Hemispheric Social Alliance Bulletin July 30, 2008
The people's permanent tribunal is an international non-governmental organization which is attempting to make permanent something which began in 1966 as the Russel Tribunals about Vietnam and in 1974 challenging the dictators in Latin America. This is a Tribunal which has the opinion that it is important to continually shed light on the impunity which some governments exercise and the resistance of the people against multiple and systematic violations of human rights which they are subject to, and which their countries are internally unable to contain.
The Tribunal which happened from July 21-23 in Bogota, Colombia, where 1500 delegates from Colombia and 70 international experts came together with other peoples of Latin America. This is part of a process which began in Colombia starting in 2005, with 17 national and international audiences, and 6 specialized audiences where more than 30 multinationals have been brought to trial. The central axes of the tribunals are: multinational companies, the theft of natural resources and the dirty war of the Colombian State with the view towards the expropriation and exploitation of natural resources.
The Tribunal condemned the Colombian State, the home offices of the multinationals, their branches in Colombia and those States who have the home offices of the transnational companies in their territories- for the serious and systematic violations of human rights against the people.
Read more (in Spanish):
- Sentencia TPP Sesión Colombia: www.observatoriocolombia.info/
- Día mundial contra las políticas de las multinacionales: http://www.colectivodeabogados.org/article.php3?id_article=1388
- TPP acusa de genocidio a Alvaro Uribe: www.minkandina.org (este vinculo no le veo importancia)
2. The WTO DOHA round
The Ministerial Declaration by the WTO, which happened in November of 2001 was behind what is now called the 'Doha Round'. After 7 years of intense pressure to have an agreement signed, it appears that the Doha agenda is condemned to failure. In the most recent negotiations, which happened on July 21 in Geneva, they were trying to save the international trade agreement. The civil society presence in Geneva helped to alert public opinion as to the deadly implications of the proposals for certain sectors, particularly for developing countries. Industrial countries pressured others to save the round no matter the cost: they conducted prior meetings to discuss strategies, in closed door sessions, with different countries separated out, with the purpose of diluting the 'development round'.
The challenges of the Round demonstrate how positions diametrically opposed impede a negotiation with symmetry. On one side, the industrialized countries with proposals which don't do anything to improve the level of inequalities, and on the other side, the developing countries increasingly more confined by the world economic policies, in detriment to their autonomy and development. At the center of the controversies, the themes of agriculture and services. The accent of the major world crises, food and climate change are completely missing from the agenda.
Read more:
- Trade: Failure of talks a serious setback, admits Lamy: http://www.twnside.org.sg/title2/wto.info/twninfo20080756.htm
- Trade: Schwab still blaming India and China at press briefing: http://www.twnside.org.sg/title2/wto.info/twninfo20080755.htm
- Alerta mundial por las negociaciones: http://www.rmalc.org.mx/index.shtml
- La OMC Ronda de Doha no va a solucionar la crisis alimentaria mundial:
http://www.movimientos.org/cloc/show_text.php3?key=12725 (este vinculo trae iformacion muy secundaria) ensayar owfins
3. The New Constitution project for Ecuador is presented
On Friday June 25th, in the city of Alfaro, Ecuador the new Constitution of Ecuador was presented. It will be submitted to a national referendum on September 28th. There were 94 votes in favor and 32 against it's approval. This closes another chapter in the process which began with a national consultation in April 2007 and has as its primary goal to improve on the neoliberal model which until now has operated in Ecuador.
The new constitution is a product of an inclusive consensus process, which began last November with a National Constituent Assembly made up of people from different sectors of society. The new Constitution recognizes diversity and incorporates two languages as official languages of the country:(Spanish and Quechua). It also expresses it's attempts to find fairness, justice and an eraticating of discriminations.
The Constitution promotes the way of being 'live well' (sumak kaway), the rights of nature, food sovereignty, the declaration of the State as plurinational and the recognition of the languages Quechua and Shuar as "official languages of inter cultural relations". It also recognizes rights of people, the determination of groups for priority attention, the right to water and to communication, among others, which are expressed in the Constitution and represent advances in the history of Ecuador.
Read More:
Asamblea Constituyente entrega nueva constitución: http://www.boliviasoberana.org/blog/_archives/2008/7/25/3810205.html
Nueva Constitución fue entregada por la Constituyente: www.asambleaconstituyente.gov.ec este vinculo no abre
Dos idiomas indígenas son declarados oficiales: http://www.ecuarunari.org/asamblea/no_20080724.html
4. The Recall Referendum in Bolivia
The recall referendum which will happen on August 10, passed by the Senate 80 days ago and approved by Evo Morales will hopefully mark the end of the political crisis which was provoked when State governors from the "Half Moon" provinces (in the eastern half of Bolivia) carried out autonomy referendums. This conflict between the central government, which the opposition considers illegitimate and the governors who are promoting autonomy projects are at the center of why this Recall Referendum is happening.
This initiative has been seriously questioned, as to its legality as well as political and social legitimacy. These debates have gone beyond the national foro, and the opposition has worked to divide supporters, and now is attempting to stop the referendum to the media, while their followers continue supporting the referendum. The publicity this has ignited, and the mobilization by both opposition and supporters has been widespread and promises to be an historic moment for Bolivia and the rest of Latin America.
Leer más:
- El referéndum: http://alainet.org/active/25382&lang=es
- OEA descarta fraude: http://alainet.org/active/25361&lang=es
- CUT Brasil, solidaria con gobierno Boliviano: http://www.cut.org.br/site/start.cut?infoid=19542&sid=6
5. Civil Society Declaration in defense of services at the WTO
In the framework of attempting to radicalize the liberalization of world trade in the mini-ministerial which happened in the recent Doha Round, the tensions resulted in no agreements being reached in the negotiations. Themes such as agriculture and services are the points of major controversy, where the industrialized countries offered proposals which were not only far from improving the inequalities which exist, they make them more profound.
Civil society organizations who have been observing the negotiations have expressed their concern because of the pressures by the industrialized countries to include as part of the discussions basic services, which are considered vital and have exhorted governments to guarantee these fundamental rights in the developing countries.
One hundred twenty five organizations have denounced that during this round the developing countries have been treated like spectators and convoke these countries to insist in the exclusion of basic services in these negotiations, because they are a threat to the dignity and rights of these countries to decide if they want to participate or not in the negotiations which involve the services sector.
Leer más
-Comunicados de avances en la OMC: www.twnside.org.sg
-Un Nuevo texto de Servicios llama a hacer obligatoria la liberalización en el Acuerdo General de Comercio de Servicios (GATS): http://www.rmalc.org.mx/index.shtml