Last year, the United Nations organized a special Commission of Experts on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System, headed by Nobel Prize winner Dr. Joseph Stiglitz, to make recommendations to governments and international institutions on how to address the global financial crisis. Last fall, IATP's Jim Harkness blogged about his attendance at a preparatory session of the Commission's initial meetings, and the explicit connection between the global food and financial crises.
The commission has accepted public comments from civil society groups as it heads toward a public meeting in New York on June 1-2. IATP's Steve Suppan has outlined a series of recommendations for the Commission to limit speculation in commodity markets, including greater public reporting of globally traded derivatives; an end to self-regulation and reassertion of government authority over financial markets; a "Tobin Tax" to applied to commodities speculation; and increased regulation and the possible banning of commodity index funds.
Steve's comment also outlines a series of recommendations on addressing excessive commodity speculation for the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the UN Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis, and the UN Framework on Climate Change.
Read IATP's full comment and a compilation of civil society comments to the Commission. Time to put our best ideas forward for a new system.
