São Paulo, June 14, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - "Please, keep up the pressure," UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged scores of non-governmental organizations and social movements present, yesterday (13), at one of the plenary sessions of the 11th meeting of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XI). "This event is a call to action. We are all together in the battle against poverty," he affirmed.

Representing at least 40 countries, the entities assembled in the Civil Society Forum, which handed Annan a declaration containing their positions on the issues discussed at the official event, in São Paulo. "We want to ensure that the UNCTAD is not manipulated by the interests of the rich countries and multinationals," explained Iara Pietricovsky, a Brazilian, from the Brazilian Network for the Integration of Nations (Rebrip), speaking for the Forum. According to Pietricovsky, this is the first that the social movements and NGO's can make an official contribution to discussions over what is regarded as the "hardcore" of international relations today, economic globalization.

José Bové, a Frenchman representing the international peasant farmers' organization, Via Campesina, added: "We want to propose a new fundamental right for the UN to embrace: the right to produce one's own food, nutritional sovereignty."

A final item emphasized by the NGO's was the need to democratize the structure of international organs and pay attention to the "voices in the streets," which are currently engaged in protests against free trade agreements and military intervention in countries like Iraq.

In his address Annan answered this appeal by recalling that the UN Security Council opposed the war in Iraq, serving as a sounding board for these international peace demonstrations.

Reporter: Spensy Pimentel
Translator: David Silberstein