Northern governments are responding to the economic slowdown by reviving the same 'fossilized institutions' that underpin the financial crisis. The G20 should abandon old ways of global
governance and put in their place a more decentralized, democratic order, says
Walden Bello.
Recession, unemployment and foreclosures represent only the surface level of a deepening global financial crisis. Now, the rise of ethnic strife and civil unrest could characterise a year of social conflict in 2009, says Michael T. Klare.
As the ninth World Social Forum (WSF) came to a close last week in the
Amazon basin, the simultaneous meeting of select business leaders and
policymakers at the exclusive ski-resort of Davos, Switzerland, provided a
sharp contrast between a spirit of vibrant public engagement and the mood of
depression at the World Economic Forum.
Human rights are increasingly viewed through the rhetoric of military intervention, democracy and political freedom, whilst the UN's pivotal role in securing social and economic rights in the developing world continues to be marginalised, argues Robin Willoughby.
The following talk by STWR was given at a seminar hosted by World Goodwill on the theme
"Human Rights, Spiritual Responsibilities - A Crisis for Democracy?", held in
London on the 1st November 2008. A transcript and audio of the talk below is presented by Adam W. Parsons.
Sixty years after the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, and in a world gripped by conflicts erupting on almost every continent, what hope
is there for extending respect, freedom and rights to everyone? Perhaps
it's time to rethink the politics of human rights for the 21st century, says Nick Fraser.
