Working Group on Global Economic Justice

Mandate:

The mandate of the Economic Justice Working Group (WGEJ) includes opposing corporate power, monitoring the World Trade Organisation, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. We have written statements and sample letters to present to our governments, prepared briefings for a delegate at an UNCTAD meeting, sent a delegate to the 2003 WTO meeting in Cancun and had a WILPF presence at the 2005 WTO meeting in Hong Kong. We have joined networks such as the Global Campaign Against Poverty (GCAP) and, within our countries, participated in days of action.

A new concern is the growing power of the European Union as a trading group (now comparable with the US in this respect) and the number of Regional Trade Agreements which are being negotiated between the EU and developing countries. The Working Group has campaigned, together with other Trade Justice groups against the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) between the former colonies and the EU which now includes the former colonial powers. On a UK day of action in April 2007 we sent letters to all the EU ambassadors to the UK. These letters expressed our concern about the impact that EPAs would have on the lives of women. Whilst we join with networks in our campaigning we emphasise the point that unjust trade mechanisms have a different inpact on men and women.

We look forward to using this website as an aid to documenting and co-ordinating the work of the Working Group. We invite WILPF members to join this group as active campaigners and to help gather information from the many sources available on the Internet. We need to learn more about the privatization and investment schemes that are going ahead as governments maintain that the way to lift developing countries out of poverty is to open their markets.

Contact the convenor:

Adelia Caravaca
adilia.caravaca(at)gmail.com

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