DRAFT PROGRAMME OF ACTION

 

AN AGENDA FOR PEACE, SECURITY AND DEVELOPMENT

IN THE 21ST CENTURY

 

 

We, more than 1,000 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have gathered in Seoul, Korea on the eve of the new millennium to:

 

·                     Continue and build upon the work begun at the United Nations world

conferences of the 1990s;

·                     Forge a common vision for the 21st Century;

·                     Organize our collective energy and experience to make this vision a reality.

 

The work of the conference was organized in 10 plenary sessions and 180 workshops.  Our deliberations and dialogue in these meetings provided the foundations for our declaration, “Achieving our Vision for the 21st Century” and the basis of the Draft Programme of Work that follows.  At the outset, we wish to stress that this is a draft, and not a final product.  Our intention has been to begin a process. Which, over the next months, will provide an opportunity for further reflection and contributions, before this document is submitted for consideration at the NGO Millennium Forum in May 22-26, 2000.  We invite all interested NGOs to submit their comments to:

 

                                           The Conference of NGOs

                                           777 United Nations Plaza, 8th Floor

New York, NY  10017, USA

 

                                           FAX:     (212) 986-0821

                                           Phone:    (212) 986-8557

                                           E-Mail:   congongo@aol.com

                     Website: www.conferenceofngos.org

 

The draft plan includes recommendations by the themes that were chosen for the conference, reflecting in large part the major themes of the United Nations conferences of the 1990’s.  In each case the theme refers to a major concern of these conferences and one for which many extensive interventions have been proposed for actions by the United Nations, by regional entities, by governments, local communities and citizens.  Those included in this action plan emphasize actions by NGOs and are actions of such high priority that they merit special attention by an international audience. Through dialogue with NGOs in the coming months, it is hoped that the Final Programme of Action will be a powerful vehicle for focusing attention of NGOs on areas where action is most urgently required.  It will also alert United Nations agencies and governments of these priorities may facilitate their cooperation and support.

 

The plan is organized by themes of the Conference.  In the coming months, these themes may be adjusted, as more NGOs respond to this draft and participate in the process.

 

We are keenly aware, however, that the choice of any theme is an inadequate reflection of the complex and interrelated reality of our world, a world in which almost no activity or issue can be seen is an act in isolation.  Who can speak of social and economic development where there is no peace? How can there be lasting peace where there are systematic violations of human rights.  And we are learning that definitions of real human rights are far more embracing than mere political rights.  The same can be said for gender, sustainable environment, health and education. In the coming months, these interrelationships will need to be considered carefully so that the final plan can be a better reflection of the world in which we all live.

 

A. PEACE AND SECURITY

 

The world is emerging from the bloodiest, most war-ridden century in human history.

Recent years have seen outbreaks of genocide in Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Kosovo, brutal attacks against civilians and the spread of horrendous weapons of mass destruction capable of ending life on much or all of the planet. Indigenous populations continue to be denied their rights to self determination. Children are being used cynically as instruments of war. In a great many cases, the world’s government have manifestly failed to fulfill their responsibility to prevent conflict, protect civilians, and war, guarantee human rights and create the conditions of permanent peace. The twentieth century has also seen the creation of a set of universal norms which, if implemented, would go a long way towards help us to abolish the institution of war. We have witnessed inspiring and successful experiments with active non-violence in struggles for independence and civil rights by un-armed people’s movements including children and Youth. We have witnessed the fall of authoritarian regimes and the growth of democratic governments with an increasing role of civil society in the affairs of governance.

 

As NGOs we commit ourselves to the following actions:

 

1.  To endorse the Hague Agenda for Peace and Justice for the twenty-first century;

 

2.  To actively participate in the following international campaigns;

 

-          The ratification and implementation of the Ottawa Treaty to ban landmines;

-          The abolition of nuclear weapons;

-          The Optional Protocol for the Convention on Rights of the Child to raise the minimum age of military recruitment from 15-18 years;

-          The ratification of the Rome Statute for the establishment of an independent International Criminal Court;

-          An end to the trade and traffic in small arms;

-          The “Appeal by the Nobel Prize Laureates For the Children- International decade for a culture of peace and non-violence for the children of the world”;

 

3.  To promote active non-violence and respect for the dignity of all people;

 

4. To create positive “Peace Zones” in all places now called “neutral” where people of all ages may engage in activities which promote peace;

 

5. To call upon member states of the United Nations to establish a standing UN police force;

 

6. To urge the United Nations to engage in speedy and effective intervention of humanitarian forces, subject to the prescriptions of the United Nation Charter, when civilians are threatened by genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and natural disasters;

 

7. To promote peace through education programs in schools and universities as well as to engage in an intergenerational dialogue and awareness raising towards the promotion of a culture of peace;

 

8. To advocate the creation of an effective mediation/conflict prevention panel in the United Nations General Assembly with the task to promote specific peace initiatives;

B. HUMAN RIGHTS

 

Human rights provide the values, principles and standards essential to safeguard the most precious of all rights – the right to be human, of which the right to be a woman is an essential and integral part. Many world conferences which took place in the 1990’s emphasized that human rights are indivisible, universal and interdependent.  They are both individual and collective.  Across centuries, civilizations, religions and regions, human rights have existed for all human beings and for all peoples.  Human rights carry with them four correlative duties for States:

 

1.  The duty to respect, which requires refraining from interfering with the enjoyment of the right;

2.  The duty to protect which requires the prevention of violations of such rights by authorities of the State as well as by third parties;

3.  The duty to promote which requires the raising public awareness as to the right and procedures for asserting and protecting the right;

4.  The duty to fulfil which requires the State to take appropriate measures towards the full realization of the right;

 

As we enter the new millenium the key challenges we confront are:

 

The unprecedented increase in poverty; the resurgence of racism, xenophobia, hate crimes and ethnocide; the impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of massive and systematic violation of human rights ; the resurgence of patriarchy that threatens to erode the gains that women have made in securing the recognition the rights of women; the continued insulation from human rights accountability of non-state actors such as transnational corporations, international financial institutions and extremists and fundamentalist civil society organizations.

 

The discussion on human rights at the 1999 Seoul International Conference of NGOs reaffirms that:

 

All human rights are universal, indivisible, inter-dependent and interrelated; women’s rights are human rights; special recognition and protection must be given to the rights of children, indigenous peoples, elderly persons, people with different sexual orientations, minorities, persons living with HIV/AIDS, refugees and internally displaced persons, persons with disabilities, as well as vulnerable and marginalized groups; the need for universal ratification of all international human rights instruments; the need for universal fulfillment of the human rights commitments and obligations set out in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, and in declarations and programmes of action of the UN Global Conferences from Rio to Rome.

 

1. A number of special situations and considerations were presented, demanding action from the global community of NGOs: North Korean refugees, especially those in China; the people of Taiwan; the human rights to emergency relief and humanitarian assistance; the situation of Comfort women; the situations of Palestinian Arabs in Israel; the people of Kashmir; Dalits in India; the trafficking in women; the trafficking in children; the abuse of migrant workers and their families; the exclusion on the basis of language; selectivity and abuse of power in international human rights policy and practice.

 

2. The crucial importance of strengthening the existing UN system, regional and national mechanisms for the protection and promotion of human rights was strongly reiterated. In particular, the need to strengthen:

 

l         The independence and effectiveness of UN special procedures and mechanisms on human rights.

l         The effectiveness of the UN human rights treaty bodies.

l         Regional mechanisms, where they exist, and accelerate the creation of appropriate mechanisms in regions where they do not exist.

l         National incorporation of international human rights standards and effective implementation thereof.

l         The independence and effectiveness of NGOs, peoples’ organizations, social movements and civil society.

 

As NGOs we commit ourselves to the following actions :

 

1.To urge governments to ratify the core Human Rights Conventions without reservations and fulfill their obligations under such conventions;

 

2. To advocate for the establishment of independent and effective national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, such as Human Rights Commissions and Ombudspersons;

 

3.To ensure that governments undertake full implementation of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders by safeguarding  freedom of association and creating effective monitoring mechanisms regarding restrictions on the work of human rights defenders and violations of their rights;

 

4.To advocate the acceleration in the process of setting binding international and national human rights standards relating to indigenous peoples, minorities, and internally displaced people;

 

5.To advocate for the development of international and national mechanisms for holding international institutions of trade, finance and development; corporations, both transnational and national; and other non-state actors fully accountable to universal human rights standards;

 

6.To propose effective redress and remedies (including preventive remedies) for those facing human rights denials or violations;

 

7.To urge governments to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, support existing international criminal tribunals, and ensure against all forms of impunity;

 

8.To ensure that the human rights policy and practices of governments fully comply with the principles of universality and non-selectivity;

 

As NGOs we undertake to accomplish the following:

 

1.To mobilize social movements and civil society for the promotion and protection of human rights;

 

2.To create and strengthen linkages at and between local, national and international levels among all actors and across all sectors;

 

3.To continue to monitor, document and publicize human rights violations by all actors, both state and non-state;

 

4.To continue to promote a culture of human rights by raising awareness of human rights and enhancing their promotion and protection;

 

5. To encourage the efforts of the United Nations to establish a permanent forum for indigenous peoples within the United Nations;

 

6. To prepare fully for the United Nation World Conference on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, in South Africa, in 2001;

C. GENDER EQUALITY

 

Since the First World Conference on Women in Mexico in 1975, there has been increasingly strong advocacy for political commitment and programmes for women’s empowerment. In Vienna, in 1993, the historic declaration that “women’s rights are human rights” was made. In 1995 in Beijing, full commitment of 189 governments was made to 12 critical concerns as the very basis for securing gender equality.

 

Despite some progress, real effort to operationalize these commitments is seriously inadequate, especially in the areas of leadership and decision-making in the economic, political and administrative spheres. Activities have concentrated on improving the positions of women without changing the underlying structures that perpetuate discrimination. There is consistent denial that gender disparities are political in origin and sustained by systematic gender discrimination embedded in statutory and customary laws and religious and administrative regulations and practices.

 

Effective strategies must be based on a realistic recognition of the current situation and obstacles, not unrealistically optimistic situations. We encourage women to remain committed and engaged, particularly in addressing gaps between gender legislation and the implementation of that legislation. It is only the full engagement of women in all regions that will allow us to address the challenges that lie ahead. We also intend our commitment to be inclusive of all women, irrespective of sexual orientation.

 

As NGOs we commit ourselves to the following actions:

 

1. To monitor government implementation of their commitments at the world conferences through mobilizing women’s and other groups to submit alternative reports regarding government progress and that of other actors, such as development agencies and civil society;.

 

2. To urge governments and the United Nations to make special efforts to recruit and include women in peace and conflict resolution process;

 

3. To urge United Nations agencies to commit themselves to gender balance as a fundamental principle of their work;

 

4. To urge governments, NGOs and UN agencies to allocate increased resources for building capacity of women running for, and serving in elected offices;

 

5.        To mobilize communities and urge governments to recognize and take concrete measures to

address and further prevent the increasing rate of HIV/AIDS infections among women and girls, as well as lessen the enormous impact on families, especially women and girls who become heads of households;

 

6.  To ensure that women’s access to resources include factors relating to the control over those resources;

 

7.  To ensure that our activities are based on the issues identified by women and men in

grassroots communities;

 

8.       To ensure that women within NGOs play an equal role in decision making and leadership;

9.       To create opportunities for building inter-regional coalitions around common critical gender

issues, such as violence, trafficking adolescent pregnancy, HIV/AIDS; 

 

10. Ensure that communications technology is equally controlled by women and men;

D.  SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

 

The devastating social and economic impact of the global financial crisis which marks the end of this century is only the latest in a long series of onslaughts that current patterns of economic globalization have inflicted on the basic human rights of people around the world. Gross violations of economic and social human rights have also been manifest through the debt crisis and the draconian structural adjustment programmes imposed by international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

 

Our government representatives have negotiated and solemnly agreed on ambitious global agendas for social progress, particularly the 1995 Social Summit commitments and the Beijing Platform for Action These politically binding agendas, which include commitments to poverty eradication, full employment, a more stable and equitable international economic and financial system, women’s empowerment, gender-sensitive policy and programme formulation and implementation, have been negotiated in the United Nations with our active participation. In parallel, however, our same governments have been implementing economic liberalization and deregulation policies, and signing on to international trade and investment agreements, which have achieved precisely the reverse.

 

These economic policies have led to the shrinking of social services ranging from health to education. They have indiscriminately liberalised international capital movements -- which makes it virtually impossible to establish equitable (let alone progressive) fiscal redistribution, and was a perfectly predictable recipe for the phenomenal increase in financial speculation, instability and crises that we have witnessed in recent years. They have created a global trading regime under the World Trade Organization(WTO) which is unequivocally skewed against the interests of the developing countries. They have concomitantly put in place a trade dispute settlement system at the WTO which poor countries cannot afford to use, and which almost invariably subordinates widely held social and environmental objectives to narrow commercial interests. Through unbridled deregulation and privatization, they have enabled transnational corporations to grow ever more powerful and dominant, politically and economically. As has been documented in numerous UN reports, we have also witnessed alarming increases in income inequalities within and between nations and widespread persistence of extreme poverty despite dramatic increases in global wealth; and we have seen women and children to be the most adversely affected by economic austerity.

 

All these “parallel” policies and rules have been developed under the purview of global and regional economic institutions such as the IMF, the WTO and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), that are in practice not accountable to the United Nations and even less so to the populations whose future economic and social prospects they determine. They have been developed without the participation of civil society -- and typically without the knowledge and informed consent of our parliaments and our ministries dealing with social affairs. It is clear that this other agenda is the result of dominant commercial and financial interests in the G-7 rich country club and among the narrow elites of developing countries. In view or this, when we engage with the UN’s social and economic development agenda, we must understand poverty and social exclusion in terms of power relations and speak the language of social and economic justice. In other words, to give teeth to our collective campaigns and to what our governments have committed themselves to do through the UN World Conferences, we must vigorously turn to the legally-binding human rights treaty obligations that our governments have entered into, and bring economic, social and cultural rights on a par with those concerning civil and political. We believe globalization has many facets, and carries with it the promise of greater prosperity and justice for all. The “globalization” of people’s awareness of their inherent human rights can and must be the first liberating and empowering factor. On the basis of our common human rights platform, we shall, within our respective areas of specialization and through strategic synergies between us, campaign for the following objectives:

1.       To ensure that global and regional economic institutions are held accountable to international

human rights principles and standards, in conformity with UN treaty obligations; our governments (particularly those who claim to be champions of human rights) cannot, even in the realm of economic decision-making, condone or advocate policies contrary to human rights without violating their human rights obligations;

 

2.       To make such institutions more democratic and transparent by opening them up to NGO

scrutiny and by ensuring that full public and parliamentary debates are conducted at the national level and comprehensive social, economic and environmental impact assessments are carried out before any major decision is taken; and by ensuring that alternative analyses and policy recommendations by UN bodies, such as UNCTAD, UNDP, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights(OHCHR) and UNICEF, are fully and transparently integrated into the decision-making process; this also means that our finance ministries and other centres of national economic decision-making are made equally transparent, democratic and accountable to human rights prerogatives;

 

3.       To support the growing number of NGOs that are calling for a moratorium on future WTO

negotiations pending a comprehensive impact assessment of existing WTO rules and arrangements in the areas of food security, the right to development, environmental sustainability, biosafety and other human rights;

 

4.       To support similar calls by NGOs and many developing countries that investment and related

financial issues should not be negotiated at, or governed by, the WTO;

 

5.       To ensure that governments and regional arrangements take measures to control, prevent and

counter speculative capital movements and attacks on our currencies, through Tobin-type taxes, capital controls, and prudential and transparency measures imposed on large financial players, particularly hedge funds; this means also supporting NGO campaigns to halt current reform attempts at the IMF to include capital account convertibility as part of its Articles of Agreement;

 

6.       To support the international Jubilee 2000 campaign on unconditional cancellation of

developing country debt;

 

7.       To develop new taxation arrangements and structures at national, regional and international levels to ensure that governments can administer equitable taxation on rich individuals, corporations, financial markets and other large capital holders without facing capital flight; this also means revoking bilateral and other investment agreements which de facto impose ceilings on corporate taxes and, instead, develop tax structures which favour long-term job-creating investment, and foreign direct investment that genuinely supports domestic economic capabilities consonant with the right to development, and which provides incentives for the transfer of environmentally-sound technologies to developing countries;

 

8.       To inculcate a human rights culture of social responsibility among corporate leaders, while

simultaneously working with those parts of the UN system and governments that are developing regulatory frameworks to ensure compatibility between human rights and the activities of TNCs;

 

9.       To ensure that our national governments fulfill their international obligations to guarantee

workers’ rights, particulary the core labour conventions they have agreed to at the ILO;

 

10.   To make progress in the development of an optional protocol to the International Covenant

on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which would provide formal mechanisms for individual and group complaints related to economic and social rights violations;

 

11.   To ensure the equal right to work and pay for women, including the provision of child care and other

support services, and making visible the extent of women’s “invisible” contributions to national economies through un-remunerated and domestic work;

 

12.   To promote the organizational capacity and rights of the rural poor, particularly through enhancing

their access to, and control over, natural resources and agricultural services within the local, national and global processes and structures which affect to their livelihoods;

 

13.   To reduce military spending, the production and trade of arms, and expose corrupt government and

corporate practices in both developed and developing countries which promote militarisation and the diversion of public revenue away from social spending;

 

14.   To ensure that these issues are brought before governments conducting the reviews of the World

Summit for Social Development(Copenhagen) and the Fourth World Conference on Women(Beijing) in 2000;

 

We look forward to developing and consolidating partnerships with the United Nations around this collective NGO and civil society agenda. In turn, we expect the United Nations to show courage and leadership in confronting the realities of power which underpin growing social and economic injustice in today’s world.

 

 

E. YOUTH AND CHILDREN 

 

Much progress has been made for children in the last decade. Most importantly, the world has recognized that children are subjects and holders of rights. And never before in history have youth been recognized this strongly as independent actors and equal partners in the shaping of policies on matters of their concern. Yet many children continue to suffer from denial of their most basic needs such as health care, adequate nutrition, education, shelter, etc. Adverse social and economic conditions in many parts of the world perpetuate poverty and adversely affect their well-being. Intolerable forms of abuse take place in all regions of the world, such as sexual exploitation, trafficking of children, child labor, the use of child soldiers. Adolescents are particularly affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, early marriage and teenage pregnancy. The situation is not likely to improve, unless all actors in development collaborate effectively to address these issues.

 

We commit ourselves to the following actions: 

 

.To put pressure on governments to implement their commitments to children stemming from their ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC),  through national legislation and policies as well as child-friendly institutional structures and procedures.

 

To promote local understanding and ownership of the CRC. This includes translation into local languages, addressing resistance to child rights with open dialogue and to support local participatory action that includes children and youth.

 

1.    To coordinate and take follow-up action on child and youth-related issues addressed in

Platforms and Agendas for Action, such as Rio, Cairo, Copenhagen, Beijing, Stockholm, Oslo, Istanbul. We will reconcile language and the concepts of the conferences strategies and actions with the realities of local communities through innovative partnerships with community organizations, farmers associations, cooperatives, traditional media, religious leaders etc.;

 

2.    We NGOs have a highly important and influential role in raising awareness and mobilizing

support to combat the worst types of child rights abuses and violations. We must collaborate with governments and UN agencies to promote collaborative action towards the prevention of all child abuse, whether by promoting social and economic justice and respect for human values, fighting poverty, and promoting life-skill education, etc. In particular, we commit ourselves to

 

- Support ratification and proper implementation of ILO Convention 182 on the elimination of the worst forms of child labor;

-- Support the campaign to adopt the Optional Protocol on the CRC in relation to child soldiers that calls for raising the age of military recruitment from 15 to 18;

-- Disseminate and support Security Council Resolution 1261 that deals with specific incorporation of children’s issues in all negotiated peace agreements. (specific language to come.);

 

3.    Central to a child rights agenda for NGOs must be a continued focus on the elimination of all

forms of discrimination against girls, who continue to be the most vulnerable in many parts of the world. In particular, we will collaborate on the implementation of Section L of the Beijing Platform for Action which calls for the elimination of all discrimination against the girl child;

 

4.    To ensure that in all inter-governmental discussions on liberalization of trade and economic

deregulation, etc. careful attention is given to the impacts on children and youth of such policies and procedures. Increasing globalization holds enormous promises, but it also threatens to have negative impacts on the lives of the poor, in particular children and women, and marginalized populations. We must keep a watchful eye on the evolution of the global economy;

 

5.    To strongly encourage UN agencies to be more outspoken on the worst forms of child rights

violations with their government partners;

 

6.    To widely support the “Appeal by the Nobel Peace Prize For the Children – International

decade for a culture of peace and non-violence for the children of the world.”;

 

7.    To make space for youth beyond tokenism by facilitating an active role in the design,

implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programs that affect their lives. Peace movements, anti-aids activities and other relevant campaigns should be supported;

 

8. To urge the United Nations to sponsor youth conferences in countries where freedom of speech is not a right thereby creating “peace zones” where such freedom is available to all;

 

9.       To support the presence of active youth representation in all United Nations for a  and

youth presence from every member state, including conflict areas;

 

10.   To support the Youth Action Plan and Declaration from the Braga (Portugal) Youth

Conference in 1999;

 

 

F. PUBLIC, REPRODUCTIVE, AND MENTAL HEALTH

 

Health gains have been recognized as one of the biggest social transformations of our time.  Primary health care, as key to attain Health for All, is based on practical, scientifically sound, socially acceptable and affordable methods of health care delivery. It has vastly improved the lives of millions of people.