Spotlight on Sovereignty
UN and OECD Press for Global Governance of Transnational Corporations
ECONOMICS, CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP, HUMAN RIGHTS
July 28, 2010
Recently, at two separate conferences, the United Nations and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development announced their strategies for updating their respective efforts for the global governance of corporations. It has become very clear to the leaders of international and non-governmental organizations that national governments no longer have the financial resources to fund ambitious programs for the realization of economic rights for all. Instead, they are seeking to hold large transnational corporations responsible for the realization of all human rights for those living in the countries in which they do business.
NGOs Seek UN Governance of U.S. Intellectual Property Trade Agreements
ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, HUMAN RIGHTS
July 21, 2010
Frustrated by successful bi-lateral trade agreements entered into between the United States and developing countries that encourage the adoption of sound national intellectual property policies and the waiver of the provisions of an international agreement that offers developing countries flexibility in securing access to generic medicines, two separate groups have submitted an allegation letter and declaration with several United Nations agencies requesting that they intervene. These two recent submissions evidence the larger role that non-governmental organizations ("NGOs") want the UN to play in globally governing national domestic policies and transnational corporations for the redistribution of wealth and property rights without respect for democratic processes and the rule of law.
European Court to Review Conditions of U.S. Imprisonment of Terrorists
LAW & JUSTICE, SECURITY, HOMELAND SECURITY & TERRORISM
July 13, 2010
Only a few days prior to three bomb attacks by Al Qaeda-backed Somali militants in Kampala, Uganda, which killed at least 76 people as they watched the World Cup final, the European Court of Human Rights (the “Court”) delayed the United Kingdom’s extradition to the United States of four terrorist suspects who are wanted for plotting to set up a jihad training camp in Bly, Oregon, USA and conspiring to commit international terrorist atrocities.
Support for UN Governance of Space Explains NASA Development Agenda
HUMAN RIGHTS, SECURITY, DIPLOMACY, HOMELAND SECURITY & TERRORISM
July 7, 2010
Since 1979, the United Nations has been encouraging nations to ratify an international treaty that places the UN at the center of the governance of outer space. The so- called “Moon Agreement” requires that all activities on the moon and other celestial bodies be carried out in accordance with international law, in particular the Charter of the United Nations. The Agreement also provides that the exploration and use of outer space “shall be the province of all mankind and shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development.” Recent actions taken by the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama indicate that it has decided to support the UN in its quest to govern outer space for the collective good of humanity. This explains the recent statement of NASA Administrator Charles Bolden that “NASA is not only a space exploration agency, but also an earth improvement agency.”
Vatican Joins Transnational Elites in Devising New Forms of Capitalism
ECONOMICS, CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP, FINANCE & TRADE, HUMAN RIGHTS
June 30, 2010
In response to the present global economic crisis, Pope Benedict XVI and some transnational elites have announced proposed reforms to market capitalism that are designed to more directly respond to the economic and social needs of individuals and society. In most cases, these new capitalist models are in their embryonic stages, lacking specificity and objectivity. Ultimately, these variations on capitalism should be rejected in favor of a constructive capitalism that is rooted in the further democratic development of market capitalism at the national level, with a focus on the consideration and lawful adoption of appropriate human rights legislation and corresponding practices.
BP Compensation Fund Threatens the Rule of Law on a Global Scale
ECONOMICS, CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP, ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH
June 23, 2010
By entering into an agreement with the Administration of U.S. President Barack Obama to pay $20 billion into a fund to compensate victims of the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill and pay for the environmental clean-up, BP PLC ("BP") has set a dangerous precedent for other transnational corporations who depend on the rule of law to protect them from unproven claims for damages from a host of human rights abuses, both real and alledged.
UN Group Reaches Agreement for Regulation of Corporate Activities
ECONOMICS, CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP
June 16, 2010
On May 28, 2010, the United Nations Global Compact announced that it has reached an agreement with the Global Reporting Initiative to align their efforts in advancing corporate responsibility and transparency. As a result, the UN is one important step closer to globally governing all environmental, social, and governance aspects of corporate operations.
Global Governance of Pandemics Requires WHO Transparency
CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP, ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH
June 9, 2010
With June 11, 2010 being the first anniversary of the World Health Organization ("WHO") declaring the H1N1 influenza a pandemic, two recently-released European reports raise serious questions about the WHO's failure to operate transparently in regards to its decision-making processes relating to the pandemic. In particular, the reports explain that, even as the pandemic officially continues, the WHO has failed to adequately disclose the degree to which the scientific experts upon whom the WHO relied to declare and manage the pandemic had financial ties to the pharmaceutical companies that manufactured the vaccines and anti-flu medications used to combat the outbreak and effects of the H1N1 influenza.
U.S. National Security Strategy Promotes American Acceptionalism
SECURITY, HOMELAND SECURITY & TERRORISM
June 2, 2010
If President Barack Obama's National Security Strategy (the "NSS") is any indication, American exceptionalism is an outdated theory. Instead, America must accept a new international order where, instead of free and hard-working Americans deciding how to use their excess wealth for their benefit, the benefit of their fellow Americans, and the benefit of other nations, Americans will work hard to support failing social welfare programs domestically and abroad and to finance the "clean" growth of developing countries so that wealth imbalances among nations can be eliminated. Under the NSS, America's guiding principles are transformed from life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to work, redistribution, and the pursuit of balance.
Global Leaders Rely on Right to Development to Balance World Economy
ECONOMICS, FINANCE & TRADE
May 26, 2010
During the past decade, the so-called "right to development" has been promoted as an ideal to which developed nations should aspire for the benefit of individuals residing in developing countries. More recently, foreign policy analysts viewed the realization of the right to development as a tool to eliminate the extreme poverty that, in their view, leads individuals to embrace violent extremist ideologies and actions. Now, to remedy the financial impact of Europe's economic crisis, politicians and economists are viewing the international funding of the right to development as a means of growing the economies of developing countries so that they can purchase capital goods produced by developed countries. Most likely, this third formulation of the right to development will lead to the global governance of national economies and the imposition of international taxes to fund capital projects in developing countries.
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