Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt

Ideas and possible actions for
the construction of an alternative
international order

From Sunday 17th October (evening) to Wednesday 20th October 2004 (end of afternoon)

Venue: International Institute for Research and Education
202, Willemparkweg Amsterdam
Tel : 00 31 20 671 72 63 Fax: 00 31 20 673 21 06 email: iire@antenna.nl

Organised by the Committee for Abolition of Third World Debt (CADTM).

Provisional list of speakers: Charles ABRAHAMS (Lawyer, South Africa); Gilbert ACHCAR (University of Paris VIII, France); Nuri ALBALA (Lawyer, Chairman of the International Commission “Fundamental Rights and Globalisation”, France); Luis BONILLA (Educationalist, Venezuela); François HOUTART (Director of CETRI, Belgium); Denise COMANNE (Coordinator CADTM) ; Filinto DURAN (member of the parliament, Venezuela); Amadou DIARRA (Lawyer, Professor of International Law at the University of Bamako, Mali); Maria FERETTI (Lawyer, Argentina); Guillermo GARCIA (Doctor in Law, Spain); Carole KALENGA (Barrister in Brussels, Belgium); Patricio PAZMINO (Juriste, Equator); Andrej KOLGANOV (Economist, Moscow University, Russia); Solange KONE (Official of the FNDP, Ivory Coast); Fabio MARCELLI (Researcher at the National Research Council Institute of Legal Studies - Rome Italy); Vinod RAINA (Physician, Jubilee South, India); Leida RIJNHOUT (Vodo, Belgium); Virginie de ROMANET (Researcher at the CADTM, Belgium); Hugo RUIZ DIAZ BALBUENA (Lawyer, Researcher at the CADTM, Paraguay); Michael SCHMITT (Master in International Law, Germany); Eric TOUSSAINT (Political scientist, CADTM, Belgium); Arnaud ZACHARIE (Research Director at the CNCD, Belgium).

In this seminar open to all, priority will be given to the representatives of social movements and NGOs from North and South engaged in actions in favour of debt cancellation and the abandonment of structural adjustment policies.

Call for papers: Papers on any of the subjects to be treated will be welcomed. The complete paper should be submitted by September 15th 2004 (ten thousand signs maximum, including spaces).

Working languages: French/English/Spanish.

As the number of places is limited, registration is compulsory.

Registration fee for the three day seminar (*): North 110 Euros ( or 40 Euros per person per day). Students, unemployed: 60 Euros (or 20 Euros per person per day). South: 40 Euros. (*) This includes simultaneous translation into the working languages, three meals per day and accommodation in double rooms.

To registrate yourself, fill the registration form and send an email to hugo.ruiz@cadtm.org and virginie@cadtm.org

>>> Monday 18th October - morning. First day.

The first day will be spent analysing international relations in the context of the New International Economic Order (NIEO) that appeared in the 1950s and '60s. We will consider power relations and the changes in the economic, commercial, financial and military fields on the international level. Subjects discussed throughout the day will all hinge on the Debt issue.

In this seminar, particular attention will be given to exchange and debate with the participants, as a means of furthering the analyses of the various contributors.

9.00 a.m. Opening: Eric TOUSSAINT

1 From Bandoeng (1955) to the creation of the WTO (1995): from the rejection of the colonial order to the counter offensive of neo-liberalism. The transformations in power relations, international institutional architecture, and the law.
By Amadou DIARRA and Nuri ALBALA.

2 The different development models promoted by the World Bank and UNCTAD. Some significant cases: South Korea, Indonesia, Brazil and Cuba.
The external debt trap. By Eric TOUSSAINT

Monday 18th October - afternoon

1. Management of the external debt crisis and the subordination of States to their creditors.
By Maria FERRETI. Discussion with Fabio MARCELLI.

2. The ecological debt. By Vinod RAINA. Discussion with Leida RIJNHOUT.

Monday evening: Chat on the current events in Venezuela by Luis BONILLA and Filinto DURAN (Venezuela)

Tuesday 19th October - morning. Second day.

The second day will be spent analysing the recent evolution of international law, the intervention of the WTO, the financial institutions and trans-national corporations, and considering the new world order.

1. The crisis of international development law in the context of the new international division of labour and globalisation.
By Guillermo GARCIA and Carole KALENGA.

2. Characteristics of the “new world order”. By François HOUTART and Gilbert ACHCAR

3. The case of the former Soviet Bloc. By Andrej KOLGANOV.

Tuesday 19th October - afternoon.

1. Trans-national firms, the IFIs and human rights. By Charles ABRAHAMS. Discussion with Michael SCHMITT.

2. The WTO - external debt and trade. By Hugo RUIZ DIAZ BALBUENA.

Tuesday evening: chat on the challenges of the Ivory Coast conflicts. By Solange KONE.

>>> Wednesday 20th October - morning and afternoon. Third day.

Ideas and possible actions for the construction of an alternative international order

1. Women's emancipation as an essential prerequisite to any alternative.
By Denise COMANNE.

2. What role for the international multilateral institutions (IMF, WB, WTO, UN)? By Arnaud ZACHARIE, Belgium. Discussion with Hugo RUIZ DIAZ BALBUENA

3. The citizens' audit of the debt and the other forms of audit. By Virginie de ROMANET

General discussion

Evaluation

Conclusion by Claude QUEMAR

Estimated end at 5pm on Wednesday 20th October 2004.

Registration Form:

Full Name: __________________________________

Organisation: ___________________________________________________

Postal Address:

___________________________________________________________________

Country: ____________________

Telephone: Fax _________________________

Email address: __________________________________________

Organisation's URL or homepage: ____________________________________

Do you need a visa?

Planned Date of Arrival and Time to Amsterdam: ___________________________

Planned Date of Departure and Time from Amsterdam: ______________________

Vegetarian/Novegetarian (please specify): ________________________________

Please respond by 20th september 2004 to virginie@cadtm.org and hugo.ruiz@cadtm.org

Please also note that more information on logistics and administrative matters will be sent to you once we will confirm your attendance. We cannot afford transport cost.