A World Bank for the 21st Century
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- Written by Jose Antonio Ocampo
- Category: Analysis
It’s time to re-think the role of the World Bank, says former Colombian finance minister José Antonio Ocampo, who was recently one of the three contenders for heading it. And a basic lesson the bank needs to re-learn is never to impose any particular development model
When the World Bank’s new president, Jim Jong Kim, took over in July of this year, he did so after the first-ever open competition for the job. This, along with significant long-term changes in the structure of the world economy and its unsettled state, makes it an opportune time to re-think the role of the bank as one of the great international institutions. Such re-thinking must start with the lessons learned from our experience of development co-operation as well as from a clear understanding of the changes now taking place in the world economy. It means adapting the World Bank to the changing needs of the international community but also, in some cases, taking the institution back to its roots.
Measures against tax avoidance?
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- Category: News
UK Chancellor George Osborne and his French and German counterparts are to call for global rules to clamp down on corporate tax avoidance.
The three will seek backing from other leaders at the G20 summit in Moscow.
Facebook allegedly paid no income tax in the US last year, and instead reclaimed 451 million US$ in taxes from the Internal Revenue Service, despite recording profits of more than 1 billion US$.
Financial Transaction Tax: Commission sets out the details
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- Written by European Commission
- Category: News
The details of the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) to be implemented under enhanced cooperation have been set out in a proposal adopted by the Commission today.
As requested by the 11 Member States1 that will proceed with this tax, the proposed Directive mirrors the scope and objectives of the original FTT proposal put forward
by the Commission in September 2011 (IP/11/1085). The approach of taxing all transactions with an established link to the FTT-zone is maintained, as are the rates of 0.1%
for shares and bonds and 0.01% for derivatives.
When applied by the 11 Member States, this Financial Transaction Tax is expected to deliver revenues of 30-35 billion euros a year.
Read more: Financial Transaction Tax: Commission sets out the details
Obama’s 2013 State of the Union Address: Tragedy Has Many Faces
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- Written by Jack Rasmus
- Category: Analysis
Tonight, February 12, 2013, President Obama delivered his State of the Union address. He concluded with an emotional appeal for gun control, repeating a call for Congress to at least put the matter of gun control to a vote after referencing the Newtown, Ct., tragic massacre of 26 children and other recent acts of gun violence in the US. It was an emotional high point of his address, and a very moving moment.
But there was another reference in his speech that also addressed life and death matters, potentially impacting not 26 but hundreds of thousands of those other of America’s most vulnerable—our senior population.
Read more: Obama’s 2013 State of the Union Address: Tragedy Has Many Faces
U.N.'s Water Agenda at Risk of Being Hijacked by Big Business
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- Written by Thalif Deen/ IPS
- Category: Analysis
Amidst growing new threats of potential conflicts over fast-dwindling water resources in the world's arid regions, the United Nations will commemorate 2013 as the International Year of Water Cooperation (IYWC).
But Maude Barlow, chairperson, Council of Canadians and a former senior advisor on water to the president of the U.N. General Assembly in 2008-2009, warns the U.N.'s water agenda is in danger of being hijacked by big business and water conglomerates.
"We don't need the United Nations to promote private sector participation under the guise of greater 'cooperation' when these same companies force their way into communities and make huge profits from the basic right to water and sanitation," Barlow told IPS.
Read more: U.N.'s Water Agenda at Risk of Being Hijacked by Big Business
Health in the post-2015 development agenda
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- Written by People's Health Movement
- Category: Analysis
As the deadline for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approaches, the UN is driving a global consultation around a new global development agenda post 2015. The People’s Health Movement (PHM) welcomes the prospect of a global compact which commits to sustainable and equitable development. However, the negotiators will need to go beyond the mere palliation of symptoms to confront the dynamics that are driving widening inequality, avoidable suffering and accelerated destabilization of the biosphere including global warming. The UN documents on a post 2015 development agenda are neither addressing the looming crisis of capitalism, accelerated by the ascendant ideology of neoliberalism nor the unequal global power relations which both reflect and deepen the crisis.
Forget post-2015 development goals – a global new deal is what's needed
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- Written by Richard Kozul-Wright
- Category: Analysis
Finance-led globalisation has failed – which is our cue to forget about setting targets and adopt a development-led approach
Many familiar problems were raised at the Liberia meeting of the UN high-level panel tasked with drafting global post-2015 development goals: extreme poverty, lack of productive employment, environmental degradation and growing inequality. But these big questions are still being met with small answers, suggesting that the international community remains in the wrong frame of mind to meet such major challenges.
Read more: Forget post-2015 development goals – a global new deal is what's needed
Entry into force of Optional Protocal on ESCR
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- Written by UN Human Rights Council
- Category: News
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Wednesday applauded the upcoming entry into force of a key Protocol to an international treaty which will, for the first time, enable individual complaints on economic, social and cultural rights, thereby helping place all human rights on an equal footing.
Health in the post-2015 development agenda: need for a social determinants of health approach
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- Written by ILO, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, WHO and UNAIDS
- Category: Analysis
Joint Statement:
Available online PDF [18p.] at: http://bit.ly/Xd6yGM
“…..The UN Platform on Social Determinants of Health is an informal mechanism to provide coordinated support to Member States with implementation of the Rio Political Declaration on Social Determinants of Health.
The Platform also advocates placing the social determinants of health highly on the global development agenda, and fostering coherent action on the social determinants of health. Currently, the platform involves staff from ILO, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, WHO and UNAIDS.
This is an informal document, and does not represent the official positions of the organizationsCorruption and the Defence Sector
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- Written by Transparency International
- Category: Analysis
Seventy per cent of countries leave the door open to waste and security threats as they lack the tools to prevent corruption in the defence sector, according to the first ever index measuring how governments prevent and counter corruption in defence, released by Transparency International UK’s Defence and Security Programme.
World map of the 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International, which measures “the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians”. High numbers (yellow) indicate less perception of corruption, whereas lower numbers (red) indicate higher perception of corruption
Irish presidency promises to prioritize development cooperation
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- Written by Solidar
- Category: News
From 1 January until 30 June 2013, Ireland holds the EU Presidency and will thus chair many of the discussions and negotiations held at EU level. Ireland will have a strong input into the agenda and priorities of the EU, including the Development Agenda, and indicated that development cooperation is among the priorities for the Presidency. Minister of State for Trade and Development, Mr. Joe Costello, focused in his speech before the European Parliament Committee on Development on 22 January mainly on humanitarian aid and relief in crisis situations.
Read more: Irish presidency promises to prioritize development cooperation
