ADDRESSING THE BACKLASH: Evaluating the WTO and its approach to Socio-Political and Environmental Concerns
Ryan Hayhurst
The demonstrations that turned the WTO's Seattle Conference into a virtual circus may have been a head-ache for organizers, city officials and the Seattle shop owners who saw rioters loot their stores, but it is the WTO who will benefit from this experience in the long run. The demonstrations acted as a virtual 'comment card' for the Organization and brought to their attention and others some of the obvious problems that currently plague the WTO and that are obviously of great importance to those whom the Organization intends to 'govern' under its constantly broadening mandate. This paper will address three areas that are have come under question of late, broadly defined as access, reporting and inequality, outlining the areas where the Organization is falling short and some recommendations as to how these needs can be met. In summary, the author will make a call for high-level meetings of the 'global players', international organizations such as the United Nations and other international public interests, to work out the details of each organizations responsibility within a global mandate. It is hoped that this will allow organizations to better understand their roles and focus not on broadening the scope of their involvement, but on improving that which the organization was designed to be and to whom it is accountable.