2007/05/01
Launch of the Italian Social Watch Report 2006
Social Watch Italy organized several activities on occasion of the launching of the 2006 Report “Architettura Impossibile”. Areli Sandoval (Equipo Pueblo, SW Mexico), co-chair of the Coordinating Committee of Social Watch made a presentation on 2 May, at the Italian Parliament in Rome, with the presence of members of the European Parliament as well as Italian government representatives. On 3 May, a debate was organized at the Municipality of Florence, where the SW Report was launched with a strong message on the role of civil society in promoting social development and human rights.

2007/04/16
Intervention by Roberto Bissio at the special high-level meeting of the ECOSOC with the BWIs, the WTO and the UNCTAD
During the special high-level meeting of ECOSOC with the BWIs, the WTO and UNCTAD in New York on 16 April, Roberto Bissio defended innovative finance mechanisms against the attacks of the US and the business sector and the ambiguities of the European Union. Social Watch demands that the presidents and prime ministers come away from the Financing for Development summit in Doha next year with a political declaration and not just a no- consequences debate.

2007/04/14
International Conference Reconciling Trade and Human Rights: The New Development Agenda
The Conference will be a unique opportunity to explore the ways in which a human rights framework can inform new strategies for trade, development and the eradication of poverty.

2007/03/28
GENDER EQUITY INDEX 2007: Countries Do Not Need to Be Rich to Treat Women Fairly
NEW YORK (Mar 6) - Rwanda, one of the poorest countries, has greater gender equity than the United States, where the status of women has significantly regressed.

So says a new study by Social Watch launched in the context of the 51st Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women held in New York February 26-March 9.

2007/03/07
Report of the Linking & Learning Programme on ESC Rights for the Latin America region
From 2nd to 10th November 2006 representatives from Latin American Human Rights organisations gathered in Quito, Ecuador, to attend a programme on economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR). More than 25 participants from civil society organisations attended the course and discussed issues like their rights to education, health, housing, food, and the conditions of life of afro-descendents, women, indigenous, children, farmers, disable people, amongst others, in the continent.

The course was organized by CDES Ecuador, COHRE, Dignity International, Equipo Pueblo Mexico and Social Watch.

2007/03/02
Social Watch at WSF 2007: Workshop on Alternative budget and Budget monitoring
During the World Social Forum held in Nairobi, Social Watch organised a workshop focused on of how to monitor state budgets and how to develop feasible alternatives to them from a civil society point of view. More than 60 people participated to the discussion..

2007/03/02
Social Watch at Alliance 2015 Meeting in Brussels
Facilitated by the European External Policy Advisors (EEPA), Alliance 2015 held an Expert meeting in Brussels on “Measuring the Contribution of General Budget Support to Social Sectors”. Founded in 2000, the purpose of the Alliance is to fight poverty by supporting the UN Millennium Development Goals.

Karina Batthyány, coordinator of the SW Secretariat Social Sciences Team, gave a presentation on the Social Watch indicators and methodology, in particular in relation to the Basic Capabilities Index (BCI) and the Gender Equity Index (GEI) under the title “Measuring Progress in Social Sectors: the SW Indicators”.

2007/01/21
Social Watch at the World Social Forum. Nairobi, Kenya
Our network had a major presence at the WSF in Nairobi, Kenya, with a series of workshops and activities addressing the different areas that our work has emphasized in the past years. In addition to organizing a number of capacity-building workshops (the Use of Social Indicators, Poverty and ESC Rights, Budget Monitoring), round tables and Watchers coordinating meetings during the Forum itself, we subsequently held another meeting of our Coordinating Committee to decide upon the guidelines for our work in the future.

2006/12/14
The Right to housing in Spain, still lots to build
From 20 November to 1 December 2006, the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, Miloon Kothari, conducted a mission to Spain to examine the status of realization of the right to adequate housing, paying particular attention to aspects of gender equality and non- discrimination.

2006/11/20
NGOs support Senate version of '07 national budget
December 07 2006, Philippines. National Twenty-two non-government organizations on Thursday expressed their support to the Senate's version of the proposed 2007 national budget.