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	UN drive for west to focus attention on economic and social rights by Frances Williams Financial Times   Jan 2008   The United Nations is to push for economic and social rights, including the human rights responsibilities of companies, to be given greater attention in the run-up to the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.   Louise Arbour, UN high commissioner for human rights, says in an interview with the FT the attacks on the US on September 11 2001 have left the debate on economic and social rights on hold as the human rights community fought to defend civil liberties from erosion by counter-terrorism measures.   The year-long campaign leading up to December''s anniversary of the Universal Declaration represents a fresh opportunity to emphasise the "indivisibility" and "universality" of the human rights affirmed in the declaration, she says. The declaration makes no distinction between civil and political rights, and economic, social and cultural rights.   "If you look at the Universal Declaration . . . all the rights are there. This was Roosevelt''s ''Freedom from fear and freedom from want''." But western governments have largely championed civil and political rights while leaving econ-omic and social rights to the market, she says.   "The assumption was that prosperity will look after the right to health and education, which I think is a completely misguided view of what human rights are about.   "There''s no reason to assume that prosperity will transform itself naturally into any form of social justice," she says, including help for the most vulnerable.   The overemphasis of civil and political rights has laid the west open to charges of hypocrisy by many developing nations, which say economic and social rights are more important to them.   While this argument is "a bit disingenuous", she says, "the fact that not a single western country has ratified the Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers is very telling".   Although UN draft norms - setting out companies'' human rights responsibilities - have been shelved for the time being, the high commissioner does not rule out future development of binding international rules for corporations.   These could start with less contentious areas, she says, such as non-discrimination, protection of the right to life, liberty of the person, and the core labour conventions outlawing child labour or slavery.   She acknowledges this is not a near-term prospect. "When you look at the fact that it took two decades to get a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, any work that can be done on all fronts to advance human rights protection in an environment where multi-national corporations are the dominant actors should be welcomed," she says.   John Ruggie, UN special rapporteur on business and human rights, is due to make recommendations to this effect when he presents his final report to the UN Human Rights Council at the end of his mandate in June.   Prof Ruggie has been criticised by civil society groups for putting too much stress on voluntary corporate initiatives, which often lack adequate monitoring or accountability mechanisms, which they argue risk defusing pressure for binding rules. Ms Arbour accepts these criticisms, but says the engagement of businesses needs to be encouraged.   For instance, her office is working in partnership with the UN''s Global Compact, whose 3,600 corporate members, mostly in emerging economies, have pledged to uphold 10 principles on human rights, labour rights, the environment and anti-corruption.   "There should be no false pretence that membership carries any endorsement of the company''s compliance with human rights norms and standards," she says. "But one can only hope that it will move forward."
	United Nations pledges to mobilize action to reach Millennium Development Goals by United Nations News   13 Feb 2008   UN Secretary-General, in message to Global Fund for Agricultural Development, warns global warming could prompt severe food crisis, seeks support of agriculture.   The work of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has never been more important. We face a development emergency. The year 2008 must be the year of the "Bottom Billion", the poorest, most disadvantaged segment of humanity. This must be the year the international community renews its commitment to the needs of the weak, the disadvantaged, those who have been excluded from the mainstream of global society. I believe this is best done by redoubling our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, especially the crucial targets of halving poverty and hunger by 2015.   The world is already past the midpoint of the race to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. And while many countries have made strong progress towards the Goals, others lag behind. At the same time, existing Millennium Development Goals plans face new and emerging challenges. Climate change in particular has emerged as a daunting obstacle that undermines both existing advances while threatening future gains.   Climate change can prove especially detrimental to agricultural production. It disrupts weather patterns and upsets fragile ecosystems, threatening the crop cycle and food production. Coupled with the dramatic increase in food prices over the past year, global warming could prompt a potentially severe food crisis.   Better support for agriculture is crucial to address these worrying developments.   28 January 2008   UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today pledged to mobilize national leaders in a drive to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – a set of anti-poverty targets for the year 2015 – when they come to United Nations Headquarters in New York for the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate in September.   “We are at the mid-point of a great campaign to end world poverty, set forth in the Millennium Development Goals. Too many nations have fallen behind. We need fresh ideas and fresh ideas and fresh approaches,” Mr. Ban told a news conference in Davos, Switzerland, where he is attending the World Economic Forum.   The Secretary-General repeated his recent calls for attention to the poorest of the world’s poor, known as the ‘bottom billion.’   “They are the forgotten ones, the nearly 1 billion left behind by global growth,” he said.   Mr. Ban illustrated the urgent need for action with stark statistics showing that one child dies of hunger every five seconds; for two thirds of the world a glass of ordinary drinking water is a luxury; and 1 million people die from malaria every year.   “That is why I am launching, together with global leaders, a new initiative,” he said. “This September, the UN will host a high-level meeting on the MDGs, with a special focus on Africa.” The aim, he said, is to “bring together world leaders and, together, demand action.”   “This is a sacred cause. The fight against global poverty and human suffering is a moral imperative.”
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