaugural session Monday, has been billed as the “intellectual antechamber” to the Subcommission. It is a space that can be utilised by agents of economic and social development to debate new approaches, said Bengoa.

The meetings of the Forum, which the Subcommission founded in August 2000 to focus on economic, social and cultural rights, will be held once a year, though it has yet to be determined whether they will run simultaneously with the sessions of the Subcommission, which meets in Geneva annually during three weeks in August.

Bengoa suggested the creation of a virtual Social Forum, using new communication and information technologies, so that the debate could continue year-round.

Ranked first on the Forum’s agenda, as suggested by the Subcommission, is debate on the status of economic, social and cultural rights in a globalised world.

Nevertheless, the Subcommission left open the possibility of fleshing out the Forum’s schedule with ideas proposed by different sectors of civil society and non-governmental organisations.

Rubens Ricupero, secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), suggested that the Social Forum take up initiatives about new global regulations to be debated in parallel sessions occurring on other arenas.

Ricupero pointed out that the Forum’s next sessions, in 2002, will coincide with the round of multilateral negotiations being promoted by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which may be launched by its ministerial conference in September.

Also scheduled for that period, in Monterrey, Mexico, is the international conference on development financing, where the global community will take a look at the poorest countries’ access to world financial markets.

Instead of attempting to cover many issues, the Social Forum should concentrate on those that are up for discussion in other international arenas in order to steer them towards a focus on human rights, Ricupero said.

But the documents drawn up by the Subcommission include other questions, such as evaluating the relationships entailed in globalised world trade, decisions of multilateral organisations and the creation of conditions in which respect for economic, social and cultural rights can be fostered.

The Subcommission also suggested that there should be debate on how to confront poverty and extreme poverty in a globalised world, the implications of decisions made by international organisations regarding basic resources for the world population, availability of social services and the right to health and education.

The Subcommission also mentioned bilateral and multilateral, public and private international cooperation, and development models that create conditions of respect for economic, social and cultural rights.

Ricupero commented that there are currently two major phenomena that could stand in the way of development and social rights: “the growing reaction to certain trends of globalisation and the deteriorating global economy.”

“The spreading protest movement is proof that such topics as trade negotiations have moved from low-profile to high-profile politics… they can no longer be kept behind the closed doors of technicians and experts,” said the UNCTAD chief.

This is particularly evident “in the aftermath of the tragic events of Genoa (Italy),” during the Summit of the Group of Eight most advanced nations, held there last month. Police repression was fierce – one young protester was shot in the head and died. Hundreds of demonstrators were injured and material damages were estimated in the millions of dollars.

“Matters pertaining to the structure and functioning of the economy, such as trade rules, structural adjustments or the response to financial crises, cannot be treated in isolation from their impact on human rights and other moral values,” stated Ricupero.

At the same time, “economic realities such as the simultaneous slowdown in growth for all major economies, or renewed protectionist pressures, must also be considered in any discussion of how to realise economic, social and cultural rights,” he stressed.

The UNCTAD secretary-general mentioned the contracting expansion of world trade, which reached 12 percent last year, but has hovered around seven percent since January.

“There are sharp reductions in growth predicted for Asia and Latin America, not to mention Africa,” he said.

In 2000, just 168 billion dollars in private sector funds were targeted at emerging markets, compared to 1996, when the total reached 338 billion dollars.

“The present difficulties in Argentina and Turkey, along with their impact on the population and the risks of contagion… are all elements that could prevent concrete expression being given to the right to development or to economic, social and cultural rights,” warned Ricupero.