World leaders seek 'ethical globalization'
( 2002-02-04 15:02 ) (7 )

Global business leaders heard a blunt warning on Sunday that corporations and international organizations must become more accountable or face mounting resentment from ordinary people and poor nations, and some appeared to heed the message.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson told business and political leaders at the fourth day of the World Economic Forum that they face a key challenge -- empowering the common citizen in the globalization process.

"We need to move toward a more ethical globalization and find a way to have civic democracy on an international level," she said.

Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey referred to the recent collapse of Enron, saying the fall of the energy trading giant raised fundamental questions about honesty and accountability within capitalism.

"There's a big question mark over capitalism today. It's one word and it's Enron," he said. "And what is that challenge? Capitalism has to act within boundaries."

The ever-widening gulf between rich and poor nations has emerged as a central theme of the five-day gathering, which has brought together 2,700 delegates from many different countries and disciplines to discuss key issues.

Thousands of anti-globalization demonstrators demanding an end to corporate greed and worker exploitation rallied in the streets this weekend near the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, where leaders are barricaded behind rows of police officers guarding the high-powered talkfest.

Protests have been spirited but non-violent at this meeting, held just three miles (five km) north of the debris of the World Trade Center towers destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks.