Mercy Global Concern - 2006

Special Report Number 3: February 2006

NGO DECLARATION

44th Session of the Commission on Social Development

Unfulfilled Promises
The United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty stated that, “eradicating poverty is an ethical, social, political and economic imperative of humankind.” Ten years later, it remains a moral and ethical imperative. As members of civil society we come to this Commission with some sense of dread as we look at the inequalities that daily carve an ever widening divide through our human community. The peoples of the world cannot continue to live in conditions of such poverty while the international community continues to stand by and monitor failure.

The NGOs of this Forum call upon the 44th Commission for Social Development to provide strong leadership in implementing actions to bring about the justice called for in the Decade for Eradicating Poverty.

The very language of ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ used to describe stages in the growth of countries no longer does justice to the reality. As natural disasters and social unrest have shown in recent times, the huge gap between rich and poor is not limited to the poorest ‘developing’ countries. There have been major developments in the past decade, but they have not benefited the poorest.

Millennium Summit and Monterrey
The 2005 Summit Outcome document gave an unambiguous commitment to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, the first of which is to halve by 2015 the number of people forced to live in absolute poverty.

We offer the values that world leaders at the Millennium Summit in 2000 considered ‘essential to international relations in the twenty-first century.’

• Freedom—from hunger, from fear of violence, and freedom to participate.
  
• Equality—every individual and nation has the right to benefit from development.
  
• Solidarity—those who benefit least deserve help from those who benefit most.
  
• Respect for Nature—in the interest of our own and our children’s welfare, the present unsustainable patterns of production and consumption must be changed.
  
• Shared responsibility—managing worldwide economic and social development must be shared among all nations and should be exercised multilaterally.
  
• Tolerance—that cherishes difference and promotes dialogue among all.

The Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action set forth a comprehensive vision of social development. Based on human dignity, human rights, equality, respect, peace, democracy, mutual responsibility and cooperation, it placed people at the centre of planning for development. The Summit recognised that the lack of participation in society by people living in poverty, mainly due to social disintegration, disempowerment, and exclusion, is an obstacle to healthy societies.

Further, the Monterrey Consensus of March 2002 sought to ‘eradicate poverty, achieve sustained economic growth and promote sustainable development as we advance to a fully inclusive and equitable global economic system’. Monterrey offered the means to finance the commitments made at the Millennium Summit.
The NGOs of this Forum call for the development of practical, sustainable poverty reduction strategies that benefit everyone.

Poverty is Multidimensional
Poverty is a multidimensional reality affecting every part of human life. Over the decade our understanding has grown of the linkages with poverty. Poverty has a feminine face; women and children are disproportionately affected. Invariably the most vulnerable people such as indigenous, elderly and handicapped are those most damaged. Poverty not only renders people hungry, it denies them access to the most basic health services and education. The pandemic of HIV/AIDS wreaks havoc not only on individuals’ health, but on communities and economies. The changing patterns of agriculture and land use often result in more hunger; a urban migration means people lose their previous possibility for self sufficiency in food security.
The NGOs of this Forum call for the recovery of an integrated approach to poverty that includes issues of gender, equality and dignified employment.

Shifting the Economic Development Model
The Inequality Predicament report of the World Social Forum 2005 states, “Rising inequalities are, at the most fundamental level, a clear and compelling manifestation of pervasive social injustice.” Secretary General Kofi Annan recognizes, “We cannot advance the development agenda without addressing the challenges of inequality within and between countries—the widening gap between skilled and unskilled workers, the chasm between the formal and informal economies, the growing disparities in health, education and opportunities for social and political participation.”

The current economic model excludes the voice and participation of those who are poor and serves only to increase the wealth of those who are already wealthy. The foundations of human rights, human dignity, equality, respect, mutuality and inclusion place people at the centre of planning for development and emphasize that participatory processes ensure that even the most marginalized have a voice in the matters that impact their lives.

The NGOs of this Forum call for clear and consistent adherence to the human rights framework in all development policies and practices.

The NGOs of this Forum call for decisive strategies for including the voices of those forced to live in poverty in all development discussions and planning on the international, national, regional and local levels.

Social Integration
The framework proposed by Copenhagen declared that every human being is entitled to participate in, contribute to and benefit from economic, social, cultural and political development. But, essentially, the experience of living in poverty is still the same—a crippling sense of social exclusion, powerlessness, alienation, lack of voice and representation accompany everyday life. One of the lessons learned during the Decade is that, “participation of the poor in processes and decisions that affect their lives is crucial and broad-based participation is one of the guiding principles for the poverty reduction strategies in order to improve governance and accountability.”

The creativity, courage and resourcefulness of “the poor” must be recognised. Nobody should be addressed as “poor” but as people forced to live in poverty. What keeps them trapped is the lack of access to the most basic resources. Given that the MDGs are interrelated and the success of one goal depends on the success of the others, partnership with people directly affected by policies is essential.

The NGOs of this Forum call for greater participation and input from those who suffer from poverty by establishing people’s parliaments as appropriate venues for small voices to be heard and to be part of the decision making process.

Wealth Creation /Fair Employment
Poverty will not be eradicated without drastic change to the current system of wealth creation. If extreme poverty is to be wiped out, the unfair systemic structures and conditionalities that underpin trade, aid and debt must be corrected. Creditors still hold too much control over debtor nations; those in positions of power look to the concerns of the powerful and not to people living in poverty. This excludes the voice of the most critical stakeholders.

Across most countries there is, on one hand, a massive increase of wealth in the top income bracket, with a corresponding growth in the number of people falling further into poverty. A new phenomenon of wealth creation without an accompanying creation of jobs has appeared. This benefits the elite, but fails to trickle down to the poor.

Decent work is the key to any development strategy. Most people forced to live in poverty are not unemployed. They simply work in jobs so low-paid that they are not able to move themselves or their families out of poverty. This cycle of poverty will continue unless there is coordinated national, regional and international investment in job creation and sustainable livelihoods.

The NGOs of this Forum call for national, regional and international strategies for job creation to be integrated into all poverty reduction policies.

Partnership that Works
For the United Nations, civil society is the vital link to those who are most affected by its international policies. In light of this reality, it is urgent that a meaningful conversation be reopened to address the effectiveness of this partnership.

The NGOs of this Forum strongly advocate that ECOSOC, The Commission on Social Development, and the Financing for Development Office look for further and more effective ways of strategically working together. We further urge that this partnership look to ways to involve the International Financial Institutions in achieving this multifaceted task.

No more declarations! No more promises! We call upon Member States to honour the commitments already made. Indeed, in improving the lot of the poor we are serving our own needs. Secretary General Annan recently reminded us that “development, peace and security and human rights form the indispensable foundations for collective security and well-being.”

January 10, 2006