UN forum to examine how to address human rights concerns of globalization

Representatives of governments and civil society are set to examine how to create a dialogue within the United Nations human rights system over concerns about globalization.

The two-day meeting, called the Social Forum, gets underway tomorrow at the UN Office at Geneva, where the Commission on Human Rights is based. The Commission established the Forum to respond to human rights concerns about the affect of globalization on economic, social and cultural rights, as well as the impact of poverty and destitution on the realization of human rights.

According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the first part of the Forum will consist of a dialogue between civil society and a panel of eminent personalities, addressing the theme "Globalization and human rights: challenges and opportunities in the new millennium." The second part of the Forum will focus on the relationship between the right to adequate food and poverty reduction, with special attention paid to the rural poor.

The Office of the High Commissioner has encouraged participation by non-governmental organizations and other bodies not normally represented in Geneva, particularly newly emerging actors in the South such as smaller groups, grass-roots organizations, youth associations, community organizations, trade unions and associations of workers in the Social Forum.