We heard dramatic and moving testimonies of workers from Burma, Canada, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand, and the United States of America. The witnesses to the Tribunal told the panel of judges and an audience of hundreds about their deplorable and unacceptable working conditions. Repeatedly, examples were given of how governments and corporations violate the fundamental human rights of workers with impunity. This has resulted in death, in imprisonment, in harassment and intimidation of workers who attempt to defend their rights. The model of liberalization of trade and investment being promoted by APEC is undermining national and international safeguards that protect workers' rights and employment conditions.
Deregulation is used to dismantle the accountability of governments and corporations.
Freedom of association and the right to form independent trade unions are violated in a myriad of different ways. APEC's vision has no place for the people who make the products that APEC is so eager to trade. Their rights are nowhere on APEC's agenda. The priority accorded to economic growth and rapid trade and investment liberalization run counter to any notion of people-centered sustainable development. A common thread running through the testimonies was accountability.