2012.2.R6

Globalization

Status:

ONGOING

Title of Resolution:

2012.2.R6: Globalization and its Effects on Women and Girls in Developing Countries

WG-USA Resolves:

1. National Federations and Associations (NFAs) urge their respective governments to recognize that globalization in its present form has contributed to the exacerbation of the inequalities and insecurities of poor women and girls in developing countries, and to take immediate appropriate actions to reduce the “feminization of poverty” that has already resulted from the programs and policies of globalization;

2. NFAs reject the most egregiously harmful of World Bank (WB) loan conditions, International Monetary Funds (IMF) policy advice and World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements;

3. IFUW endorse the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XIII) in Doha, Qatar, supporting “development-centered” globalization rather than finance-centered globalization, utilizing all the resources at its disposal to emphasize its endorsement of the “Doha Mandate of 2012.”

Plan of Action:

1. NFAs should educate their members as well as their local women’s organizations about the basic agreements that their respective governments have made with the World Bank, the International Monetary fund and particularly the World Trade Organization, and study the consequences of these agreements for poor women in their respective countries;

2. NFAs should, along with other like-minded women’s organizations, support NGO and other grassroots campaigns to urge their governments to reject the policies and conditions of globalization that are not inclusive of women’s rights and therefore, are unsustainable;

3. NFAs should urge their governments to take immediate appropriate actions to reduce the ‘feminization of poverty” that has already resulted from the programs and policies of globalization.

4. IFUW should use its committees, its consultative status with ECOSOC at the United Nations, its conferences and virtual discussions forums, its website and world-wide communications system to emphasize its endorsement of the “Doha Mandate”;

5. IFUW should seek consultative status with UNCTAD to join other NGOs in ensuring UNCTAD’s vitally important role in balancing decision-making power with developing countries and in global governance.

Supporting Statement:

Globalization has brought opportunities and risks for people in industrialized and developing countries. While it has helped some producers and service providers in developing countries reach international markets, for the world’s 2 billion poor, the majority of whom are women and girls, globalization has translated into the loss of jobs, property, workers’ rights and social and economic safety nets. These losses have impacted women in every area of their lives including food, primary and maternal healthcare, education and shelter, driving them further into the depths of poverty. Many have turned to prostitution to make ends meet, and many have been exploited by sex traffickers. For a number of years, concern about the inequities and imbalances that globalization generates has stimulated intense interest in the international development community about how to make globalization work for the poor. In April 2012, at UNCTAD XIII, the international community agreed that “Development-centred globalization sets the stage for inclusive growth and development and contributes towards reducing poverty and creating jobs.” The Mandate adds that development strategies should be inclusive and designed to meet human needs. 

Furthermore, from 1995 – 2001, IFUW specifically addressed the globalization phenomenon and the many negative impacts on human rights, especially as it affected women; and IFUW members have long supported human rights for all in such areas as refugee abuse, reproductive freedom, all forms of slavery, racial discrimination, and violence against women and children, specific positions during the 21st C. in regard to women in development have been few; and Aim 3 of the IFUW Strategic Plan is to “strive for the achievement of the universal rights of girls and women”; this is an appropriate Resolution.

Financial Implication for WG-USA:

At this time no cost is anticipated.

Suggested Resources: 

At this time there are no suggested resources.