[asia-apec 1786] Food Rights Watch, Focus on Trade and Human RightsNumber 1

[Anuradha Mittal]

Welcome to Food Rights Watch: Focus on Trade and Human Rights

Food Rights Watch provides information about economic and social human 
rights issues in the belief that education leads to action. With this 
edition, Food First / The Institute for Food and Development Policy is 
launching a new series focusing on Trade and Human Rights.

Trade agreements such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the 
Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), have been the institutional 
drivers of economic globalization. These trade agreements have attracted 
serious criticism from civil society groups who hold them responsible 
for further weakening of human rights and labor standards, undermining 
public health and national sovereignty, and accelerating environmental 
destruction.

The current negotiations and controversy over the rules and governance 
of global trade-as being played out in the WTO and the FTAA, among other 
venues-threaten to set narrow limits to human aspirations in coming 
decades. Negotiations are often shrouded in secrecy, carried out in a 
non-transparent way, with little or no participation from those likely 
to be negatively affected by their outcome.

Food Rights Watch with focus on trade and human rights, hopes that 
education will lead to action. Please read on, forward to friends, send 
story ideas, and most importantly- take action!!!

Food First - For Land and Liberty, Jobs and Justice

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URGENT CALL TO ACTION ON FAST TRACK (U.S.):
Let your Congressperson know how you feel about free trade!

Legislation that would enable President Bush to push trade deals through 
Congress with minimal input is currently on the top of the national 
agenda. Let your congressperson know how you feel about expanding free 
trade at any cost.

TAKE ACTION!: 
<http://www.tradewatch.org/FastTrack/action_on_fast_track.htm>  for 
background and action steps,
Call Washington, DC toll free: 1-800-393-1082 and speak your mind!

Read the Background article on Fast Track,  Fast Track is Back! by David 
Moberg of In These Times:
http://www.alternet.org/print.html?StoryID=11139

IN OTHER NEWS [see below]. . .

(1) Tensions Rise in Genoa as G-8 Summit Nears-- Walden Bello, Director 
of Focus on the Global South and Member, Board of Directors, Food First, 
reports on the G-8 summit.  Click on the accompanying links to 
background information and breaking news.

(2) Food First Report Challenges UN on Genetic Engineering--Read up on 
Food First's report on biotechnology and food production that questions 
the UNDP's assumptions on Genetic Engineering (GE).

(3) Globalization: the solution to poverty?--Mark Weisbrot of the Center 
for Economic and Policy Research writes about the shortcomings of free 
trade as a solution to poverty issues.

(4) Transparency and Accountability at the WTO?--Director-General of the 
WTO Michael Moore shares his thoughts on codes of conduct, as long as 
they don't deal directly with his own institution.


COMING SOON: MORE ON THE G8 AT GENOA. . .

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(1)  Tensions Rise in Genoa as G-8 Summit Nears
Walden Bello, Focus on the Global South

"Strategy of Tension" is the phrase in the air as Genoa prepares for the 
G-8 Summit. The explosion of a letter bomb that hurt a policeman has 
made some people compare the atmosphere to that which existed in the 
1970's, when a series of bomb explosions in Milan, most of which remain 
unresolved, became the pretext for a crackdown on the progressive 
movement.  No one is saying that the authorities deliberately set off 
the explosion, but all groups associated with the Genoa Social Forum 
organizing the counter-summit vehemently deny that anyone from the 
progressive sector and civil society had anything to do with it.

An unparalleled series of restrictive moves have been set in motion by 
authorities, ostensibly to provide security to the leaders of the G-8 
that are meeting in this ancient Italian city, the birthplace of 
Christopher Columbus.  Leaders of the Genoa Social Forum, who expect 
some 100,000 to 200,000 people to join the protests here, say that the 
moves are simply directed at "criminalizing" the movement and scaring 
people from attending the mobilisations .

Many people, including Nigerian lawyer Oronto Douglas, have been 
prevented by France from entering Italy. There are also reports that 
Jose Bove, a key leader of the anti-corporate globalization movement, 
was stopped at the border, though he was originally allowed through. 
Upon hearing of instances of French authorities cooperating with the
Italian government's restrictive moves, Susan George, one of the 
luminaries of the movement, said, "I am ashamed of being a French 
citizen."

The authorities have made life "very difficult" for the Genoa Social 
Forum organizers, said Cristina Bianchi, one of the key organizers. They 
told hotels not to accept reservations except for people from the press. 
They were late in making available the huge tents near the beach where 
the Forum was to be held. They pulled out their offer to provide
services for simultaneous translation at the last minute.

Despite these obstacles, the Social Forum was launched on Monday, 
January 16. Panels have been set up on a variety of topics, including 
"Our World is not for Sale," "Globalization and Work, " and "Who Needs 
Trade Liberalization." The massive teach-in is in preparation for the 
mass marches and mobilizations that begin on Thursday.

Authorities have sealed off the ancient center for the city from 
demonstrators. However, a number of groups, including the famous Ya 
Basta! ("White Overalls") have promised to breach the so-called "red 
zone," using special instruments to force their way through.

With heated preparations going on on both sides, Genoa promises to be a 
confrontation between the pro- globalization elite and the 
anti-corporation globalization forces that will rival Seattle, 
Washington, DC, and Prague.

After being here for a few days, I am more than ever convinced of the 
words of C. Fred Bergsten, a partisan of globalization, that their side 
has lost the initiative and that our side now has "the ascendancy."

READ BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS ON GLOBALISATION BY WALDEN BELLO: Genoa and 
the Multiple Crises of Globalisation
http://www.focusweb
FOR BREAKING NEWS ON THE G8 ANTI-GLOBALIZATION ACTIONS: 
http://www.indymedia.org


(2) Food First Report Challenges U.N. on Genetic Engineering

Comments about genetically engineered (GE) crops in the just-released 
"Human Development Report 2001", the annual publication of the U.N. 
Development Programme (UNDP), reveal a shocking lack of understanding of 
the production problems that must be confronted by poor farmers in 
marginal environments in the third world, according to a crop science 
expert at a leading food policy think tank, the Institute for Food and 
Development Policy, Food First, based in Oakland, California, USA.

The authors of the U.N. report urged rich countries to put aside their 
fears of genetically modified organisms and help developing nations 
unlock the potential of biotechnology. "Biotechnology offers the only or 
the best 'tool of choice' for marginal ecological zones, left behind by 
the green revolution but home to more than half the world's poorest 
people," they said.

The reality of farming in these regions, however, is such that GE crops 
are likely to do more harm than good, according to a report from Food 
First. In this report, "Genetic Engineering of Food Crops for the Third 
World: An Appropriate Response to Poverty, Hunger and Lagging 
Productivity?," the Institute's co-director, Dr. Peter Rosset, argues 
that the approach of genetic engineering, which is to produce single, 
genetically uniform varieties, ignores the needs of farmers in complex 
habitats for multiple varieties fine-tuned to local soil and climatic 
conditions.

According to the Food First report, peasant and small farmers, despite 
their disadvantaged position in society are the primary producers of 
staple foods, accounting for very high percentages of national 
production in most third world countries.

READ FOOD FIRST'S FULL REPORT: 
http://www.foodfirst.org/progs/global/biotech/belgium-gmo
READ THE UNDP REPORT: http://www.undp.org/hdr2001
RESOURCES ON GE FROM FOOD FIRST: 
http://www.foodfirst.org/progs/global/biotech

(3) Globalization: The Solution to Poverty?
Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy 
Research

It has become increasingly fashionable for our government officials and 
their friends to promote Washington's global agenda as a helping hand to 
the world's poor. "If one is concerned about the developing countries, 
both history and recent studies would suggest an open system is going to 
be the formula for them," said Bob Zoellick, US Trade Representative at 
a recent press briefing.

Even less partisan observers such as Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Dean of 
Harvard's Kennedy School, assert that globalization "has improved the 
lot of hundreds of millions of poor people around the world."

But what if it just weren't true? Is it possible that globalization has 
been a losing proposition for most of the countries and people -- of the 
world?

It is generally considered heresy to even ask such questions. Everyone 
who has managed to stay awake through an introductory economics course 
knows that the world is better off when trade expands -- at least in 
theory. But the real world is often more complex. Over the last 20 years 
most countries have increasingly opened their economies to international 
trade and investment. They have also adopted -- under the theory that 
"Uncle Sam knows best" -- a host of related economic policies promoted 
by Washington-run institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank. The 
real world results look very bad. For the vast majority of countries, 
the last two decades have shown considerably -- and often drastically -- 
slower growth than was seen in the previous 20 years (1960-1980). And 
the poorer countries have generally suffered the worst declines in the 
growth of income per person, the most basic indicator of economic 
progress.

READ THE LATEST REPORT FROM CEPR: The Scorecard on Globalization 
1980-2000: Twenty Years of Diminished Progress 
<http://www.cepr.net/globalization/scorecard_on_globalization.htm>

(4) Transparency and Accountability at the WTO
Marissa Mika, Food First

On July 6th, WTO Director-General Michael Moore welcomed a group of NGOs 
and other members of civil society to a two day symposium on contested 
issues confronting the world trading system. In the middle of his 
welcoming address, which focused on the benefits of trade in improving 
the human condition, Moore suggested an international code of conduct 
that would provide for greater transparency, increased accountability, 
and the rejection of violence. However, the proposed code of conduct was 
not meant for transnational corporations, but for NGOs, in exchange for 
greater participation in the decision-making process at the WTO.

Either Director-General Moore is unfamiliar with the demanding rules and 
regulations regarding transparency to which NGOs must already adhere, or 
he was attempting to dodge criticism of the WTO by shining the spotlight 
on NGO conduct. Regardless of his motivations, Moore did manage to 
regurgitate rhetoric in the WTO's favor, saying, "It would strengthen 
the hand of those who seek change if NGOs distance themselves from 
masked stone-throwers who claim to want more transparency, 
anti-globalization dot.com-types who trot out slogans that are trite, 
shallow and superficial. This will not do as a substitute for civilized 
discourse."

Perhaps to Moore's surprise, the discourse was civilized at the 
symposium, covering topics from biodiversity to the impact of free trade 
on agricultural production. Noticeably absent from the discussion, 
however, was a balanced approach to the topics. While there were a few 
dissenting opinions on the merits of free trade at any cost, the 
majority of the panels seemed to echo Moore‚s opening sentiments: trade 
and economic growth are the best way to cure the often cited statistic 
that more than 1.2 billion people live on less than $1 a day. There was 
some acknowledgement of the roles that good governance, income 
distribution, environmental protection, health, and education can play 
in combating poverty, but there was very little substantive discussion 
of the real effects of free trade on those in poverty.

While Moore did suggest that "poverty is the greatest threat to peace, 
democracy, human rights, and the environment," He chose to present 
uninhibited growth and free trade as ideal solutions for these issues. 
Furthermore, he managed to stereotype those who question these solutions 
as people dedicated to halting globalization in its tracks (although it 
is clear from symposium reports that those who raised questions did so 
in a thoughtful and balanced manner). Ironically, but not surprisingly, 
the solutions and the stereotypes Moore chose to illustrate were 
alarmingly simplistic.

It is most likely that Director-General Moore will continue to 
manufacture strong correlations between human welfare and global free 
trade, regardless of daily reality. After all, statistics can say just 
about anything one would like, especially if a well-financed 
international trade organization is compiling the data. It is even more 
likely that Moore will continue to dodge the difficult demands of 
accountability and transparency for the WTO by throwing these demands 
back at NGOs, regardless of the reality.

Those who question and oppose free trade at any cost are numerous, but 
the symposium provided minimal exposure to the WTO's opposition. If 
Moore's remarks are any indicator of future strategy the WTO will seek, 
it is to placate this opposition by offering more small venues for 
venting, along with empty codes of conduct. Moore is challenging civil 
society to a game of rhetorical ping pong, rather than offering a forum 
for change. NGOs and civil society already adhere to strict transparency 
and accountability guidelines. Moore should follow his own advice, and 
ensure the WTO does the same.

READ MICHAEL MOORE'S SPEECH ON-LINE: 
http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/spmm67_e.htm

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EDITOR'S NOTE

Please help us in our effort to spread awareness and spur action 
regarding social and economic rights issues in the U.S. and around the 
world. Send stories, feedback, and/or suggestions for future editions to 
humanrights at foodfirst.org.

We encourage you to forward Food Rights Watch along to friends and 
colleagues.

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Thank you for your support!

Marissa Mika, Editor - Food Rights Watch

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