Social Watch E-Newsletter - Issue 278 - October 28, 2016

That question guided the debate during the launch of the the “Spotlight on Sustainable Report” report at the Palais des Nations, headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, last October 24.
Independent monitoring and review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its structural obstacles and challenges are key factors for the success of the SDGs. For this reason, a global alliance of civil society organizations and networks comprising of Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND), Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN), Social Watch, Third World Network (TWN) and Global Policy Forum (GPF) with the support of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) produced a Spotlight Report assessing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the structural obstacles in its realization. Read more

Current debates in Ghana about sustainable development express a confluence of four important trends: 1) questioning of the growing inequalities and exclusion wrought by the dominant neoliberal economic policies and the quality of growth that has resulted; 2) recognition of the advances that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Goals (SDGs) represent on the minimal ambitions of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); 3) African recognition of the limits of raw material commodity export dependence and the need for structural economic transformation; and 4) the rediscovery of development planning as an important tool and policy framework.
Ghana's National Development Planning Commission is currently leading a process to develop a 40 Year Long Term Development Plan (2018-2057). Central to the Plan is the structural economic and social transformation of Ghana, ending at the time of the centenary of Independence from British colonial rule. Read more

Forty Social Watch coalitions around the world are contributing their assessments and reports to the global Social Watch report 2016, under the overall theme Goals for 2030... and obstacles to getting there. The Social Watch network contributes these analysis to the current global discussions around implementation of the 2030 Agenda, which just will not happen without civil society independent monitoring.
The Social Watch national platforms are independent coalitions of civil society organizations struggling for social and gender justice in their own countries. The Social Watch network has been publishing since 1996 yearly reports on how governments implement their international commitments to eradicate poverty and achieve equality between women and men.

A United Nations human rights expert has called on newly elected United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres to convene a world conference to discuss the issues of tax avoidance and evasion, the abolition of tax havens as well as the protection of whistleblowers.
In a UN news release, the Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, Mr Alfred de Zayas (United States), said: “The choice of Mr Guterres as the next UN Secretary-General offers a unique opportunity to advance the fight against tax evasion and illicit financial flows, at a moment where the world is paying increasing attention to these crucial issues”. Read more

In certain countries and especially those rich in resources, the extraction and trade of minerals, gas, oil or wood are financing armed groups who commit serious violations of human rights, rather than contributing to human development. To stop this circle of suffering, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission passed in 2012 the section 1502 of the Dodd Franck Act, requiring U.S. and certain foreign companies to report and make public their use of so-called “conflict minerals” from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) or adjoining countries in their products. Following this legislation, companies must certify that 4 minerals (Tungsten, Tin, Tantalum and Gold, the “3TGs”) extracted in DRC and neighboring countries did not contribute to fund armed groups. Through this certification system, American consumers have stronger guarantees that their purchases of electronic products containing 3TGs did not contribute to human rights violations.
Reacting to this problem, the European Commission proposed the “conflict minerals” regulation in March 2014. The proposal was disappointing in many ways: it consisted of a self-certification system that companies could voluntarily join, and it only applied to 19 smelters and refiners based in the EU (while not covering all products entering the EU market that contain the targeted minerals). Read more

Innovative approaches are necessary to increase the leadership of young women with vulnerable backgrounds, to eradicate poverty and prevent forced trafficking.
Our research revealed that a large number of young women age 17-22 are not engaged in public life or social activities. They have found themselves in an especially vulnerable situation – with no education, no job and no perspective. Their isolation and social regression lead to loneliness and an uncertain future.
As a solution, the Center for the Development of Civil Society (CDCS) initiated a special program aimed at providing young women from vulnerable and low-income families, orphanages, state boarding schools and refuges with equal access to education and opportunities for successful employment. Read more