Wednesday, September 09, 2009

THE CIVIL SOCIETY DECLARATION AS AN OUTCOME OF THE CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM

From November 25 - 27 there was a CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM held in DOHA, QATAR. The Doha NGO Group on Financing for Development (DNG) issued a "Civil Society Declaration" in response to that forum and concluded:



"In the face of the multiple crises, we urge governments to take the side of women and men workers, farmers, youth and children to promote environmental sustainability by taking an alternative economic path. We, 250 national and international civil society networks, representing millions of people from around the world, therefore call for change in Doha that puts effective development, poverty eradication, human rights, gender equality, decent work, and environmental sustainability at the fore."


The DNG expressed why they felt the need to issue its Declaration when they stated:



"Today the world is consumed by an urgent series of crises: energy, food, climate, and finance that not only threaten the realization of the MDGs and the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people, in the North and the South, but also the stability of the world’s economies. The Northern governments and financial system are responsible for the current crises, but the costs and the impacts are paid for by the entire world, and by the poorest countries in particular. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization $30 billion are required every year to eradicate poverty. Trade negotiations have reached a stalemate. Persistent gender inequalities reflect and are related to all these structural imbalances in the global economic system; thus it is urgent to include a gender perspective into all policies, at all levels and sectors, as well most Northern countries are falling far short of meeting their aid commitments. Overcoming these crises requires decisive action and leadership from the global community. To date however, such leadership has been sorely missing."
The entire Declaration can be read online at the CIVIL SOCIETY DECLARATION


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

For how long shall we continue to make Declarations, Commitments, Statements, Communiques and other results of discussions and conferences? If all the money spent on delegates to talk were chanelled into produtive practical ventures there would be less hunger and poverty in the world.
Here in Zambia a 6.5HP water pump costs about the equivalent of 300 US Dollars, a bag of early maturing maize to cover 1 lima costs 40 US Dollars, The bags of fertilizer needed for that one lima will not exceed 600 US Dollars, In short when one considers how much money is spent on talking it is not therefore suprising that there is too much lack abounding. Channel these resources into grassroots institutions which are producing the food under harsh conditions and the situation will be reversed and there will be no need for all the unproductive expensive talk sessions.