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  Poverty / Development / Economic, social & cultural rights: July-Sep. 2001  

See also other materials on poverty / development / economic, social & cultural rights.

July-Sep. 2001:

The paradox of anti-globalisation: In an open letter, Guy Verhofstadt, prime minister of Belgium and current president of the European Union, argues that more, not less globalisation is the answer to the problems of the developing world - as long as it is advanced according to his ethical vision (Guy Verhofstadt, Prime Minister of Belgium, in Guardian [UK], 28 Sep. 2001)

Globalisation and its critics: Globalisation is a great force for good. But neither governments nor businesses, Clive Crook argues, can be trusted to make the case - ...globalisation, far from being the greatest cause of poverty, is its only feasible cure...Multinational businesses, for their part, with their enlightened mission statements, progressive stakeholder strategies, flower-motif logos and 57-point pledges of “corporate social responsibility”, implicitly say that they have a case to answer: capitalism without responsibility is bad. That sounds all right; the trouble is, when they start talking about how they will no longer put profits first, people (rightly) think they are lying. (Clive Crook, The Economist, 27 Sep. 2001) 

Call for a new, 'ethical' G8: The existing Group of Eight industrial nations must be replaced by a new G8 bringing together all regions of the world, to ensure that the process of globalisation takes on a more ethical character, Guy Verhofstadt, Belgian prime minister, said yesterday. (Michael Mann, Financial Times, 27 Sep. 2001) 

Hyderabad: Need to implement environmental laws stressed [Pakistan]: Provincial secretary forests, wildlife and environment, Shamsul Haq Memon, has stressed the need for implementing environmental laws and policies while formulating development projects to address environmental issues of development at an early stage. (Dawn [Pakistan], 26 Sep. 2001)

ADB and WWF Sign Cooperation Agreement - First such accord for ADB with an NGO: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the conservation organization, today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that paves the way for joint activities...The two agencies have formed a partnership for sustainable management of natural resources in the Asia and Pacific region. ADB and WWF will develop collaborative ventures to address poverty and environmental challenges. (Asian Development Bank, 26 Sep. 2001)

UNECE Ministers Adopt Declaration for Johannesburg Summit: Ministers of the member States of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) met in Geneva on 24-25 September 2001 to prepare their contribution to next year’s World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)...The Ministers set priorities for regional and global action on: poverty eradication; sustainable management and conservation of the natural resource base; making globalization work for sustainable development; improving governance and democratic processes at all levels; financing sustainable development; and education, science and technology for decision-making. (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, 25 Sep. 2001) 

Africa's Churches Wake Up to Oil Problems and Possibilities [includes sections on Chad/Cameroon pipeline, Sudan, Angola, Republic of Congo] (Ian Gary, in Association of Concerned Africa Scholars Bulletin, fall 2001)

Importance of humanizing globalization stressed, as General Assembly high-level dialogue on economic cooperation concludes: While globalization could be a formidable multiplier of growth and prosperity, it also risked widening inequalities and disparities within and among countries, said the President of the General Assembly this morning at the conclusion of its high-level dialogue on strengthening international economic cooperation for development through partnership. (United Nations, 21 Sep. 2001)

The London Declaration: We - twenty four representatives of communities and groups affected by mining from Asia-Pacific, Africa, India, South and North America - met in London from May 18-23rd 2001, to compare the impacts of mining on the lives of communities and ecosystems and to share strategies on how to confront the industry...Invariably mining imposed upon our communities has poisoned our waters, destroyed our livelihoods and our food sources, disrupted our social relationships, created sickness and injury in our families. Often our communities have been divided by 'imported' civil conflicts. (24 signatories from Africa, the Americas & Asia, 20 Sep. 2001)

World Bank Joins United Nations in Implementing Millennium Development Goals - Guide To Development In 21st Century:..."Rich countries must boost foreign aid to the developing world, remove barriers to the exports of developing countries, encourage private investment, and make the benefits of science and technology available to all the world's peoples. Developing countries, meanwhile, must put in place the right economic policies, work to improve governance, invest in their people, and create an environment that is conducive to growth and development." (World Bank, 19 Sep. 2001)

IMF Supports UN's Millennium Development Goals - International Monetary Fund Managing Director Horst Köhler today welcomed the United Nation's announcement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and called the goals an affirmation of the international community's commitment to free individuals from the dehumanizing conditions of abject poverty. (International Monetary Fund, 19 Sep. 2001)

Beating poverty seen as way to save African wildlife: Efforts to save rare African animals from hunting will fail unless poor people have something else to eat, delegates at a conservation conference in Cameroon said yesterday. (Tansa Musa, Reuters, 18 Sep. 2001)

Sustainability and Profitability: Conflict or Convergence? Report on the 5th European Senior Executives' Seminar, 17th to 21st September 2001 [includes summary of presentation on "Health and Poverty: The social challenge of sustainable development" by Sophia Tickell, Senior Policy Advisor, Oxfam] (HRH The Prince of Wales's Business & the Environment Programme, developed and run by the University of Cambridge Programme for Industry, 17-21 Sep. 2001)

States have an obligation to ensure that nobody dies of hunger -- FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf: Undernourishment and starvation should not be considered less serious than blatant violations of other human rights, according to a statement by UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General Jacques Diouf. The FAO message added:"We know that there is enough wealth in the world to ensure a minimum standard of living for everyone and we should devote our joint efforts to the rights of the poor to a free and dignified life, of which adequate food is fundamental." (UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 17 Sep. 2001)

World lacks will to conquer hunger, UN says: The world lacks the commitment to feed its people and the war on hunger is being lost, according to the U.N. food agency...The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has called a follow-up summit for November 5-9 to try to galvanise the international community into action to achieve the 1996 target. "There is a need to recognise that hunger is a violation of basic human rights." [includes references to: the need for rich nations to open their markets to poor countries; GM food; FAO Trust Fund for Food Security which will receive voluntary contributions from governments and the private sector to be used to teach people in poor countries how to feed themselves, for infrastructure and to combat pests] (David Brough, Reuters, 17 Sep. 2001)

Environmentalist group renews protest against Starbucks (Puget Sound Business Journal, 17 Sep. 2001)

Initiatives: Partnership Project Examples - Suez: The United Nations Volunteers programme (UNV) and a leading European energy company, Suez, today announced a wide-ranging cooperation agreement to promote the services of corporate volunteers in developing countries. (United Nations Global Compact, 13 Sep. 2001)

Now, Think Small: Poor Countries Could Help Themselves Get Richer by Fixing Their Institutions - Its [The World Bank's] annual World Development Report, which this year looks at the way governments can encourage successful markets, suggests that when poor people are allowed access to the institutions richer people enjoy, they can thrive and help themselves. (Economist, 13 Sep. 2001)

Financing for the Future: Women involved in the UN Financing for Development (FfD) process are saying that economic growth is not synonymous with sustainable development and it’s time to rethink the current economic policies that aggravate poverty and gender inequity. Even though they constitute the majority of the world’s poor and are the first to feel the brunt of negative development policies, women worldwide have so far been excluded from defining the development process (Rajyashri Waghray, Women's Environment and Development Organization, Mar. 2001)

Business & The Rio Decade: The Business Connection in Sustainable Livelihoods (sponsored section of International Herald Tribune [joint initiative of the International Herald Tribune and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development], 13 Sep. 2001):

Biotechnology: Giving a voice to the developing world - With the world's population having surpassed six billion people and still growing, food production will need to double in less than two generations, using largely the same amount of land and water resources. Science's answer to this dilemma has come in the form of genetically modified crops- crops that can withstand drought, disease, salt, and pollution. Such crops will need to be grown in the developing world, where most of the population growth will occur. But so far the biotechnology debate has been between the US and Europe, with countries in the developing world being marginalized and excluded. (Sacha Shivdasani, Earth Times News Service, 11 Sep. 2001)

Straw defends globalisation and rejects tax on capital flows: Jack Straw, the [UK] foreign secretary, yesterday launched a robust defence of globalisation and rejected French proposals to tax capital flows to raise funds for the developing world. He said the "Tobin tax" espoused by Lionel Jospin, the French prime minister, was unlikely to work in practice. (Brian Groom, Financial Times, 11 Sep. 2001)

An Unwise Tax:...The new focus on the Tobin tax is certain to be fruitless. (editorial, Washington Post, in International Herald Tribune, 11 Sep. 2001)

RURAL WOMEN: Globalization Presents Opportunities, Challenges -- Annan: A report released yesterday by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, based on expert findings, concludes that globalization has brought opportunities and challenges to rural women. (UN Wire, 11 Sep. 2001)

UNDP launches two new trust funds to strengthen energy and environmental contribution to human development: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today launched two major thematic trust funds to help countries pursue environmentally sound policies and promote energy as an engine for economic growth. (U.N. Development Programme, 10 Sep. 2001)

Globalisation is good for us: The best way to combat world poverty is to increase trade (Jack Straw, UK Foreign Secretary, in Guardian [UK], 10 Sep. 2001)

An idea that gained currency but lost clarity: James Tobin, originator of the proposal to levy destabilising speculation, says its adoption by anti-globalists is based on misunderstanding (James Tobin, Professor Emeritus of economics at Yale University, in Financial Times, 10 Sep. 2001)

Köhler says IMF may look again at 'Tobin tax': Horst Köhler, the International Monetary Fund's managing director, on Monday acknowledged recent calls by political leaders in Germany and France for more detailed discussions on how better to control international capital markets. He added, however, that he remained "very sceptical" about the introduction of a so-called Tobin tax, a proposed levy on international capital flows that has become a central demand of the burgeoning anti-globalisation movement. (Hugh Williamson, Financial Times, 10 Sep. 2001)

Last chance for children: For the millions living in extreme poverty, missing out on schooling, affected by HIV or caught up in war, this is the last chance to put things right, warns Save the Children in a major global report - Children's Rights: A Second Chance - launched today. ...Save the Children is calling for a radical shift in approach which recognises that the international community, governments and big business must work much more closely together to achieve a real and positive change in children's lives. (Save the Children, 5 Sep. 2001) 

Africans Seek Commitment to Development at Troubled UN Meeting: African delegates to the conference on racism are demanding that reparations for slavery take the form of a "broad commitment" in support of new development initiatives on the continent (World Bank Development News, 4 Sep. 2001)

Mkapa Says Mining Compensation "Unacceptable": Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa has said that the country's natural resources, including precious minerals, belonged to all of its citizens and not to a particular group or tribe in whose region they happened to be found, and therefore the revenues raised by the government from such resources would be used for the benefit of all Tanzanians and not local interest groups. (UN Integrated Regional Information Network, 3 Sep. 2001)

The Great Divide: India Confronts Globalization: ...Some analysts, such as Jean Dréze, professor at the Delhi School of Economics and frequent collaborator with Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen, add that the '90s saw a deceleration in the improvement of a number of social indicators, such as infant mortality and life expectancy. According to a recent article in The Hindu newspaper by Professor Gita Singh of the Indian Institute of Management, this deceleration has come about due to policies carried out as part of the neoliberal agenda--such as stagnant public health expenditures, removal of price controls on essential drugs, and subsidizing private hospitals at the expense of public ones. The very fact that the current debate is about whether the restructuring has helped the poor--and not by how much--highlights the meager benefits the free market path has brought to the destitute. (Amitabh Pal, In These Times, 3 Sep. 2001)

FEJB Award 2000 distributed [Bangladesh] - Development of environmental journalism hailed: Eminent journalist and advisory editor of the Daily Janakantha Toab Khan yesterday said the campaign for environment has now become an integral part of the economic struggle, reports BSS. "Environment is now closely linked with economy and social issues and conflicts. Environment is a crucial issue in the developed countries," he said while distributing the Forum of Environmental Journalists (FEJB) Award 2000 for reporting and photojournalism on environment at ceremony here...Echoing the sentiment, special guest and the Financial Express Editor Moazzem Hossain said sustainable development would be an impossible idea unless the environmental issues and poverty were taken into consideration in policy decisions. (Independent [Bangladesh], 2 Sep. 2001)

World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance - Address by UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown - Durban, South Africa (speech by Mark Malloch Brown, U.N. Development Programme Administrator, 1 Sep. 2001)

Laos: Planned Nam Theun 2 dam leads to increased logging:...The [World] Bank's guidelines on forestry, for example, state that "Bank involvement in the forestry sector aims to reduce deforestation, enhance the environmental contribution of forested areas, promote afforestation, reduce poverty, and encourage economic development." In the case of the Nam Theun 2 project, a Lao military-run logging company has logged much of the proposed 470 square kilometre reservoir area and at the same time has logged in forest areas outside the reservoir. The project has already led to increased poverty, as villager's lose their forests to loggers, and are excluded from remaining areas of forest to preserve biodiversity. (WRM Bulletin, World Rainforest Movement, Sep. 2001)

Brazil: the rights of Aracruz and the rights of the people - The growing consolidation of land by Aracruz Celulose in Espirito Santo and in the extreme south of Bahia, followed by plantation of eucalyptus monocrops, is generating increasing opposition...But monocrop tree plantations implemented by transnational companies not only cause environmental impacts; they also cause social ones, as a result of the increasing consolidation of lands in a context in which thousands of peasants are demanding land. (WRM Bulletin, World Rainforest Movement, Sep. 2001)

The sad figures of employment generated by plantation companies: One of the most commonly used arguments by those promoting large scale monoculture tree plantations is that they generate employment. As we will see from the following examples, such arguments are false. (WRM Bulletin, World Rainforest Movement, Sep. 2001)

Angola's Wealth: Stories of War and Neglect - ...Angola's oil reserves are mainly off-shore; therefore neither oil companies nor the small number of Angolans profiting from the industry have much interaction with ordinary Angolans. This creates an economic and political distance that encourages neglect and undermines accountability. Most Angolans see few results of their country's wealth. Government spending on social services, such as health and education, remains just a fraction of what is spent in the war. The Angolan government does not spend nearly enough on humanitarian aid, despite the fact that millions are in need. (Oxfam Briefing Paper, Sep. 2001)

How the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Undermine Democracy and Erode Human Rights: Five Case Studies - Mexico | Africa | Brazil | Colombia | Haiti (Global Exchange, Sep. 2001)

Privatization Tidal Wave: IMF/World Bank Water Policies and the Price Paid by the Poor (Sara Grusky, Co-Director of the Globalization Challenge Initiative, in Multinational Monitor, Sep. 2001)

Dubious Development: The World Bank’s Foray Into Private Sector Investment (Charlie Cray, Multinational Monitor, Sep. 2001)

Big Oil And The Bank: Clear And Present Danger:...At base, say critics, the issue is that Bank lending for fossil fuel projects runs counter to the Bank’s stated mission of helping the poor. Lending for fossil fuels actually harms both the poor and the environment, they argue. (Stephen Kretzmann, Campaigns Coordinator for the Sustainable Energy and Economy Network of the Institute for Policy Studies, in Multinational Monitor, Sep. 2001)

Shrimp For Brains:...a huge – and some say destructive — land-based shrimp aquaculture industry has expanded rapidly in the coastal regions of Asia and Latin America, often with the help of the International Finance Corporation (Charlie Cray, Multinational Monitor, Sep. 2001)

The Power of Protest: Critics Explain How People Can Affect the IMF and World Bank (Multinational Monitor, Sep. 2001):

Feeding prejudice: With hunger and malnourishment set to spread, it's vital that we stop demonising GM food (Johnjoe McFadden, Professor of Molecular Genetics at the University of Surrey, Guardian [UK], 29 Aug. 2001)

'Blacks Suffer Worst Under Globalisation'- Mbeki: The negative effects of globalisation were felt most sharply by black people, President Thabo Mbeki told a forum of non-governmental organisations gathered in Durban yesterday before the World Conference against Racism (WCAR) due to start on Friday..."Even as it marches triumphantly throughout the globe like an invincible army, the process of globalisation contains within it the makings of an insoluble crisis that will affect even its greatest beneficiaries, unless its inherent tendency to marginalise many is halted and reversed." (Ido Lekota, The Sowetan [Johannesburg], 29 Aug. 2001)

Editorial comment: Jospin takes a risk: The French prime minister's support for the Tobin tax, the surcharge on cross-border capital movements, is the most eye-catching concession to date to the anti-globalisation movement. (Financial Times, 29 Aug. 2001) 

Effects of Trade Liberalization On Global Food Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa is the developing region of the world that would benefit most from free trade in agricultural goods. For this to happen, European nations need to remove farm subsidies. African nations too, must eliminate taxes on food production and consumption..."The products of greatest interest to the least-developed countries - many agricultural products together with clothing and other labor-intensive manufactures - are among the most heavily protected in the markets of their current and potential trading partners, both developed and developing" (World Trade Organization Press Release, Apr. 27, 2001). (International Food Policy Research Institute, 29 Aug. 2001)

NetAid wins award for harnessing Internet to help end poverty [NetAid was created through collaboration between UNDP and Cisco Systems] (U.N. Development Programme, 29 Aug. 2001)

International Council Meeting: An Agenda for Human Rights in the 21st Century - The International Council Meeting (ICM) of Amnesty International, involving 500 delegates from around the world, has ended in Dakar, Senegal with a new, groundbreaking agenda for the organization's future...."[F]rom now on, we will work, not only against torture or for prisoners of conscience, but against all forms of discrimination, whether they affect political and civil rights or economic, social and cultural rights," said Irene Khan, the new Secretary General of the organization. (Amnesty International, 28 Aug. 2001) 

Between Poverty And Women: The concern for gender issues in poverty alleviation and employment promotion is premised not only on the principle of equity in economic opportunities and benefits between men and women. It is also advocated in the interest of economic efficiency. Several research studies and expert opinions have proved that sustained economic development can only be achieved if the full potential of all human resources, both men and women, is realised, and their respective economic activities are harnessed and developed. (Femi Boyede, The Guardian [Lagos], 27 Aug. 2001)

Roxbury [Massachusetts, USA] group tackles pollution: In the heart of Roxbury an innovative nonprofit organization is changing the way people approach environmental problems. Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE), based in Dudley Square, works to reduce what it considers ''environmental injustice'' - that the poorest communities are harmed the most from environmental problems such as air pollution and hazardous waste. (Justin Pollard, Boston Globe, 26 Aug. 2001)

Cisco helps Democratic Republic of the Congo get online: Through a partnership between UNDP and Cisco Systems, a new National Cisco Academy at the University of Kinshasa is helping the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo move into the digital age. (U.N. Development Programme, 23 Aug. 2001)

World Tax Mooted: Malaysian prime minister, Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad has suggested that multinational firms based in mostly developed countries pay a world tax..."if they want the poor to come on board with the World Trade Organisation and globalisation, they should make wealth sharing quite certain by agreeing to this world tax," bin Mohamad said. (Steven Odeu, New Vision [Kampala, Uganda], 22 Aug. 2001)

Industrialists Push for Anti-Dumping Laws: Participants at a workshop on "Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy" have urged the government to check the uncontrolled dumping of foreign goods on the market and create a competitive environment for local industries. (Accra Mail [Ghana], 22 Aug. 2001)

Reduction in poverty can help eliminate child labour: ILO official (Business Recorder [Pakistan], 22 Aug. 2001)

Globalization must be more inclusive, UNDP chief tells developing countries: Globalization must be made more inclusive if the world's poor are to be brought from the margins to the mainstream, UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown told the Group of 77 developing nations Sunday in a statement at the opening session of their meeting in Tehran this week. Speaking on behalf of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Mr. Malloch Brown told the meeting that the UN is ready to work as a "multilateral partner to help integrate developing countries into a globalizing economy on terms that further our shared goals of gender equality, poverty eradication and growth with equity." (U.N. Development Programme, 21 Aug. 2001)

Administrator Whitman reaffirms commitment to environmental justice: EPA [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] Administrator Christine Whitman, in a memo to top agency officials, last week reaffirmed the agency's commitment to environmental justice and its integration into all programs, policies, and activities consistent with existing environmental laws and their regulations. In the memo, Whitman said environmental justice means fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of all environmental laws and policies and their meaningful involvement in the decision making processes of the government....Fair treatment means that no group of people, including a racial, ethnic, or social economic group should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial municipal, and commercial operations or the execution of federal, state, local and tribal programs and policies. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 21 Aug. 2001)

Food fights can't feed the hungry: Beneath the debate in industrialized nations over biotechnology foods lies a tragic irony: Those who have the most may deny this promising technology to those who need it most. That is the conclusion of a recent United Nations report warning that the world's poorest cannot afford for its richest to stall biotechnology on the basis of scientifically unfounded fears. Without biotechnology, the UN's Human Development 2001 report says, developing nations may be unable to feed their rapidy expanding populations. So it is sad - and potentially dangerous - that, in the report's words, the debate in the West ''mostly ignores the concerns and needs of the developing world.'' (Hans Kornberg [Professor of Biology at Boston University and former chair of the United Kingdom's Advisory Committee on Genetic Modification], in Boston Globe, 21 Aug. 2001)

Solar Power Lights Up Lives [public/private partnership aiming to solar-electrify 50,000 households in South Africa]: "There's nothing new in the technology, but what we're doing is unique, we're offering a complete solar utility service to isolated and scattered communities," Elize Gothard of Shell Solar Southern Africa told IRIN. (UN Integrated Regional Information Network, 21 Aug. 2001)

A Third World 'No' to Liberal Trade (Martin Khor, Director of Third World Network, in International Herald Tribune, 18 Aug. 2001)

Righting wrongs - Human rights: Human-rights campaigners are starting to lobby for economic and social rights, such as the right to health and the right to food. Will they make a success of it? (The Economist, 16 Aug. 2001)

A poor case for globalisation: The world's leaders are failing to address legitimate questions raised by protesters about the effects of global capitalism (Philip Stephens, Financial Times, 16 Aug. 2001)

Harnessing Trade for Development: World trade rules have been developed by the rich and powerful on the basis of their narrow commercial interests. Rich countries and powerful corporations have captured a disproportionate share of the benefits of trade, leaving developing countries and poor people worse off. Trade rules should be judged on their contribution to poverty reduction, respect for human rights, and environmental sustainability. (Oxfam, 16 Aug. 2001)

Investors Avoiding Country, Says Employers Federation [Kenya]: Mr Owuor [Tom Owuor, Federation of Kenya Employers chief executive] said globalisation was not favouring developing countries as it was killing most of their industries. He said that despite the pressure being put on the developing countries to open their markets, the industrialised countries had continued to refuse to remove subsidies, especially on agricultural products. He said countries like Kenya were in a dilemma as the Bretton Woods institutions were dictating policies to them. (The Nation [Nairobi], 16 Aug. 2001)

UNDP allies with the Global Internet Policy Initiative: UNDP is joining forces with the Global Internet Policy Initiative (GIPI) to promote open and democratic access to the Internet in developing countries to foster development. (United Nations Development Programme, 15 Aug. 2001)

INTERNET: UNDP Supports Democratic Internet In Poor Countries - The UN Development Program yesterday signed an agreement with the Global Internet Policy Initiative to adopt a framework for an open and democratic Internet in developing countries. (UN Wire, 15 Aug. 2001)

World Bank report to defend globalisation: The publication - a draft copy of whose conclusions has been seen by the Financial Times - argues that while globalisation produces losers as well as winners, it is a "powerful force for poverty reduction". (Alan Beattie, Financial Times, 14 Aug. 2001)

Subcommission discusses plans for Social Forum: The [United Nations] Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights this afternoon discussed preparations for its Social Forum with a group of high-level experts debating what should be the main topics of the meeting which is tentatively scheduled for next year. Jose Bengoa, a Subcommission Expert and the Special Rapporteur for the Social Forum, explained that the Commission on Human Rights this year had authorized the Subcommission to hold a Social Forum next year, which, among other objectives, would focus on globalization, free trade, and threats to poor countries in the labour markets. (United Nations, 13 Aug. 2001)

Unequal 'freetrade' threatens food security: Food security in the SADC [Southern African Development Community] is the biggest casualty of a flawed world trading system - The forces of globalization pose a real danger to food security in the southern African region where the bulk of the countries are under constant pressure to open up markets in line with what are now obligatory western-led economic policies. (Munetsi Madakufamba, Daily Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg), 13 Aug. 2001)

Kraft Foods volunteers to advise Mongolian dairy producer: Monsuu, a Mongolian dairy product company, will soon gain voluntary technical advice from two food processing experts from Kraft Foods, a global company based in the US, through UNISTAR, a programme run by UN Volunteers (UNV). (U.N. Development Programme, 9 Aug. 2001)

The Violence of Development: [M]ost large forced dislocations of people do not occur in conditions of armed conflict or genocide but in routine, everyday evictions to make way for development projects. A recent report by the World Commission on Dams estimates that 40 million to 80 million people have been physically displaced by dams worldwide, a disproportionate number of them being indigenous peoples. (Balakrishnan Rajagopal [Professor of Law and Development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and director of MIT's Program on Human Rights and Justice], Washington Post, 9 Aug. 2001)

Globalisation boosts economic growth. Or not. (letter to editor by Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, Director and lead author of United Nations Development Programme Human Development Report, Guardian [UK], 7 Aug. 2001)

G8 owes us an answer: New research shows that economic growth worldwide has actually slowed during the era of globalisation (Jonathan Steele, Guardian [UK], 3 Aug. 2001)

"If it's broke, fix it": The case for trade reform at the 4th WTO Ministerial [report on the WTO Ministerial meeting in Qatar, 9 -13 November 2001] (World Development Movement, Aug. 2001)

G-8: Commentary Calls For "Bigger Stage" For World's New Actors - Global institutions such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization are failing to address the challenges of the new century, Klaus Schwab, founder and chair of the World Economic Forum, wrote in Newsweek yesterday. Schwab said there is a need for a shift in global focus from the Group of Eight industrialized countries to the Group of 20, which includes Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey and other developing countries....Schwab writes that "true participatory management, involving governments, business and civil society -- the stakeholders in the global agenda -- is essential to shape a peaceful and prosperous future." (UN Wire, 31 July 2001)

BIOTECHNOLOGY: US Codex Task Force Member Derides UN - A US delegation member on the UN's Codex Alimentarius Commission chides the United Nations in a Wall Street Journal letter today, saying that the "UN's repeated insistence upon excessive, unscientific biotechnology regulation will slow agricultural research and development, promote environmental damage and bring famine and death to millions in developing countries." (UN Wire, 30 July 2001)

US Official Urges Sudan to Invest Oil-Money in Fighting Hunger (Katy Salmon, Voice of America [USA], 27 July 2001)

Developing countries are key to a successful new trade round (Maria Livanos Cattaui, International Chamber of Commerce, 27 July 2001)

'Cause coffees' produce a cup with an agenda: 'Shade-grown,' 'fair trade' and other eco-friendly, socially aware blends of java are attracting consumers (Patrick McMahon, USA Today, 26 July 2001)

GENOMICS: WHO Meeting Calls For Guidelines To Prevent Abuses - Scientists and sociologists at a World Health Organization conference Tuesday called for ethical guidelines enshrined in international law to head off the possible exploitation of patients in poor countries by Western scientists in search of genetic material. (UN Wire, 26 July 2001)

GENETIC TECHNOLOGY: Action sought on abuse of patent rights - Developing nations at a disadvantage in field research while rich countries profit unfairly, meeting concludes.  Citing their comparative disadvantage in the advancement of genetic technology to improve health matters, developing nations are demanding a mechanism to prevent the abuse of intellectual property rights for commercial gain related to the technology. (Pennapa Hongthong, The Nation [Bangkok], 26 July 2001)

GENOMICS: WHO Forum Eyes New Technology To Combat Diseases - Scientists from developing countries attending a World Health Organization forum this week in Bangkok have determined that genome technology could be used in the development of drugs and vaccines to help eliminate diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. (UN Wire, 25 July 2001)

WTO Conference Ends, As Stakeholders Are Pessimistic: The World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial conference which was taking place in Zanzibar ended yesterday as ministers from the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are still pessimistic on the effectiveness and workability of globalization initiatives to address marginalisation. (TOMRIC News Agency [Dar es Salaam, Tanzania], 25 July 2001)

U.S. and the Kyoto protocol: The United States of America as the world's leading producer of industrial pollutants ought to be in the vanguard of the crusade for environmental purity and the conservation of global resources for development....In Africa and other non-industrial regions, it is an irony that some countries are already suffering the repercussions of a problem to which they have made the least contribution. The greenhouse gas emissions are produced from industrial machines, vehicles and similar contrivances. The industrialised countries are mostly responsible. In other words, the U.S. and its allies are directly hurting the rest of humanity. For the sake of profit for investors, these big polluter nations are making the world unsafe for those who cannot afford the cost of any mitigation. The price is already being exacted from Nigeria, which is expected to spend billions of dollars just to maintain the same spot relative to the present position of the ocean line. (editorial, Guardian [Lagos, Nigeria], 25 July 2001)

South must define contents of ‘Development Round’: While others may help, ultimately it is for the developing countries themselves, and the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in particular, to define what would necessary for a round of trade negotiations to be described as a truly genuine ‘Development Round’, UNCTAD secretary-general Rubens Ricupero said Monday in Zanzibar, at the Ministerial Conference of Least Developed countries. The meeting has been organised and hosted by Tanzania, coordinator of the LDC group at the WTO, to prepare for the Doha ministerial meeting. (Chakravarthi Raghavan, South-North Development Monitor, 24 July 2001)

Genome hope for tropical diseases: Scientists and sociologists from developing countries attending a World Health Organisation (WHO) forum here have identified an opportunity in genetic research to get rid of tropical diseases, but they also want to bring an end to corporate control of the technology. (Nantiya Tangwisutijit and Pennapa Hongthong, The Nation [Bangkok], 24 July 2001)

G8 plan for Africa pointless without renewable energy support (joint statement by Greenpeace, WWF and ECA Watch, 22 July 2001)

World Bank adopts new, sounder environmental strategy: The World Bank on Wednesday said it had adopted a new environmental strategy that would ensure that development in poor countries does not come at the cost of pollution and degradation of natural resources. (Reuters, 19 July 2001) 

WB [World Bank] calls for WTO 'development round': The president of the World Bank called Tuesday for the next round of world trade talks to focus on the needs of the developing world, which now account for nearly one-third of global trade. In a statement after meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and European Union Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy, World Bank President James Wolfensohn said too many developing countries "have been left out" of the benefits of the last round of world trade talks. (Reuters, in Daily Star [Bangladesh], 19 July 2001)

World Bank Launches New Environment Strategy Document stresses environmental concerns must be fully 'mainstreamed' into all Bank activities: The World Bank's Board has endorsed a new environment strategy that aims to further integrate environmental concerns into the Bank's projects and programs.  The result of two years of consultations across the globe and through the Internet, the strategy will ensure economic growth does not come at the expense of people's health and future opportunities because of pollution and degraded natural resources and ecosystems.  "We have strived to integrate environment into the development agenda of the Bank because sustainability is at the heart of development," said Ian Johnson, Vice President for the Bank's Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Network.  (World Bank, 18 July 2001)

"Digital Divide" Widest In Africa But Focus On "Digital Development," Conference Urged: The African continent - home to one in eight of the world's people - has just one in 50 of the world's fixed line subscribers, one in 60 of the world's mobile cellular subscribers, one in 70 of the world's personal computers and only one percent of the world's internet users, according to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). (Charles Cobb Jr., allAfrica.com, 18 July 2001)

A World of Extremes: Ten Theses on Globalization (Amartya Sen, Los Angeles Times, 17 July 2001)

Bush seeks Bank overhaul:  President George W. Bush launched an ambitious attempt on Tuesday to overhaul the World Bank's funding, proposing to replace up to half the bank's loans with grants to the world's poorest countries.  Outlining his agenda for the Group of Eight summit of industrial nations this week in Genoa, Mr Bush said grants were the long-term solution to the debt burden of developing countries. (Richard Wolffe and Alan Beattie, Financial Times, 17 July 2001)

WORLD BANK: Bush, O'Neill Call For Grants To Replace Loans - US President George W. Bush is expected today in Washington to ask the World Bank to replace discounted loans for development in poor countries with outright grants, the Wall Street Journal reports. Bush will not, however, offer to increase US contributions to the bank, which means using grants could lead to a smaller overall pool of resources for developing countries. (UN Wire, 17 July 2001)

DIGITAL DIVIDE: UN To Test Pilot Project In Four Countries - Poor countries can raise their living standards by building communications infrastructures, training workers to use the Internet and adopting business-friendly laws, according to a report issued yesterday by the Digital Opportunity Initiative, a consortium comprised of the UN Development Program, Accenture and the Markle Foundation.  The consortium plans to send consultants to Tanzania, South Africa, Romania and Bolivia this summer to test programs on expanding access to the Internet and other communications networks. (UN Wire, 17 July 2001)

{···français} Interview : Mark Malloch Brown, administrateur du PNUD [Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, UN Development Programme] (Le Monde, 16 July 2001)

Putting Africa Front and Center: "It is a special privilege for me to participate in today's Policy Dialogue on how we can support the efforts of African countries to reduce poverty and achieve equitable and sustainable development - which is at the heart of World Bank activities."  (speech by World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn, 16 July 2001)

World Bank Calls on G7 to Put Africa, Trade and Poverty on Top of Genoa Summit Agenda - Bank president says rich countries must take urgent steps to give poor countries market access and increase aid: In a speech today to the UN's Economic and Social Council, World Bank President James D Wolfensohn called on G7 leaders to take steps to open their markets to developing country products and meet their commitments to devote 0.7 percent of their annual GDP to overseas aid. Currently the average figure for rich countries is 0.22 percent with some countries like the United States falling well below by devoting only 0.1 percent of annual GDP to development aid.  (World Bank, 16 July 2001)

ASIA: Warming-Induced Drought Linked To Starvation: From Afghanistan to North Korea, a record lack of rainfall caused by global warming is destroying crops and forcing tens of millions deeper into poverty, Associated Press reports. Five million face starvation in Afghanistan and Tajikistan alone, according to the United Nations.  (UN Wire, 16 July 2001)

G-8: Wolfensohn, Annan Urge Summit To Focus On Poor - Speaking prior to this Friday's opening of the Group of Eight summit in Genoa, Italy, World Bank President James Wolfensohn today called for improved access for developing countries to wealthy countries' markets as well as for increased aid. (UN Wire, 16 July 2001)

G8 report sees renewables as key energy for poor:  Green energies like wind and solar power could play a major role in improving the lives of millions of the world's poorest people, says a report to be handed to world leaders at a summit in Genoa, Italy next weekend.  The report, co-written by Mark Moody-Stuart, the chairman Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch/Shell, says the G8 countries should aim to ensure renewable energies reach one billion people by the end of the decade, according to a draft seen by Reuters on Friday. (Robin Pomeroy, Reuters, 16 July 2001)

How the world is threatened by massive change: The effects of relentlessly rising global temperatures in the coming century are likely to be catastrophic for the world, the second volume of the new IPCC report spells out with more chilling confidence than ever before. (Michael McCarthy, Independent [UK], 12 July 2001)

World Bank Evaluation Team Requests Written Input From Indigenous Peoples and NGOs: After years of pressure from indigenous peoples and NGOs, the World Bank's quality control arm, known as the Operations Evaluations Department (OED), is finally starting a review of the way Bank operations have affected indigenous peoples during the 1990s.  (Abigail Parish, Bank Information Center, 12 July 2001)

WHO [World Health Organization] calls on private sector to provide affordable hearing aids in developing world: 250 Million People in the World affected by Hearing Loss - 25-fold decrease in hearing aid prices in developing countries possible (World Health Organization, 11 July 2001)

UN agency backs GM food crops: Grassroots groups angered by conclusion that the poor and the hungry will benefit - The United Nations Development Programme says that many developing countries may reap great benefits from genetically modified foodstuffs, that the technology can significantly reduce the malnutrition which affects 800m people, and that it will be especially valuable to poor farmers working marginal land in sub-Saharan Africa. The report is one of the agency's most provocative, and grassroots groups, development charities and environmentalists in more than 50 countries described it as "simplistic", "pandering to the GM industry" and "failing to take into account the views of the poor". (John Vidal and John Aglionby, Guardian [UK], 11 July 2001)

Oxfam and Greenpeace Criticize UNDP Report for Pro-Biotech Bias: The UN's 2001 Human Development Report "Making New Technologies Work For Human Development" presents as facts the unsubstantiated promises of the biotech industry, said the development and environmental groups Oxfam Canada and Greenpeace today. The organizations applauded, however, the UNDP's concern that intellectual property rights codified in the WTO have impeded the transfer of technology to developing countries. (Canada NewsWire, 10 July 2001)

Silicon Valley vs. better hoe. Which technology suits the poor? Today in London, the UNDP launches a powerful 'manifesto', the Human Development Report (HDR) entitled 'Making new technologies work for human development'.  At a time where revolutionary changes in technology are driving forwards globalisation - and globalisation is creating greater inequalities than at any time in history, ITDG feels that the fundamental issue is not 'making new technologies work for human development'. The challenge is enabling poor people to make technologies work for them. (Intermediate Technology Development Group, 10 July 2001)

report: Human Development Report 2001: Making new technologies work for human development (U.N. Development Programme, 10 July 2001)

CLIMATE CHANGE: Warming Threatens Food Production, Report Says - Forty of the world's poorest countries are likely to face food production losses as high as 25% because of global warming, according to a report to be released today at the opening of the Open Science Conference on global change in Amsterdam. (UN Wire, 10 July 2001)

Minister pins hopes on fair trade: Patricia Hewitt, the [UK] industry secretary, yesterday bluntly told globalisation protesters that their demands would block the world's poor from pathways out of poverty. (Patrick Wintour, Guardian [UK], 10 July 2001)

Nigeria Loses $5.8bn On Unsustainable Development: Nigeria has been losing an estimated $5.8 billion annually to unsustainable development, the Minister of Environment, Alhaji Moham-med Kabir Sa'id, said in Abuja yesterday. (Tayo Ajakaye, This Day [Lagos], 10 July 2001)

Rule of Law Central to Fighting Poverty: World Bank President Calls on Governments to Recognize the Link Between Law and Development - World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn today called on governments and the international community to recognize that "an effective legal and judicial system is not a luxury, but a key component of a well-functioning state and an essential ingredient in long-term development." (World Bank, 9 July 2001)

UNDP: New Report Cites Importance Of Technology To Poor States - Opposition to genetically modified crops by wealthy countries threatens the ability of poor countries to feed their growing populations, the UN Development Program warns in its Human Development Report 2001, scheduled for release tomorrow in Mexico. (UN Wire, 9 July 2001)

The Scorecard on Globalization 1980-2000: Twenty Years of Diminished Progress (Mark Weisbrot, Dean Baker, Egor Kraev and Judy Chen; Center for Economic and Policy Research, 9 July 2001)

Closing the gap the between rich and poor: Supermarkets and banks are being drafted into the fight for social justice in Britain's poorest cities (Alison Benjamin, The Observer [UK], 8 July 2001) 

Open Societies, Freedom, Development and Trade (speech by World Trade Organization Director-General Mike Moore, WTO Symposium on Issues Confronting the World Trading System, 6 July 2001)

MOZAMBIQUE: World Bank Agency To Insure Sugar Project: The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, a World Bank Group member, will provide $65 million in investment insurance to a consortium of four Mauritian companies and to the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Ltd. to help rehabilitate and partially privatize Mozambique's largest sugar estate, the former Sena estate in the Marromeu region....The project, expected to create 5,000 jobs, will entail providing electricity and other improvements to a hospital, building roads, upgrading housing and schools and supplying water to the local community. (UN Wire, 6 July 2001)

Treaty to protect world's major food crops agreed, but NGOs criticise 'right to patent genes': Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) immediately criticised the weakened text for enshrining OECD countries' priority to support private profit rather than food security, and for subordinating this environmental treaty to the trade rules of the WTO - including its contentious agreement on intellectual property rights (TRIPs). (Intermediate Technology Development Group, 2 July 2001)

"Promotion of Human Rights Crucial for Development" - MP: "Promotion of human rights is crucial for socio-economic development to be attained in Rwanda," Rwanda's speaker of parliament, Vincent Biruta, said on Friday. The Rwanda News Agency (RNA) quoted him as saying human rights and development were so interdependent that there could never be sustainable socio-economic development in any society when respect for human rights was not given priority in policy formulation. (UN Integrated Regional Information Network, 2 July 2001)

From Protest to Program [Critics of the inequities of globalisation have won a seat at the table. Can they change global policy?] (Michael Massing, American Prospect, 2-16 July 2001) 

The World Bank Draft Policy on Indigenous Peoples (OP/BP 4.10): Electronic Consultations with External Stakeholders - In addition to other forms of consultation, the World Bank is carrying out electronic consultations with external stakeholders on its draft indigenous peoples policy. (World Bank, 1 July - 31 Oct. 2001)

Where's the money? G8 promises, G8 failures: The richest countries of the world promised to help developing countries halve poverty, reduce child mortality by two thirds, and ensure every child gets a free and good quality primary education. All by 2015. There remains a huge gap between promises and action. (Oxfam International Briefing Paper, July 2001)

Fisheries caught in a cycle of destruction [Mauritania]: The fish catch dominated the subsistence economy of Iwik village, which is close to the rich fishing grounds of the Banc d'Arguin, and part of Mauritania's premier national park. But today most of the fish are gone. For in recent years, the rest of the world has discovered these rich fishing grounds and has been plundering them...the European Commission has bought rights to fish Mauritania's waters (Fred Pearce, World Wildlife Fund, July 2001)

Has Globalization Helped the Poor? (Mark Weisbrot, Co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, July 2001)

Sleepwalking with the enemy - or waking to the truth? Resource document for seminar "communities confronting mining corporations" [a critical assessment of major initiatives (including Mines, Minerals and Sustainable Development project) aimed at "reforming" mining/natural resource industries, and the responses of various NGOs] (Mines & Communities Website, presented in draft at the London Mining Seminar May 2001 and updated July 2001)