Globalization should serve human rights - UN expert

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 26 (KUNA) -- The UN expert on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, on Thursday urged ministers gathering in Davos this week for the World Economic Forum to acknowledge the relationship between globalization and human rights.

"Globalization should serve human rights and sustainable development, rather than being a process blind to its impacts on the individuals affected," he said.

"Human rights norms must give new direction to globalization as strategies are being sought to re-launch and expand the global economy," urged De Schutter.

Referring to the theme of this year's meeting in Davos, "The Great Transformation," De Schutter said that the real great transformation must go beyond rectifying the imbalances in developed world debt to GDP ratios. "We must finally pay attention to the wider imbalances that are the symptoms of unfettered globalization. All around the world people have fallen foul of economic processes that consign whole regions to abandonment or degradation and trap whole population groups in perpetual poverty," he said.

"Bilateral trade and investment agreements are the gateway through which globalization passes on its way to redefining the economic landscape of a country. These agreements often set in motion a process of restructuring that shakes up the existing foundations of an economy." These bilateral deals are rapidly increasing, and as many as 6,000 investment agreements are currently in place.

"Governments of sovereign States must submit any deal on the table to a 'human rights-proofing,' in the form of a human rights impact assessment, in order to discharge their obligations to their citizens," the independent expert stressed. "A Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) is not merely a question of gauging environmental sustainability or the impact of a deal on progress towards specific development goals. It is about protecting the inalienable rights of each and every person in the face of changing economic conditions," De Schutter said.

"States are duty-bound to respect human rights, such as the right to food, and to regulate private actors to ensure that they do not infringe upon such rights. States must, therefore, not allow themselves to be locked into deals that impair their ability to comply with their human rights commitments; nor should they force such deals on other States, whatever concessions the other party appears ready to make, for the sake of securing access to export markets or attracting investors." De Schutter was appointed the Special Rapporteur on the right to food in May 2008 by the UN Human Rights Council. He is independent from any government or organization.


(2012-01-27/kuna.net.kw)