On Saturday, lame duck President Bush will host a meeting of the G-20 to discuss a global response to the financial crisis. There were initially high expectations for the meeting, particularly from France and Great Britain. But, as the Wall Street Journal reported today, expectations have been ratcheted down considerably, partially due to the absence of President-elect Barack Obama, whose participation will be essential for any progress moving forward.
However modest the expectations, participants would do well to read a statement on the meeting signed by more than 630 organizations (including IATP) from 88 countries around the world, laying out a set of clear principles for future global summits:
- Involve all governments of the world;
- Meaningfully engage civil society, citizens' groups and social movements in the process;
- Set a clear timeline for regional consultations with groups most affected by the crisis;
- Be comprehensive in scope, tackling the full array of issues and institutions; and
- Be transparent, with proposals and draft outcome documents made publicly available and discussed in advance of the meeting.
It's notable that President Bush rejected suggestions to hold the meeting in New York and to allow the UN to host the meeting. But a UN High Level Task Force on the Financial Crisis, chaired by Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz, would be a better place to structure a response to this global crisis. As IATP President Jim Harkness reported last week, several task force members understand that the financial crisis is not separate from the food and energy crisis. All share common origins and common solutions. President-elect Obama has been relatively quiet about how he would address these issues at the global level. The world is waiting.
