CHAPTER 9

How Do Non-Governmental Organisations Help to Stop Violations of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and Work for Their Implementation?

9.1 The Roles of NGOs—An Introduction

NGOs work to stop violations of Covenant rights in many ways and places. In this Handbook, the term “non-governmental organisations” (NGOs) includes community-based organisations, citizens’ groups (but not political parties), trade unions, religious-based social justice organisations, and other voluntary organisations that may help to foster and implement economic, social and cultural rights. Among the contributions of NGOs is their key role in providing information and expert advice to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The tasks and procedures of the CESCR are described in Chapter 10, with information on how NGOs can participate in the CESCR’s work. Information on other UN bodies with a role in protecting ESC rights is provided in Chapter 11. Steps that NGOs can take in their own countries are discussed in the current chapter.

The CESCR monitors the progress (or backsliding) of each State Party to the Covenant. The CESCR also produces general advice on how violations occur and on how progress can be made in fulfilling Covenant obligations. Since the situation in a State is normally reviewed by the CESCR once every five years, submission of information to the CESCR is a small, albeit important part of NGO human rights activities. Some international NGOs (a few are listed in Annex E) work full time on Covenant issues, with regard to any part of the world.

Human rights ideals advocated by NGOs may contrast with views held by a government, with respect to the meaning and applicability of existing human rights principles. NGOs are often at the leading edge of thinking on rights that are “new” or are being interpreted in a new way. In a sense, the UN recognised this fact in Article 7 of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted in the General Assembly by consensus of all nations, in December 1998 (see Chapter 4). The Defenders’ Declaration specifically declares the right of individuals and groups to develop and discuss new human rights ideas and to advocate their acceptance.

9.2 Providing Information and Advice to Legislatures and Legislators

Within countries, community-based groups and other NGOs play an important role in promoting economic, social and cultural rights. These organisations can promote human rights by sharing information and opinions with members of legislatures (parliaments, legislative assemblies or congresses). NGOs can support and co-operate with individual politicians who share their concern for human rights. NGOs can offer advice to legislative committees that monitor human rights and social issues. By describing the rights and obligations assured in the Covenant, and comparing them to the conditions in which people actually live, NGOs can help politicians to see the need for improvements based on human rights. NGOs can try to persuade politicians in both governing and opposition parties to:

• pass laws (where needed) to ensure that international human rights law is part of the national constitution and human rights legislation in the country.
• pass laws that forbid violations of Covenant rights and promote fulfilment of Covenant obligations (for example by setting targets and measuring yearly progress toward fulfilment of Covenant rights).
• provide adequate public funding for programmes that help to implement economic, social and cultural rights (including environmental protection schemes), such as the rights to health, education, housing and food.
• set up or strengthen national institutions such as human rights commissions and ombudsmen that promote economic, social and cultural rights and enable the State to monitor violations of those rights.
• pass laws to ensure that citizens have access to a complaints procedure and to remedies (for example, through a commission, ombudsman or court) when laws dealing with economic, social and cultural rights are violated.
• take Covenant obligations into account when setting annual budgets for public expenditure, as described in the next section.
• arrange for parliamentary or congressional committees to review relevant aspects of the country’s human rights performance on a regular basis. A way to assure that attention is regularly focused on Covenant rights is to require a human rights commission or another public body to report annually to the national parliament on the status of economic, social and cultural rights in the country. During the first year of such reporting, government agencies could be required to describe their plans and goals for making progress on rights in the future. Ideally, annual government reports on compliance with economic, social and cultural rights would be made compulsory by legislation or by the country’s constitution, as is done by the 1996 Constitution of South Africa.
• teach the public about economic, social and cultural rights, and about related duties and State obligations.

When a State prepares a report for the UN describing how economic, social and cultural rights are being fulfilled, NGOs could ask that one or more committees of that State’s national legislature review the report after it has been submitted. A public review of the report by a committee of the national legislature would examine the government’s promises and actions concerning human rights, as well as any criticism from UN bodies and NGOs.

Usually a committee of a legislature or parliament has the power to summon witnesses, such as government officials, to appear before it and answer questions. Through the questions and responses, more details on the nation’s efforts to fulfil Covenant rights (or the lack of such efforts) can be revealed. This exposure could give NGOs and the general population a fuller picture of the country’s human rights situation. The information could also be shared with the CESCR and other UN bodies. Even more important, the country’s national and other governments (provincial, state, territorial) may try to correct economic, social and cultural rights problems about which they become embarrassed or ashamed.

If an NGO or group of NGOs prepares an “alternative” or “parallel” report to send to the UN (the process is described in Chapter 10), this document and the preparation process can be used to educate members of the public and politicians during the time leading up to the CESCR session, as well as after it. Public discussion might encourage other groups to become active in supplying information to the CESCR. Ideally, increased public attention might spur the government into making positive changes so that it can present a more attractive picture to the CESCR when the review takes place.

To maintain public awareness of Covenant rights, NGOs could co-operatively produce annual report cards on the performance of their country with respect to one or more rights. To have a greater impact, these reports should be shared with other NGOs, politicians and the media.

9.2.1 Government Budgets

A strategy that NGOs can adopt to strengthen implementation of economic, social and cultural rights is to urge that annual government financial plans respect the State’s obligations under the Covenant. These yearly budgets are political documents reflecting the values and priorities of those who put the plans together. Budget planners often adopt suggestions from powerful outside groups who lobby to keep their economic interests paramount. To try to achieve more balance in the concerns addressed in the budget-planning process, NGOs in some countries prepare and publicise their own “alternative” or “parallel” budgets. They attempt to demonstrate that it is possible to do responsible financial planning without neglecting rights under the Covenant or other human rights treaties, such as those that guarantee women’s rights and children’s rights.

In Canada for example, the process of preparing an “Alternative Federal Budget” began in 1994. An assembly of representatives from 40 national labour, social and environmental organisations, plus many community groups, has produced annual budgets up to the year 2000. The associated groups began this effort because they believed that the federal and other levels of government were putting too much emphasis on cutting social programmes in efforts to balance their respective budgets. The coalition contended that these budgets typically represented the concerns of the business elite, rather than the interests of the general population. Through a widespread process of consultation, the coalition has developed alternative budgets that take into account the need to decrease debt and yearly deficits, while still respecting economic, social and cultural human rights.

Typically, the Canadian Alternative Budgets have been designed to promote more job creation than the federal government’s budgets promise to achieve. Independent expert reviews of the Alternative Budgets suggest that while respecting human rights, the budgets are also economically realistic. In 1998, the Alternative Federal Budget was reportedly endorsed by more than 150 economists, including some of the most widely respected financial analysts in Canada.*

9.3 Asking Courts, Tribunals and National Human Rights Commissions to Help Prevent and Remedy Violations of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

When economic, social and cultural rights are guaranteed in a State’s constitution or in other laws, they can then be claimed or defended in court. Orders from judges or a human rights commission can be obtained to prevent or reverse actions that would violate ESCR obligations. It is obviously easier for courts and tribunals to recognise and support economic, social and cultural human rights if a country’s laws clearly require their implementation and fulfilment.

In some countries, there is no specific mention of economic, social and cultural rights in the legislation that establishes a national human rights commission or ombudsman office. NGOs can encourage the staff and managers of such agencies to interpret and apply their roles in ways that further economic, social and cultural rights. Ideas on national situations are found in General Comment No. 10 of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, entitled “The Role of National Human Rights Institutions in the Protection of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights”, adopted in 1998. Another source of ideas concerning how economic, social and cultural rights can and should be promoted within a country is the CESCR’s General Comment No. 9, on the “Domestic Application of the Covenant”, also adopted in 1998. (See Chapter 10 for more information about General Comments.)

Most countries have legal protections that fulfil part of a State’s ESCR obligations, in the fields of employment law (e.g. trade unions, working conditions), preventive/public health and health care, housing, social assistance and pensions, education, and protection for the intellectual property or creativity rights of writers, artists and inventors. It is also common for countries to forbid discrimination in the enjoyment of human rights. In many countries, economic, social and cultural rights receive a degree of protection through guarantees in the constitution or in a law that can override other laws, policies and programmes of governments. The strength of those guarantees varies widely from nation to nation. Some of the more extreme violations of human rights are also crimes, including those that involve slavery or killing, child and adult pornography, violence within families, and child prostitution. These forms of human rights abuse can be combatted through the use of the criminal law of a country, and through agreements between countries to fight such practices.

9.3.1 Education of the Legal Profession

When economic, social and cultural rights are part of the law of a country, politicians and judges still need to be educated concerning the importance of honouring these human rights. Even in some countries where such rights are guaranteed by the constitution, judges do not treat them seriously enough. Most lawyers and judges who advocate in favour of human rights tend to focus on civil and political rights, such as fair trials and freedom of speech. Many lawyers and judges think that rights to good health care and education for everyone are not rights at all, but merely desirable goals that depend on the generosity of the government.

NGOs can try to ensure that the training of lawyers and judges includes education about Covenant rights. This education can take place in law school, at lawyers’ and judges’ conferences, and in special “continuing education” sessions for those working as lawyers or judges.

9.3.2 Laws for Equality or Against Discrimination

A country’s constitution or laws may not directly compel respect for economic, social and cultural rights, but may prohibit discrimination and require equal enjoyment of rights for men and women, or for all groups. If a State tries to provide a social programme in a way that does not ensure equal benefits for all, this approach may violate anti-discrimination or pro-equality laws. That violation can then be challenged in a court. An NGO can assist an individual or group to launch a lawsuit to make the challenge. When choosing a “test case”, it should look for a set of circumstances that would illustrate the existing injustices well, would capture the sympathy of the court and the public, and would be likely to produce a favourable result for many people if it succeeded.

A judge might order, for example, that the State take steps to grant equal access or benefits to a social programme. For the person or group previously prevented from enjoying the full benefits of the programme, the court’s decision would enhance their enjoyment of an economic, social or cultural right.

9.3.3 Environmental Protection Laws

A State would need to give serious attention to environmental issues in order to fulfil the following health rights obligations, all listed in Article 12 of the Covenant:

• the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health;
• reduction of infant mortality;
• the healthy development of the child;
• improvement of environmental and industrial hygiene;
• prevention and control of “epidemic, endemic, occupational and other diseases”.

By persuading governments or courts to strengthen environmental regulation, NGOs might be acting as a catalyst for reinforcement of the rights to health, life, food, water and/or adequate living standards. In some circumstances, protection of the environment also promotes indigenous or minority rights. The case of Lopez-Ostra v. Spain, given as an illustration under Article 10 (in Chapter 8), demonstrates that rights to protection of the family and the home could also be tied to environmental factors.

9.4 Working with Members of the Public Service

An NGO that uncovers and confronts violations of the Covenant for which a State is responsible may wish to co-operate with government officials to seek ways of overcoming the violations and enhancing implementation of human rights. Many individual civil servants may share NGO views on certain issues, although their status as government employees may prevent them from openly supporting these views. Perhaps NGO staff can work jointly with the government to agree on measurements against which the State’s performance can be compared from year to year. Or NGO experts might advise on how the State can best apply its available resources toward fulfilment of human rights. NGOs identify violations caused by State actions or neglect, and bring these to national and international attention. Yet NGO decision-makers should also be conscious of the value of remaining on friendly, or at least respectful, terms with individuals who work in their country’s public service.

9.5 Working with Members of the Media and Educating the Public

Asking courts and human rights commissions to protect specific economic, social or cultural rights could produce educational results that may influence the general population or political leaders. When a case is being argued in front of judges or a commission, NGOs can inform the media (newspapers, television, radio and Internet journalists) about the human rights problems involved, and about the local laws and international treaties that guarantee these rights. Once the court or commission makes its decision on the case, public education through the media should continue, since this is one of the rare times that the media may be interested in reporting about complex human rights issues.

The media are particularly interested in controversy. This can arise if a UN body or a well-known NGO such as Human Rights Watch criticises the human rights performance of the country. Public interest also rises if a prominent international participant on a visit to the country comments unfavourably on aspects of the country’s human rights record. NGOs can encourage and assist knowledgeable journalists from a country to be present when a UN committee or other international and national bodies ask questions of the State’s representatives concerning the country’s compliance with economic, social and cultural rights.

NGOs can share the information in this Handbook with specific journalists, editors or other media people likely to understand, spread and make use of knowledge about these rights and procedures for monitoring State compliance.

NGOs can encourage and strengthen support for the kinds of efforts mentioned above by making sure that the general public becomes more aware of human rights. To prevent and stop human rights violations, it is important to provide education and information at the community level. For example, practices that deny rights to women, persons with a disability, or minorities cannot be adequately corrected unless people in local communities think it is appropriate and important to change. When informing the general public about human rights, it is not necessary to rely on lengthy guidebooks such as this one. In some countries, the methods used for public education on human rights include plays, television dramas, newspaper columns, comic books, dances and songs.

9.6 Working with Trade Unions

Having strong independent trade unions can be a factor in strengthening the rights of others in a society, because large organisations of workers have more power and influence than individuals who work alone or through small NGOs. The interests of workers and of human rights NGOs will occasionally conflict, but often they will be able to operate with more effect as part of a civil society network on human rights issues. Among the initiatives that human rights NGOs and trade unions can jointly promote in a country are the following: adequate resources to carry out inspection of work sites (both rural and urban) with respect to health and safety; the right to form and join trade unions and to bargain collectively for better wages, benefits and conditions; labour commissions, tribunals or courts to handle disputes related to working conditions or unions; a compulsory minimum wage that allows an adequate standard of living for workers and their families; and freedoms of expression, assembly and association for all groups participating in democratic civil society. Freedom of association is both a political/civil right for everyone and a social/economic right for workers.

In many industrialised countries, citizens are demanding that when their nations’ corporations set up operations in less developed countries or buy products from factories or farms in those countries, the corporations and their suppliers must establish and abide by codes of ethical conduct that require respect for human rights. Although a code of conduct can be a foundation for responsible business behaviour, it should not be seen as a substitute for effective organising by workers themselves to promote and protect human rights. A trade union can help to build employee rights over the long term and may have more power to do so than outside NGOs and monitors who come from an industrialised or “Northern” country.

A good source of information on the promotion and defence of labour rights is the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (http://www.icftu.org). The ICFTU is a non-governmental body that prepares manuals and annual reports that cover workers’ rights comprehensively.

9.7 Other NGO Work that Directly Helps to Fulfil Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

While trying to persuade governments and business owners to improve human rights, some NGOs are directly involved in helping people to fulfil their human rights. NGOs that work for consumer or environmental protection, or that seek regulation of safety and health standards for workers are usually not thought of as human rights organisations. Yet their work certainly contributes to the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights.

For example, many NGOs assist in programmes dealing with the following, all of which are related to Covenant obligations: immunisation of children against disease; adult literacy programmes; primary school education for child labourers; housing and water projects for low-income communities; improvement of agricultural techniques in ways that sustain the environment; work with indigenous peoples seeking to protect their homelands and traditional knowledge; and support for women’s micro-lending groups.

9.8 Helping to Monitor Human Rights Violations (and Human Rights Progress) by Providing Expert Knowledge of Economic and Social Conditions

Because of their day-to-day endeavours, many NGO workers and volunteers understand the plights faced by the poor and other people who are deprived of ESC rights. They see firsthand the effects of economic and social development policies that do not respect Covenant obligations. Yet because many NGO personnel are not aware of human rights law, they do not realise that the human suffering they witness violates the State’s internationally recognised human rights obligations.

Many NGOs champion policies to improve the living conditions of the poor and less powerful, or work for environmental protection. Yet most NGOs that campaign for social justice do not use human rights language or describe injustices as violations of the Covenant or other human rights obligations. A few leading development NGOs such as Oxfam now promote basic rights as one of their central activities. In a worldwide campaign, Oxfam has been distributing a Charter for Basic Human Rights. This proclaims that every person has a right to enough to eat, a livelihood, an education, a safe environment, equality of opportunity, clean water, a home, health care, protection from violence and a say in the future.

NGOs that focus on viewing situations from a human rights perspective cannot always keep track of changing circumstances. Development workers and social assistance providers who work more closely with people may know the facts, but are not always aware that human rights arguments can help to create political and legal pressure for needed changes. Continuous co-operation and mutual education between both types of NGOs are essential. An NGO does not need to pursue a large number of rights issues. It is free to concentrate on only one right or the rights of only one group if it chooses.

Because of their familiarity with the economic, social and cultural contexts in their countries, many local and national organisations that are not necessarily knowledgeable about the State’s obligations under the Covenant are ideally placed to:

• identify the economic, social and cultural issues of greatest immediate concern to the people in the country;
• understand how universal human rights obligations may need to be adapted to fit particular local and national conditions;
• monitor the State’s development of policies, plans and legislation to ensure the satisfaction of Covenant obligations;
• monitor whether the State ensures the minimum essential obligations of a Covenant right, or achieves other targets that were set to demonstrate whether progress is being made in implementing particular rights;
• monitor, report on and jointly oppose violations of the Covenant, such as those that involve direct State actions or discrimination;
• help to educate the population about their Covenant rights and about other sources of related human rights;
• mobilise together at the community and national levels, in co-operation with human rights NGOs, to advocate practical steps to improve implementation of economic, social and cultural rights.

9.9 Influencing the Foreign Policy of One’s Own Country

NGOs can assist people elsewhere by encouraging their own national government to promote fulfilment of Covenant rights in other countries. A nation’s representatives can do this through the UN and other intergovernmental organisations, and in their direct dealings with other States. National governments can also be encouraged to support the strengthening of international mechanisms that promote respect for Covenant rights. Stronger international institutions that monitor all countries will be available to turn the spotlight on one’s own country if it does not comply with the Covenant or other human rights agreements. States have an obligation to protect existing Covenant rights when they negotiate international trade agreements. But governments will often ignore this duty unless NGOs demand that the existing rights be given priority over new legal rights and powers being demanded by corporations and trade officials.**

9.10 International Consumer and Trade Union Action Against Harmful Business and Investment Practices

National laws are often designed to attract manufacturing jobs or other investment into a country from international corporations. Often this means that economic, social and cultural rights of workers, local indigenous groups or others may be denied (for example through weak anti-pollution laws or lax enforcement of adequate laws). To overcome violations linked to investment, NGOs concerned with human rights and development need to work jointly with other kinds of organisations, including consumer associations, trade unions and environmental NGOs. Help may be obtained from international NGOs that have expert staff and/or branches in several countries.

Sometimes the chief executives of a corporation are not aware of human rights abuses committed by their employees overseas. Or they may not know about discriminatory practices by other companies from which they buy products or materials. No doubt in many cases executives become more interested when they fear that bad publicity might lead to reduced sales and lost profits.

Remedies for violations of Covenant rights in one State may be found through the combined effort of NGOs in more than one country, including trade unions and environmental groups that co-operate with consumer associations. It has often been said that a major factor leading to the end of apartheid was the damage caused to South Africa’s economy and its business class through international boycotts of South African exports and international prohibition of investment in the country. Currently, many consumers refuse to buy clothing or carpets that come from factories where the rights of workers or of some groups of workers (for example, women, children or minorities) are not respected. Other consumers search for brands of coffee that guarantee that both human rights and environmental safety were respected during their production.

If enough potential customers insist that the human rights of workers and others must be respected in the production of consumer products, this can put pressure on manufacturing or agricultural firms, or on countries that host their enterprises. Consumer and human rights groups, in co-operation with trade unions and other civil society organisations, have run successful campaigns putting pressure on corporations that own chains of clothing outlets. When large numbers of consumers refuse to buy goods made in sweatshops (a boycott), owners of targetted stores are placed in a difficult position. In other campaigns, consumers buy items from companies which can prove that they respect human rights (a “buycott”). Often in recent years, owners of large chains of clothing shops have insisted that the factories supplying them with goods provide better working conditions and protections for the people who make the goods.

For a consumer action against human rights abuses to succeed, good coverage must be obtained from the media, including television, newspapers, and networks of people on the World Wide Web.

It is important to give favourable publicity to corporations and producer co-operatives that honour economic, social and cultural rights. Consumers should be encouraged to purchase items from such companies, as happens in a number of campaigns supporting certain carpet labels or coffee brands. This form of positive support is at least as important as boycotts of companies that do not respect human rights. Workers and communities could suffer greatly if a badly planned campaign caused a factory or agricultural business to close or to transfer to another location, rather than improving its working conditions and respect for human rights.

In many countries consumers may purchase products endorsed by Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO International), based in Bonn, Germany. The FLO movement involves independent certification and monitoring schemes that link the interests of producers of agricultural and other goods in less developed countries with consumers in richer nations. Started in the Netherlands in 1987, fair trade labels license commercial sales of coffee beans through more than 130 brand names. Fair trade arrangements also exist for tea, cocoa, sugar, honey, bananas and craft items. These commercial arrangements promote the human rights of farmers and of people who make the craft items, usually in small, democratically run co-operatives. The slogan of one coffee marketing organisation, for example, TransFair, is “Join Our Buycott, Not Boycott”.

Opening up markets in industrialised countries by delivering good quality products that are produced in ways that respect human rights further enhances human rights, enabling the producers to achieve an adequate standard of living in their chosen livelihood. Some of the producer co-operatives are also certified as using “organic” or “sustainable” methods that are both “farmer-friendly” and “earth-friendly”.

One of the more advanced codes for linking ethical conduct with commercial goals is the international set of standards called Social Accountability 8000. SA-8000 was prepared during a long consultation process involving many kinds of organisations. Copies of the SA-8000 standards are available from the Council on Economic Priorities Accreditation Agency in New York City or London, or online at http://www.cepaa.org. A corporation subscribing to the SA-8000 standards promises to respect the principles in a long list of ILO Conventions, as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

9.11 Networking Among NGOs: Sharing Wisdom and Work

A number of globally known NGOs such as Amnesty International have established communication networks among members and other supporters, at times in alliance with other NGOs. Networking permits many groups to work on the same problem when their concerns overlap. For a long time such communication took place by telephone, telegramme, and telex. It occurs increasingly via fax and electronic mail.

Frequently, human rights violations do not fit into neat, watertight containers. For example, huge development projects often threaten to damage the environment and at the same time destroy the food sources of a minority people. NGOs and allies working on each of the following categories of rights may occasionally join together to struggle with related problems: environmental rights and duties; right to food; right to clean water; land rights; minority or indigenous peoples’ rights; women’s human rights; rights of children; freedom of expression; freedom of association; freedom from arbitrary arrest; freedom from torture; and protection of human rights defenders (including grassroots activists, journalists who report problems, investigators of human rights violations, defence lawyers for arrested NGO leaders, etc.).

International action by a respected NGO with associates in other countries in the North and South can have significant influence on the way governments and others take action to protect human rights. The FoodFirst Information & Action Network (FIAN) is one such NGO that conducts “urgent action” campaigns. Although such campaigns do not always achieve full success, the FIAN case described on the next page illustrates the potential power of NGO coalitions to assist in protecting rights.

In some cases, people who peacefully question or challenge potentially harmful development plans are targetted for adverse treatment by agents of a government or a corporation involved in the planned project. Some States also crack down on those who report human rights violations nationally or to the outside world. If you or your overseas colleagues live or work in such a nation, you may want to consider a few simple precautions, such as being careful about where and how sensitive information (including lists of contacts) is written, recorded, stored, transported and transmitted. Anyone who communicates through the Internet should review the advice on Internet security included below and in Annex G.

9.12: Using the Internet for Human Rights Work

Widespread use of the Internet around the world has opened new possibilities for collaboration and communication among people working in human rights. Information that used to take days or weeks to exchange can now be sent cheaply, efficiently, and quickly across borders and great distances, often to many people at the same time. Internet-based tools such as electronic mail and the World Wide Web are increasingly used by human rights workers to communicate with one another and with others interested in human rights.

In addition to its value as a medium of communication, the Internet also serves as a huge library, capable of storing and easily retrieving many different kinds of data. Human rights workers have quick access to international treaties, declarations and other documents on human rights, reports about human rights violations, “urgent action alerts” published by NGOs and other organisations, and volumes of other relevant information. Because it is so huge and diverse, however, the Internet can be difficult to navigate. And using the Internet to communicate potentially sensitive human rights information introduces complications related to protecting information and remaining anonymous when it might be risky to reveal your identity. While the risks in some countries can be substantial, human rights workers should generally not be reluctant to use Internet communication. Instead, they should seek to understand it fully and learn how to use the many tools available for securing their data, privacy and anonymity.

Some of the most important of these tools are described in Annex G.

* See “The Alternative Federal Budget—Some Hard Numbers for a Soft Landing”, Canadian Forum, March 1998, at 12-16, as well as various publications listed on the website of the National Anti-Poverty Organization: http://www.napo-onap.ca/.

** On the question of the appropriate balance between human rights and corporate rights, Robert Howse and Makau Mutua offer some useful ideas in Protecting Human Rights in a Global Economy: Challenges for the World Trade Organization, published by Rights and Democracy.