Arab Spring at Tahrir Square. (Photo: Jonathan Rashad/ Creative Commons)

Sources: The Guardian, Inter Press Service, ANND's statement.

Egypt's government decided not to borrow from the IMF, and the Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND) warned that conditions attached to lending by development banks --as liberalisation of trade, investment and deregulation advocated by the US and the EU-- had contributed to the current unrest in the Arab world, reported the British newspaper The Guardian. 

Joseph Stiglitz. (Photo: Stiglitz's site)

Sources: NGO Committee on Financing for Development, Social Justice in Global Development

Many civil society organisatiosn have been working on the establishment of an “Ad hoc panel of experts on the world financial and economic crisis and its impact on development”, which was a proposal first made by the Stiglitz Commission at the UN Conference on the financial crisis and later by the Group of 77, representative of the developing countries. They are calling on non-governmental organizations from all over the world to sign an open letter to reinforce the request, that is going to be discussed  at the upcoming deliberations of the UN Economic and Social Council (Ecosoc) in Geneva.

Nestle's factory in Bugalagrande, Colombia. (Photo: Michel Egger/Alliance Sud)

Source: Alliance Sud.

For five years, non governmental organisation Alliance Sud and swiss food multinational Nestlé have been engaged in a high-level dialogue which is innovative in more than one respect. Alliance Sud, focal point of Social Watch in Switzerland, has led two fact-finding missions into Nestlé’s operations in Colombia. These have produced concrete improvements, although the basic conflict between the multinational and trade unions remains.

"Dignity", a ship of the Freedom Flotilla. (Photo: Free Gaza Movement)

Sources: WAFA, Petra, Palestine Chronicle.

The Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network (PNGO), which represents hundreds of civil society organizations and is a focal point of Social Watch, condemned in a statement issued this Saturday the Greek government decision of banning a ship travelling with the Freedom Flotilla II from sailing to Gaza, describing it as “unfortunate.”

Félix Díaz. (Photo: Agencia Walsh)

Source: CELS

On June 25, members of the Toba-Qom indigenous community “La Primavera” of Formosa held an unprecedented event: the election of its representative before the national government and provincial authorities. The Centre for Legal and Social Studies (Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales, CELS), focal point of Social Watch, participated as supervisor in this process, which resulted in the election of Félix Díaz.