Exclusive charter for Walayar check-post
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Government will come out with a Citizens’ Charter exclusively for the Walayar check-post, through which roughly 50 per cent of all goods from outside reach Kerala, on September 1, Finance Minister T. M. Thomas Isaac said here on Friday. Releasing the ‘Citizens’ Report on Governance and Development’, brought out by Social Watch India, Dr. Isaac said the Assembly Subject Committee on Finance would visit the check-post on October 11.

Philippines 'off track' on MDGs
Ahead of the release late this month of the official report to the United Nations on how the country is faring in its implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) midway to the 2015 deadline, civil-society organizations are already saying that the government is “off target” particularly in achieving the most crucial goals.

Fund for contraceptives remains unspent while LGUs waits for guidelines
WHAT happens when a government agency has P180 million for family planning supplies but is barred from buying contraceptives?

Workshop on "The Road to Doha"
On 29 June 2007, a workshop on "The Road to the International Review Conference on FfD" was held in Geneva in the context of the Civil Society Development Forum in Geneva, organized by CONGO and the Millennium Campaign.

Social Watch Philippines kicks off civil society review on FfD
Five years after the United Nations Financing for Development (FfD) Conference held in Monterrey Mexico in 2002, Social Watch Philippines (SWP) once again kicks off the civil society review of the FfD outcomes in the Philippines.

Indian Prime Minister receives Social Watch report
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was presented with a copy of the Indian Social Watch report and commented that "institutions such as Social Watch are important to monitor governance and provide constructive feedback to the government".

Here is a report published by the prestigious Indian daily "The Hindu".

United Nations: Doha Round must not affect policy space, says UN think-tank
Geneva - Governments must ensure that the completion of the Doha Round does not compromise the policy space and autonomy of developing countries in pursuing their own development goals, according to the 2007 report of the United Nations' Committee for Development Policy (CDP).

United Nations: North should be subjected to ECOSOC review
Geneva, 4 July - Developed countries should also make presentations on the implementation of their international development commitments under the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)'s recently launched review mechanism, the Annual Ministerial Review (AMR), in addition to the presentations made by developing countries, the G77 and China has urged.

Social Watch India launches report on Governance
The Social Watch India Report 2007 will be released on 30th June 2007 at Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi . The report focuses on the performance of institutions of governance namely the Parliament, the Executive, the Judiciary and the institutions of local self governance from a human rights perspective. The Social Watch India Report 2007 emphasizes the importance of ensuring these Rights to vulnerable sections such as the tribals, the dalits, the poor and the women.

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: Workshop
The workshop "Building an Asian community of practice on monitoring and budget analysis" will be held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, next July 9 – 11, 2007. The workshop is organized by SILAKA and Social Watch in collaboration with OXFAM- Novib/KIC. Deadline for applications: June 22, 2007.