World Food Day and International Year of Family Farming
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- Written by Gloria Schiavi/IPS
- Category: Analysis
It does not make the headlines, but 2014 is the International Year of Family Farming (IYFF) and family farming will be centre-stage at this year’s World Food Day on Oct. 16 at the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).
“If we are serious about fighting hunger we need to promote family farming as a way of production and also [...] as a way of life. It is much more than a way of agricultural production”, says Marcela Villarreal, Director of FAO’s Office for Partnerships, Advocacy and Capacity Development.
Read more: World Food Day and International Year of Family Farming
Sharing a (not so) living planet
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- Written by Share The World's Resources
- Category: Analysis
Barely a week after more than half a million people marched for decisive action on climate change, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) released their latest Living Planet report, which serves as a timely reminder that the environmental crises we face extend far beyond the popular discourse on global warming. As ever, this year’s report makes for grim reading, with updated facts that illustrate the devastating impact of human activity on the biosphere and point to the urgent need for a revolutionary shift in the way we use, manage and share the earth’s natural resources.
Illicit financial flows: the biggest impediment to sustainable development
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- Written by Raymond Baker/GFI
- Category: News
Illicit financial flows are in our judgment the biggest economic impediment to sustainable development. At GFI, we estimate illicit outflows from developing countries at US$950 billion a year. This nearly US$1 trillion a year drains hard currencies, heightens inflation, reduces tax collection, curtails investment, and undermines free trade. It undercuts the foundations of societies, limits poverty alleviation efforts, and complicates security concerns. This is why it is so important that curbing illicit flows becomes a priority within the SDG agenda – it gets at the heart of the systemic causes of poverty and inequality for billions of people around the globe.
Read more: Illicit financial flows: the biggest impediment to sustainable development
EU candidates for the Commission endorse tax justice measures during hearings
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- Written by Christian Hallum/Eurodad
- Category: Analysis
Tax was one of the key issues tackled when Commissioner candidates faced MEP questioning in the European Parliament over the past two weeks. Junker’s lineup of candidates were being grilled on their policies – and every other imaginable issue - as part of the Commissioner candidate hearings which take place every five years.
Among the range of issues covered, several candidates endorsed a ‘goodie bag’ of tax justice proposals. These included country-by-country reporting, automatic exchange of information, public disclosure of beneficial ownership, unitary taxation and equal representation for developing countries in international negotiations on tax reforms.
This year’s hearings consisted of three hours of intense Q&A sessions as well as a written submission prepared by the candidate in advance. And they are not just theatre. Indeed this time the Slovenian candidate was rejected.
The fact that so many Members of Parliament asked questions on taxation has shown the continued high priority that this topic has. Commissioners will no doubt take note that tax justice is an issue that has the attention of MEPs and the public.
Below, we bring you a small excerpt of what the Commissioner candidates have said on tax justice issues:
Read more: EU candidates for the Commission endorse tax justice measures during hearings
Feeding the 1 %
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- Written by Island Hopping
- Category: Analysis
Since the global food crisis of 2008, there has been a massive wave of private sector investment in agriculture. More money flowing into agriculture means more innovation and modernisation, more jobs and more food for a hungry planet, say the G8, the World Bank and corporate investors themselves.
But does it?
What is good for social justice, is good for the economy
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- Written by Roberto Bissio
- Category: Analysis
Roberto Bissio is the coordinator of Social Watch, an international network of citizens’ organisations reporting on how governments and international organisations implement their commitments on poverty eradication and gender equality. Here, he talks to Equal Times about this crucial moment in the development world.
Can you explain the “post-2015” process currently being discussed in the United Nations?
Read more: What is good for social justice, is good for the economy
Capitalism only globalizes poverty ...
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- Written by Claudio Schuftan/People's Health Movement
- Category: Analysis
CAPITALISM ONLY GLOBALIZES POVERTY, IT ONLY GLOBALIZES HUNGER AND SOCIAL INJUSTICE; IT DESTROYS DEEPLY ROOTED ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL HUMAN RIGHTS, AS WELL AS THE ENVIRONMENT. (Evo Morales)
Where is the public in WB's 'Public Private Partnerships'?
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- Written by Maria José Romero/Eurodad
- Category: Analysis
A July report from the Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) has revealed a worrying lack of proven poverty impact from Bank Group interventions involving PPPs.
The report assesses how effective the Bank Group has been in supporting countries to use PPPs from 2002-2012. There is currently no unified definition of a PPP. The IEG considers that PPPs are “long-term contracts between a private party and a government agency, for providing a public asset or service, in which the private party bears significant risk and management responsibility”. By using this definition, the IEG excluded from the report other type of private sector involvement, such as short-term outsourcing arrangements without private capital at stake (“pure public”) and fully privately owned regulated businesses (“pure private”).
Read more: Where is the public in WB's 'Public Private Partnerships'?
Illicit money flows from Brazil: more than 400 billion US$ since 1960
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- Written by Clark Gascoigne/GFI
- Category: Documents
More than US$400 billion flowed illegally out of Brazil between 1960 and 2012— draining domestic resources, driving the underground economy, exacerbating inequality, and facilitating crime and corruption—according to a new report to be published Monday, September 8th at a press event in Rio de Janeiro by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington DC-based research and advocacy organization.
Read more: Illicit money flows from Brazil: more than 400 billion US$ since 1960
The Road to Addis Abeba : Financing Development
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- Written by Heernan Cortez Saenz/Eurodad
- Category: Analysis
In July 2015, the international community will have the chance to change the future of finance development. Governments, civil society, trade unions and other actors will meet for the third UN conference on Financing for Development (Ffd) in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) to take concrete decisions for the future of development and how to finance it. In the run-up to this crucial meeting, two major reports have been released which are intended to inform the upcoming debates. We have had a report from the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Finance (ICESDF) and one from the Open Working Group (OWG) – a 30-member group nominated by the UN General Assembly to decide on the Sustainable Development Goals. Both reports should feed into future action. Disappointingly, both lack ambition and fail to present specific recommendations, something that CSOs - many in developing countries - and other actors have been calling for some time.
IMF and World Bank at 70: Many Happy Returns?
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- Written by Bretton Woods Project
- Category: Analysis
In July, the IMF and World Bank turned 70. Unlike previous anniversaries of their establishment at the Bretton Woods conference in 1944, this milestone passed with relatively little attention or criticism. This reduced interest is presumed by many commentators, supportive or critical, to reflect the waning leadership and even lost hegemony of the Bretton Woods institutions (BWIs). This perception has been emphasised by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa’s (BRICS) launching of their own New Development Bank (NDB) in July, widely seen as a rival to the BWIs (see Bulletin Feb 2014). The BRICS also announced a Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) explicitly designed to ensure they never again turn to the IMF for support. The CRA and NDB were announced just days before the 70th anniversary of the 1944 Bretton Woods conference.
