ABSTRACT
There is mutual suspicion on both sides of the divide between the practices of trade and human rights, manifested by the heat of recent academic debate and by confrontations on the street. Each side worries that the other might sabotage its best-laid plans. Yet the international community has less and less tolerance for this stand-off. It demands an effective and workable synthesis, allowing the two disciplines to widen and to coordinate their agendas. This chapter is concerned with this prospect. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is not a party to any human rights treaties. However, the stated goals of the organisation, which can be found in its preamble, provide a useful potential entry point for those guarantees. There are seven overlapping goals within the preamble. An interpretation of WTO treaties can develop in two distinct directions. One of these takes what can be called a functional view of power, and another takes a civic view.
