WSSE - International Regulations

The first meeting of the Workshop on International Regulations was held in Tokyo, October 8-11, 2003. It was organized by Yoko Kitazawa with the local support of PARC – Pacific Asia Resource Center.

Its participants included:

Christophe Aguitton (France, ATTAC)
David Hillman (UK, Tobin Tax Network);
Heloisa Primavera (Argentina, University of Buenos Aires, Social Money expert);
Joy Kennedy (Canada, KAIROS);
Njoky Njehu (Kenya and USA, 50 Years is Enough Network)
Pierre Johnson (France, WSSE Fair Trade Workshop coordinator)
Oscar Ugarteche (Peru, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru)
Reiko Inoue, Yoshinori Murai, Noriko Hataya (Japan, PARC)
Yoko Kitazawa (Japan, WSSE International Regulations
Workshop ccordinator and Global Animation Team member)
Marcos Arruda (Brazil, WSSE
Vision of Solidarity Socio-economy workshop coordinator and Global Animation
Team member)

POINTS FOR A WORKSHOP AGENDA

After rich sessions of presentations and discussion on the key themes related to international regulations and controls over capital, the participants decided to plan the follow-up of the Workshop on two levels. One are the themes, the other, the activities.

I. Themes

What is the thematic range of the Workshop? How is it linked to other Workshops of the WSSE and of Alliance 21? The scope of the Workshop includes three areas:
(a) development paradigms,
(b) international regulations on trade and the WTO, and
(c) regulations on financial flows in the framework of a new international financial system.

Areas (b) and (c) should be investigated in the light of area (a). For example: the role of multilateral institutions, or the role of TNCs, should be examined in the framework of a people- and earth-centered development paradigm, of an ethical relationship between capital and labor, between North and South, between civil society, the State and agents of global governance.

The work strategy includes two dimensions: one, the critique of the existing system of socioeconomic and political relations and the existing institutions; the other, to elaborate proposals based on the SSE paradigm and that contemplate innovations and alternative policies, relations and institutions.

1.a - Development Paradigms as the conceptual framework for international regulations and controls. The meeting feels it should explore fours aspects of the conflicting paradigms:

Capital/free market-centered versus people/Earth-centered.

Economic and technical development as a means for human and social development: the socioeconomic and ecological paradigm.Interconnections between local-national-international-global – social responsibility and regulations are complementary; subsidiarity of social, economic and political institutions.

Three approaches that frame the debate on international regulations: ethics, modes of development and governance.
Strategic and tactical goals regarding the United Nations as a global governance institution, responsible to garantee a just peace, a fair and harmonious development of peoples of the world, and sustainable political and environmental security. Strategies and tactics to achieve those goals.

1.b - TNCs - WTO

Production – Investment – Sharing wealth, knowledge and power;
Inequitable and equitable regulations on international trade;
Knowledge – technology – services – procurement – access to markets.
Good unequal approaches that serve the harmonization and the overcoming of inequalities.
Strategic and tactical goals regarding the WTO and global trade and investment.
Strategies and tactics to achieve those goals.

1.c - IFIs –INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL SYSTEM

Debt – indebtedness policies – adjustment programs – alternatives;
Inadequate and adequate role of multilateral financial institutions;
Regulations on capital flows - Tobin Tax;
Alternative forms and uses of money;
Strategic and tactical goals regarding the IFIs and socioeconomic development.
Strategies and tactics to achieve those goals.

II. Activities

The meeting decided to undertake the following activities as Workshop participants:

DIALOGUE – the dialogue will be held through email, by means of an electronic forum, when possible, and at meetings. The main goals are to:

articulate a mission;
circulate knowledge;
build capacities and know-how;
answer the question how can this Workshop and the WSSE facilitate the empowerment of the networks and movements that we represent here, and those who have not participated in this meeting?

All global events will serve as an opportunity for the participants to meet. The first one will be the World Social Forum in Mumbai, where a brief meeting is scheduled for a two-hour duration.

INTERACTION with social movements and Networks. This is a crucial dimension of the Workshop. The Alliance does not intend to overlap with existing movements, or to replace them. The goal is to facilitate interconnections and interaction, to generate more powerful and effective synergies for socioeconomic transformation.

PARTICIPATION in Social Forums. Besides using the opportunity of Social Forums to meet as a Workshop, the meeting decided to:

organize specific events on SSE, in collaboration with other parts of the WSSE and the Alliance, and with social movements and networks;
participate in events organized by others.

INTERACTION with other Workshops and Workgroups/Colleges. The animator will have a special responsibility to identify the interfaces of the Workshop with other groups of the WSSE and the Alliance. Trying to establish a dialogue with participants of those groups and, eventually, invite them to meetings is an important way of expanding the network of reflection and action on international regulations and controls.

A SHARED CALENDAR MAP. The meeting established as very important the elaboration of a shared calendar that includes activities and deadlines of the Workshop as well as events of other parts of the WSSE and the Alliance, and initiatives of other networks and social movements.

III – Other decisions

The Workshop on I.R., guided by the animator, will complete a work plan and a budget, in the context of the WSSE general co-funding strategy.

Joy stressed the principles of solidarity and accountability as criteria around our own work.

We agreed to start by looking at what has been done in the WSSE – internet site and papers with proposals. The proposals accumulated up to Findhorn and Lille can serve as a starting point.

We acknowledged that it is difficult to build a common agenda with the variety of social agents and movements on a global scale. However, a common agenda, with a thrust that brings about convergences, is important. As soon as we have a coherent work plan, we should begin contacting them and developing dialogue around these contacts.

We wish to explore what kind of networking can be stimulated, how to make the Alliance agenda convergent with other agendas. We will dialogue with Our World is not for Sale – Via Campesina – Public Citizen – Big Unions – 50y is Enough – Tobin Tax actors, ATTAC, War on Want, theo Jubilee Network... We will use the Social Forums to deepen the linkages. We will explore the NGO caucuses around the UN agenda

We agreed to set as a Workshop target to produce a critical and propositional paper in 2004 to share in the social forums.

We decided to debate the possibility of proposing an activity in WSF-Mumbai, or organically to join activities organized by one or more networks or social movements.

top of page ^