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From Nigeria to Indonesia, From the Alps to the Mines
A look at Globalization's Impact on Human Rights

Uprisings in Indonesia and Nigeria, massive layoffs of miners in South Africa, and protests against child labor worldwide have all been reported as separate and distinct events. This primetime public television special explores how these and other current events are linked to the forces of "globalization," the economic engine that is transforming the world in its own image. Globalization and Human Rights takes viewers on a journey that starts at a summit for corporate decision-makers - the World Economic Forum in the Alps of Switzerland - and travels deep into the gold mines of South Africa, then visits the controversial Shell oil fields of Nigeria and Nike shoe factories in Asia while examining an emerging conflict in a new world order between those making macro-economic decisions and those struggling to cope with the impact of those decisions. At the core of the program is the ongoing debate over whether or not human rights concerns should be linked to economic policies.

Globalization and Human Rights goes behind-the-scenes to look at the role played by giant and powerful transnational corporations like Shell Oil and NIKE and multinational global agencies such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. It also documents the response of workers and labor organizations, citizens’ groups, and human rights activists to the rapidly changing world order, and features exclusive footage of the world’s first Global March Against Child Labor. Leading political and corporate figures, such as U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, billionaire businessman/philanthropist George Soros, and South African Deputy President Thabo Mbeki, are joined by such human rights figures as Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, consumer advocate Ralph Nader, Chilean writer Ariel Dorfman, and Amnesty International Secretary General Pierre Sane, as well as by labor leaders like AFL-CIO president John Sweeney, in assessing the impact of globalization on human rights and democracy.

Globalization and Human Rights was produced by Rory O'Connor and Danny Schechter for Globalvision Inc. Funding support came from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ruben & Elisabeth Rausing Trust, the Roddick Foundation, the Independent Television Service (ITVS), John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, National Endowment for Democracy, and Newman's Own.