NO 90 FEBRUARY-MARCH 2002
| UN UPDATE | NGO AND OTHER NEWS | FOCUS |
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Calls for Era of Shared Progress Robinson: Human Rights Essential.. General Assembly Special Session on... SG's London Lecture on Sustanable... SG Outlines Conflict Prevention Strategy International Women's Day Celebrated ILO Establishes New Commission Day of Dialogue on Gender and FFD ILO/CAO Meetings on Civil Aviation.. UN: Number of Older People Rises 2nd Prepcom for the World Assebly on Aging Sierra Leone War Crimes Tribunal Established IFAD Calls for a more Balanced Approach FAO Regional Conference for Africa CEDAW Convenes 26th Session Outgoing WFP Executive Director Honoured Ad Hoc Committee on Human Cloning Meets Codex Agrees on Biotechnology Food Principles Working Group on GMOs FAO/WHO Convene Food Safety Regulators Forum Commission for Social Development Meets International Forum for Social Development GA Adopts Peacekeeping Report GA Adopts Resolutions on Elimination of Racism ECOSOC on Health, Education and Development Committee on the Rights of the Child UNESCO Report on Education in Latin America UNDP Launches the Equaltor Initiative CDB Ad Hoc Working Group Meeting Access to Research Initiative Launched WHO Study Calls for Tax on Tobacco WIPO Treaties to Prtotect Artists UNEP Releases Study on Dugongs |
World News
Syndicate Launched Interaction Reacts to Increased US Spending Global Gag Rule Restrictions Have Negative Impact Edelman PR Worldwide Survey Carter Center: Development Cooperation Forum Other News OAU Launches Tsetse Fly Eradication Campaign UN-NGO Cooperation Consortium to Rebuild Agriculture in Afghanistan |
Global
Fund Calls For Proposals UN Campaigns for the Millennium Development Goals 46th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women Second Session of the UNFF and the High-Level Forestry Roundtable Combating Child Labour: Building Alliances Against Hazardous Work Upcoming Global Events Calendar Guest Editorial:Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, Executive Director, (UN Habitat) |
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The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is a financing mechanism involving public-private partnerships to attract, manage and disburse additional resources to combat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. It aims to reduce infections, illness and death caused by these diseases in countries in need, and to contribute to poverty reduction as part of the Millennium Development Goals. On 29 January 2002 the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria issued its first call for funding proposals. The call was announced at the end of the first organizational meeting of the Fund’s Board of Directors, held in Geneva. The Fund, championed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, was initiated in 2001 by an alliance of national governments, intergovernmental organizations, foundations, NGOs, and the private sector, and will award its initial round of grants in April 2002. The Fund will finance plans developed through country partnerships in countries that are severely affected by HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria and that have demonstrated a high level of political commitment to eradicating the diseases. The aim of the Fund is to attract, disburse and manage additional resources that will increase the pool of money already available. To date, US$1.9 billion has been pledged to the Fund by industrialized and developing countries, corporations, foundations and private individuals. Approximately US$700 million of the Fund is available for disbursement during 2002. Mr. Annan has said that US$7-10 billion is needed yearly to fight HIV/AIDS in developing countries. Team Leader of the Fund Secretariat, Paul Ehmer, says the Fund will support interventions based on best practices that have the potential to fight the diseases effectively. Finalized guidelines explain eligibility, application procedures, the types of projects the Fund is prepared to support, and the criteria on which funding decisions will be based, and also provide details on how the projects will be monitored and evaluated. Mr. Ehmer stressed that “The objective of the Fund is to raise significant new resources to fight them [the diseases], and to apply these resources in the most strategic and intelligent manner possible. The streamlined grant-making process we are announcing today is designed to minimize unnecessary delays, and maximize the support available for front-line efforts to control these epidemics,” which claim approximately six million lives a year. The Fund is governed by a Board consisting of 14 representatives of governments (France, Italy, Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Commission, China, Brazil, Nigeria, Pakistan, Thailand, Uganda and Ukraine), two NGO representatives (the German Institute for Medical Mission, and Health Rights Action from Uganda) and two private sector representatives (the Gates Foundation, and the Anglo-American PLC). In addition, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank, which handles the Fund’s finances, hold non-voting seats on the Board. Harvard University’s Center for International Development (CID) has created the Access Project for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in order to aid countries, NGOs, not-for-profit organizations, and coalitions seeking to submit proposals to the new Global Fund. The Access Project will provide information, technical advice, and networking with other experts in support of teams in developing countries. The Technical Support Secretariat (TSS) held consultations last November in Brussels with NGOs and civil society in order to gain their input, experience, and views concerning the structure and operation of the Global Fund in order to support the scaling-up of community-level responses. A series of regional consultations involving NGOs as part of country teams is planned as well. In related news, Scaling Up the Response to Infectious Diseases: A Way Out of Poverty, a new report by the WHO, UNAIDS, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Bank, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) was launched at the World Economic Forum in New York on 2 February 2002. The report calls for a well-organized and highly focused effort to take proven strategies and massively increase their availability in the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, diseases that most often affect people in poverty and keep them there. Scaling Up reports that by expanding the use of known and cost-effective interventions, TB and malaria deaths can be cut in half and new HIV infections in young people can be reduced by 25% in a decade. It calls for new investment to be applied to existing tools, including drugs to treat TB and HIV/AIDS, and mosquito nets and condoms to prevent infection with malaria and HIV. The report also suggests ways that new resources could be combined with marketing and communications approaches to encourage healthy behaviour. “These are investment guidelines for better health–not just financial investment but investment in social and political will,” says WHO Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland. “It is about change on a global scale, brought about by change on a local scale. These are global problems but they can be solved by committed individuals working hard to bring about improvements in their own communities.” Contact: Leyla Alyanak, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Interim Secretariat, 9 rue de Varembe, CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland, fax +41-22/791 9461, e-mail <leyla.alyanak@tss-twg.be>, website (www.globalfundatm.org), guidelines (www.globalfundatm.org/proposals.html). Dick Thompson, WHO Public Information Officer, WHO, 20 Avenue Appia, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/791 2684, e-mail <thompsond@who.int>, website (www.who.int). Josh Ruxin, Harvard University’s Center for International Development, One Eliot Street Building, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge MA 02138, USA, telephone +1-617/496 7294, fax +1-617/496 8753, e-mail <Josh_Ruxin@harvard.edu>, website (www.cid.harvard.edu/gf/). |
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The Millennium Summit, held in New York in September 2000, provided an opportunity for world leaders to push forward the UN agenda. The Millennium Declaration, adopted on 8 September 2000, outlines values and principles, as well as goals in the key priority areas of peace, development, poverty eradication, the environment, human rights, protecting the vulnerable, the special needs of Africa, and strengthening the UN. Based on the Millennium Declaration, UN departments, funds and programmes, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Organisation for Economic and Co-operation and Development (OECD) have worked on a concise set of goals, numerical targets and quantifiable indicators to assess progress made in meeting the development goals set in the Declaration. The new set, known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), includes eight goals, 18 targets and more than 40 indicators. The UN General Assembly took note of the MDGs as part of the report of the Secretary-General (A/56/326) Road map towards the implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration, which was considered by the General Assembly during its 56th session in Fall 2001. The eight key MDGs to be achieved
by 2015 are: —achieving universal primary
education; —ensuring environmental sustainability; —developing a global partnership for development, with targets for aid, trade and debt relief. For each Millennium Development Goal there is one or more specific target, along with social, economic and environmental indicators used to track progress towards achieving the goals. The MDGs represent a partnership between developed and developing countries, determined, as the Millennium Declaration states, “to create an environment–at the national and global levels alike–which is conducive to development and the elimination of poverty.”Progress Towards Achieving the
MDGs Spearheaded by UNDP According to UNDP, the campaign in developed countries will focus on making the case for aid and urgent debt relief; ensuring that aid is allocated to sectors and services relevant to the MDGs; and opening markets more widely to developing countries–especially to the least developed countries (LDCs). In developing countries, the campaign will focus on mobilizing domestic resources; prioritizing budget expenditure on the Millennium Development Goals; and strengthening human rights, democracy and good governance as outlined in the Millennium Declaration. According to Mr. Malloch Brown, the global and national campaigns “can make a dramatic difference to the trajectory of global change in coming years by building the political constituency and the public policy priority to tackle poverty.” Country Level Reporting on Progress
Made By the end of 2002, UNDP expects to have begun preparations for reports in most developing countries. In order to minimize the country’s reporting burden, the reports build upon existing reports, such as Common Country Assessments, Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers or National Human Development Reports. By the end of 2004, every developing country is expected to have produced at least one country report in preparation for the forthcoming report of the Secretary-General on global progress made in the implementation of the MDGs, to be issued in 2005. New Special Advisor on the MDGs Appointed To give further impetus towards meeting the Goals, Mr. Annan has appointed Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Center for International Development at Harvard University, as Special Advisor on the MDGs. Mr. Sachs, designated in February 2002, will serve an initial one-year term and work in close cooperation with UNDP. He will focus on new research and new approaches to costing and partnerships to help provide practical plans for achieving the MDGs. Contact: Jan Vandemoortele, Principal Advisor and Group Leader, United Nations Development Programme, Social Development Group, 1 UN Plaza, Room DC1-2042, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/906 5862, fax +1-212/906 5857, e-mail <jan.vandemoortele@undp.org>, website (www.undp.org/mdg). |
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The 46th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) took place in New York from 4-15 March 2002, addressing two thematic issues: the eradication of poverty through the empowerment of women in a globalizing world, and integrating a gender perspective in environmental management and the mitigation of natural disasters. Representatives of United Nations Member States, UN agencies and observers, and civil society gathered at UN headquarters in New York for the 46th session of the CSW where they addressed not only the two thematic issues, but also debated follow-up implemented since the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995, and the 23rd General Assembly special session (Beijing +5) held in New York in June 2000, on Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the 21st Century. The Commission began its deliberations by electing a new Bureau to serve for a two-year term. For the first time, the Bureau of CSW was chaired by a man: Ambassador Othman Jerandi (Tunisia). The new vice-chairs are Kyung-Wha Kang (Republic of Korea), Fernando Estellita de Salvo Coimbra (Brazil), Birgit Stevens (Belgium) and Lala Ibrahimova (Azerbaijan). Views on Poverty and Environmental
Management During the ensuing debate, Member States voiced concern about the increasing feminization of poverty. Lack of access to land, education, and financial and social assets; structural adjustment programme reforms; wars and armed conflict; diseases; and discrimination were highlighted by speakers as some of the underlying causes of increasing poverty among women. According to many speakers, including Venezuela speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 developing countries and China (G-77/China), the empowerment of women is central for eradicating poverty. Member States also highlighted the disproportionate effect that natural disasters have on women. However, many speakers, including Spain on behalf of the European Union, emphasized that women should not be seen as mere victims of natural disasters. Women in their capacity as producers, users and managers of natural resources have a crucial role to play in environmental preservation and management.
Commission Adopts Unanimously Two
Agreed Conclusions The Commission adopted agreed conclusions on the eradication of poverty through the empowerment of women; and integrating a gender perspective in environmental management and the mitigation of natural disasters. By adopting its agreed conclusions on poverty eradication, the CSW recognizes that globalization has left many women marginalized and deprived of basic social protection, and that special attention must be given to women and children who often bear the greatest burden of extreme poverty. The agreed conclusions identify gender equality and women’s empowerment as important strategies to eradicate poverty, and urge governments, UN funds and programmes, civil society, international financial institutions, and the private sector to accelerate action to address the needs of all women, and to ensure that both women and men are involved in decision making, political agenda-setting and in allocation of resources. The agreed conclusions on environmental management and the mitigation of natural disasters recognize that women play a vital role in disaster reduction, response and recovery and in natural resources management, and that some women face particular vulnerabilities during disaster situations. The Commission calls on governments, the UN system, civil society and the private sector to take action on 22 issues, such as: pursuing “gender equality and gender-sensitive environmental management and disaster reduction, response and recovery as an integral part of sustainable development.” The Commission also adopted three resolutions without a vote: on the release of women and children taken hostage in armed conflicts (E/CN.6/2002/L.1); on women, the girl child and HIV/AIDS (E/CN.6/2002/L.3); and on mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the UN system (E/CN.6/2002/L.5). The Commission adopted after a vote of 38 in favour to one against (the United States) a resolution on the situation of and assistance to Palestinian women (E/CN.6/2002/L.2). CSW also adopted on 25 March 2002 a resolution (E/CN.6/2002/L.4/Rev.2), which urges the transitional government of Afghanistan to undertake a series of step aimed at improving the quality of life for Afghan women and girls. Contact: Denise Scotto, NGO Focal Point, Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), Room DC2-1204, United Nations, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/963 8034, fax +1-212/963 3463, e-mail <scotto@un.org>, website (www.un.org/womenwatch). |
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| Second Session of the UNFF and High Level Forestry Roundtable | |
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The second session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF-2) adopted a Ministerial Declaration that highlights the link between economic, social and environmental wellbeing and sustainable forest management; commits to work towards reversing deforestation and forest and land degradation trends; and states that the sustainable management of natural and planted forests is essential to sustainable development. During UNFF-2, convened at UN headquarters in New York from 4-15 March 2002, delegates set out to forge a ministerial message for the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) taking place in Johannesburg (South Africa) next August, and to develop a set of criteria for reviewing the effectiveness of the international arrangement on forests. The delegates addressed progress in the implementation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF) and Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF) proposals for action, as well as the UNFF Plan of Action. Efforts to establish the terms of reference for three ad hoc expert groups–on approaches and mechanisms for monitoring, assessment and reporting; finance and transfer of environmentally sound technologies; and consideration of the parameters of a mandate for developing a legal framework on all types of forests–failed, mainly over the issue of participation. Developed countries sought to limit the size of the expert groups to a small number of experts with a focused agenda, whereas developing countries wanted the groups to remain open to participation by all countries. Unable to reach agreement, delegates took a procedural decision to forward to UNFF-3 a paper containing yet-to-be-agreed proposed draft terms of reference. For the first time, the UNFF convened multistakeholder and ministerial dialogue sessions. Held on 6 March, the multistakeholder dialogue raised key points including: the need to improve the preparatory process for multistakeholder dialogues, expressions of support for a bottom-up approach; and the importance of women, indigenous peoples, and the private sector in sustainable forest management (SFM). Ministerial dialogues were held in a high-level segment from 13-14 March 2002. Ministers engaged in a policy dialogue with heads of member organizations of the Collaborative Partnership in Forests (CPF) on the first day, while discussions on the second day focused on endorsing the Plan of Action as a contribution to the WSSD, and on national commitments to country goals and strategies for implementing the IPF/IFF proposals for action. NGOs, including Greenpeace and the Global Forest Coalition, urged ministers to address the underlying causes and cross-cutting issues responsible for forest degradation and loss, and to focus on primary forests. Stressing that forests would receive little political attention unless the UNFF joins forces with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), they urged the UNFF to send a message to the CBD’s Sixth Conference of Parties affirming its support for and commitment to implementation of existing and future CBD decisions on forests. NGOs further called on UNFF and CBD to send a strong joint message to the WSSD about the importance of forests and their conservation and sustainable use. The main outcomes of UNFF-2 included a Ministerial Declaration and Message to the WSSD, and eight decisions on: combating deforestation and forest degradation; forest conservation and protection of unique types of forests and fragile ecosystems; rehabilitation and conservation strategies for countries with low forest cover; rehabilitation and restoration of degraded lands and the promotion of natural and planted forests; concepts, terminology and definitions; specific criteria for the review of the effectiveness of the international arrangement on forests; and proposed revisions to the medium-term plan for 2002-2005. At the conclusion of the session, environmental and indigenous peoples’ groups lambasted the UNFF-2 outcomes and criticized governments for a perceived lack of political will. “Five months before Johannesburg, forest ministers are acting irresponsibly,” said Gudrun Henne, a forest policy adviser with Greenpeace. “They do not support indigenous peoples or community-based management…and they are not providing more financial resources for developing countries.” Martin Kaiser, also of Greenpeace, commented on what he said was a lack of political and financial commitment to shift the trend. “The public will not understand that ten years after the Rio Earth Summit, forest destruction continues unabated.” Government delegates responded that the Ministerial Declaration was based on proposals brought forward by intergovernmental panels of experts and consultative meetings designed to promote the effective management, conservation and sustainable development of forests. Colombian Environment Minister Juan Mayr Maldonado added that SFM would be achieved only over time and that more of the world’s forests would inevitably be lost. “This is a process,” he said. “It needs a lot of integrated action between different institutions, sectors and governments….We have started to discuss, in a very preliminary stage, the need for ethics. This seems to me the most important need.” “We’ve discussed forest issues for over a decade now, and we know what needs to be done,” said Nitin Desai, Secretary-General of the Johannesburg Summit. “What we need now are actions and initiatives that can help meet the needs of the people who live in or around the forests while protecting and preserving our forest ecosystems.” He added, “The strong message that the ministers at the Forest Forum are sending to the Summit indicates that it is urgent that the international community and national governments show even greater resolve to move the forest agenda forward so we can get results.” The UNFF-3 will be held from 26 May-6 June 2003 in Geneva. Contact: UNFF Secretariat, UN Division for Sustainable Development, 2 UN Plaza, Room DC2-2286, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/963 3262, fax +1-212/963 3463, e-mail <unff@un.org>, website (www.un.org/esa/sustdev/forests.htm). For thorough coverage of the UNFF-2, please see the Earth Negotiations Bulletin at website (www.iisd.ca/forestry/unff/unff2). |
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| Combating Child Labour: Building Alliances Against Hazardous Work | |
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Adopted in 1999, ILO Convention 182 on the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour is the leading international legal instrument on child labour. It recognizes that child labour is to a great extent caused by poverty and that the long-term solution lies in sustained economic growth leading to social progress, in particular poverty alleviation and universal education. Introduction The conference was held in conjunction with the International Association of Labour Inspection (IALI) Conference, where over 100 representatives from labour inspectorates discussed ways to combat child labour beyond the ratification of ILO Convention 182. Participants of both conferences, representing 53 countries, debated the issue in joint plenary debates and in conference-specific workshops. Defining Hazardous Child Labour According to a 1998 ILO estimate, about 250 million children between the ages of five and 14 are working worldwide, with about half of them–some 120 million–working full time. Many of these children have hazardous occupations and work in dangerous conditions in sectors such as industries and agriculture. The latter accounts for more than 70% of child workers. Another area of concern is the labour of very young children and of girls, where the ILO estimates that in some areas up to 20% of child workers are under the age of ten. Working girls are particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation. The majority of exploited children are engaged in some form of hazardous work, which, according to the ILO, includes activities in agriculture; mining; brick-making; carpet weaving; construction; tanneries; deep-sea fishing; firework and match production; domestic bondage; prostitution and pornography; and armed conflicts. The conference focused on hazardous child labour, and the pressing need of a more detailed definition of it. Article 3(d) of the Convention defines hazardous child labour as “work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety and morals of children.” Thus, hazardous child labour is not as clearly defined as the other three categories of the worst forms of child labour mentioned in Article 3 (a-c), including types of slavery, prostitution and pornography, and illicit activities such as the trafficking of drugs. The Convention, the most rapidly ratified in ILO’s 82-year history with more than 110 ratifications in three years, calls for countries to develop a list of hazardous occupations or conditions and to prioritize them for action. Opening Session Juan Somavía, Director General of the ILO, and the Netherlands Minister for Development Cooperation, Eveline Herfkens, opened the conference. Mr. Somavía stressed the important role that labour inspectorates play as ratifications and signatures of ILO Convention 182 are meaningless without well-functioning implementation and monitoring mechanisms. He also drew attention to the fact that behind each working child, an adult is responsible and profits from that child’s work. Mr. Somavía said that time-bound programmes–such as the IPEC programmes which are designed to assist Member States in implementing the Convention–are only one approach in the fight against child labour. Society as a whole must reach the commitment to end child labour and must develop global solidarity through increased development cooperation. He said that some of the worst forms of child labour, such as slavery and sexual exploitation, should be considered as crimes against humanity. Ms. Herfkens addressed the importance of education in fighting child labour, as well as the roles of labour and education inspectorates in monitoring the education system. She said that in regions where compulsory education is the rule, fewer children work, whereas poor education systems tend to encourage children to drop out of school where they can then more easily disappear into the world of child labour. Birth registration was seen as another tool in fighting child labour as it gives children access to the school system. Ms. Herfkens also called attention to the role of trade unions, saying that where trade unions are strong and respected, labour rights are better protected and child labour is rare. She underlined the importance of collaboration between trade unions and NGOs, as trade unions, unlike NGOs, have little access to workers in the informal sector, where most child labour takes place. Identifying employers as new allies in the fight against child labour, she highlighted the importance of guidelines on corporate social responsibility, notably the Organisation for Economic and Co-operation for Development’s (OECD) Guidelines for Multinationals, and the role NGOs play in monitoring the guidelines. Conclusions on Combating Child
Labour In relation to a better definition of hazardous child labour, participants decided that it should be determined by national laws or regulations, after consultations with the workers’ and employers’ organizations concerned. States are encouraged to start the process of identifying hazardous child labour within six months after ratification of ILO Convention 182 and to complete this process within 18 months. The text also calls for periodic examining and revision of the list; requests that special attention be given to the different risks for boys and girls in hazardous child labour; and the need to address the situation of child workers in the informal economy, where most child labour takes place. Participants stressed the need to establish appropriate national mechanisms to closely monitor the implementation of national provisions for the prohibition and elimination of any type of work referred to in ILO Convention 182, and to penalize companies in case of violation. The text further stresses the role of labour inspectorates in enforcing child labour legislation and addresses the importance of sufficient funding for effective, gender-balanced national labour inspectorates. Some Issues Addressed at the Conference The Informal Economy Role of the Private Sector Workers’ organizations and the private sector in general are becoming increasingly involved in the fight against child labour. Gerrit Ybema, Netherlands Foreign Trade Minister, stressed the important role that both the private sector and the World Trade Organization should play in the fight against child labour, by creating an environment of economic growth and poverty reduction. However, he dismissed the use of trade sanctions in the fight against child labour, and said it was better to enter into dialogue with the countries and involve them in the global economy. Implementation and Monitoring Contacts: International Labour Office, International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), 4 route des Morillons, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/799 8181, fax +41-22/799 8771, e-mail <childlabour@ilo.org>, website (www.ilo.org). Kailash Satyarthi, Chairperson, Global March Against Child Labour, International Secretariat, L-6 Kalkaji, New Delhi 110019, India, telephone +91-11/622 4899, fax +91-11/623 6818, e-mail <childhood@globalmarch.org>, website (www.globalmarch.org). NGO Activities In Combating Child Labour A number of NGOs active in the fight against the worst forms of child labour were present at the conference, including the Global March Against Child Labour, a movement of over 2,000 international and national organizations active in 140 countries. Global March, which began in 1998 as a social movement of civil society organizations and individuals concerned about the exploitation of children, marched 80,000 kilometres around the world to promote ratification and implementation of ILO Convention 182. Recently Global March organized, along with the Global Campaign for Education, International Center on Child Labor and Education and other NGOs, an event during the International Conference on Financing for Development held in Monterrey (Mexico) in March 2002. The event highlighted the importance of increased development spending for eliminating child labour and providing children with free quality education, and Global March is calling for 0.1% of the gross national product (GNP) of developed countries to be used for this purpose. Kailash Satyarthi, Chairperson of Global March, said, “The poverty of global political will is again demonstrated in Monterrey as the world community has once again failed to commit sufficient resources to realize the Millennium Development Goals. Children will suffer the most from the lack of political will of the world’s leaders. If the industrialized world is not prepared to invest a pittance of its income in the interest of underprivileged children, poverty can never be alleviated, nor the scourge of global terrorism and insurgency be tackled.” Anti-Slavery International is another NGO active in the fight against child labour and regularly publishes reports on child labour and its different forms. They have recently published an advocacy handbook entitled: Child Domestic Workers: A Handbook for Research and Action, which is meant to help local NGOs and activists plan, design, implement and evaluate the impact of advocacy strategy with regard to child domestic workers. Contacts: Anti-Slavery International, Pins Brown, Thomas Clarkson House, The Stableyard, Broomsgrove Road, London SW9 9TL, UK, telephone +44-20/7501 8920, fax +44-20/7738 4110, e-mail <antislavery@antislavery.org>, website (www.antislavery.org). |
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| Upcoming Global Events | |
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World Civil Society Forum, 14-19
July 2002 (Geneva) —Promoting cooperation among
civil society organizations from different geographical regions
and diverse domains of activity, especially those from developing
countries and those representing indigenous peoples. —Facilitating cooperation between
organizations of civil society and the United Nations system, including
its specialized agencies and other international organizations. —Considering the constitution of a permanent forum that would reinforce cooperation between global civil society and international organizations. The Forum will include information and discussion sessions, workshops and thematic working groups. Training sessions will be provided before (8-12 July) and during the Forum on topics such as access to Internet, training for journalists, management of development projects, and human rights, among others. A Youth Forum, which aims to strengthen youth participation in international cooperation and notably with the United Nations, will take place on 13 July. It will be preceded by three days of workshops and training on the role of youth in the promotion of human rights, sustainable development and peace. Contact: World Civil Society Forum, 31 chemin William Rappard, CH-1293 Bellevue-Geneva, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/959 8855, fax +41-22/959 8851, e-mail <forum@mandint.org>, website (www.worldcivilsociety.org). Global Governance 2002 (GO2), 13-16 October 2002 (Montreal) An initiative of the Montreal International Forum (FIM), GO2 will bring together civil society representatives, high-level officials from the UN and multilateral agencies, parliamentarians, national and local government representatives, academics, human rights advocates, trade unionists and indigenous people to debate current trends in globalization and civil society, and to help define the role that global civil society should play. The theme for the 2002 meeting is Civil Society and the Democratization of Global Governance. Key objectives include raising awareness of democratic global governance; exploring policy options; bringing together practitioners for cross-sector learning; developing action strategies by civil society actors; and identifying proposals to strengthen cross-sectoral collaboration in support of democratization. Topics of discussion include trade, human rights, global corporations, transnational civil society, financial flows, and local government, among others. Contact: GO2 Secretariat, 5486 chemin de la Côte-Saint-Luc, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3X 2C7, telephone +1-514/481 7408, fax +1-514/481 7379, e-mail <g02@fimcivilsociety.org>, website (www.fimcivilsociety.org). World Summit on the Information Society, 10-12 December 2003 (Geneva) The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) will address the fundamental changes occurring in knowledge dissemination, social behaviour, economic and business practices, political engagement, and media and health, among others, as a result of the expanding Information Society, and will move towards a common vision and understanding of the ensuing societal transformation. Issues at stake include: the right to communicate; the impact on cultural development; equitable access to services and information; balanced global development; and media ownership. In bringing together representatives from governments, the private sector, civil society and NGOs, the anticipated outcome of the Summit is to develop and foster a clear statement of political will and a concrete action plan to facilitate the effective growth of the Information Society and to help bridge the digital divide. The Summit will not only address technical issues, but will also examine questions of governance, rights, ethics, research and development, and other issues that directly concern civil society. A follow-up Summit is planned for 2005 in Tunis (Tunisia). For background information on how to take part in the process, please consult the WSIS website (www.geneva2003.org). The idea of a World Summit took root at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference in Minneapolis (United States) in 1998, as it recognized the interlinkages between issues of telecommunication development and those of economic, social and cultural development, as well as the impact of such linkages on social structures in all Member States. Contact: Civil Society Division, Executive Secretariat, WSIS, Place des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 20, telephone +41-22/730 6365, fax +41-22/730 6393, e-mail <info@geneva2003.org>, website (www.geneva2003.org/index.htm). |
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| Calendar | |
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Children Disarmament
Ecosoc/General Assembly Food and Agriculture Health HIV/AIDS
Human Rights> Rights of the Child Intergovernmental Meetings International
Law Narcotics Drugs Refugees Regional Commissions Social Development
Sustainable Development Framework Convention on Climate
Change Global Environment Facility (GEF) Women |
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| Guest Editorial | |
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Bruce Moore Secure land and resource tenure is increasingly recognized as an important, and some would say essential, catalytic force for sustainable rural development. The importance of secure access to productive resources was a recurring theme in the United Nations global summits of the 1990s and figures among the Millennium Development Goals agreed by Heads of State at the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000. For the rural poor, secure access to land provides the most realistic opportunity to improve their livelihoods and develop assets to reduce their vulnerabilities, and it also provides the most powerful incentive for the sustainable management of natural resources. However, the systemic policy and regulatory frameworks that prevent the poor from owning land and having access to common property and water has a critical bearing on the social fabric of societies and on overall economic development. Pro-poor policies can improve rural livelihoods systems, increase aggregate food supplies, raise rural employment and result in more sustainable agricultural practices. If we were to summarize past development programmes, we would see that government-led development without the active support of civil society, and civil-society movements without the institutional and enabling support of government have both tended to fail. The lesson is that governments should work more closely with their civil societies, and the international community must apply its moral and financial persuasion to empower the rural poor. Toward this end, a coalition of civil society, international agencies and governments are establishing a Common Platform on Access to Land–to seek commitments and establish practical actions to improve access to land, water, forests and fisheries by food-insecure households. We are working to make the Common Platform on Access to Land a central feature of the ten-year review of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, which will bring together world leaders for the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg (South Africa) from 26 August to 4 September. We envisage that by providing an opportunity for everyone to participate–like a global people’s forum–and in transforming a discussion paper into a consensus position or the Common Platform, concrete partnership-based approaches will be initiated and strengthened among the Major Groups, governments and intergovernmental bodies. Our immediate objective at WSSD is to strengthen government and civil society commitment in favour of the resource needs of the rural poor. The longer-term objectives are to transform the intentions of Agenda 21 into changes in land access and resource rights of poor rural communities. This initiative is being coordinated by the Popular Coalition to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty–a global consortium of intergovernmental, civil society and bilateral organizations committed to the empowerment of the rural poor by increasing their access to productive assets, especially land, water and common property resources, and by increasing their direct participation in decision-making processes at local, national, regional and international levels. Since the Eighth Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-8) held in April 2000, the Popular Coalition has been working closely with Major Groups and engaging key representatives from farmers organizations, and the trade union movement, including agricultural workers, the indigenous community and the Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development Caucus. In the intervening period, civil society organizations, intergovernmental, bilateral and governmental organizations have worked together in diverse ways, including participation in three major international conferences on agrarian reform, rural development, sustainability and poverty reduction. The Coalition is also convening land policy events at the regional and international levels with an informal consultative group on land, which was formed after the March 2000 World Bank Rural Week. The consultative group has requested that the Popular Coalition and the Land Tenure Service of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) take a leadership role in elaborating a process to produce a plan of action. In preparation for the WSSD, the Popular Coalition hosted side events during the WSSD Preparatory Committee Meetings in New York in March 2002, and will host other events in Jakarta (Indonesia) in May 2002, as well as a roundtable discussion on the Common Platform on Access to Land planned for the Johannesburg Summit. Those who wish to contribute to the first draft of the discussion paper Common Platform on Access to Land are encouraged to review the Popular Coalition’s paper entitled Sustainable Resources (available via e-mail from <coalition@ifad.org>). Comments on this paper will guide the Popular Coalition’s discussion draft of the Common Platform, and will be made available on the Popular Coalition website (www.ifad.org/popularcoalition). |
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