What the S8 activists are most concerned about is whether the UN's decades-old mission to put people over profits is being compromised by the Global Compact, a recent UN partnering with multinational corporations. For many, the UN represents the last great institutional hope, a ready-made antidote to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization. When protesters against corporate globalization are asked to offer alternatives, they point to the UN's Universal Declaration on Human Rights and its Covenant on Economic and Social Rights. These potential solutions already exist, they say, but the UN isn't capable of enforcing them. In preparation for the UN summit, Secretary General Kofi Annan has asked leaders to commit to reducing and reversing the spread of AIDS by 2010, halving the number of people living in poverty by 2015, and providing basic education to all boys and girls.
Poverty eradication is really a top priority.
That aim would be furthered if the UN were allowed a more active role in the decision-making process of the IMF and World Bank, where it now has only consultative status. In 1998 the UN disclosed that the International Chamber of Commerce was helping it advise developing countries on trade policy. Annan hatched the idea in January 1999, warning corporations of a backlash if they did not include socially responsible behavior as part of their economic mission. The Global Compact asks that these corporations post information once a year on a Web site to show the progress they've made improving human rights, labor, environmental standards, and so forth. The idea, of course, is that their efforts, or lack thereof, can be criticized by the participating NGOs and labor.