Social Watch E-Newsletter - Issue 279 - November 11, 2016

The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a step forward compared to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Unlike the latter, which included only one target by which to measure progress for women, there are several, interrelated targets under the stand-alone goal to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls (Goal 5). In addition, there are also specific targets under 11 of the other goals which link women’s rights to the three dimensions of sustainable development. However, the SDGs do not explicitly recognize the link between women’s human rights, gender equality, and the structural reforms needed in global economic governance and policies. As a result, gender equality and women’s rights are envisioned as ’domestic issues’ rather than global ones. But gender relations are embedded in and reinforced by international financing and development patterns. Therefore, in the implementation of the SDGs a broader interlinkages approach needs to be applied in order to overcome global structural obstacles to realizing women’s rights and gender equality. Read more

Arab women face every day a regional reality of conflicts, state crisis, wars, occupation, and the onslaught of religious fundamentalism and militarized religious extremist groups. Women are subjected to various forms of violence and exclusions and this is not expected to change in the short term. Read more

A global alliance of civil society organisations (CSOs) and networks presented in Geneva a report assessing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as highlighting some of the structural obstacles and challenges to its achievement.
The CSOs that came together under the Reflection Group on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development explained that this implies particular responsibility for the rich and powerful both domestically in their respective countries but also internationally where the rich countries have a particular responsibility including but not only with regards to the means of implementation. Another key element of the approach taken by the Reflection Group is policy coherence, which implies a strong focus on structural and policy obstacles that might stand in the way of successfully implementing the 2030 agenda and achieving its goals. Read more

Developing countries continue to suffer from profits taken out by foreign investors, lending by developing countries to rich countries and particularly from illicit financial flows (IFFs). In 2014 Eurodad reported that for every USD 100 a developing country makes, USD 10 are lost, flowing out of the country. Last year’s “Mbeki report” estimated that Africa is losing more than USD 50 billion annually in IFFs. Read more