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Western Africa: Ghanaian EPA with EU would put integration process in danger
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Gyekye Tanoh, of TWN-A, at the
forum. (Photo: MyJoyOnline)
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Several Ghanaian civil society organizations warned that the renewal of the interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the country and the European Union (EU) will condemn the Western Africa integration process and the national economy to an irreparable doom. The Third World Network-Africa (TWN-A, focal point of Social Watch), the General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU), the Integrated Social Development Centre (Isodec) and Abantu for Development, among other groups, said the government must not give in and sign an agreement which will be harmful to the long-term development goals and aspirations of the country.
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Meena Raman: "The struggle for climate justice will go on" after Durban
The climate change negotiations are "deadlocked" and "unfortunately" they are "looking very bleak", said Meena Raman, expert of the Third World Network, interviewed by journalist Prabir Purkayastha for Newsclick, a leading Indian news portal. Raman spoke about what can be expected for the next Conference of the Parties (COP) of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)that will take place in Durban, South Africa, next November.
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Egypt: Authorities' assault on civil society and freedom of association
Thirty-six Egyptian civil society organizations condemned a "smear campaign" and "attempts to intimidate" carried out by prosecutors who accuse the groups, without identifying them, of "high treason" and of illegally receiving foreign funds. "Those currently administering the country’s affairs after the January 25 revolution are using the same methods of the Mubarak regime," denounced the organizations, among them the Egyptian Association for Community Participation Enhancement (EACPE, focal point of Social Watch in Egypt).
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Equator Prize opens call for sustainable development award nominations
A UNDP-led partnership that rewards communities around the world for their small-scale conservation and development solutions today launched a call for nominations for the Equator Prize 2012, to be submitted online at www.equatorinitiative.org.
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Canada: Cost of Ontario university education adversely affecting families and economy
Ontario's system of financing higher education is becoming less equitable and more regressive for families, says a study released this week by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA, one of the focal points of Social Watch in this North American country).
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South Asian Social Forum in Dhaka
The South Asian Social Forum 2011 will be held in Dhaka, for the first time in Bangladesh, from November 18-22. University of Dhaka (DU) will co-host the conference.
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Brazil: People evicted from favelas for the World Cup and the Olympic Games
Thousands of people in favelas (shanty towns) in Rio de Janeiro are being evicted from their homes as Brazil prepares for the 2016 Olympic Games, and the same is happening in other cities that will host matches during the 2014 World Cup. According to the lawyer Roberto Benedito Barbosa, an activist in the Sao Paulo Union of Housing Movements (UMM), this is being done "to move the poor farther and farther away from rich neighbourhoods”. This matter has already reached the United Nations where it is giving cause for concern.
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Chile: Pension funds denounced to ILO for discrimination against women
This week Chilean unions and social organizations made a report to the International Labour Organization (ILO) office in Santiago denouncing private sector pension funds for discrimination against women, a practice that had been documented in a study by the Centro de Estudios Nacionales de Desarrollo Alternativo (CENDA, the focal point of Social Watch in Chile).
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