Laws: July, 2003 - Number #24

Globalization, the increased connectedness of people despite national borders, is reflected in increased trade and capital flows. The industrial democracies, in their third year of slow growth, want to complete another round of trade liberalization, but developing countries are insisting that they, as well as the rich countries, benefit from further globalization. They have targeted the farm subsidies of rich nations that, they claim, make it hard or impossible for them to sell profitably their agricultural commodities to developed countries.

Many leaders of developing nations are questioning the "Washington consensus" path to development, which includes budget discipline, deregulation and the liberalization of trade and finance, noting that China has been growing rapidly without these policies, while Latin America, which followed them, has stagnated. Some development economists urge diverse policies, with recommendations for each country based on sound economic principles but built around local capabilities, constraints and opportunities.

World trade as a percentage of global GDP fell from 20 to 19 percent between 2000 and 2002, and the so-called Doha round of trade talks is scheduled to reduce trade barriers by 2005. However, negotiators are making slow progress on agricultural subsidies and drug patents; developing countries want rich countries to reduce farm subsidies and to allow them to make generic copies of drugs.

Unless trade negotiations produce a result that "allows developing countries to benefit from globalization," many developing countries say they will block a new round of reforms that free up trade. Many developing country leaders say that "The virtuous circle - we were to import capital goods from the industrialized nations and they were to buy our agricultural produce - never happened."

There may also be deeper fears, such as the example of China, which has grown fast in the 1990s while keeping out many imports. This has made many countries reluctant to lower trade barriers, following the US lead in 2002 when new tariffs were levied on foreign steel to protect the US industry.

The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families, approved by the UN General Assembly December 18, 1990, went into force July 1, 2003. It aims "to foster orderly migration among the countries of origin, transit and destination." (http://www.december18.net/unchrreports2003.htm)

The leaders of the G-8 nations met June 1-3, 2003 in Evian, France, and nearby Geneva, Switzerland was the site of numerous demonstrations, including one against the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Marching under a No Borders banner, protesters said "the IOM is a natural enemy of any migrant, an enemy of freedom of movement."

A global fund was established in 2002 to combat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, seeking $10 to $12 billion a year. The US contributes a third of the fund's resources. The World Health Organization reported in May 2003 that 10 percent of the 50 million people who die each year were victims of injuries. Traffic accidents were the leading cause of injury-deaths, 1.3 million a year; followed by suicides, 815,000; and interpersonal violence, 520,000.

Refugees. On World Refugee Day, June 20, 2003, UNHCR announced that there were 10.3 million refugees at the beginning of 2003, down 14 percent from 2002 as some two million Afghans returned to Afghanistan. Other significant returns in 2002 included 76,000 Sierra Leoneans; 53,000 Burundians; 37,000 Bosnians; 32,000 Somalis; and 32,000 East Timorese.

The world's refugees in 2003 included 4.2 million in Asia, 3.3 million in Africa, and 2.2 million in Europe.

In 2002, some 587,000 foreigners applied for asylum, including 465,000 in Europe (381,600 in EU countries); it is estimated that 50 to 75 percent of asylum seekers in Europe are smuggled to the countries in which they apply. The UK received the most asylum applicants, 110,700; followed by the US, 81,100; and Germany, 71,100. According to UNHCR, some 19,600 persons received asylum in 2002, down 41 percent from 2001, including 8,100 in the US.

The US GAO issued a report that concluded UNHCR was not doing enough to prevent sexual exploitation in refugee camps. The US contributed $265 million to UNHCR in 2002, a third of its budget. The GAO noted that Europe, with four percent of the world's refugees, has 22 percent of UNHCR field personnel.

Trafficking. The US released its annual report on international trafficking, estimating that 800,000 to 900,000 people worldwide are taken across borders to work against their will, including 18,000 to 20,000 into the US. The 15 worst-ranked countries cited for not doing enough to combat trafficking were Belize, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burma, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Georgia, Greece, Haiti, Kazakhstan, Liberia, North Korea, Sudan, Suriname, Turkey and Uzbekistan. (www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2003/)

Population. The UN's most recent population projections put the world's population, now 6.3 billion, at 8.9 billion in 2050, down from previous projections of 9.3 billion because of: (1) more deaths due to AIDS; and (2) faster declines in fertility in developing countries than were previously projected.

There were 7.3 million people with financial assets of $1 million or more at the end of 2002, a total of $26 trillion, according to the World Wealth Report.

American multinationals are being sued in US courts for their activities overseas. Over 90 percent of the union leaders killed world wide are killed in Colombia, often by paramilitary groups that, the suits allege, are acting on behalf of multinationals. The 214-year old US Alien Tort Claims Act, originally used to combat piracy, is being used to sue US firms in US courts for their activities overseas, usually with the help of the Washington-based International Labor Rights Fund.

Juan Forero, "Rights Groups Overseas Fight U.S. Concerns in U.S. Courts," New York Times, June 26, 2003. GAO. 2003. Humanitarian Assistance: Protecting Refugee Women and Girls Remains a Significant Challenge.