Social Watch news
Published on Sat, 2015-09-12 07:22
The Basic Principles on Sovereign Debt Restructuring Processes, promoted by members of the Group of 77 developing countries and China, reflect demands regarding the need to establish fairer and more equitable debt restructuring mechanisms that social organizations have been making since the 1990s. Principle number 8 recognizes that restructurings must respect human rights and contribute to “sustained and inclusive” economic growth in debtor countries to minimize the economic and social costs of financial crises. This mirrors some of the points that a group of 100 social organizations underscored last year regarding the capacity of States to strike accords with a majority of their creditors that guarantee the economic, social and cultural rights of their populations. We also contended at that time that the resolution of debt-related conflicts between a State and its creditors should be based on Public International Law and International Human Rights Law. |
Published on Wed, 2015-09-09 10:49
On September 10, the UN General Assembly will vote on a resolution to adopt “Basic Principles on Sovereign Debt Restructuring Processes” (“Basic Principles”). The “Basic Principles” bring to a culmination work by a committee of the UN General Assembly that concluded last July. While they bring to closure the work of this body, at the same time they represent the first step in a process towards introducing institutions that can deal on a more fair and humane way with situations of sovereign debt crises, a demand that had been at the forefront of civil society struggles for a long time. |
Published on Wed, 2015-09-02 11:36
Peter Niggli was honoured by the Swiss development community with a farewell party last August 27 in Bern, as he retired after 17 years at the helm of Alliance Sud, the Swiss coalition of development NGOs. Parliamentarians, government officials, journalists and NGO colleagues expressed their recognition. Speakers highlighted Niggli's contribution to the 2011 Swiss decision to increase ODA to 0.5% of GDP, which is a major step forward even if short of the 0.7 international target. On behalf of the Social Watch network, of which Alliance Sud is the Swiss member, Roberto Bissio summarised Niggli's contribution as having taught a lesson in commitment. |
Published on Tue, 2015-09-01 14:11
Are you interested in actionable information to promote social change? Are you an advocate for gender equality or women’s economic empowerment? The WORLD Policy Analysis Center (WORLD) is offering an opportunity to learn about its unique set of tools – interactive maps, data, and easy-to-understand factsheets on rights, laws, and policies affecting women’s equal opportunities and empowerment in 193 countries. |
Published on Mon, 2015-08-24 12:27
OZAMIZ CITY, Philippines—The proposed Freedom of Information (FOI) law is dead, and President Aquino and Speaker Feliciano Belmonte should share the blame for its fate. Thus declared a group of advocates who have been pushing Congress for years to enact the measure that would allow greater access to public records and help reduce corruption in government. “(W)ithout decisive support from the President and the leadership of the House of Representatives, the bill will not pass,” read the statement from the Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition which has been campaigning for the FOI bill for more than 15 years. |
Published on Sat, 2015-08-22 00:00
One of the tools that States have in order to respect, protect and fulfill human rights is the creation of national development banks. Indeed, if the financial sector is left to autonomously determine where capital should be allocated it is likely that private rather than overall social returns will end up determining the allocation of financial savings and investment. National development banks are totally or partially public sector financial institutions mandated to provide credit at terms that render certain socially desirable investments viable. Many countries have relied on them as part of the array of tools to intervene in financial markets and help ensure higher standards of living for their population. |
Published on Thu, 2015-08-20 00:00
Social Watch finds much to criticize in the Czech Republic, sees rising intolerance. Last year, the Czech Republic managed to overcome economic stagnation, but many people in the country are imminently threatened with poverty, according to the annual report that its authors from the Social Watch international network’s Czech branch presented today. Islam and immigrants became new targets of intolerance, while public expressions of hatred of Romanies were less frequent compared with previous years, the report on the situation in the Czech Republic in 2014 says. Though the Czech Republic has a new strategy of promoting equal opportunities for women and men, the implementation of particular steps is stagnating, the report adds. |
Published on Wed, 2015-08-19 09:48
The role of foreign investment in financing development has been a matter of considerable debate in the negotiations leading up to all Financing for Development (FFD) conferences. But deliberations towards the one which took place in Addis Ababa in July 2015 have seen a definite tendency to propose a greater reliance on foreign investment in financing development. It will be important to watch how the Addis Ababa conference frames the regulatory role of the state, and the practices of using aid as an incentive to attract private sector funding, and Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and institutional investors’ role in closing the infrastructure finance gap. With the transnational corporate sector more involved than ever in defining policies around sustainable development, winning the struggle for the narrative around the contribution of private capital flows to development is a crucial prize at stake in the Financing for Development negotiations in Addis Ababa and beyond. |
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Published on Tue, 2015-08-18 00:00
The Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND) hosted a meeting on Tuesday August 18, 2015 with Mr. Leonardo SC Castilho, a Human Rights Officer from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for the United Nations in New York. The meeting comes in the lead up to the UN General Assembly in New York in September – where Sustainable Development goals (SDGs) will be adopted – and a month after the Addis Ababa Conference on Financing for Development (FfD III). The meeting oversaw an interactive discussion between various Lebanese organizations and the representatives from OHCHR on the outcome document of the United Nations Summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda. |
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