We need to remember the crises of the developing world

By Poul Nyrup Rasmussen

As the G20 leaders in London prepare to take the decisions that will decide the fate of the global economy, it is worth reflecting on what is at stake. In the developed world, the jobs and livelihoods of millions depend on the success of the summit. But in the third world, far from the television cameras, the economic crisis means means hunger, disease and death.

There, according to the World Health Organization, between 200,000 and 400,000 additional children will die each year due to the global economic downturn. Prices for natural resources are falling, the stream of earnings sent back to developing countries by migrant workers is drying up, government debts are being called in, and spending slashed. In Asia, Africa and Latin America this will mean job losses in industry and strains on agriculture. Children are being pulled out of school to work in fields or to provide an extra income, livestock are being sold, and unscrupulous employers are extracting even more from overworked and underpaid sweatshop laborers. Political instability has already claimed governments in Guinea Bissau and Madagascar, and unrest is building elsewhere.

It is vitally important that we fight the global financial and economic crisis, but we must remember that this crisis comes on top of a number of crises in the developing world. It adds further misery to the food crisis, the migration crisis, and energy crisis, and the environmental crisis. We progressives must keep up the pressure by demanding a globalization that works for everyone, and forge new alliances and new lines of communication across national boundaries. We must develop new, progressive ways to achieve global justice.

That’s why, as the G-20 meets in London, an even larger group is meeting in Brussels – a group of progressive politicians, trade unionists, NGOs, academics and figures from major international institutions. This is the world conference of the Global Progressive Forum (GPF), which will bring together speakers from five continents to develop a new vision of a globalized world which benefits all. The GPF will take place in the European Parliament and will be opened by Bill Clinton. It will feature debates and discussions on the issues of global governance, trade, financial markets, decent work, migration and climate change, all aimed at coordinating global answers to what are, after all, global crises.

There will be live streaming and live blogging from the GPF at www.globalprogressiveforum.org.

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, President of the Party of European Socialists and former Prime Minister of Denmark (1993 – 2001)