Social Watch News

(Photo: Associated Press)

Sources: IPS, Al Jazzeera, Los Angeles Times

Thousands poured into the streets of Rabat, the capital of Morocco, on Sunday Jun. 5 and also in Casablanca to condemn the death of a protester and to demand the country-wide government crackdown on peaceful demonstrations reaches an end. The protesters are part the February 20 Movement, led largely by young people demanding pro-democracy reforms and an end to government corruption and repression – as well as an end to poverty and inequality.

Leonoor Kuijk

Minister René Castro.
(Photo: Costa Rican
Government)

Source InDepth News Report 

South-South cooperation “is meaningful and effective in terms of regional integration and unity in global negotiations. In relation with civil societies, the conventional North-South split is fast becoming meaningless after the 'Arab Spring'," Social Watch co-ordinator Roberto Bissio pointed out at a high level conference in the European Parliament in Brussels.

Sources
Foco
ENCASUR

Thanks to the intervention of civil society, climate change has moved from being a technical and scientific problem to being a strongly political one that questions the world development model in a fragile planet, concluded activists at the event “Latin America: Advances, Regressions and Perspectives in the Struggle for Climate Justice” held on May 13, in Buenos Aires.

Sources NSI-INS
            Agenda

The North-South Institute (NSI, focal point of Social Watch in Canada), with support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), has convened the 2011 NSI Forum, that will take place in Ottawa on Monday 20th and Tuesday 21st under the title “The Future of Multilateral Development Cooperation in a Changing Global Order”.

There is great uncertainty about the future of the world economy and developing countries should prepare now for the next crisis, according to prominent experts at a finance seminar in Geneva last week. When it happens, commodity prices are likely to collapse, and many poor countries may face new debt crises, warned former Governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank, Charles Soludo.

This is Martin Khor’s report about the seminar.

Bracing for an unknown future
By Martin Khor

Gay parade in Krakow years ago.
(Photo: Krakow Informer)

Sources: New Poland Express, Associated Press report on LezGetReal website.

A parade against homophobia was sabotaged by skinheads and neo-nazis in the southern Polish city of Krakow on May 22nd resulting in violent attacks and one hospitalised person, reported New Poland Express online weekly magazine. 

(Photo: HRITC)

Sources: FIDHHRITC , http://bit.ly/k49r4A

The Human Rights Information & Training Cente (HRITC, national focal point of Social Watch) warned in a communiqué also signed by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the Sisters' Arab Forum for Human Rights (SAF) about the risk of civil war in Yemen. This organisations also reported the death of at least 34 people in combats that took place between May 22nd and 14th.  

"Changelling Self Interest,"
a report about European aid

Source: Eurostep

The EU’s aid commitments are becoming increasingly determined by domestic political agendas as well as security, immigration and commercial interests, says a new report, launched on 19 May by AidWatch. According to the study, entitled “Challenging self-interests: Getting EU aid fit for the fight against poverty”, the member states inflated official aid spending by more than 5 billion of euros and only nine countries met their committed aid targets.

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