Spotlight On…. SOCIAL WATCH BRAZIL
For the second installment of our “Spotlight On…” column, which highlights the innovative work of organizations that make up Social Watch coalitions around the globe, this month we will put a focus on the Social Watch coalition in the host country of this year´s World Social Forum, which will take place on the shores of the Amazon River in the city of Belem do Para, Brazil.
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The Doha Conference on Financing for Development: Missed Opportunities at a Decisive Moment
The Doha International Conference on Financing for Development was a unique opportunity to strengthen the commitments of States, intergovernmental agencies and private actors to eradicate poverty and end gender discrimination through the adequate use of development aid. However, it was a “missed opportunity” and concrete actions have been postponed, despite the fact that the needs of poor and disadvantaged people in developing countries cannot be postponed.
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Launch of the Social Watch 2008 Report: Human Rights and Development in Focus
The 2008 Report has been launched internationally in Doha, followed by numerous activities organized by Social Watch national coalitions. The impact of these events might help insure that national governments and international institutions do not leave rights behind while trying to cope with the multiple crises affecting the entire world and especially its poorest and most vulnerable inhabitants.
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Poznan Climate Change Conference From December 1-12, 2008, more than 12,000 representatives of governments, intergovernmental agencies, civil society and the private sector met in Poznan, Poland to assess the international response to climate change and discuss the mechanisms available to stem this environmental and social threat, as part of the 14th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP14). For more information on the discussions and outcomes of this Conference, see the official UN website. For an NGO perspective on the results of the Conference, see the article by Oscar Reyes of the Transnational Institute, Poznan Climate Talks: Fiddling While the Earth Burns. For an analysis of some private sector initiatives being implemented to reduce the climate change impacts of corporations, see Corporate Governance and Climate Change: Consumer and Technology Companies, by Ceres.
International Trade Union Confederation Annual Survey on Trade Union Rights Around the world, workers are systematically harassed, fired and sometimes even assassinated for exercising their fundamental human right of creating or joining a trade union, despite the fact that this right is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Labor Organization Conventions. On November 20, 2008, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) released its Annual Survey of Trade Union Rights Violations, documenting the state of the right to organize in 138 countries. To access the full text of the Annual Survey, see: http://survey08.ituc-csi.org/
New Oxfam report on arms transfers and compliance with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) According to a new paper by Oxfam International, irresponsible and excessive arms transfers which drain national resources and fuel conflict are hindering many developing countries´ chances of complying with the MDGs by the year 2015. Full report (pdf format)
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