The head of Amnesty International, Irene Khan, emphatically said that there are "three main actors" when it comes to discussing human rights: governments, corporate actors and civil society. "For us, interaction with all those three actors is very important. That is why we have a delegation at both the World Economic Forum and the World Social Forum (taking place simultaneously in Puerto Alegre, Brazil), and our message at both fora is the same," Khan said.

The message is twofold. Firstly, that "human rights are indivisible." Amnesty is of the view that "civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights have to be perceived at the same time." And secondly, those who have the responsibility to uphold and protect these rights must be held accountable for it.

"We feel that corporate actors, as the pace of globalization accelerates, are becoming ever more important," Khan said. This is the reason Khan traveled from London, where Amnesty is headquartered, to attend the Forum's meeting. She told The Earth Times that the delegation is "here to access" the members of WEF to give them their message. In her discussions with CEOs of big business, Khan said she's heard some positive things about corporate social responsibility, however, according to her, more needs to be done. "Rhetoric is not enough. Even commitment is not enough," she stressed. "What really one has to see is how that commitment is translated into action and that action has to be verified independently to see if there is really any change." She called this the real challenge.

She admitted that "there is no band-aid to deal with human rights violations." She is hopeful that her patience and that of her organization will pay off in influencing those in power to achieve Amnesty's goal. She informed this paper that some headway has been made. However, she stated, "There is still a hell of a long way to go. We have got to recognize that and got to keep at it."

To achieve success in this area, she said, the "actors" cannot be isolated. Governments and corporations are partners in dialogue. At times, she said this is not true. In some developing countries, industries are more powerful than government. "You have got to catch them both at the same time, otherwise they hide behind each other," she said.

In theory it all sounds noble and simple, but are there practical solutions? No, she admitted that a system of accountability that holds both governments and corporations responsible needs to be found.

In the case of governments, international treaties are in place to prevent them from violating human rights (once again, at times, this only occurs in theory). However, businesses get off scot-free. Khan said companies are only at the stage of discussing "voluntary standards and guidelines." The problem is many companies are not willing to subject themselves to independent verifications."

Khan hopes to be able to influence the CEOs present at the WEF meeting to remedy the status-quo. She said some CEOs are very receptive, but some still require further convincing. She said some companies feel that the conditions Amnesty is asking for are unrealistic, and it is her mission at this conference to convince them otherwise.

Being a first-time delegate to this Forum, Khan said she was shocked by the lack of women in the panels. "Women are generally not a minority, but at this forum they certainly are," she said. She added that more women should be encouraged to come as more than half the world's population is female, making them consumers and shareholders. Hence, they are important to business.

In the same sense she said there should be greater access to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). WEF has only invited a handful of NGO representatives, leaving the resting feeling resentful of the Forum. Is Amnesty "selling out" by attending this elite club of the crème de la crème of big business? "We talk to everyone," was her response. "Amnesty International is campaigning and advocating. We talk to all actors who we believe have influence and responsibility for human rights."

Khan did say, however, that access to the Forum for other NGOs and the media was a problem. "That is where a message needs to go out the World Economic Forum. If they see themselves as a world forum, then they need to be more open to the world," she said. Commenting on the caste system set up by the Forum for the press (white badges allow access to the Waldorf-Astoria; the orange badges of lesser mortals only allow access to the Intercontinental Hotel), Khan said, "I think it creates an unnecessary atmosphere of secrecy, when what you need is transparency and trust."