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Social Watch Strategy Document and Framework
of Activities 2010-2011 |
The following strategy paper is based on the input from the various
discussions in the 4th General Assembly of Social Watch,
held in Accra in October 27 to 29, 2009. This strategy document
elaborates and updates the strategy adopted in Sofia (2006) which
outlined our principles, goals and objectives. |
1.
Background |
Social Watch was created in 1995 as a meeting place for
non-governmental organizations concerned about social development
and gender discrimination, and engaged in monitoring the policies
which have an impact on inequality and on people who live in
poverty.
The basic methodology of Social Watch still remains the same: to
make governments accountable for their commitments and thus promote
the political will to implement them.
These commitments include:
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the 1995 Social Summit,
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the 1995 Beijing Conference on Women,
-
the Millennium Declaration (2000) on which the Millennium
Development Goals are based,
-
1992 Rio Summit commitments,
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the Human Rights framework, which includes Economic, Social and
Cultural rights, labor rights, women rights, environmental
rights, rights of indigenous peoples and of migrants and the
right to development, and,
-
national commitments, as formulated in national constitutions,
government plans, budgets and laws, including in particular
social, economic and cultural rights.
Social Watch believes that the key action to achieve poverty
eradication, gender equality and social justice happen primarily at
local and national level and, therefore, its international
activities and structures should be accountable and at the service
of national and local constituencies, and not the other way around.
Peace is a precondition for the realization of human and womens
rights and the eradication of poverty. However, poverty and lack of
respect for human rights are at the root of many armed conflicts.
Therefore the devastating impact of conflict and post-conflict
situations on people is of particular concern.
The governance structure of Social Watch is explained in a separate
document that was adopted by the Assembly. |
2.
Mission Statement |
At its first General Assembly held in Rome in November 2000, Social
Watch approved a mission statement as the framework for its work.
The Beirut Assembly (October 2003) reaffirmed this mission
statement. In Sofia a particular emphasis on the rights-based
approach has been added:
Social Watch is an international network of citizens
organizations in the struggle to eradicate poverty and the
causes of poverty, to end all forms of discrimination and
racism, to ensure an equitable distribution of wealth and the
realization of human rights. We are committed to peace, social,
economic, environment and gender justice, and we emphasize the
right of all people not to be poor.
Social Watch holds governments, the UN system and international
organizations accountable for the fulfilment of national,
regional and international commitments to eradicate poverty.
Social Watch will achieve its objectives through a comprehensive
strategy of advocacy, awareness-building, monitoring,
organizational development and networking. Social Watch promotes
people-centred sustainable development.
The
Accra Assembly reaffirmed the mission statement with the changes
listed above. |
3.
Social Watch in a changing environment |
Many
things have changed in the context in which we operate since the
Sofia Assembly:
1.
The global economic and financial crisis that erupted in
September 2008 with its consequences of impoverishment and
unemployment and the intellectual discrediting of the until then
prevailing mainstream economics.
2.
The stagnation of the World Trade Organization trade
negotiations and the subsequent proliferation of regional and
bilateral free trade agreements.
3.
The recognition of climate change as a threat to the very
survival of our planet Earth, together with the reluctance of
developed countries to recognize their responsibility in creating it
and to accept the notion of climate justice.
4.
The election of president Barack Obama in the United States
has created expectations of a turn towards multilateralism in US
foreign policy and the retreat of militarism.
5.
The emergence of the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, China) as
a new power bloc, challenging the ability and legitimacy of the rule
of the G7 over the world economy.
6.
The expansion and deepening of European integration.
7.
The increased economic and political integration of Latin
America (and to a minor extent of Africa and South East Asia).
8.
The formation and strengthening of developing and least
developed country coalitions and movements such as the G-33 (within
the WTO) and G-77.
9.
The recent successes of popular movements on a global scale.
10.
The growing popular mistrust of global economic, financial
and political institutions.
11.
The increasing gender inequalities across the world.
The Assembly was reminded of those trends by the opening speech from
doctor Yao Graham and they were considered as the new framework in
which this strategy was defined.
(link to the video of the speech) |
4.
Influencing global and regional decision-making |
4.1
The principle target institution for Social Watch is the UN
as the legitimate universal institution. The focus of SW
concentrates on the intergovernmental processes and events that are
relevant to the main objectives of the network, among them the
gender and Human Rights bodies, and the follow-up processes on
financing for development and the UN conference on the financial and
economic crisis. We will also participate in processes for reform of
the UN system.
4.2
In light of the crises and the responses, we take note of the
reinforced role that the G-20 has taken upon itself and the attempt
to strengthen the role of the IMF and the World Bank. Social Watch
is against empowering these fora and institutions or expanding their
mandate and supports the creation and strengthening of regional
alternatives that reflect aspirations of the poor and marginalized
populations.
4.3
Social Watch will actively participate in the UN Summit on
the MDGs (September 2010 in New York) and its preparatory process,
highlighting the failure of the current approaches to poverty
eradication and defending human rights based alternatives.
4.4
Based on the notion of environmental justice, Social Watch
will contribute to the current climate negotiations, an approach
founded on its social and gender justice principles.
4.5
Social Watch will contribute to the global gender fora like
the Beijing+15 review with the update, development and dissemination
of its Gender Equity Index and the richness of experiences and
analysis from its membership.
4.6
Social Watch will actively participate in the UN Conference
on the Least Developed Countries (Istanbul, 2011) and its
preparatory process, in alliance with LDC Watch.
4.7
Social Watch will participate in the discussions around
innovative sources of financing, including in them the consideration
of migration/related issues.
Advocacy strategies
In August 2009, Social Watch established a permanent office in New
York to enable its continuous presence at the United Nations and
coordination for advocacy efforts with country missions at the UN,
international agencies and other NGO networks. It will assist
members in their participation in global decision making processes
and inform regularly about them to the national coalitions.
Advocacy, communications and campaigning strategies will complement
each other to achieve our goals. The key advocacy events for the
coming years are listed in the attached calendar. |
5.
Strengthening and expanding the network |
5.1
Improving our tools |
The major tools of Social Watch are:
-
The yearly report in several languages, plus country reports and
regional reports.
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The Website.
-
The Gender Equity and Basic Capabilities Indexes.
Additional advocacy tools will be benchmark documents, collections
of papers (SW series or occasional papers) and position papers,
frequently authored and published in association with other
organizations and networks.
Social Watch will make efforts to publish the report in additional
languages and formats that allow reaching wider audiences. In
addition, we will diversify our use of innovative communication
tools. |
5.2
Capacity building and sustaining national level action |
Social Watch has started a three year programme to improve the
capacity of its members in developing countries through a series of
workshops in Africa, Asia and Latin America. There is an ongoing
program to build the capacity of some members in Europe.
The content and methodology will be defined by the host
organizations and the participants with support from the
secretariat. Improving the media outreach of the national coalitions
is one of the areas to be addressed.
Social Watch will actively support the efforts of other regions and
subregions to design and implement capacity building programmes for
watchers.
In its advocacy, Social Watch will build alliances with trade
unions, social movements and other civil society organizations and
networks, in particular those advocating for climate justice, and it
will participate in the World Social Forum. |
5.3
Strengthening the network at regional and subregional level |
Recognizing the growing importance of regional and sub-regional
decision-making venues, Social Watch encourages regional and
sub-regional cooperation among members and other actors to engage in
advocacy and campaigning at that level. An organizational strategy
will be developed, with the involvement of the CC and Secretariat,
in order to support and enhance regional work. |
5.4
New members |
In the coming years, Social Watch will increase the number of its
members in developing countries, especially Africa, and will
initiate efforts to publish a Russian language version of the report
as a tool to increase membership in transition countries of the
former Warsaw Pact and Soviet Union in Central Asia and Central and
Eastern Europe. |
5.5
Evaluation and mutual accountability |
Social Watch defined in its Assembly in Sofia the need to Promote
activities to ensure within Social Watch the credibility,
transparency and democratic practice of national Social Watch
coalitions and discuss the development of accountability criteria.
The CC has defined that as a last resort it can and should intervene
in some situations where problems in a national SW coalition risk
affecting the whole network, but largely the methodology to apply
for mutual accountability when there are no serious problems, which
is the enormous majority of the situations, have not been elaborated
as we are missing opportunities to learn from each other.
The
Assembly endorsed the concept of mutual accountability among
members and among the different bodies of the network (secretariat,
CC, members). One of the purposes for establishing mutual
accountability mechanisms is to increase the quality of national
reports.
The
evaluation process that will be put in place to inform the 5th
Assembly should be a mutual accountability process.
Without generating a bureaucratic process, mechanisms will be put in
place for members to assess and inform each other about the outcomes
of their Social Watch activities. |
5.6
Participation mechanisms |
In order to achieve these goals that we are setting and to
strengthen the following working groups were created:
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Gender
-
Mutual accountability
-
Climate justice
-
Research methodology for civil society
-
Economic models, financial crisis and financing for development
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2010 MDG summit
-
Communications advisory committee
-
Human rights and budget analysis
The secretariat will create the necessary communication mechanisms
and facilitate the activities of the working groups and of the
regional groups. |
5.7
The 2011 Assembly |
The 2011 Assembly will be held in the Philippines. |

Made possible thanks to the funding and support of the European
Commission and Oxfam Novib.
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