Big infrastructure – specifically mega-projects in the energy, water, transport and information communications technology (ICT) – dominates the current development policy agenda. Although infrastructure is desperately needed, the current fad – driven by the Group of 20 (G20) and the BRICS -Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — has strong biases that create dangers for human rights. The biases favor: 1) mega-projects rather than “appropriate scale” for the purposes served; 2) public-private partnerships (PPPs) rather than the most cost-effective modality for citizens; 3) systems of environmental and social standards that serve the bottom line of investors rather than the needs of citizens; 4) exclusion of citizens – especially affected communities — from participation in all phases of the project cycle.

The Prime Minister is wrapping up his ninth annual trip to Canada’s north this week. This year, like every year, the stealth ski-doo is loaded up with announcements.

Presents for everyone!

So what are women in Nunavut going to find in their stockings this year? The bulk of federal investments in economic development in the north are funnelled through the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, which has an annual budget of just over $50 million (although that number is projected to decline over the next few years). Much of that $50 million is currently directed towards resource development—training for folks to work in the resource sector, infrastructure to get to the resources, research to tell us where the resources are.

As the United Nations decides on the future course of international development Post 2015, women of all ages, identities, ethnicities, cultures and across sectors and regions, are mobilizing for gender, social, cultural, economic and ecological justice, sustainable development and inclusive peace. We seek fundamental structural and transformational changes to the current neoliberal, extractivist and exclusive development model that perpetuates inequalities of wealth, power and resources between countries, within countries and between men and women. We challenge the current security paradigm that increases investments in the military--‐industrial complex, which contributes to violent conflict between and within countries.

Over the last year, reports from Oxfam, the Council of Europe, and the ILO have criticized the implementation of austerity policies both in Europe and worldwide. According to these reports, austerity policies have not only prevented countries from recovering from the financial crisis of 2008, but have also caused states to regress on their human rights obligations.

The latest Citizens’ Report on Governance and Development prepared by the National Social Watch has drawn attention to several disturbing trends in India, comments Bharat Dogra in the latest issue the influential "Mainstream" weekly. The findings of this report are supported by a wealth of facts and figures, says the review.