When the Bali meeting started there was a proposal to develop a framework on corporate accountability, but by the end the draft was watered down, calling on governments "to promote" corporate responsibility.
The corporate capture of the WSSD has put the global justice movement in an awkward position. Most of the NGOs and people's movements support UN goals, and many are involved in the process itself. Yet the opening ceremony of the Indonesia People's Forum, organized as a parallel event to the formal Bali meeting, was interrupted by the strange chant of "Boycott Prepcom."
Midway through the second week, the IPF voted to boycott, though it was not clear exactly how one actually boycotts a Prepcom, especially as police kept protestors penned in an amphitheater out of sight of the meeting venue.
The ambivalent attitude toward WSSD is likely to intensify in Johannesburg, as are security arrangements for a meeting with dozens, perhaps well over a hundred, Heads of State in attendance. Civil society groups are split of whether to protest the meeting or try to strengthen it, or some combination.
For the anti-corporate globalization movement, the target will be clear. Business Action for Sustainable Development, a collection of global corporations, will be there in full force to push the message that they are part of the solution. Unlike the People's Forum, they will have a venue near the official meeting, where they will give out Awards for Sustainable Development Partnerships.*
The corporate capture of the WSSD has put the global justice movement in an awkward position. Most of the NGOs and people's movements support UN goals, and many are involved in the process itself. Yet the opening ceremony of the Indonesia People's Forum, organized as a parallel event to the formal Bali meeting, was interrupted by the strange chant of "Boycott Prepcom."
Midway through the second week, the IPF voted to boycott, though it was not clear exactly how one actually boycotts a Prepcom, especially as police kept protestors penned in an amphitheater out of sight of the meeting venue.
The ambivalent attitude toward WSSD is likely to intensify in Johannesburg, as are security arrangements for a meeting with dozens, perhaps well over a hundred, Heads of State in attendance. Civil society groups are split of whether to protest the meeting or try to strengthen it, or some combination.
For the anti-corporate globalization movement, the target will be clear. Business Action for Sustainable Development, a collection of global corporations, will be there in full force to push the message that they are part of the solution. Unlike the People's Forum, they will have a venue near the official meeting, where they will give out Awards for Sustainable Development Partnerships.*