In the view of IADL the present crisis is not only a financial one. Its deep roots lie in the present economic system, characterized by growing inequalities among rich and poor. Another important negative factor is the neoliberal theory and practice, for sake of which most States destroyed every protection against the free circulation of capital and the invention of new and sophisticated financial instruments totally disconnected from the real production of goods and services. That conducted to a damaging hypertrophy of the financial sphere which at its turn amplified the inequalities among North and South and inside every national society.
This leads to the necessity to adopt a comprehensive approach and to put in practice a complete reversal of the false premises preached upon in the last decades, placing again in the focus the aim of full realization of all human rights, including those of economic, social and cultural nature, which require a new attitude of the public powers at every level. This approach, contained in historical documents like the Charter on Economic Rights and Duties of the States, adopted in 1974, needs today to be at the same time reaffirmed and updated in the light of the incumbent environmental crisis and of the growing interdependency in the framework of globalization.
Therefore, every solution depends, in order to be effective, upon the two issues mentioned.
First we need a more equitable distribution of wealth on social and territorial scale.
Second, we need to reintroduce controls to the circulation of capitals and limitation on the activities of the financial sphere.
The States, duly stimulated by trade-unions, communities and social movements, have to perform the key-function in this sense:
a. adopting policies of social protection, guarantee of the activities of trade-unions and redistribution of income, stimulating thus the internal demand of goods and qualifying this demand preferring energy-saving and low environmental impact items;
b. establishing frameworks of strict control on the financial activities, consenting the accession to credit of environmentally and social sound enterprises and firmly disincentivating every kind of speculation.
A very important task, however, lies also with the international community, which has to set up a general law framework favourable to the development of such national normative activities.
On the other hand, such a task is perfectly in line with the purposes of the United Nations, which, in order to guarantee international peace and security, to promote “1. higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress and development; solutions of international economic, social, health, and related problems; and international cultural and educational cooperation; and universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion” (art. 55).
Particular attention should be devoted to the issue of foreign debt, which continue to represent an unsustainable burden for the developing countries. In order to establish a firm legal framework governing this phenomenon, IADL suggests that the General Assembly of United Nations should formulate a request of consultative opinion directed to the International Court of Justice, on the basis of art. 86 of the Charter.
Another proposal is that of the adoption of another resolution of the General Assembly containing the principles and objectives set forth in this paper, especially the points 1 and 2 and letters a and b. Such a resolution could constitute a valuable and effective mean reorientating the activities and policies followed by the States, which are called to assume a substantive role of guidance uti singuli and uti universi.
IADL is working on both proposals formulated supra and invites all progressive forces operating inside the international community to cooperate in order to institute together a new international order favorable to human rights and fundamental freedoms.