STAND UP AGAINST POVERTY
50 Global Days of Action Against Poverty and Inequality
On 17 -19 October 2008, millions of people all over the world are simultaneously standing up against poverty and inequality to demand action not words on poverty, and the necessary measures to meet the Millennium Development Goals.
It is now three years since the Make Poverty History campaign hit the streets of the UK. We had three main demands: more and better aid, debt cancellation and trade justice. Encouraging promises were made by the Gleneagles G8 Summit. Even partially implemented, these changed and saved lives. Yet so much went un-said, and yet more goes un-done. As a result, campaigning against poverty goes on.
More and better Aid
In 2005, the G8 promised more aid. This led to notable achievements. Yet almost all countries are far off the un-ambitious 0.7% target. In fact, aid from the richest countries (including the UK) actually fell last year. Across Europe, governments inflate aid figures by including commercial debt cancellation, refugee costs and international student education in their calculations. As a result, the world is not on target to reach the Millennium Development Goals.
There are also too-frequent instances of official development assistance being used for the ends of the supplier. For example, World Development Movement has revealed that British aid money has been paid to PriceWaterhouseCooper to act as ‘consultants’ to Sierra Leone to implement disastrous water privatisation. A 2007 report from student NGO People and Planet notes that British aid is being used to finance yet more oil extraction, despite the recognised social and environmental costs.
Debt cancellation
There is no doubt that the partial debt cancellation has done some good – Zambia for example is now able to provide universal free healthcare and Tanzania has increased its education spending. However, only 20% of poor countries’ un-payable debt has been cancelled. Even then, this has been only after changing economic policies at the behest of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Many of these changes were disastrous. For example Tanzania was forced to privatise water (to a British company – Bi-water) which led to a worse service and higher prices.
Trade Justice
As has been shown above, developing countries have often not been allowed to decide their own economic policies. Nor has any change been made to the unbalanced architecture of the international financial institutions. At the International Monetary Fund, rich countries continue to command two thirds of voting power despite only contributing to a quarter of its income (the rest comes from debt repayments). At the World Bank the illegitimate ‘one dollar one vote’ system continues. Thanks to a committed civil society campaign, the Department for International Development did temporarily withhold payments to the World Bank in protest at destructive conditionalities. However payments have now increased to a higher level than before.
Any hope that the Doha round of trade talks might culminate in a pro-poor outcome has now evaporated. The rich countries continue to advocate poor countries drastically reducing tariffs in return for very small cuts in European and American agricultural subsidies.
In the EU, Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson is currently overseeing the implementation of ‘Economic Partnership Agreements’ (EPAs). These are unfair bi-lateral trade deals being pushed by Europe on its former colonies. These force poor countries to lift tariffs by 80 – 90%. This both opens countries to floods of imports, causing mass unemployment, and removes a large chunk of the money available for health, education and infrastructure. With the European election on the horizon, it is vital that we find out our MEPs’ views on these unfair deals, and vote accordingly in 2009.
Climate Change
Climate change is already causing extreme suffering amongst the world’s poorest people as the impacts of recent hurricanes, droughts, floods and rising food costs demonstrate. World leaders have been striving to emphasise their concern about climate change but this is backed up by little meaningful policy change.
The UK Climate Change Bill is a step forward but it is not strong enough to tackle the UK’s contribution to the problem in its current form. The UN talks on climate change are crucial to agreeing a new global climate deal by the end of 2009 to follow the Kyoto Protocol targets which end in 2012. This deal must include deep cuts in emissions and finance to help poor communities adapt to their changing environment.
Action is needed to call world leaders to convert concern about climate change into changes in policy and a meaningful global climate deal that benefits the poor who are suffering the most from climate change.
Stand Up and Take Action Against Poverty and Inequality
Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) is the world’s largest civil society movement calling for an end to poverty and inequality.
This autumn, campaigners in over 100 countries across the world are organising actions during ‘50 days of action against poverty’ from 1 September to 20 October.
As part of the 50 days, on the weekend of 17 – 19 October, GCAP is calling for individuals, groups and communities to stand up or raise your voice for a moment to tell the world you are against global poverty and inequality.
To download an event Tool Kit visit Stand Up Against Poverty.