Social Watch E-Newsletter - Issue 142 - August 16, 2013

The Czech Social Watch Coalition released the new National Social Watch Report summarizing the development in the year 2012. The title of the report isCzech Republic: Decline and Resignation and it focuses on social development and gender equity, particularly on the following areas: economics, family and social politics, Roma minority, gender and environmental issues.

The year 2012 was not a good one for most inhabitants of the Czech Republic. In 2012, the country still did not reach the level from 2008 and the gap between the neighbouring countries is widening. The government had no vision and positive economic programme, "fiscal consolidation," which meant budget cuts, was its only objective. One-fifth of the working people are endangered by poverty, more women than men. Absence of an effective conception of social housing also represents a problem. Forced moving of people into overpriced unsuitable dormitories didn’t help to solve the situation and only supported further ghettoisation. Therefore trivial personal conflicts, in which Roma people often find themselves, lead to big anti-Roma demonstrations and attempts of pogrom. Last but not least corruption is big and visible problem of Czech politics as well.

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The commodity dependence of most African countries has intensified, despite claims of remarkable economic performance in recent times, Dr Yao Graham, Coordinator of the Third World Network Africa, has said.

Addressing participants at the 14th Review and Strategy Conference of African Initiative on Mining Environment and Society (AIMES), Dr Graham said amidst the deafening rhetoric that Africa is rising; most countries on the continent continue to reel under unfavourable economic conditions.

“The economies of most countries on the continent are fragile and this is going side by side with the deafening rhetoric that Africa was rising,” he said, at the opening session of the conference.

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In 2000, as part of the Millennium Development Goals, governments committed to Goal 8 on a “Global Partnership for Development.” While the other 7 goals dealt with issues that were measurable at the domestic level (percentage of people in poverty, maternal mortality rates, etc.) the Global Partnership for Development was meant to address areas where international cooperation was seen as necessary to make progress towards the goals.

But, what were the consequences for human rights and capabilities of how such international cooperation was conceptualized in MDG 8, and of the targets and indicators that were attached to it as representative of progress?

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