The basic parameters of the future development agenda were laid out at the autumn session of the UN General Assembly. The roadmap was presented and initial answers given as to where the global journey should be taking us from 2015 on. The train to genuine sustainability could soon jump the tracks. Moreover After four UN reports, their is no mention of the need to transform financial, trade and economic relations to reduce glaring inequalities, says Swiss coalition Alliance Sud in [...]
Sustainable Development & Human Rights
In a new working paper, GPF's Lou Pingeot discusses the influence of transnational corporations in the Post-2015 process. This working paper by Brot für die Welt, Global Policy Forum and Misereor provides an overview of the main corporate actors in the post-2015 process and how they shape the discourse on development. The paper advocates for more transparency around the participation of corporations in UN processes, including their financial support to UN initiatives, and for more reflection on the risks of [...]
The International Budget Partnership (IBP) has launched a special issue of its newsletter that focuses on budgeting for environmental sustainability. In his contribution, Jens Martens, Director of the Global Policy Forum lines out the idea of 'Sustainable Development Budgets' and their key role as an integral part of the post-2015 agenda. Moreover articles include examples of what countries are doing to “green” their budgets in Philippines and Canada and what shall be done about environmentally harmful subsidies.
Assessing how loans are reported as development aid
A new report by Eurodad's Stéphanie Colin deal with the issue of concessional loans in development finance. In the context of tighter budgets in OECD-DAC countries governments are looking for methods to increase official development assitance (ODA) levels without budgetary implications. One way of doing this is reporting a larger share of loans to developing countries as ODA. Other measures in this directions are ideas to leverage development resources by 'blending' public with private funds. The report discusses the main [...]
As governments meet at the United Nations this week to debate aspects of the sustainable development agenda to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015, over 300 civil society organizations from all parts of the world have come together to demand human rights be integrated into every aspect of the new framework. Together they have issued a joint statement, advanced by a caucus of human rights organizations convened by the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR), Amnesty International [...]
UN expert on WTO Summit
GENEVA (2 December 2013) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, today called for developing countries to be granted the freedom to use food reserves to help secure the right to food, without the threat of sanctions under current World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.
Mr. De Schutter’s call comes on the eve of a high-level WTO summit in Bali, Indonesia, (3-6 December) which will try to reach agreement on proposals on developing countries’ [...]
"Progress And Challenges Regarding The Future We Want"
The 2013 World Conference of Indigenous Women "Progress and Challenges Regarding the Future we Want" held from October 28-30 2013, in Lima, Peru, was attended by about 300 Indigenous women leaders from Africa, Asia, Latin America, North America, the Artic, Russia and the Pacific. AWID's Gabriela De Cicco has conducted an interview with Mirna Cunningham Kain, President of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and AWID Board Member, about the conference, their agreed agenda and the issues Indigenous women consider [...]
Demand human rights-consistent tax policies
The tax structure and the level of revenue collection, budget allocations and expenditure influence the ability of governments to fulfill their human rights obligations and tackle discrimination and structural inequalities. The UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona, is preparing to submit a report concerning fiscal and tax policy, poverty and human rights. Governments have been asked to respond the questionnaire prepared by the Special Rapporteur in order to gather information on domestic fiscal and [...]
In a new blog entry for rightingfinance, Aldo Caliari takes a deeper look into the human rights implications of the MDGs, MDG 8 to be more specific: "How much did MDG 8 respond to human rights imperatives and how far did its implementation go in promoting human rights? What historical and legal trends were the backdrop to MDG 8 and what hope can we bear for the future as the international community evaluates a potentially new generation of development goals?" [...]
The United Nations' Sixth High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development (FfD) that took place in New York in early October shows a deep rift between developing and developed countries. This dialogue was mandated to look at the FfD Agenda's status of implementation and the tasks ahead. While the EU thinks it contributed at least its fair share, developing countries pointed to the major failures in implementation of aid, debt or trade commitments. The future of the FfD process remains unclear [...]
