Social Watch E-Newsletter - Issue 225 - July 24, 2015

Issue 225 - July 24, 2015
 
 
   
 
 

FFD 3 Outcome: Fishing for crumbs of hope in a sea of lost ambition

   
 

On July 16th, governments adopted the Outcome of the Third Conference on Financing for Development, held in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), called the “Action Ababa Action Agenda” (AAAA or the “Outcome”). In a collective and sharp statement in response, civil society said that the conference “lost the opportunity to tackle the structural injustices in the current global economic system and ensure that development finance is people-centered and protects the environment.”
The lack of ambition of the adopted text, though not a surprise to observers of the negotiations leading up to it, is very striking for it contradicts hyped-up rhetoric from different sources in the UN and governments about the link between this conference and the upcoming ones this year. Ambitious outcomes in the conferences on the post-2015 development agenda (New York, September) and the Conference of Parties (COP) 21 on Climate (Paris, December) were expected to depend on success of FFD 3. Read more

 

   
 
 

Third FfD Conference fails to finance development

   
 

The third Financing for Development (FfD) conference in Addis Ababa concluded last Thursday, July 16, in bad faith as developed countries rejected a proposal for a global tax body and dismissed developing countries’ compromise proposal to strengthen the existing U.N. committee of tax experts.
Usually, when large conferences end after conflicts and climax in intergovernmental negotiations, there is a sense of exhilaration. This did not happen in Addis Ababa.
The hallmark failure of the 3rd FfD conference is the missed opportunity to create an intergovernmental tax body, despite the persistent push into the 11th hour by a critical mass of developed countries led by India and Brazil. Read more

   
   
   
 

Peter Niggli
Climate change is costing us dear. Unless we rein it in, there will be more failed harvests, flooding in low-lying coastal areas, disease, mass migration and armed conflict over resources. Stopping it also comes at a price. It would mean completely switching energy generation, industrial production and transport systems to renewable energy sources – which is what the concept of climate protection means.
Moderate estimates are that as of the year 2020, US$200 billion will have to be invested every year in emerging and developing countries. In addition, 50 billion would need to be invested annually in adaptation to climate change. This would include coastal protection systems for coping with rising sea levels, altering water courses or resettling communities in the countries affected, to mention but a few points. Read more
 
   
   
 

Iraqi civil society organizations and women activists, demand support through the work of the UNAMI and the United Nations. CSOs present a number of proposals for consideration during the upcoming discussions of the UN Security Council on the renewal of the mandate for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).
Given the current security situation which has continued to deteriorate due to the conflict with ISIL, that itis threatening also the security of the whole MENA region and the global security, CSOs are particularly concerned about the situation of women and children, especially those living in areas under military operations and the huge number of IDPs exceeding 4 million. Read more

 
   
   
 

People around the world were impacted by the 2008 financial crisis which stemmed from the US's financial policies. The key human rights lesson from the crisis is that the economic and social rights of people and nations everywhere are interconnected. In our inter-connected world, the US must make economic decisions that respect the human rights of all individuals who will be impacted by national, economic, financial and fiscal policy.
At one level, economic policy in the United States should be guided by the principle of progressive realization and non-retrogression. Progressive realization recognizes that the resources at the disposition of a government are limited; nevertheless, a government must take specific steps to ensure that the enjoyment of economic and social rights improves over time. Non-retrogression means that once a particular level of enjoyment of rights has been realized, it should be maintained. Read more

 
   
 

 

 
SOCIAL WATCH IS AN INTERNATIONAL NGO WATCHDOG NETWORK MONITORING POVERTY ERADICATION AND GENDER EQUALITY
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