Analysis
Trade Rules hurt the rural poor
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- Written by Social Watch
DO NOT DILUTE G 33 PROPOSAL: ADDRESS IMBALANCE IN GLOBAL AGRICULTURAL SUBSIDIES RULES, SUPPORT PUBLIC STOCKHOLDING FOR GUARANTEEING LIVELIHOODS AND FOOD CONSUMPTION OF THE POOR AT BALI WTO MINISTERIAL
We, as members of the global civil society, urge the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, Roberto Azevedo, and heads of member states, to take the issue of food security in developing countries as a matter of serious and immediate concern, and not to render the G-33 proposal on public food stockholding a travesty by asking developing countries to agree to the current text on the peace clause.
Uppsala statement on the right to social security
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- Written by Church of Sweden
Following a two days conference organised by the Church of Sweden in partnership with other organisations1 entitled ‘100 Years of Social Pensions in Sweden: Global poverty challenges and experiences of social protection’, Civil Society Organisations from both the global South and North met in Uppsala, Sweden on 3 October 2013, and state the following:
1. The right to social security/social protection2 is a universal human right, as recognized in international, regional and national conventions, treaties and laws.
Read more: Uppsala statement on the right to social security
A dangerous blend? The EU’s agenda to ‘blend’ public development finance with private finance
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- Written by Maria Romero/Eurodad
'Blending’ is a mechanism that links a grant element, provided by official development assistance (ODA), with loans from publicly owned institutions or commercial lenders. This is not a new phenomenon. What is new is the narrative of the European Union (EU), which argues that using ODA to leverage private finance is the solution following the financial crisis. There has been an increase in development finance institutions (DFIs) and EU donors using blending mechanisms to increase support and lending to private companies and to partner with private financiers by using ever larger quantities of ODA. Eurodad is concerned about this agenda and its implications for overseas development, which are examined in detail in this report.
Qatar: UN Human Rights Rapporteur exposes truth on migrant workers and calls for ILO standards to be met
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- Written by ITUC
International unions are calling on the Qatar authorities to give an immediate response to the request for urgent reforms for migrant workers following a ten-day UN investigation in the country.
Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation, welcomed the recommendations by Francois Crepeau, UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, including the right to form and join trade unions, proper grievance procedures, a minimum wage and the abolishment of the kafala system.
Climate change is putting jobs at risk
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- Written by ITUC
With a new round of the United Nations climate negotiations starting this Monday in Warsaw, Poland, the labour movement expressed its concerns on the impacts a low ambition climate deal would mean for jobs globally.
“Science is telling us that all sectors of the economy will be heavily impacted by climate change if we do not succeed to maintain temperature increase below 2°C”, said Sharan Burrow, the general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation.
The Dark Side of Development
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- Written by Devex Editor/ Bretton Woods Project
For the first time in over a decade, the World Bank is conducting an internal review of its Safeguard Policies, which aim to ensure that Bank projects do not cause social or environmental harm. Civil society groups are advocating for the Bank to bring these policies in line with international human rights and environmental standards and consistently apply them to all Bank operations. The Bank’s senior management, on the other hand, seems more concerned with making the Bank a more attractive lender that can compete with increasingly powerful state financiers, such as Brazil and China, by ensuring there are fewer strings attached to loans. However, this move would hurt the very people the Bank is supposed to help.
How Economic Growth Has Become Anti-Life
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- Written by Vandana Shiva
An obsession with growth has eclipsed our concern for sustainability, justice and human dignity. But people are not disposable – the value of life lies outside economic development.
Limitless growth is the fantasy of economists, businesses and politicians. It is seen as a measure of progress. As a result, gross domestic product (GDP), which is supposed to measure the wealth of nations, has emerged as both the most powerful number and dominant concept in our times. However, economic growth hides the poverty it creates through the destruction of nature, which in turn leads to communities lacking the capacity to provide for themselves.
Europe can set the standard on anti-money laundering
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- Written by Koen Roovers
Money launderers, corrupt politicians, tax dodgers and traffickers of all sorts rely on the same things to move their ill-gotten gains. They need legal structures that allow them to hide their identity.
Existing legal structures help hide transaction flows
This often happens through anonymous companies whose beneficial ownership is hidden. European leaders have a unique chance to curb these shell companies in the ongoing review of the European Union’s anti-money laundering rules.
Read more: Europe can set the standard on anti-money laundering
Financing for Development: Where is the UN Heading?
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- Written by Bodo Ellmers/Eurodad
The United Nations' Sixth High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development (FfD) that took place in New York in early October shows a deep rift between developing and developed countries. This dialogue was mandated to look at the FfD Agenda's status of implementation and the tasks ahead. While the EU thinks it contributed at least its fair share, developing countries pointed to the major failures in implementation of aid, debt or trade commitments. The future of the FfD process remains unclear.
Read more: Financing for Development: Where is the UN Heading?
A tree born crooked will never straighten its trunk
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- Written by Pablo Solon/Focus on the Global South
Why one cannot turn the WTO around
Since its establishment, there has always been a debate about the WTO amongst civil society organizations. Some saw it possible to reform the WTO and others saw no redeeming factor in it and wanted it dismantled. In a way, the slogan “WTO: Shrink or Sink” expressed the middle point in these two approaches. Now, after almost two decades of the WTO, the facts are clear.
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