Social Watch News
Published on Mon, 2015-03-09 16:06
As the discussion on the Declaration of the Post-2015 Development Agenda gets underway, differences between developing and developed countries that are likely to loom over the rest of the Post-2015 negotiations became clearer.
The draft political Declaration is to set the framework for the Post-2015 development agenda and spell out the broader common principles, commitments and objectives that the agenda is founded on.
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Published on Thu, 2015-03-05 23:00
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Published on Thu, 2015-03-05 19:54
The most recent step in the post-2015 negotiations was the 17-20 February debate in New York on the Declaration, meant to be the framework political statement. Despite strong emphasis on transformation and high aspiration, traditional lines were drawn between (mostly) Northern and Southern positions.
At the same time, the debate was rich and nuanced, reflecting the increasing diversity of developing country concerns and their willingness to engage substantively on issues that will be critical to transformation. The process continues to suggest there is historic potential for redressing some of the longstanding imbalances driving deep social and economic disparities, and the impending collision with planetary boundaries. The notion that post-2015 is supposed to universally apply to every country and person in the world is unprecedented—never before has there been a development agenda this broad in scope.
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Published on Thu, 2015-03-05 08:32
The UN Statistical Commission in New York meets at a moment when the global statistical community is at a “crossroads”. As we shift towards the post-2015 development agenda there is a need for measurement, monitoring and speed. There appears to be pressure to adapt by moving away from traditional data collecting to using “Big Data”.
Big Data refers to “high volume, velocity and variety of data, which require new tools and methods to capture, curate, manage, and process them in an efficient way”. Currently, Big Data tends to be owned primarily by the private sector (e.g. banks, online retailers, search engines, cellphone providers etc). This information ranges from your financial details to who you call, what you search for online or what you click on. Big Data has a lot of potential to discover subtle patterns. The private sector mine this data to make the customer’s experience better or tailor marketing to improve their business.
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Published on Tue, 2015-03-03 18:59
Over the past twenty years we have heard constantly that the world has the resources to address global development challenges such as poverty, environmental degradation, diseases and inequalities. However, despite the resources “being there” human development plans have been consistently underfunded.
Clearly, existing “trickle-down” and redistribution mechanisms are not being effective and will be woefully inadequate to fund the implementation of the universal SDGs agenda.
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Published on Tue, 2015-03-03 14:07
The phenomenon known as “Sinai Trafficking” started in 2009 in the Sinai desert and it involves the abduction, extortion, sale, torture, sexual violation and killing of men, women and children. Migrants, a majority of them Eritrean, are abducted and brought to the Sinai desert, where they are sold and resold, extorted for very high ransoms collected by mobile phone, while being brutally and “functionally” tortured to support the extortion. Many of them die in Sinai.
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Published on Tue, 2015-03-03 14:06
Developing countries need sufficient policy space in particular in the areas of trade, finance and industrial development if they are to meet the goals of the post-2015 development agenda, says the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
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Published on Tue, 2015-03-03 13:55
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations discussed on 23-25 February the Secretary General report on the implementation of the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review requested by the General Assembly. Under a cryptic title, the meeting addressed core issues, such as the UN development system’s role (and its relevance) in the post 2015 agenda.
When it comes to the UN’s role in development, there is a broad consensus on the unique value the UN brings to the table because of its history, neutrality, convening power and universal representation. However, it is important to underline that the development ecosystem is being populated in recent years by emerging economic powers and new actors such as philanthropic organizations, large INGOs, regional institutions and development banks.
Moreover, the UN is no longer the biggest funder of development activities, as it is now finds itself in second position, behind the European Commission.
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Published on Sun, 2015-03-01 18:50
DAWN briefing on Financing for Development (FfD): The article review the main elements of the FfD process in order to set current debates in a context, identify conflict areas between the different blocks of countries, and introduce some of the recommendations DAWN have been promoting with the purpose of reorienting global economic governance and development patterns towards economic, ecological, and gender justice.
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Published on Sun, 2015-03-01 12:39
Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN) recently launched a new book entitled, “The Remaking of Social Contracts: Feminists in a Fierce New World”, edited by Gita Sen and Marina Durano, published by ZED Books, London. This book is a result of a long process of debate and reflection that DAWN members engaged in, along with partners and allies in different civil society organizations and social movements. It follows from the previous groundbreaking books that DAWN has published through the years, starting with Development, Crises and Alternative Visions: Third World Women’s Perspectives (Sen and Grown,1987); Population and Reproductive Rights: Feminist Perspectives from the South (Correa and Reichmann, 1994) and The Marketisation of Governance (Taylor, 2000).
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