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Missing Links in Sustainable Development: South Asian Perspectives
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Scholar skeptic about globalisation Professor Walden Bello from Philippine said here on Thursday that Corporate-driven globalisation has been facing deep crisis. He was addressing on the second day of the ninth annual conference on "Missing Links in Sustainable Development: South Asian Perspectives", organised by Sustainable Development and Policy Institute (SDPI). The professor who also won the Right Livelihood Award of SDPI, presented his paper 'The Crisis of the Globalist Project: Civil Society's Role and Response', discussed the existence of new space for southern societies due to the limitations of unilateral powers and obsolete multi lateral institutions. At the unilateral level, the over extension of US economic and military power, EU - US fissure and current events in Latin America provide evidence that the tide is turning against neoliberalism, Professor Bello said. He further said that in terms of the legitimacy of multilateral institutions, the IMF and the World Bank as well as the World Trade Organisation continue to find their popularity undermined as illustrated by funding and organisational indicators, he said. Southern economies are addressing their economic crises by increasing civil society representation and generating alternatives in the space being created by limitations within the globalist project. The World Social Forum despite its various shortcomings had created such space, Dr Bello felt. Dr Bello indicated that pre cold war alliances had changed and their divisions needed to be expanded upon by developing nations to create new spaces for engagement and called for a move beyond developmentalist and neoliberal models required to establish mechanisms that work to the advantage of developing nations. In the session on 'The Underbelly of Globalisation- Gender and Economic Integration in South Asia', Dr Karin Astrid Siegmann from SDPI, Alessandra Mezzadri from the School of Oriental and African Studies, UK and Dr Veena Jha's findings were presented on the gender and globalisation interface, paying special attention to South Asia. Dr Karin Astrid Siegmann emphasised that though economic globalisation creates economic opportunities for those endowed with productive resources such as human and physical capital, access to formal employment and geographical mobility, access of women and girls to resources such as rights to land, access to capital and technology, support for unconstrained mobility and equal access to education. Dr Aliya Khan from Quaid-e-Azam University highlighted that the human face of globalisation was gendered and stressed the importance of looking at all policies through a gendered lens. The session on 'Human Security in South Asia', concluded that the mainstream discourse on human security was gender blind and stressed the need for tenderising human security and making gender sensitive laws at national and international levels. Nizamuddin Nizamani's paper on 'Balochistan Crisis-A regional Conflict Unfolding over Suleiman Range' said that the government had said to arrest a few hundred insurgents, whereas the local political parties have claimed that more than 4000 people had been imprisoned, only 200 of whom had been brought before the court. The Taliban insurgency, US Iran tension, Durand Line issue, Chinese investment and the alleged Indian assistance to the insurgents in Balochistan were significant security threats in Balochistan, he highlighted and recommended drastic administrative measures, provincial autonomy, transparent elections and general amnesty in Balochistan for enhancing human security indicators in Balochistan.
Fewer jobs for women labourers in S. Asia South Asia has the second lowest female labour force participation rate worldwide after the Middle East and North Africa due to lesser opportunities of formal employment and access to resources. Resultantly, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan rank 99th to 107 on the gender development index and are at the bottom of the distribution. These were the findings of speakers, at a session on “The underbelly of globalisation - gender and economic integration in South Asia” at the ninth sustainable development conference here on Thursday. Dr Karin Astrid Siegmann from the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) said economic globalisation created opportunities for those endowed with productive resources, such as human and physical capital, access to formal employment and geographical mobility. She suggested that access of women and girls to resources such as rights to land, access to capital and technology, support for unconstrained mobility and equal access to education needed to be strengthened. Dr Alessandra Mezzadri in her paper on “Indian garment sector” pointed out that recent trends in the Indian garment industry were quite discouraging, since they showed how the formation of class solidarity was purposefully suffocated by the producers’ strategies for labour control. With reference to two of the new growing Indian garment export centres - Chennai and Bangalore. She explored strategies that showed success in preventing the formation of a conscious and cohesive working class in the Indian garment production. Moreover, she highlighted how producers’ politics of production pushed female workers to participate in the reproduction of the conditions, which prevented the formation of class-consciousness. Dr Veena Jha's study examined whether an export-oriented change in the production sector can bring changes in the socio-economic condition of women in India. Her findings concluded that empowerment of women and export orientation of state economy were significantly related, provided literacy rates and health indicators were also high. Dr Aliya Khan from the Quaid-I-Azam University said the human face of globalisation was gendered and stressed the importance of looking at all policies through a gendered lens. Secretary ministry of women development Mehmood Saleem, who chaired the session, said Pakistan had taken many steps for empowerment of women. He said nobody can stop women from getting education and participating in politics. Meanwhile, the session on human security in South Asia concluded that the mainstream discourse on human security was gender blind and stressed the need for genderising human security and making gender sensitive laws at national and international levels. Dr Saba Gul Khattak of SDPI, while presenting her paper on “Gender, human security - the case of Pakistan and Bangladesh” said the state not only granted security to women but was also responsible for their insecurity as reflected in the Constitution. She stressed that both law and legislation along with peoples’ attitude and perceptions needed to be sensitised. Urvashi Butalia from India said crimes against women and children were a major part of modem warfare just as they had been a decade ago during the partition of India.
Corporate-driven globalisation in crisis Statesman Peshawar December 15, 2006 Statesman Report ‘Corporate-driven globalization is now in very deep crisis, stated professor Walden Bello, winner of the Right Livelihood Award, known as the Alternative Nobel Prize, during his speech at the Ninth Sustainable Development Conference here on Thursday. In his thought provoking and evocative paper ‘The Crisis of the Globalist Project: Civil Society's Role and Response’, Professor Bello discussed the existence of new space for Southern societies due to the limitations of unilateral powers and obsolete multi lateral institutions. At the unilateral level, the over extension of US economic and military power, EU-US fissures and current events in Latin America provide evidence that the tide is turning against neo-liberalism. In terms of the legitimacy of multilateral institutions, the IMF and the World Bank as well as the World Trade Organization continue to find their popularity undermined as illustrated by funding and organizational indicators, he said. Southern economies are addressing their economic crises by increasing civil society representation and generating alternatives in the space being created by limitations within the globalist project. The World Social Forum despite its various shortcomings had created such space, Dr. Bello felt and added that national and local priorities should ensure that the market was driven by society since the future hinges on an ability to cooperate rather than compete and move from the realm of necessity to the realm of freedom. Dr. Bello replying questions of the participants indicated that pre cold war alliances had changed and their divisions. He emphasised the need to expand upon by developing nations in order to create new spaces for engagement and called for a move beyond developmentalist and neoliberal models required to establish mechanisms that work to the advantage of developing nations.Go to Top
Corporate-driven globalisation in deep crisis Prof Walden Bello, winner of the prestigious Right Livelihood Award, has said that corporate-driven globalisation is now in very deep crisis and the tide is turning against neoliberalism. Dr Bello was speaking on the 2nd day of 3-day Ninth Sustainable Development Conference on “Missing links in sustainable development: South Asian perspectives”, organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute here Thursday. Talking about new space for Third World societies due to limitations of unilateral powers and obsolete multilateral institutions, Prof Bello said that the over extension of US economic and military power, EU-US fissures and current events in Latin America evinced that the process of neoliberalism reversed in terms of legitimacy of multilateral institutions like IMF, World Bank and the WTO. He said that southern economies are addressing their economic crises by increasing civil society representation and generating alternatives. He said that the World Social Forum despite various shortcomings created such a space. He said that national and local priorities should ensure that the market was driven by society as the future hinges on an ability to cooperate rather than compete and move from the realm of necessity to the realm of freedom. Dr Bello said that pre-Cold War alliances had changed and there is a need to create new spaces for engagement. He called for a move beyond developmentalist and neoliberal models required to establish mechanisms that could work to the advantage of developing nations. He said that if the microstructure power at local level did not change, the community participation model may not be successful. Alessandra Mezzadri said that recent trends in the Indian garment industry were quite discouraging since they showed how the formation of class solidarity was purposefully suffocated by producer's strategies for labour control. With reference to two of the new growing Indian garment export centres, Chennai and Bangalore, she explored strategies that showed success in preventing the formation of a conscious and cohesive working class in Indian garment production. Dr Aliya Khan from Quaid-I-Azam University said that the human face of globalisation was gendered and stressed the importance of looking at all policies through a gendered lens. Nizamuddin Nizamani said that while the government had claimed to arrest a few hundred insurgents in Balochistan, the local political parties claimed that more than 4,000 people had been imprisoned, only 200 of whom had been brought before the courts. He said that Taliban insurgency, US Iran tension, Durand Line issue, Chinese investment and the alleged Indian assistance to the insurgents in Balochistan were significant security threats in Balochistan. He asked for drastic administrative measures, provincial autonomy, transparent elections and general amnesty in Balochistan for enhancing human security indicators in Balochistan. Emma Varley from Canada discussed the post-1988 sectarian polarisation in Gilgit and how the weaponisation and militarisation of that area led to unattended childbirths and missed abortions. Mohammad Ali Shah, President, Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum urged the government to implement the Sustainable Fisheries Policy drafted by PPF. Faisal Shaheen from Canada reviewed the proposed policy while Khan Jamali's paper outlined the dynamics of the fisheries sector and the challenges faced by fisherfolk communities in meeting their day-to-day requirements. Dr Saba Gul Khattak, head of SDPI, said that the state not only granted security to women but was also responsible for their insecurity as reflected in the Constitution of Pakistan. She stressed that both law and legislation, along with peoples' attitudes and perceptions needed to be sensitised. Urvashi Butalia from India, Dr. Masooma Hasan, Dr Rukhsana Qamber from QAU, Mehmood Saleem, Secretary of the Ministry of Women Development, Dr Lubna Nazir Chaudhary from the State University of New York and Dr. Shaheen Raft Khan, Dr Karin Astrid Siegmann, Dr Abid Suleri and Sobia Ahmed from SDPI also spoke on the occasion.
SDPI moot mulls globalisation, corruption Intellectuals and scholars mulled over the issue like globalisation, human rights, environment, gender, livelihood and corruption at the second day of three-day sustainable development conference organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) Thursday. Prof Walden Bello, winner of the Right Livelihood Award, known as the alternative Nobel Prize, in his thought provoking and evocative paper ‘The Crisis of the Globalist Project: Civil Society’s Role and Response’, discussed the existence of new space for southern societies due to the limitations of unilateral powers and obsolete multi lateral institutions. At the international level, the over extension of US economic and military power, EU-US fissures and current events in Latin America provide evidence that the tide is turning against neo-liberalism. He said that in terms of the legitimacy of multilateral institutions, the IMF and the World Bank as well as the World Trade Organisation continue to find their popularity undermined as illustrated by funding and organisational indicators, he said. Southern economies are addressing their economic crises by increasing civil society representation and generating alternatives in the space being created by limitations within the globalist project. The World Social Forum despite its various shortcomings had created such space, Dr Bello felt. Bello said national and local priorities should ensure that the market was driven by society since the future hinges on an ability to cooperate rather than compete and move from the realm of necessity to the realm of freedom. The session raised the important question such as whether dismantling the WTO was the best way forward as a rule based system was necessary for protecting the interests of developing nations? Other questions discussed the convergence between the war on terror and neo-liberalism, the need to rectify inequalities within civil society, the role of the UN as a vehicle for social change and the need to question fundamental requirements in countering the tide of neo-liberalism. In the session on ‘The Underbelly of Globalisation- Gender and Economic Integration in South Asia’, Dr Karin Astrid Siegmann from SDPI, Ms Alessandra Mezzadri from the School of Oriental and African Studies, UK and Dr Veena Jha’s findings were presented on the gender and globalisation interface, paying special attention to South Asia. Dr Karin Astrid Siegmann emphasised that though economic globalisation created economic opportunities for those endowed with productive resources such as human and physical capital, access to formal employment and geographical mobility, access of women and girls to resources such as rights to land, access to capital and technology, support for unconstrained mobility and equal access to education, needed to be strengthened. Ms Alessandra Mezzadri in her paper on the Indian garment sector pointed out that recent trends in the Indian garment industry were quite discouraging since they showed how the formation of class solidarity was purposefully suffocated by producer’s strategies for labour control. The session on ‘Human Security in South Asia’, concluded that the mainstream discourse on human security was gender blind and stressed the need for gender human security and making gender sensitive laws at national. Nizamuddin Nizamani’s paper on ‘Balochistan Crisis-A regional Conflict Unfolding Over Suleiman Range’ brought vivid and horrifying details of the military operation in Balochistan to the forefront. He said while the government had claimed to arrest a few hundred insurgents, the local political parties have claimed that more than 4,000 people had been imprisoned, only 200 of whom had been brought before the court. The Taliban insurgency, US-Iran tension, Durand Line issue, Chinese investment and the alleged Indian assistance to the insurgents in Balochistan were significant security threats in Balochistan. He recommended drastic administrative measures, provincial autonomy, transparent elections and general amnesty in Balochistan for enhancing human security indicators in Balochistan. The session on ‘Marine Fisheries: Compliance, Sustainability and Livelihoods’, chaired by Mohammad Ali Shah, president, Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum called on the government to implement the Sustainable Fisheries Policy drafted by PPF. Faisal Shaheen from Canada reviewed the proposed policy, while Khan Jamali’s paper outlined the dynamics of the fisheries sector and the challenges faced by Fisher Folk communities in meeting their day-to-day requirements. Dr Shaheen Rafi Khan from SDPI gave an extensive presentation of the supply chains of fisher folk communities along the Pakistani coastline. In the panel on ‘Women, Conflict and Security’, Emma Varley from the University of Toronto in her paper talked about the post-1988 sectarian polarisation in Gilgit and how the weaponisation and militarisation of that area had lead to unattended childbirths, missed abortions. Dr Lubna Nazir Chaudhary from the State University of New York discussed the binary between voice and silence and argued for differentiated modalities of voices and silences in our representations, theorising and writings about women. Nazish Brohi’s in her paper ‘Cartographies of Conflict’ critiqued the UN framework stressing that it was extremely inadequate in terms of indicating gendered realities and experiences in conflict since it misses out on looking at the culture of violence and fear.
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