Mr Chairman,
Speaking on behalf of Pax Romana, I draw your attention to the statement that the UN High Commissioner made to the Economic and Social Council at its substantive session in July 1999,"At the dawn of a new century, violations of economic, social and cultural rights must be seen as an affront to human dignity" (E/1999/96 para 55).
With regard to globalisation although it "has profoundly transformed economic systems by creating unexpected possibilities of growth, [it] has also resulted in many people being relegated to the side of the road" (Pope John Paul II, Address to the diplomatic corps, 10 January 2000).
Mr Chairman,
When Pax Romana convoked an international colloquium on the global economy and dialogue with the international financial institutions in Washington DC in October 1999 we stated that, "the global economy as it is taking shape today, contains powerful positive forces as well as deep pathologies. It reveals a bizarre combination of giddy optimism and deep fear." We were struck by the "keen willingness" of the heads of those financial institutions, particularly the IMF and the Inter-American Development Bank "to enter into genuine dialogue with civil society". "Yet when we visited and interacted with regional and project staff of the IMF and the World Bank, we sometimes discovered disappointing gaps between the visions and the ground reality of these institutions". These financial mechanisms "often function almost automatically, thus accentuating the situation of wealth for some and poverty for the rest". The reality is that international economic laws have evolved separately and are not based on human rights.
Here, Pax Romana welcomes the studies launched by Professor Oloko-Onyango (Uganda) and Ms Deepika Udagama, contained in the working paper E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/11, entitled 'Human rights as the primary objective of international trade investment and finance policy and practice'.
Among other conclusions and recommendations, the experts state "the need to more critically address the issue of the 'right to participation' in formulating policy in the area of international trade, investment and finance". We have taken note of the studies of Mr Cheru and Mr Figueredo contained in E/CN.4/2000/51 and they recommend that the "OHCHR must be proactive at the technical level and ensure that economic, social and cultural rights are strongly integrated in the activities and programmes of the multilateral financial institutions and the regional development banks."
In reviewing the global economy and the dialogue with international financial institutions Pax Romana finds that the ever-widening inequalities of peoples and nations is the central issue of our times. This is characterised by two major trends that are shaping the 21st century. Namely, a) huge and accelerating income and wealth divergences, between nations, individuals and nations and between the poorest individuals of rich countries and the richest individuals of poor countries and b) the costly victories in the struggle for life. In that respect, "the existing model of development advocated by these international financial institutions is not socially viable, because of the inherent conflicting situation of a few reaping the benefits at the cost of the majority." Also, as the 1999 Human Development Report points out, "recent research on complex humanitarian emergencies concluded that 'horizontal inequalities' between groups whether ethnic or social - are the major causes of the current wave of civil conflicts. Inequalities - matter not only in incomes but in political participation, in economic assets and in social conditions".
In this connection, discriminatory trade practices enhance inequalities, especially in agricultural and textile sectors, which is the source of income of many of the world's poorest people. Rich nations have set tariffs on imports at a rate 30% higher than the global average. This needs to be addressed directly in relation to the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights.
Mr Chairman,
Concluding, we urge the Commission in collaboration with the relevant inter-governmental organisations, member states of the UN, NGOs/civil society and the international financial institutions to creatively redesign the global financial system "according to the values of participatory democracy, ethical integrity, transparency and accountability, and to apply these values at all levels of planning, decision-making, implementation and evaluation."
I thank you, Mr Chairman.