Social Watch E-Newsletter - Issue 152 - November 1, 2013

Social Watch Philippines (SWP), Silliman University in Negros Oriental and Mindanao State University (MSU) in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) launched the People’s Public Finance Institute (PPFI), which is the first-ever center on teaching citizens to learn and be actively involved in public finance in the Philippines.

“As part of Social Watch Philippines’ commitment to asserting social development for people’s rights and empowerment, we are setting up PPFI centers in various State Colleges and Universities (SUCs) all over the country,” said former national treasurer and SWP lead convenor Leonor Magtolis Briones.“Through the Institute, SWP and SUCs will educate the general public, civil society organizations (CSOs) and interested local government officials on national and local public finance working under the framework of citizens’ participation,” she added.
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In the early morning of October 3 a tourist was enjoying the beautiful quiet beach of the Italian Mediterranean Island when three swimmers appeared. Three African young men frantically asked for help. They had left their mothers behind in a ship on sea that was on fire.

The EU is in danger of addressing the wrong priorities. Military equipment and drones are no answer to such large numbers of desperate refugees who are ready to risk their lives even if they need to swim over the Mediterranean. Instead of militarisation we need to create safe places and communities for refugees, where those that are survivors of trafficking can heal and raise awareness. The EU needs to strengthen a policy of dialogue and involvement of the communities concerned. Read more

The most important battles are generally the hardest fought. Such is the case of the financial transactions tax (FTT), a crucial element in the creation of a more just global financial system, which is facing renewed opposition from those who want to maintain the failed economic architecture of the past.
Just a few months ago, the establishment of a ‘Robin Hood Tax’ in Europe seemed imminent, as France, Germany and nine other EU countries agreed to implement the measure with the dual objectives of reducing market instability while also raising revenue for poverty reduction and to fight climate change. Earlier momentum now seems to be faltering, however, as states debate collection systems and, crucially, how the revenue gathered should be used. Read more

The 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) ended with renewed commitment to anti-poverty targets and agreement to adopt new development goals in 2015. Women's rights advocates, along with diverse civil society organizations, critically engaged in debates calling for structural transformation that puts human rights and sustainability at the centre of the new development agenda.

While women’s groups used every opportunity to put their demands and critiques on the table ]there is still much to be done to address the structural and systemic issues that will provide the basis for an inclusive, transformative and sustainable development framework. Debates continue to focus on economic growth, measuring progress using inappropriate indicators, and are mainly happening among governments and the private sector, with serious limitations for civil society (CS) to enter official debates and lack of clear and transparent mechanisms to ensure CS interventions and meaningful participation. Read more