Social Justice in an Open World: The Role of the United Nations

Social Justice in an Open World: The Role of the United Nations preneurial talents either independently or as members of domestic or foreign companies. Notwithstanding the well-publicized role of oligarchs and plutocrats in the Russian Federation, the opening of the country's economy is believed to have given many young men and women a chance to prove their worth and be rewarded accordingly. The same appears to be true for the former socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. In India, already a democracy, economic reforms and an overall policy more favourable to capitalist and free market ideals have led to more and better opportunities for young graduates and professionals both at home and abroad. Even in a number of well-established economies in which market-oriented reforms have been instituted in a very gradual and controlled manner, there are more economic opportunities available now than 20 years ago; the United Kingdom is a case in point. Overall, these developments suggest that some progress has been made towards achieving economic justice. At the same time, however, the commitment made at the World Summit for Social Development to pursue the goal of full employment has largely been neglected. Globally, unemployment and underemployment have increased and now affect a much larger proportion of individuals on the lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder-the poor, the uneducated, and those with skills not valued in the economy-than those with an education, social connections, and more highly valued skills. In both developed and developing countries, women and youth are disproportionately affected by unemployment and underemployment. Work and employment opportunities are generally more scarce in rural areas than in urban areas, even though rural residents make up the majority of the population in many developing countries, and the situation does not appear to be improving. In India, for instance, growth in rural employment stood at only 0.67 per cent at the end of the 1990s, the lowest rate registered in the country's post-independence history. In a significant number of countries, the gap between rural and urban salaries appears to have widened. Around the world, new job opportunities have emerged predominantly in the services sector, and in developing countries in particular, most of these opportunities have been within the informal economy, where workers are poorly compensated and not provided with any kind of social security, and where labour laws and standards are seldom observed. Precarious working conditions are now the rule rather than the exception in many contexts, pointing to the treatment of labour as a "commodity", a practice denounced more than a century ago by Karl Marx and others. Seemingly everywhere, wages and other forms of remuneration have become increasingly unequal within and between sectors, communities, countries and regions, and between nationals and immigrants, the skilled and the less skilled, and urban and rural residents. Even within the public services sector, which has generally been "downsized", differences in remuneration have widened as attempts have been made to reward initiative and competence rather than dedication and se-