In solving the global financial crisis, rights must occupy a central position: A review of the 2008 Social Watch Report

The global financial crisis is biting hard. While at first it was rich countries that felt it most, middle income and poor countries have now begun to feel the crunch, and it is likely to have an even greater disproportionate impact on them in the months and years to come.

The global financial crisis is biting hard. While at first it was rich countries that felt it most, middle income and poor countries have now begun to feel the crunch, and it is likely to have an even greater disproportionate impact on them in the months and years to come.

Social Watch is a network of grassroots activists and civil society organisations in 60 countries around the world. It publishes annual global reports on social and economic issues, with UN human rights standards as their reference point. The 2008 report is titled “Rights is the Answer.” A dominant theme of the report is the centrality of human rights; in tackling the current global economic crisis, human rights must be central.

Roberto Bissio of Social Watch provides an analysis of the place of rights in the time of crisis. He reminds us that the Universal Declaration of Human rights proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Yet the realization of the right to dignity for all has never been met. Bissio argues that meeting the Millennium Development Goals will need more than a business as usual approach. Solving the financial crisis will require upholding the right to dignity for every human being.

In the introduction to the report, Bissio writes that the MDGs (Milliennium Development Goals), contrary to being too modest as some complained, were actually a projection of prevailing progress rates on social indicators. In other words, if socio-economic situations were not to deteriorate, then the MDGs could be achieved on time. Yet the truth is that business as usual would not sustain equilibrium. Business as usual would contribute to a deterioration of the situation.

Bissio says that the only optimistic scorekeeper remains the World Bank, which maintains that the MDGs can be met. He notes that reports of progress on the reduction of global poverty do not take into account the rapid economic growth of China, which has recorded very high levels of growth in recent years. Returns from this most populous nation on earth have boosted figures showing an overall improvement in the lives of poor people. Removing China, the picture is grim.

The food crisis, according to Bissio, which combines food scarcity and high food prices, has further submerged millions more people into poverty. Access to education is one of the areas in which girls and young women have approached equalizing the statistics that relate to boys.

Gender dimension

The Social Watch report highlights areas in which women’s rights indicators have improved. One notable area is the decrease in the gap between girls and boys in education, particularly in the primary phase of schooling. Still, there is tremendous work to be done. The report re-emphasizes the income disparity between men and women. Generally, women earn less than men for equivalent work.

In decision making bodies such as Parliament, the response has been mixed. Even though many have acknowledged verbally that the field of politics can take a greater toll on women due to their productive and reproductive roles, it is still new territory to explore in practical terms and in terms of the creation of spaces.

One thread that runs throughout the report is that governments of rich countries are having to address is the interest of people of average income and average qualifications. The rural-urban elite divide that is often invoked to make women from the most prominent women’s organisation step aside. Yet the current crisis has served as a wake up call to many.

Social Watch makes the respect for human rights and dignity a central pillar of their work. Women, as well as women’s human rights defenders all over the world, continue to experience discrimination and oppression. The Social Watch report makes clear the linkages between good governance, democracy and human rights, including in the context of women’s rights.

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