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1 June 2002 to present:

2003:

ILO launches first global report on discrimination at work - Says workplace discrimination remains a persistent global problem, with new, more subtle forms emerging (International Labour Organization, 12 May 2003)

• full report: Time for Equality at Work (International Labour Organization, Apr. 2003)

Trade Unions Call for Social Dimension at UN Commission on Sustainable Development - Trade union representatives at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) have called on governments to prioritise social concerns in their actions for sustainable development. The plans under discussion will form the basis for implementing the outcomes of last year’s Johannesburg World Summit for Sustainable Development...The union movement has criticized the “sidelining” of social and employment concerns in the draft conclusions of the CSD meeting...While social and employment issues are linked to water, energy, access and some other priorities for action in the draft conclusions, the main thrust of the document pays insufficient attention to poverty eradication and the overall social dimension of sustainable development. (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 7 May 2003)

Analysis: The oil curse - The history of oil investment in the developing world hints at trouble ahead for the multinationals in Iraq, writes Daniel Litvin. (Daniel Litvin, in Prospect, reproduced in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 4 May 2003)

Coffee-makers' huge profits leave a bitter taste -...Aid and fair trade organisations accuse the world's major coffee roasters of making huge profits out of impoverished growers in developing countries, whose returns are a fraction of retail prices. They say the price paid for green coffee is so low that desperate families cannot support themselves...Oxfam advocacy co-ordinator Jeff Atkinson said the world's major coffee makers - Kraft (Maxwell House, Jacobs), Procter and Gamble (Folgers), Sara Lee (Moccona) and, to a lesser extent, Nestle (Nescafe) - had done little to improve the growers' lot. (Stathi Paxinos, The Age [Australia], 28 Apr. 2003)

The Answer to the Coffee Crisis? Farmers Want Fair Price, Kraft Says Increase Demand - Calls for fair prices and Fair Trade Certified coffee by social investors, coffee farmers, and Oxfam go unheeded by Kraft. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 25 Apr. 2003)

Oxfam: Kraft Foods Refutes Accountability and Shows Lack of Leadership in Addressing Global Coffee Crisis Affecting 25 Million Coffee Farmers (Oxfam America, 22 Apr. 2003)

TRADE: Central American Deal a Dud, Activists Say - Activists from labor, development, human rights, and farm groups are calling on the United States and five Central American countries not to rush a trade agreement [Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)] that they say is undemocratic and would drive farmers and other vulnerable groups deeper into poverty. (Emad Mekay, Inter Press Service, 10 Apr. 2003)

Michael Smith reports on Tata's army of worker-volunteers, who produce social capital as well as profits [India] -...The Tata group, one of India's largest private sector conglomerates (involving about 80 companies), is renowned worldwide for its commitment to social welfare...Housing for employees, company-run hospitals and schools, and rural development projects such road building, tree planting and well digging are all part of the Tata package...But now Tata's social ethos is under threat because of the forces of globalisation...The company has also sought the help of the Confederation of Indian Industries, in creating a network of like-minded companies that maintain community initiatives. They include Thermax and Forbes Marshall engineering in Pune and TVS, the scooters and automotive giant based in Bangalore. (Michael Smith, Guardian [UK], 10 Apr. 2003)

Oil, poverty ignite Nigerian delta -...Ijaw militants now say they will blow up oil facilities if troops do not withdraw - threatening to cut off Nigeria's economic lifeline, from which Niger Delta communities say they have never drawn their fair share. (Daniel Balint-Kurti, Reuters, 4 Apr. 2003)

ETHIOPIA: Coffee drinkers urged to support growers - Two British Members of Parliament (MP) on Thursday urged coffee drinkers to use consumer power to get impoverished coffee growers a better deal. (UN Integrated Regional Information Networks, 4 Apr. 2003)

Revenue Transparency: The Extractive Industry and Developing Countries - Over 40 representatives from extractive companies, non-governmental organizations, government and international finance institutions met last Wednesday in a confidential roundtable, chaired by representatives of the American Petroleum Institute and Transparency International-USA, to discuss the issue of revenue transparency. The discussion focused primarily on elements of a UK-led Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and the Publish What You Pay Campaign. (Fund for Peace, 2 Apr. 2003)

Water: Is Privatisation the Answer? Privatisation of public water utilities came under intense fire at the week-long Third World Water Forum that ended in Japan last Sunday. The World Bank and a handful of European corporations want poor governments to put their water utilities in private hands, ostensibly to improve the management of an ever-scarcer resource...Many of the representatives [of civil society at the forum] say they fear that water will remain inaccessible to the poor if the utilities fall in the hands of the private sector. In many developing countries like South Africa the poor cannot afford current tariffs, which usually rise when a private company takes on water distribution. (Raphael Mweninguwe, Mail & Guardian [South Africa], 2 Apr. 2003)

Anglo American, SAf Govt Launch ZAR40M Empowerment Fund [South Africa] - Diversified global mining giant Anglo American PLC and Khula Enterprise Finance Ltd., a Department of Trade and Industry initiative, has launched a 40 million rand fund to promote black economic empowerment in South Africa's junior mining sector. (Dow Jones, 31 Mar. 2003)

Multinationals tighten grip on bottled water - Switzerland’s Nestlé is one firm set on expanding its share of the world’s bottled water market. But critics say that by tapping sources of fresh water, multinationals are squeezing local communities and monopolising what should be a public good. [refers also to Danone, Coca Cola, Pepsico] (Samantha Tonkin, swissinfo, 28 Mar. 2003)

Busting the Water Cartel - A Report From Inside the Activist Coalition at the World Water Forum -...efforts to turn the Forum into a thinly veiled commercial for corporate solutions to the global water crisis backfired. Instead, many delegates were convinced by arguments put forward citizens' groups framing the water debate as a human rights issue. (Holly Wren Spaulding, CorpWatch, 27 Mar. 2003)

BOTSWANA: Diamonds are not forever -...according to a report by the Diamonds and Human Security Project of the Montreal-based organisation Partnership Africa Canada, while the impact of diamonds on the economy has been clear, the "trickle down" benefits in terms of the country's social indicators have been less discernable...Botswana is by far the world's largest diamond producer by value. They are mined by the De Beers-Botswana Mining Company (Debswana), a private unlisted company jointly owned by De Beers and the government. (UN Integrated Regional Information Networks, 27 Mar. 2003)

More Indonesians to sue Japan over aid-funded dam - More than 4,000 Indonesians will join a lawsuit against the Japanese government, demanding compensation for a dam funded by aid from Tokyo [Kotopanjang Dam in Sumatra] and which they say has destroyed their livelihood, supporters said yesterday...Also named in the original suit were the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), a semi-governmental bank that provides loans to foreign countries and overseas projects, and Tokyo Electric Power Services Co, an affiliate of Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), Japan's largest utility. (Reuters, 27 Mar. 2003)

TECHNOLOGY: World Summit Draft Released For Public Comment -..."The objective of the summit [World Summit on the Information Society] is to develop a declaration of principles and an action plan that will ensure the benefits and rights of the information society are extended to all," said a statement by the International Telecommunication Union, a U.N. specialized agency that is sponsoring the summit along with other U.N. agencies. (UN Wire, 27 Mar. 2003)

• World Summit on the Information Society - An information society for all and an opportunity for all to comment -...All comments received by 31 May 2003 will be included in a reference document (International Telecommunication Union, 25 Mar. 2003)

• World Summit on the Information Society: Geneva 10-12 December 2003 - Tunis 2005

• Draft declaration of principles (World Summit on the Information Society)

• Draft action plan (World Summit on the Information Society)

• {···español} La Cumbre Mundial sobre la Sociedad de la Información: Ginebra 10-12 diciembre 2003 - Túnez 2005

• {···français} Sommet Mondial sur la Société de l’Information: Genève 10-12 décembre 2003 – Tunis 2005

Bushmen to share royalties on anti-obesity drug [South Africa] - A group of South African hunter-gatherers is to receive six per cent of all royalties received by South Africa's leading research organisation from a potential anti-obesity drug derived from the local hoodia plant. Under the deal, the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) will also pay the San community eight per cent of all milestone payments received from Phytopharm, its UK-based licencee for the drug. The money will be used for the "general upliftment, development and training of the San community". (Tamar Kahn, SciDev.Net, 26 Mar. 2003)

Firms Cautious On Calls for Apartheid Reparations [South Africa] - Stunned silence from large parts of the business sector greeted the news that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has recommended to government that SA's businesses be made to pay reparations to victims of apartheid unless they offer to play a more substantial role in reconstructing the country. The commission's suggestions included a wealth tax or a one off levy on corporate or private income. The commission singled out three business sectors that benefited particularly from apartheid policies: parastatals like Eskom, mining companies like Anglo American and international institutions like the Swiss banks. (Nicola Jenvey, Lesley Stones, Julie Bain, Carli Lourens & Charlotte Mathews, Business Day [South Africa], 26 Mar. 2003)

• Business responds to reparations call [South Africa] - Business leaders are not happy about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call for apartheid reparations. [refers to Anglo American, Grindrod, McCarthy] (iafrica.com, 26 Mar. 2003)

The Dangers to Doha: The Risks of Failure in the Trade Round - The following is an address by Clare Short, MP, Britain's Secretary of State for International Development, to the Royal Institute of International Affairs...Today I want to talk to you about an urgent issue: the dangers to the Doha Trade Round and the imperative of acting now to secure a successful outcome of the Round. I want to spell out why this matters so much to developing countries. (Clare Short, UK Secretary of State for International Development, 25 Mar. 2003)

HIV/AIDS Could Cause Major Economic Crisis in 'Emerging Markets'; Some Companies Providing Prevention, Treatment to Workforce - Not only is the HIV/AIDS pandemic a "humanitarian disaster," but the disease could also cause an "economic crisis" in "emerging markets" such as South Africa, China and the former Soviet Union...A number of banks, including Deutsche Bank and Dresdner Bank, have said that HIV/AIDS statistics will have to be included in financial forecasting, stock selection, asset allocation and risk underwriting. [refers to Gold Fields and Anglo American] (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 25 Mar. 2003)

WATER: Declaration At End Of World Forum Criticized For Lack Of Specifics...Nongovernmental organizations said the document was too soft, avoiding reference to controversial issues, such as the construction of large-scale dams. (UN Wire, 24 Mar. 2003)

World Water Forum Ends in Failure - The world's biggest international water conference and a meeting of about 100 ministers failed to achieve its stated goal of delivering concrete plans to tackle water-related problems...Attempts to characterise water as a human right were dropped, alongside French calls for a global water authority to oversee the progress towards achieving the UN's goals...The role of private investment in financing water and sanitation projects drew the loudest protests during the conference. (Bayan Rahman, Financial Times, 23 Mar. 2003)

Declaration on Water Lacks Clear Programme of Action - A ministerial meeting tackling the world's water problems fell short of producing a clearly defined programme of action in its final declaration, which was released here in this central Japanese city on Sunday. Also missing in the final text seeking to achieve water security was language recognising the right to water as a human right. (Marwaan Macan-Markar, Inter Press Service, 23 Mar. 2003)

Activists rage against global 'water wars' - Campaigners met in Florence this weekend to condemn the notion that water is a resource to be bought, sold and monopolised by wealthy nations and corporations. Disgusted with a World Water Forum in Kyoto that they say is "one more celebration of market forces, capital and private investment," 1,000 campaigners and activists streamed into Florence to flesh out their vision of water as "the basic common good". (Peter Popham, Independent [UK], 23 Mar. 2003)

Water - an essential human right -... Amnesty International stressed the need to focus on the human rights dimension regarding the issue of access to water...Disputes over water must then be resolved in ways that guarantee access, and do not, for example, make it conditional on one's relative wealth, social status, or nationality. Further, speaking of a right to water makes it clear that governments have duties to fulfil that right. Whatever arrangements are put in place regarding private sector investment and ownership in delivering water, governments cannot sub-contract this responsibility...Recent experiences have shown that several large development projects intended to provide access to water have ended up causing human rights violations, either through mass displacement of people (as in the Narmada project in western India) or by increasing charges for access to water drastically and using force against peaceful protestors (as in Cochabamba, Bolivia). (Amnesty International, 22 Mar. 2003)

WATER: Multibillion Dollar Plan Launched At Forum Amid Protests - International financiers at the World Water Forum today in Kyoto launched a $180 billion plan to prevent a worldwide water crisis...Environmentalists and anti-poverty activists have criticized the plan, saying that the forum, which is largely sponsored by construction and drug companies, was being used by the private sector and focuses too much on large-scale funding at the expense of small-scale efficiency gains. (UN Wire, 21 Mar. 2003)

INVESTMENT: Developing Nations Get Venture Capital Advocate - In a move designed to spur the investment of venture capital in developing countries, Venture Exchange Network today announced the creation of an action group at a special session of the U.N. Economic and Social Council. The Policy Action Group on Venture Capital, formed under the auspices of the Commission on Globalization with partners such as the International Chamber of Commerce, will create a channel for venture capital in developing countries. (UN Wire, 21 Mar. 2003)

• Venture Exchange Network announces formation of Policy Action Group on Venture Capital at the United Nations (Venture Exchange Network, 21 Mar. 2003)

Eight killed, including ChevronTexaco worker, as violence escalates in oil-rich Niger Delta [Nigeria] - Ethnic clashes in an oil-rich area of Nigeria have left eight people dead, including an employee of ChevronTexaco, officials said Tuesday...The Ijaws...accuse Nigeria and multinational companies of unfairly favoring smaller, rival tribes with lucrative contracts and development projects. (Dulue Mbachu, Associated Press, 19 Mar. 2003)

Strategic alliances and partnerships to tackle urban water problems - As delegates pour into Japan this week for the Third World Water Forum, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) – a long-standing advocate of public-private partnerships for delivering water to those without access to it – used today’s CEO Forum to announce the start of its new project on urban water. Co-chaired by Gérard Payen of Suez, France, the project will be supported by a broad cross section of business, including water users, water operators and the financial sector. Its vision is to find ways to deliver affordable and sustainable water supply and sanitation for 100% of the world’s urban and peri-urban populations. (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 19 Mar. 2003)

GLOBALIZATION: IMF Warns Liberalization Can Harm Poor Countries - A new International Monetary Fund report indicates that the IMF is becoming more cautious about advising poor countries to open up to foreign capital, the Financial Times reported yesterday. (UN Wire, 19 Mar. 2003)

• IMF more cautious over poor countries - Financial globalisation may put poor countries at greater risk of slipping into crisis and should be treated with caution, according to a report from the International Monetary Fund. (Alan Beattie, Financial Times, 18 Mar. 2003)

IMF More Cautious over Poor Countries - Financial globalisation may put poor countries at greater risk of slipping into crisis and should be treated with caution, according to a report from the International Monetary Fund. (Alan Beattie, Financial Times, 18 Mar. 2003)

The threat to science as a 'public good' -...Many feel that, through legislation on issues that range from intellectual property rights to copyright on databases, attempts to turn scientific information into private property have gone too far. The WSIS [World Summit on the Information Society] presents an ideal opportunity to highlight this issue before the world's political leaders, and help forge an international consensus that urgent measures are needed to redress the balance between public access to, and private control over, scientific data...Developing nations are at particular risk from these trends. (David Dickson, comment, SciDev.Net, 17 Mar. 2003)

Private sector is not the answer for the 1.2 billion people who lack water -...'New Rules, New Roles: Does PSP (private sector participation) benefit the poor?' shows that the private sector is unlikely to be able to provide water to the 1.2 billion people currently lacking it. WaterAid and Tearfund want institutional organisations like The World Bank to stop blanket promotion of this as the main solution to the world water crisis. (Tearfund and WaterAid, 17 Mar. 2003)

TECHNOLOGY: UNIFEM, Task Force Work To Increase Access For Women - The U.N. Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the U.N. Information and Technologies Task Force signed an agreement last week aimed at strengthening collaborative efforts to increase women's access to information and communication technologies. The agreement calls for the joint mobilization of resources to encourage countries, international organizations and the private sector to provide equal opportunities for women in employment, training and advancement in the technology sector. (UN Wire, 17 Mar. 2003)

• UNIFEM and UN ICT Task Force Strengthen Joint Efforts to Increase Women’s Access to Information Technology - Launch of Digital Diaspora Initiative in Africa scheduled for May - An upcoming joint initiative will be the launch of the UNIFEM Digital Diaspora Initiative in Uganda...It seeks to undertake projects that empower women economically through capacity building in the use of ICTs, identifying business opportunities, creating business partnerships, and providing access to finance as well as building the knowledge-base on ICTs for poverty alleviation. (UNIFEM, 14 Mar. 2003)

World Water Forum: March 16-23, 2003 Kyoto, Shiga and Osaka, Japan

WATER: How To Supply All Populations Will Dominate Next Week's Forum - The question of how to get sufficient water to all the world's people will dominate the third World Water Forum, which begins Sunday in Kyoto, Japan...One of the most controversial topics participants will address is the question of whether water is a commodity or a basic human right. U.N. agencies and other international groups contend it is both, but the privatization of water companies has met with mixed success and has even created unrest, as when a revolt in Bolivia over Bechtel Corporation's doubling of water rates left seven people dead. (UN Wire, 14 Mar. 2003)

World Bank to call for more dams - More dams must be built in developing countries to meet future demands for water and electricity, the World Bank will tell an international water conference starting on Sunday in Kyoto, Japan. Although new dam projects must be socially and environmentally acceptable, the need for more hydropower must be accepted, Ian Johnston, the World Bank vice-president for sustainable development, told the Financial Times. (John Mason and Vanessa Houlder, Financial Times, 14 Mar. 2003)

ELECTRONICS: UNESCO Explores Recycling Outdated Equipment - UNESCO plans to host electronics specialists in Paris tomorrow and Saturday to discuss strategies for recycling outdated high-tech equipment by giving it to developing countries lacking technology...A survey of 20 European and U.S. global corporations found that more than 1 million personal computers will be decommissioned in the next three years. (UN Wire, 13 Mar. 2003)

• UNESCO hosts meeting on recycling information technology equipment in developing countries -...Among those attending will be: Timothy Anderson (World Computer Exchange); Tony Roberts (Computer Aid International); Lyndall de Marco (The Digital Partnership); David Sogan (Digital Links International); and Chris Mullaney Sundlie (Microsoft Corporation). (UNESCO, 12 Mar. 2003)

Tea gardens' labourers in distress [Bangladesh] - Thousands of people engaged as labourers in the tea gardens of Sylhet region have been leading a sub-human existence for years together. These ill-fated people are deprived of basic rights-- food, clothing, shelter, education and healthcare-- some tea labourers told this correspondent with an air of utter despondency. (Independent [Bangladesh], 13 Mar. 2003)

Communities Give Shell 2-Week Ultimatum [Nigeria] - The leadership of two oil-rich communities in Delta State have handed down a two-week ultimatum to Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to embark on infrastructural development of their areas or stop oil exploration activities...The two communities at a news conference addressed by Chief B.O. Asaboro on their behalf at Owevwe town hall alleged that the management of SPDC and its contracting firm, Dresser -and Nigeria Ltd. were using the soldiers to torment and harass the hamlets and law abiding villagers. (Sola Adebayo, Vanguard [Nigeria], 11 Mar. 2003)

• company website: Shell Nigeria

AFRICA: Agriculture Companies Back Technology Sharing Plan To Boost Food - Agriculture giants Monsanto, DuPont, Syngenta and Dow have agreed to share technology free with African scientists in a bid to spur food production in Africa, the Washington Post reports. (UN Wire, 11 Mar. 2003)

• To Feed Hungry Africans, Firms Plant Seeds of Science - Four of the world's largest agricultural companies have agreed to share their technology free with African scientists in a broad new attempt to increase food production on that continent (Justin Gillis, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2003)

Thousands of lone parents in poverty trap [UK] - Union leaders last night called for more family-friendly policies in the workplace to help the North's soaring number of lone parents escape the poverty trap. (Alison Dargie, The Journal [UK], 8 Mar. 2003)

WOMEN'S DAY: Annan Calls Gender Equality Vital To Development; More Marking International Women's Day, March 8, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and ranking officials from a host of U.N. agencies linked gender equality to meeting the Millennium Development Goals, saying social gains for women translated into improved societies. (UN Wire, 7 Mar. 2003)

Logging threatens Cambodian tragedy - UN - Cambodia's tropical rain forests are being systematically destroyed by logging companies, which threaten to unleash fresh tragedy on the war-scarred country, a top United Nations envoy said...critics say much of the current activity appears to flout environmental and social regulations and rides roughshod over the rights and interests of the thousands of impoverished people who depend on the forests for their livelihoods. (Reuters, 6 Mar. 2003)

New Loans Finance Solar Power Development in India - The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today launched a major new $7.6 million initiative with two of India's largest banking groups [Syndicate Bank and Canara Bank] to offer 18,000 southern Indian households low cost financing for solar generated electricity. (Environment News Service, 4 Mar. 2003)

New report shows negative impacts, threats of water privatization - A new report to be released on the eve of the Third World Water Forum shows that water privatization has had negative impacts on communities in many countries and threatens to affect an increasing number of people in 2003 [refers to Suez (France), Vivendi Universal (France), Thames Water (UK but part of German RWE), Betchel (USA)] (Friends of the Earth, 3 Mar. 2003)

report: Development Disasters: Japanese-Funded Dam Projects in Asia - This report features case studies of six exisiting or proposed dam projects funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). JBIC-funded dam projects in Asia have been fraught with problems, which have led to serious and unmitigated social, environmental and economic impacts, affecting hundreds of thousands of people. [refers to dam projects in Indonesia (Koto Panjang Dam: refers to lawsuit by local people in Indonesia against Tokyo Electric Power Services Co., JBIC & Japanese govt.), Philippines (San Roque Multipurpose Project: refers to San Roque Power Corp., consisting of Marubeni, Kansai Electric & Sithe Energies), Thailand, China, Malaysia] (Rivers Watch East and Southeast Asia, International Rivers Network and Friends of the Earth, Mar. 2003)

Diamond Peace Alliance Inaugurated in Sierra Leone -...The objective of the Peace Alliance, which has been developed over the past two years by USAID in consultation with NGOs and the private sector, is 'to help ensure that the Sierra Leone diamond industry contributes positively to peace and prosperity through increasing benefits to the people of Kono from the diamond industry and by helping the government to improve its ability to manage diamonds.' (Other Facets: News and views on the international effort to end conflict diamonds, #9, pg. 3, Mar. 2003)

• {···français} Inauguration de la Diamond Peace Alliance en Sierra Leone (Autres facettes: Informations et opinions sur l'effort international pour éliminer les diamants de guerre, #9, mars 2003)

Beyond philanthropy - Roger Cowe looks at attempts by major corporations to tie social opportunities into the very core of product and market development [refers to Lattice work with young offenders & school truancy; Centrica recruitment of disabled workers; BG Group funding a geosciences course at Univ. of West Indies;  EdF providing solar energy in Mali; Hewlett-Packard project in Sao Paolo to bridge digital divide; National grid Transco work with young offenders; Deutsche Bank’s experiments with micro-credit; HSBC’s development of Islamic mortgage products; work by Barclays and LloydsTSB on diversity; Unilever “small pack” initiative that makes detergents affordable to the poor, and its role in creating the Marine Stewardship Council; Procter & Gamble developing products which meet social needs] (Roger Cowe, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 28 Feb. 2003)

Groups Launch Effort to Clean Up Shrimp Industry - Intensive farming of shrimp, also known as prawns, to meet the growing demands of global consumers has led to human rights abuses and ecological destruction in parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, according to an international environmental group which last week kicked off a campaign to raise awareness about the trade. (Andrew Wasley, Red Pepper, 24 Feb. 2003)

• News release: Oceans at risk - The real cost of a prawn sandwich - A new report launched today reveals the real cost of a prawn sandwich. 'Squandering the Seas', exposes the massive waste and destruction behind prawn (also called shrimp) trawling. (Environmental Justice Foundation, 19 Feb. 2003)

• Report: Squandering the Seas - How shrimp trawling is threatening ecological integrity and food security around the world. (Environmental Justice Foundation, 2003)

Capitalism Must Develop More of a Conscience -...Business has to work hand in hand with governments and civil society in employing its capabilities and its know-how in the fight against poverty, AIDS and all the other issues on the global agenda that undermine the dignity of life and threaten our very existence. (Klaus Schwab, President of World Economic Forum, in Newsweek, 24 Feb. 2003)

"Human Rights and Corporate Accountability" (speech by Mary Robinson, Director of the Ethical Globalization Initiative, former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, at The Fund for Peace - Human Rights and Business Roundtable, 19 Feb. 2003)

SPORTS: U.N. Meeting Ends With Call To Fight Poverty, Prevent Conflict - A three-day U.N. meeting on sports and development ended yesterday at Switzerland's Magglingen federal sports center with sports federations, athletes and U.N. and other agencies calling on countries and sports institutions to use sports to help fight poverty and prevent conflict. (UN Wire, 19 Feb. 2003)

An Appeal to Action on HIV/AIDS - In the context of HIV/AIDS as a major threat to global development, the Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, the Head of UNAIDS, and the Director General of the ILO sent a joint letter to the CEOs of companies participating in the Global Compact...The Global Compact, the ILO and UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) will join forces in 2003 to mobilize businesses, encourage increased action to fight HIV/AIDS in the workplace, and combat stigmatisation of people in the workforce living with the disease. ..The letter encourages businesses worldwide to adopt and fully implement the ILO Code of practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work. (U.N. Global Compact, 14 Feb. 2003)

SOMALIA: Fishermen accuse foreigners of depleting coastal waters - Large foreign ships are harassing and intimidating Somali fishermen around the southern coastal towns of Marka and Barawe, according to local fishermen. (UN Integrated Regional Information Networks, 12 Feb. 2003)

New study [entitled "Making Global Trade Work for People"] explores ways that trade can maximize development - A new book launched at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York last week presents an independent reassessment of the current system of global trade and looks at ways that it can be improved to contribute more effectively to human development. (U.N. Development Programme, 5 Feb. 2003)

Kraft criticised over coffee policy [UK] - A Gloucestershire company is being accused of making excessive profits at the expense of farmers in the developing world. The charity Oxfam says Cheltenham-based Kraft Foods is making billions in profits around the world, particularly from its coffee products, while farmers are facing bankruptcy. (BBC News, 4 Feb. 2003)

Poland's leading oil company joins public-private partnership - PKN ORLEN, the largest oil company in Poland, has forged a pioneering partnership with the city of Plock, where it is based, and UNDP to promote corporate social responsibility and sustainable development. (U.N. Development Programme, 4 Feb. 2003)

Swiss Aid Group Keeps Watchful Eye on Chad Pipeline -...human rights groups say it is already having a negative impact on ordinary people...Human rights groups have criticised the project, saying it is damaging water supplies and depriving farmers of their land...Ron Royal, the general manager of Esso Chad, says the criticisms are unjustified [refers to Exxon Mobil, Petronas and Chevron] (NZZ, 4 Feb. 2003)

Balancing Trade Rules, the Environment and Sustainable Development -...AllAfrica's Akwe Amosu probed these issues with Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher, the General Manager of the Environmental Protection Authority of Ethiopia. (AllAfrica.com, 1 Feb. 2003)

NGO to sue Singapore over sand imports [Indonesia] -...Since sand dredging started in 1979 [in Indonesia], coral reefs have been destroyed and fishing has suffered. So far around 500 million cubic metres of sand have been exported for land reclamation projects in Singapore...In 2001, Bisnis Indonesia reported that Dutch, Japanese and German companies had been contracted by Singapore to procure sand for reclamation projects. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2003)

Environment and the poor: Focused action, greater attention needed -...There are inextricable, multidimensional and complex linkages between increasing poverty and environmental degradation. (Dr. A. Atiq Rahman, Executive Director of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) and Coordinator of Global Forum on Environment and Poverty (GFEP), in Independent [Bangladesh], 30 Jan. 2003)

press release: Coalition Tells World Economic Forum: Building Trust Requires Disclosure - New Report Highlights U.S. Multinationals' Shameful Human Rights, Environmental and Labor Records - a coalition of environmental, development, labor and human rights groups today released a joint report entitled "International Right to Know: Empowering Communities Through Corporate Transparency."  The report documents the irresponsible environmental, labor and human rights practices committed by ExxonMobil, Nike, McDonald's, Unocal, Doe Run, Freeport McMoRan and Newmont Mining. (AFL-CIO, Amnesty International USA, EarthRights International, Friends of the Earth-US, Global Exchange, Oxfam America, Sierra Club, Working Group on Community Right to Know, 22 Jan. 2003)

• full report: International Right to Know: Empowering Communities Through Corporate Transparency (AFL-CIO, Amnesty International USA, EarthRights International, Friends of the Earth-US, Global Exchange, Oxfam America, Sierra Club, Working Group on Community Right to Know, Jan. 2003)

• company websites:
  • ExxonMobil
  • Freeport McMoRan
  • McDonald's
  • Newmont Mining
  • Nike
  • Unocal

Comment: A fair trade - On the eve of the World Economic Forum meeting, Salil Shetty, the head of ActionAid, explains how global security depends on building trust with the poor -...ActionAid believes that rich nations and corporations face growing insecurity unless they win more trust from people in poor countries through new measures to help to increase fairness and justice. (Salil Shetty, Director of ActionAid, in Guardian [UK], 22 Jan. 2003)

Does US Bank Harbour Equatorial Guinea’s Oil Millions in Secret Accounts? - Information published in today’s LA Times indicates that a massive US$300-500 million of Equatorial Guinea’s oil revenues may have been parked in a provincial Washington DC bank [Riggs Bank], under the control of President-for-life Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. (Global Witness, 21 Jan. 2003)

• Oil Boom Enriches African Ruler - As vast offshore oil fields generate hundreds of millions of dollars for tiny Equatorial Guinea, there are few signs of the petroleum boom in the impoverished West African nation...the Guinean ambassador to the U.S. and other sources close to Obiang say the country's oil funds are held in an account at Riggs Bank in Washington.  According to several of those sources and others familiar with the account, more than $300 million of the country's energy earnings has been deposited in the account by international oil companies active in Equatorial Guinea, including ExxonMobil Corp. and Amerada Hess Corp. (Ken Silverstein, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2003)

Choosing a better world -...Yet what I believe is promising is the evidence of a growing consensus among those of us working in international agencies, and leaders in government, business and civil society, that we can begin to solve these problems only if we forge a new development path linking economic growth to social and environmental responsibility. Without social equity, economic growth cannot be sustainable. (James D Wolfensohn, President, World Bank, Inter Press Service, in Asia Times, 21 Jan. 2003)

WATER: IMF, World Bank Privatization Efforts Under Fire From Activists - The World Bank and International Monetary Fund's efforts to urge developing nations to turn their water utilities over to private companies has come under criticism from opponents who say water is a basic human need and should not be sold for profit (UN Wire, 9 Jan. 2003)

DISASTERS: U.N. Agency, Telecom Firm Help Poor Countries Manage Relief - Some of the world's least developed countries are set to get telecommunications equipment and other assistance to help manage disaster relief through a new partnership between the communications firm Inmarsat and the International Telecommunication Union (UN Wire, 7 Jan. 2003)

Patents are not the problem with drugs access -...In reality, 99 per cent of the World Health Organisation's list of essential drugs are not patented - yet access to these medicines is abysmally low. The reason is the grinding poverty in poor countries and a lack of health infrastructure. If rich countries wanted to show that they took poor country concerns seriously, they should start reducing agricultural subsidies. (Richard Tren, Africa Fighting Malaria, letter to Financial Times, 2 Jan. 2003)

The Buck Stops Where? - Managing the Boundaries of Business Engagement in Global Development Challenges (Robert Davies & Jane Nelson, International Business Leaders Forum, Jan. 2003)

2002:

New mayor stands firm against Peru Tambogrande mine - The mayor-elect of the northern Peruvian town of Tambogrande said Wednesday residents remained opposed to a $405 million gold and copper mine planned by Canada's Manhattan Minerals Corp. that some locals fear will ruin a fertile farming valley. (Reuters, 13 Dec. 2002)

• Manhattan CEO sees Tambogrande mine on line in 2004 - The fears of farmers that a gold and copper mine would ruin their livelihoods in the northern Peruvian town of Tambogrande should fade - once they get more facts from an environmental impact study presented this week, the head of Canada's Manhattan Minerals Corp. said. (Jude Webber, Reuters, 12 Dec. 2002)

Safe, secure drinking water is a human right: UN - For the first time United Nations Committee has declared formally that "safe and secure drinking water is a human right". (The Times of India, 7 Dec. 2002)

U.N. as Consultant to Oil Majors  - In agreeing to manage the welfare projects of ChevronTexaco in Nigeria and Angola, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has enabled the U.S. majors to step back from the local competition for benefits generated by the oil industry and positioned itself for further sub-contracting work that had previously been a World Bank monopoly. (Africa Energy Intelligence, 4 Dec. 2002)

Ethical Funds Inc. [Canada] supports Oxfam's Coffee Rescue Plan: Investors ally with Oxfam to help coffee farmers - Ethical Funds Inc. today announced its support for the Coffee Rescue Plan proposed by the international development organization Oxfam, and other humanitarian and environmental organizations. (Ethical Funds, Inc., 4 Dec. 2002)

MEXICO: Rainforest Destruction Continues Despite Protection Efforts - Farming and logging during the past three decades in one of Mexico's largest rainforests has reduced the 12,000-square mile Lacandona jungle by two-thirds...One of the conservation program's organizers, who also helped start small-scale ecotourism, said that until local residents find a way out of poverty, sustaining the Lacandona rainforest will be impossible. (UN Wire, 4 Dec. 2002)

Indigenous women: UNIFEM Head Decries Feminization Of Poverty - Mexico's 6.7 million indigenous women, most of whom are employed in the informal sector, have seen their condition worsen with globalization...Heyzer called on countries to address the feminization of poverty by applying a gender perspective to budgets, taxes, employment and land use. (UN Wire, 3 Dec. 2002)

Launch of the First Women-Oriented ITU Internet Training Centre at Makerere University - Makerere University in Kampala (Uganda) has been chosen as the site of the first women-oriented facility established by the ITU Internet Training Centres Initiative for Developing Countries (ITCI-DC). The ITCI-DC is an initiative between ITU and the private sector in which Cisco Systems Inc. is a key partner. (International Telecommunication Union, 2 Dec. 2002)

Honduran villagers battle over Canada-owned mine [owned by Glamis Gold] -...Velasquez and others like him contend mining has devastated the forests and dried up water sources in their poor valley. (Gustavo Palencia, Reuters, 29 Nov. 2002)

UN Consecrates Water As Public Good, Human Right - The United Nations Committee on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights issued a statement Wednesday declaring access to water a human right and stating that water is a social and cultural good, not merely an economic commodity. (Gustavo Capdevila, Inter Press Service, 28 Nov. 2002) 

Tobacco: An enormous threat to development - The development community must recognize the enormous threat to human health, life and sustainable development posed by tobacco use and consider it a high priority on the development agenda. (International Development Research Centre, 27 Nov. 2002)

• {···français} Tabac: Une grave menace pour le développement - Tous ceux qui ont le souci du développement durable doivent reconnaître la gravité de la menace que fait peser la consommation de tabac sur la santé et la vie humaines et accorder à cet enjeu une priorité absolue. (Centre de recherches pour le développement international, 27 novembre 2002)

WATER: U.N. Issues General Comment On Right To Water - The U.N. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights issued a "general comment" yesterday on the right to water, stressing that water is a limited natural resource and a public commodity fundamental to life and health. (UN Wire, 27 Nov. 2002)

• full text of the General Comment: Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopts General Comment on right to water (U.N. News Centre, 26 Nov. 2002)

From Doha to Cancún: the Hypocrisy behind Western Compassion (Guy Verhofstadt, Prime Minister of Belgium, message to Second International Conference on Globalisation, 26 Nov. 2002)

A World without Frontiers (Aung San Suu Kyi, message to Second International Conference on Globalisation, 26 Nov. 2002)

Free trade can be a very powerful engine for growth and sustainable development (Donald J. Johnston, Secretary-General of the OECD, speech to Second International Conference on Globalisation, 26 Nov. 2002)

The Principle of Reciprocity (Dr. Aminata Dramane Traoré, Director of the Centre du Amadou Hampâté BA, speech to Second International Conference on Globalisation, 26 Nov. 2002)

Making the World Trading System Work for All Countries (Govindasamy Rajasekaran, Secretary-General of the Malaysian Trade Union Congress, speech to Second International Conference on Globalisation, 26 Nov. 2002)

Sustainability and Leadership (Rémi Parmentier, Political Director of Greenpeace International, speech to Second International Conference on Globalisation, 26 Nov. 2002)

Why Cancún Matters (Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, speech to Second International Conference on Globalisation, 26 Nov. 2002)

What Are the Most Urgent Questions to be Resolved for the South to Achieve a Genuine Development Agenda (Chee Yoke Ling, Deputy-Director of Third World Network, Malaysia, speech to Second International Conference on Globalisation, 26 Nov. 2002)

Europe: Development is the Goal, Trade is the Instrument (Pascal Lamy Member of the European Commission, responsible for Trade, speech to Second International Conference on Globalisation, 26 Nov. 2002)

The Co-op switches to Fairtrade chocolate in move to fight slavery - Anti-Slavery International welcomes the Co-op's announcement that it will switch its entire own-brand chocolate bars to Fairtrade chocolate in 2,400 stores across the UK, bringing fairly traded cocoa firmly into the mainstream market. (Anti-Slavery International, 26 Nov. 2002)

Oil spill cripples Spain fishing villages' economy (Adrian Croft, Reuters, 26 Nov. 2002)

New report reveals women bear the brunt of mining operations in Indigenous Australia and abroad -...Contributors from Indigenous Australia, Papua New Guinea, India, Indonesia and The Philippines give various examples in which mining projects have overlooked or disregarded women's rights, resulting in further gender inequality, marginalisation, impoverishment and abuse of women. (Oxfam Community Aid Abroad, 25 Nov. 2002)

• full report: Tunnel Vision: Women, Mining and Communities [includes reference to Benguet Corp., Alcan, Norsk Hydro, Indal, Rio Tinto, Kennecott, Placer Dome, Misima Mining Ltd., PT Freeport Indonesia, PT KEM, Aurora Gold, Newmont, PT IMK] (Oxfam Community Aid Abroad, Nov. 2002)

• Women suffer worst impacts of mining - cases from Indonesia - The severely damaging impacts of mining on women have been highlighted in a new report. [Indonesian cases refer to Rio Tinto, Freeport, PT Indo Muro Kencana, Aurora Gold, Newmont, Inco] (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2003)

Water: Is the cup half full or half empty? Depends on who owns the cup. -...Water is not a commodity. It is a basic human right. (Blaine Townsend, Trillium Asset Management, 25 Nov. 2002)

RODDICK: It's the Real Thing -- Thievery and Corruption [India] -...Coca-Cola is anything but a savior to the indigenous people (Adivasis) and members of the oppressed castes (Dalits) around Kerala. To them, Coca-Cola Corp. is a thief operating with impunity, polluting their land, killing their crops, stealing their water and then selling it back to them as fizzy sugar drinks, and ironically, bottled water. (Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, AlterNet, 25 Nov. 2002)

Making a Killing: The Business of War [11-part series] (Center for Public Integrity’s International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, 11-part series, chapter 11 issued 20 Nov. 2002, other chapters issued earlier)

• chapter 1: Introduction: Making a Killing: The Business of War -...Gone is the superpower ideological divide that once gave a strange sort of order to the world’s wars. In its place are entrepreneurs, selling arms or military expertise and support, and companies, whose drilling and mining in some of the hottest spots often prolong conflict and instability. (Center for Public Integrity’s International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, 28 Oct. 2002)

• chapter 4: Greasing the Skids of Corruption [refers to money paid by multinational oil companies to Angolan Government ending up in private bank accounts] [includes reference to Marathon Oil Company]...Angola is certainly not unique as a country where conflict and corruption are fueled by petroleum dollars [includes reference to Chinese, Canadian and Malaysian oil companies in Sudan; Shell in Nigeria; Equatorial Guinea]...Some oil companies contribute to the problem directly by hiring corrupt government militaries to provide security for their operations. [includes reference to ExxonMobil in Indonesia, Unocal and Total in Burma] (Center for Public Integrity’s International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, 4 Nov. 2002)

• chapter 5: The Curious Bonds of Oil Diplomacy [Equatorial Guinea] -...The 23-year-old regime of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has been criticized for allowing the oil companies to exploit Equatorial Guinea’s oil riches with little obvious benefit to the people. [includes reference to ExxonMobil, Amerada Hess, Chevron Texaco and Marathon Oil] (Center for Public Integrity’s International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, 6 Nov. 2002)

DEVELOPMENT: Toepfer Calls For Consideration Of Indigenous People - Large-scale development projects should be allowed only after assessments are conducted of their possible effects on indigenous people, U.N. Environmental Program Executive Director Klaus Toepfer said yesterday at the fourth conference of the International Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forests. (UN Wire, 19 Nov. 2002)

GUATEMALA: UNDP Helping Coffee Growers Adjust To Economic Crisis -...the U.N. Development Program is supporting a project to help farmers offset the global collapse of prices for their crop and a regional drought by developing environment-friendly alternative sources of income. (Scott Hartmann, UN Wire, 15 Nov. 2002)

MICROCREDIT: Nearly 55 Million People Benefiting From Small Loans -...Evelyn Grandi of the Bolivian group Credito con Educacion Rural said microcredit efforts there are hindered by laws that keep commercial banks from lending without collateral. (UN Wire, 12 Nov. 2002)

Community Lauds Shell's Development Projects [Nigeria] - For complementing governments' development efforts, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has received encomiums from Egwa community in Delta state...Assessing Shell's performance in Egwa, the community's chairman, Benson Lawei, said: "...In the past few years, SPDC has really reached out to us." (Vanguard [Nigeria], 11 Nov. 2002)

"Older and wiser" Exxon listens to the locals - Oil major Exxon Mobil is now working more closely with non-governmental organisations on upstream projects to help avoid the social unrest it has suffered in the past, a senior executive said. [refers to Exxon-led Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline, Exxon's operations in Aceh] (Neil Chatterjee, Reuters, 11 Nov. 2002)

Nicaragua growers open sustainable coffee conference (Ivan Castro, Reuters, 11 Nov. 2002)

What can corporate responsibility do in the fight against poverty in Africa? Maya Forstater looks at what business can be realistically expected to contribute to African development and outlines some specific examples of corporate engagement to date...DaimlerChrysler: making cars out of Sisal [South Africa, Brazil]...Divine Chocolate: Bringing farmers to market [Day Chocolate Company; The Body Shop; Ghana]...The Woodlands 2000 Trust [tree farming in Kenya]...South African Breweries...Coca-Cola: measuring the business contribution to economic development [Morocco, South Africa]...Supporting SME development: Richards Bay Minerals [South Africa] (Maya Forstater, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 11 Nov. 2002)

Investing in Africa, challenges and initiatives - Alex Blyth looks at the principal issues around western business investment in Africa and some of the companies that are attempting to improve their impact on the landscape and people of the continent [refers to Environment: TotalFinaElf in Nigeria; Palabora Mining Company (49% owned by Rio Tinto) in South Africa; Anglo American; DeBeers; Water & sanitation: Suez in Morocco & South Africa; Thames Water in Tanzania & South Africa; Education: ChevronTexaco in Nigeria; Old Mutual in South Africa; Barclays Africa; Economic development: Richards Bay Minerals (50% owned by Rio Tinto) in South Africa; HIV/AIDS:  Bristol-Myers Squibb Company in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland; DaimlerChrysler in South Africa; Coca-Cola]  (Alex Blyth, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 11 Nov. 2002)

NIGERIA: Oil Giant, UNDP Sign Development Accord For Volatile Niger Delta - U.S. oil giant ChevronTexaco today said it signed an agreement with the U.N. Development Program to assist Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta region, which is the source of more than 90 percent of Nigeria's foreign earnings but one of its most underdeveloped and violent areas.  Chevron...will work with the UNDP on projects for health, education, agriculture and empowerment of youth and women (UN Wire, 11 Nov. 2002)

ASIA: Asian Development Bank Issues New Environment Policy - The Asian Development Bank today announced it has approved a new environmental policy to respond to Asia's increasing environmental degradation. (UN Wire, 11 Nov. 2002)

• New Environment Policy will Increase Sustainability and Poverty Impact of Operations -...ADB's recent reorganization and revised business practices help to ensure that environmental considerations are properly mainstreamed into country strategies, programs and projects. In addition, ADB is taking steps to strengthen the consultation process with local stakeholders and groups affected by its projects. (Asian Development Bank, 11 Nov. 2002)

MEDIA: World Bank Explores Press Impact On Development - An independent, high-quality press that reaches a wide audience can be a formidable impetus for economic development in poor countries, the World Bank said yesterday as it launched a new book, The Right to Tell: The Role of Mass Media in Economic Development. (UN Wire, 8 Nov. 2002)

• Free and Independent Media Empower the Poor and Spur Development - New book points to importance of free media in improving governance (World Bank, 8 Nov. 2002)

• {···español} El derecho a contarlo: el papel de los medios de información en el desarrollo económico (Banco Mundial, 7 noviembre 2002) 

I pick cocoa beans but I've never tasted chocolate [Ghana]...But Day Chocolate is different. It buys all its cocoa through Fairtrade...Kuapa Kokoo is the only cocoa-buying company in Ghana which integrates women's projects into its business...To date, there have been 504 loans from Kuapa Kokoo to help women set up businesses in 22 cocoa-farming communities. (Jill Foster, Mirror [UK], 5 Nov. 2002)

[U.N.] Security Council discusses report of illegal exploitation of DR of Congo's resources -...It also recommends that financial restrictions be placed on 29 companies based in the DRC, Belgium, Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe and South Africa [includes link to pdf version of full report by U.N. expert panel] (UN News Service, 5 Nov. 2002)

Tiered pricing alone is not enough - Oxfam welcomes the [European] Commission’s initiative to help reduce the price of essential medicines for developing countries. This must now be coupled with fundamental reform of global patent rules which are preventing poor people getting access to the cheapest possible medicines...Oxfam believe that the Commission’s decision to limit the scope to just HIV, TB and Malaria and to the very poorest countries in the world could result in terrible development outcomes. (Oxfam, 4 Nov. 2002)

Angolan oil millions paid into Jersey accounts - Hundreds of millions of pounds supposedly being paid by western oil companies to the government of Angola have been discovered going into secret offshore accounts in Jersey. (David Leigh, Guardian [UK], 4 Nov. 2002)

Analysis: Is relief for the poor embodied in the wealth of the rich?...the globalization of capital markets contains within its mechanisms the financial means to eradicate abject poverty while also addressing environmental degradation worldwide (Jeff Gates, President of Shared Capitalism Institute, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 3 Nov. 2002)

DR Congo sacks diamond mine heads - President Joseph Kabila has dismissed the management committee of the Democratic Republic of Congo's state diamond mining company, Miba...The decree comes two weeks after the publication of a United Nations report which accused senior Congolese officials of plundering the country's mineral wealth during its four-year war. The report alleged the board and senior members of the Congolese Government funnelled billions of dollars of state assets into the hands of private companies. (Mark Dummett, BBC News, 2 Nov. 2002)

Delhi Climate Justice Declaration -...We recognize that the impacts of climate change are disproportionately felt by the poor, women, youth, coastal peoples, indigenous peoples, fisherfolk, dalits, farmers and the elderly; We recognize that climate change is being caused primarily by industrialized nations and transnational corporations;... (India Climate Justice Forum, 1 Nov. 2002)

• A Human Face to a Human Problem: Climate Justice Summit [report on The Climate Justice Summit, held in Delhi, India, 26-28 Oct. 2002] (Nadia Khastagir and Amit Srivastava, CorpWatch India, 1 Nov. 2002)

Stop the Dumping! How EU agricultural subsidies are damaging livelihoods in the developing world -...Reforming a system in which Europe’s large landowners and agribusinesses get rich on subsidies, while smallholder farmers in developing countries suffer the consequences, is an essential step towards making trade fair. (Oxfam briefing paper, 31 Oct. 2002)

Activists criticise BP-led Baku-Ceyhan pipeline [Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey] - Environmental and human rights groups launched a campaign against a BP-led trans-Caspian oil pipeline...BP holds a 33 percent stake in the venture, Unocal has 8.9 percent, Norway's Statoil 8.7 percent and the Azeri state oil company SOCAR 25 percent. The remainder is owned by Turkish, French, Japanese and Saudi firms...the campaigners say the pipeline will further damage the Caspian's delicate ecology and that the impoverished populations of the three participating countries will not benefit from the oil revenues because of corruption. BP denies the allegations (Reuters, 30 Oct. 2002) 

Government and business join in tackling poverty in South Africa -...The summit marked the first time the private sector has become a partner in dealing with poverty. Business has previously participated in social responsibility projects, but with this initiative it is working with government on designing a strategy that aims to quicken poverty reduction and action against HIV/AIDS. (U.N. Development Programme, 30 Oct. 2002)

Save H2Opi Water: A water fight in the desert [USA] -...In seeming indifference to the impact of its operations on the Hopi and Navajo people and their natural environment, Peabody [Peabody Energy company] filed an application to substantially expand its operations and to increase its water usage by 32% percent in January of this year. (Laura Inouye, Oxfam America, 24 Oct. 2002)

• company website: Navajo Aquifer (Peabody Energy)

Nigeria: No Democratic Dividend for Oil Delta -...The 40-page report, "The Niger Delta: No Democratic Dividend," considers several recent violent incidents around oil facilities, and concludes that both the government and the oil company have failed to fulfill their responsibilities. (Human Rights Watch, 22 Oct. 2002)

• full report: Nigeria - The Niger Delta: No democratic dividend [includes sections on Shell and ExxonMobil] (Human Rights Watch, Oct. 2002)

Former U.N. official urges an 'ethical globalization' - One of the most important questions facing the world today is "how do we build an ethical globalization which bridges the current divides between north and south, rich and poor, secular and religious?" said Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and former United Nations high commissioner on human rights (Yale Bulletin & Calendar, 18 Oct. 2002)

UN food envoy questions safety of gene crops - A United Nations human rights envoy this week questioned the safety of genetically modified (GM) food and said big corporations had more to gain from its use than poor countries fighting starvation. (Reuters, 17 Oct. 2002) 

NATURAL RESOURCES: Consumer Demand Still Fueling Wars, NGO Says - A new report released today by the nongovernmental Worldwatch Institute urges better monitoring of trade in natural resources taken from conflict zones, saying that such imports fuel brutal conflicts in the developing world..."Brutal wars over natural resources like coltan -- a mineral that keeps cell phones and other electronic equipment functioning -- diamonds, tropical woods and other rare materials have killed or displaced more than 20 million people and are raising at least $12 billion a year for rebels, warlords, repressive government and other predatory groups around the world," the institute says...Opium, gems, oil, timber, natural gas, precious metals, coffee and cocoa are among the resources cited as helping to pay for wars over the past 50 years. (UN Wire, 17 Oct. 2002)

• FROM WAR ZONES TO SHOPPING MALLS: New study reveals deadly link between consumer demand and third world resource wars -...Child and slave labor is used to extract the resources...Renner [Michael Renner, author of The Anatomy of Resource Wars] calls for the following actions:...Develop corporate codes of conduct in resource extraction industries, support NGO campaigns that "name and shame" companies into doing business in more responsible ways, and increase corporate transparency and accountability (for instance, by requiring companies to disclose all taxes, fees, royalties, and other payments they make to host governments...). [refers to Afghanistan, Angola, Burma, Cambodia, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Liberia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone] (Worldwatch Insititute, 17 Oct. 2002)

NGWF demands fair wage and trade for garment sector [Bangladesh] - The National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) formed a human chain in the city yesterday demanding fair wage and trade for garment sector. (Daily Star [Bangladesh], 15 Oct. 2002)

US urged to wake up to "coffee with a conscience" -...fair trade beans are slowly making inroads into some of America's favourite coffee emporiums, with them being sold in some 10,000 outlets nationally including retailers such as Starbucks, the world's largest speciality coffee company, the supermarket chain Safeway and the food conglomerate Sara Lee. (Ros Davidson, Reuters, 15 Oct. 2002)

The Secretary General [U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan] - Address at Event Marking the 50th Anniversary of the MIT Sloan School Of Management -...there is growing recognition that we must move beyond the politics of confrontation, and that solutions to poverty, environmental degradation and other challenges can only be found if the private sector is involved (U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, 11 Oct. 2002)

ANGOLA: WWF concerned about EU fisheries deal (U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks, 10 Oct. 2002)

• Conservationists slam EU fishing policy in Africa - Conservation group WWF International slammed the European Union yesterday for buying fishing rights from poor African countries like Angola, saying it was depleting stocks vital to poor coastal communities (Reuters, 9 Oct. 2002)

• A WWF report in Angola highlights controversial EU fishing agreements with developing countries (Olivier van Bogaert, WWF, 8 Oct. 2002)

Workshop on the Plunder of DRC's Natural Resources - Conclusions and Recommendations from a workshop held in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, August 5 - 7, 2002 on Diamonds and the Plunder of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Natural Resources: where to find the resources for reconstruction and the fight against poverty? (CENADEP - Centre National d'appui au Développement et à la Participation Populaire and Partnership Africa Canada, 9 Oct. 2002)

World Bank Institute and University of Michigan Business School E-Conference Program on "Business, Democracy and Peace" - October 7 - November 1, 2002 -...This e-conference introduces the argument that businesses may have significant contributions to sustainable peace. (World Bank and University of Michigan Business School, 7 Oct.-1 Nov. 2002)

'Heart and Soul' dramatizes HIV/AIDS and other issues for millions in Africa - The intertwined lives of two African families, one well-off and the other poorer, is the setting of "Heart and Soul," a prime-time television and radio soap opera that is bringing issues such as HIV/AIDS, poverty, human rights and development to a potential audience of 50 million to 75 million....Beiersdorf - Nivea (East Africa), the Coca Cola Africa Foundation and Western Union are private sector sponsors. (U.N. Development Programme, 3 Oct. 2002)

IFC Chief: Industry Should Disclose Payments to Developing Nations - Oil, gas, and mining companies should fully disclose their payments to governments in the developing nations, according to the head of the International Finance Corporation. (GreenBiz.com, 2 Oct. 2002)

Chad oil pipeline under attack for harming the poor -...Embarrassed World Bank officials have already admitted that the notoriously corrupt Chad government has spent the first £10m of grant money it received from the consortium on arms for its security forces rather than on the educational and development projects for which the money was intended. (Paul Brown, Guardian [UK], 27 Sep. 2002)

Peru jungle farmers raise cups to fair trade coffee -...Farmers in Alto Incariado have joined up with the local La Florida Cooperative selling coffee carrying the "fair trade" label - a seal guaranteeing consumers that producers comply with conditions like a "decent wage" for farmers, the right to unionize, environmental standards and shunning child labor. [refers to fair trade coffee generally, and to Starbucks, Costa/Whitbread PLC, Cafe Direct, Max Havelaar] (Missy Ryan, Reuters, 27 Sep. 2002)

Sierra Leone gets help in promoting good governance -...Sylvia Fletcher, senior governance advisor with UNDP Sierra Leone, asked participants to reflect on fundamental questions as they discussed national and local governance issues:..."Why are the diamond mining areas as poor, or poorer, than the rest of the country?" (U.N. Development Programme, 27 Sep. 2002)

International Starbucks protest comes to town [Berkeley, USA] - A dozen protesters picketed outside the Oxford Street Starbucks Wednesday as part of an international campaign urging the chain to buy more "Fair Trade" coffee from farmers....A Starbucks representative at the protest said the company has made significant progress on the issue, selling bags of Fair Trade coffee to customers since October 2000 and brewing it once a month in stores since May 2002. (David Scharfenberg, Berkeley Daily Planet, 26 Sep. 2002)

Analyis: Values-based supply chain management: Whose values, whose benefit? Toby Kent examines the effects of values-based supply chain management on agricultural producers and workers in developing economies. (Toby Kent, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 26 Sep. 2002)

New Study Finds Mining Unlikely to Help Poor Countries - Oxfam to World Bank: Don’t Look to Mining to Solve Poverty - The mining of gold, copper and other metals is unlikely to help poor countries escape from poverty, according to a new study released today by the international anti-poverty agency Oxfam America...The study, “Digging to Development? A Historical Look at Mining and Economic Development” comes as the World Bank, under heavy pressure from activist groups, reviews its involvement in mining and other natural resource extraction projects. (Oxfam America, 23 Sep. 2002)

• full report: New Oxfam Report: "Digging to Development?" - A Historical Look at Mining and Economic (Oxfam America, 23 Sep. 2002)

Coffee Campaign - Take Action! What's that in your coffee? Plummeting coffee prices have caused a global humanitarian crisis...Please ask Procter & Gamble – maker of Folgers and Millstone – to help end the crisis by including Fair Trade Certified coffee in their products. (Oxfam America) [added to this website on 23 Sep. 2002]

PPP: Plan Puebla Panama, or Private Plans for Profit? A Primer on the Development Plan that Would Turn the Region from Southern Mexico to Panama into a Giant Export Zone - There is currently a multi-billion development scheme underway that would turn southern Mexico and all of Central America into a massive free trade zone, competing in the world wide race to the bottom of wages, working conditions, lax environmental regulation and disregard for human rights...The PPP has drawn fire from environmentalists, labor leaders and human rights advocates throughout the region. (Miguel Pickard, investigator for CIEPAC, A.C. [Centro de Investigaciones Económicas y Políticas de Acción Comunitaria], special to CorpWatch, 19 Sep. 2002)

Coffee companies under fire as millions face ruin - Millions of people in 45 coffee-growing countries are facing economic ruin - and many are going hungry - due to collapsing world prices. Oxfam today launches a global campaign to tackle the coffee crisis and force the corporate giants who dominate the $60-billion industry [Sara Lee, Kraft, Procter & Gamble and Nestlé] to pay farmers a decent price. (Oxfam, 18 Sep. 2002)

• full report: Mugged: Poverty in your coffee cup (Oxfam, 2002)

Indentured in America: Ruthless trade of the 'body brokers' -  Recruiters: Shrewd operators match out-of-work islanders and hard-to-fill jobs - and profit handsomely in the bargain. [USA] (Walter F. Roche Jr. & Willoughby Mariano, Baltimore Sun, 16 Sep. 2002) 

• Indentured in America: Trapped in servitude far from their homes - Lured by promises, Pacific Islanders come in search of education and employment, but instead find poverty, misery and threats. [USA] (Walter F. Roche Jr. & Willoughby Mariano, Baltimore Sun, 15 Sep. 2002)

Sudan gives thumbs-up to visit in October by UN rights rapporteur - The Sudanese government has now agreed to a visit here in October by UN human rights rapporteur Gerhart Baum after refusing to meet him here earlier this month, the state-run SUNA news agency reported Sunday.  Sudan's Advisory Council for Human Rights, chaired by Justice Minister Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin, two weeks ago called for Baum's planned September visit to be postponed to protest his request for details on how Khartoum spends its oil revenues. (AFP, 15 Sep. 2002)

CDVCA's Double Bottom Line [USA] - By investing capital in low-income communities, community development venture capital funds create jobs and foster economic development. (Anne Moore Odell, SocialFunds.com, 13 Sep. 2002)

Chevron Md [Managing Director] Seeks Peaceful Relations With Host Communities [Nigeria] - The Managing Director of Chevron Nigeria Limited, Mr Jay Pryor has appealed to people of the Niger Delta region as well as other oil producing areas to shun hostilities against Chevron oil workers. He also pledged that the company would continue to pursue socio-economic development of host communities. (Chuka Odittah, This Day [Nigeria], 13 Sep. 2002)

Patent laws hamper war on poverty - The fight against poverty in the developing world is being hampered by stringent patent laws imposed by rich countries, an independent commission said (Heather Stewart, Guardian [UK], 13 Sep. 2002)

• PATENTS - Panel slams patent burden on poor - Poor countries have little to gain and plenty to lose from adopting Western levels of patent protection, a group of experts appointed by the British government said on Thursday. The Commission on Intellectual Property Rights concluded that a global drive to expand patent protection would mean higher-priced medicines and seeds for most developing countries (Ben Hirschler, Reuters, 12 Sep 2002)

Social development in Tamil Nadu [India]: The Murugappa Group of companies [leading engineering company and the market leader in products like steel-strips, steel-tubes and bicycles] is promoting social development in the villages of Tamil Nadu...The foundation provides assistance in the areas of education, medicare and research in rural development. (InfoChange [India]) [added to this website on 10 Sep. 2002]

Change in the desert [India] - Lupin India Ltd [the third-largest pharmaceutical group in India] has helped ensure sustainable development in 154 villages in Rajasthan (InfoChange [India]) [added to this website on 10 Sep. 2002]

Protecting the environment, the corporate way [India] - Ion Exchange makes profits in a socially-relevant way: through water treatment, afforestation and organic farming...To positively impact the environment and community life is the goal of this Indian company which offers total water management solutions and sustainable development in rural areas in partnership with NGOs and donor organisations. (InfoChange [India]) [added to this website on 10 Sep. 2002]

Basic change in rural India: Basix (India Ltd) provides integrated technical and financial assistance to the rural poor -...Basix (India Ltd) provides integrated technical and financial assistance through micro-credit schemes to the rural poor and women...The support services of IGS, which works in collaboration with various government co-operatives, NGOs and private sector firms, include arranging farmer-training programmes in collaboration with the local staff, supply companies as well as agro-business companies. (InfoChange [India]) [added to this website on 10 Sep. 2002]

Analysis: Banking and sustainability: Slow starters are gaining pace - Marcel Jeucken looks at the role of banks in contributing toward sustainable development and concludes that they have a major role to play (Marcel Jeucken, Senior Economist at Rabobank Group and Director of Sustainability in Finance, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 5 Sep. 2002)

Johannesburg Summit promotes partnerships for development -...The summit emphasized the role of the private sector and civil society as key partners to achieving sustainable development and the creation of public-private partnerships to help improve the living standards of the world's poor. UNDP Associate Administrator Zéphirin Diabré said the summit's recognition of the private sector as a genuine development partner is significant, especially regarding the issues of capacity building, technology transfer and development financing. (U.N. Development Programme, 5 Sep. 2002)

BRAZIL: World Bank, GEF, WWF Announce Amazon Protection Plan -...The new 10-year Amazon Region Protected Areas program will set aside 50 million hectares of rainforest, equivalent to 12 percent of Brazil's total forest area, and will include parts of all 23 ecoregions of the Amazon, in an effort that could also benefit local communities. (UN Wire, 5 Sep. 2002)

Sustainable Development: R.I.P.: The Earth Summit's Deathblow to Sustainable Development -...With the world's most powerful governments fully behind the corporate globalization agenda, it was agreed even before the Summit that there would no new mandatory agreements. Rather the focus was to be on implementation of old agreements, mainly through partnerships with the private sector. In other words, those aspects of sustainability that are convenient for private sector would be implemented...At issue is the fact that the UN is unabashedly -- anxiously -- partnering with corporations that define sustainability to suit themselves...the phrase "corporate accountability," is included elsewhere in the Action Plan, though it's located in an ambiguous paragraph that will require several more years of campaigning by Friends of the Earth and allies to see any legal instrument on corporate accountability born at the UN. [refers to Shell's conduct in Nigeria; refers to Shell, Caltex and BP's conduct in South Africa] (Kenny Bruno, CorpWatch, 4 Sep. 2002)

Earth Summit agrees on energy, angers greens - The Earth Summit gave a muted push to "green" energy this week as part of a plan to curb poverty and protect the planet, angering environmentalists who branded it a weak-minded sell-out to the U.S. oil industry. (Alister Doyle & Jodie Ginsberg, Reuters, 4 Sep. 2002)

'Angolans should sue multinationals and banks' - Angolans must institute legal action against a host of western multinational companies and banking institutions which enabled that country's government to commit crimes of humanity against its people, a Namibian rights group said on Tuesday. (Mail & Guardian [South Africa], 3 Sep. 2002)

Business Leader Says Governments Must Set Framework for Action on Environment, Development -...at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, he [Mark Moody-Stuart] has been highly visible as founder of the corporate group Business Action for Sustainable Development. Despite a deep commitment to reducing poverty and improving the environment, he has drawn fire from activist groups critical of his preference for national and local regulations over broad international agreements. In an interview with Akwe Amosu in Johannesburg, he explains his position and argues that it does not let multinational corporations off the hook. (Akwe Amosu, allAfrica.com, 3 Sep. 2002)

New WTO boss backs poor - The new head of the World Trade Organisation wants the organisation to focus on the needs of the poor countries. (Andrew Walker, BBC News, 3 Sep. 2002)

Compendium of speeches, press releases and articles from the "Lekgotla: Business Day" - Johannesburg -1 Sep. 2002 [BASD (Business Action for Sustainable Development) hosted a high profile business day during the Johannesburg Summit that brought world business leaders together with NGOs, labor unions, government officials and others - to discuss initiatives and partnerships towards sustainable development] [includes speeches by Prime Ministers of Canada & Denmark; Tokyo Sexwale, Business Coordinating Forum of South Africa; Reuel Khoza, Chairman of Eskom; Phil Watts, World Business Council for Sustainable Development; Sir Robert Wilson, Rio Tinto; Wladimir Puggina, International Fertilizer Industry Association; Heinz Imhof, Chairman of Syngenta; Mohamed Rafik Meghji, International Federation of Consulting Engineers] (Business Action for Sustainable Development, 1 Sep. 2002)

Speech by Mary Robinson, High Commissioner for Human Rights - Civil Society Workshop on Human Rights, Sustainable Development and Environmental Protection - World Summit on Sustainable Development -...The interdependence of human rights, environment protection and sustainable development has been described using the metaphor of a triangle. (Mary Robinson, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, 1 Sep. 2002)

Business chiefs on defensive at summit - Business leaders have been defending themselves at the World Summit in Johannesburg against charges that they ignore development issues and poverty. Green groups have accused multi-national corporations of being enemies of the environment, but the business executives say they are looking for co-operative partnerships. (BBC News, 1 Sep. 2002)

Enabling the Poor to Build Housing: Pursuing Profit and Social Development Together [Mexico] -...This month, Changemakers features an innovative experiment by the Cemex corporation that has enabled 20,000 very poor families in Mexico to purchase building materials and upgrade their homes – without receiving any subsidies. Rather, this program provides new profit-making opportunities for Cemex. (Kris Herbst, Changemakers Journal, Sep. 2002)

New guidelines released for reporting corporate contributions to sustainable development - Global Reporting Initiative Spearheads Multi-stakeholder Effort (Global Reporting Initiative, 31 Aug. 2002)

Earth Summit launches controversial partnerships - The United States and other nations will showcase public-private partnerships at the Earth Summit yesterday meant to fight poverty amid criticisms that they will help businesses more than the poor. (Alister Doyle, Reuters, 30 Aug. 2002) 

World Summit offers vital role to business: It is hoped that big business can help eradicate world poverty...But activists accused Western governments of trying to shift responsibility for helping the world's poor and corporations of trying to "hijack" the summit's outcome to water down environmental rules and increase profits. (Paul Geitner, AP, 30 Aug. 2002)

US defies critics with business deals to aid environment - The United States, which has been accused of derailing progress at the United Nations earth summit, launched a diplomatic counter-offensive yesterday, rolling out public-private sector partnerships which the Bush administration claims are the best means of fighting global poverty and protecting the environment. But environmentalists have dismissed the so-called "Type 2" partnerships, which are backed by Britain, saying they help big businesses increase profits rather than help the poor. (Basildon Peta, Independent [UK], 30 Aug. 2002)

Business Partnerships in Johannesburg - Business has come to Johannesburg with a range of partnerships for sustainable development. Some of these partnerships are listed below. (Business Action for Sustainable Development, 30 Aug. 2002)

Address by Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights - World Summit on Sustainable Development Plenary Session -...Let me ask and try to answer the question-- how does a human rights approach help in achieving sustainable development? (Mary Robinson, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, 29 Aug. 2002)

US blocks move to give powers to those threatened by multinationals: Poor countries seek redress over firms' damage - The United States is blocking human, environmental and freedom of information rights from being enshrined in the earth summit's plan of action in order to protect multinational companies from litigation and protests by the poor. The EU and developing countries such as Thailand, Uganda and Indonesia believe that giving communities the right to take on companies that pollute their environment and damage their health is fundamental to the aims of the summit. (Paul Brown, Guardian [UK], 29 Aug. 2002)

Business plea for greater investment in poor nations - Global business leaders yesterday launched a programme to promote greater investment by multinationals in the world's 50 poorest countries. Business Action for Sustainable Development (BASD), a grouping of international chambers of commerce, unveiled the initiative at the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development. (James Lamont, Financial Times, 29 Aug. 2002)

Business key to successful development, Canada says - Minister stresses private-sector investment - Business is critical to the success of plans being discussed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa, Canada's Environment Minister David Anderson said yesterday...Governments and non-governmental organizations (NGO) can't bring sustainable development to the Third World without private investment, he said. (Graham Fraser, The Star [Canada], 29 Aug. 2002)

How green is my business? -...the idea that public-private partnerships [being promoted at World Summit on Sustainable Development] are themselves the answer to these problems [poverty, environmental damage, human rights abuse & social exclusion] is as foolish as the idea that the private sector caused them in the first place. If anything, corporations hyping up this hubristic circus without making a full commitment to sustainability simply undermine the serious work that leaders such as BP are doing to change their mainstream business behaviour for good. That's the real agenda that should be promoted at Johannesburg...It involves corporations integrating social and environmental values within their core activities, rather than setting up projects that hover outside in a box marked "corporate responsibility". (Steve Hilton, Guardian [UK], 28 Aug. 2002)

Senior Judges Adopt Ground-Breaking Action Plan to Strengthen World's Environment-Related Laws: World Summit on Sustainable Development Given Pioneering Principles for Fighting Poverty and Delivering Environmental Justice - An action plan to strengthen the development, use and enforcement of environment-related laws has been drawn up by over 100 of the world's most senior judges...Experts are convinced that the worldwide effort to crack down on pollution, challenge environmentally damaging developments and comply with agreements covering issues such as hazardous wastes and the trade in endangered species have been undermined partly as a result of weaknesses in many countries legal systems [includes text of The Johannesburg Principles on the Role of Law and Sustainable Development adopted at the Global Judges Symposium held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 18-20 August 2002] (U.N. Environment Programme, 27 Aug. 2002)

• Judges pledge to champion environment - Lawyers from around the world promise a crackdown on developers who pollute - A panel of 127 senior judges from 62 countries admitted yesterday that many of the international laws designed to protect the environment and save species from destruction were "paper tigers" which had not been properly enforced. The panel which convened at the Johannesburg earth summit pledged to improve environmental law across the world and champion the poor in a battle for a better environment as part of their duty to defend human rights. (Paul Brown, Guardian [UK], 28 Aug. 2002)

Big Business Accused of Derailing Earth Summit - Activists accused big business on Tuesday of hijacking the Earth Summit from a goal of halving poverty without poisoning the planet...The World Development Movement, a British-based anti-poverty group, accused rich nations of "kowtowing to the powerful corporate lobbies." (Alister Doyle, Reuters, 27 Aug. 2002)

NGOs Accuse Big Business of Trying to Hijack World Summit - The International Forum on Globalisation (IFG) yesterday accused big business and transnational corporations of attempting to hijack the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) and use the forum to drive their own agenda...Big Business, through BASD [Business Action on Sustainable Development], is rallying for voluntary, non-binding outcomes that do not entail commitments which puts it at odds with NGOs such as IFG, Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) and Third World Network (TWN) who want legally binding and enforceable outcomes and corporate accountability. (Momelezi Kula, The Post [Zambia], 26 Aug. 2002)

Firms get green Oscars for environmental whitewash -..."These polluting companies are posing as friends of the environment and leaders in the struggle to eradicate poverty," said Kenny Bruno of campaign group Corpwatch. "But often they spend more advertising their green projects than on the projects themselves." (Reuters, 26 Aug. 2002) 

Tourism, NGOs divided on poverty - The historic clash between the tourism industry and non-governmental organisations is set to come to the fore at the World Summit for Sustainable Development...UK-based NGO Tourism Concern...wants the tourism industry to start focusing more on the amount of natural resources it consumes, whether the recent inclusion of services (which include tourism) as part of the World Trade Organisation agenda will truly provide for free and fair trade. Critically, it wants to raise the issue of foreign exchange leakage from developing countries. (Chatrudee Theparat, Bangkok Post, 26 Aug. 2002)

The world's business [regarding business community and the World Summit on Sustainable Development] -...All of which is to say that pressing corporations to contribute more toward their host societies increasingly makes sense. Many executives understand that managing a global company requires a plan for global solutions: AIDS will devastate workers; income inequality will suppress the customer base; global warming, deforestation, and poor infrastructure threaten devastation - financial and human alike. A group called Business Action for Social Development, headed by the former chairman of Royal Dutch/Shell, will have a large presence at the summit. (editorial, Boston Globe, 25 Aug. 2002)

Environment, social woes risk development - World Bank - Environmental disasters, income inequality and social upheaval that have arisen from bad economic policies are threatening to derail the battle against poverty around the world, the World Bank warned...From the collapse of U.S. energy giant Enron under the cloud of an accounting scandal to the drying out of the central Asian Aral Sea due to cotton production, unsustainable policies are at fault, the Washington-based lender said. (Anna Willard, Reuters, 23 Aug. 2002) 

DEVELOPMENT: Financial Times Criticizes Latest World Bank Report - The Financial Times criticizes the World Bank's latest World Development Report in an editorial today for being too vague, calling on the bank to take a clearer position on the advantages and trade-offs of important policy choices. (UN Wire, 22 Aug. 2002)

• Muddled voices for the poor - If its aim was to offend as few people as possible, the World Bank has succeeded with its latest World Development Report. (editorial, Financial Times, 22 Aug. 2002)

Marching to Johannesburg -...As part of our special coverage of the Johannesburg Earth Summit, CorpWatch is running three excerpts from the new book, Earthsummit.biz: The Corporate Takeover of Sustainable Development (Kenny Bruno & Joshua Karliner CorpWatch, 21 Aug. 2002)

Industrialists Challenge Global Business to “Walk the Talk” -...In Walking the Talk:The Business Case for Sustainable Development...authors Charles O.Holliday Jr, Chairman and CEO of DuPont; Stephan Schmidheiny, Chairman of Anova Holding AG; and Philip Watts, Chairman of Shell; argue that business can, and indeed must, be an agent of positive change for the environment and the world’s poor. (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 21 Aug. 2002)

AGRICULTURE: Factory Farming Causes Poverty, Disease, NGO Says - The spread of large-scale factory farms to the developing world threatens to increase poverty and livestock-related disease, Compassion in World Farming said in a report released yesterday. (UN Wire, 21 Aug. 2002)

• Factory farming 'spreading disease around the world' (Felicity Lawrence, Guardian [UK], 21 Aug. 2002)

• full report: The Detrimental Impact of Industrial Animal Agriculture - This New Report Proves the link between Poverty and Factory Farming in Developing Countries and also shows the potential resurgence of BSE and impact on human health and the environment. (Leah Garces, Compassion in World Farming, Aug. 2002)

• {···español} Los efectos devastadores de la producción industrial de animales de granja: Es necesaria una producción sostenible y humana (Leah Garces, Compassion in World Farming, agosto 2002)

• {···français} Les effets néfastes de l'élevage industriel: Plaidoyer pour un élevage humain et viable (Leah Garces, Compassion in World Farming, août 2002)

Industrial pollution 'is causing fish deaths' [Bahrain] - Pollution is the biggest threat to Bahrain's fisheries, says a spokesman for the country's commercial fishermen..."This is really affecting our profession and if the (fisheries and marine resources) directorate is to protect the marine life, companies and establishments committing such crimes should be punished." (Mohammed Al A'Ali, Gulf Daily News [Bahrain], 21 Aug. 2002)

'Developing nations should monitor' food multinationals -...An FAO study, to be released today, warns that globalisation "has led to the rise of multinational food companies with the potential to disempower farmers in many countries". (Paul Betts, Financial Times, 20 Aug. 2002)

Business buys into earth summit, but at what price -...Green and human rights groups say it is not all a public relations exercise and that some firms have started to recognise the need to tackle poverty and environmental degradation. But they also say that the presence of big businesses - some of whose budgets dwarf the economies of countries attending the meeting - threatens to divert governments from setting targets that force business to do more on sustainable development...The British charity Christian Aid said this month there was already an indication big business had hijacked the summit to push its agenda of self-regulation over corporate accountability. (Jodie Ginsberg, Reuters, 20 Aug. 2002)

CHAD-CAMEROON: World Bank Panel Criticizes Bank-Backed Pipeline Project - An independent inspection panel of the World Bank has concluded that a $4 billion bank-supported project to construct an oil pipeline from Chad to Cameroon [which would be built by a private consortium led by Exxon-Mobil, Petronas and Chevron] could damage the environment and would give the local population only 5 percent of the revenues generated from the project (UN Wire, 19 Aug. 2002)

• World Bank attacks own African oil project [Chad/Cameroon] - A $4bn (£2.6bn) oil project backed by the World Bank in two of the world's poorest countries risks damaging the environment and depriving the local population of a fair share of profits, according to the bank's own inspectors. (Alan Beattie, Financial Times, 18 Aug. 2002)

Spotlight on corporates reveals need for global rules - Some corporations continue to abuse the rights of people, destroy the livelihoods of communities, and pollute water and forest resources for future generations, according to a new report by Friends of the Earth International published today. The report graphically illustrates the need for governments to agree to introduce tighter rules for multinationals at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg. (Friends of the Earth, 16 Aug. 2002)

• Call for 'global enviro rules' - The environmental group, Friends of the Earth, on Friday called on world leaders meeting at the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg to introduce global rules for business....In the report the environmental group mentions the mining giant, Rio Tinto that is prospecting for gold in the Poboya protected forest in Indonesia despite opposition from local people. South Africa's chemical company Sasol also comes under fire. (South African Press Association, 16 Aug. 2002)

• full report: Clashes with Corporate Giants: 22 campaigns for biodiversity and community (Friends of the Earth, Aug. 2002) 

includes section entitled "Towards binding corporate accountability"

also includes the following case studies:

1. Peru: Manhattan Minerals (Tambogrande gold mine)
2. Malaysia: Malaysian timber companies (logging in Sarawak - affecting indigenous peoples)
3. South Africa: Sasol, Total, Dow Chemicals (pollution of poor communities)
4. Russia/Lithuania: Lukoil (Baltic sea drilling)
5. Papua New Guinea: BHP Billiton (OK Tedi mine)
6. Chad/Cameroon: ExxonMobil, Chevron, Petronas (Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline)
7. Ecuador: AGIP, Alberta Energy, Occidental Petroleum, Perez Companc, Repsol-YPF, Techint (oil pipeline, affecting indigenous peoples)
8. Czech Republic: Ford, Nemak (car plant on agricultural land)
9. Nigeria: Shell (environmental justice issues in Niger Delta)
10. Chile: Noranda (aluminium plant)
11. Worldwide: Aventis, Monsanto (genetically modified food)
12. Colombia: Occidental Petroleum (oil extraction on land of U'wa people)
13. Australia: Barrick Gold (gold mine, affecting indigenous peoples)
14. Brazil: Petrobas, El Paso Energy (gas pipeline, affecting indigenous peoples)
15. Indonesia: Asia Pulp & Paper (logging of rainforests)
16. Chile: Nutreco (salmon farms)
17. Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey: BP (Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline)
18. Malta: Ax Holdings, Carlson Companies, Regent Hotels (golf course on agricultural land)
19. Australia: Nihon Unipac (clearcutting Goolengook Forest)
20. Norway: Bayer, Monsanto, Kanegafuchi (Norwegian sea pollution)
21. Indonesia: Rio Tinto (gold mine, affecting indigenous peoples)
22. UK: Scott's Company (peat extraction for compost)

Shell Games at the Earth Summit -...Tracking the behavior of Royal Dutch Shell from the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio to the WSSD in Johannesburg is particularly instructive in drawing out how global corporations have pursued a pro-environment and human rights public-relations strategy on the one hand, while continuing to be deeply engaged in destructive activity on the other. (Kenny Bruno & Joshua Karliner CorpWatch, 15 Aug. 2002)

• company website: Issues: Society / Environment (Royal Dutch Shell)

• company website: Sustainable Development (Royal Dutch Shell)

Freedom Makes All the Difference [refers to World Summit on Sustainable Development] -...We can even question the general strategy of defining sustainable development only in terms of fulfillment of needs, rather than using the broader perspective of enhancing human freedoms on a sustainable basis... Indeed, it is not at all obvious why the enhancing of democratic freedoms should not figure among the central demands of sustainable development. Not only are these freedoms important in themselves, but they can contribute to other types of freedoms. (Amartya Sen, Master of Trinity College - Cambridge, Nobel laureate (economics), in Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2002)

Johannesburg Summit: A New Framework for Business Engagement -...Business could and should be a strong partner in safeguarding the environment, reducing poverty, raising education standards and improving health...But business today, following the collapse of Enron and other corporate scandals of fraud and greed, is losing its credibility as a trustworthy partner. (Klaus Schwab, President of the World Economic Forum, on Earth Times website, 15 Aug. 2002)

Mining Project in Peru: Manhattan Minerals Must Recognize the Legitimacy of the Municipal Referendum - The Canadian company Manhattan Minerals Corporation must recognize the legitimacy of the Tambogrande (Peru) municipal referendum which confirmed the overwhelming opposition to the company's plan to develop a gold mine in the small town...Some analyses of the gold mine project have indicated that it could bring significant environmental damage in its wake. (Rights & Democracy, 14 Aug. 2002)

• full report: Gold and Land: Democratic Development at Stake - Report of the Observation Mission of the Tambogrande Municipal Consultation Process in Peru (Stéphanie Rousseau & François Meloche, Rights & Democracy, June 2002)

• {···español} El Oro y la Tierra: Retos del Desarrollo Democrático - Informe de la Misión de observación de la consulta vecinal de Tambogrande, Perú (Stéphanie Rousseau y François Meloche, Derechos y Democracia, junio 2002)

Round table seeks ways to harness trade and investment for sustainable development -...A recent high-level round table in Abuja, Nigeria, hosted by the Government and sponsored by UNDP, assisted by several partners, examined the issue [the challenge of reconciling the powerful forces of international trade and investment with efforts to reduce poverty and protect the environment], focusing on partnerships between government, civil society and the private sector for sustainable development in the oil, gas and minerals sector and the water and sanitation sector...Egbert Imomoh , senior corporate advisor with Shell International, discussed his company's experiences in partnerships in Gabon, Nigeria, Thailand, Mexico and the Philippines...Kwabena S. Manu of Mime Consult Ltd. in Ghana presented a pilot project to involve local private firms in developing small town water supply systems. (U.N. Development Programme, 14 Aug. 2002)

CorpWatch India Responds to Coca Cola -...To reiterate facts, in Plachimada, Kerala, your Indian subsidiary -- Hindustan Coca Cola -- has been charged with excessive extraction of groundwater, contamination of groundwater and parching of the wells and groundwater sources supplying a large community of farmers, adivasis (indigenous people) and dalits (oppressed castes). (CorpWatch India, 13 Aug. 2002)

LOTTERY: Editorial Criticizes Proposal For Raising U.N. Funds - A Wall Street Journal editorial published yesterday criticizes plans for a global lottery to raise money for the United Nations, saying the funds from such a project would come mostly from the world's poor. (UN Wire, 8 Aug. 2002)

Women's Protests Against ChevronTexaco Spread Through the Niger Delta [Nigeria]: Initial Demands Met, Issues Remain (Sam Olukoya, special to CorpWatch, 7 Aug. 2002)

Programme: Digital Opportunities: Global Strategies & Local Initiatives to Level the e-Playing Field for Sustainable Development - 30 Aug. 2002 - Johannesburg (IUCN - World Conservation Union) [posted to this site on 7 Aug. 2002]

• Dialogue: Information and Communications Technologies for Sustainable Development - 30 Aug. 2002 - Johannesburg (IUCN - World Conservation Union)

Fair trade coffee buzz gaining momentum (Missy Ryan, Reuters, 7 Aug. 2002) 

World Summit on Sustainable Development - Human Rights must be Guiding Principle (Rights & Democracy, 6 Aug. 2002)

• {···français} Le Sommet mondial sur le développement durable: les droits humains doivent constituer un principe directeur (Droits et Démocratie, 6 août 2002)

• Letter to Prime Minister of Canada on the exclusion of references to human rights from the draft inter-governmental declaration expected to be adopted in Johannesburg (Rights & Democracy, 23 July 2002)

Matrix Plots Business Cases for Sustainability in Emerging Markets: SustainAbility recently released a report that identifies the business benefits of practicing sustainability in emerging markets. -...Conventional wisdom holds that emerging markets cannot accommodate sustainability concerns in their efforts to achieve economic growth. However, a recent report entitled Developing Value: The Business Case for Sustainability in Emerging Markets concludes that this is simply not true. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 6 Aug. 2002)

LOTTERY: Ex-Finnish Leader Says Plan To Fund U.N. Could Begin Next Year - The United Nations and the World Lottery Association have agreed to cooperate on seeking to create a global lottery to help fund U.N. activities...Halonen said the lottery could supplement official development assistance (UN Wire, 6 Aug. 2002)

Managing Sustainability World Bank-Style: An Evaluation of the World Development Report 2003 (Heinrich Boell Foundation & Bretton Woods Project, 6 Aug. 2002)

DEVELOPMENT: Poorest Countries' Ills "Not Insurmountable," Annan Says -...He called for partnerships among the least developed countries, donors, civil society and the private sector. (UN Wire, 5 Aug. 2002)

"Sustainable Development Security Imperative" Says Top US Government Official - Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, claims that "sustainable development" is a "compelling moral and humanitarian issue". And adds:" But sustainable development is also a security imperative. Poverty, environmental degradation and despair are destroyers-of people, of societies, of nations. This unholy trinity can destabilize countries, even entire regions". (U.N. Environment Programme, 5 Aug. 2002)

Em‘power’ing remote villages [India] - The Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited adopted three backward villages near Bangalore for its community development programme. Ronald Anil Fernandes visits these villages which have benefitted largely due to solar power (Deccan Herald [India], 2 Aug. 2002)

Ijaw Vs Chevron: Women to the Rescue [Nigeria] [refers to terms of 8-page Memorandum of Understanding signed on 24 July, under which Chevron agrees to a number of local economic development & education initiatives] (Mike Oduniyi, This Day [Nigeria], 2 Aug. 2002)

BIODIVERSITY: New UNEP Report Warns Of Escalating Human Threat - The atlas also warns that one major drug is lost every two years given the current extinction rates for plants and animals, while less than 1 percent of the world's 250,000 tropical plants has been studied for potential pharmaceutical applications. (UN Wire, 2 Aug. 2002)

• 'World Atlas of Biodiversity' first map-based view of earth's living resources - Atlas underlines vital role of ecosystems in reducing poverty and delivering prosperity ahead of World Summit on Sustainable Development (U.N. Environment Programme, 1 Aug. 2002)

• Analysis: A global picture of death, damage and destruction - Atlas produced by the United Nations demonstrates how mankind is changing the world and driving thousands of species to extinction (Independent [UK], 2 August 2002)

INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT: Global Disparities Growing, UNIDO Report Says -..."The least developed countries, still struggling to meet the basic human needs of their population, have had their health, social and economic standards slip over the last few decades," said UNIDO Director General Carlos Magarinos. (UN Wire, 30 July 2002)

Starbucks, Ford Foundation, Oxfam America and CEPCO [Oaxacan State Coffee Producers Network] Announce Innovative Collaboration to Increase the Supply of High Quality Fair Trade Coffee (Oxfam America, 29 July 2002)

NIGERIA: Women end siege of ChevronTexaco facilities -...The officials said under the terms of the agreement signed on Thursday with a chief of the Gbaramutu community, whose women had occupied four ChevronTexaco facilties for eight days, the company would build a hospital and provide fair access to employment for qualified people from the area. (UN Integrated Regional Information Networks, 26 July 2002) 

• {···français} Les femmes mettent fin aux sièges des installations ChevronTexaco [Nigéria] -...Les responsables ont indiqué que selon les termes de l'accord signé jeudi avec le chef de la communauté Gbaramutu, dont les femmes avaient occupé pendant huit jours quatre installations de ChevronTexaco, la compagnie va construire un hôpital et fournir un accès juste à l'emploi à des personnes qualifiées issues de la région. (UN Integrated Regional Information Networks, 29 juillet 2002)

Nigerian women's oil protest ends - Hundreds of local women in Nigeria's Delta region have ended the 12-day occupation of oil pipeline stations belonging to the American company, ChevronTexaco. The women had accused the company of exploiting the people of the region and not distributing enough of the wealth it obtains from oil. (BBC News, 25 July 2002)

World Bank and IMF reform vital to end poverty, says UN -...Calling for an end to rich countries' dominance of the institutions of global financial governance, the UN Development Programme says that decisions about how to manage globalisation must become more democratic. (Jonathan Steele and Charlotte Denny, Guardian [UK], 24 July 2002)

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: Democracy Key To Development, UNDP Says (Jim Wurst, UN Wire, 24 July 2002)

• {···español} El retroceso de la democracia pone en peligro el desarrollo humano, dice informe (Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo, 24 julio 2002)

• {···français} Un repli de la démocratie met en cause le développement humain, note un rapport du PNUD (Programme des Nations Unies pour le développement, 24 juillet 2002)

• full report: Human Development Report 2002 (U.N. Development Programme, July 2002)

• {···español} Desarrollo Humano 2002 (Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo, julio 2002)

• {···français} Le développement humain 2002 (Programme des Nations Unies pour le développement, juillet 2002)

• The power of democracy and its critical importance to development - Address by Mark Mallock Brown, UNDP Administrator - Launch of the Human Development Report 2002 (Mark Mallock Brown, UNDP Administrator of U.N. Development Programme, 24 July 2002)

• {···français} Le pouvoir de la démocratie et son importance critique pour le développement - Allocution de Mark Malloch Brown, Administrateur du PNUD - Lancement du Rapport mondial sur le développement humain 2002 (Mark Malloch Brown, Administrateur, Programme des Nations Unies pour le développement, 24 juillet 2002)

CHILD LABOR: ILO Says 500,000 Honduran Children Help Support Families - The International Labor Organization has said in a new report that nearly 500,000 Honduran children are forced to work to supplement their family's incomes, with many working in high-risk occupations such as shellfish diving, handling dangerous chemicals and making fireworks (UN Wire, 23 July 2002)

'Oil to us is a tragedy' [Nigeria; occupation of ChevronTexaco pumping stations] -..."The discovery of oil in our communities has brought misery and sorrow," laments Mary Olaye, 42, leader of a group of women who have occupied four oil pumping stations in protest. "Our rivers are polluted and fish die because of the toxins." (Cape Times [South Africa], 22 July 2002)

AFRICA: New Study Blames Western Pollution For 1980s Famine - Nearly two decades after a famine that killed 1.2 million people in Africa's Sahel region, Australian and Canadian scientists say pollution from industrialized nations may have been a major contributor to the drought. (UN Wire, 22 July 2002)

Introduction of a House Resolution urging the government to purchase fair trade certified coffee [USA] - Today Rep. Pete Stark introduced a House [U.S. House of Representatives] Resolution expressing the sense of Congress that all branches of the Federal Government should limit purchases of coffee to those suppliers that are certified to have paid coffee farmers a fair price for their products. (Office of Congressman Pete Stark, 17 July 2002)

Comment: Steve Hilton - A tale of two launches - Two recently announced initiatives mean that corporate social and environmental involvement is now big business, argues Steve Hilton...First, then, to Britain's parliament for the launch of the CORE (Corporate Responsibility) Coalition, and the publication of its draft Private Member's Bill tabled by Labour Member of Parliament Linda Perham...So on to launch number two...a thoroughly modern proposal was outlined by [George Soros]: "Publish What You Pay", a campaign to make oil and mining companies report the sums they pay to the governments of developing countries. (Steve Hilton, founding partner of the social marketing company Good Business, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 17 July 2002)

Concern about rice production practices - "There is an increasing concern about the current rice production practices meeting demands, contributing effectively to rural poverty alleviation and minimizing environmental degradation," the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warns (UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 17 July 2002)

Groundbreaking Report Challenges Conventional Wisdom on Role of Business in Emerging Markets -...A report published today overturns conventional wisdom by showing that it does pay for businesses in emerging markets to pursue a wider role on environmental and social issues. (International Finance Corporation, SustainAbility, Ethos Institute of Brazil, 17 July 2002)

• {···español} Un nuevo informe desafía los criterios tradicionales sobre la función de las empresas en los mercados emergentes - · El primer estudio en gran escala de más de 240 casos evaluados en los países en desarrollo demuestra que la sostenibilidad permite obtener beneficios financieros a las empresas de los mercados emergentes (Corporación Financiera Internacional, SustainAbility, Instituto Ethos de Brasil, 17 julio 2002)

• {···français} Un rapport novateur bat en brèche les idées reçues sur le rôle des entreprises dans les économies émergentes - Cette première étude approfondie de l'expérience des pays en développement apporte la preuve des avantages financiers que procure la recherche d'un développement durable aux sociétés des marchés émergents (Société financière internationale, SustainAbility, l'Institut Ethos du Brésil, 17 juillet 2002)

• full report: Developing Value - The Business Case for sustainability in Emerging Markets (International Finance Corporation, SustainAbility, Ethos Institute, July 2002)

Chevron near deal to end women's sit-in [Nigeria] - Chevron, Nigeria's third-largest oil producer, said it was drawing up a memorandum of understanding in response to the women's demands for jobs for their sons and greater community development. (Michael Peel, Financial Times, 17 July 2002)

• Oil deal 'off', Nigerian women say -...the women said negotiators for the Chevron oil company were not "sincere" and were not committing themselves to anything by way of agreement. (BBC News, 16 July 2002)

New Standard for Corporate Social Responsibility of Drugs Companies - Oxfam, Save the Children and VSO have developed an industry standard for assessing the corporate social responsibility of drugs companies in responding to the health crisis in the developing world. - In a new report, Beyond Philanthropy, published today, the three development agencies propose a set of benchmarks to assist investors in assessing the social responsibility of pharmaceutical companies. These benchmarks relate to company policies and practices in five key areas which impact on access to medicines for the 14 million children and adults who die each year from infectious diseases, especially HIV/AIDS. The key areas are: pricing, patents, joint public private initiatives, research and development and appropriate use of medicines. (Oxfam, Save the Children and VSO, 16 July 2002)

• full report: Beyond Philanthropy: the pharmaceutical industry, corporate social responsibility and the developing world (Oxfam, Save the Children and VSO, July 2002)

'Deal reached' in Nigeria oil protest - Women protesters who have besieged an oil terminal in southern Nigeria for more than a week say they have reached a deal with the refinery owners to end their blockade...According to Mr Filgate [of Chevron Texaco], the company has agreed to build a town hall in the village of Ugborodo - home to many of the protesters - and build schools and electrical and water systems. "We now have a different philosophy, and that is do more with communities," AP quoted Mr Filgate as saying following talks with the women. (BBC News, 15 July 2002)

Exposed: Double standards of dirty energy exports [UK] - Export credit agencies help flog coal, nuclear technologies to developing countries - Export credit agencies (ECAs) are little-known but important accomplices in the cynical practice of exporting dirty and outmoded technology to developing countries. This business exposes citizens of the developing world to health and environmental risks and contributes to the growing burden of climate changing gases in the atmosphere. (Greenpeace, 12 July 2002)

• report: Executive Summary - Exporting pollution: Double standards in UK energy exports - The last ten years have seen substantial financing by export credit agencies of fossil fuel power projects in developing countries – projects that will emit millions of tonnes of climate changing gases into our atmosphere for decades to come. (Greenpeace, 12 July 2002)

Corrupt Practices Continue in Developing World - Critics - The multinational firms recently fingered for corrupt practices in the United States may be practising similar operations on a larger scale in developing countries...Multinational watchdog Corpwatch says that these firms violate international law on many counts, including social and environmental violations and with flagrant corruption. (Emad Mekay, Inter Press Service, 11 July 2002) 

Responsibility vs. accountability - Counter viewpoint: Joshua Karliner and Kenny Bruno, CorpWatch, San Francisco - The world has moved backward on environment and development since Rio. Governments surely bear primary responsibility for this failure. However, global corporations are at the root of many of the most intractable problems and have hamstrung governments preparing for Earth Summit II in Johannesburg, South Africa. [refers to Shell & Enron]. (Joshua Karliner & Kenny Bruno, in International Herald Tribune, 10 July 2002)

NIGERIA: Women protesters hold 700 oil workers hostage - At least 150 women protesters have besieged Chevron-Texaco’s main oil export facility in Nigeria’s southern oil region to back demands for jobs for their children...Disruptions of oil operations are common in the Niger Delta oil region, where impoverished local people accuse oil companies and their government partners of neglect despite the huge oil wealth pumped from their land. But this is the first such action taken exclusively by women. (U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks, 10 July 2002)

The Private Sector - White Gold [South Africa] - Right in their backyard - Just down the road from the wealthy Johannesburg suburb of Sandton, home to the World Summit on Susutainable Development 2002 venue, a human and environmental tragedy is being played out that has nothing to do with sustainability and everything to do with big business’ push for profits at any cost...since the city’s water services were sold off to French-based multinational Suez (formerly Suez Lyonnaise) the bills have tripled and many people [in community of Alexandra, a shanty-town in Johannesburg] can no longer afford to keep the water flowing. (Corporate Watch [UK], 9 July 2002)

• company website: Suez

Tibet group slams oil giants over China pipeline - Pro-Tibet activists accused oil giants [Shell, ExxonMobil, & Russia's Gazprom] last week of exploiting lands they said were under Chinese occupation, by agreeing to help build a $20 billion gas pipeline in China's Muslim-majority region of Xinjiang. Royal Dutch/Shell Group, the lead partner in the consortium of three oil majors, responded that the project would bring jobs and cash to some of China's poorest areas and help clean up smoggy coastal cities. (Reuters, 9 July 2002)

• Shell, ExxonMobil and Gazprom sign up for controversial West - East pipeline, joining BP in supporting PetroChina's implementation of political Development Plan -...Free Tibet Campaign, working in solidarity with exiled Uighurs, opposes the West - East pipeline on the grounds that China is exploiting resources which rightfully belong to people under occupation, and that the project is part of China's Western Development Plan designed to consolidate political control of Tibet and East Turkestan. (Free Tibet Campaign, 4 July 2002)

• Tibet campaigners question Shell and UN Development Programme over controversial West - East pipeline (Free Tibet Campaign, 2 July 2002)

IMF: Officials Respond To Book By Former World Bank Economist Stiglitz - International Monetary Fund officials and former World Bank Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz have squared off in person and in print over a new book [Globalization and its Discontents] in which Stiglitz criticizes the fund for overemphasizing austerity measures in crisis countries. (UN Wire, 8 July 2002)

Cybernet, Shekha sign contract [Bangladesh] - Cybernet, a computer service provider and Banchte Shekha, an NGO, signed a contract for an education project...The objective of the project is to provide IT education to the deprived poor grass-roots people in the rural areas and help them to better their socio-economic conditions. (sourced from The Independent [Bangladesh], ProPoor website, 8 July 2002)

Peruvian's love root under threat - Today ActionAid joins the tug-of-love between poor farmers and a US corporation over a natural alternative to Viagra. The international charity is joining the global campaign calling on PureWorld Botanicals to drop its patents on maca, a sexual stimulant grown high in the Peruvian mountains. Local people risk losing out on booming profits as patents lodged by the US corporation could stop them selling extracts of the plant in the UK and the rest of the world. (ActionAid, 7 July 2002)

Globalization and Future of Poor Countries -...Many poor nations are unable to make the necessary investment and will slide back in the global race. Globalization of the culture of the rich, marked by extravaganza and lack of social commitments, is deeply troubling for the future of the poor. The mirage of an amoral, cynical and affluent lifestyle, constantly beamed and wired to the world, is fast destroying the moral fabric of economically poor, but culturally rich societies and endangering the peaceful advancement of human civilization. (M. Monwarul Islam, Independent [Bangladesh], 6 July 2002)

A Hopeful Way Out of Poverty -...Communications and information technology have enormous potential in furthering sustainable development. (Shashi Tharoor, United Nations Undersecretary-General for Communications and Public Information, in International Herald Tribune, 5 July 2002)

ARAB STATES: U.N. Study Shows Lack Of Freedom Hinders Development - The development of Arab nations is significantly hindered by lack of freedom, repression of women and an inadequate education system, according to a U.N. Development Program-sponsored report slated for release today in Cairo...Arab scholars and experts compiled the report over an 18-month period, with the result representing the first such study conducted by Arab rather than outside experts (UN Wire, 2 July 2002)

• full report: The Arab Human Development Report 2002: Creating opportunities for future generations (U.N. Development Programme, 2002)

• First Arab Human Development Report spotlights gains against poverty (U.N. Development Programme, 2 July 2002)

• Arab world urged to address human rights -...In a stinging indictment of the region's performance, the Arab Human Development Report issued on Monday highlights the failure of governments to turn the region's vast oil wealth into economic benefits (Roula Khalaf, Financial Times, 1 July 2002)

• Arab Report Cites Development Obstacles: Study Blames Poor Education, Political Repression, Treatment of Women (Karen DeYoung, Washington Post, 2 July 2002) 

Coffee is more than a beverage to most of the world -...My company -- a Bay Area gourmet coffee roaster that distributes nationwide [USA] -- spends at least four months each year directly aiding (providing houses, schools, etc.) farmers in Latin America, Indonesia and Africa...the socially conscious can urge coffee drinkers coast to coast to pressure roasters to establish "social contracts" with farms that include: -- Multiyear fixed prices well above the cost of production -- Programs that provide basic amenities (nutrition, health care, education, housing, sanitary living and working conditions) for coffee farm workers -- Direct payment and implementation of materials and services to coffee workers -- rather than merely donating a percentage of sales to farms. (Jon B. Rogers, founder and president of San Leandro-based San Francisco Bay Gourmet Coffee Co, in San Francisco Chronicle, 1 July 2002)

The Corporate Key: Using Big Business to Fight Global Poverty (George C. Lodge, Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School, in Foreign Affairs, July/Aug. 2002)

The Cartel of Good Intentions - The world’s richest governments have pledged to boost financial aid to the developing world. So why won’t poor nations reap the benefits? Because in the way stands a bloated, unaccountable foreign aid bureaucracy out of touch with sound economics. The solution: Subject the foreign assistance business to the forces of market competition. (William Easterly, Senior Fellow of the Center for Global Development and the Institute for International Economics in Washington, D.C., in Foreign Policy, July-Aug. 2002)

Globalization for Whom? -...It will take a lot of work to make globalization's rules friendlier to poor nations. Leaders of the advanced countries will have to stop dressing up policies championed by special interests at home as responses to the needs of the poor in the developing world. (Dani Rodrik, Harvard Magazine, July/Aug. 2002)

The Corporate Key: Using Big Business to Fight Global Poverty -...Success this time will require a new institution that can harness the capabilities of global corporations and, helped by loans from development agencies, directly attack the root causes of poverty. (George C. Lodge, in Foreign Affairs, July/Aug. 2002)

Is inequality decreasing? David Dollar and Aart Kraay claimed in these pages that globalization reduced economic inequality. Three writers argue they got it wrong, and the authors respond. (Foreign Affairs, July/Aug. 2002)

• original article: Spreading the Wealth: One of the main claims of the antiglobalization movement is that globalization is widening the gap between the haves and the have-nots...The problem with this new conventional wisdom is that the best evidence available shows the exact opposite to be true. So far, the current wave of globalization, which started around 1980, has actually promoted economic equality and reduced poverty. (David Dollar and Aart Kraay, economists at the World Bank's Development Research Group, in Foreign Affairs, Jan.-Feb. 2002)

• Response: By the Numbers -...My own work, in contrast, shows a clear and severe global pattern of rising inequality in industrial pay, beginning in the early 1980s. (James K. Galbraith, in Foreign Affairs, July/Aug. 2002)

• Response: Inequality Is No Myth - David Dollar and Aart Kraay's argument that globalization is a "powerful force for equality" is strange in light of widely accepted empirical evidence that inequality within and between countries has increased over the last 200 years. (Joe W. Pitts, in Foreign Affairs, July/Aug. 2002)

• Response: Having It Both Ways - David Dollar and Aart Kraay's claim that "globalization ... has actually promoted economic equality and reduced poverty" is based on a selective use of data and dubious assumptions about causality. (Andrew Wells-Dang, in Foreign Affairs, July/Aug. 2002)

• Dollar and Kraay reply (David Dollar and Aart Kraay, in Foreign Affairs, July/Aug. 2002)

Review: The Globalization Wars: An Economist Reports From the Front Lines [review of Globalization and Its Discontents by Joseph Stiglitz] (Barry Eichengreen, in Foreign Affairs, July/Aug. 2002)

Development Aggression: Observations on Human Rights Conditions in the PT Freeport Indonesia Contract of Work Areas With Recommendations [West Papua, Indonesia] - This paper is a presentation of observations, conclusions, and recommendations regarding human rights conditions in the PT Freeport Indonesia [majority owned and controlled by US-based mining company Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc] Contract of Work areas in Papua, Indonesia...The presentation below has been circumscribed by Freeport's lack of cooperation and other interference with the assessment process...Some of these violations - such as those caused by environmental destruction - are the direct by-products of Freeport's mining operations. Others - such as physical attacks - are the result of the illegal, indiscriminate, and/or disproportionate use of force against civilians by the Indonesian military and police providing security for and funded by Freeport. (Abigail Abrash, consultant for the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, July 2002)

• company website: Freeport in Papua (Freeport-McMoRan)

• company website: Fast Fact: Human Rights (Freeport-McMoRan)

• company website: Fast Fact: Benefits for the Papuan People (Freeport-McMoRan)

Making Fair Trade Work in Mexico - In Mexico, a growing number of coops, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), microenterprises, and campesino groups are proving that fair trade offers a viable alternative to communities struggling to cope with globalization [refers to initiatives relating to agriculture, food, cosmetics, coffee, ecotourism, chocolate, retail; also refers to indigenous groups] (Talli Nauman, Americas Program, Interhemispheric Resource Center, July 2002)

Those who bear the scars of SA mines hail new law [South Africa] - Many who contributed to the wealth of the nation still live in poverty -...Minerals and Energy Minister Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has used Pondoland and Kimberley, the diamond-mining centre of the Northern Cape, as an example of how the previous laws ignored the development of communities from whom labour and resources were drawn. "Communities that live in close proximity to rich resources should be addressed in a manner that takes them out of poverty," she said. (Sechaba Ka'Nkosi, Sunday Times [South Africa], 30 June 2002)

G-8: Wealthy Countries Pledge Billions For Africa, Back NEPAD (UN Wire, 28 June 2002)

• Africa aid plan inadequate, agencies say (Christopher Adams & Ken Warn, Financial Times, 27 June 2002)

CHINA: UNDP Warns Of Need For Political Reform, Environmental Protection -...The China Human Development Report 2002, which was produced by the Stockholm Environment Institute in collaboration with the U.N. Development Program, urges the Chinese government to abandon its strategy of "getting rich fast and cleaning up later," and implement "green" development strategies and a more participatory government...According to the report, China's business elite has used its "strong influence" with the central government to thwart environmental reforms. (UN Wire, 28 June 2002)

• UNDP urges political reform in China - A scathing UN-sponsored report published Friday urged the Chinese government to implement political reforms if it is to head off a mounting environment catastrophe as well as growing social unrest (AFP, in Times of India, 28 June 2002)

Hill and Knowlton and Ashoka Form Precedent-Setting Global Partnership: First-Ever Global Pro-Bono Partnership between PR Firm and a Citizen Sector Organization - Hill and Knowlton and Ashoka: Innovators for the Public have formed a global partnership through which Hill and Knowlton will provide pro bono public relations services to build awareness of Ashoka as a world leader in the growing area of social entrepreneurship. (Ashoka, 27 June 2002)

Private sector key to success of African development plan - Business leaders with interests in Africa have warned the Group of Eight summit that the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), could not succeed without greater private sector involvement. (International Chamber of Commerce, 27 June 2002)

WTO: World Bank Releases Guide On Trade And Development (UN Wire, 27 June 2002)

• Global Trade a Tool for Development: New handbook on trade policies and the ways developing countries can use the WTO to accelerate growth and reduce poverty (World Bank, 26 June 2002)

• full text: Development, Trade, and the WTO (Bernard M. Hoekman, Philip English, Aaditya Mattoo; World Bank, June 2002) 

Official Says: Puebla-Panama plan is not "savage capitalism" - The coordinator of a mega development project that will extend from southern Mexico to Panama responded Tuesday to its critics, saying the plan is not one of "savage capitalism" and will not destroy the environment or erode Indian rights. (Edgar Hernandez, EFE, 26 June 2002)

World Bank conferences closes with words of hope for the poor - A World Bank conference closed Wednesday with words of hope for the poor and warnings of the threats of uncontrolled globalization and development. (Doug Mellgren, Associated Press, 26 June 2002)

Fedusa calls on state to help feed the poor [South Africa] - The Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) has called on government to enter into a partnership with business, nongovernmental organisations and trade unions to distribute food to poor communities in the country. (Business Day [South Africa], 26 June 2002)

Let Them Sweat -...sweatshops are the only hope of kids like Ahmed Zia, a 14-year-old boy here in Attock [Pakistan], a gritty center for carpet weaving. (Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times, 25 June 2002)

• Third-World Workers - Nicholas D. Kristof is correct when he says multinational companies can benefit workers in third-world countries, but wrong when he suggests that sweatshop jobs are better than no jobs at all. (Letter to the Editor of New York Times, from Doug Cahn, V.P., Human Rights Programs, Reebok International, 2 July 2002)

Aid is fine - but trade is what poor countries need most (Maria Livanos Cattaui, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce, 25 June 2002)

DOT Force releases report on bridging global digital divide - The G8 Digital Opportunities Task Force, or DOT Force, today released a report that outlines how governments, businesses and civil society can work together to advance human development and reduce poverty through the use of information and communications technologies. (G8 Digital Opportunities Task Force [DOT Force], 25 June 2002)

• {···français} Les technologies de l'information au service de tous (GEANT - Groupe d'experts sur l'accès aux nouvelles technologies, juin 2002)

The poor's best hope: Removing trade barriers is not just a job for the rich. The poor must do the same in order to prosper, says Jagdish Bhagwati (Jagdish Bhagwati, Professor at Columbia University, in Economist, 20 June 2002)

Corporate secrecy oils the wheels of poverty - While oil, gas and minerals are by far the largest sources of state revenue for the world's poorest nations, these resources, which should help fund development and sustainable economic growth, all too often turn out to be a curse, leading to increased poverty, child malnutrition and civil conflict. At the heart of this paradox is the secrecy surrounding payments by oil and mining companies to governments - a lack of transparency that provides the perfect cover for corruption and embezzlement by ruling elites. (Simon Taylor, Director of Global Witness, in International Herald Tribune, 20 June 2002)

High street shops under attack for their ethics [UK] - High street shops have scored poorly in a survey rating businesses on their support for ethical trading practices. The survey...awarded marks to businesses according to their stance on issues such as child labour, poverty wages and poor working conditions. The Co-op, Body Shop and DIY chain B&Q all scored highly. But the survey said most high street shops either had no code of conduct to cover unfair trading issues, refused to publish one or declined to allow their codes to be independently checked. (Henrykl Zientek, Huddersfield Daily Examiner [UK], 20 June 2002)

ILO annual Conference adopts new measures to tackle the challenges of globalization - The International Labour Organization (ILO) concluded its 90th annual Conference today after adopting a series of measures designed to promote a more rigorous approach to tackling the challenges of globalization and create an "anchor" for personal security through poverty reduction, job creation and improved workplace health and safety. (International Labour Organization, 20 June 2002)

• LABOR: ILO Ends Meeting By Adopting New Measures On Globalization (UN Wire, 21 June 2002)

Fair trade demo attracts record numbers [UK] - Campaigners calling for a better deal for poor countries in the world trading system swamped parliament yesterday in the largest mass lobby of MPs to date (Charlotte Denny, Guardian [UK], 20 June 2002)

UN volunteers programme teams up with BASF to help developing countries - The United Nations Volunteers programme (UNV) today announced the launch of a cooperation agreement with BASF, one of the world's leading chemical companies, to promote the services of corporate volunteers in developing countries...Under provisions of the UNV-BASF agreement, the company pays the salary of its employees during the volunteer mission (United Nations, 19 June 2002)

• Global Compact: U.N. Volunteers Team Up With BASF (UN Wire, 21 June 2002)

100m more must survive on $1 a day: IMF and World Bank told to stop peddling discredited policies -...An in-depth [United Nations] study into the world's 49 least developed countries rejects claims that globalisation is good for the poor (Charlotte Denny & Larry Elliott, Guardian [UK], 19 June 2002)

CEOs pledge no less than 20 per cent of philanthropic budgets to ICT [information and communications technology] for development: Microsoft Joins Hewlett Packard, Equitable Cardnetwork, Masreya, MIH Group, Vivendi Universal as Signatory of CEO Charter for Digital Development - At a special meeting of the General Assembly today, Microsoft announced its commitment to pledge no less than 20 per cent of its philanthropic budget to information and communications technology (ICT) for development under the CEO Charter for Digital Development, a recent initiative by the World Economic Forum. (United Nations, 17 June 2002)

• TECHNOLOGY: U.N. Calls On Rich, Poor To Bridge Digital Gap (UN Wire, 19 June 2002)

UN procurement, especially Afghan reconstruction, attracts Turkish businesses - UNDP Turkey organized the event [seminar in Ankara] in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Foreign Economic Relations Board. The ICKALE Group, a major Turkish company, provided logistic support...Mehmet Kececiler, Minister of State [of Turkey], and business representatives who accompanied him during a recent visit to Kabul, said that Afghanistan re-construction is not just a business opportunity but also an ethical responsibility, which businesses should assume by showing solidarity with the Afghan people. (U.N. Development Programme, 14 June 2002)

International Aid & Trade New York 2002 - Trade and Development: Building Capacity for Sustainable Markets - June 19-20, 2002 - New York - [conference for those involved in provision of international humanitarian aid] This year the event is focused on Sustainable Procurement through Environmentally and Socially Responsible Procurement (ESRP)...The conference is supported by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The exhibition features companies that work with multilateral organisations, including the UN, IFIs, the Red Cross and various NGOs, which will reflect the conference theme by showcasing goods and services from commercial concerns that incorporate social and environmental considerations into the formation of their services and product solutions. (International Aid & Trade, 14 June 2002)

United Nations Reports on Growing Importance of Partnerships with Business - "Building Partnerships" Book Shows How UN System, Private Sector and Civil Society Are Working Together on Range of Critical Global Issues (U.N. Global Compact, 14 June 2002)

George Soros and NGOs Call for Rules to Require Corporations to Disclose Payments - International financier and philanthropist George Soros launched a call to governments across the globe for transnational resource extraction companies to 'Publish What You Pay'. Mr. Soros has teamed up with a coalition of over 30 NGOs to insist that oil, gas and mining companies must publish net taxes, fees, royalties and other payments as a condition for being listed on international stock exchanges and financial markets. The coalition includes Amnesty International, CAFOD, Christian Aid, Friends of the Earth, Global Witness, Oxfam, Save the Children and Transparency International. (Open Society Institute, 13 June 2002)

• Soros aims to stop graft in mining and oil projects -...Mr Soros, supported by leading non-governmental organisations such as Global Witness, wants to make it mandatory for companies to break down payments, such as taxes and royalties, on a country-by-country basis to individual governments. (Nicholas Shaxson, Financial Times, 13 June 2002)

• Transparent Corruption - Oil and natural resource companies should make clear how much money is being taken by officials, says George Soros -...Though blessed with valuable minerals such as oil, diamonds and gold, the ordinary people of Angola, Nigeria, Kazakhstan and elsewhere are mired in poverty while corrupt officials prosper. (George Soros, in Financial Times, 13 June 2002)

• Frequently Asked Questions about the "Publish What You Pay" Campaign

• List of NGOs that are members of the "Publish What They Pay" coalition

New bill calls for corporate responsibility [UK] - A broad coalition of human rights, environment and development organisations today launched a private members Bill to demand greater social and environmental accountability from business. The bill is being tabled by Linda Perham, MP, and is backed by Amnesty International (UK), Friends of the Earth, the New Economics Foundation, Save the Children (UK) and CAFOD. The legislation has been drafted as a response to the failure of the voluntary approach to corporate responsibility (Friends of the Earth, 12 June 2002)

• MP leads call for corporate ethics bill [UK] - It calls for social, financial and environmental reporting to be made mandatory, requires companies to consult on big projects and demands rights of redress for citizens negatively impacted by business activities. (Terry Macalister, Guardian [UK], 13 June 2002)

Biotech sector urged to focus on problems of poor countries - The biotechnology sector must develop drugs and crops that address problems in the developing world, and work more closely with non- governmental organisations, if its growing international presence is not to provoke a backlash, according to an industry leader [Carl Feldbaum, president of the Biotechnology Industry Organisation] (Geoff Dyer, Financial Times, 12 June 2002)

"African Oil Policy Initiative Group" - U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa - Statement of Chairman Ed Royce -...Let's be frank: oil development has proven to be more of a curse than a blessing for many developing nations. Few have put oil revenue to good use. Oil revenue has often been squandered...In the worst cases, oil has fueled civil war. This has been the case in Angola for years; over the last few years, oil has intensified the long and brutal war in Sudan...[The] Chad-Cameroon Pipeline Project...brings together the World Bank, energy companies, the governments of Chad and Cameroon, and civil society...in an effort to see that the oil revenue...works toward the goal of national development...I believe this approach holds great promise for current and future African oil producing nations...The practice of turning a blind eye as oil revenues are misused is not good for our country's strong interest in seeing the world's poorest continent develop; it's certainly not good for Africans; and ultimately it's bad business for energy companies. (U.S. State Department, 12 June 2002)

World's poor miss out on ethical investment boom - British ethical investment funds have largely steered clear of the developing world, where working conditions are often poor and economic growth needed most. Fund managers say that although they would like to invest in poor nations and force change for the better, companies are too opaque to even allow them to get started. (Oliver Bullough, Reuters, 12 June 2002)

World Bank inspectors attack Uganda dam - A controversial hydro-electric dam in Uganda backed by the World Bank [proposed Bujagali dam, to be built by U.S. company AES] could damage the environment and lead to unfeasibly high electricity prices, according to the bank's own inspectors. (Alan Beattie, Financial Times, 11 June 2002)

Peru says disputed mine would foil poverty - Peru's prime minister on the weekend urged that plans to develop a controversial $315 million gold and copper mine plan go forward, saying this mineral-rich nation could not let the northern farming valley where the mine would be dug [Tambogrande] languish in poverty. (Reuters, 10 June 2002)

Globalisation Cast Millions to Poverty, Says ILO Africa Boss (African Church Information Service, 10 June 2002)

Canada firm says disputed Peru mine could help poor - Canadian miner Manhattan Minerals Corp this week brushed aside fierce criticism of its proposed Tambogrande gold and copper mine, calling the $315 million project a lucrative opportunity that farmers in a poor northern valley could not afford to pass up. (Missy Ryan, Reuters, 7 June 2002)

Taking Embedded Liberalism Global: The Corporate Connection [Miliband Public Lecture on Global Economic Governance - The London School of Economics and Political Science] -...First, I briefly describe the main drivers of the anti-globalization backlash...Second, I summarize the key features of Kofi Annan’s Global Compact...Third, I locate that initiative within the broader universe of innovations in global governance, and I argue, with due appreciation for the irony, that the corporate sector, which has done more than any other to create the growing gap between global economy and national communities, has a critical role to play in bridging it. (John Gerard Ruggie, Kirkpatrick Professor of International Affairs - Kennedy School of Government - Harvard University, former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, 6 June 2002)

Globalisation Must Not Harm People - The people have the right to question globalisation if its implementation leads to the loss of millions of jobs worldwide, Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today. The Prime Minister [of Malaysia] said although globalisation could not be avoided by any nation or group, it should be re-shaped to prevent discrimination and favouritism. (Firdaus Abdullah, New Straits Times [Malaysia], 4 June 2002)

Peruvian farmers vote against gold mine - Citizens of the Peruvian municipality of Tambogrande stated loud and clear in Sunday's referendum that they do not want the gold under their village to be mined [proposed mine by Manhattan Minerals] (Friends of the Earth, 4 June 2002)

Peru mining vote "suspicious" - Manhattan Minerals - Canadian miner Manhattan Minerals Corp. yesterday slammed as "suspicious" a weekend vote in which residents of the Tambogrande valley in northern Peru voted overwhelmingly to reject a planned $315 million gold and copper mine...98.65 percent of residents voted against the controversial mining project in a nonbinding referendum organized by the local municipal government. (Reuters, 4 June 2002)

• {···español} 98,6% de votantes se manifiestan contra explotación minera de Manhattan [Perú]: Tambogrande dio lección democrática en consulta vecinal (Marilú Ruiz y Juan Cabrejos, Diario La República [Perú], 3 junio 2002)

• Mine Prospect Looms Over Northern Peruvian Farmers - The Tambogrande district in northern Peru has become the focus of an international controversy over whether a high-grade mineral deposit underneath the town can be developed into a gold, copper, zinc mine without causing harm to the environment and a fertile agricultural valley where lemons, mangoes and papayas are grown for export. (Mary Powers, Environment News Service, 28 May 2002)

Buying and Selling: Trade Leads to Greed, Hunger (Absalom Mutere, East African Standard [Kenya], 3 June 2002)

Trade, Environment & Development Series Premieres: Top Experts Clarify, Propose Workable Solutions to Trade Issues - Attempting to break through the logjam of polarized debate over the nature, impact, and future of global trade, the Carnegie Endowment premieres the first policy brief in its Trade, Environment, and Development series. (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 3 June 2002)

• Doha: Is It Really a Development Round? (Kamal Malhotra, Senior Civil Society Advisor at UNDP; Trade Environment, & Development Series; Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, May 2002)

Peru town votes on mine plan amid pollution fears - Some 36,000 Peruvians in the northern town of Tambogrande are set to vote yesterday in a local referendum on whether to keep the status quo in their quiet farming community or embrace big mining with a copper and gold mine which some fear could ruin their livelihood [proposed project by Canadian mining firm Manhattan Minerals] (Eduardo Orozco, Reuters, 3 June 2002) 

There's Only So Much That Foreign Trade Can Do -...Contrary to the view of globalization supporters and even some critics, trade with the United States does not automatically provide Third World workers with the keys to wealth and happiness. (Alan Tonelson, Research Fellow at the U.S. Business and Industry Council Educational Foundation, in Washington Post, 2 June 2002)

Four Indian IT initiatives rewarded for harnessing innovation for poor:  Expat Indians reward four national social entrepreneurs for bridging the great divide between information technology and the common man -...Drishtee, an ISP (internet service proider) offering e-Government solutions in rural villages in India, topped the selected list, with an award of Rs 5 million (Frederick Noronha, InfoChange [India], 1 June 2002)

Bangladesh: Govt to rehabilitate 10,000 child labourers under a pilot project - A pilot project has been taken up that would initially cover Dhaka and Chittagong metropolitan cities. Under this 10,000 child labourers would be withdrawn from selected hazardous sectors and provided non-formal education and skill development training. . Moreover, 5,000 parents of those children would get micro-credit to enable them to do income generation activities (from Independent [Bangladesh], in Child Labour News Service, 1 June 2002) [scroll down on linked page to find this item]

Show the G8 the red card - G8's uncontrolled trade in arms and military aid undermines fundamental human rights -...too often, by exporting military and security equipment, the G8 are contributing to human rights abuses and undermining the prospects for social and economic development around the world. (Amnesty International, June 2002)

• Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Khan's letter to companies on the trade of illicit arms (Amnesty International, June 2002)

• Amnesty International Launches Initiative on Small Arms (U.N. Global Compact, June 2002)

• {···español} «Tarjeta roja» al G8 - El comercio de armas y la ayuda militar no controlados del G8 socavan los derechos humanos fundamentales (Amnistía Internacional, junio 2002)

• {···français} Carton rouge pour le G8 - Le commerce des armes et l'aide militaire incontrôlés des pays du G8 portent atteinte aux droits fondamentaux (Amnesty International, juin 2002)