Item 4: Economic Social and Cultural Rights

Pax Romana welcomes with deep appreciation the final report on Globalization and its impact on the full enjoyment of the human rights (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/14) of Mr.Oloka-Onyango and Ms. Deepika Udagama.  We call upon the Sub-Commission to the Section 5 of his report that Sub-Commission should remain seized and continue dialogue between the Sub-Commission and principle actors involved in the process of globalization in particular WTO, IMF, WB and other multilateral Forums   including the World Water Forum.  Equally important is the Annex attached to the final report in the part of Group and Culture Rights as well as Environment and human rights in the context of right to life, right to safe drinking water and right to healthy environment.

Pax Romana has been involved with the working group on TNCs.  In this connection we welcome the proposal made by Mr.Bengoa to include the Declaration on Right to Development in the preamble.  We also welcome the proposal made by Ms.Hampson on the role of NGOs in the implementation of the norms.  Furthermore, we urge the member States of UN to give due consideration to the norms when they enter into agreement with TNCs as well as local companies in the process of trade liberalization, and privatisation.  In this regard it will be equally important to integrate the norms into the national protection system as envisaged by the OHCHR and that the OHCHR under the Global Compact of UN can maintain oversight regarding business and human rights.

Pax Romana welcomes the presentation made by Mr.Guisse on right to safe drinking water.  It would be important in his forthcoming report to have a more substantial review of Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development and the plan of implementation, which include substantial enumeration on water from a right-based approach. Given the fact that UN has announced this year to be the International Year of Fresh Water, all aspects concerning the privatisation of water actively promoted by WTO, as well as International Financial Institutions merits rigorous consideration prior to arriving at a Declaration. It would be helpful for the expert to work with the Commission on Sustainable Development.

In India, the Coca Cola Company, which is situated in the state of Kerala, one of the most fertile states in India, left the local community to beg for water everyday. The Coca Cola Company for its maximum consumption of water dug deep giant bore wells, which extracted the locality's entire water.  It also dumped its waste in the nearby locality.  These people lost their control over their own natural resources and their daily lives became a misery without drinking water. They pleaded for water for agricultural purposes and received none. This has led to economic devastation due to unemployment in this agricultural sector.   After the people's long struggle for their rights on their own natural resources the Coca Cola plant, without taking any responsibility, has merely moved to another area called Sivangangai in the State of Tamil Nadu. At present the locals of Sivagangai are in serious risk of losing their water. Apparently, the Coco Cola Company is operating without any rights norms. The government authorities have failed to monitor their activities.

Through the agenda of WTO and conditionality imposed by IMF and WB, water becomes a marketable commodity instead of a natural resource.  The privatisation schemes have resulted in the local population taking almost all the risks while the TNCs or even local elite companies get the benefits in profits.  The quality of water which is generally available, and accessible becomes expensive which is hard for the poor to afford.  Moreover, it's taking away the substantial portion amount of meagre income.  Water becomes a luxury and available only for those are able to afford it.  Besides it has a large impact on rural population engaged in agriculture who constitute the largest consumer of water and on which food production depends.

This privatisation practice has serious impact on a number of Millennium Development Goals particularly the eradication of poverty. I quote, "The plight of the world's poor cannot be alleviated without addressing the quality of the resource base upon which they depend - land and water resources.  The improvement of water use is central for all of the other dimensions of sustainable development." (Nitin Desai, Secretary-General of the WSSD).

Whenever and wherever big and powerful corporations and multi-nationals privatize these basic services, the poor people, economical minorities, and indigenous people are the most vulnerable victims. The privatization has deprived the poor and other vulnerable groups like minorities, urban and rural poor, women and children from the right to water, right to life, right to health and consequently the right to development.

Water should be treated as a social and cultural good, and not primarily as an economic commodity.  I quote "Water is probably the only natural resource to touch all aspects of human civilization - from agricultural and industrial development to the cultural and religious values embedded in society." (Koichiro Matsuura, Director'General, UNESCO)

Consequently, Pax Romana urges governments:

• to reconsider the privatization on water and other basic essential services without looking at profit only.  Privatization should be shared and be common responsibility of peoples and governments.
• not to abandon their responsibility to provide basic services even when such are unprofitable.
• to ensure a public participation in decision making and in accessing information concerning privatization
• to protect rights of its people especially the vulnerable group from the policies and acts of state and private sector
• to ensure that the private sector respect and protect human rights, regulating their policy and action
• to regulate the private sector to prevent infringements of the right to water including through appropriate laws
• to bear responsibility in the consequences of privatization
• to conduct a critical review of the accountability and governance issues relating to the WTO, World Bank and IMF.

We also request the Sub-Commission to continue to carry out a more in-depth study on privatisation concerning the full enjoyment of all rights.  It will be helpful to introduce these key elements including the rights to safe drinking water in the dialogue with WTO and International Financial Institutions.

Madame Chairperson, Pax Romana welcomes the preliminary working paper submitted by Mr.Bengoa concerning the implementation of existing human rights norms and standards in the context of the fight against extreme poverty (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/17).  Here we draw attention to the UNDP Human Development Report 2003 that "there is little hope of Africa in meeting the 2015 goals; on the present trend it will be 2147 before the poorest country in the poorest continent halve poverty and 2165 before child mortality falls by two third".  Hence we urge the Sub-Commission to finalize with urgency and immediatly the conceptual framework for the elaboration of guiding principles on existing human rights norms and standards in the context of the fight against poverty, including extreme poverty.

Thank you