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1 Human Rights FORUM Human Rights FORUM 1 A MIS-DEAL IN HONG KONG....................................................................... 1 The continuing story of acquiescence and resistance in the WTO SHALL WE DANCE? (Part 2) ...................................................................... 2 Arroyo’s cha-cha as a danse macabre Deadly Playgrounds: CHILD SOLDIERING IN THE PHILIPPINES ................................................... 3 THE DENUDINGOF SAMAR ......................................................................... 4 Subic Rape Case: NIGHTMARE ONCE AGAIN BECOMES REAL ................................................. 5 Karapatan at Kalakalan ITONG Disyembre ay idinaos ang ang mga magsasaka at mangggagawang ang 6th Ministerial Conference ng World kinikita, kung meron pa, ay unti-unting NTrade Organization (WTO) sa pinaliliit ng hindi patas na kalakalang ito? Hongkong upang pabilisin ang pagbuo ng Sino pa ang bibili ng mga produktong ito .......... mga bagong kasunduan sa lalo pang kung tuluyan nang mamatay ang ating PHILIPPINE HUMAN RIGHTS INFORMATION CENTER pagbubukas at pagtanggal ng mga res- agrikultura at industriya? triksyon sa pandaigdigang kalakalan. Sa klase ng globalisasyong ito, Ang mga panibagong kasunduang ito, malabong magkaroon ng sustenidong pag- Editorial Board tinawag na “Doha Round,” ay kinakai- unlad ang mahihirap na bansa at lalo ring NYMIA PIMENTEL-SIMBULAN DR. P.H. langang mabuo at magkabisa sa pagtatapos hihina ang kanilang kakayahang tugunan SONNY MELENCIO ng taong 2006 dahil kung hindi malalagay at ipagtanggol ang karapatan ng kanilang GINA DELA CRUZ sa alanganin ang buong proseso ng mga nasasakupan. globalisasyong itinutulak ng mayayamang bansa. BERNARDO D. LARIN Sa kasaysayan ng mga negosasyong Editor-in-Chief ginaganap sa ilalim ng WTO, laging matindi ang banggaan ng mga interes ng J.M. VILLERO Managing Editor mga bansa lalo na sa pagitan ng mga mayayaman at mahihirap na bansa. Lalong ARNEL RIVAL maigting ang pagtutol ng iba’t-ibang Art Director organisasyon ng mga sektor sa lipunan. May basehan ang mga akusasyon ng PHILRIGHTS PHOTOGS TEAM mahihirap na bansa at mga ‘civil society Photographer organizations’ na hindi demokratiko ang mga proseso sa loob ng WTO at sa aktwal Contributors ay mga industriyalisadong bansa ang JOSEPH PURUGGANAN nakikinabang sa mga nabubuong J.M. VILLERO kasunduan sa kalakalan. RAMIL ANDAG Isang kongkretong halimbawa nito ay RHODA U. VIAJAR ang pagmamadali ng mayayamang bansa Nakalimutan ng mga bansang VANESSA RETUERMA na ibaba o alisin ang mga taripa sa mga pumaloob sa WTO na sa ilalim ng Universal BERNARDO D. LARIN produkto ngunit nagbabagal naman sila sa Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) kung pag-alis ng subsidiya sa kanilang ‘exports.’ saan nakapirma rin sila, obligasyon nilang ............................................................................................................................... Bukod dito, pinipilit din nila ang maliliit na magtulungan para sa pandaigdigang bansang limitahan ang kani-kanilang paggalang, pagprotekta, at pagsasaka- suporta sa agrikultura. tuparan ng mga karapatang pantao. The Human Rights Forum Sa ganitong kalagayan, luging-lugi ang is published quarterly Hindi naman ito kataka-taka dahil sa by the mga mahihirap na bansa tulad ng Pilipinas kabila ng mga magagandang salita at Philippine Human Rights dahil paano makikipaglaban ang mga lokal layunin ng mga kasunduang pinagtitibay Information Center (PhilRights) na magsasaka at negosyante sa mga ng mga bansa, ang namamayani pa rin sa with office address at ‘imported’ na produktong bukod sa mas kanilang relasyon ay ang motibong kumita 53-B Maliksi St. Barangay mahusay ang kalidad ay madali pang at magkamal ng yaman. Walang puwang Pinyahan, Quezon City makapasok sa ating bansa. sa samahang ito ang sinserong kooperasyon Telefax: 433-1714 Oo nga’t pabor sa mga mamimili ang at pagtutulungan tungo sa mga mithiin ng Tel. No.: 436-5686 pagkakaroon ng mga murang ‘imported’ mga karapatang pantao; kalayaan at E-mail:[email protected] na produkto ngunit sino ba ang karamihan dignidad para sa lahat; at kapayapaan at sa mga mamimiling ito? Hindi ba’t sila rin pagkakaisa ng mga bansa. 2 Human Rights FORUM n By JOSEPH PURUGGANAN1 Outside however, the Focus on the Global South situation was a little more intense. Just a day prior, thousands of protesters marched to the convention center and FTER five days of intense negotiations, Mr. managed to break through the John Tsang, Hong Kong’s Commerce Secretary police barricades. The demons- pounded the gavel in the highly tration turned violent as 2 protesters clashed with the police choreographed final plenary meeting and in one of the most militant A th declared the 6 Ministerial Conference of the World expressions of dissent and Trade Organization (WTO) in Hong Kong closed. The opposition to the WTO. If Ministerial Declaration was approved practically acquiescence was the name of the uncontested, except for the intervention of Mari Pili game inside, outside it was resistance. And by the time Hernandez of Venezuela, who took the floor to reiterate Tsang pounded the gavel to close Venezuela’s reservation on the text. The declaration the ministerial conference, the embodies consensus on a number of critical areas of people’s judgement on the WTO the negotiations and outlines the clear direction or road had already been made as shouts map for the conclusion of the Doha Round by 2006. FOCUS ON GLOBAL SOUTH of “Down, Down WTO” continued to echo in the empty streets of Wan Chai.3 Battle of interpretations Similar to previous WTO A MIS-DEAL ministerial meetings, a battle of IN HONG KONG The continuing story of acquiescence and resistance in the WTO Anti-WTO protesters stage a die-in to dramatize the devastating effects of the new trade deal. WWW.INFOSHOP.ORG Human Rights FORUM 3 WWW.INFOSHOP.ORG FOCUS ON GLOBAL SOUTH Fierce opposition to the WTO negotiations from peasant and fisherfolk delegations. interpretations has ensued over was Lamy and his cohorts able down the throats of everybody The negotiations however the outcome of the conference to conjure to forge the consensus else, the Cancun talks collapsed, were quickly put back on track. in Hong Kong. Both proponents behind the Hong Kong text? To effectively sidetracking the A consensus was reached at the and opponents of the WTO have understand the outcome of the Doha negotiations. We saw at General Council Meeting in July come out with their own ac- Hong Kong talks we have to go Cancun the emergence of 2004 over “the July counts and their own scorecards back to what was at stake there various developing country Framework”, which became the on the results of the talks. Was to begin with. groupings that seemed able and basis for continuing nego- it a success or a failure? Was it willing to challenge the agenda tiations. The July Framework a step forward or a setback for Merry new round: From Doha to of the two most powerful mem- was hailed by then US Trade the world’s poor? Hong Kong bers of the WTO – the United Representative Robert Zoellick WTO Director General Four years ago, member States and the European Union. as a road map to prosperity. Pascal Lamy called the meeting countries gave the go-signal to a success. In his own assess- start negotiations for new trade ment, with the gains achieved in agreements that would replace Hong Kong, both in terms of the existing set of agreements what he called the “right collectively called the Uruguay negotiating attitude” among Round Agreements. Because members and the consensus in the mandate to begin nego- some technical areas of the tiations was an outcome of the negotiations, the Doha Round is 4th Ministerial Meeting in Doha, now 60% complete.4 And with Qatar in November 2001, the on- a road map in hand, the going negotiations are referred negotiations now have enough to as the Doha Round. steam to continue on to Geneva The Doha Round is sup- towards the conclusion of the posed to be a development round in 2006 as scheduled. round. It aims to address the In contrast, civil society implementation issues that were groups and social movements raised by poor countries at the around the world are dismayed Seattle Ministerial Meeting in over the outcome of the talks. In 1999 and in the process put their all the critical areas of developmental concerns at the negotiations—agriculture, non- heart of new negotiations. It agricultural market access was this promise of develop- (NAMA), services, and the issue ment that served as the of development, the text locks enticement for the developing in very critical and highly countries, most especially those contentious areas like the coming from Africa, to give ambitious tariff reduction their reluctant nod to the launch formula in NAMA and the of new trade negotiations. plurilateral approach in services The meeting in Cancun in while glossing over the 2003 was supposed to be a divergent views that have stock-taking exercise for the already been expressed by members. It was supposed to countries in the course of the assess how far the Doha negotiations and especially in negotiations have gone. But the last few days of the because it became too obvious Ministerial in Hong Kong. that the trade superpowers So the question is: what wanted to ram their agenda for While representatives of the world’s governments negotiated tariffs and trade rules, happened? What sort of magic faster and deeper liberalization cry: No to WTO (above and below). 4 Human Rights FORUM Developing countries like the 2005. Two successive General Mechanisms9
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