Imagine your world 20 years from now
What do you dream of for you, your family and your community? What would life look like if you could design it?
We all have dreams and aspirations and ideas to make the world better. We believe there is enormous power in the sharing of those ideas. The Future We Want is a global conversation to build the future through a positive vision for tomorrow.
Join the dialogue by visiting the new UN website
http://www.un.org/en/sustainablefuture/
Statement made by the NGO Committee on Financing for Development
I represent the NGO Committee on Financing for Development. We place emphasis on “development” that is people-centred and pro-poor. We have members of our organizations in almost all countries of the world. As part of a global network we are concerned with economic justice. The message we hear from the ground is ‘we are in a dangerous situation´
As NGOs, part of civil society – the “We the Peoples” of the UN Charter – believe the United Nations must play a strong role in building a new future for an increasingly interconnected world.
The vision that brought this organization to birth was of a safe and secure world where all people could experience a modest level of prosperity where their basic rights would be protected and promoted. The 3 pillars of the UN – security, development, and respect for human rights of all, are presently at risk.
This vision of a more equal and safer world is slipping away as rampant inequality divides us. The place of the UN in the world’s economic wellbeing is at risk.
The OECD report “Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising” shows the gap between rich and poor in OECD countries is at its highest level for over 30 years, in the US, for almost a century. This is true of almost all countries. Secretary-General Angel Gurría, launching the report, said “The social contract is starting to unravel in many countries. This study dispels the assumptions that the benefits of economic growth will automatically trickle down to the disadvantaged and that greater inequality fosters greater social mobility. Without a comprehensive strategy for inclusive growth, inequality will continue to rise.”
Despite numerous calls to recover the vision and the continuing validity of the principles of Monterrey and Doha, the reality seems to be different. The rhetoric that some institutions are “too big to fail” suggests underlying acceptance that inequality is natural and normal. We strongly challenge this paradigm. We need a new paradigm that recognizes the equal dignity of all people, elaborated within a human rights framework that is participative, and speaks to the real world we inhabit in an integrating manner. We call all member States of the UN to restore this organization to its proper place as the forum where real debate happens on how we can actually integrate all the policies needed to shape economic, human/social wellbeing and environmental protection.
Most global economic policies are formulated and implemented in groups operating independently of the UN, such as the G20, the Bretton Woods institutions. This is not how the global system was visualized over half a century ago. The UN is increasingly marginalized as such decisions are made elsewhere. The level of representation at this High Level Dialogue seems to bear this out! We NGOs are deeply disappointed that it does not seem to be taken very seriously by you, Member States. ECOSOC deliberations and UN review meetings rarely attract the same level of presence by senior officials from finance, trade and economic ministries as do meetings of the BWI or WTO. Despite repeated statements calling for strengthening within the UN of the FfD follow-up mechanism, many influential Member States seem keen to promote coordination through such other groupings as the G20, where they have greater influence.
In a world that calls for coherence, the social impact and the equity issues are notable by their absence in diagnosing the current problem or creating policy to address the crisis. “Austerity measures” announced by many countries have led to savage reductions in “social spending” and fly in the face of strong consensus that increased public spending in a time of economic crisis, is needed to create a counter-cyclical direction for the economy. The very term ‘social’ is made to sound like a luxury that can’t be afforded at present, rather than an essential tool to create jobs as integral to addressing the crisis. Segmentation and compartmentalising have blocked an effective and integrated way forward. Social/ equity dimensions are not optional extras, but essential pieces if an enduring solution is to emerge.
Social inclusion can no longer be seen as extraneous to building a functioning global economic system. They can no longer be left to be treated in another forum well isolated from financial and economic concerns. Issues of job creation and the provision of a social protection floor, not only make for more harmonious societies, but they also make for good investment and economic sense.
We strongly recommend that the General Assembly:
The agenda of Monterrey remains unfinished. We must rebuild momentum for the needed political will to act multilaterally once more.
Thank you Madame Chair
Kevin Dance, C.P., Passionists International
Chair, NGO Committee on Financing for Development
The Report on the World Social Situation 2011: The Global Social Crisis, produced by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) of the United Nations, explores the ongoing adverse social consequences of the 2008-2009 financial and economic crisis – the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
One consequence of the crisis is that unemployment rose sharply to 205 million people in 2009 from 178 million in 2007. The loss of jobs means not only a loss of incomes but also an increase in vulnerability, especially in developing countries without comprehensive social protection, notes the report.
Various estimates suggest that between 47 million and 84 million more people fell into, or were trapped in, extreme poverty because of the global crisis, which occurred immediately after food and fuel prices had risen sharply. So we have over a billion people living in hunger in the world, the highest on record.
The report states that the global economic downturn has had wide-ranging negative social outcomes for individuals, families, communities and societies, and its impact on social progress in areas such as education and health will only become fully evident over time.
“The increased levels of poverty, hunger and unemployment due to the global crisis will continue to affect billions of people in many developed and developing countries for years to come,” the report says.
It is essential that governments take into account the likely social implications of their economic policies. When economic policies are decided in isolation from their social outcomes there can be dire consequences for poverty, employment, nutrition, health and education.
“There is renewed realization that social policy considerations, especially productive employment, must be given greater importance within economic policy,” said Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development. “Thedisconnect between economic policies and their social consequences can create a vicious cycle of slow growth and poor social progress.”
The economic crisis is a reminder that it is essential for people to be healthy, educated, with adequate housing and well fed if they are to be more productive and better able to contribute to society.
Whether we focus on climate change, or we work to wipe out the scourge of poverty, or we give our attention to protecting the human rights of the most abused and vulnerabl
The United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change began yesterday, November 28th 2011 in Durban, South Africa. Nearly 10,000 people are expected to attend the conference which will continue until December 7th 2011. Those attending include representatives of the world’s governments, international organizations and civil society. The discussions will seek to advance, in a balanced fashion, the implementation of the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol, as well as the Bali Action Plan, agreed at COP 13 in 2007, and the Cancun Agreements, reached at the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. (COP 16) last December.
Almost two decades ago, countries joined an international treaty, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to cooperatively consider what they could do to limit average global temperature increases and the resulting climate change, and to cope with whatever impacts were, by then, inevitable. This was in 1992.
By 1995, countries realized that emission reductions provisions in the Convention were inadequate. They launched negotiations to strengthen the global response to climate change, and, two years later, adopted the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol legally binds developed countries to emission reduction targets. The Protocol’s first commitment period started in 2008 and ends in 2012.
What happens beyond 2012 is one of the key issues governments of the 195 Parties to the Convention are currently negotiating. Climate change is a complex problem, which, although environmental in nature, has consequences for all spheres of existence on our planet. It either impacts on– or is impacted by– global issues, including poverty, economic development, population growth, sustainable development and resource management. It is not surprising, then, that solutions come from all disciplines and fields of research and development.
Important in this world conversation is the crisis in Africa with extreme heat and drought, issues of small island states disappearing into deep waters and shifts in extreme weather patterns throughout the world. At the very heart of the response to climate change, however, lies the need to reduce emissions. In 2010, governments agreed that emissions need to be reduced so that global temperature increases are limited to below 2 degrees Celsius.
The human-caused global-warming trend of climate change is scientifically established. Human beings are not distinct from nature, but are part of nature, and are now affecting nature in an alarmingly negative way. Impacts from global warming are now being felt and will soon become far worse. All countries will be increasingly affected in a myriad of severe, adverse ways: economically, environmentally, militarily, politically, medically, and psychologically. Global stability is threatened. There is no safe haven.
Action
Write to your country’s representative at Durban:
Canada: Peter Kent, Environmental Minister; email: minister@ec.gc.ca
United States: Todd Stern, Special Envoy for Climate Change; go to US.state.gov, go to contact-us and email your comment addressing Mr. Stern.
Sample Email Letter:
Dear ______
I am very concerned about Climate Change and how our country is contributing to Global Warming. With many other colleagues, I highly recommend that you support the following important issues in the concluding document at Durban:
Sincerely,
___
Resources:
Adapted from UN resources, UN NGO Committee on Sustainable Development and Sean McDonagh, SSC’s first article on Durban.
17 October 2011
Theme – From Poverty to Sustainability: People at the Centre of Inclusive Development
The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty has been observed every year since 1993, when the General Assembly, by resolution 47/196, designated this day to promote awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution in all countries, particularly in developing countries – a need that has become a development priority.
At the Millennium Summit, world leaders committed themselves to cutting by half by the year 2015 the number of people living in extreme poverty – people whose income is less than one dollar a day.
17 October presents an opportunity to acknowledge the effort and struggle of people living in poverty, a chance for them to make their concerns heard, and a moment to recognize that poor people are the first ones to fight against poverty. Participation of the poor themselves has been at the center of the Day’s celebration since its very beginning. The commemoration of 17 October also reflects the willingness of people living in poverty to use their expertise to contribute to the eradication of poverty.
The 2011 Commemoration of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP) will be held on Monday, 17 October, at United Nations Headquarters in New York, focusing on the theme “From Poverty to Sustainability: People at the Centre of Inclusive Development“.
With global attention focused on the upcoming Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), it is critical to draw attention to the importance of poverty eradication for building sustainable futures for all. People living in poverty face increasingly difficult challenges as climate change, environmental degradation and rising food prices threaten their livelihoods and survival. The path to sustainable development must ensure that people living in poverty are included in decision-making processes, and that concrete action is taken to respond to their needs and demands.
Sustainable development is not only about a clean planet. It means ensuring that nobody is left behind. Only in this way can peace be brought about and development be truly sustainable.
International Day for Eradication of Poverty Prayer 2011
Message 2011 from the International Committee for October 17
This is the theme chosen to highlight World Food Day, October 16th this year. The Day invites us to think about what we can do to lessen the terrible impact that food price increases are having on the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters around the world.
http://www.jpicpassionist.org/files/Food%202011_eng.doc
Wangari Maathai
The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 2011 as the International Year of Forests. Through this it is hoped that everyone will become more aware of the need to strengthen the care, management and development of all types of forests for the benefit of our own and future generations.
So it is significant that the world has just said goodbye to Wangari Maathai, a true champion of the forests! She died late September in Kenya.
Wangari Maathai Planting Seeds of Peace …for the Integrity of Creation
“As the first African woman to receive this prize, I accept it on behalf of the people of Kenya and Africa, and indeed the world. I am especially mindful of women and the girl child. I hope it will encourage them to raise their voices and take more space for leadership…This prize comes to me, but it acknowledges the work of countless individuals and groups across the globe. They work quietly and often without recognition to protect the environment, promote democracy, defend human rights and ensure equality between women and men. By so doing, they plants seeds of peace….
Recognizing that sustainable development, democracy and peace are indivisible is an idea whose time has come. Our work over the past 30 years has always appreciated and engaged these linkages. My inspiration partly comes from my childhood experiences and observations of Nature in rural Kenya. It has been nurtured by the formal education I was privileged to receive in Kenya, the United States and Germany. As I was growing up, I witnessed forests being cleared and replaced by commercial plantations, which destroyed local biodiversity and the capacity of the forests to conserve water.
In 1977, when we started the Green Belt Movement, I was partly responding to needs identified by rural women, namely lack of firewood, clean drinking water, balanced diets, shelter and income. Throughout Africa, women are the primary caretakers, holding significant responsibility for tilling the land and feeding their families. As a result, they are often the first to become aware of environmental damage as resources become scarce and incapable of sustaining their families….
Tree planting became a natural choice to address some of the initial basic needs identified by women. Also, tree planting is simple, attainable and guarantees quick, successful results within a reasonable amount of time. This sustains interest and commitment.
So, together, we have planted over 30 million trees that provide fuel, food, shelter, and income to support their children’s education and household needs. The activity also creates employment and improves soils and watersheds. Through their involvement, women gain some degree of power over their lives, especially their social and economic position and relevance in the family. This work continues….
It is 30 years since we started this work. Activities that devastate the environment and societies continue unabated. Today we are faced with a challenge that calls for a shift in our thinking, so that humanity stops threatening its life-support system. We are called to assist the Earth to heal her wounds and in the process heal our own–indeed, to embrace the whole creation in all its diversity, beauty and wonder. This will happen if we see the need to revive our sense of belonging to a larger family of life, with which we have shared our evolutionary process. There comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness, to reach a higher moral ground; a time when we have to shed our fear and give hope to each other. That time is now….
As I conclude, I reflect on my childhood experience when I would visit a stream next to our home to fetch water for my mother. I would drink water straight from the stream. Playing among the arrowroot leaves, I tried to pick up the strands of frogs’ eggs, believing they were beads. But every time I put my little fingers under them they would break. Later, I saw thousands of tadpoles: black, energetic and wriggling through the clear water against the background of the brown earth. This is the world I inherited from my parents.
Today, over 50 years later, the stream has dried up, women walk long distances for water, which is not always clean, and children will never know what they have lost. The challenge is to restore the home of the tadpoles and give back to our children a world of beauty and wonder”.
Wangari Maathai received the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. The Green Belt Movement sees sustainable development, democracy and peace as indivisible parts of a whole. These words from her Nobel address remind us to keep planting our own seeds of justice and peace.
Passionists International, as part of the NGO working Group on Israel/Palestine, was a co-sponsor of an important event on 12th September held in the Church Center at the UN. During this new 66th session of the General Assembly, Palestine has indicated that it intends to apply to be admitted as a full Member State of the United Nations. The United States government has also announced that it will veto any such application in the Security Council. To help educate people on the issues involved, we decided to offer this panel. The meeting was well attended and informative about the issues underlying the continuing tragic reality of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. We were able to record the remarks made by Professor Khalidi.
We also post a copy of the recent statement entitled: Palestinian U.N. Bid: U.S. Should Press for Peace, Not Punishment from the Quaker United Nations Office. During these days of tension, let us pray for a peaceful outcome that will be a positive benefit to the people of both Palestine and Israel.
Kevin Dance, C.P.
Date: 22nd September 2011
Time: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
220E 52nd Street, New York
(Salvation Army Auditorium)
Moderator:
Manuel Manonelles
Director, UBUNTU Forum
Speakers:
José Maria Fernández López de Turiso
Director-General of Planning and Evaluation of Development Policies, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Spain
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
President of the Global Progressive Forum and former
Prime Minister of Denmark
Julien Meimon
Permanent Secretariat, Leading Group on Innovative Financing for Development
James Paul
Executive Director, Global Policy Forum
William Pace
Executive Director, World Federalist Movement
Kevin Dance
Chair NGO Committee Financing for Development
Register at: http://bit.ly/rmsX3D