Social Watch news

Least developed countries (LDCs) remain under constant strain due to global crises and face the most severe challenges in achieving the MDGs since more than half of their populations live below the poverty line. Dr. Arjun Karki from civil society watchdog LDC Watch spoke at a High level event on LDCs and MDGs held in New York on 21 September 2010.

Global Call to Action against Poverty - Statement by co-chair Sylvia Borren

High-level Plenary Meeting of the Sixty-fifth Session of the UN General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals: 22 September 2010

New York, 21 September 2010

Statement on behalf of Eurostep 

by Rudy De Meyer (11.11.11) at Roundtable 4 on Emerging issues during the 

HIGH-LEVEL PLENARY MEETING OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON THE MDGs

The long way from emerging issue to ‘emergency’

1. Puzzled by the word

I must admit that I am a bit puzzled by the word ‘emerging issue’; Looking at the outcome document and the long list of reports and publications that were launched in the run up to this summit, I found that about 99 % of the ‘emerging issues’ have been around for at least 10 to 30 years.

Source: NGLS
Barbara Adams, Marina Durano and Genoveva Tisheva

Women’s organizations and groups worldwide celebrated the UN General Assembly resolution, adopted on 2 July 2010, to establish the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, or UN Women. This new entity will be headed by an Under-Secretary-General (Ms. Michelle Bachelet) and will consolidate and combine into one the four existing gender-specific entities, increase operational capacity at the country level and have greater authority and resources to strengthen women’s empowerment and advancement (see NGLS Roundup 138).

Strengthening the work of the Social Watch network and its national coalitions in the African region was the main objective of the training workshop that took place in Nairobi, Kenya, 13–14 August 2010 with over 30 participants of civil society organizations in the continent. 

Members of civil society organizations that are part of the Social Watch Network were invited to participate at six thematic roundtables that were part of the UN "MDG Summit" that took place 20-22 September 2010 in New York.

The UN High Level Plenary Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) gathered Presidents and Prime Ministers around the world to review efforts to combat poverty during the past decade and discuss the next steps to follow at a time of an unprecedented combination of global crises (climate change, food, energy, financial and economic).

REQUEST FOR COVERAGE

Release of 2010 Social Watch Report

Social Watch, an international network of non-governmental organizations that monitors how far governments are fulfilling their commitments to end poverty and gender discrimination, will release its critical report: AFTER THE FALL: TIME FOR A NEW DEAL on Friday, Sept. 17 at the United Nations.

An event organized by Social Watch, CIDSE, Heinrich Boell Foundation and NGLS entitled "Raiding the public till: The financial crises and the MDGs" will address these challenges and emphasize the imperative of harnessing the aid, finance, debt and trade dimensions of “global partnerships for development” (known as MDG 8) to support national strategies and contribute to achievement of all the other goals.

Just three days before the MDG Summit, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Social Watch and Global Policy Forum organize a high-level panel: "Towards a new development paradigm. Rethinking the concepts and measures of development and social progress". The event aims to help broaden the current development discourse by linking analytical discussions of alternative measures and models of development and well-being with political discussions about the concrete actions needed to achieve progress in poverty eradication and social justice. 

The reality of poverty and inequities, as perceived from communities and grassroots is different from the top-down views. The contributions of citizen groups from over 60 countries for the Social Watch Report 2010 entitled "After the Fall. Time for a New Deal" shows that we are a long way from attaining the Millennium Development Goals. Further, Social Watch research shows that poverty reduction has globally slowed down since 2000. It concludes that a comprehensive redefinition of our approach to development is needed.

President Armando Guebuza of Mozambique, Helen Clark, Head of the UNDP, René Ramírez, minister of planning of Ecuador, German parlamentarian Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul along with UN officials and over 50 diplomats were present in New York for the launch of the SOCIAL WATCH REPORT 2010 on 17 September 2010. The findings of Social Watch were part of discussions on the new development paradigm hosted by the German mission to the UN on the eve of the MDGs Summit. The event was co-organized by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Social Watch and Global Policy Forum.

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