Social Watch news

Thailand has been seen as a country with high economic development; however inequality in society persists and the income gap has become even wider. Data as of 2009 suggest that, 20 percent of the richest people in Thailand earn 11.9 times more than the 20 percent of the poorest. In 2012 it was found that the rich in the country possess 325.7 times more land than the poor. Reviewing government implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPA) has highlighted that the persisting gender discrimination has increased injustice in society for women and this situation is not being well addressed by the government.

The report, coordinated by Foundation for Women and Social Agenda Working Group (Social Watch, Thailand), is a summary from the report of the Thai women’s civil society groups on Beijing +20 review. The review process has provided an opportunity for civil society groups from different sectors, including groups working on issues related to public and private spheres and with diverse groups of women, to come together.

‘You don’t understand!’ was World Bank’s Grahame Dixie’s rebuttal of the accusation that the Bank bears heavy responsibility in the grabbing of land and natural resources by corporations in the developing world. Having heard first-hand testimonies on the tragedy of land grabbing and related human rights violations in Africa, Mr. Dixie insisted that his institution was against land grabs but nevertheless the development of agribusiness in Africa was a necessity to feed a growing population, particularly in urban areas.

This discussion took place on October 10, 2014 at the World Bank headquarters in Washington D.C. during an event organized by the Oakland Institute on the impact of the Bank’s business indicators. The panelists from Kenya, Ethiopia and Mali pointed out the role of the institution in shaping policies and programs that lead to displacement and dispossession, destruction of lives and livelihoods, denial of basic human rights and repression for those who oppose the theft of their land by agribusinesses.

It is imperative that a Human Rights-based approach to food security is adopted in order to eliminate hunger and provide access to healthy, nutritious and affordable food for all, the new UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Ms Hilal Elver, has said.

In her first report to the UN General Assembly (A/69/275), which is holding its sixty-ninth session in New York, the rights expert, who is from Turkey, said that in order to advance the implementation of the right to adequate food, renewed political commitment is essential and stakeholders must look to those countries that have made significant progress in adopting policies and legislation in this regard.

RightingFinance has released a human rights audit of the report by the UN Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing. In their assessment, members of the Initiative said that the centrality of human rights and equality should not only permeate the new development goals agreed in 2015, but also the full range of means to finance them.

The Committee, comprising 30 experts nominated by regional groups, was created by the UN the General Assembly pursuant to one of the agreements in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). The Committee had the mandate to assess financing needs, consider the effectiveness, consistency and synergies of existing instruments and frameworks, and evaluate additional initiatives, with a view to preparing a report proposing options on an effective sustainable development financing strategy to facilitate the mobilization of resources and their effective use in achieving sustainable development objectives.