Civil society groups reclaim policies for the public

Launching on the opening day of the High Level Political Forum at the United Nations in New York this new global report assesses how privatization and corporate capture have become obstacles to progress under the 2030 Agenda.

New York, 10 July 2017: A global coalition of civil society organizations and trade unions presents today the report Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2017. It is published on the opening day of the High Level Political Forum at the United Nations in New York. The report provides the most comprehensive independent assessment of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The editing team of the Spotlight Report states:

"In the 2030 Agenda governments committed to a revitalized Global Partnership between States and declared that public finance has to play a vital role in achieving the SDGs. But in recent decades, the combination of neoliberal ideology, corporate lobbying, regressive fiscal policies, tax avoidance and tax evasion has led to a massive weakening of the public sector and its ability to provide essential goods and services.

“The same corporatized strategies and fiscal and regulatory policies that led to this weakening have enabled an unprecedented accumulation of individual wealth and increasing market concentration.

“The proponents of privatization and public-private partnerships (PPPs) use these trends to present the private sector as the most efficient way to provide the necessary means for implementing the SDGs. But many studies and experiences by affected communities have shown that privatization and PPPs involve disproportionate risks and costs for people and the public purse. PPPs can even exacerbate inequalities, decrease equitable access to essential services and jeopardize the fulfilment of human rights.

“Therefore, it is high time to counter these trends, reclaim public policy space and take bold measures to strengthen public finance, regulate or reject PPPs and weaken the grip of corporate power on people’s lives. In short, to put ‘people over profit’. These are indispensable prerequisites to achieve the SDGs and to turn the vision of the transformation of our world, as proclaimed in the title of the 2030 Agenda, into reality.”

The 160-page report is supported by a broad range of civil society organizations and trade unions, and based on experiences and reports by national and regional groups and coalitions from all parts of the world. Its 35 articles and textboxes cover all sectors of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, and reflect the rich geographic and cultural diversity of their authors.

The Spotlight Report is published by the Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND), the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR), Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN), Global Policy Forum (GPF), Public Services International (PSI), Social Watch, Society for International Development (SID), and Third World Network (TWN), supported by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

For more information:

• Press Release Civil society groups reclaim policies for the public
• Press Release World Bank plan to mobilize “trillions” will not help the poor
• Press Release Corporate power threatens women´s human rights
• Press Release PPP: Corporations divert UN agenda, claims civil society report

• CSO Reflection Group website: Spotlight on Sustainable Development
• PSI's page: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
• PSI''s work on Privatisation and PPPs
• Download a PDF of the full report 

PSI Contributions: 

• The new generation of PPPs in infrastructure – meeting the needs of institutional investors
• Decent work requires decent public policies
• Healthcare is not a commodity but a public good
• Four critical steps to operationalize the New Urban Agenda’s transformative commitment to decent work and inclusive and sustainable cities 
• Whistleblower protection – how serious are governments in addressing corruption