We must also acknowledge the decisive role of women in education, in production of wealth and in development. Social rights, trade union rights, rights of working people are basic rights. ILO and U.N. conventions are the best tools at our disposal to defend those rights. But we must see to it that all WTO trade regulations contribute to actual implementation of those rights. Today, it is no longer time to discuss whether we want globalization or not.
Globalization is a fact.
But one choice is still left to us. Or on the contrary, we can try to manage forces in action within the process of economic globalization. In order to do so, nations must be fully aware of the formidable stakes at risk, responsible governments must be determined and aggressive, transparent multilateral institutions must be representative and respectful of the rights of all states. This is France's standpoint. The Japan-France Forum was held on Dec. 16, 1999.