Global Policy Forum

While bricks were flowing at IMF and World Bank meetings in Washington to protest the negative effects of globalization, UN member countries have quietly worked to produce several new agreements to eradicate poverty, create jobs and to make the global economy and international structures more responsive to the needs of people.

As thousands of demonstrators gathered to protest the negative effects of globalization, United Nations member countries produced several new agreements to eradicate poverty, create jobs and to make the global economy and international structures more responsive to the needs of people.

The new agreements came during a two-week negotiating session that ended Friday, 14 April, in preparation for the General Assembly's special session on social development that will be held in Geneva from 26-30 June.

The negotiations have tackled some of the most complex and controversial subjects that confront the globalization agenda. This includes issues such as worker rights, good governance, the role of civil society, and proposals for financing social development, especially in the area of debt relief and tax reform.

Countries have indicated that they are willing to go well beyond the agreements reached at the 1995 World Summit for Social Development, the United Nations conference held in Copenhagen that propelled social concerns to the head of the international global agenda. At that time, 186 countries, including 117 that were represented by their Head of State or Government, agreed on an agenda to fight poverty, promote jobs, and social justice.

"This is an extraordinary opportunity to really move the global social agenda forward," according to John Langmore, Director of the United Nations Division for Social Policy and Development. "Delegates have shown that there is a new willingness to discuss solutions that offer vast possibilities."

Noting that the Washington demonstrations reflected the depth of the insecurity and hostility caused by globalization, Langmore urged governments to push harder for agreement on initiatives that would help direct the benefits of globalization to more people.

"There is a lot of truth to many of the protesters concerns," Langmore said. "Globalization, so far, has helped the wealthy become wealthier, and social justice has been largely ignored. We need new rules of the global game to ensure that people's basic needs, such as health, education and a well-paying job, are met."

"These concerns are not impossible to meet," he added. "If countries want to, we can find the means to make these things happen. The special session should be the place where countries let their true intentions be known."

While countries could not agree on a target for halving the proportion of people living extreme poverty at the Social Summit, the preparatory meeting agreed that on a target of 2015. This target was proposed by the Secretary-General in his report for the Millennium Summit.

Countries also agreed to support the International Labour Organization's comprehensive programme of providing decent work, which aims to create jobs that allow people to properly support themselves while protecting the basic rights of workers.

Many of the issues that bedeviled the talks at the World Trade Organization in December, including a number of provisions to promote worker rights, are also hotly contested in the special session negotiations. While there is agreement to support a global campaign to stamp out the worst forms of child labour, there is intense debate over whether the United Nations agencies, together with the World Bank and IMF, should carry out an integrated approach to ensure workers' rights.

In a move that will have an impact on the international financial institutions, countries agreed that national governments and the IMF should ensure that structural adjustment programmes do not cause a drop in economic activity or sharp cuts in social spending. A number of provisions aimed at extending debt relief or cancellation are still under consideration.

Tax policies were also addressed, with countries agreeing to develop appropriate means of international cooperation in tax matters and to explore methods of dividing multi-national corporate taxes on profits earned in several jurisdictions. A provision to remove tax allowances for bribes remains under consideration, as do provisions for limiting tax shelters and tax havens. A proposal to discuss the feasibility of an international transaction tax also remains on the table.

Additional talks to iron out the issues that remain — or slightly more than half the document — have been proposed for 17 to 23 May and from 14 to 20 June, depending on a number of scheduling factors. The special session will be held from 26 to 30 June in Geneva.

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