Workshop
1
| Co-chairs: |
Fintan
Farrell, President, European Anti-Poverty
Network |
| |
Michelle
Greuter, ICSW Co-ordinator, Geneva |
Poverty and the Copenhagen Agreements
Tollowing the general debate, it was agreed
that the lack of Copenhagen Summit impact on the general public was
a concern. It was felt that the Commitments were too abstract. Greater
efforts towards the media were required – improving the language,
making it more concrete, sending clearer messages.
It
was recommended that NGOs should:
- Pressure governments
to evaluate their actions since the Copenhagen Summit, publish
the results in the media and generate public debate.
- Generate public opinion
to pressure governments and also involve the business community.
- Develop strong alliance-building
among all NGOs, e.g. social, development, environment. Also build
links with the business community and trade unions.
- Become more professional;
improve performance standards in order to achieve greater credibility
and draw funders.
- Have a clear knowledge
of the language used by economists and politicians.
- Draw attention to
the problem of the corrupted and the corrupters in development
aid. It was noted that corruption existed in Europe, not only
in the developing world.
- Develop and use the
same indicators to measure progress on poverty when dealing with
national reports.
- Place the core conventions
of the ILO on the agenda of the WTO.
- Draw attention to
the policies of pension reform of the World Bank.
- Enforce human rights,
in particular economic, social and cultural rights.
- Raise aid and quality
of aid in EU to the levels and targets of the OECD.
- Strengthen mechanisms
and commitments to address poverty and exclusion (e.g. Council
of Europe Social Charter and Article 137 of the Amsterdam Treaty).
- Support other campaigns,
e.g. Europe and the World/the World in Europe; Campaign for a
Bill of Rights in the EU Treaties; Social Watch.
- Introduce a tax on
market speculation.
- Call for a European
regional meeting at governmental level to assess their progress
in achieving the Copenhagen commitments.
- Build on and strengthen
the improvements made in relation to debt repayments.
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