Written by Kris Hannigan-Luther
Watch for news coming out of New York this week on the United Nations Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impacts on Development. During this three-day summit of world leaders the aim is “to identify emergency and long-term responses to mitigate the impact of the crisis, especially on vulnerable populations, and initiate a needed dialogue on the transformation of the international financial architecture, taking into account the needs and concerns of all Member States, “ according to the U.N. website.
In and around the New York headquarters of the U.N., a broad-based coalition of international, national, and local civil society organizations and networks, is organizing the “Peoples´ Voices on the Crisis” side events in order to showcase the real human and environmental impacts of the crisis, as well as to provide a space for civil society activists to discuss how to build a global movement to ensure that these potential solutions to the crisis are built upon the principles of respect for human rights and the promotion of environmental sustainability.
The Democracy Center will be participating with our U.S. partner, Institute for Policy Studies, to bring attention to the related issue of trade agreements’ foreign investor rights. Our team here at the Center has invested many hours over the past several months on this issue of excessive “investor protections” in bilateral trade agreements and investment treaties.
If you live in the New York area, join us for a panel discussion Tuesday at 7:30 at the Brecht Forum. The title of the panel discussion is “Towards a People-Centered Economy: Alternative responses to the Crisis.“ The panelists include: Sarah Anderson from Institute for Policy Studies and Pedro Paez, Ex-Minister of Economic Coordination, Ecuador and member of Commission of Experts of the President of the UN General Assembly on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System.
During the summit, Fundación Solon, the Institute for Policy Studies(IPS) and the Democracy Center are hosting a strategy meeting to discuss how to advance the global campaign to close the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), and challenge unjust investment agreements.
We have recently learned that both President Correa (Ecuador) and President Morales (Bolivia) have confirmed their attendance and participation in a Thursday evening side event focusing on the secretive trade court tribunal, the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). With the participation of these Heads of State, we are confident that together we can challenge these unjust investor protections. Stay tuned for updates from this week’s summit and information on how you can get involved!
