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Globalisation
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Our world is gradually becoming one single huge market. Some people have said that the
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world has become a village.

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We all talk about globalisation but do we know what it is exactly?

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Globalisation refers to a process that is characterised by:

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1. the expansion of telecommunications and information technologies;

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2. the reduction of national barriers to trade and investment;

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3. Increasing capital flows and the interdependency of financial markets.

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Indeed, globalisation promotes an increasing mobility of people although the control

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over migrations is greater then ever (air traffic has never been so important in the world’s
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history), global alliances among companies are more and more common (see the examples
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Related activities
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of the telecommunication and food industries), and it is possible to chat through computers
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§ A glossary of globalisation,
with people from virtually any country in the world. Finally, the recent financial crashes in
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page 69. Asia and Latin America have demonstrated the increasing financial and economic
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§ Access to medicaments, page interdependency.

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80.
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§ All equal all different, page 88.

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§ Ashique’s story, page 91. And what are the key challenges of globalisation?
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§ Beware, we are watching,

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page 95. There is a lot of controversy about the current and potential consequences of globalisation. We
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§ Education for all?, page 122. can identify many dilemmas and in many cases there are no clear-cut answers. Numerous sectors
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§ Front page, page 135.

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and individuals such as human rights activists, scholars, economists, researchers and sociologists
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§ Horoscope of poverty,
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page 145. concerned by its negative impact have identified some of the following issues as key challenges:
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1. Reduction of state sovereignty: Where governments have less and less control over key
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§ Just a minute, page 150.

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§ Makah whaling, page 166. decisions that can affect their economies and consequently the well-being of their people, the
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§ The impact of the Internet, most powerful transnational companies, intergovernmental structures and private financial
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page 222.
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institutions have a growing influence and tend to act in the same way as governments. This is
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§ The scramble for wealth and

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power, page 231. why it is said that the sovereignty of states has been strongly reduced. Their traditional roles
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§ The web of life, page 235. are being redefined.

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358 Manual on Human Rights Education with Young People – Council of Europe
 Globalisation

The Fair Trade Movement

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2. “Economically focused”: Economical considerations are taking over political and social

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considerations. Since private companies and intergovernmental international and regional

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intends to label goods and

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organisations are increasingly assuming a predominant role in running states and world affairs, products that are produced in

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conformity with social practices

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there is a risk that the economic and financial dimensions will prevail as the sole concerns of these and with human rights. This

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institutions ignoring other fundamental issues related to social, health or environmental aspects. way the consumers who are

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aware of such issues have the
3. Lack of transparency and responsibility: Governments, public institutions, national banking

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opportunity to make a

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authorities, etc., traditionally in charge of deciding the future of their countries and people, difference by using their

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purchasing power.

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have seen this responsibility in some cases being gradually taken away from them. Many of

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their actions and decisions are controlled since they are democratically accountable, but this is

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not the case for transnational corporations or international and regional institutions. In the

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case of human rights violations, for example, is it almost impossible to hold them responsible

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and to monitor their actions. Furthermore, in many of these instances, concern has been

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expressed over the lack of transparency of the existing decision-making mechanisms. For

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instance, in some cases in the World Trade Organisation, decisions are taken behind closed

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doors after complex processes of multilateral informal or formal negotiations.

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4. “Race to the bottom”: One particular characteristic of the liberalisation of trade is that

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transnational companies tend to relocate in countries offering better comparative advantages,

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which in practical terms means lower salaries for workers, less strict labour legislation, more

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flexible working conditions, non-existing or non-applied environmental legislation, lower taxes

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and cuts in social expenses such as unemployment insurance, health care, etc. In these

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circumstances, it is easy to come to the conclusion that human rights are strongly being affected

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by such practices, especially but not exclusively with regard to the economic and social rights

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of the workers in the host countries that are facing difficult social and economic conditions and

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are in need of foreign investments to help reactivate their already fragile economies.

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5. Homogenisation: Some argue that the threat of living in a single integrated society with

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standardised social and cultural patterns of behaviour would condition us to eat the same food,
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listen to the same music or watch the same movies wherever we live and whatever our
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nationality. This situation would deny the specificity of each country and would violate our
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rights to enjoy our own cultures.

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In this context, consumer boycotts have sometimes been successful in rectifying unethical and
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unlawful business practices. Additionally, some companies and organisations are trying to develop
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business strategies that would transcend the problems of globalisation.

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More specifically, as far as trade liberalisation is concerned, some of the main

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intergovernmental international and regional institutions that have been promoting it are:
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§ The World Trade Organisation

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§ The International Monetary Fund

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§ The World Bank

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§ The World Economic Forum. A private organisation gathering the most powerful
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2000 companies in the world. They meet every year in Davos, Switzerland.
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§ Regional trading blocs such as the European Union, the North American Free Trade
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Agreement (NAFTA) and the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC).

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Do you know where the clothes you are wearing or the food you are eating
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come from?
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social
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and Cultural Rights and the revised European Social Charter, as well as the Community Charter
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 Globalisation

“The Sub-Commission on the

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of Fundamental Social Rights of Workers and the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights

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Promotion and Protection of
(although this last is not yet legally binding) are some of the international and regional instruments

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Human Rights … requests all

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governments and economic that are particularly relevant to the issue of globalisation. It is worth mentioning that the United
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policy forums to take
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international human rights ○
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obligations and principles fully Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities have both adopted
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into account in international

resolutions on human rights and globalisation, the first one on trade liberalisation and its impact
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economic policy formulation.” 31

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on human rights (Resolution 1999/30) and the second one on human rights as the primary objective
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of trade, investment and financial policy (Resolution 1998/12).

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Some of the assumed positive aspects of globalisation

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1. Redefining citizenship: There is a new dimension of citizenship that is emerging and which
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is called global citizenship. It combines with the traditional concept of citizenship linked to the
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exercise of political and legal rights and obligations such as voting. Indeed, to be a global citizen
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nowadays means to be more critical of what we consume and in which conditions products
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have been produced, and to be more aware of global issues such as poverty affecting the
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world, environmental problems or violence. Additionally, some people argue that social and
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cultural globalisation means the opposite of homogeneity; that, on the contrary, new practices
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and identities are created as a result of the processes of interaction.

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2. Increasing mobility and faster communications: Despite the obvious increasing technological
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gap between the haves and the have-nots which is one of the major downsides of this trend,
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one of the positive consequences of the opening up of borders and the development of the
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Internet and other technologies is that it has become increasingly easier to travel from one
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country to another or to communicate with people from all over the world. This gives us the
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opportunity to share and learn from one another and from other cultures, hopefully by teaching
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us to be more tolerant and respectful.

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3. The gradual opening up of borders: Should facilitate the development and implementation
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of transnational and regional judicial systems of protection of human rights that can rectify
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human rights violations. The European Court of Human Rights is an example of quite an efficient
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regional system of protection of human rights.

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The anti-globalisation movement

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As a response to financial and economic globalisation, important sectors of civil society concerned
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by its negative impact have started to organise a world movement to promote what they call
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a humanisation of globalisation. This international movement commonly called ‘the anti-

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globalisation movement’, gathers trade-unions, environmental non-governmental organisations,

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politicians, human rights activists, scholars, women’s institutions, etc., in short, a wide range of
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institutions and individuals interested in building a more equitable world which, according to
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them, cannot exist as long as neo-liberalism, deregulation and privatisation are the main engines
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of economic globalisation. They call for globalisation with a human face. Some of these groups
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have chosen to demonstrate their disagreement by participating in large protests during meetings
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organised by the G7+1 and other institutions that promote such phenomena. Unfortunately,
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the most highly visible aspect during such events has been the violent incidents which have
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caused a lot of material damage. This movement is also gradually organising itself. The Word
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Social Forum has met in Porto Alegre, in Brazil “parallel” to the World Economic Forum meeting
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360 Manual on Human Rights Education with Young People – Council of Europe
 Globalisation

“Solidarity is the tenderness of

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in Davos, Switzerland, and gave the opportunity to thousands of delegates from civil society

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peoples.”
organisations to analyse issues related to globalisation and its consequences and to study

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alternatives. Under the slogan “Another world is possible” some of the numerous key issues Ernesto Cardenal

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discussed were the process of reforming the World Trade Organisation, the defence of human

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rights (especially economic, social and environmental rights) and debt relief for the Third World.

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In conclusion, we could quote Xavier Godinot of ATD Quart Monde: “Globalisation is a collective

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challenge as well as an invitation for each of us to reinvent new ways of being citizens of the world.”

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Some NGOs and institutions dealing with globalisation:

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Oxfam, [Link]

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Fédération Internationale des Droits de l´Homme, [Link]

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International Forum on Globalisation, [Link]

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Third World Network, [Link]

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L´Observatoire de la Mondialisation, [Link]

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ATTAC, [Link]

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World Social Forum: [Link]

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?

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Do you know any other institution or individual from your own country

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that can be added to this list?

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References

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Bîrzéa, C., Education for democratic citizenship: A lifelong learning perspective, Council for Cultural Co-operation,

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Strasbourg, June 2000, pp. 8-11.

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Leary, V., “Globalisation and human rights”, Human Rights, New Dimensions and Challenges, Unesco, Paris, 1998,

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pp.265-276.

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“Mondialisation et droits de l´homme”, La Lettre, No.28, Fédération Internationale des Droits de l´Homme, Paris, 1999.

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“Mondialisation et pauvreté”, Revue QUART MONDE, No.175, Éditions Quart Monde, Paris, 2000.

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Oloka-Onyango, J., Udagama, D., “Human rights as the primary objective of international trade, investment and finance
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policy and practice. Working paper submitted in accordance with Sub-Commission resolution 1998/12”. United ○

Nations, E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/11, 1999.

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