|
Spending cuts don´t cure the economy but sicken the people
|
Demonstration in Rome against
cuts in social spending.
(Photo: Alessandra Raimondi
/Flickr/Creative Commons)
|
As governments all over the world, from industrialized and developing countries alike, have cut their expenditures in the last two years and prepare further savings for the next, the first casualties are the welfare programs, as contributions from grassroots organizations included in the Social Watch Report 2012 make apparent. But austerity measures have proven useless to overcome the crisis, and could even plunge the world into a recession, according to a growing number of experts and international agencies.
“Austerity fiscal policies that cut on social spending started to be implemented in debt-affected countries and are now spreading even to countries that do not suffer from debt problems or fiscal deficit,” wrote the coordinator of Social Watch, Roberto Bissio, in the overview of the report.
Read more
|
Civil society joins forces to introduce human rights on financial rules
A consortium of civil society networks and organizations, including Social Watch and some of its members, launched “A bottom-up approach to righting financial regulation”, an initiative aimed to build the capacity of a vast array of groups and social movements willing to promote alternative proposals based on human rights in the debate.
Read more
Canadian mining company moved to the US to sue El Salvador
Hundreds of civil society organizations from all over the world are calling the World Bank and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), associate to the institution, to dismiss the demand of compensation initiated by Canadian company Pacific Rim against the Government of El Salvador, which forbade a cyanide-leach gold mining project presented by the firm.
Read more
The roots of success for Tunisia’s revolution
The news has been filled with contention over Egypt’s November elections, but far less attention is being paid to the voting in Tunisia—also recently liberated from the rule of a dictator. In her analysis for Owni.eu and Government in the Lab magazine, Mary Elizabeth King recounted the democratization process and remarked the role of the Tunisian League for Human Rights, focal point of Social Watch in that country.
Read more
Zambia: Women for Change urges to stop gender based violence
Religious leaders and politicians have to combine efforts against gender based violence and sexual assaults on children in Zambia, urged Emily Sikazwe, executive director of Women for Change, focal point of Social Watch in that African country.
Read more
Note to Readers: Holiday Notice
Dear Readers,
This is to kindly inform you that the Social Watch E-Newsletter will not be published during the holiday recess. The next issue will reach you on 13 January 2012.
We wish our readers the best during hollidays and a Happy New Year.
The editors
