GLOBAL VISION: RIO + 10 VIDEO INTERVIEWS : BARRY COATES




This website is best viewed in Netscape
		BARRY COATES GOVERNMENTS SHOULD SERVE THEIR CITIZENS Barry Coates, from the UK, is Director of WDM – the World Development Movement (www.wdm.org), an NGO which campaigns with an international network of partners to tackle the root causes of poverty, by lobbying governments and companies to change the policies that keep people poor. This exclusive Global Vision video interview was produced and directed by Michael O'Callaghan at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa, in September 2002. The video version will be published here later this year.

Copyright © 2002 Global Vision Corporation – all rights reserved. TRANSCRIPT (365 words, slightly edited for clarity): How do you feel about this World Summit on Sustainable Development? Politicians started the summit with a process of lowering everyone's expectations about what could be achieved. And the expectations, by the end, ended up even far lower than that. There was substantially nothing that was achieved that would make a tangible difference to people - particularly the poor in the world - or the environment. What we had was a series of rather re-cycled words from other agreements that they just repeated. And most of the effort from NGOs and civil society lobbying here was to try and prevent moves backwards. The trade agenda completely dominated the agenda. And the World Trade Organisation agreements were allowed to completely trump sustainable development. So what we had is essentially the World Trade Organisation in a superior position to the United Nations, and that's exactly the wrong way around! We should be insisting that trade serves the aims of sustainable development, rather than the other way round What do you think can be done practically now, for NGOs and governments to move ahead? There are massive campaigns, social movements in countries around the world against liberalisation and globalisation. Before any more international summits can take place, we need these campaigns to convince governments to act in the interests of their people, in the interest of the planet, rather than the self-interest of the corporations in their country, and rather than playing these petty political games that have completely marred this World Summit on Sustainable Development. Do you think that citizens and civil society have real power and ability to make a difference? I think the power has to be with the citizens and civil society. What we've seen here is essentially governments colluding with big business to follow an agenda which gives overt power to big business to deliver water supplies to the poor through privatisation, to deliver electricity, telecommunications etc. That's what a lot of these partnership agreements that have been announced here have been all about. And instead, civil society movements need to re-claim those services so that they are made publicly accountable and so that we get affordable essential services for the poor.

RIO+10 INTERVIEWS HOMEPAGE GLOBAL VISION HOMEPAGE
	URL of this page: www.global-vision.org/wssd/coates.html Last updated: 10 October 2002 For more information, contact info@global-vision.org ..........................................................................................
COPYRIGHT © 2002 GLOBAL VISION CORPORATION The right of Global Vision to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents acts, 1988, United Kingdom. Unless otherwise restricted, the text materials contained in this Web site may be used, downloaded, reproduced or reprinted, subject to the following conditions: (1) this copyright notice must appear in all copies, (2) such use is for non-commercial or personal purposes only, and (3) in the case of reproduction or reprinting, prior written permission must be obtained from Global Vision. None of the materials contained in this Web site may be modified in any way. All rights in video clips, audio files, photographs, illustrations, artworks and other audiovisual materials are reserved to Global Vision Corporation and / or the copyright owners (licensors). Prior permission to use, download, reproduce, reprint, broadcast or distribute any video clip, audio file, photograph, illustration, artwork and other audiovisual material must be obtained from the copyright owner, regardless of the intended use. Any use of "Global Vision", "Global Vision Corporation", "Global Vision Trust" or the text, graphic, or audiovisual materials contained in this Web site in any manner to express or imply endorsement, sponsorship, affiliation or association of the user with or by Global Vision Corporation or Global Vision Trust is strictly prohibited.