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UN Member States start to work on Global Development Goals
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UN member states “are going beyond rhetoric and earnestly working to achieve real progress” towards the Sustainable Goals, the members of the Group of 77 and China said in a ministerial statement delivered at the UN on 18 July.
The statement was delivered by Ambassador Virachai Plasai, Chair of the Group of 77 (G77) and China during the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) which took place at the UN Headquarters in New York from 18 to 20 July.
During the forum, the 134 members of the G77 and China reaffirmed the importance of not only achieving the Sustainable Development Goals but also the driving principle of leaving no one behind.
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Poverty chains and global capitalism
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Global inequality has never been greater. For example, the wealth of the world's richest 62 people, who between them have more wealth than half of the world's population, rose by 44 per cent between 2010 and 2015. Over the same period the wealth of the bottom 50 per cent of humanity fell by approximately 38 per cent.
Very large numbers, perhaps the majority, of the world's labour force is poor. In 2010 there were approximately 942 million working poor (almost 1 in 3 workers globally living on under $2 [U.S.] a day). However, these figures are a significant underestimate.
UNCTAD-14: ODA shortfall of $2 trillion since 2002
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The gap or shortfall between pledged and delivered official development assistance (ODA) since 2002 equates to just over US$2 trillion and the ODA gap for 2014 alone came to more than US$192 million, according to a new report released by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) at the UNCTAD-14 conference here.
UNCTAD said the developing countries would be better able to finance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) if the developed countries were to meet their 2002 target to put 0.7 percent of their gross national income (GNI) into overseas aid.
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Secret Deals deprive Africa of billions
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New papers published today by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, in collaboration with more than a dozen news organizations in Africa, expose fresh details about the misuse of corporate secrecy and hidden wealth in Africa, the world’s poorest continent.
Today's publications also include an interactive quiz game, designed to test and expand your knowledge of Africa, and discover how the use of offshore companies impacts the continentThe investigations include new details about the middleman at the center of a probe into hundreds of millions of dollars in suspected bribes paid for oil and gas contracts awarded in Algeria, and also reveal the offshore assets, including a luxury yacht and jet, of a Nigerian aviation and oil magnate linked to a $1.8 billion oil scandal.
South loses 67% of commodity exports due to misinvoicing
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Developing countries are losing up to 67% of their commodity export earnings due to misinvoicing of the true value of their exports. The losses come up to hundreds of billions of dollars. This was revealed in a new study by UNCTAD, which is holding its 14th Session in Nairobi. Below is a press release by the UNCTAD Secretariat summarising the study.
Some commodity dependent developing countries are losing as much as 67% of their exports worth billions of dollars to trade misinvoicing, according to a fresh study by UNCTAD, which for the first time analyses this issue for specific commodities and countries.
Read more: South loses 67% of commodity exports due to misinvoicing
