Posted on 9-3-2004

Democratising Globalization - Possible
Quito, Ecuador,

The World Congress of the International Federation for Human Rights
started on March 2, 2004 with an opening ceremony which gathered more than
1500 people in the "Casa de la Cultura" in a tribute to the Columbian
human rights defenders. Distinguished speakers included Shirin Ebadi,
Nobel Peace price, Sidiki Kaba, President of the FIDH, Ricardo Ulcuango,
President of the Indigenous Parliament, Alirio Uribe, President of the
Colectivo de Abogados "José Alvear Restrepo" in Colombia, Patricio Ben
Alcazar, President of INREDH in Ecuador as well as victims of human rights
violations in Colombia.

About 400 human rights activists from all parts of the world attended the
plenary session of the forum "Democratizing globalization" on March 3,
2004, to discuss how to make real the popular slogan of world social
forums "Another world is possible".

The Forum started with an analysis, by Jean-Pierre Dubois, deputy
Secretary General (France) of the FIDH and Francisco Soberón,
Vice-President of the FIDH (Peru), of the new patterns of globalization,
including dramatic changes in economic thought, the emergence of non-state
actors on the international scene, and the evolution of public
international law which challenges the human rights movement. Four themes
will lead the discussions throughout the Congress: "Peace and democracy",
"Security and Democracy", "Human Development and Democracy", "Cultural
diversity and Democracy".

Bruno Cathala, Secretary General of the International Criminal Court,
intervening on the issue "Peace and Democracy", outlined how new
international regulation institutions, including the ICC, could could help
a democratised globalization.

General Robles, from Peru, a symbol of the fight against impunity in Latin
America, introduced the concept of "democratic security" opposed to
state-centered security. "Real security is based on the full respect of
human rights, including social and economic rights", he said. To Peter
Weiss, President of the Center for Constitutional rights (USA), three
elements are detrimental to human and global security: widespread
violations of economic and social rights, the US crusade against
international law, and new nuclear threats.

Nilmario Miranda, the Brasilian Minister of Human Rights, insisted upon
the choice for leaders not to be slaves of "realism" and on the political
possibility of realising economic and social rights.

Introducing the theme "human development and democracy", Manfred
Max-Neeff, economist, clearly distinguished between development and
economic growth. He invited the public in travelling back into history and
into choices that were made but are still possible. Comparing neo-
liberalism to a new dominating religion, he concluded that being heretical
could be salutary... Patricio Pazmiño, from the Ecuadorian Commission on
Economic and Social Rights, strongly denounced the burden of external debt
as well as free-trade agreements in the Americas leading to impoverishment
of entire sectors of the Latin American societies.

Finally, Driss El Yazami, Secretary General of the FIDH, presented the
tension between the indispensable respect for cultural diversity and the
universality of human rights, rejecting both blind equality and cultural
relativism.

The forum is to continue until 4 March 2004 evening, with examination of
reports from its working groups.