An encompassing social agenda.

• Position: GA 56 - Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural

In the final two meetings of the Third Committee, two texts sparked a heated debate. One was the draft resolution on the impact of globalization on human rights, which was later adopted by the General Assembly by a vote of 116 to 44, with 9 abstentions. Belgium, who was also speaking on behalf of the European Union, argued that globalization was not the source of all evil, and violation of one right did not mean violation of all rights. The right to be free from torture, for example, had nothing to do with globalization, he said.

The Canadian representative, speaking also on behalf of Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, also voted against it. Explaining his delegation's position, he said the resolution did not recognize the complexities of globalization and did not realize the importance of domestic measures that needed to be in place in order to enjoy the benefits of globalization. The United States said it did not accept the premise that the net effect of globalization was poverty and that it negatively affected the enjoyment of human rights.

From the other side of the divide, Egypt said the impact of globalization on human rights was not about indicting or praising globalization. The resolution simply made sure that it was a fair force for all countries. The delegations from Libya and the Sudan both agreed with Egypt on this point.

The second text, on terrorism and human rights, was adopted by the Assembly by a vote of 102 to none, with 69 abstentions. Those who abstained argued that terrorist acts were not violations of international human rights law. In the Committee, the representative of Canada, who abstained, said that to equate the two weakened the protection of human rights. Terrorist acts were criminal acts and should be prosecuted under national and international criminal law, he said.

The Committee's work programme during the fifty-sixth session included an all-encompassing social agenda. Crime prevention and criminal justice, international drug control, advancement of women, refugees and displaced persons, the rights of children, indigenous people, elimination of racial discrimination, the right to self-determination and diverse human rights questions were only a few.

The Assembly adopted without a vote 53 of the 70 texts the Committee recommended for adoption.

Globalization also figured prominently in the Committee's debates. The representative of the World Bank said that there were conceptual...