LDCs: Istanbul Plan of Action “has no teeth”
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Plenary of UNLDC-IV (Photo: UN)
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The Fourth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC-IV) finished this week in Istanbul with the approval of a plan of action that “has no teeth and appears to have left the people living in those countries in a worse position than before”, said Arjun Karki, international coordinator of LDC Watch and spokesperson of the Civil Society Forum of the meeting. Read more
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Arab NGO Network claims for democratisation for LDCs
The LCDs of the Arab region “witness the same people’s mobilizations calling for democratic reforms” than the rest, warned the Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND), in a statement launched to raise its concerns to the United Nations Fourth LDCs Conference (UN LDC-IV) that takes place in Istanbul this week.
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The “tragedy” of LCDs, according to Better Aid
“It is a tragedy that even in the 21st century there are still countries and populations categorized as poor, excluded, vulnerable, east developed, developing and developed,” said the international alliance of civil society organisations Better Aid, in a statement previous to the United Nations Fourth LDCs Conference (UN LDC-IV) that takes place in Istanbul this week.
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Karki: CSOs will work “on our own programmes for action”
The fact “that poor and marginalised people in LDCs have gained little from the past decade” is a “bitter reality” that made the civil society work on its “own programmes for action beyond” the United Nations Fourth Conference on Least Developed Contries (UNLDC-IV), said Arjun Karki, international coordinator of LDC Watch.
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Women-Africa: Funding tends to be “gender blind”
“Funding” of civil society organisations “at times tends to be gender blind since funding bodies’ composition mostly constitutes males, according 23 activists and experts from five countries and 17 institutions convened in Lusaka last month to discuss those issues.
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Europe: Fair flowers for human rights
The partners of the European-wide campaign “fair flowers – for human rights” demand the respect of internationally acknowledged labour rights for flower workers worldwide, most of them women. One of the participants of the campaign is the Ecumenical Academy Prague (Ekumenicka Akademie Praha), focal point of Social Watch in Czech Republic.
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Malaysia: Households use half their income to pay off debts
The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP, a national focal point of Social Watch) revealed that Malaysian households are spending about half of their income to pay off their debts, reported journalist Josephine Jalleh in a report published by The Star daily journal.
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Somalia: Pirates turned peacemakers
Fifty “repentant pirates” were trained in building, carpentry and other working skills in the northeastern Somali region of Puntland, one of the more stables of this troubled country, which administration is being supported by the organisation Norwegian Church AID (NCA). The former criminals spent three months in those courses, implemented by the NCA and the local Ministry of Health.
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Moldova: German co-operates with NGOs for free and fair elections
The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections and European Exchange gGmbH (Germany) launched last week the project “Domestic Election Monitoring and Voter Education in Moldova – Strengthening of Capacities and International Networking”.
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