A/HRC/11/13 page 5 emerged from ongoing consultations. But before proceeding, brief reflections are in order concerning today’s very difficult economic climate, and how it might affect business and human rights. II. THE ECONOMIC CRISIS 7. From his first report to the Commission on Human Rights in 2006 onwards, the Special Representative has maintained that the widening gaps between the scope and impact of economic forces and actors, and the capacity of societies to manage their adverse consequences, were unsustainable.13 “There is no magic in the marketplace”, he began his 2007 report.14 Markets can be highly efficient means for allocating scarce resources, and powerful forces for promoting social objectives ranging from poverty alleviation to the rule of law. But for markets to work optimally they must have adequate institutional underpinnings and be embedded in the broader values of social community. All along he has stressed that these governance gaps “create the permissive environment within which blameworthy acts by corporations may occur without adequate sanctioning or reparation”.15 He employed this framing to explain the state of business and human rights. We now know it holds for the world political economy as a whole. 8. Today, policymakers everywhere are focused on putting out the fires in the global financial system and containing their consequences for the real economy. According to an Asian Development Bank report, the worldwide loss of wealth this year may total US$ 50 trillion, or one year’s worth of GDP.16 A World Bank report projects global GDP in 2009 to decline for the first time since World War II, and the drop in world trade to be the steepest in 80 years.17 Even countries that were relatively insulated from the original financial sector meltdown, including the majority of developing countries, are hard hit by its effects: weak demand for their exports, collapsing commodity prices, lack of trade finance, severe credit squeezes, deep declines in foreign direct investment, and a sharp deceleration in workers’ remittances. The ILO estimates that the number of persons officially unemployed could rise above 230 million in 2009, from 193 million last year.18 9. In major downturns, those who are already vulnerable - individuals and countries - are often the most severely affected. Global and national efforts are needed to limit the damage and 13 E/CN.4/2006/97, para. 18. 14 A/HRC/4/35, para. 1. 15 A/HRC/8/5, para. 3. 16 http://www.adb.org/Media/Articles/2009/12818-global-financial-crisis/Major-Contagion-anda-shocking-loss-of-wealth.pdf. 17 http://siteresources.worldbank.org/NEWS/Resources/swimmingagainstthetidemarch2009.pdf. 18 http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/publication/ wcms_103456.pdf.