Item 4: Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The Right to Popular Participation

Mr. Chairperson,

Pax Romana welcomes the excellent report of Mr. Oloka-Onyango and Ms. Udagama on Globalisation and its impact on the full enjoyment of human rights (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2001/10). We also welcome the statement of Mr. Guisse on the necessity of further study on the promotion and the realisation of the right to drinking water.

Regarding the report by Mr Oloka-Onyango and Ms Udagama, Pax Romana would like to raise the issue of the realisation of the right to popular participation in the process of globalisation.

Two weeks ago, I was personally in Genoa. I saw a number of young people, farmers and women from many parts of the world on the streets and I managed to talk with some of them. One university student said that he could not afford the high tuition fee any longer after privatisation of education, one middle-aged farmer complained of decreasing price of cheese since TNCs' entered into the domestic market and one young lady said she was the first kicked out from her job after Structural Adjustment Program. Some argued that the third world debt should be cancelled for the reparation for the colonial history. Most of them argued about the right to education, to food and to work in a peaceful way.

For those people whose human rights were disregarded, the only way to transmit their political opinions to those far and high isolated intergovernmental institutions was to flow to the streets to voice their frustrations. They feel that protesting is the only way of expressing their frustrations over the fact that globalisation brings the feeling of insecurity because of the uncertain future, the lack of access to higher education and unemployment. There is no substantial participation at all levels. However, the response of G8 was a brutal repression beyond necessity with disproportionate use of force leading towards the denial of the right to assemble, the right to express and even the right to life.

Mr. Chairperson,

The right to popular participation in political and economic decision should be respected for the realisation and promotion of the right to self-determination and the right to development. The participation of civil society in intergovernmental spheres has played an essential role to promote and protect human rights. However, most of the multilateral institutions, which are leading the phenomenon of globalisation, do not have any channel to guarantee the participation of civil society. Moving the venues of meeting to the peak of a mountain or the centre of a desert to escape from lousy protesters and isolating themselves from civil society is not a solution.

Those multilateral institutions including IMF, World Bank, WTO and G8 should establish a substantive mechanism enabling dialogues with civil society such as with the NGOs that have consultative status at the United Nations.

We, Pax Romana, urge the Sub-commission to discuss the right to popular participation in the process of globalisation in a serious manner during its Social Forum.

Thank you Mr Chairperson.