Christian Aid is one of the most politically conscious of the international charities based in Britain.
B. PROPOSED REFORMS OF THE WTO ------------------------------
Christian Aid believes that in order to enure that WTO rules really are in the interests of the whole of the world's population, delegations should be more equal in size and more open about the contacts they have with different lobby groups. The principles of openness and avoiding conflicts of interests are well established in the national governments of industrialised countries, and they need to take the lead in ensuring that the same standards are maintained in a body which is, according to its former director general "writing the constitution of the single global economy"
Chris Burford -------------------------------
[funding, monitoring, disclosure reforms, sniped. See: http://www.christian-aid.org.uk/main.htm]
I read through these reforms and pondered.
If the WTO is supposed to be writing the constitution of a global economy, then I would suggest it acknowledge its true mentor in its founding design, as well as in these current undertakings: the international drug cartels (IDCs) of the Americas, Asia, and Europe.
The IDCs of course were the avant-guard of our new global economy and have obviously set the agenda for WTO and others to follow. It is simply a call to give credit were credit is due. I believe the IDCs already have pushed through many of the reforms now suggested for the WTO, although they seem a little reluctant to separate their leadership from detailed involvement with day to day business affairs. Perhaps the WTO can claim some modest lead in this regard.
I think with a little reflection, it is possible to see quite a few connections between the general design, purposes, activities, and goals which appear to me to be shared at least at the operational level, between the WTO and the IDCs. Among these are the elimination of various barriers of law and practice that restrict free trade, restrict access to local markets, and inhibit the growth and development of human and natural resources for both the producers and consumers of the world.
I am looking forward to a new era in which these sister organizations, the WTO and the IDC's will work more closely with the various international financial systems to bring us all into the new millennium. As a gesture toward this unacknowledged unity of vision between them, I think we in the US should extend an open invitation to both groups to meet here in perhaps Miami or Los Angeles.
Oh, and Happy New Year, 2000.
Chuck Grimes