Fair Trade? How Oxfam Presented a Systemic Approach to Poverty, Development, Human Rights, and Trade

Human Rights Quarterly
Volume 28, Number 4, November 2006, pp. 998-1030

Aaronson, Susan A.
Zimmerman, Jamie M.

Subject Headings:
。Oxfam.
。World Trade Organization.
。International trade.

Abstract:
This article discusses how Oxfam tried to change global trade policies to better reflect the rights-based approach delineated in its strategic plan. Oxfam has been extremely successful at helping policymakers and the public understand the relationship between poverty, development, human rights, and trade. (We do not examine the "make poverty history" campaign). To understand Oxfam's perspective and approach, we begin the article with a discussion of how the WTO system addresses questions of human rights, poverty, and development. We then examine Oxfam's strategy and how it changed over time—moving from a systemic emphasis on poverty, development, human rights, and trade to a more limited, but visible, focus on "making trade fair." Finally, we examine Oxfam's contribution to the trade debate.

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