A Week of Global Action for Human Rights and Social Justice

Gabriele Köhler

This is an important week for social justice. We are so happy that Navi Pillay received the Nobel Peace Prize, for her expertise, courage and lifelong devotion to progress in and defense of the international legal order. As the Nobel Committee put it: “to remind the world that the rule of law – national and international – underpins the system we have set up to ensure peace and resolve conflicts non-violently. Peace requires justice.” Sincere, excited congratulations to Mme Pillay.

This is good news  – which we need to sustain our energy. Because the coming week requires concentrated work for social justice and human rights.

Bangkok:

In Bangkok, the international Financial Institutions – the World Bank and IMF – are convening their annual meeting (12-18 October). Civil society is making a concerted intellectual and advocacy effort to push back against dangerous IMF proposals afloat – namely to put even more stress on low- and middle-income families and countries  through frontloaded fiscal adjustment. To quote the IMF  Managing Director herself:  “Low-income countries, already hurting from financing constraints, high interest-to-revenue ratios, small tax bases, and shrinking aid flows, may be forced to cut much-needed development spending …” . The effects of social spending cuts – austerity politics – are haunting, and long lasting – see for example the impact on education here. Presenting a different, socially just policy path,  progressive groups are mobilising for debt justice, economic justice, climate action, equality, universal social protection and high-quality inclusive public services. Read the comprehensive and rousing civil society programme for Bangkok here .

Geneva:

In Geneva, at the UN Human Rights Council, negotiations resume around a treaty conceived to  regulate transnational business activities (12-16 October). Here, progressive civil society will demand  access to justice and effective remedy for individuals and communities harmed by global value chains, which means recognising gender-specific and vulnerability-based provisions. We will speak out for clear and robust human rights due diligence standards throughout the value chain, including respect for Indigenous Peoples’ right to free, prior and informed consent and access to information. We will call for recognising  the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. And human rights obligations need to prevail in relation to trade and investment agreements, including through Investor-State dispute settlement mechanisms. The treaty under draft must also provide effective protection for human rights defenders, trade unionists and whistleblowers. To illustrate what is meant, activists will speak on 12 October 1 p.m. CEST on pesticides and the harm they inflict on people and the environment, and  on 13 October 1 p.m. CEST on red lines as well as conceivable pathways towards a universally binding treaty.

Everywhere:

The progressive demands civil society is presenting in Bangkok and in Geneva connect – via global value chains, unregulated hyper-globalisation, and the dominance of the IFIs. They all cohere around the defense of our human rights.