NGLS Roundup, no. 62, September 2000 UN HOLDS MILLENNIUM SUMMIT The largest number of world leaders in history gathered at the United Nations from 6-8 September 2000 in New York to discuss the most critical issues facing the world in the 21st century, including poverty eradication, globalization and peace. The Millennium Summit drew together 100 Heads of State, 47 Heads of Government, three crown princes, five Vice-Presidents, three Deputy Ministers and an additional 8,000 delegates and 5,500 journalists. Discussions, based in part on UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Millennium Report outlining his vision for the Organization, resulted in a Millennium Declaration in which Heads of State and Government "reaffirmed their faith in the United Nations and its Charter as indispensable foundations of a more peaceful, prosperous and just world." The Millennium Summit provided an opportunity for numerous interactions among world leaders. Each Head of State and Government delivered a five-minute address to the General Assembly. Nearly all participated in interactive roundtable discussions, and approximately 700 face-to-face meetings were held at the highest level. Both the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) took advantage of the opportunities provided by the Summit to gather Heads of State and Government as well as Ministers to discuss their respective work and role. Representatives of civil society also used the occasion to organize: a series of teach-ins on globalization and the role of the UN; a multi-stakeholder dialogue directed at promoting "sustainable globalization;" a Summit of religious and spiritual leaders to cultivate world peace; and numerous protests, ranging from demonstrations to direct action, aimed at critiquing "corporate globalization" and promoting world democracy. ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS One of the goals of the Millennium Summit was to create opportunities for open dialogue among world leaders rather than simply delivering speeches. Four roundtable meetings were organized for this purpose and included approximately 40 Heads of State and Government each. These unprecedented meetings allowed for informal interaction among world leaders and open and frank discussions away from the scrutiny of the media. While many issues were raised, discussions focused on moderating the forces of globalization; conflict, security and reform of the Security Council; and the special needs of Africa. Although all roundtables were closed to the press, the chairs of each meeting summarized and presented the discussions and debates of each session. Goh Chok Tong, Prime Minister of Singapore and Chairman of the first roundtable, described participants as comfortable, concise and in some cases incisive. He said the central theme of discussions was the challenges posed by globalization. He said that while leaders had accepted that globalization was a fact, some put forward ideas on how it could be moderated and suggested that the UN could help countries build up their capacities to cope with globalization. Leaders were concerned that globalization would result in the ability of big companies to destabilize economies, especially by flows of capital beyond the control of governments. Other topics discussed included peace and security, the International Monetary Fund, and the use of an international currency transaction tax. Aleksander Kwasniewski, President of Poland and Chairman of the second roundtable, called the discussion "one of the most interesting debates I can recall." Participants focused on defining the problems shared by the international community including poverty, disease, violence and a lack of democracy and human rights in many parts of the world. Participants offered many solutions with some focusing on the role of developed countries and others calling for shared responsibility among countries. President Kwasniewski said the debate had been very honest particularly on issues concerning Africa. He emphasized that Africa should not be seen as a problem but rather as a collective responsibility. The third roundtable, chaired by President Hugo Chavez Frias of Venezuela, focused on regional and local conflicts. Some Heads of State called for strengthening mechanisms to prevent conflicts and improve capacity to neutralize conflicts and deal with existing ones. President Chavez said that an important consensus had been reached on the need to transform the UN, which he said would have social, economic and political implications. "One cannot navigate in the 21st century with a map from the end of the Second World War," he noted. Globalization, security and the future of the UN were among issues discussed in the fourth roundtable chaired by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria. The roundtable recognized that globalization was detrimental to some countries and profitable to others, and that some fundamental changes were needed. The Bretton Woods system, in particular, needed to be reassessed as it was the product of another time, Mr. Bouteflika said. The power of the IMF would have to be reduced and the question of "Who owes what to whom?" in the context of debt repayment would have to be asked. Mr. Bouteflika said that United Nations reform was discussed with great attention paid to the Security Council. While participants expressed support for the Report of the Panel on Peace Operations (S/2000/809), chaired by UN Under-Secretary General Lakdhar Brahimi, they also challenged the composition of the Council. "It is extremely difficult to understand why the Security Council should be made up of four members who are of European origin and one that is not, representing all of humanity," he said. SECURITY COUNCIL SUMMIT Peace and security issues were high on the agenda throughout the three days and were discussed in a Security Council Summit. This was only the second time in its history that a meeting of the Council was held at the level of Heads of State and Government. The Council adopted a resolution (S/2000/845) in which it pledged to enhance the effectiveness of the UN in addressing conflict at all stages, from prevention to settlement to post-conflict peace-building. The Council also called for action on the illegal flow of small arms and the illegal exploitation and trafficking of high-value commodities, such as diamonds. In response to the much-discussed "Brahimi report," the Council decided to consider what some observers have called its "far-reaching" recommendations. Among other things, the Brahimi report calls for better-trained and equipped peacekeepers with "sufficiently robust" mandates to protect their lives as well as a significant increase in resources for peacekeeping operations. French President Jacques Chirac said that the assessment of peacekeeping operations had been harsh but fair. He suggested that in order for the Council to better assume its responsibilities for maintaining peace and security, it needed to understand the changing nature of conflict, which he said is increasingly internal in origin. "When the causes are underdevelopment and lack of democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights," he said, "the Secretary-General should be able to bring them to the attention of the Council and use his power of mobilization." Mr. Chirac suggested that the partnership between the Council, the UN Secretariat and regional organizations needed to be strengthened and that consultations be carried out at an early stage of conflict. Mr. Chirac called for reform of the Council to make it more representative, and said that France favoured enlarging both the permanent and non-permanent membership and increasing representation of countries from the South. P.J. Patterson, Prime Minister of Jamaica, said that reform of the Security Council was critical to the effectiveness of the Council in pursuing its mandate. He said the Council "must have the benefit of the credibility and legitimacy derived from its Charter-given authority, the transparency of its decision-making process and a truly representative membership," he said. President of Mali and Security Council President Alpha Oumar Konare said that while the UN had achieved some success in maintaining peace and security, over the past ten years there had been serious failures, particularly in Africa. Citing Sierra Leone as the latest failure, Mr. Konare said that "Africa intends to shoulder its share of efforts to maintain peace and international security. Africa has the means to extricate itself from its problems, but it needs to feel that it is not alone." He went on to say that if the UN is to renew its commitment to peace and security, Member States would have to provide it with the means necessary. In his address to the Security Council, Mr. Annan said that many had lost confidence in the ability of the UN to make a difference in situations of escalating conflict and deteriorating peace. He said that only action could change the crisis of credibility facing the Security Council, especially with regard to Africa, and preventive action was key. However if peacekeeping was necessary, such missions required clear and achievable mandates and the strength and authority required to ensure the fulfillment of those mandates. Reflecting on failed peacekeeping operations of the past decade, Mr. Annan said that "the path to failure was paved with good intentions and inadequate mandates." The Secretary-General referred to the Brahimi report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations and urged members to implement its "frank and realistic" recommendations. MILLENNIUM DECLARATION Summit participants adopted a Millennium Declaration (A/RES/55/2), which spells out values and principles, as well as goals in the key priority areas of peace, development, the environment, human rights, protecting the vulnerable, the special needs of Africa, and strengthening the UN. It states that the central challenge facing the world today is ensuring that globalization becomes a positive force for all the world's people by making it inclusive and equitable. The world leaders committed themselves to halving, by the year 2015, the proportion of the world's population living on less than one US dollar a day and to deal comprehensively with the debt problems of low and middle-income developing countries. In his closing remarks to the Summit, Mr. Annan noted what he called a "remarkable convergence of views on the challenge that faces us." He listed extreme poverty, globalization, debt cancellation, international law, the special needs of Africa, and the need for more effective international institutions and reform of the Security Council as recurring issues throughout the three days. Mr. Annan observed that Member States wanted action and, above all, wanted results from the Summit. He reminded them that they held the power to reach the goals they had set. "Only you can determine whether the United Nations rises to the challenge," he said. Contact: website (www.un.org/millennium). OTHER ACTIVITIES HELD DURING THE MILLENNIUM SUMMIT Women Heads of State and Government Meet Women Heads of State and Government from New Zealand, Finland, Latvia and Canada, as well as women heads of UN agencies and organizations met in a closed session at UN headquarters on 5 September 2000, the eve of the Millennium Summit. Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and former President of Ireland, chaired the meeting which was organized by the Council of Women World Leaders of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The women leaders made a number of recommendations in areas they considered critical to the advancement of women: peace, security and disarmament; development and poverty eradication; protecting the environment; good governance; democracy and human rights; protecting vulnerable groups; and strengthening the UN. Among recommendations were those calling on the UN and Governments to: -- ensure the participation of women in peacekeeping operations, in peace negotiations, and reconstruction and humanitarian assistance efforts, and acknowledge and promote participation of women in identifying solutions to prevent conflicts; -- focus on developing enabling conditions for women to combat poverty by guaranteeing women's equal access to education; making girls' education a priority; encouraging national programmes for women's access to credit and information; and providing affordable health care to women and men; -- reaffirm commitment to gender-sensitive development, and support women's roles in sustainable and ecologically-sound consumption and production patterns; -- support the advancement of women in government, and employ specific methods and targets to ensure more equal representation of women and men at each level of government; -- ensure the prevention and punishment of discrimination and violence against women including in conflict situations, encourage international cooperation in combating all forms of violence and abuse including trafficking in women, put into force the Statute of the International Criminal Court which recognizes rape as a war crime, and recognize and take measures to prevent racist acts against women; -- adopt policies to protect and promote the full spectrum of the human rights of indigenous women; and -- improve women's representation at all levels within the United Nations system especially at senior levels, fulfil the 50/50 quota of men and women among UN staff, and appoint female permanent representatives to the UN missions and in delegations. Contact: Laura Liswood, Secretary-General, Council of Women World Leaders, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 79 John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge MA 02138, United States, telephone +1-617/495 8060, e-mail . ECOSOC Bureau Summit The Millennium Summit provided an opportunity for the first ever meeting of the Heads of State and Government of countries that are members of the Economic and Social Commission Bureau. The meeting, which was chaired by President Abdurrahman Wahid of Indonesia, concentrated on globalization issues crucial to the development of all countries, with a focus on the role of information technology (IT). The issue was also a focus of ECOSOC at its high-level segment (see NGLS Roundup 59). Participants in the ECOSOC Bureau Summit included Mr. Annan, Austrian President Thomas Klestil, Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov, President Paul Biya of Cameroon, President Miguel Angel Rodriguez of Costa Rica, and UN Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette. Summit participants recognized that IT is central to the creation of emerging global knowledge-based economies and can open new and vast opportunities for economic growth and social development. They expressed concern that IT's potential for advancing development, especially in developing countries, has not been fully captured and that many remain untouched by the IT revolution. The UN must play its part in mobilizing resources required to bridge the "digital divide," many leaders said. They welcomed the role that a revitalized ECOSOC is playing as a strategic global forum in promoting international cooperation to "tap the full potential of the IT revolution for development." Roundtable on Dialogue Among Civilizations The United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations (2001) was launched on 5 September with a roundtable discussion organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Heads of State and government from Algeria, Georgia, Indonesia, Iran, Latvia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria and Qatar spoke, as did the Foreign Ministers of Costa Rica and India. The afternoon session was moderated by Giandomenico Picco (Italy), the Secretary-General's special representative for the Year, and comprised a roundtable of academics, artists and writers. Mohammed Khatami, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran which proposed the General Assembly resolution proclaiming the Year, told participants that the emergence of a global culture that did not overlook the requirements and nature of local culture ought to be considered. He said that the current paradigm of international relations, based on the discourse of power, must be critically examined and replaced by one based on empathy and compassion. "Without the will to [empathize]," he said, "there will be no hope for the prevalence of order in the world." He noted that development of information technology would penetrate people's daily lives more and more and lead to more interactions between different cultures and regions. Mr. Khatami said the power of dialogue paved the way for "the hope of living in a world permeated by virtue and love, not merely the reign of economic indices and destructive weapons." Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said that prejudice toward other cultures was a major impediment to "genuine" globalization. "Nationalism is self-destructive," he said, noting that the ability to dialogue begins at home. "Life without peace is not worth contemplating," he said, "it is the foundation of all development and progress." Alpha Omar Konare, President of Mali, said that the question of dialogue among civilizations could not be reduced to empty intellectual speculation. During the time the roundtable was being held, he said, individuals were being persecuted and even killed because of intolerance. Leaders must, among other things, revisit their collective histories. "The common future can be envisaged only in the light of truth," Mr. Konare said. Jaswant Singh, Foreign Minister of India, said that the new millennium marked an end to the construct of imperialism; it was therefore important that a new dialogue be initiated. He said the dialogue would be judged by one touchstone--compassion. A sense of mutual belonging must be promoted, he said. In addition, "cultures should not be placed on the extinction list" and there should be no attempt to standardize civilization. However, he cautioned, maintenance and promotion of identities must not become a shield of ultra-nationalism and exclusionism. Nigerian writer and activist Wole Soyinka, a Nobel Prize Laureate for Literature, said it was important to identify areas of neglect when speaking of civilization. "One would hope the result of dialogue would be self-criticism," he said, particularly with regard to damage done to certain civilizations. Contact: UNESCO, 7 place de Fontenoy, F-75352 Paris 07SP, France, telephone +33-1/45 68 10 00, fax +33-1/45 67 16 90, e-mail , website (www.unesco.org). UNDP Roundtable For the first time in its 40-year history, UNDP held a ministerial-level meeting on 11 September on the theme Rebuilding Support for United Nations Development Cooperation. Discussions included reform of the organization, its financial situation, the role it will play in implementing the Millennium Declaration, and the digital divide. According to UNDP Associate Administrator Zephirin Diabre, Ministers had expressed confidence that reforms taking place at UNDP will help the organization in its work aimed at eradicating poverty at the country level. Ministers had praised UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch-Brown and said that as a result of his leadership "UNDP is back" in the development field. Many countries from both the North and South expressed commitment to ensuring the programme's core resources are increased in the coming years. According to Mr. Diabre, UNDP's core resources have declined for the last five or six years and if the organization is to continue to be universal, multilateral and focused on the poorest countries, these resources will have to be increased. Since last year some countries have increased their support and Japan, France and Ireland have expressed willingness to do the same. Sweden has increased its contribution for the current year. Mr. Diabre expressed satisfaction that the Millennium Summit had been beneficial for UNDP by bringing "today's key development issues to the forefront." Contact: Trygve Olfarnes, UNDP, 1 United Nations Plaza, New York NY 10017, United States, telephone +1-212/906 6606, fax +1-212/906 5364, e-mail , website (www.undp.org). First Conference of Presiding Officers of National Parliaments More than 900 parliamentarians from 141 countries participated in a Conference of Presiding Officers of National Parliaments at the UN from 30 August-1 September. Participants included 148 parliamentary speakers and 412 members of parliament. Organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in cooperation with the UN, the conference aimed to express support for international cooperation and to enshrine a commitment at the highest level by parliaments to work more closely with the UN system both nationally and globally. Najma Heptulla (India), IPU Council President, said that she was "deeply convinced [that parliaments] collectively can play a crucial role in forging global consensus on all vital matters facing the world community." The UN, she said, "is the most important intergovernmental organization and has an irreplaceable role in international affairs. The Security Council has the major responsibility to safeguard world peace and security. It should be therefore broad-based and further strengthened to reflect the present global scenario. Its composition must reflect the global political reality. The Security Council must be democratized." Mr. Annan said that parliamentarians, as representatives of the people, "are the principal repository of democratic legitimacy." He added that "you have a unique role to play in bringing global institutions such as the United Nations closer to the peoples they are meant to serve." The Conference adopted a Declaration entitled Parliamentary Vision for International Cooperation at the Dawn of the Third Millennium, which highlights the main challenges facing the world community and the UN in the 21st century. It describes changes in international relations and outlines the national, regional and international parliamentary aspect of international cooperation. The Declaration reaffirms the parliamentarians' "commitment to international cooperation, with a stronger United Nations at its core. We resolve to ensure that our parliaments contribute more substantively to this cooperation by making the voice of the peoples heard, thereby introducing a more manifestly democratic dimension into international decision-making and cooperation." The Presiding Officers of National Parliaments also stated their determination, "to see to it that our States honour their commitments under the UN Charter. States must ensure that their conduct conforms to international law, especially human rights and humanitarian law. Respect for the instruments of international humanitarian law is essential and we will continue to work for the establishment of an International Criminal Court that is non-discriminatory and universal. We reiterate our commitment to general and complete disarmament under effective international control, in particular nuclear disarmament and the elimination of weapons of mass destruction." At the end of the conference Ms. Heptulla said the Declaration sent a message that "parliament, as the institution which legitimately represents society in its diversity and is accountable to it, should have a better say in the international cooperation process....Our main role as legislators is to translate into legislative and budgetary provisions the agreements reached internationally by our Governments. Yet, it is in the wider interest of all and certainly in the interests of democracy that we be involved in the process in its early stages and not exclusively in the implementation phase." Contact: Inter-Parliamentary Union, Place du Petit Saconnex, BP 438, CH-1211 Geneva 19, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/919 4150, fax +41-22/919 4160, e-mail , website (www.ipu.org). Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders Nearly 700 religious and spiritual leaders from around world gathered in New York for a Millennium World Peace Summit from 28-31 August. The opening ceremony, which was held in the UN General Assembly Hall, began with over 50 separate invocations, prayers, performances and benedictions. Religions represented at the Summit included those of indigenous peoples, the Baha'i faith, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism. The largest contingent came from India with some 103 leaders and 400 disciples. "It is the goal of this Summit," said the event's Secretary General Bawa Jain, "to send a strong message of commitment of acceptance, respect and spiritual values, and to set a new cause for peace." Another goal of the Summit, he said, was to establish a means for religious leaders to serve "as an interfaith ally to the United Nations." He noted, however, that it was dismaying to see far more men than women at the event: "The fact there is no [gender] equity at present is one of the greatest dilemmas we have had." Four working sessions were held during the event on A Call to Dialogue, The Role of Religion in Conflict Transformation, Towards Forgiveness and Reconciliation, and Ending the Violence of Poverty and Environmental Degradation. Participants adopted a Commitment to Global Peace and planned to establish an International Advisory Council of religious leaders, which would aim to support UN conflict prevention and resolution efforts. The commitments outlined were: -- "To collaborate with the United Nations and all men and women of goodwill locally, regionally and globally in the pursuit of peace in all its dimensions; -- To lead humanity by word and deed in a renewed commitment to ethical and spiritual values, which include a deep sense of respect for all life and for each person's inherent dignity and right to live in a world free of violence; -- To manage and resolve nonviolently the conflicts generated by religious and ethnic differences, and to condemn all violence committed in the name of religion while seeking to remove the roots of the violence; -- To appeal to all religious communities and ethnic and national groups to respect the right to freedom of religion, to seek reconciliation, and to engage in mutual forgiveness and healing; -- To awaken in all individuals and communities a sense of shared responsibility for the well-being of the human family as a whole and a recognition that all human beings--regardless of religion, race, gender and ethnic origin--have the right to education, health care, and an opportunity to achieve a secure and sustainable livelihood; -- To promote the equitable distribution of wealth within nations and among nations, eradicating poverty and reversing the current trend toward a widening gap between rich and poor; -- To educate our communities about the urgent need to care for the earth's ecological systems and all forms of life and to support efforts to make environmental protection and restoration integral to all development planning and activity; -- To develop and promote a global reforestation campaign as a concrete and practical means for environmental restoration, calling upon others to join us in regional tree planting programs; -- To join with the United Nations in the call for all nation states to work for the universal abolition of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction for the safety and security of life on this planet; -- To combat those commercial practices and applications of technology that degrade the environment and the quality of human life; -- To practice and promote in our communities the values of the inner dimension of peace, including especially study, prayer, meditation, a sense of the sacred, humility, love, compassion, tolerance and a spirit of service, which are fundamental to the creation of a peaceful society." UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the religious leaders they were "powerful agents of change" who needed to use their influence for good and not stand by when governments or authorities failed to protect their citizens. "The practice of religion can have a dark side, too," Mr. Annan said. "Religious extremism has too often discriminated against women and minorities. The problem is not with faith but with the faithful .Religion has often been yoked to nationalism, stoking the flames of violent conflict and setting group against group....Religious leaders have not always spoken out when their voices could have helped combat hatred and persecution, or could have roused people from indifference." Ted Turner, Honorary Chair of the Millennium World Peace Summit and its chief sponsor, spoke of his own religious fervor as a youth. However he said he had been disturbed that his Christian denomination had been "very intolerant--not of religious freedom for other people, but we thought we were the only ones going to heaven," he said. "Since we were a small percentage of the world, that confused the devil out of me." Mr. Turner said he concluded that perhaps the many cultures and religions of the world might simply be a question of belief in "one God who manifests in different ways." Pope John Paul II sent a message to participants that said the Summit provided "an exceptional opportunity to make it abundantly clear that the only religion worthy of the name is the religion that leads to peace, and that true religion is mocked when it is tied to conflict and violence." His Holiness the Dalai Lama, prevented by China from attending the opening session in the UN General Assembly Hall, contributed comments in an interview with CNN from Dharamsala (India). "Firstly, individuals must take the responsibility to gain inner peace in order to achieve world peace," he said. "Secondly religions have a great role to create genuine harmony and religious tolerance. Finally, more attention must be paid to environmental problems." Israel Meir Lau, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, said that even if nothing operatively emerged from the conference, the fact that so many religious groups "had come together under the same ceiling to speak and listen to one another in such a constructive manner" was "a great achievement." Contact: Millennium World Peace Summit, 301 East 57th Street, 3rd Floor, New York NY 10022, United States, telephone +1-212/593 6438, fax +1-212/593 6345, e-mail , website (www.millenniumpeacesummit.com). Forum 2000 A multi-stakeholder dialogue on globalization, Forum 2000, was held in New York from 4-10 September. The event was held by the non-profit organization State of the World Forum (SWF), which aims to promote "sustainable globalization." Heads of State, religious leaders, the private sector and other representatives of civil society gathered for plenary and roundtable discussions on issues ranging from science and technology to e-commerce and spirituality. Some 1,000 people from more than 80 countries participated. Prominent speakers included Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the Soviet Union; South African President Thabo Mbeki; Yasuhiro Nakasone, former Prime Minister of Japan; Jehan Sadat, former First Lady of Egypt; Jean-Bertrand Aristide, former President of Haiti; Nobel Prize Laureate Desmond Tutu; philanthropist George Soros; and John Sweeney, President of the US-based AFL-CIO labour union. State of the World Forum President Jim Garrison, in an interview with InterPress News Service, said that "institutions governing globalization are all limited to representatives of sovereign states, but in reality globalization affects everyone. As a minimum we need to create a mechanism for the stakeholders to meet across the table. We are taking the creative leadership to break through the dialectic." The centerpiece of the Forum 2000 was a "post-Seattle" dialogue (referring to the December 1999 World Trade Organization meeting in the United States) on Shaping Globalization: Convening the Community of Stakeholders. The purpose of the dialogue was to "convince people that globalization has really replaced the Cold War as the organizing framework for human affairs." Organizers noted that the protests in Seattle highlighted both the "inadequacies of the current system of global governance and the imperative to establish a more inclusive consultative mechanism by which major stakeholders can come together to deliberate on global issues; discern common objectives; and work on common problems." The State of the World Forum said it was holding a similar meeting in Prague (Czech Republic) from 26-28 September 2000 to coincide with the annual meeting of the IMF and World Bank. "We need to add a third ingredient to a potentially polarized and violent situation," Mr. Garrison said. "Anti-globalization protesters are gaining more and more public support and there is no receptivity to this on behalf of the IMF or World Bank." Contact: Headquarters, State of the World Forum, The Presidio, PO Box 29434, San Francisco CA 94129, United States, telephone +1-415/561 2345, fax +1-415/561 2323, e-mail , website (www.worldforum.org). Globalization and the Role of the United Nations: A Teach-In Motivated by concerns that the UN is in danger of becoming an "engine for corporate globalization," NGO activists held a ten-hour "Teach-In" on 5 September to address "the challenge of effectively articulating the dangers of the unchecked power of global corporations and develop strategies to restore the UN's historic mandate placing human needs and the environment above [the] profit motive." In contrast to Forum 2000, which was based on a belief in the inevitability of corporate globalization and the need to find ways to harness it in a positive way, many Teach-In participants said such inevitability was at best constructed, and at worst a trend driven solely by the profit motive at the expense of some 80% of the world's population. The Teach-In, held in the Town Hall in New York, was sponsored by the International Forum on Globalization (IFG), an alliance of 60 activists, scholars, economists, researchers and writers. The event was comprised of four panel sessions that reviewed the state of the "battle against globalization in the wake of the Seattle and Washington DC protests" [against the policies of the World Trade Organization, World Bank and IMF] and analyzed the "increasing influence of corporations and the free trade model on the UN." Panelists also discussed alternative economic models and institutions "based on values favoring human welfare and the environment over corporate interests." Unlike protests directed at the World Bank, IMF and WTO, Teach-In organizers and participants expressed a desire to support the United Nations, seeing it as a forum for problem-solving rather than a source of problems. "The UN, unlike the WTO, the World Bank and the IMF, was really created to be a space to promote peace, human rights, the environment, social justice, livelihoods and democracy," said Debi Barker, IFG Deputy Director. "This is a worthy institution and these are worthy goals. We are concerned that things such as the Global Compact (see Go Between 82), encroaching its way into the UN, means that the UN is being usurped by corporations and by people who are driving this globalization agenda." Panelists reviewed the history of the establishment of the UN and the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs) and cited problems they said were caused by the absence of policy coordination between them. They said the WTO and BWIs were "institutionally subordinating citizens' rights" that are embodied in the UN Charter. "This is why people must begin to focus on the relationship of the BWIs to the UN system, with a view to resubordinating the BWIs back to their original and rightful place," IFG representatives said. The importance of the numerous UN conventions was also highlighted, but IFG representatives noted that "although governments approved many of them years ago, they have largely failed to ratify and implement these rights domestically. Energy needs to be focused on getting all national governments to implement the standing conventions and treaties to which they have already agreed. The role of the UN should be to, where needed and agreed, enforce those obligations for the common good." Vandana Shiva, IFG Associate and Director of the India-based Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, cautioned that by aligning itself with the "purveyors" of corporate globalization, the UN was in danger of becoming a vehicle for "the new colonialism of the Third World that rests on free trade and liberalized rules for investment and privatization and de-regulation." Ms. Shiva and John Cavanagh, Executive Director of the Institute for Policy Studies, suggested that the United States' relationship to the UN "as manifested by its large debt to the Organization" had played a role in the UN's increased interest in cooperating with multinational corporations. Robert Bissio of the Uruguay-based Third World Institute, who spoke on a panel entitled Growing Domination of the UN by Corporations and Industrial Countries, said that "the UN was successful in preventing the Cold War from turning into a Hot War, but it has not been successful in ensuring justice." He asked what had happened to the so-called peace dividend, which was supposed to emerge at the end of the Cold War arms race. He pointed to regressive taxation as the culprit, noting that corporations are paying 30% less tax than they were during the Cold War, resulting "in a great concentration of wealth and a distortion of values." Mr. Bissio called on the UN to push for the establishment of the Tobin Tax (see NGLS Roundup 47) in order to put an end to what he called "this Hood Robin economy, which takes from the poor and gives to the rich." Joshua Karliner of the US-based Transnational Resource & Action Center expressed his concern that the Global Compact had no provisions for monitoring, accountability or enforcement. Richard Falk, Professor at Princeton University in the United States, said there was a logic to what the UN was trying to do with the Global Compact, as global policy is increasingly determined not by governments but corporations. He said that with increased disempowerment of the state, governments had lost their sense of mission for creating a better society for their people. Rather than "legitimize globalization and not have to deal with the suffering caused by the inequalities of this economy," Mr. Falk called for the establishment of a Global People's Assembly, which would supersede national boundaries and serve as an accountable alternative to governments and parliaments. Martin Khor of the Malaysia-based Third World Network, who was on a panel entitled Where to Go from Here: The UN and the Global Economic System, targeted his comments to the New York audience and spoke of the need to make changes in lifestyle, the importance of consumer choices, meeting basic needs and providing health care. He said corporate globalization, which he distinguished from globalization in general, was not inevitable. He compared it with the slave trade, which he noted had also been considered "inevitable." He said that focusing on how to "improve" globalization to make it work for more people ignored the fact that others suffer at all. David Korten, author of the book The Post-Corporate World, called for an International Insolvency Court to replace the IMF, and a United Nations Organization for Corporate Accountability to replace the WTO in order to take anti-trust action particularly in banking, media and agri-businesses; to withdraw the charters of corporations that are responsible for abuses; to make it possible for legal actions to be taken across borders; and to curb corporate political participation and contributions. Contact: International Forum on Globalization, 1062 Fort Cronkite, Sausalito CA 94965, United States, telephone +1-888/629 9269, fax +1-415/229 9340, e-mail website (www.ifg.org). "People's Summit" Protests A People's Summit on the theme Democratization Not Corporatization was held in New York on 8 September. The People's Summit, demonstrations and direct actions around the city during the Millennium Summit were coordinated by S8 Mobilization, an international coalition of NGOs and citizen's groups including women, youth, farmers, community organizers, human rights activists and students that come together to protest corporate globalization and promote world democracy. "This Millennium Summit is done in the name of We the Peoples' but where are the people?" asked Seydina Senghor, co-founder of the Jubilee 2000 International Campaign. Nisha Anand of the US-based War Resisters League, which endorsed the S8 Mobilization, said that "the goal of the Millennium Summit must be to democratize political structures and the international economy." Ward Morehouse, Co-Director of the US-based Program on Corporations, Law and Democracy, said that "we must not allow the corporate takeover of the United Nations, or the adoption of multinational private sector goals in this public institution....We demand a truly democratic United Nations that works for the people and the planet, not free trade and corporate profit." The S8 Mobilization also issued a report card on the Security Council, giving it an "F" for "fail." Organizers said the five Permanent Members of the Council--China, France, the Russian Federation, United Kingdom and the United States--were "the victors of World War II [and had] no right to dictate or to veto the wishes of the other 183 countries in the UN." They called for increased transparency, accountability and democratization of the Council. Kenny Bruno of Corporate Watch cited Article 26 of the UN Charter, in which the Security Council is given the task of "formulating...plans to be submitted to the Members of the United Nations for the establishment of a system for the regulation of armaments." Instead, he said, "The five Permanent Members of the Security Council are the biggest profiteers in the arms trade, taking over 80% of the contracts in that trade in death and destruction." The S8 Mobilization planned to push for reforms at the World Bank and IMF ahead of their meeting in Prague (Czech Republic) from 19-28 September. S8 Mobilization organizers called for the introduction of an ombudsman within the WTO, World Bank and IMF to investigate cases of alleged bias and injustice in their operations. "The UN," they said, "should convene a conference similar to the Bretton Woods conference of 1944 to discuss what sort of new financial architecture is needed for our rapidly globalizing world." Contact: S8 Mobilization, see website (www.peoplessummit.org). STATEMENTS AT THE MILLENNIUM SUMMIT Globalization Antigua and Barbuda: "The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)-- an organization created by the Group of 7 (G7) has unilaterally devised a set of standards for taxation that it wants to impose on other jurisdictions....If the Charter of this organization means anything--and if the Declaration of this Summit is to give any credibility to the United Nations--the OECD should withdraw from bullying small countries in forced bilateral negotiations and should cease to hold sanctions over their heads like swords of Damocles." France: "A new world has emerged in the space of a single generation....a world with a wealth of promise and breathtaking progress, but, unfortunately, a world that is creating new forms of exclusion. Globalization marks a new stage in humankind's adventure. It challenges us to reinvent political action on a worldwide scale, [with] political action guided by our intelligence, our courage and our hearts." Guatemala: "It is correct to make a conceptual distinction between the international' world of the postwar era and the globalized world that has already come into being and is evolving in fundamental ways. The transition from the former to the latter creates a need for strengthening States, in order that they may fulfil their dual responsibility, namely, individually to their respective citizens, and collectively, towards advancing the common interest of the planet." Guyana: "The prevailing model of development by which countries implement sound internal policies but fail to progress because of external factors is disastrous. It must be replaced by another paradigm that allows developing countries to participate in the global economy while protecting them from its volatility." Indonesia: "Driven by the liberalization of trade and finance and propelled by the information revolution, rapid globalization has left no country untouched by its pervasive reach....As a country that has both reaped the benefits of globalization and has also been a victim of its attendant risks, Indonesia knows only too well that the great challenge facing the international community in transforming globalization into an effective instrument of development will be a formidable one." Jamaica: "Poverty remains the single greatest challenge facing [humankind]. Even as globalization presents new vistas of opportunities, half the world's peoples suffer the deprivation, despair and powerlessness of extreme poverty. We perpetuate and deepen their social exclusion while abundant wealth is created, so long as the benefits of globalization are skewed so unfairly." Netherlands: "Global governance needs to be strengthened to keep pace with the major challenges presented by globalization. The UN, other multilateral organizations and their member states have a pivotal task to perform if we are ever to tackle global concerns--such as the spread of infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS." Nicaragua: "This new century will be witness to a spectacular globalization process, overwhelming and unstoppable, whose forms, levels, impact and significance could never have been imagined a few years back. Thus, today, we have the enormous responsibility of channeling our best efforts, early and effectively, to achieve at least minimum levels of the transfer of science and technology to developing countries." Nigeria: "The new millennium is being shaped by forces of globalization that are turning our world into a village....But up to now, globalization has meant prosperity only for the chosen few of the industrialized countries. For us in the developing world, globalization will continue to ring hollow and be of dubious value, until we see its positive effects on our fortunes. In short, globalization has to be seen to mean the eradication of poverty." Pakistan: "The best assurance for the consolidation of global peace lies in the economic development and prosperity of all regions and all peoples. Economic progress in one region supports and complements prosperity in the other. The process of globalization and trade liberalization had raised hopes, but has caused disappointment. Global trade regimes make the rich North richer, and the poor South poorer. This imbalance will further crush the developing countries under the increased burden of debt." Poland: "A term globalization' has been coined for our new interdependence. [Our country] has opened itself to the world, emerging as an even more active participant of trade, scientific and technological exchanges. We, of Poland, feel at ease in a world of cultural interactions and lively contacts between people. We should remember, though, that there is also a dark side to globalization. The disparity between poor and rich countries continues to grow." Portugal: "This summit is meeting under the star of globalization. This is a reality, not an option. The choice is in allowing it to develop in an unregulated manner, leading to social exclusion and a deterioration of injustices at the global level, or, on the other hand, in placing it under control so that its potential will be at the service of all." St. Lucia: "Where is the hope when the World Trade Organization (WTO) has orchestrated the destruction of the economies of some small Caribbean countries, through a ruling that condemns the preferential marketing arrangements for their bananas in Europe as anti-free trade? How can this be just when these arrangements are a life force of the economies of these countries? How can this be defensible when the Caribbean banana trade represents only 2 per cent of world trade in this product? Where is equity, justice and fairness when other developing countries participate in this attack on our livelihood?" South Africa: "It must be that we will have to jostle with various pagan gods at whose feet we prostrate ourselves, over all of whom tower the gods of inertia, the market and globalization." Thailand: "In view of the immense challenges posed by globalization, Thailand believes there is a greater need than ever for a level playing field so that developing countries can compete with the industrialized nations on a more equal footing. At the same time, we look to the indispensable role of the UN as a democratic world organization that takes into account the interests of all countries on an equal basis." Uganda: "The well-celebrated globalization' presents many opportunities, but has always presented unfair terms of trade....As developing countries, the era of being mere producers of raw materials must come to an end. We must focus on adding value to all goods before putting them on the market. This is the only way everybody can benefit from globalization and in the long run eradicate poverty." Africa Lesotho: "The attainment of democracy in sub-Saharan Africa must be accompanied by corresponding economic gains and reduction of poverty. Yet, the majority of us who have embraced democracy have yet to reap the fruits of this change. We have waited too long; and change must come now. We are unable to meet the challenges of globalization and to take advantage of the opportunities it offers for development and the relief of poverty. We are similarly unable to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by advances in information and communication technology which hold great prospects for our rapid development." United Kingdom: "We should use this unique summit for a concrete purpose: to start the process of agreeing a way forward for Africa. We need a new partnership for Africa, in which Africans lead but the rest of the world is committed; where all the problems are dealt with not separately but together in a coherent and unified plan." Peace Canada: "We must work harder to deny the agents of violence and conflict their sources of supply, by halting the proliferation of small arms and light weapons and by controlling the illicit trade in diamonds. We must keep moving ahead with initiatives that put the security of people first." China: "All countries, big or small, rich or poor, strong or weak, are equal members of the international community and have the right to take part in and handle world affairs. Matters that fall within the scope and sovereignty of a country should be managed only by the government and people of that country, and world affairs should be handled by the governments and people of all countries through consultation." Cuba: "The poverty and underdevelopment prevailing in most nations as well as the inequality in the distribution of wealth and knowledge in the world are basically at the source of the present conflicts." Russia: "Particularly alarming are the plans for the militarization of outer space. In the spring of 2001, we shall celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first flight of man to outer space...and we suggest organizing on that date, under the umbrella of the UN, an international conference on the prevention of the militarization of outer space." Rwanda: "Each conflict is unique in its history, and its sociology, something that does not often receive the attention it deserves....If the case of Rwanda may be cited, the additional shortcoming is the inability or unwillingness to assist counties in post-conflict situations. International agencies seem more effective in reacting to humanitarian crises, but are wholly inadequate in assisting affected countries in the aftermath of conflicts." United Kingdom: "We need UN forces composed of units appropriate for more robust peacekeeping that can be inserted quickly, rather than whatever the Secretary-General's staff has been able to gather from reluctant Member States. This means a new contract between the UN and its members. We must be prepared to commit our forces to UN operations." United States: "Today, there are fewer wars between nations, but more wars within nations. This trend presents us with a stark, collective challenge. We must respect sovereignty and territorial integrity. But whether it is diplomacy, sanctions, or collective force, we must find ways to protect people as well as borders." UN Reform Australia: "Australia endorses calls to expand the Security Council's permanent and non-permanent membership in line with today's realities and to improve the Council's effectiveness and authority. A better geographical spread is needed. In particular, Australia has been a long-standing supporter of permanent membership of the Security Council for Japan." Brazil: "The time has come to revitalize [the United Nations] to ensure that it mirrors the contemporary state of global affairs and the trend towards greater democracy in international relations. We must reform the Security Council to make it more representative, effective and legitimate. No longer can we tolerate anachronistic decision-making structures that are not only selective but fail to reflect the dynamics of worldwide transformations in the last decade." Egypt: "It is important to conclude the ongoing dialogue on the restructuring of the Security Council, and achieve a fair and equal package that allows a larger number of permanent and non-permanent seats which would take into account the overwhelming majority of developing countries." France: "This ethical combat [to serve humankind, human dignity and human rights] is above all the combat for peace and democracy...peace that calls for reform of the UN as a peacekeeping body, notably by enlarging both categories of Security Council membership. France is very [supportive of] this critical reform." Germany: "[The Security Council] cannot improve the prospects of success for global peacekeeping if politically and economically important states are not involved in the Security Council's decision-making. [We] would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm on behalf of the German Government that should the number of permanent members be increased, Germany is prepared to shoulder this responsibility." Guatemala: "We must put an end to the practice of freezing the Organization's budget as a doctrinaire matter. If we want a first-class institution, we must learn to provide it with the necessary financial support." India: "India has let it be known for some years that we believe ourselves qualified by objective criteria for responsibilities of permanent membership. Indeed, as the world's largest democracy, enormous potential, a rapidly growing economic power and a major contributor to peacekeeping operations, India has a natural claim to a permanent seat on the Security Council." Japan: "It is clear that the Security Council of today does not fully reflect the realities of the international community as it enters the twenty-first century....[We are] convinced that a large majority of Member States already support the expansion of the permanent and non-permanent membership of the Council, as well as the inclusion of both developing and developed countries in the expanded permanent membership." Malaysia: "The UN of the 21st Century must be a more democratic body. It cannot champion democracy and good governance in the domestic politics of its members while ignoring these very same principles in its own operation. It cannot claim moral stature when it does not put into practice what it preaches in its Charter and the many resolutions adopted in successive General Assembly sessions." Nigeria: "The reform of the United Nations, in particular the expansion and democratization of the Security Council, is a task which can no longer be postponed, if our organization must brace up for the challenges of the new millennium." Portugal: "The reform and the strengthening of the United Nations itself is...a key matter to our collective future, including a profound effort to rationalize structures and means, the reorganization and expansion of the Security Council itself and the creation of an Economic Security Council." United States: "All nations including [the United States] must meet our obligations to the UN. And those with the capacity to increase their support must do so. Reform of the UN's financial structure must be made if the Organization is to meet the demands we make of it. Those who believe we can either do without the UN, or impose our will upon it, have not learned from history and do not understand the future." Civil Society Egypt: "Egypt has followed closely the work of the Millennium Forum of NGOs and welcomes its final report which has set an ambitious plan of action highlighting the need to respect the national sovereignty of states, the right of people to self determination, and calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons, the ending of economic sanctions, and facing the negative impacts of globalization. It has become evident that the contributions of civil society in these realms enable it to become an active partner of the United Nations in the implementation of its policies and the achievement of its goals." Finland: "The participation of civil society is significant for the relevance of the UN. Its input is needed in all UN activities. This participation must be extended to the civil society as a whole, including parliaments, the private sector and business community. Their representatives could be included in official UN delegations like Finland does." Singapore: "The nation state is being redefined. The power within states is flowing downwards and being localized in provinces and cities. At the same time, state sovereignty is being circumscribed by regional and multilateral organizations. Furthermore new actors, for example global corporations, some of whom have larger outputs than the [gross domestic product] of some member states, and NGOs, some of whom have more international clout than some governments are now a prominent and integral part of international life." This edition of NGLS Roundup was prepared by the United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS). The NGLS Roundup is produced for NGOs and others interested in the institutions, policies and activities of the UN system and is not an official record.