[WSIS CS-Plenary] From IPS: WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Non-Governmental Diplomacy by Mario Osava

[Alan G. Alegre]

Hmmm... was WSIS a form of "novgovernmental diplomacy" for civil society?


> WORLD SOCIAL FORUM:
> Non-Governmental Diplomacy
>
> Mario Osava
>
>
> RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 13 (IPS) - Diplomacy is no longer an exclusive arena
> of governments, as proven in the past decade by the growing role of
> civil society organisations in the international debate -- and by the
> repeated successes of the World Social Forum, now in its fourth year.
>
> This process has been particularly evident since 1992, when the United
> Nations Conference on Environment and Development was held in Rio de
> Janeiro, also known as the Earth Summit, followed by other global
> summits on social issues, which included the active participation of
> non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
>
> The definition of this "non-governmental diplomacy", the context of its
> development, its objectives and limitations will be the theme of a
> seminar during the Fourth World Social Forum (WSF), to take place Jan.
> 16-21 in Mumbai, India's largest city and economic centre.
>
> The three previous WSF were held in the southern Brazilian city of Porto
> Alegre, emerging as a sort of counterweight to the World Economic Forum,
> which held its annual meeting of government leaders, business executives
> and financiers at the same time in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos.
>
> Times of purely inter-governmental relations have ended, says a document
> by Henri Rouillé d'Orfeuil, president of the France-based Coordination
> SUD, and Jorge Eduardo Durao, head of the Brazilian Association of NGOs
> (ABONG), that will serve as the basis for a WSF seminar, promoted by
> these groups as well as the Volunteer Action Network India (VANI).
>
> It is no coincidence that the three are all national federations of
> NGOs. Creating collective civil society organisations at the national,
> regional or international level, and defining common positions,
> proposals and demands are necessary if non-governmental diplomacy is to
> be effective, say D'Orfeuil and Durao.
>
> This compensates for the "weaknesses" of the NGOs, which come under
> criticisms in terms of their legitimacy and representativity in speaking
> on behalf of civil society, they argue. Furthermore, the groups have to
> overcome the great differences in their focuses as well as
> contradictions between their missions.
>
> The "construction of a world in solidarity", with international rules
> that are more just and sustainable, is the aim of their actions.
>
> And that attitude does not necessarily contradict the policies and
> actions of governments.
>
> ABONG president Durao said in an IPS interview that the fact that the
> WSF is being held this year in Mumbai reveals "a certain parallelism"
> between the non-governmental diplomacy and the official diplomacy of
> Brazil, India and South Africa, which in June created the Group of
> Three, an alliance of the developing world's leaders to strengthen their
> stance in international negotiations.
>
> In the weeks leading up to the latest ministerial conference of the
> World Trade Organisation (WTO), held in September in the Mexican resort
> of Cancún, the Group of 20 (G20) developing countries emerged,
> consolidating their stance against farm protectionism and subsidies in
> the industrialised world. Brazil, India and South Africa serve as the
> leaders of that group.
>
> The non-governmental diplomatic battles are unfolding on four fronts. In
> talks on social problems, for example, NGOs are pushing industrialised
> countries to contribute 0.7 percent of their gross domestic product to
> development aid -- a promise not kept -- and to take effective steps
> towards achieving what are known as the Millennium Development Goals.
>
> The millennium goals, agreed by the world's heads of state and of
> government in 2000, aim to cut in half by 2015 infant mortality rates,
> the number of children not enrolled in school, the 800 million people
> facing hunger and the populations without access to clean water, among
> other variables that are the product of poverty and social exclusion.
>
> The other fronts, say D'Orfeuil and Durao, are the environment, economy,
> trade, and also geopolitical questions, particularly as they relate to
> the multilateral system.
>
> The global order will be a constant item of discussion in the major
> conferences and panels of the WSF in Mumbai, where an estimated 75,000
> people are to gather this week.
>
> "Global governance", "Militarism, war and peace" and "International
> trade" are some of the central themes to be taken up by the thousands of
> participants.
>
> "Combating unilateralism and reforming the United Nations" is the topic
> of a debate organised by the Brazilian Institute of Social and Economic
> Analyses (IBASE) and NGOs from other countries.
>
> There is consensus against unilateralism, but the U.N. is an
> uncomfortable issue that divides opinions, says Cándido Grzybowski,
> IBASE director-general.
>
> The WSF is a meeting of civil society, while the U.N. is an organisation
> of governments, which even excludes parliaments, he adds.
>
> Expanding the membership of the U.N. Security Council, where Brazil,
> India and South Africa each want a permanent seat, or dismantling it
> because it is an anti-democratic body in which only the United States,
> Britain, China, France and Russia hold veto power, is a polemic
> afflicting the U.N.
>
> According to Francisco Whitaker, a Brazilian member of the WSF
> International Council, alongside Grzybowski and Durao, civil society no
> longer just exerts pressure and makes demands, but rather is beginning
> to take direct action.
>
> One example of this is the peace initiative for Israel and Palestine,
> presented several weeks ago in Geneva by groups without ties to
> government. Spokespersons from these Israeli and Palestinian NGOs are to
> speak at the closing session of the WSF on Jan. 21.
>
> The great contribution of the WSF is a new way of "doing politics". It
> is a new method of "articulating organisations and social movements
> horizontally, without a command structure or a hierarchical pyramid,"
> Whitaker, representative of the Brazilian Catholic Church's Justice and
> Peace Commission, told IPS.
>
> This approach is key both for international and domestic relations. The
> WSF is "an historic experience" of unity for India, providing a space
> for overcoming political and caste divisions, he said.
>
> The "untouchables" of the lowest caste, numbering 170 million people
> (slightly fewer than the population of Brazil), are organising and will
> participate in the World Social Forum alongside their fellow Indian
> citizens "and treated as equals," says Whitaker.