They have a direct impact on the domestic policies of governments, and on their ability to act in the interests of the citizens to whom they are accountable. The WTO's basic operating premise must change to embody principles other than liberalization into trade, including the achievement of human and labour rights. Another issue relates to the IMF and World Bank, both controlled by a handful of rich countries. The IMF and World Bank must make real changes, so that their programs advance an open, democratic, equitable, and ecologically sustainable agenda. The global perspective on human rights is based on the UN charter.
Many corporate leaders claim that human rights are unnecessary impediments to development.
Many governments justify the denial of basic human and labour rights as necessary to make their countries more globally competitive. In the last four years of the millennium, the number of people living in poverty worldwide increased by two hundred million. We must take other steps, like writing off 100 per cent of the bilateral debts of the 50 poorest countries. The Jubilee 2000 initiative has identified 52 of the poorest countries in the world as being in urgent need of debt cancellation. Over 80 per cent involves speculative activity, enabling banks and investors to make multi million dollar profits.