UN Declaration of Human Rights: Preamble

On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the full text of which appears in the following pages. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and “to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories.”

PREAMBLE

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Well it’s a grand start, a huge sweeping statement of love, peace and freedom. The advent of a new world, freedom from fear and want.

Freedom from tyranny and oppression?

It’s too easy to list the abuses, killing and destruction of the last 60 years. I think what is important here is to revisit the vision and imagine it then and now. Is it relevant? Is it too aspirational? What have we learnt about human nature, the institutional arrangements we live with, the way we are ruled or governed?

Are we a big happy human family?

The UN feels like a marriage made in haste and on the rocks. It’s lost its will, its purpose and its values. Its time to refresh and renew those vows or move on to something new.

Here’s another questions for those in school or with kids in school: How many of your schools display the UN Declaration of Human Rights?

Take the opportunity now to send them a link to it or try and get a poster from your local Amnesty team or Human Rights Commission.

10 years ago on the 50th Anniversary I displayed a copy of the wall of the dealing room I worked in. People thought I was nuts; my American colleagues thought I was a commie….but very few people wanted to read it, to understand it, to think about it.

And maybe that’s the problem. We don’t want to think about it, it’s too hard. We might have to take some action, be accountable, question ourselves and our attitudes.

Sometimes I wonder how many member states have read this recently.

Well it’s never too late.

Human Rights Watch: 31 Verses

The 1940s was a tumultuous time for the world. A war which saw millions of lives lost and destruction on a global scale.

We saw the construction of a new financial system in Bretton Woods and the formation of a extended global brotherhood, The United Nations. But for me the real action was on December 10th 1948 when the UN made a Declaration of Human Rights.

As we approach the 60th anniversary of this hopeful statement it is time to reconsider the Declaration, examine its content and intent and ask ourselves how we see Human Rights today.

From today I’ll be posting up one article daily with some commentary and invite all readers to think about what it means for them and whether it is still relevant today or some hopeless outdated and optimistic posturing.

If you’re looking to get involved in some way then just look up your local Amnesty office and check it out.

I’ll leave with a quote from Edmund Burke,

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”.

New Order

Blue Monday

Just watching Bush, Sarko and some other bureaucrat from the EU announcing the coming of the new order or is it a new new order. Forget Black Monday its all Blue from here.

Actually they are right. Bretton Woods created US dominance in financial matters to go along with their dominance in military affairs. Whilst Keynes argued for a system of balanced trade the US saw an opportunity to sell the world US$ which they could print for nothing. The seignorage accruing to the US has been the backbone of their economy for 60 years and those holders of US$ and US paper must be wondering how they got sucked in so badly.

I enjoyed Sarkozy saying everyone would be part of developing a solution…..it’s amusing to watch Bush and Sarkozy together. The clash of cultures is stark and it will be interesting to see how this global summit develops and more importantly who gets to set the agenda.

One thing is for sure: leverage is history. The financial markets will shrink and exotic products will become a relic of a distant past. It will be back to basics like borrowing to create and produce rather than borrowing to invest in a synthetic financial product. The fall out from the contraction of the financial markets will be severe. Unemployment will rise not just in the financial industry itself but in all the industries that service it. Asset values will fall. How can property prices rise when the supply of money is contracting?

Of course the one issue I am looking to see on the table is who creates the supply of money: will it be banks once again creating loans deposits at will or will it be sovereign nations supplying money into the banking system to be lent out or supplying it direct to citizens as a basic income.

This is the crucial issue.

Will the sovereign right of Parliament be reasserted for the first time in over 300 years? No one remembers William of Orange but in 1685 his overthrow of the Stuarts, aided by European bankers, laid the foundations of modern banking.He gave away Parliament’s right to create money and placed it in the hands of the bankers.

Plus ca change.

But the time of change is upon us.

Nationalise money not banks

The flurry of raised hands for bank guarantees from central bankers and treasury ministers around the world fails to convince me we are out of fire. Certainly guaranteeing interbank lending is helpful as the pipes are well and truly frozen in that part of the monetary world.

The global banking system has now been underwritten, guaranteed and in some cases nationalised completely. There is no surprise in that course of action as it was all they could do. Whether they take stakes in, takeover or buy preferred stock makes no difference. Now they have bought some time we will have to wait and see how it pans out. The underlying problem remains the same though.

They have not addressed the difference between money and credit.

Money is what the sovereign authority issues. This carries no interest burden which is a future claim on goods and services yet to be produced i.e. drives the growth imperative.

Credit is what banks issue based on deposits and “other types of capital” that are in the bank. This carries interest. Credit makes up 97% of the money supply. Credit is treated as money although laws are very clear that only sovereign authorities can create money.

Confused?

There is a strong argument to say that bank credit is fraudulent money. I digress.

Instead of supporting the credit creation system we need to support the money creation system. It’s that simple. Let me be clear: banks do not lend out your deposits. They use your deposits as collateral on new loans.

Take Kiva, my favorite microfinance outfit: I deposit $25, find a borrower and lend them the money. My $25 is gone and i have to wait for it to be repaid. That is true lending. Think of it as investment.

Bank lending is garbage.

The answer is to nationalise the supply of money and remove the interest burden at the point of creation. I think this is likely to happen at some point as governments run into difficulties with their guarantee schemes.

We will need a new monetary authority who will issue new money into the economy and monitor the supply of money in the economy at any given time.

Only then will we be able to build a genuinely productive and healthy society and economy.

Details on NZ Deposit Guarantee Scheme

Some details from the RBNZ:

12 October 2008

OPERATIONAL DETAILS

New Zealand Deposit Guarantee Scheme

This document outlines the key characteristics of the deposit guarantee scheme announced by the Minister of Finance this afternoon.  Draft contracts containing the full details of the guarantee will be available on the Reserve Bank’s website later this evening.

The Offer
Under the terms of the Public Finance Act, the Crown will invite eligible institutions to enter a guarantee of their deposit liabilities. Eligible financial institutions, will be New Zealand registered banks and non bank deposit-taking financial institutions, who are fully compliant with the requirements of their trust deeds.

The decision to enter a guarantee with any specific institution, whether now or in the future, will be at the sole discretion of the Crown.

Which deposits will be covered?
For New Zealand incorporated registered banks deposits from both residents or
non-residents, will be covered.

For non bank deposit takers and for the unincorporated branches of overseas entities only deposits of New Zealand citizens and New Zealand tax residents will be covered.

Deposit liabilities will be covered regardless of the currency in which they are denominated.

Deposits and other liabilities owed to financial institutions, whether in NZ or offshore, are explicitly excluded from this guarantee.

How long will the guarantee last?
The guarantee will be offered for a term of two years.

Fees
The government will charge a fee for any guarantee offered on amounts in excess of $5 billion.

For covered liabilities in excess of $5 billion a fee of 10 basis points per anum will be charged for the guarantee.  The fee will be charged on the basis of the total covered liabilities, in excess of $5 billion of the institution.

What will trigger the exercise of the guarantee?
The Crown will make payment in the event of the liquidation of a guaranteed financial institution, if its assets are shown to be insufficient to meet the liabilities covered by this guarantee.

Administration
These guarantees will be offered and administered by the Treasury.

Further Information
For institutions wanting further information on their eligibility for this guarantee please contact the Reserve Bank on: 021 682 757.

________________________________________

DEPOSIT GUARANTEE SCHEME

Q & A

12 October 2008

What is a deposit guarantee scheme?

It is a facility where the Crown guarantees people who have deposits with institutions in the scheme.  It covers all retail deposits of participating New Zealand-registered banks, and retail deposits by locals in non-bank deposit-taking entities. This would include building societies, credit unions and deposit-taking finance companies.

It only covers deposits and other debt securities.

What is “retail”?

Deposits by anyone other than financial institutions (eg banks and non-bank deposit-takers themselves)

What will it cost?

The scheme will be free for institutions with total retail deposits under $5 billion.  A fee of ten basis points per annum will be charged on total deposits above $5 billion. This means that a bank with $20 billion in retail deposits would pay $15 million in fees per annum.

There is no direct fee for individuals, but institutions will determine if and how the costs of the scheme are passed on

What is the cost to the Crown?

This obviously depends on the degree (if any) to which it is drawn on (like any insurance scheme).  Any guarantees will be recorded as
unquantified, contingent liabilities of the Crown.

Why was the facility announced this afternoon? What precipitated it?

The government has moved today to ensure ongoing depositer confidence in
New Zealand given the international financial market turbulence.   The
New Zealand banking system remains sound.  This move is to give further assurance to New Zealanders that their deposits are safe.  It follows other measures that have been undertaken by the Reserve Bank in recent weeks to ensure the liquidity of the banking system.

Why has this been done without legislation?

Parliament is not sitting, and therefore legislation can’t be introduced.  However, the Minister has powers under the Public Finance Act to act in this way.

Does this apply to non-banks / finance companies?

Yes it does, inasmuch as they meet the criteria (above).  Customers should check with their institution to confirm whether they are going to seek cover.

It does not apply retrospectively.

What about non-residents?

For branches of overseas banks and non-bank deposit-takers, non-residents will not be covered.

Is this scheme comparable with the facility announced in Australia
today?   What about other jurisdictions?

From what we’ve seen, the schemes are different - but both are aimed at encouraging confidence

Where can I go for more information?

Individual customers should talk with their banks or non-bank institutions.

Breaking News: NZ Government to guarantee all bank deposits

News just out today that the NZ government will provide a guarantee for all bank desposits. Details are sketchy but it seems it is opt-in and will cost banks a small amount.

It was inevitable but good to get it up front and out of the way. It could actually see money flow into NZ from overseas where deposit insurance schemes have a limit on them.

At least Kiwis can sleep a little better this evening presuming their bank opts in to the framework. More on this tomorrow.