NO 94   OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2002

UN UPDATE

NGO NEWS

FOCUS

SG Endorses Counter-Terrorism Strategy SG Calls for Concerted Action on Poverty Ethiopia Faces Famine UNAIDS/WHO Release AIDS Epidemic..2002 WFP Launches Africa Hunger Crisis.. GA President Observes World.. FAO/WFP Commemorate World Food Day WHO Releases Study on GM Foods BWC Ends Fifth Review Conference Climate Change: COP-8 Meets in New.. GA Considers the Cloning Con.. GA Discusses Financing for Dev.. UNCTAD Releases World Inv. Report 2002 WIDER/UNU Report Calls for Reform World Economic and Social Survey..02 World Bank/IMF Hold Annual Meeting FAO Estimates Toxic Waste at 500,000 Ton.. DDA Holds Roundtables on Disarament GA First Committee Discusses... Peacekeeping in Bosnia-Herzegovina Winds.. Landmine Convention Meets World Health Report 2002: Preventing Risks WHO Publishes World Report on Violence.. Int. Day Examines Environment/War UNEP/WCMC Releases Mountain Watch.. UNEP Finance Initiatives Warns of Risks WFP Atlas on Food Security of Urban India S-G’s Report on Composition of the Secreta.. UN Population Division Releases Migration..

Enabling Environments for MDGs FIM Holds Conference on Governance Worldwatch Reports on Resource Wars Reporters Without Borders Publishes.. AWID Holds 9th International Forum CUTS Launches Jubilee 2010/2020

African Development: UNCTAD Calls for.. GA Addresses African High-Level Plenary Meeting FAO Releases State of Food Insecurity, Agriculture 2002 General Assembly Debate Opens on Economic Issues Globalization: How to Manage the Prevaling Economic Forces Pre-ExCom and ExCom 53rd Session Calendar

TOP	Enabling Environments for MDGs
	Using the World Bank/IMF annual meetings held in late September as a backdrop, over 200 government, donor agency and NGOs representatives came together in Washington DC on 2 October 2002 to draw linkages between the trade and finance policy discourses emanating from the Doha Ministerial meeting, the International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, and to consider those policies under the framework of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The symposium, Creating an Enabling Environment for Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, was cosponsored by several NGOs active around the FFD process: the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, InterAction and the Interim Facilitating Group on FFD. In one panel, Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), pointed out that the most effective element for achieving the MDGs would not come simply from better economic policies, but rather from a “broad political energy and power exercised by civil society through its organizations.” Mr. Malloch Brown said the impact of this would ultimately be felt though votes at the ballot box, “demanding better results from their policy makers.” He said ideally he would like to see the MDGs used universally in policy planning processes such as the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)/Development Assistance Committee (DAC) peer reviews. In this way, he said, the MDGs would become the “common language” used by all development practitioners. Mr. Malloch Brown pointed out, however, that the US’s recently created Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) was undermining the unity and political power of the MDG framework by seemingly establishing its own independent system of measurement. The MCA was established in early 2002 when US President George Bush announced that the US would increase its core assistance to developing countries by 50% over the next 3 years, resulting in a US$5 billion annual increase over current levels by 2006, and that this increased assistance would go to the new account to fund initiatives in “qualifying” developing countries. Shortly after creating the account, the US outlined three related criteria that developing countries would have to meet: a strong commitment to good governance, the health and education of their people, and sound economic policies that foster enterprise and entrepreneurship. In the second panel, which focused on the role of US foreign policy in achieving the MDGs, Cynthia Rozell, MCA Senior Advisor at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), announced that “effective immediately,” USAID “will begin monitoring and tracking all of its development assessments through the lens of the Millennium Development Goals.” She said USAID would do this “very transparently.” A fellow panellist, Steven Radelet of the Center for Global Development, pointed out, however, that relative to that of trade policies, the impact of bilateral assistance is quite small. “Trade policies of the European Union and United Sates always have a much, much greater impact on achievement towards the MDGs,” he said, “than any bilateral assistance programme we can come up with.” Panellists also identified other factors that inhibit the achievement of the MDGs, including a lack of emphasis on essential services, low levels of ODA, over reliance on market access, and misguided multilateral agreements. This meeting was the first in a series of three. Two others were held in November, just prior to the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly’s discussion of the follow-up to FFD Contact: Emira Woods, Programme Manager, InterAction, 1717 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 701, Washington DC 20036, USA, telephone +1-202/667 8227, fax +1-202/667 8236, email <ewoods@interaction.org>, website (www.interaction.org).
TOP	FIM Holds Conference on Governance
	Meeting from 14-16 October in Montreal (Canada), the Global Governance 2002: Civil Society and the Democratization of Global Governance—Redefining Global Democracy (GO2) Conference, organized by the Montreal International Forum, brought together some 400 representatives, mainly from NGOs. UN Under-Secretary-General Nitin Desai, in his keynote speech, emphasized the shift in international relations over the last decade from one of inter-State relations mainly between the executive branches of governments to one of global relations, which he described as “moving away from the traditions of secret society to those of open society.” He highlighted three key features of present-day international relations: the influential role of transnational corporations; the growing importance of networks and activists—“global civil society”; and the emergence of shared values at the United Nations. Mr. Desai argued that the main challenge currently facing the UN was that of implementation of the agreements that have been reached over the last decade, mainly in major UN conferences and summits. Within this context, he pointed to two areas of increasing concern for civil society: the UN’s growing relations with the Bretton Woods institutions and also with the corporate sector. “We must bring those with influence into the tent,” he said. “We are trying to bring them into our agenda and be sure that the outcomes of the conferences are not diluted.” A number of NGO representatives questioned the emphasis on implementation, indicating that more was needed in the area of standard setting and that there was also a need to address the lack of democracy in the institutions of global governance. Drawing on a paper prepared for the meeting, “Futures beyond Threats,” and citing NGO dissatisfaction with the outcome of the International Conference on Financing for Development, John Foster of the North/South Institute said that, in some cases, the UN was moving prematurely to implementation. In the final plenary, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bill Graham, faced forthright questions about Canadian foreign policy from participants seeking a more independent Canadian role, especially regarding Iraq. Participants also questioned the priority of Canadian trade policy over policies of human rights, health and the environment. In a plenary session addressing the crisis situation of Iraq, a number of NGO representatives from industrialized and developing countries spoke with different but complementary perspectives of the apparent domination of self-interest in national policies and expressed their concern about the undermining of civil liberties. A representative from South Asia spoke movingly about the pressures and isolation felt at national and local levels by those living in communities experiencing violence and religious tensions. Common themes and future directions that emerged from the session included the importance of working with US civil society; strengthening the role of women in decision making; and the vital need for an independent media. In addition to the plenary sessions and self-organized workshops, the programme of GO2 was developed around eight thematic “tracks,” each with its own programme coordinator, workshops and reports. The tracks include the United Nations; Human Rights; Parliamentarians; Trade, Global Corporations; Local Government; Transnational Civil Society; Non-Dominant Groups; and Financial Flows. Contact: Montreal International Forum, 407 McGill Street, Suite 800, Montréal, Québec H2Y 2G3, Canada, telephone +1-514/499 9468, fax +1-514/987 1567, e-mail <info@fimcivilsociety.org>, website (www.fimcivilsociety.org).
TOP	Worldwatch Reports on Resource Wars
	The world’s insatiable demand for cellular phones and other consumer luxuries is fueling violent conflict and killing millions in developing countries, according to a recent report from the Worldwatch Institute. The Anatomy of Resource Wars says that wars over natural resources, such as coltan—a mineral that keeps cell phones and other electronic equipment functioning—diamonds, tropical woods, and other rare materials have killed or displaced more than 20 million people and are raising at least US$12 billion a year for rebels, warlords, repressive governments, and other groups around the world. “From Columbia to Angola to Afghanistan people are dying every day because consumer societies import and use materials irrespective of where they originate,” said Worldwatch Institute senior researcher and report author Michael Renner. “If you purchase a cell phone, for example, you may very well be paying to keep the war going in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where rival armies fight for control over deposits of coltan, a commodity that just over a decade ago had little commercial value, but is now vital for the one billion plus cell phones in use today.” The report suggests that the expansion in global trade combined with lax or corrupt customs officials has made access to key markets relatively easy for warring groups. “Companies and rich nations that benefit from cheap raw materials have long turned a blind eye to the destruction at their source, and most consumers don’t know that a number of common purchases bear the invisible imprint of violence,” Mr. Renner said. According to the institute, most of the violence in resource-related conflicts is directed against civilians, with young boys often turned into child soldiers and girls into sex slaves for older fighters. Child and slave labour is used to extract the resources. More than five million people were killed in resource-driven conflicts during the 1990s, between 5-6 million fled to neighbouring countries, and anywhere from 11-15 million people were displaced inside the borders of their home countries. The report makes a number of recommendations, including: developing strong global certification systems; improving the capacity of international organizations and governments to monitor compliance; developing corporate codes of conduct in resource extraction industries; reducing the availability of small arms; promoting democratization, justice, and greater respect for human rights; and facilitating the diversification of the economy away from a strong dependence on primary commodities. Contact: Worldwatch Institute, 1776 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Suite 800, Washington DC 20036, USA, telephone+1-202/452 1999, fax +1-202/296 7365, e-mail <worldwatch@worldwatch.org>, website (www.worldwatch.org).
TOP	Reporters Without Borders Publishes Index
	Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières) has published, for the first time, a worldwide index of countries based on their respect for press freedom that takes into account events between September 2001 and October 2002. The index—drawn up by asking journalists, researchers and legal experts to answer 50 questions about the entire range of press freedom violations, such as murders or arrests of journalists, censorship, pressure, State monopolies in various fields, punishment of press law offences and regulation of the media—includes 139 countries. The other countries were not included in the absence of reliable information. The index indicates that press freedom is under threat everywhere, with the 20 bottom-ranked countries drawn from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. The situation is particularly worrisome in Asia, which contains the five countries at the bottom of the list. Four countries share the first place—Finland, Iceland, Norway and the Netherlands, and not only do these four scrupulously respect press freedom in their own countries, but they also speak up for it elsewhere in the world, most recently in Eritrea and Zimbabwe. The highest-scoring country outside Europe is Canada, which comes in fifth. Reporters Without Borders says Costa Rica (which ranks above the US) and Benin (which ranks above Italy) are examples of how growth of a free press does not only depend on a country’s material prosperity. They also attribute the poor ranking of the US (17th) to the number of journalists arrested or imprisoned there, often because the journalists refuse to reveal their sources in court. Furthermore, since the 11 September attacks on the US, several journalists have been arrested for crossing security lines at official buildings. In the worst-ranked countries, independent newspapers do not exist, while the only voice heard is of media tightly controlled or monitored by the government. Reporters Without Borders say the very few independent journalists are constantly harassed, imprisoned or forced into exile by the authorities, while foreign media is banned or allowed in very small doses, always closely monitored. Cuba came 134th and is the only country in the region where there is no diversity of news and journalists are routinely imprisoned. In Haiti, which ranked 106th, journalists are often targeted by informal militias. At the other end of the spectrum, Benin is in 21st place despite being classified by the UN Development Programme as one of the world’s 15 poorest countries. Other African States, such as South Africa (26th), Mali (43rd), Namibia (31st) and Senegal (47th), also have genuine press freedom. Contact: Reporters sans frontières, 5, rue Geoffroy-Marie, 75009 Paris, France, telephone +33-1/44 83 84 84, fax +33-1/45 23 11 51, e-mail <rsf@rsf.org>, website (www.rsf.org).
TOP	AWID Holds 9th International Forum
	The Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) held its ninth International Forum in Guadalajara (Mexico) from 3-6 October 2002. It provided a platform for a solutions-oriented approach to current global issues, and also served as an opportunity for the global women’s movement to examine their successes and failures in terms of building alliances, effecting institutional and policy change and making institutions and organizations more accountable for equality and justice. More than 1,200 policy makers, practitioners, researchers, academics, grassroots organizers, NGOs and other representatives of civil society participated from over 100 countries. The Forum was organized around four plenary sessions and some 150 panels and workshops. The opening plenary, Re-inventing Globalization for Women’s Rights in Development, explored new strategies towards a ‘fair globalization’ that would support women’s human rights and sustainable human development. Participants highlighted the contradictions within the new economic global order and explored paths for achieving economic justice, including engendering macro-economic policy, increasing women’s capacity to influence economic policy and access to market opportunities, as well as efforts to incorporate human rights principles into economic models and policies. The second plenary, Women Challenging the New Political and Military Order, explored challenges associated with militarization, racism, censorship, religious fundamentalism and US foreign policy. Participants sought to define new forms of governance and leadership. The third plenary, Human Rights for All: Understanding and Applying Intersectionality to Confront Globalization, explored the diversity of women’s identity, examining the intersection of class, race, religion, ethnicity, age, ability, caste and gender, as well as geographical barriers, that have caused less privileged women to become further marginalized. The session made use of the lessons learned at the UN World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR) held in Durban (South Africa) in September 2001, in order to provide concrete and holistic strategies for human rights for all. The final plenary session, Transformative Leadership: The Now and the Future of the Movement, looked at the challenges facing the women’s movement, while highlighting how young women are transforming human rights and development work. Challenges of this leadership were also illustrated. Other major issues taken up by Forum participants included: human rights perspectives on the global HIV/AIDS crisis; women’s initiatives to address the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) trade and investment policies; finding solutions to armed conflicts; sexual rights and risks; the genetic revolution and biotechnology; UN and other international interventions in post-conflict situations and their impact on women; feminist perspectives on human security; and financial crises, macro-economic policy and economic restructuring. The Forum also launched the campaign for the coming three years with the theme “Globalize This! Women’s Rights in Development.” Contact: AWID, 96 Spadina Avenue, Suite 401, Toronto, ON Canada, M5V2J6, telephone +1-416/594 3773, fax +1-416/594 0330, email <awid@awid.org>, website (www.awid.org).
TOP	CUTS Launches Jubilee 2010/2020
	The Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) launched its Jubilee 2010/2020 Campaign during the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg (South Africa). The Campaign, drawing on the success of the Jubilee 2000 campaign for debt relief, aims to help developing countries reap the benefits of international trade. In order to be more effective, it will focus on the single issue of tariffs as it brings together a worldwide alliance of civil society groups under the leadership of the CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics and Environment. “There is growing disillusionment with trade liberalization in the South,” said Hafiz Pasha, Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific. “These countries may retreat from liberalization if the North maintains protection in all the areas where Southern producers are competitive,” he said. Jubilee 2010/2020 calls for dirty tariffs on labour-intensive goods, especially textiles, clothing and leather goods to be dismantled by the year 2010, and dirty tariffs and subsidies on agricultural products by the year 2020. According to CUTS, the Uruguay Round of world trade negotiations promised benefits to developing countries which have not materialized, and, while many countries in the South have lowered their trade barriers, the North has not reciprocated in the most important areas. Even the European Union’s “Everything But Arms” initiative to offer zero tariffs to least developed countries (LDCs) excludes key agricultural products, according to CUTS. “Protectionism is one of the global problems that has actually grown worse in the last decade,” said Ricardo Melendez, Executive Director of the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development in Geneva. “Subsidies on agriculture in the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] countries are now six times as much as overseas development aid flows, which means a huge flow of resources from South to North, further exacerbating inequalities between countries.” CUTS Secretary-General, Pradeep Mehta, said, “We also need to empower people to participate in trade policy making in both the rich and the poor countries, so that people can bring pressure on their governments to be fair in the conduct of their trade policies.” Contact: Bipul Chatterjee, CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics & Environment, D 217 Bhaskar Marg, Bani Park, Jaipur 302 016, India, telephone +91-141/207482, fax +91-141/207486, e-mail <cuts@cuts.org>, website (www.cuts.org).
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