Social Watch E-Newsletter - Issue 154 - November 15, 2013

Civil society organizations from around the world urge trade negotiators not to ignore the fate of millions of starving people. The signatories are shocked at how unfair the system is.
The United States and Europe are allowed to spend billions of dollars subsidizing their agriculture, but countries like India, where a majority of the poor live and where the poor are mainly rural women, are forbidden to offer support prices to their destitute farmers or distribute food to the vulnerable.
Express your concern! Read more

As Egypt’s political crisis continues, its government will be asked to account to the United Nations for what has been done to address the social injustices which fuelled the revolution.

Today Egypt will appear before the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Geneva, where it will be required to demonstrate how it has taken into account its human rights obligations as a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in navigating the country´s turbulent transition. This will mark the first time that Egypt has come before a UN human rights treaty body since the 2011 revolution.Read more

Do you know how much your government collects in taxes? How much are wealth and incomes taxed, as opposed to wages or consumption? Does the government gather information on the share of taxes paid by different social groups (e.g. women/men, rural/urban, different ethnic groups)? Is the revenue collected enough to raise adequate resources for the realization of human rights?

Is your government party to investment or trade agreements that curtail its capacity to collect taxes?

Are human rights and gender equality impact assessments conducted in relation to budget planning and execution? Is the data collected disaggregated by sex, age, income, location, ethnicity, disability and other relevant criteria? Read more

Consistent with the Millennium Declaration’s recognition that all States “have a collective responsibility to uphold the principles of human dignity, equality and equity at the global level,” Millennium Development Goal 8 (“MDG 8” or “Goal 8”) contains a number of specific commitments on the sort of international cooperation required on areas such as aid, trade and debt.

But how much did MDG 8 respond to human rights imperatives and how far did its implementation go in promoting human rights? What historical and legal trends were the backdrop to MDG 8 and what hope can we bear for the future as the international community evaluates a potentially new generation of development goals?Read more

Representatives of the Latin American Coordination of Rural Organizations (CLOC- Via Campesina), and the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS) raised the question of the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) of the rural communities of Latin America and the Caribbean at a regional hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

The hearing took place in Washington in the 149th regular period of sessions of the IACHR. The presentation was accompanied by a report which describes the obstacles to the full enjoyment of the economic, social and cultural rights of the rural communities in Latin America, with a strong focus on their rights to food and territory; the particular situation of rural women; and the persecution and criminalization of the rural communities struggle. Read more