The Workshop on International Regulations

Yoko Kitazawa
Pacific Asia Resource Center, Tokyo
December 2005

This workshop is an ambitious challenge. Firstly, as you see from its title, it tried to deal with all the issues which are the causes and effects of neo-liberal globalization, as well as those of the actors which promote and benefit from the neo-liberal globalization.
The civil societies on global, national, and local levels, have been working on these issues such as debt cancellation, introduction of Currency Transaction Tax (CTT), reform or demolish international institutions such as the IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO, and control of TNCs respectively.
However, it may be our first attempt to collectively discuss on such a wide range issues in a single workshop with a variety of campaigners, scholars, researchers, experts, lobbyists, and NGO activists together.
At the same time, the birth of this workshop is unique. As you see bellow in detail (Call of the Workshop), the idea of holding of the Workshop on International Regulations came out of the Work Group on Solidarity Socio Economy of the Alliance for a Responsible, Plural, and United World, organized by the Charles Leopold Mayer Foundation for the Progress of Humanity based in Paris, France. (See www.socioeco.org). It means that setting up the Workshop on International Regulations was called from the grass-root activists, scholars, and people living in poverty in struggle to build solidarity based economies in the world as an alternative to today’s neo-liberal economy which puts profit over people.
We have succeeded to work out to present a number of proposals on international regulations in short and medium term. However, what is left for us is a long termed vision of another world economy other than current market economy run by neo-liberalism. It is left for the second phase of the workshop in future.
On behalf of all the participants to the Workshop, I sincerely thank the Charles Leopold Mayer Foundation for the Progress of Humanity for enabling us to hold the workshop successfully. And personally I am grateful to Walden Bello, Marcos Arruda for their contribution as co-coordinators beside me and Julie de los Reyes for her role of E-forum animator. Also I highly appreciate to Pacific Asia Resource Center in Tokyo and Focus on Global South in Bangkok for their hard work as secretariats.
Finally and mostly I thank you all the members of the workshop for their enthusiastic participation to the Workshop in two year-long debates.

1. Is the Socio-Economy of Solidarity is an Alternative to the Neo-Liberal Market
Economy ?

Since the fall of the socialist economic system, there seems no alternative to the existing global market economy. When Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher came to power in the early 1980s, the leaders of this “Anglo-Saxon holy alliance” began to implement neo-liberal economic policies in their own countries. They dramatically cut government spending, privatized nearly all state-owned corporations and public services/welfare, and in the end introduced the doctrine of “everything is determined by free market”.
In the same period, the IMF and World Bank began to introduce, with their “one-size-fits-all” methodology, the “structural adjustment programme” in development countries, using the pretext of it being a “remedy” for the debt crisis. The structural adjustment programme was roughly equivalent to what was implemented under Reagan and Thatcher’s neo-liberalism.
The results of neo-liberal globalization can be vividly seen in the fact that the assets of Bill Gates exceed the sum of the GDPs of the 49 least developing countries (LDCs). The total population in these LDCs amounts 600 millions. The annual sales of General Motors, Wal-Mart, Exxon-Mobile, Ford and Daimler-Chrysler also exceed the sum of the aggregate GDPs of the LDCs.
Two trillion dollars of speculative money crosses borders every minute, having a large effect on national economies and on the poor in particular. Neoliberal globalization has turned the world into a huge casino.
This gap is too extreme. Therefore, people have started to say “NO” to globalization.
Transnational corporations (TNCs) have grown into global monopolies. It is no longer possible to dream the world today could be regulated by the invisible hand of Adam Smith, as it was in the early stages of capitalism.
In the 90s, the United Nations has held a series of summit-level world conferences on global issues such as children, environment, human rights, population, social development, women, habitat, and education, and all the member governments have pledged to fulfill those goals which they themselves set. Finally in May 2000, the UN held the Millennium Summit, where it adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to halve the number of people in absolute poverty by 2015.
However, the UN is remained far from achieving those goals. Because of budgetary constrain, the developing countries could not implement those goals.
In the first place, governments of the developing countries have been under heavy burden of external debts, and in addition to this, they are outflanked by Structural Adjustment Programmes of the IMF and World Bank.
Secondly, the Northern governments have not kept their promise made at the UN. Although the resolutions were adopted by consensus, the UN has no biding power over its members. The UN resolutions have the potential to be used as tools by civil society in advocacy work toward governments and international organizations, who have them agreed upon and pledged to fulfill those resolutions. But they are nothing more.
Where, then, can we find an alternate to the current system? It should not be hypothetical. It should exist in the practice of daily lives of people and communities.
While TNCs seek to maximize their accumulated profits, there are economic activities such as cooperatives, mutualities, NGOs, and NPOs. We call them as Solidarity-based socio-economic activities. The socio economy of solidarity has to take into account the protection of environment and human rights, as well as unpaid labor by women in them.
We also find it in the field of micro-credits and social money projects. At the local as well as central government level, there is now some commitment to a participatory approach to democracy and power-sharing with the population, such as participatory budget projects. We must include them into the socio-economy of solidarity.
At the international level, we see it in fair trade and international development cooperation among NGOs of the North and the South.
These parts of the socio-economy of solidarity should not be large-scale, but should retain a human scale, because the socio-economy of solidarity is only possible if there is a trust among the people who participate in it. The various units, then, can be related in the form of loose networks at the national, regional and global levels.
Is it possible to simply destroy the globalized market economy and replace it with the above-mentioned socio-economy of solidarity? The answer, simply, is NO.
For instance, TNCs cannot be entirely replaced by cooperatives; Dollars cannot be replaced by social money. Commercial banks cannot be replaced by micro-credits. All foreign trade cannot be replaced by fair trade.
Instead, we must control the excessive, rampant, highly speculative and unaccountable activities of TNCs and the market economy in the search for maximum profits. We have to rein in the excessive exploitation of workers, unlimited destruction of the environment, and economic and political domination by the TNCs, as well as the concentration of power, decisions, options and functions by a few elites.
We must reform the international institutions such as the IMF, World Bank, and the WTO that promote neo-liberal globalization in the world scale.
This international regulations and controls will only be possible if we promote the socio-economy of solidarity at the local, national, regional and global levels.

2. The Solidarity-based Economy Should Fight against Neoliberal Globalization at the Global Level

Since November 1999 in Seattle, a series of large demonstrations have taken place wherever summit-level meetings are held. Demonstrators protest against such international institutions as the WTO, IMF, World Bank, and the G8 leaders who control those institutions, as well as against the TNCs that are the real beneficiaries of neo-liberal globalization. Demonstrators say “people before profits,” and “another world is possible.”
An international campaign for debt cancellation for poor countries and for the introduction of a currency transaction tax (CTT) has also been waged with the aim of helping to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and building a new international financial architecture..
Since January 2001, yearly large-scaled gatherings of the World Social Forum have been held in Porte Alegre, Brazil and Mumbai in India as a counter to the World Economic Forum of neo-liberal TNC executives held in Davos, Switzerland.
The socio-economy of solidarity must also tackle the task of fighting against neo-liberal globalization.
The governments of developing countries will not be able to achieve the UN MDGs by 2015 with the heavy burden of external debt. If two trillion dollars of speculative money continues to flow around the world, it will be difficult to use micro-credits and social money projects. As we saw at the time of the Asian financial crisis in 1997, these flows of funds can lead to large-scale unemployment and poverty.
If the IMF and World Bank continue to impose their structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) and in recent years poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSP) on developing countries, the activities of the socio-economy of solidarity at the grassroots level will be hindered and participatory budget projects at the local government level will be blocked. If any activity carried out by a cooperative runs against the agreements of the WTO, and its panel passes a judgment that there has been a violation, the cooperative’s activities have to be stopped.
My conclusion is that the socio-economy of solidarity is a new, integrated, comprehensive, and convergent economic paradigm which involves combining the grassroots economic activities of people, participatory approaches of local and national governments, and global actions against neoliberal globalization by large masses of people.

3. Call for Workshop on International Regulations in the Context of the Solidarity-Based Economy in the Era of Globalization

In 1999, the Charles Leopold Mayer Foundation for the Progress of Humankind FPH) called for the organization of an Alliance for a Responsible, Plural and United World. The Alliance is composed of 4 pillars: on Governance & Citizenship, Socio-Economy of Solidarity, Humankind & Biosphere, and Values, Education & Culture.
Each pillar has 10-15 sub-themes. During the period from 1999 to 2001, more than 60 workshops have been organized on each sub-theme.
In December 2001, the Foundation organized the World Citizen’s Assembly in Lille, France, based on the results of all the workshops for the past two years, with 400 participants. The Assembly adopted the Charter of Human Responsibilities to be carried out by global citizens in parallel with existing documents such as the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that are supposed to be observed by all states.
In June 2001, prior to the Lille Assembly, a transversal workshop was organized in Findhorn, Scotland, to reflect, stimulate and synthetize the results of 15 workshops held over the past two years on 14 themes. The themes of the workshops were Work, Employment and Activity, Companies and Solidarity, Production, Technology Investment, Ethical Consumption, Fiscal Policies and Social Welfare, Socially Responsible Finances, Sustainable Finance, Social Money, Debt and Structural Adjustments, Fair Trade, International Trade and WTO, Sustainable Development, Economic Policies, Women and Economy, and Socially Responsible Economy.
Activities to build a socio-economy of solidarity have already been carried out by people at the grassroots, community, local government, and global levels. However, if international institutions such as the WTO, IMF and World Bank, which promote neoliberal globalization, impose their policies, and if TNCs carry out irresponsible activities, the fruits of the socio-economy of solidarity could be taken away.
For this reason, when members of the Workgroup on the Socio-economy of Solidarity (WSSE) met and discussed how to carry out follow at the Lille Assembly, they agreed to start a new workshop on International Regulations in the context of the socio-economy of solidarity.
This workshop will deal with issues such as debt cancellation, introduction of a Currency Transaction Tax (CTT), SAPs/PRSPs of the IMF/World Bank, the free trade principle of the WTO, regulation and control of TNCs, and the interrelationship between international regulations and the socio-economy of solidarity.
Actions on international regulations, i.e. challenging neo-liberal globalization, have not in the past been considered a part of building the socio-economy of solidarity.
Yoko Kitazawa, a member of the Global Coordination Team of WSSE, and also representing the Pacific Asia Resource Center (PARC) based in Tokyo, was assigned to undertake to launch the preparation of Workshop on International Regulations.
It might be a first attempt at dialogue between people working toward the socio-economy of solidarity and people fighting against neo-liberal globalization.
Preparatory meeting was held in Tokyo on October 9 ? 11, 2003. Participants to this meeting were composed of both activists/ campaigners on international regulations as well as the ones of solidarity of socio-economy.

4. Decisions of Tokyo Preparatory Meeting

The Preparatory meeting was organized by Yoko Kitazawa with the local support of PARC ? Pacific Asia Resource Center.
Its participants included:
Christoph Aguiton, France on Social Movements
David Hillman, UK on the CTT
Heloisa Primavera, Argentine on Social Money
Joy Kennedy, Canada on TNCs
Njoky Njehu, Kenya and USA on Debt Cancellation
Pierre Johnson, France on Fair Trade
Oscar Ugarteche, Peru on International Financial Order
Reiko Inoue, Japan on WTO
Yoko Kitazawa and Marcos Arruda, Global Animation Team, WSSE.
After rich sessions of presentations and discussion on the key themes related to international regulations and controls over capital, the participants decided to plan the follow-up of the Workshop on two levels. One is the themes, the other, the activities.
What is the thematic range of the Workshop? How is it linked to other Workshops of the WSSE and of Alliance 21? The scope of the Workshop includes three areas:

(a) development paradigms,
(b) International regulations on trade and the WTO, and
(c) Regulations on financial flows in the framework of a new international financial system.

Areas (b) and (c) should be investigated in the light of area (a). For example: the role of multilateral institutions, or the role of TNCs, should be examined in the framework of a people- and earth-centered development paradigm, of an ethical relationship between capital and labor, between North and South, between civil society, the State and agents of global governance.
The work strategy includes two dimensions: one, the critique of the existing system of socioeconomic and political relations and the existing institutions; the other, to elaborate proposals based on the socio-economy of solidarity (SSE) paradigm and that contemplate innovations and alternative policies, relations and institutions.
As for Development Paradigm as the conceptual framework for international regulations and controls, the meeting feels it should explore fours aspects of the conflicting paradigms:

(a) Capital/free market-centered versus people/Earth-centered.
(b) Economic and technical development as a means for human and social development: the socio-economic and ecological paradigm.
(c) Interconnections between local-national-international-global ? social responsibility and regulations are complementary,
(d) subsidiarity of social, economic and political institutions.

Three approaches that frame the debate on international regulations: ethics, modes of development and governance.
Strategic and tactical goals regarding the United Nations as a global governance institution, responsible to guarantee a just peace, a fair and harmonious development of peoples of the world, and sustainable political and environmental security.
Strategies and tactics to achieve those goals.

TNCs - WTO
Production --Investment -- Sharing wealth, knowledge and power;
Inequitable and equitable regulations on international trade;
Knowledge -- technology -- services -- procurement -- access to markets.
Good unequal approaches that serve the harmonization and the overcoming of inequalities.
Strategic and tactical goals regarding the WTO and global trade and investment.
Strategies and tactics to achieve those goals.
IFIs --INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL SYSTEM
Debt -- indebtedness policies -- adjustment programs -- alternatives;
Inadequate and adequate role of multilateral financial institutions;
Regulations on capital flows - Tobin Tax;
Alternative forms and uses of money;
Strategic and tactical goals regarding the IFIs and socioeconomic development.
Strategies and tactics to achieve those goals.

The meeting decided to undertake the following activities as Workshop participants:
The dialogue will be held through email, by means of an electronic forum, when possible, and at meetings. The main goals are to articulate a mission; circulate knowledge; build capacities and know-how; answer the question how can this Workshop and the WSSE facilitate the empowerment of the networks and movements that we represent here, and those who have not participated in this meeting?
All global events will serve as an opportunity for the participants to meet. The first one will be the World Social Forum in Mumbai, where a brief meeting was held for two-hour duration.
Interaction with social movements and networks is a crucial dimension of the Workshop. The Alliance does not intend to overlap with existing movements, or to replace them. The goal is to facilitate interconnections and interaction, to generate more powerful and effective synergies for socioeconomic transformation.
For participation in Social Forums, using the opportunity of Social Forums to meet as a Workshop, the meeting decided to organize specific events on SSE, in collaboration with other parts of the WSSE and the Alliance, and with social movements and networks;
Participate in events organized by others.
For interfaith with other Workshops and Workgroups/Colleges, the coordinator will have a special responsibility to identify the interfaces of the Workshop with other groups of the WSSE and the Alliance, and try to establish a dialogue with participants of those groups and, eventually, invite them to meetings is an important way of expanding the network of reflection and action on international regulations and controls.

.5. Mumbai Meeting in January 2004

At the 4th World Social Forum to be held in Mumbai, India, the members of the Preparatory meeting of Tokyo hold a brief meeting. It was agreed that all the members of the Tokyo Preparatory meeting would act as an interim team as a steering committee to prepare an enlarged workshop tentatively planned in June 2005 in order to present our proposals on international regulations and controls for the coming UN Summit for Reviewing the Millennium Development Goals (Millennium＋5) to be held in September 2005 in New York.
Walden Bello who was unable to participate in the Tokyo meeting in October 2003, was also at present in Mumbai, and he agreed to act as a coordinator for the workshop with the condition that PARC in Tokyo will act as supporting office,
A meeting between Walden Bello, Yoko Kitazawa and Reiko Inoue (Co-President of PARC) took place on 30-31 March in Tokyo.
Walden Bello, the director of Focus on the Global South will undertake the following preparatory works;

(1) To undergo research on the topics contained in the International Regulations,
(2) To carry out an electronic exchange forum,
(3) To participate in relevant international conferences,
(4) Finally to organize an enlarged workshop.

It was agreed also to start an Electronic Exchange Forum on International Regulations for one year period in the context of Solidarity Socio-Economy in an era of Neo-liberal Globalization, following the informal consultation in Mumbai in January 2004.

6. Roundtable on International Regulations at the 5th World Social Forum in Port Alegre

On January 28, 2005, at the 5th World Social Forum in Port Alegre, a roundtable was organized by the WSSE and International Forum on Globalization (IFG) on international regulations. This was a first attempt to compare the global strategies of the solidarity economy networks, represented by the WSSE and the global justice movement, represented by the IFG.
A rich dialogue was created pointing the potential complementarities, and a first set of proposals and strategies to implement them was presented.

Proposals emerging from the Roundtable are the following;

NEW RULES FOR A NEW ECONOMY: a new global governance to move from grassroots experiences to a fair global economy

Goal:
1. Prevent the commons (water, air, land, oceans, forest) from being subject to privatization and commodification.
2. Reorient economic activity from unlimited economic growth and profit making towards people’s well being and a sustainable Earth.
3. Promote the empowerment of individuals, communities and peoples to become the subjects of their own development as the basis for a full democracy.
4. Support local economies on the basis of the subsidiarity principle.
5. Build the conditions to replace global trade and finance institutions (WTO, World Bank, IMF, multilateral regional banks) with new organisms to deal democratically with global finance and global trade; they should be independent from the USA and from global corporations, and under the control of a reformed United Nations.
6. Support forms of enterprises that promote democracy and sustainability and fight concentrated corporate power.
7. Promote fair, progressive tax systems that serve as a tool for wealth and income redistribution.
8. Stop fiscal evasion and abolish tax havens.
9. Prohibit the funding of political parties by corporations.
10. Create international rules adapted to the reality of different countries and based on the 10 principles of governance defined by the IFG.
11. Promote relations between countries and peoples based on cooperation
And solidarity, in terms that are proportional to the economic power of each country or block.
12. Build solidarity-based markets.
13. Develop a vision of a solidarity economy as a project and praxis of a new, post-capitalist planetary society.
14. Practice economic and technical development as means for social and human development.

Strategies:

1. Combine three strategies dynamically and creatively: i/ research, critique and denounce the unjust, oppressive and alienating order, institutions and social relations; ii/ advance proposals for new rules, regulations and reforms that reduce the dehumanizing effects of the existing order and prepare for deeper transformation; and iii/ create the new reality from inside the old one, building solidarity-based socioeconomic relations, networks and public policies here and now.
2. Rebuild national and global development from the bottom upwards and transform the State to serve as orchestrator and supporter of people- and community-centered sustainable development.
3. Re-focus education on empowerment for self-development.
4. Delegitimize and weaken global multilateral institutions as means to prepare for their transformation and/or replacement.
5. Develop a global campaign to restructure the United Nations around the values related to the human and social rights and the right of peoples to self-development; reduce the power of the Security Commission and increase the power of the UN General Assembly.
6. Demand the United Nations to regulate capital flows in order to stop tax wars between and within nations, to monitor the implementation of corporate codes of conduct and to impose sanctions against violations.
7. Organize a citizens’ campaign to withdraw from the WTO the negotiations on the commons, public services, intellectual property and investment; these are issues not directly related to trade or are not to be traded in the marketplace.
8. Promote a global justice movement that influence governments towards rejecting the neoliberal order.
9. Pressure governments to suppress subsidies to big corporations and, instead, channel subsidies for small and medium enterprises and for community development.
10. Establish forms of organization of work that emancipate workers from the bondages of exploitation, of environmental destruction and of mere survival.
11. Use every opening in the existing order to advance in the struggle for global justice.
12. Publicize existing alternatives: share policies and practices that generate relevant innovations and networking at all levels.
13. Innovate in linking local experiences and reflections with the movements for another globalization.
14. Overcome monetary and financial power concentration and promote the democratization of money as a means of exchange and a symbol of human work, knowledge and creativity.

Roundtable participants:
John Cavanagh, IPS-USA and IFG;
Marcos Arruda, PACS-RJ and WSSE-Alliance 21;
Debi Barker, IFG/USA,
Jean-Louis Laville/LISE-CNAM-France;
Sara Larrain/Chile Sustentable.
Moderator: Walden Bello, Focus on the Global South/Philippines-Thailand and
IFG.

7. Electronic Forum

As the first stage of preparing the proposal for International Regulation of neoliberal economy, an Electronic Exchange Forum was carried out from September 2004 to September 2005. Walden Bello and Yoko Kitazawa assigned Julie de los Reyes of Focus on the Global South to undertake as an animator of the E-Forum.
This Forum will be followed by the Enlarged Workshop to be held in June 2005 as its second stage. The final stage is the summing up at an Enlarged Workshop.

Objectives of an Electronic Exchange Forum
(1) To evaluate the present achievement of theories, practices, a campaigns and movements related to the international regulations in the context of solidarity socio-economy in the era of neo-liberal globalization.
(2) To determine the areas which need further study and research
(3) To exchange the debates on the above-mentioned areas and to draft proposals on strategies and movements by the participants of the electronic exchange forum.

Participants and contents discussed in the E-Forum

(1) Debt Cancellation
In order to achieve the internationally agreed Millennium Development Goals by 2015, global society is to carry out debt cancellation as a pre-condition. For this end, some workable debt cancellation mechanism, such as arbitration court, is to be sought out. Also the issue of debt of the North owed to the South such as colonial and ecological debt was discussed.
The writer was Oscar Ugarteche, Professor of Pontifical Catholic University, Peru presented a paper on Debt Cancellation and proposal on new international financial Architecture and his paper was commented by Walden Bello, Jurgen Kaiser , Jubilee 2000 Germany, and Kunibert Raffer, professor of Vienna University Austria, contributed by Gail Hurley of EURODAD, Yoko Kitazawa of PARC Japan, Robin Round of Halifax Initiative Canada, Eric Helleiner of Trent University Canada, Sara Anderson of Institute of Policy Studies USA, and finally response from Oscar Ugarteche.

(2) Introduction of CTT
In addition to the internationally agreed goal to achieve 0.7% target of ODA (Official Development Assistance) as a share of GNP, the industrial countries should introduce Currency Transaction Tax (CTT) to address the elimination of poverty of the developing countries as well as to regulate the currency speculation.
The writer was David Hillman on Costs of currency speculation and evolving Tobin Tax, of Tobin Tax Network, UK and commented by Robin Round of Halifax Initiative, Canada.

(3) The IMF, the World Bank, and regional development banks such as the Asian
Developing Bank (ADB)
To reform or remold the international financial institutions such as the IMF and World Bank, which are currently promoting neo-liberal globalization in a global scale and in particular rendering a destructive blow to the impoverished people in the developing countries.
The writers are Shalmali Guttal of Focus on Global South on the ADB, Robin Broad of American University, USA on the IBRD, and Walden Bello and Julie de los Reyes on Reform of the IMF,
On the ADB, the commentators are Kunibert Raffer, Nancy Alexander, Ahmed Swapan Mahmud, VOICE, Bangladesh.
The commentators on Broad’s proposal include Angela Wood of Bretton Woods Project, UK Nancy Alexander of Citizen’s Network on Essential Services (CNES), USA, Kunibert Raffer, Doug Hellinger of Development Gap, USA, Arup Rahee of LOKOJ Institute Bangladesh, Soren Ambrose of 50 Years is Enough of USA, and John Fitzgerald of Mexico. And Walden Bello, Patrick Bond of South Africa, Nancy Alexander, and Soren Ambrose are contributed to the debates on IBRD.
Oscar Ugarteche, Kunnibert Raffer, Walden Bello, Njoki Njoroge Njehu of 50 years is Enough USA, and Eric Hellinger are the commentators on the IMF paper.

(4) The WTO
To democratize or demolish the WTO and to work out the plan to introduce the meaningful regulation to world trade to protect the lives and working condition of people.
The paper was written by Aileen Kwa of focus on the Global South, commented by Pierre Johnson, France and Yoko Kitazawa.

(5) Transnational Corporations
In order to regulate and control Transnational Corporations, an international Code of Conduct and its Legal Regime should be stipulated as agreed at the UN Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa. This include the proposal of reform and empower the relevant UN organizations such as the ILO, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNICEF, UNESCO, FAO, WHO, UN Financing for Development Secretariat etc. and the review of the existing international conventions such as the Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol, the Various ILO conventions etc., in order to enable them to fulfill their internationally set goals
The paper was written by Sarah Anderson of Institute of Policy Studies, USA and
commented by Peter Utting, UNRISD, USA, Kavaljit Singh, Public Interest Research Group, India, Anna Pinto, ESCR-Net Corporate Accountability Working Group, USA, and contributed by Fair Trade Organizations of Brussels.

(6) Synthesis of all the topics dealt in the E-Forum
Walden Bello is to write a synthesis paper based on the 7 papers and numerous comments made by the participants in the Forum and is to take into account of the previous discussion and proposals made at the Tokyo Preparatory meeting in 2003, proposals from the roundtable made at the WSF in Port Alegre in 2005.
The Electronic Exchange .Forum is not only limited to the discussion of the papers/proposals on the above mentioned five topics, but became a venue to discuss current events/developments on issues relevant to the ongoing discussions or even at times mobilize support for certain initiatives/campaigns. For more details; http://intreg.socioeco.org/en. Click forum and then archive.
Since September 2004, the Electronic Exchange Forum has been undertaken.
Seven papers on each topic were presented and 76 participants discussed in the E-forum. They are specialist, academics, lobbyists, and activists from five continents and there have been active and thoughtful debates in the forum.

8. Enlarged Final Workshop in Hong Kong

Finally, the Workshop on International Regulations was held on December 14-15, 2005 in Hong Kong, coinciding with the WTO Ministerial Conference and NGO forum held in parallel with the WTO.
This workshop did include the exchange dialogues among those of the above five fields as well as between activists of anti-neoliberal globalization movements and those of solidarity socio-economy movements through the electronic exchange forum
We worked out a synthesis paper, which includes proposals and strategies to achieve international regulations of neo-liberal globalization in context of solidarity socio-economy.

1. One is called Public Forum on IntReg.
The meetings took place in the Tent of Our World not for Sale Network at the Victoria Park that was provided by the Hong Kong Authority for an NGO space during the WTO Ministerial Conference.
The Public Forum on IntReg had two sessions in the form of symposium, both being held 12:00-14:00 14-15th. Originally we intended to report to NGOs and social movements about the results of our E-forum. However, most of us, the Workshop participants as well as participants of Public Forum vividly and actively made their interventions to all the topics, so that the both sessions became public debates on neo-liberal globalization.
In the first session, agenda was on Trade and Investment.
Yoko Kitazawa made a brief introduction, explaining how the Workshop on IntReg came into being. Oscar Ugarteche acted as facilitator and Aileen Kwa first reported on both in Geneva before the WTO Ministerial and the prospect of the Ministerial. Sara Anderson talked on TNCs and proposed to create a Civil Society Code of Conduct on TNC. Kavaljit Singh stressed the need of national struggle of people at the grass roots.
Walden Bello, Victor Menotti, Yoko Kitazawa, Reiko Inoue, Arun Rasta, Nancy Alexander, etc commented and general discussion went on.
The first session was well attended. In the same park, rallies of Via Campesina including Korean farmers and International League of Progressive People went on. We had to make volume of microphone to maximum. As the result, the more people came in out tent.

In the second session next day, agenda was on Finance. Its participants were less than the first day. Reasons were the following; firstly the topics were not on the trade, but on finance which was not familiar to the NGO at the WTO Ministerial. Secondly at the Ministerial meeting, a substantive discussion began, with the EU and the US challenging against developing countries by proposing barter between reduction of agricultural subsidies and lowering tariff of NAMA and Services.
This was a betrayal of the part of developed countries to the Doha Development Agenda. Thirdly there was a peaceful march of Buddhist tradition by Korean farmers starting from Victoria Park to the Convention Center which took place the same time of our session. Every body followed this fascinating parade.
Reiko Inoue chaired the session. Oscar Ugarteche spoke on the Debt Cancellation and the proposal of a new international architecture. David Hillman talked about the Introduction of Currency Transaction Tax, followed by Sony Kapoor. Nancy Alexander spoke on the World Bank in relation to the WTO attempt to liberalization attempt of the service sector in the WTO. Shalmali Guttal spoke on the Asian Development Bank.
And lastly Julie de los Reyes talked about the IMF, followed by Walden Bello. Sameer Dossani Ahmed Swapan, Kevin Gallagher and others commented.
And discussion went on.

2. The other was Closed Workshop held at the meeting room in the 33rd floor of Hotel Rosedale where almost participants were staying. Rosedale Hotel was located near the Victoria Park across the street. It consisted with three sessions; the first one was 15:00 -18:00 14th, second was 9:00-11:00 15th, and the third was 15:00-18:00 15th.
Yoko Kitazawa and Walden Bello chaired the entire sessions. Sony Kapoor as rapporteur took minutes of the entire discussion. I have not received yet his minutes.
The purpose of the Closed Workshop was to discuss and give inputs by the participants on the synthesis paper of Walden Bello.
In short, no one was happy with the way of Walden’s summing up. Particularly, David Hillman and Sony Kapoor, who were specialists on the CTT, were dissatisfied, because there was no mentioning on this topic. Sony was assigned to draft 4 pages on the CTT to be added to Walden’s paper.
Every body expressed that Walden focused too much of Asia in order to explain the crisis of legitimacy of all the international institutions such as the IMF, World Bank and WTO. His analysis was based on the Asian crisis in back to 1997, and he failed to explain recent events such as the Chen Mai Initiative, or the Asian Investment Bank proposed by the UN ESCAP, both of which tried to counter the power of IMF and the World Bank, including the Asian Development Bank.
Also Walden’s analysis lacked the recent events in Latin America, such as the debacle of the FTAA, MERCOSUR, and Chavez’s move to create Banco del Sur, to counter the Washington Consensus.
People questioned Walden, what about Africa?.
Walden Bello promised to rewrite his paper, based on our discussion.
Also we discussed on the future of the workshop.

In the first session, we discussed in general on the Walden’s paper.
In the second and first part of the third session, we discussed on topic by topic of Walden’s paper.
The final part of the third session was devoted to discuss the future of our workshop.

We agreed that the first phase of the Workshop on IntReg was over. When we make sure of the fund, we will start the second phase. In the first phase, we dealt with the existing actors of promoting neo-liberal globalization one by one, and discussed around how to regulate internationally.

In the next phase, we will discuss about an alternative proposal on a new international finance, monetary, trade and investment system.
Oscar Ugarteche, who moved to the National University of Autonomy of Mexico (UNAM), proposed that his Institute of Economic Research could possibly sponsor the Workshop.

List of Participants to HK Workshop

Written by Yoko Kitazawa