The Millennium Agenda BY LOIS L ROSS STEYNING ENGLAND

� � ������������� ���� � The Millennium Agenda �� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � ������������� BY LOIS L. ROSS ����������������� ���� STEYNING, ENGLAND —Nestled in the rolling hills of the I N S I D E President's Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Trade in Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Is Our Land Also Yours? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Indigenous Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Publications, Projects, People . . . . . . . . . . 9 Sussex Downs is Wiston House, an English manor house that has been used since 1951 as the Wilton Park conference centre. Today, Wilton Park is considered one of the world’s leading centres for discussion of international issues. From June 20 to 24 this year, The North-South Institute—along with the Canadian Parliamentary Centre, NORAD, the Royal Institute of Public Administration, and Wilton Park—hosted “The Millennium Development Goals: Ensuring Achievability and Accountability.” The organization of the conference was spurred by the United Nations Millennium Review Summit to be held in New York in mid-September; world leaders will meet at the Summit to discuss the future of the United Nations, global collective security, and relations between rich and poor. The meeting will mark five years since the largest-ever gathering of Heads of State and Government adopted the Millennium Declaration. Meeting in the UK on the eve of the G-8 gave a particular sense of immediacy to the Wilton Park gathering. More than 70 participants and presenters shared their knowledge, reflections, expectations, criticisms and hopes regarding the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Millennium Agenda. The four days were intense and exhilarating as participants from around the world, representing civil society, policymakers, and elected officials shared their views on development issues related to the MDGs. (continued on page 2) ® (continued from page 1) Wilton Park conferences are structured to ensure that participants feel free to voice their opinions without the constraints imposed by title or organizational culture. For that reason, the conferences are in many ways unique, allowing people to shed ‘officialdom’, yet share the knowledge and perspective acquired during life’s work and personal experience. Attendees are encouraged to participate in a personal capacity. The discussions adhere to the Chatham House Rule, under which participants are free to use the information and views discussed in the conference, but no individual speaker or participant may be quoted. This was the third Wilton Park conference at which The North-South Institute has acted as co-host. John Foster, Principal Researcher, worked with … efforts Wilton Park and the Parliamentary were made— Centre in shaping the program. successfully— to In addition to guaranteeing that all participants would get ensure full a clear and critical overview exploration of the of the state of progress on gender dimensions the MDGs, efforts were made — successfully — to of poverty and ensure full exploration of development and the the gender dimensions of role of civil society poverty and development and the role of civil sociin monitoring and ety in monitoring and advocacy. advocacy. NSI was well represented by Board Chair Bonnie Campbell, President Roy Culpeper, and Director of Communications Lois Ross, as well as by John Foster. The opening session established the host of topics that would be covered. Roy Culpeper presented opening remarks and succinctly outlined the issues that participants might consider — emphasizing the theme of accountability and achievability, and adding an additional “A”, that of adequacy of the MDGs. Other key questions to consider were: • Will the aid targets be met? • If they are, will the Goals be met? • How can civil society keep governments accountable? How do we use the MDGs in order to enhance the accountability of governments both in the North and in the South? • Are the MDGs adequate in their present form? As the NSI President noted, quoting from NSI’s recently published report We the Peoples 2005 — Mobilizing for Change, some consider the MDGs “scandalously modest and a mere shadow of what came out of the Beijing Summit in 1995." He added that others maintain that the Goals, though inadequate, are an important step toward drawing attention to and coordinating poverty-reduction efforts. For example, NSI Principal Researcher for Civil Society John Foster had provided a critical assessment of the origins of the Goals, based on the 2005 We the peoples … report, as well as highlighting civil society responses that included the current “white band” campaigns of the Global Call to Action against Poverty. During his opening remarks, the NSI President also underscored a key point in the debates surrounding effective poverty reduction. How do we best deal with current poverty, while at the same time treating the creation of poverty and growing inequalities? Is absolute poverty — the total number of poor — the issue? Or is inequality the truer issue — with the widening gap and the lack of distribution of wealth at the root of poverty? If so, encouraging structural change that addresses issues of inequality is necessary to achieve lasting poverty reduction. Both of these points surfaced repeatedly over the course of the four-day discussion, with speakers from the South outlining their views on debt reduction and the injustices of conditionalities imposed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the impact of conflict on governance issues, the crisis of representative democracy, issues related to accountability and corruption, and the role of civil society in ensuring accountability to the MDGs, among others. As well, participants discussed the future of development financing, the role of Policy Reduction Strategy Papers, coordinating for aid effectiveness, and strategies that will take us beyond 2005. Debates were made immediate by the participation of a number of African parliamentarians including those involved in networks on gender, poverty and corruption. Women leaders provided particular insights into how the response to poverty and against inequality must be shaped and reshaped. As the discussion continued, the examples of urgency and the importance of pushing world leaders to maintain (continued on page 5) ® 2 SPRING•SUMMER 2005 Message f r o m N S I P r e s i d e n t ® BY ROY CULPEPER Redesigning and Re-orienting Canada’s International Policy rime Minister Paul Martin launched a review of Canada’s international policy in December 2003. Given the profound changes that have overtaken our world, he was seeking a coherent, integrated policy framework for diplomacy, defence, development, and trade to deal with the global realities of today and the complex challenges of the future. The Prime Minister also wanted to recapture Canadians’ international sense of purpose. The NSI rose to the challenge. The Institute’s thinking on how Canada’s international policy should be redesigned and reoriented is in a brief released earlier this year entitled Human Security, Sustainable and Equitable Development: Foundations for Canada’s International Policy. We begin with a vision of a world Canadians want for themselves and their grandchildren, in which poverty is eradicated, conflict rare, and the HIV/AIDS and other health pandemics receding; a world in which all human beings enjoy basic rights and freedoms, and opportunities to live fulfilling lives; a world in which the needs of the present generation are met without compromising the needs of future generations. Most Canadians, we believe, would find such a vision compelling. Moreover, in this vision, sustainable and equitable development is the “connecting tissue” between poverty eradication, conflict prevention, and human security. Accordingly, we recommend that all international policies — in defence, diplomacy, commerce, finance, and other areas — should be coherent around a policy framework of sustainable and equitable development. We don’t have to invent such a framework — it already exists. Five years ago the international community endorsed the Millennium Declaration embodying the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); Prime Minister Chrétien signed on behalf of Canada. To operationalize this framework and ensure that Canada achieves policy coherence in practice, we recommend that the Declaration and MDGs should be embodied in the strategic priorities and plans of all government departments and agencies. Moreover, the policy framework should also be enshrined in legislation, and there should be monitoring and regular reporting to Parliament on achievements in the developing world and Canada’s contributions. Sweden adopted such legislation two years ago and we urge Canada to follow its example. Regarding the International Policy Statement released in April, the Overview regrettably falls short of providing either a vision of a better world or a coherent and integrated policy framework. Symptomatic of this lack of coherence, the substantive content of the Statement lies in the four departmental chapters (commerce, diplomacy, defence, and development) rather than the Overview. Furthermore, much of what is new had already been released in the February Budget. P The Statement does contain much that is positive, including some of the Institute’s principal recommendations. In particular the development chapter, which on the first page actually puts forward a vision of an equitable and sustainable world, makes a strong case for the links between human security, equity, and peace. It embraces the agenda of the Millennium Development Goals, and commits to measuring Canada’s contribution toward them. The chapter calls for a whole-of-government approach to development, covering both aid and non-aid channels such as trade, investment and debt relief. Moreover, the chapter recommends concentrating the bilateral aid program among 25 aid recipients (The NSI recommended 20). There are a number of other commendable facets of the development chapter, including its commitment to gender equality across all of Canada’s development cooperation programming. The strengths of the development chapter would, however, be far more convincing if they were reflected in the other departmental chapters and the Overview. As a result, one has to say about the Statement that “the whole is considerably less than the sum of its parts.” Development is a one-paragraph afterthought at the end of the commerce chapter. Greater international trade, investment, and market access often do not benefit the poorest countries or the poorest people. The spaghetti-like tangle of bilateral treaties compromises the multilateral framework of the World Trade Organization and constrains the policy choices of developing countries. None of this is recognized. In the defence chapter, there is emphasis on military intervention, on combat, stabilization and reconstruction, rather than on how these contribute to sustainable peace and longterm development in fragile states. The Overview is far too preoccupied with international security and national interests. It nonetheless does not appear to acknowledge certain realities of the world since 9/11, particularly the unilateral tendencies of the United States and the watershed of the Iraq War. The Government’s laudable decision not to join the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defence initiative seems oddly extraneous rather than integral to the Statement’s conceptual framework. Finally, as many critics have pointed out, the development chapter also fails to commit Canada to a date (on or before 2015) by which our aid program will reach 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI), although it does indicate that the aid program will continue to grow after 2010. Our estimation is that reaching 0.7 will require an additional $20–25 billion in aid spending over the next decade. In our view, this is achievable without incurring fiscal deficits. THE NORTH-SOUTH INSTITUTE 3 Can Tra d e i n H e a l t h S e r v i c e s C o n t r i b u t e t o H u man Develop m e n t ? T h e C a s e o f H e a l t h To u r i s m i n Asia ® B Y C H A N TA L B L O U I N ealth systems in Asia face great challenges. First, financing health systems remains an important problem both in terms of the level of health care resources available and the equity of financing arrangements. Indeed, out-of-pocket payments by patients account for most of the health expenditures in Asia, and this is considered the most inequitable financing mechanism (WHO, 2003). These payments are a key factor in the impoverishment of poor households (Wagstaff et al, 2001). Private expenditures represent most of the spending on health in the majority of Asian countries, and out-of-pocket payments account for 80 to 100 per cent of these costs. The second major obstacle for some Asian countries is the shortage of health personnel. Bhutan, Nepal, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Bangladesh need more physicians and/or nurses to provide health services to their populations. Inequity in access to health care is the third major challenge facing the region’s health systems. In the poorest countries, a very large proportion of the population has very little access to health services. Using the percentage of births attended by skilled health personnel as a proxy for access to health services, research has shown that only 10 to 30 per cent of women in the poorest countries in the region have access to such services; this has obvious consequences for achievement of the fifth Millennium Development Goal, which addresses the improvement of maternal health. In countries where general access is better, groups or areas of those countries may be excluded from the provision of health services. Typically, patients in urban areas have much better access to services than in rural areas. For instance, in urban areas of the Philippines, more than 78 per cent of births are assisted by a medically trained person; in rural areas, the percentage falls to 28 (Gwatkin et al, forthcoming). Can the problems faced by Asian health systems be alleviated by the international trade in health services? “Health tourism” is one facet of this trade. Every year, millions of patients travel outside their own country to receive medical care, including health check-ups, hip replacements, cardiac or eye surgery, or deliveries. Such trade has been hailed as one service sector where developing countries have important “export” potential. Their comparative advantage is based on a combination of lower costs and availability of qualified personnel, and in some cases, natural settings (for example, convalescent care in resort centres). Singapore, India, Thailand, and Malaysia have been at the forefront of this growing industry in Asia. In Singapore, approximately 150,000 foreign patients received health care in 2000, incurring $345 million in healthcare expenditure. In 2003, the government adopted a strategy to further develop this sector, with the target of $3 billion in H foreign patient expenditures in 2012; this would represent more than one per cent of the Gross Domestic Product and create 13,000 additional jobs (especially in nursing and paramedical employment). In Malaysia, health tourism is still in an early stage of development but the government has adopted a number of measures to promote this new sector. Based on the information provided by seven of the 33 private hospitals catering to foreign patients in Malaysia, more than 72,000 foreign patients received treatment in 2001 (Jui Meng, 2002). It is estimated that 150,000 foreign patients travel to India every year to receive medical care, and that number is growing at the rate of 15 per cent annually (Lancaster, 2004). In Thailand, the government has been actively promoting the export of health services and encouraging foreigners to receive treatment and services; it is estimated that the country treated approximately 1 million foreign patients in public and private facilities in 2001 (Pachaimee and Suwit, 2003). What is the impact of health tourism growth? “Export” of such services can be an important source of foreign currency for developing countries. It can provide employment and income for health workers as well as for tourism sector workers, as the travellers receiving health care may also consume other services (hotel, transportation, restaurants). These incomes can contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction. Thus, it is estimated that medical tourism could bring an additional $1.1 billion to $2.2 billion in annual revenue to India by 2012 (The Economist, 2004). These additional incomes can also have a more direct impact on health, if they can be harnessed to benefit the health system of the country in general and the poor in particular. For instance, they can be taxed and allocated to improve the supply and quality of health services in the public sector. Another potential benefit of health tourism is improvement in the range and the quality of services offered in a country. Indeed, in order to attract foreign patients, developing countries have to offer quality services and this often involves an upgrading of human and physical resources (Adams and Kinnon, 1998, p. 42). If these service providers and facilities are available to local patients as well as foreign patients, an improvement in the quality of care in the country in general can be achieved. Moreover, the creation of centres of medical excellence to attract foreign patients may also help limit the brain drain of qualified medical personnel abroad. On the other hand, the most pressing concern regarding the impact of health tourism centres on the internal brain drain. Physicians and nurses from the public sector, or offering services in rural areas, move to the urban facilities offering care to foreign patients. Thailand provides an example of such a problem. The resources to service one foreign patient 4 SPRING•SUMMER 2005 may be equivalent to those used to service four or five Thai patients. Thus, in 2001, the workload in treating 1 million foreign patients was equivalent to servicing 4–5 million Thai patients. This was equivalent to around three per cent of the total workload of the system in 2001. If the growth continues at the current rate, the workload in servicing foreign patients may increase to 12 per cent of the total workload in five years. This will require an additional 3,000 full-time equivalent doctors for urban private hospitals, further exacerbating the shortage of health professionals in the rural areas (Pachanee and Wibulpolprasert, 2003). We still have little evidence of whether and how the additional incomes and resources from health tourism have been leveraged to improve national health systems and achieve development objectives in health. However, preliminary evidence highlights the fact that providing health services to foreign patients puts a strain on the availability of health personnel. Given the growing importance of trade in health services, policymakers in Asia need to integrate the trade dimensions in their national health policymaking. A country-specific assessment should weigh the costs and benefits of promoting health tourism. When health tourism is already present, a national assessment should identify ways to mitigate the potential negative impact of trade in health services (such as the strain health tourism can place on health personnel availability in rural areas and public institutions), while leveraging the additional revenues to improve the health system. C H ANTAL BLOUIN is a Senior Researcher with The North-South Institute. This article draws on a Background Paper on Trade and Health prepared by Ms Blouin for the UNDP-Asia Trade and Human Development Report 2005. (continued from page 2) their commitments increased. The eloquent interventions of participants from the South countered all those who might be somewhat cynical about the possibilities of poverty reduction. As one participant noted: “The Millennium Development Goals may seem to be the minimum needed, they may seem inadequate and donor-driven—but they mean much to those whose lives are impacted. Who decides if these are the right Goals or not? The important thing is that they offer a forum for debate and an avenue for a breakthrough on poverty.” Indeed , the information brought to Wilton Park helped to remind and renew our sense of urgency. As the following attests, time is wasting and those seeking decent living conditions and social justice need action now. • Nearly one out of six people in the world — almost a billion people — go hungry every day. • It is estimated that 30,000 people — most of them children — die every day because of poverty. • No fewer than half a million mothers die every year from childbirth, malnutrition, and neglect. • Almost three million people die annually from AIDS. • More than 120 million children are denied the right of primary education and are out of school. Millions of others attend schools which lack the resources to be effective centres of learning. • More than 1 billion people have no access to sanitation — and most of these are women and girls. Yet — • The 1,000 richest people in the world have an estimated personal wealth greater than the 600 million people living in the poorest countries. • In a world which collectively spent more than $900 billion on arms last year, leaders have yet to fulfill a commitment that would collectively cost no more than $75 billion. As one participant said: “The Goals are clearly achievable and setting the bar any lower is clearly unacceptable.” The program for the Wilton Park conference and the final conference report is available online at www.nsi-ins.ca. L O I S R O S S is the Director of Communications and Publications for the NorthSouth Institute. This was her first Wilton Park conference. THE NORTH-SOUTH INSTITUTE 5 Is Our L a n d A l s o Yo u r L a n d ? ® BY OMAIRA MINDIOLA ndigenous Peoples, Indigenous lands, and Indigenous forms that enable survival as a people.” The non-Indigenous rights are all debated passionately today by work- vision conceives the land within the framework of individual shops designing national development policies and property as a good that can be negotiable and transferable. by research groups set up by international organizations that It is enlightening to compare cases in Chile, Colombia and oversee human rights and the rights of Aboriginal Peoples. Canada. In Colombia and Canada, the state recognizes the Let’s see why. Aboriginal right to land and its resources. In turn, the state, by Since the arrival of Europeans to American lands, the rela- law in all three countries, is the owner of mining resources that tionship between the state and Indigenous Peoples has been exist in the soil and subsoil, with some negotiated exceptions one of social conflict, characterized by the confiscation of land (for example, under comprehensive land claims in Canada). and racism — conditions that have kept Indigenous Peoples The straight choice of standards (for example, the recognimarginalized from society. tion of rights that can, however, be violated) has complicated The Indigenous goal is recovery of the original title of relationships with Indigenous Peoples. In the management ownership that will allow free determination of their peoples. of conflict, each party seeks to shield themselves behind the Today, land occupies first place in the claim for inherent law. Private companies and Indigenous Peoples both sustain rights. In the last decade the conflict, which for so long the legitimacy of their claims to rights, while the state must has been kept hidden under the veil decide who should benefit from the of policies of assimilation, has gained law. Sometimes, when demands are strength in face of the expansion of “Aboriginal peoples have a submitted to the courts, the debate investment projects, especially mining, becomes submerged in search of the right to live in harmony with in territories traditionally occupied by legal hierarchy of Aboriginal law. The Indigenous Peoples. final decision is made in strict complinature and to an environment The new development model ance with standards, without there within the framework of globalization that is healthy and secure, being any possibility to respond to threatens Indigenous Peoples’ develop- both essential conditions for other aspirations of the community. ment. The essence of the problem lies New mechanisms of greater scope, in the struggle for power against the the enjoyment of the right to such as dialogue, agreement or negodefence of values and interests. On the tiation, are being used in search of live, spirituality and collective one hand, Indigenous Peoples — who a solution to the land conflict. The maintain a holistic concept in their well being”. Draft American dynamics are different in each country relationship with the land and its depending upon the organizational resources — defend their land, which Statement on the Rights capacity of the community, the politiprovides their source of livelihood. On of Aboriginal Peoples, cal will of the government, and the the other, the coalition of government degree of social responsibility of priand investment corporations seeks Article XVIII, 1. vate companies. In Chile, one negotito exploit the natural resources that ates in order to “win”; in Colombia are located precisely in these ancestral lands. to “agree”, and in Canada a dialogue is pursued in order to The critical issue is Aboriginal property rights that involve “negotiate.” concepts of territory and development. Divergences between Indigenous Peoples’ resistance to the new face of colonialthe parties to the conflict are apparently difficult to reconcile. ism takes the form of a strengthened identity and formation From the standpoint of Indigenous Peoples, the concept of of a large community fighting for permanent cultural recognidevelopment is associated with links to the land, including tion. Communications technology is used to internationalize animals, forest, water, and subsoil, in a harmonic relationship and strengthen the movement for vindication of its rights. that guarantees unity and social well-being. This relationship in The civil organization representatives in the populist protest turn is linked to the right to autonomy, or what is tantamount marches against the World Trade Organization in Cancun in to self-determination — that is, to participate as collective sub- 2003 were justified in their call: “Let’s globalize the fight, let’s jects in the determination of their own destiny. Thus, in their globalize hope.” exchanges with government entities and cooperation agenAs a legitimate act within the framework of human rights, cies, Indigenous Peoples refer to sustainable development as Indigenous Peoples' demands for land must be in the forefront “the maintenance of natural resources and social and cultural (continued on page 8) ® I 6 SPRING•SUMMER 2005 Consulta t i o n v e r s u s C o n s e n t : Going B e y o n d R e f r a m i n g ® BY VIVIANE WEITZNER he right to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) nation-states. There is clearly tension in states giving is perhaps one of the most pivotal in the “bundle of up the very power that gives them authority. (It should rights” claimed by Indigenous Peoples. It is also one be noted that at the January 2005 meeting of the UN of the least understood of these rights, and among the more Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Canadian controversial, particularly with regard to large-scale developgovernment did concede that there is “a ‘continuum’ ments on or near ancestral lands. of approaches [to consultation] of which consent is one The controversy has come to a head with the recently comimportant option.” Recent Canadian case law also sheds pleted World Bank-commissioned Extractive Industries Review. much light on these issues, underscoring that consent After more than two years of in-depth research and consultaneeds to be obtained particularly in the case of settled tion with affected communities, the final report recommended land claims.) that for extractive industries to fulfil the • Perceptions that requiring consent Bank’s mission “to fight poverty and “Free, prior and informed might lead to less competitiveimprove the living standards of people ness, and may hamper a country’s consent is related to our in the developing world,” communities economic growth.While there is that bear the direct impact of extrac- territorial, social and cultural no doubt that some Indigenous tive activities must have the right to Peoples will object to large-scale rights and is part of the right consent to — or to reject — a project. developments in principle, othBank management rejected the ers are more open to considto self-determination. The right recommendation, however, adoptering development projects as ing instead the concept of free, to free, prior and informed a potential vehicle for poverty prior, and informed consultation alleviation, as long as they are in consent promotes the full (FPIConsultation) leading to broadkeeping with their own, pre-set based community support as the and effective participation conditions, including recognicriterion for a Bank-funded project tion that they have rights to the going ahead. The Bank embraced of Indigenous Peoples and land. FPIConsultation as the cornerstone of • Operational issues regarding the respect of our rights.” its recently revised safeguard policy for complexities of implementing conIndigenous Peoples. sent. The lack of a universally International Indigenous Industry is also responding to the accepted definition of FPIC is Forum on Biodiversity, Closing debate, commissioning papers on often raised as a problem, as FPIC, and expressing nervousness that Declaration, Sixth Conference are questions as to who has the FPIC is the latest “show-stopper” for authority to give consent on companies. They too favour consulta- of the Parties of the Convention behalf of a community. In addition over consent. tion, there is a fear that one sinon Biological Diversity, What is behind the resistance of the gle individual — one landowner, World Bank, industry and governments The Hague, April 19, 2002. for example — could stand in the to embrace the principle of free, prior, way of a project going ahead. and informed consent? Is it helpful to endorse consultation But resistance to FPIC in favour of FPIConsultation does rather than consent? not clarify matters for industry or government for a variety The reasons for the reluctance are multiple and complex. of reasons. Some of the critical issues include: First, FPIC is grounded in several internationally recognized • Political ecological considerations. FPIC shatters the domi- rights of Indigenous Peoples, including rights to development, nant view that nation-states have the ultimate deci- self-determination and sovereignty. A recent UN analysis of sion-making power regarding development projects international law recognizes that “there now exists a develand rights to particular resources. With the recognition oped legal principle that indigenous peoples have a collective of Indigenous Peoples’ right to consent, decision-mak- right to the lands and territories they traditionally use and ing power shifts from the centre to the local level, a occupy and that this right includes the right to use, own, shift that goes against the very nature and ethos of manage and control the natural resources found within their (continued on page 8) ® T THE NORTH-SOUTH INSTITUTE 7 (continued from page 6) in the transformation of relationships among Indigenous Peoples, private companies and the state. The issue is not one of negotiating land rights by means of economic compensation, as this would also imply negotiation of autonomy. Rather, the issue is “free prior and informed consent” — providing backing to a process of good faith in discussion of the elements of real and effective participation, so that the natural resources involved continue to be under the control of Indigenous Peoples. The World Bank Group (WBG), while backing and financing large projects for the exploitation of natural resources, attempts to apply litigation mechanisms on the impact which, in most cases, do not meet with the demands and aspirations of Indigenous Peoples. Aboriginal claims of “sacred places” are not allowed. The practice of material gain does not compensate for the violation of the right to self-determination of peoples, and this is tantamount to restricting their access to natural resources and ignoring ancestral rights. O M A I R A M I N D I O L A is a member of the Kankwamo People of Colombia. She was a visiting researcher (Mining and Indigenous Rights) with The North-South Institute from 2003 to 2005. (continued from page 7) lands and territories …” (Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, E/CN.4/Sub. 2/2004/30, July 13, 2004, par. 39). In short, FPIC is emerging as the acceptable standard for engaging Indigenous Peoples, and the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations is drafting a set of implementation standards, having already acknowledged that FPIC is grounded in international rights law. Second, research conducted by The North-South Institute, in collaboration with Indigenous partners in Latin America and the Caribbean, has highlighted the fact that the distinction between consultation and free, prior, and informed consent is false. Consultation must lead to free, prior, and informed consent in order for a project to go ahead on ancestral lands. A consultation is not a consultation unless it involves the possibility of a project not being approved by the peoples who will live with the consequences. Third, many of the issues that are at the centre of the debate regarding consent are also at the centre of the debate on consultation. For example, there is no universal definition of consultation, but there are principles about how best to set up appropriate processes. The issue of who speaks on behalf of the community is just as important and, for consultation processes to be culturally appropriate, they must be designed in keeping with customary decision-making processes that often include consensus. The World Bank will be facing these issues whether the concept is framed as “consent” or “consultation”: in gauging ‘broad-based community support’, the World Bank and others still need to determine who the legitimate representatives are who will speak on behalf of the community; they run the risk of undermining community leadership structures and processes if leaders’ consent or rejection is not accepted. Fourth, while process is clearly important, so is the substance of the terms being presented to communities for consideration. Consent to a project may turn as much on the terms of the deal as on anything else. Impact Benefit Agreements, joint revenue-sharing and co-management arrangements are some of the vehicles emerging to set up mutually beneficial terms. Is the World Bank simply hiding its head in the sand on key issues that will not go away by reframing consent processes in terms of consultation? As the debate continues, The NorthSouth Institute and our partners will continue to shed light on these critical issues through our research, with the hope that it is possible to go beyond getting bogged down in rhetoric to respecting the visions, concepts and rights of those who live with the direct effects of decision-making. V I V I A N E W E I T Z N E R is a senior researcher with The North-South Institute. 8 SPRING•SUMMER 2005 Publicat i o n s , P r o j e c t s , P e o p l e New Publications Human Security, Sustainable and Equitable Development: Foundations for Canada’s International Policy BY ROY CULPEPER In the midst of on-going discussions surrounding how best to provide emergency disaster relief triggered by natural calamities such as the recent tsunami in South Asia, The North-South Institute released its contribution to the federal government’s international policy review. The 37-page document is a detailed look at issues, concerns and future directions that the federal government needs to consider as it addresses the role Canada should play internationally. Drawing from various NSI research projects studying issues related to human security and conflict prevention, migration, debt, globalization and trade, NSI’s paper is a comprehensive look at policy options which need to be considered in any review of international policy. Human Security, Sustainable and Equitable Development: Foundations for Canada’s International Policy includes six major guiding principles and countless opportunities for implementing detailed policy options geared toward global poverty reduction, development, inclusivity and peace. ISBN 1-896770-66-5 (ENGLISH) $35 Also available in French under the title: meet to discuss the future of the United Nations, global collective security, and relations between rich and poor. This meeting will mark five years since the largest-ever gathering of Heads of State and government adopted the Millennium Declaration— and this year political leaders are urged to take action to ensure the fulfillment of the Millennium Declaration. This year’s We the Peoples report presents priorities that go beyond the UN Millennium Review Summit. It highlights opportunities for action, calling for greater commitment and a more advanced agenda. The report is a summary of the “survey respondents review” of the progress made over the past five years and lessons that need to be learned. The report is based on a consultative world-wide electronic survey offered in Arabic, English, French and Spanish. Out of the 439 survey respondents, almost 60 per cent are from the “global south” and the majority of respondents work at the national or regional level. ISBN 1-896770-69-X (ENGLISH) $20 Also available in French under the title: Se mobilisier pour le changement : Messages de la société civile ISBN 1-896770-70-3 (FRENCH) 20 $ CD-ROM — We the Peoples 2005—Mobilizing for Change: Messages from Civil Society contains the full report in English and French as well as summary documents in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish and Turkish. ISBN 1-896770-71-1 $12 Bases de la politique internationale canadienne : sécurité, développement durable et équitable ISBN 1-896770-66-5 (FRENCH) 35 $ Mobilizing for Change: Messages from Civil Society—We the Peoples … 2005 BY JOHN FOSTER AND PERA WELLS WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ALEJANDRA CABEZAS, LIDIA GUIRGUIS, GAIA LARSEN, ANA LISSANSKY, MEJLINA MODANU, BILL MORTON, PRITI MURBAH, MONIKA RAHMAN, AND MARK SHELFORD. Canadian Development Report 2005 Towards 2015—Meeting our Millennium Commitments In this eighth edition of the Canadian Development Report, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the broader Millennium Declaration agenda will be assessed by the United Nations, governments and civil society organizations. The UN will synthesize national reports from member states; civil society organizations will produce shadow reports in some countries; the Millennium Project will produce in-depth analyses of progress towards each goal; and several transnational initiatives (Ranking the Rich, Reality of Aid) will generate overall assessments. The Government of Canada will also report on its contribution to MDG implementation. This year, the Canadian Development Report, analyses the challenges Canada and the world face in order to meet the MDGs. It examines issues of better aid, peace, security and the commitment of Canadian official development assistance to THE NORTH-SOUTH INSTITUTE As people across Canada and around the world join the call to action against poverty, The North-South Institute and the World Federation of United Nations Associations have released the 4th annual report on civil society engagement with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Mobilizing for Change gathers information from civil society organizations around the globe — their opinions, priorities and actions — relative to the implementation of the MDGs and the Millennium Declaration …. At the United Nations Millennium Review Summit, being held in New York from September 14 to 16, world leaders will 9 meet the MDGs. The Canadian Development Report also presents country case studies of Bangladesh, Bolivia and Mali. The North-South Institute’s flagship annual publication, the Canadian Development Report, adds value to this stock-taking process by providing a preliminary, independent assessment of Canada’s contribution to the implementation of the MDGs, as well as follow-up on parts of the Declaration agenda. CDR 2005 also includes up-to-date statistics and analysis on Canada’s human, financial and trade relations with the developing world. Bilingual publication ISBN–1-896770-73-8 (ENGLISH): TOWARDS 2015— MEETING OUR MILLENNIUM COMMITMENTS $35 ISBN–1-896770-72-X (FRENCH): VERS 2015—RESPECTER NOS ENGAGEMENTS DU MILLÉNAIRE 35 $ cally the relative importance of each of these components and their interaction for the behaviour of the spread and of trading volume. Then one can simulate how the spread and trading volume would respond to Tobin’s tax as a change in foreign exchange transaction costs. CONTACT RODNEY SCHMIDT AT RSCHMIDT@NSI-INS.CA Southern Perspectives on Reforming the Development Architecture NSI’s Roy Culpeper and Bill Morton are working on this UK Department for International Development-funded project in association with Sam Wangwe and other researchers at the Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF) in Tanzania. The central issue is the fact that most “reforms” of international development organizations are proposed by Northern governments and experts. While such organizations exist to facilitate development, the perspectives of developing country governments and experts are seldom if ever heard. In Phase 1, a Steering Group of Southern practitioners, advocates, and thinkers will be convened to consider how best to capture Southern perspectives on reforming the development architecture. The meeting of the Steering Group will be prepared and animated by NSI and ESRF. It is expected that this meeting will lead to a second phase, consisting of a series of in-depth studies and regional workshops. The project will conclude with an international conference bringing together the principal findings. Together with the project’s research work, this is designed to result in specific proposals for reform of the development architecture that genuinely reflect low-income country perspectives. CONTACT BILL MORTON AT BMORTON@NSI-INS.CA The Project Pipeline INSIDE NSI — NEW PROJECTS Estimating Revenue from an International Foreign Exchange Transactions Tax (Tobin Tax) This project is being led by NSI’s Rodney Schmidt, in collaboration with the United Nations University in Tokyo, and War on Want in London. Tobin’s tax is conceived as a percentage levy on foreign exchange transactions. The aim of this project would be to find the appropriate tax rate, given both revenue objectives as well as concerns about its impact on market liquidity, and to plan for a tax administrator and revenue allocation authority. Earlier interest in Tobin’s tax identified evasion as a problem. We have since found a feasible way to collect the tax, through the globally integrated payments system used to settle inter-bank foreign exchange transactions in cash and other financial instruments. Tobin’s tax is then equivalent to the user fees, subsumed in the bid-ask spread, that administrators of payments systems routinely collect on individual financial transactions. Initial methods to estimate Tobin tax revenue and the way it responds to changes in the tax rate were not convincing, depending simplistically on gross foreign exchange trading volume to the neglect of other contributors to market liquidity. The equivalence of Tobin’s tax to a transaction cost such as user fees suggests a new way to estimate the revenue elasticity, by looking at the behaviour of the inter-bank bid-ask spread for major currencies. The spread reflects market liquidity (the greater the liquidity the smaller the spread) and responds to transaction costs and market risks, including foreign exchange, liquidity, credit, and settlement risks. One can estimate statisti- Special and Different Treatment for Developing Countries at the WTO: A Canadian Perspective Special and differential treatment (SDT) for developing countries in the context of international trade rules has become a central issue in the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). It could determine the future course of the world trading system — in particular whether countries pursue bilateral or regional agreements in the face of difficulties in achieving a consensus within the WTO — and influence the contribution which trade makes to poverty reduction and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The challenge is to find a balance between addressing particular development needs and keeping industrial countries engaged in the WTO. Ann Weston, Chantal Blouin and research assistant Daniel Poon are undertaking this project for CIDA, which will involve the preparation of a discussion paper and two roundtables with Canadian stakeholders. CONTACT CHANTAL BLOUIN AT CBLOUIN@NSI-INS.CA 10 SPRING•SUMMER 2005 From Immigrant Adaptation to Migrant Transnational Community Formation This project involves the preparation of a comprehensive review of the literature and issues relating to transnational migrants, with a particular focus on what is known about the formation of transnational communities in Canada. The review was undertaken on behalf of the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation to assist in the identification of issue areas supported by its Grant-making Program. The paper was presented at a seminar at NSI on Feb. 4 and will shortly be released on NSI’s website. A particular issue identified in the review as an area for research is the contribution beyond remittances that transnational communities can make to the development of their countries of origin. CONTACT RUDI ROBINSON AT RROBINSON@NSI-INS.CA The Canadian Seasonal Agriculture Workers Program: Translating Research into Community-based Action NSI has received funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to implement some of the recommendations arising from an earlier NSI research project on Canada’s Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program; this examined workers’ working and living conditions, social relations between migrant workers and their Canadian employers, as well as the social and economic relations between migrant workers and the larger communities in which they live. One conclusion was the important role that largely rural community-based voluntary organizations and groups can play in improving migrant farm worker conditions. This follow-up initiative, led by NSI’s Heather Gibb, aims to engage with local community groups, growers, and the workers about the NSI research findings, as well as share their experiences and identify priorities for capacity-building that will support migrant workers’ social inclusion in host communities. A capacity-building workshop will address priorities identified by the community-based voluntary organizations, to enhance their assistance and advocacy for migrant workers and engagement in constructive dialogue with other community partners. CONTACT HEATHER GIBB AT HGIBB@NSI-INS.CA Bank and bilateral agencies such as the UK Department for International Development (DFID) have developed new policies for programming in fragile states. These contexts are the opposite of the “good performers” in the aid effectiveness discourse, namely societies in which states cannot provide even the most basic public goods such as protection from massive violence to most citizens. Donors are currently grappling with how to remain engaged in such contexts, how to ensure donor coordination while nurturing local ownership, and how to support change agents without fostering further conflict. Yet donors are only beginning to consider how state fragility affects men and women differently, and how they might address gender differences and relations in their fragile states programming. The papers that NSI is writing are intended to help CIDA bring gender into its own strategy in this area, and may help it influence wider OECD DAC thinking in this regard. This work is directly informed by NSI’s projects on What Kind of Peace is Possible and the Responsibility to Protect in Africa. CONTACT STEPHEN BARANYI AT SBARANYI@NSI-INS.CA OR KRISTIANA POWELL AT KPOWELL@NSI-INS.CA NSI Public Events Wilton Park Conference—The Millennium Development Goals: Ensuring Achievability and Accountability June 20–23, 2005 — The North-South Institute, in partnership with NORAD, the Canadian Parliamentary Centre and the Royal Institute of Public Administration INTERNATIONAL, co-sponsored the Wilton Park Conference, The Millennium Development Goals: Ensuring Achievability and Accountability. The conference focused on how to assure that the MDGs are met by all regions of the South; the special efforts needed for Sub-Saharan Africa; increasing the budgets and assuring the key priorities of the MDGs are met; the division of labour between the international bodies, developing countries and donor countries goverments; and the role of parliamentarians and other players in assuring accountability. Linking Gender Equality and Fragile States CIDA has commissioned NSI’s Stephen Baranyi and Kristiana Powell to review emerging donor thinking on “fragile states” as well as policy frameworks and programming tools used in related areas such as peacebuilding; the project will draw on those analyses to help CIDA strengthen the gender dimensions of its own fragile states strategy. In recent years the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), the World The North-South Institute celebrates Canada Book Day with a Publisher’s Clearance Sale April 21 and April 22, 2005 — For the first time, The NorthSouth Institute hosted a “publisher’s clearance” to help celebrate the publishing industry and to encourage its supporters to stock up on books which they might not have had a chance to add to their libraries. A wide selection of NSI books published prior to 2000 were sold for a ‘toonie’. THE NORTH-SOUTH INSTITUTE 11 Special and Differential Treatment in the WTO negotiations: Perspective from the LDCs. March 15, 2005—The North-South Institute hosted a seminar presentation by Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya, Executive Director, Centre for Policy Dialogue, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Changes to NSI Staff New Staff Members Sunday Khan joined The North-South Institute in July 2005 as a visiting researcher for the Finance, Debt, and Development Assistance team. He will later return to his job as a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Economics and Management at the University of Yaounde II. The G8, Globalization and Health: Beyond the “Washington Consensus,” Towards Global Health Equity. January 11, 2005—The North-South Institute hosted a seminar presentation by Ronald Labonte and Ted Schrecker. Departures It is with regret that we announce the departure of: • Linda Borgia—Communications Assistant • Omaira Mindiola—Visiting Researcher, Mining and Indigenous Rights Launch of “Land and Development in Latin America” December 13, 2004 — The North-South Institute hosted the launch of Land and Development in Latin America. What role is research playing and what role might it play, in tracking efforts and illuminating policy options? Co-produced with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), this study scans the dynamic area of land policy in Latin America, and identifies four areas where fresh research could make a difference. NSI People CHANGES TO NSI BOARD Arrivals We are pleased to welcome the following new Board members: • Madelaine Drohan, an award-winning author and freelance journalist. She has covered business and politics in Africa, Canada and Europe. Her work has been published in The Economist, Walrus Magazine, The Globe and Mail and The Toronto Star. • Omer Chouinard, Full Professor in the Department of Sociology and Director of the Master’s Program in Environmental Studies at the University of Moncton. • Mary Coyle, University Vice-President and Director of the Coady Institute at St. Francis Xavier University. Departures It is with regret that we announce the departure of Euclide Chiasson, Aldéa Landry, John Stackhouse and Bob White. We thank them all for their dedication and hard work as members of The North-South Institute Board of Directors. 12 SPRING•SUMMER 2005 Yes, I want to confirm my commitment to Research for a Fairer World by becoming a monthly donor. I’d like to make a monthly contribution of: $5 $10 $15 $25 OR I prefer to give $________/month. Option 1: From my bank account I’ve enclosed a blank cheque marked “VOID”. 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Here is my donation of $50 $100 $150 $250 OR I prefer to give $_________ Option 1: From my bank account I’ve enclosed a cheque made payable to The North-South Institute or Option 2: From my VISA credit card I prefer to have NSI debit my VISA card VISA no. Signature Name on card Expiry Date Date To ensure that you receive your tax receipt, please fill in the information below: Name Address Province email Tel (work) City Postal Code Tel (home) The North-South Institute would like to publicly recognize its donors. If you do not wish public recognition, please check here. Thank you for your support! *Charitable registration # 11924 7807 The North-South Institute 200-55 Murray Street Ottawa, ON K1N 5M3 email: nsi@nsi-ins.ca 2005 THE NORTH-SOUTH INSTITUTE To Order… All NSI publications are available for purchase through: Renouf Books 5369 chemin Canotek Road, Unit 1 Ottawa, ON Canada K1J 9J3 tel (613) 745-2665 fax (613) 745-7660 toll-free 1-888-551-7470 (in North America) Publications that are free of charge are available through the NSI Office: The North-South Institute 55 Murray Street, Suite 200 Ottawa, ON Canada K1N 5M3 tel (613) 241-3535 fax (613) 241-7435 e-mail nsi@nsi-ins.ca Review managing editor L O I S R O S S production A U B U T & N A D E A U D E S I G N C O M M U N I C AT I O N S Review is published by The North-South Institute. It is accessible electronically at www.nsi-ins.ca Articles may be freely excerpted, provided credit is given and a copy of the publication in which the material appears is forwarded to the Institute. The North-South Institute carries out research on Canada’s relations with developing countries. It is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1976. Charitable registration # 11924 7807. NSI receives a core grant from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Contact us at: 55 Murray Street, Suite 200, Ottawa, ON K1N 5M3 tel (613) 241-3535 fax (613) 241-7435 e-mail nsi@nsi-ins.ca web site www.nsi-ins.ca ISSN: 118-4347 Canadian Publication Mail Agreement 1553577 14 SPRING•SUMMER 2005