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At UN, Protests to Corporate
Control of Water, As Trial Lawyers Take an Interest in Kabul
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at
the UN: News Analysis
UNITED
NATIONS, March 24 -- While the UN talks of
water, corporations with juice enter the building to write their own
rules.
This is the distillation of a protest letter some 125 non-governmental
organizations have sent to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. On Monday at
UN
Headquarters, Inner
City Press asked Ban's spokesperson about the letter, which
asked Ban "to withdraw from something called the CEO Water Mandate,
claiming that it's run by corporations and it's just an excuse for
exploitation
of water resources.. Did he receive it and if so, what then?"
The spokesperson
answered, "I don't have the letter at this point." Click here
for
transcript. Later in the day, Inner City Press was e-mailed a notice
that the
letter had been received. Later still, a paragraph was inserted
into the
transcript:
"The Spokesperson later added that
the letter had been received and, according to the United Nations
Global
Compact Office, the Mandate's purpose is to provide a platform for
companies
and stakeholders to share knowledge and emerging practices with respect
to
water stewardship and sustainability. Regarding
a 5 March event, which the letter
reportedly alleges was a
meeting between corporations and their allies to map out their plan of
action
for the CEO Water Mandate, the Global Compact Office notes that the
learning-and-dialogue session brought companies together with a range
of
stakeholders, including non-business attendees and representatives from
various
United Nations agencies. The
Spokesperson added that the Global Compact Office has said, 'The UN
Global
Compact Office has long recognized and stated that voluntary
initiatives cannot
be a substitute for regulation or government action.
Rather, the two are complementary, with
voluntary platforms such as The CEO Water Mandate providing a space for
learning
and innovation.'"
But,
the activists question, innovation in what?
Spin? As
Inner City Press
previously reported from the UN, Coca-Cola's purported exoneration
in India was
in a study which Coke itself funded. At Dow
Chemical's last appearance at the UN, also on the issue of water,
non-violent protesters were hustled off the UN's grounds, and the press
told not to cover it -- click here for that
story, and compare to Monday's affirmative
answer by the UN Spokesperson's to Inner City Press' question if it
is "the UN's position that people have a right to protest right in
front of the UN building without being arrested." The
UN's blithe partnership with corporations continues apace, with its Global
Compact rebuffing in this case a letter from more than 100 NGOs
from all over
the world, without the UN spokesperson, even in a canned response
belatedly-added to the briefing transcript, identifying the
"non-business attendees" of the
meeting alluded to. The Global Compact says, "Non-business
attendees included: World
Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, Plan Malawi, the Pacific
Institute, as
well as the following UN agencies: UNICEF, UNDP, UNEP, UN OHCHR, and
UNESCO. A
summary of the working conference will be available in early April." We'll
be waiting...
Coca-Cola: water for life? Not according to
the letter
A
more directly political "public-private partnership" recently on
display at the UN was last week's session in the Dag Hammarskjold
Library
auditorium about the "Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan,"
followed by a reception sponsored by the Arent Fox and Bingham law
firms, and
"Quinn Emanuel Trial Lawyers." This last is ironic or surprising,
given that the event was sponsored and promoted by the U.S. Department
of
State, in an administration which loudly castigates trial lawyers. But,
hey,
they're a business too...
* * *
These reports are
usually also available through Google
News and on Lexis-Nexis.
Click
here for a Reuters
AlertNet piece by this correspondent
about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click
here
for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali National
Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an
undefined trust fund. Video
Analysis here
Feedback: Editorial
[at] innercitypress.com
UN Office: S-453A, UN, NY 10017 USA
Tel: 212-963-1439
Reporter's mobile (and weekends):
718-716-3540
Other,
earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available
in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright
2006-08 Inner City Press, Inc. To request
reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com -
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