Increased global inequality a topic of discussion in the Helsinki Process
Press Release 176/2004
25 August 2004
The Helsinki Group will convene in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on 29–31 August. The meeting is hosted by Jakaya Kikwete, the Foreign Minister of Tanzania, who co-chairs the Helsinki Group together with Erkki Tuomioja, the Foreign Minister of Finland. The theme of the meeting will be the increase in global inequality and new forms of international cooperation that can be applied in globalisation management. In particular, the Helsinki Group will discuss concrete action propsals and strategies for their implementation. Aside from Foreign Minister Tuomioja, Paula Lehtomäki, Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, will also take part in the meeting.
“Alleviation of poverty and reduction of inequality have become central indicators for the justification of the globalisation process,” Professor Raimo Väyrynen contends in the report he drew up for the Helsinki Group. According to Professor Väyrynen’s analysis, globalisation is accompanied by alleviation of poverty, while inequality is increasing at the same time. With a view to bringing about change in international cooperation, the Helsinki Group discusses democratisation of existing decision-making forums as well as new forms of international cooperation. Underlying this discussion is the report by two American researchers, Shepard Forman and Derk Segaar, where it was stated that cooperation between citizens’ organisations, the corporate world and international organisations is needed alongside intergovernmental decision-making.
Concrete proposals from the Track groups of the Helsinki Process
The goal of the meeting is to select the central topics to be used by the Helsinki Group as the base in preparing its own globalisation report. The point of departure comprises the concrete proposals drawn up by the three Track groups of the Helsinki Process.
The Track on New Approaches to Global Problem Solving proposes that the accountability of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization to members of national parliaments be reinforced and that the cooperation of governments, citizens’ organisations and the corporate world be incorporated in international anti-corruption efforts. The measures put forward by the Track on a Global Economic Agenda pertain to new modes of development finance, debt relief for developing countries, and funding global public health. The Track on Human Security proposes measures dealing, among others, with violence against women, the situation of children and young people in areas of conflict, small arms, and biotechnology and health issues.
The Helsinki Process is a political process, furthered by the Governments of Finland and Tanzania, where governments, citizen’s organizations, and corporate representatives seek mutually acceptable solutions to global problems. The political objective is to support, among others, implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration and the proposals made by the Commission on Globalisation headed by the Presidents of Finland and Tanzania. The following meeting of the Helsinki Group will take place in February in India. The Helsinki Process will culminate in the international Helsinki Conference to be held in September 2005.
Additional information: Erja Tikka, Head of Information Unit, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, e-mail: [email protected], tel. +358 9 160 55818; and Juha Mustonen, Programme Manager, Helsinki Process Secretariat (Tanzania), tel. +358 40 583 0945, www.helsinkiprocess.fi