Picture Credit: srfood.org

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Olivier De Schutter calls for the post-2015 development agenda to be urgently refocused on equality, social protection and accountability, as the efforts of the UN Open Working Group on the Sustainable Development Goals to draft post-2015 targets to succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) entered a crucial phase.

In a statement co-signed by 17 UN rights experts, the Special Rapporteur called for goals on eliminating inequalities and establishing basic social protection for all, as well as for a double accountability mechanism to hold countries to account for their commitments at national and international level.

The experts said: "Future goals must be sensitive to who benefits and at whose expense, and must go beyond blunt, aggregate targets that allow us to pick the 'low-hanging fruit' and ignore the most vulnerable groups, while leaving systemic injustices untouched."

We would like to direct your attention to a special issue  of the "Journal of Development Studies" on socio-ecological transformation with contributions from Birgit Daiber (Belgium/Italy), Maristella Svampa (Argentina), Oscar Vega (Bolivia), Alex Demirovic (Germany), Edgardo Lander (Venezuela) and Ulrich Brand (Germany):

Due to the multiple crisis of finance and the economy, of climate change and resource depletion, of gender relations, societal integration and political representation, in recent years the term ‘transformation' has become more and more prominent. It has the potential to become a new oxymoron – like ‘sustainable development' and currently ‘green economy' – that opens up an interesting epistemic terrain which might lead to the formulation of diverge political strategies. However, the concept remains blurred. Many contributions refer to the term because it is in fashion but it might become increasingly unclear if there is a certain ‘core of meaning'. However, such a core meaning is not ‘just there' but needs to be worked out.

The contributions to this special issue of JEP, that has just recently come out in English, attempt to explore some crucial aspects of this debate by referring to theoretical debates and recent experiences in Latin America, Europe and at the international level.

Responding to the lack of information on Chinese development aid, the initiative AidData recently released an open database on the topic. AidData uses media reporting as their source of information and in their working paper published by the Center for Global Development the authors present their Media-Based Data Collection methodology. The authors also provide overviews on Chinese development financing, previous attempts to measure it, as well as on important policy debates.

One of the results of the study is the fact that China's assistance to Africa almost amounts to that of the United States. From 2000 to 2011 Chinese assistance adds up to around 75 billion US dollars, while the U.S. during the same period invested 90 billions.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Right to Development in 1986. Since then, different political groups have interpreted differently this resolution entitling people to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy development, in which all human rights can be fully realized. In his article “Towards a Framework Convention on the Right to Development” Koen De Feyter states that drafting a Framework Convention is the best way to accommodate the various interests of the Global South, the North as well as the Non-Aligned Movement. He provides a sketch for such a framework and argues that it would complement the current human rights regime with a treaty that would go beyond individual state responsibility.

A new joint statement, endorsed by 19 leading human rights organizations so far, calls for human rights to be placed at the core of the new development agenda. This statement remains open for new sign-ons until Monday May 13th.

Picture Credit: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung

While most of the world’s population was reeling from one of the globe’s multiple crises, social movements and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) gathered at the World Social Forum (WSF) in Tunisia in March of 2013 in search of alternatives. The country where the Arab Spring started in late 2010 was a great choice to host the WSF in 2013. Inspired by the successful campaign to overthrow the autocratic regime of Ben Ali three years ago, Tunisian civil society is amazingly active, highly motivated and convinced that civil society activism can actually make social change happen.

By Bodo Ellmers, eurodad

In our series of papers coming out of the international conference „Tax Justice – Human Rights – Future Justice” in Berlin on the 27th November 2012, we are happy to present the latest edition on „Environmantal tax reform in countries of the South“. The paper ist he ninth in our  series of Policy briefs „Info Steuergerechtigkeit“ on issues of tax justice, published in cooperation with the Tax Justice Network Germany.

There has been extensive international media coverage of Europe’s contentious austerity measures implemented in the wake of the global financial crisis and subsequent sovereign debt crises. However, austerity has not been confined to Europe in recent years, as countries of the global south have also implemented restrictive fiscal adjustments. This report examines austerity beyond Europe and argues that fiscal contraction in the global south may undermine efforts to improve economic development in the global south. 

The BRICS nations are currently creating their own development bank and several details are expected to be discussed at the forthcoming BRICS summit in Durban, South Africa. Initial contributions of $10 billion are expected to come from each of the BRICS nations, differing from the funding model adopted by the World Bank and IMF. Contributions will help fund infrastructure projects, which will be welcome in places where infrastructure is needed but funds are lacking, and will also enhance cooperation between BRICS nations. BRICS nations lack influence on the international stage, although they have achieved progress economically. As the discussions continue in Durban, BRICS countries must also learn from the failures of the World Bank and IMF in ensuring that projects do not marginalize communities in the process, as was seen in so many BRICS nations previously.

Picture Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Water is a fundamental resource, it is a vital part of the production process of almost everything we make and do. Most importantly, it is essential in the generation and production of energy and food. Water security is important for retaining political, economic and environmental stability.  With supplies declining (1.2 to 1.7 billion people struggle with shortages), water has been described as an “urgent security issue” by a group of former heads of state and government.  As the draft of the Sustainable Development Goals is to be released in September, many international observers and organizations are pushing for the inclusion of universal water security.