Monterrey,
Mexico, March 14 – March 16, 2002
At the final January 2002 Preparatory Committee meeting before
the official UN Conference on Financing for Development, the text
of the Monterrey Consensus document was agreed upon by Member
States, UN agencies and other negotiating parties including the
International Financial Institutions (IFIs). This eliminated all
opportunities for lobbying for change to the official text in
Mexico, and raised questions about what specific role NGOs could
and should play in Monterrey, both at the NGO Forum as well as
during the official UN Conference. The general perspective was
that while there were no opportunities for change, it was still
important to continue to promote an alternative viewpoint.
The three-day NGO Forum, held prior to the UN Conference, was
organized by a steering committee composed of several national
Mexican networks which included the Mexican Action Network on
Free Trade (RMALC), Feminist Millennium, Network of Latin American
Women Transforming the Economy, Women’s Eyes on the Multilaterals,
Rural and Facilitators Network, and Citizen Control–Social
Watch Mexico. These networks were chosen to ensure a diverse range
of civil society interests in the Forum, and are also linked with
other regional and international networks. The Mexican organising
committee was also supported by an International Support Committee,
which encouraged the participation of NGOs and social movement
organisations from around the world. As a result, there were a
large number of delegates at the Forum, with approximately 2,600
participants including representatives from roughly 700 organisations.
The Forum was held in a park, which used to be home to a massive
steel and iron foundry. The opening session and several plenary
sessions were held in an outside auditorium at the park, officially
known as the Coca-Cola Auditorium. To commemorate the struggles
of the workers of Monterrey, the auditorium was re-named the “Acero
Fundidora” (Steel Foundry) for the duration of the Forum.
The Forum was organised around several thematic tents, mainly
corresponding to the themes included in the Monterrey Consensus
document (i.e. domestic financial resources, international financial
resources and trade, debt, overseas development assistance, and
systemic issues). There was also a crosscutting issues tent, reserved
for the sharing of ideas and popular education. One of the main
purposes behind these thematic discussions was to identify specific
proposals to include in an NGO Declaration that would be read
out at the conclusion of the Forum and at the beginning of the
official UN Conference. Panelists from different NGOs, civil society
movements, as well as a small number of representatives from the
IFIs spoke in each of the tents generating a great deal of discussion
and debate.
There were many significant points made in the NGO Declaration.
One of the key statements was that NGOs are not a part of or in
agreement with the official “Monterrey Consensus” document
due to its endorsement of continued and unfettered global expansion
of neo-liberal policies. The Declaration continued by stating
that economic policies must be governed by a human rights and
environmental framework, so that the economy serves the interests
of all. Some of the demands outlined included implementation of
currency transaction taxes to help prevent the occurrence of financial
crises, the need for real transparency and accountability when
economic decisions are made, cancellation of developing country
debt, and the need for a transparent debt arbitration process.
Other proposals included calling for industrialised countries
to meet the target of 0.7% of ODA, the untying of aid, and the
need to enforce labour standards such as establishment of a minimum
wage, and to implement ILO labour conventions. Another issue addressed
by the Declaration was that free trade agreements should specify
the predominance of national laws over corporations and should
allow free movement of people across borders, not just goods and
capital.
The US and EU announcements to increase ODA, made during the NGO
Forum, were viewed as half-hearted contributions towards the goals
of the Conference. Concern about these announcements centered
on several points, especially that the increases were announced
unilaterally and were not a part of the official negotiated proceedings
which could have committed all industrialised countries to increase
their ODA to 0.7% of GDP by a specific date. The US increase of
US$5 billion over 5 years was not tied to a percentage of GDP,
a disappointing development in light of America’s powerful
position in the world economy. Some NGOs dubbed the announcement
as a “down-payment on development”. The EU announcement
of increasing ODA to 0.39% of GDP was a far cry from the 0.7%
of GDP agreed more than 30 years ago, although did make a step
in the right direction. Both of these announcements generated
intense discussion at the Forum.
Web
Sites:
Global
Forum on Financing the Right to Sustainable and Equitable Development
UN
Conference on Financing for Development
The
Afghan Women’s Summit for Democracy, December 4th-5th, 2001
The
Afghan Women’s Summit for Democracy was held at the European
Commission in Brussels to recommend ways in which Afghan women
can fully participate in the re-construction of Afghanistan. The
meeting was organised and hosted by Equality Now, The European
Women’s Lobby, V-Day, the Center for Strategic Initiatives
of Women, and the Feminist Majority in collaboration with the
Gender Advisor of the Secretary-General of the United Nations
and UNIFEM. The meeting culminated with the adoption of The Brussels
Proclamation. The Afghan Women’s Summit paralleled the latter
part of the United Nations Organised Talks on Afghanistan, held
November-December 2001 in Bonn, Germany.
The forty Afghan women leaders invited to participate in the Summit
came from Afghanistan, countries neighboring Afghanistan as well
as Russia, Australia, Europe and North America. The Pushtun, Tajik,
and Hazara ethnic groups were represented amongst the Afghan delegates.
The Afghan women focused on four main categories requiring immediate
attention in Post-Taliban Afghanistan: 1) Education, Media and
Culture, 2) Health, 3) Human Rights and the Constitution, and
4) Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, with a special focus
on women and children. The Afghan leaders developed recommendations
for the Proclamation under each of these themes. Delegates also
held press conferences and met with members of the European
Parliament, the European Commission, Belgium’s Parliament
and others.
An issue raised repeatedly during discussions was that of security.
The Afghan women called on the international community to expand
international security forces to the entire country, and to disarm
the warlords and their militia. Another key point made was the
need to empower Afghan civil society, and to ensure that the Afghan
people maintain ownership of all reconstruction and development
programmes.
Some of the points made in The Brussels Proclamation are outlined
below; however, these represent only a few of the many and varied
points put forth by the Afghan women delegates. To view the full
text of the Proclamation, please click
here.
Education, Media and Culture
Delegates pointed out that twenty-three years of war has completely
destroyed the infrastructure of Afghanistan. There are now two
generations of illiterate Afghans in dire need of good quality
education and access to information through a functioning media.
The delegates recommended development of an emergency plan for
the reopening of schools by March 2002 for both girls and boys,
reconstruction of schools that have been damaged or destroyed,
and the provision of necessary equipment and trained staff so
that schools will be able to function properly. The delegates
also emphasised the importance of re-opening institutions of higher
education.
Health
Participants called for awareness raising on health issues through
the media, and the distribution of health related materials on
such topics as mother and child health, malnutrition, hygiene,
contagious diseases, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Delegates also recommended the re-establishment of health centers,
training centers and training programmes for medical personnel.
An important health issue for the country is the need to re-establish
psychological services to diagnose and treat psychological disorders
resulting from the prolonged period of war and violence.
Human Rights and the Constitution
The women leaders underlined that all support from the international
community, including financial, must be made conditional upon
the recognition of rights and fair treatment of women. The international
community must also work to ensure the inclusion of women in the
Loya Jirgah (Grand Assembly), and all peace processes and reconstruction
efforts. Participants pointed to the need to include Afghan women
lawyers in the development of a new constitution, which must safeguard
against discrimination based on gender, age, ethnicity, disability,
religion, and political affiliation. The Constitution should also
protect women from forced and underage marriages, sexual harassment,
and trafficking and also enshrine the equal rights of women. Another
recommendation was for a mass-education campaign on the Convention
on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW) and other UN agreements. However, the delegates emphasised
that these agreements must be introduced in a manner sensitive
to Afghan religion and culture.
Refugees and Internally Displaced Women
and Children
Participants warned against the forced repatriation of refugees
as this would violate their basic human rights. Education, training,
and income-generation programmes were recommended for refugees
and internally displaced women and children. The Afghan women
also pointed out that refugees’ would require health care,
and education on the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases,
family planning and other health issues.
In sum, the Afghan Women’s Summit for Democracy held at the
European Commission in Brussels was a positive step forward for
the women of Afghanistan. The Afghan women delegates were able
to identify some of the problems of post-Conflict and post-Taliban
Afghanistan, and propose viable methods to address and resolve
these issues.
Dr. Zieba Shorish-Shamley is the Founder and Executive Director
of
Women’s Alliance for Peace and Human Rights in Afghanistan
(WAPHA).
For further information about WAPHA, please see their web-site
at: www.wapha.org
The contact information for WAPHA is:
Tel: 202-882-1432
Fax: 202-882-8125
Email: zieba@aol.com
Porto
Alegre, Brazil, January 31 to February 5, 2002
This year’s gathering of civil society at the Second World
Social Forum (WSF II) in Porto Alegre had far greater numbers
of participants and delegates than the WSF in 2001, an indication
of how successful the first Forum was in attracting the interest
of diverse activists and organisations. There were approximately
15,000 officially registered delegates, and close to 5,000 organisations
represented from 131 countries. Participants came from civil society
movements, trade unions, local and international NGOs, and United
Nations organisations. However, there were few representatives
or delegates from either Africa or Asia, an issue that could be
addressed by the proposal to hold the Forum in India in 2004 and
in an African country in 2005.
The main goals of the Forum are to promote social justice and
democratic participation, and to craft alternative proposals,
that, as the WSF charter of principles states, “…are
opposed to neoliberalism and to domination of the world by capital
and any form of imperialism, and are committed to building a planetary
society centred on the human person.” The open and democratic
discussion space that the WSF provides for global civil society
is a striking contrast to the closed meetings of the annual World
Economic Forum, which only rich executives and politicians are
permitted to attend.
Mary
Robinson, the UN’s High Commissioner on Human Rights, stated
during one of the Forum’s press conferences that, “I
want to tell you all here that the world is listening to the forum….You
only have to step out on the streets of Porto Alegre to see the
broad range of people here who believe that things need to change.”
There were four main themes at the Forum: production of wealth,
access to wealth, affirmation of civil society and the public
arena, and political and ethical power. Under each of these subjects,
there were specific discussion categories. For example, world
trade, multinational corporations, labour, solidarity economy
and land reform were debated as a part of the first theme. These
topics were deliberated during the myriad numbers of workshops,
seminars, panel discussions, meetings, and press conferences.
An issue that arose in Porto Alegre was whether or not the Forum
should transform itself into a formal democratic body, with official
voting procedures that would also allow the release of official
statements on behalf of the entire WSF. While some delegates thought
that this might be a more effective way to lobby the international
financial institutions and the World Economic Forum, there was
also concern that this change could stifle and undermine the non-hierarchical
and free exchange of ideas and proposals that currently takes
place at the WSF.
Many social movements and organisations released statements at
the WSF. For example, the International Council of Free Trade
Unions (ICFTU) released a statement to the WSF and to the World
Economic Forum pointing to the need to protect worker’s rights,
especially in a globalising economy that often fails to provide
employment security and in which wages compared to profits are
declining. Another statement, the Porto Alegre Water Declaration,
was released which emphasised that the world’s freshwater
is not a commodity that should be bought, sold and traded. Instead,
public institutions and laws should protect the human right to
sufficient quality and quantity of water.
These and other discussions will continue on throughout the year
at various meetings, demonstrations, and also at the regional
thematic forums to be held in preparation for next year’s
World Social Forum.
Web-Sites:
The
World Social Forum
Declarations
and Final Documents of the Second World Social Forum
The World Economic
Forum
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