From IHEU's United Nations Representative

April 2002

Two vital concerns of the UN were in the spotlight recently: human rights and global poverty. On April 11 we witnessed an historic ceremony when the UN established a permanent international criminal court. The occasion was an emotional one marked by cheers and applause from hopeful young people witnessing the event. The inclusion of 66 countries, 6 more than needed, many with painful histories, such as Cambodia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, served as final ratification. This court will try individuals charged with horrendous crimes such as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Such a court has been on the UN agenda since 1948 and the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials after World War II. In recent years world response to the appalling massacres in Cambodia, the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda have served to speed the process.

The ICC will be independent of the UN and accountable to the countries that ratify the treaty. The ICC will act only when ratifying nations are unable or unwilling to prosecute individuals committing such crimes. Many countries have had to adjust their laws in order to ratify this treaty. For example, Germany and France had to change their constitutions. April 11 marks a major breakthrough in international human rights law. This court is being actively opposed by the U.S. For information contact the website of the NGO Coalition for the ICC. (www.iccnow.org)

Development and global poverty was the focus of a recent conference in Monterey,Mexico. The many world leaders attending were rethinking strategies on the persistent problem of poverty. Some progress has been made with respect to literacy, population growth, clean water, sanitation and some health conditions. Yet half of the world still lives on less than $2 a day, and a fifth on less than $1.

The amount of foreign aid, especially from the US has fallen over the years. Often aid is distributed through incompetent and somtimes corrupt regimes. When loans can not be repaid, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) imposes harsh measures resulting in much suffering from decreases in social spending. Sometimes aid is used for political purposes. For example, European governments subsidize former colonies to retain influence. President Bush has committed to more aid, and has talked about good governance for countries receiving aid. However his main emphasis was free trade and the need of poor nations to open their markets. Yet the US spends twice as much subsidizing agribusiness as it does aiding needy nations. For example, corn from Iowa floods Mexico's markets and onions from France swamp Senegal. According to a World Bank report, subsidies within wealthy nations run about 1 billion a day, about 6 times the sums spent on aid. Hundreds of millions of people in poor countries who grow food for a living are frozen out of rich countries' markets. To us, it is important that the UN promotes discussions and keeps the spotlight on these fundamental issues.


Sylvain and Phyllis Ehrenfeld