SENEGAL: The environmental crisis resulting from CAMBODIA: More than 90% of the workers laid off global warming has reduced fishing (...) Fishing is were women from rural communities. an important source of resources for the primary sector and one of the main sources of protein for CANADA: ... women are over-represented in part- SOCIAL WATCH the population. time and precarious work and are often the first to be laid off. R E P O R T 2 0 0 9 DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: ... the poor spend upwards of 50% of their income on food – the poorest spend 80% or more. The increase in food prices has GHANA: Initial damage has included decreasing exports and remittances from abroad and galloping OVERVIEW R E P O R T 2 0 0 9 0 0 2 T R O P E R increased not just poverty, but also hunger. devaluation. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: ... women continue to be the first to lose their jobs and are increasingly INDIA: ... there has been drastically reduced growth finding themselves engaged in petty informal in personal and consumer loans and industrial Making finances work: trading of vegetables and tomatoes as a coping production. mechanism. MALAYSIA: ... the coming recession could be worse CLIMATE CHANGE: The Least Developed Countries, than that of 1997. who contributed the least in pollution, will suffer PEOPLE FIRST the most. Many small island developing states may NICARAGUA: ... more than 400,000 children could die S S O C I A L W A T C H one day just disappear from the map. from avoidable causes as a result of the crisis. Over SIXTY reports from civil society LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES: Unprecedented food PERU: ... 200,000 layoffs, as well as a fall in the crises, triggered by soaring food prices and leading purchasing power of wages and savings. to “food riots”, have shaken over 30 LDCs, where ORGANIZATIONS AROUND THE WORLD SHOW THAT workers and peasants have become unable to afford food items basic for survival. UNITED STATES: ... many of those fortunate enough to own homes have lost all or most of their equity THE ONLY WAY OUT OF THE CURRENT ECOLOGICAL or are trapped in mortgages that now far exceed the ARAB REGION: ... as a result of the food crisis, around value of their house. 31 million people in the region are hungry (about 10% AND ECONOMIC CRISIS IS TO INVEST IN PEOPLE. of the total population). POLAND: ... the growth of the grey – informal – economy will affect women more than men, as they BENIN: The price of maize, the most widely consumed are more often engaged in low-paid jobs, especially product, soared 220%. in the private service sector. Download the full version of this report or order printed copies from: www.socialwatch.org Social Watch is an international network of citizens’ organizations struggling to eradicate poverty and the causes of poverty, to ensure an equitable distribution of wealth and the realization of human rights. We are committed to social, economic and gender justice, and we emphasize the right of all people not to be poor. A CITIZENS´ GLOBAL PROGRESS REPORT Social Watch holds governments, the UN system and international organizations accountable for the fulfilment of national, regional and international commitments to eradicate poverty. ON POVERTY ERADICATION AND GENDER EQUITY The full version of the Social Watch Report 2009 includes: Social Watch in the world Voices that make a difference MEASURING PROGRESS Roberto Bissio Food security People first A fragmented scenario Roberto Bissio Education Differences become more noticeable THEMATIC REPORTS Information, science and technology The fastest breach A human rights-based response to the financial and economic crisis Development assistance Aldo Caliari, Center of Concern Commitments undertaken are further and further away from being fulfilled Gender equality and the financial crisis Nancy Baroni, Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action; Water and sanitation Mirjana Dokmanovic, Association Technology and Society, The gap is widening Serbia and Women in Development Europe (WIDE); Genoveva Tisheva, Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation Health and Bulgarian-European Partnership Association; SW National Coalition Unequal improvement Emily Sikazwe, Women for Change Reproductive health The global food price crisis Marked polarization Sophia Murphy, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy SOCIAL WATCH Ratifications of fundamental ILO conventions Justice to cool the planet Coordinating COMMITTEE Isagani Serrano, PRRM, Social Watch Filipinas Ratifications of human rights Emily Joy Sikazwe (Zambia) and Jens Martens (Germany), co-chairs. Nancy Baroni (Canada), Leonor Briones (Philippines), Anas El Hasnaoui (Morocco), Javier Gómez (Bolivia), Energy challenges for Europe Arjun Karki (Nepal), Thida Khus (Cambodia), Edward Oyugi (Kenya), Iara Pietricovsky (Brazil), Ziad Abdel Samad (Lebanon), Areli Sandoval (Mexico), Alexandra Spieldoch international treaties Elena Triffonova, Bulgarian-European Partnership Association (United States), Genoveva Tisheva (Bulgaria), Mirjam van Reisen (European Union) and Roberto Bissio (Uruguay, ex officio). The International Secretariat of Social Watch is based in Montevideo, Uruguay, hosted by the Third World Institute (ITeM). How to read the Social Watch tables Holding transnational corporations accountable for human rights obligations: the role of civil society Jana Silverman, Social Watch; Methodological notes: thematic tables Editor-in-Chief Technical support Original layout: Roberto Bissio Arturo González MONOCROMO Álvaro Orsatti, Trade Union Confederation of the Americas Editor Web design and development Layout: Amir Hamed Andrea Antelo, Ximena Pucciarelli, Ernesto Rapetti FORMA ESTUDIO The global economic crisis and the least www.formaestudio.com developed countries: citizens’ concerns Production Manager Phone: +598 (2) 916 3273 Ana Zeballos © Copyright 2009 Arjun Karki, LDC Watch INSTITUTO DEL TERCER MUNDO Infographics redesign: Associate Editors 18 de Julio 1077/ 903, Montevideo 11100, Uruguay www.icodemon.com Karen Judd, Tina Johnson, Jon Steinberg [email protected] Mounting development challenges posed by Fax: +598 (2) 902 0490 ext.113 Printed by: the world economic crisis: policy options in the Arab region Research and Editing Gráfica Mosca Gustavo Alzugaray, Enrique Buchichio Made possible thanks to the funding and support of Kinda Mohamadieh, Arab NGO Network for Development; the European Commission, Oxfam Novib and the Ford Oliver Pearce, Christian Aid Social Sciences Research Team, Departamento de Foundation. Printed in Uruguay Sociología de la Facultad de Ciencias Sociales de la Edición hecha al amparo del Art. 79 de la Ley 13.349 (Comisión del Papel) Universidad de la República, Uruguay Gabriel Errandonea (Coordinator) Dep. Legal: Europe’s response to the global Gabriel Gómez, Daniel Umpiérrez, Ruy Blanco financial and economic crisis For orders and requests please contact: Mirjam van Reisen, Europe External Policy Advisors (EEPA); Advocacy Coordinator Natalia Cardona This publication has been produced with the assistance Social Watch Simon Stocker and Louisa Vogiazides, Eurostep of the European Union, Oxfam Novib and the Ford Casilla de Correo 1539 Campaigns and Communications Foundation. The contents of this publication are the Montevideo 11000, Uruguay Jana Silverman (Coordinator) sole responsibility of its authors and of the Social [email protected] Agustín Fernández Watch network and can in no way be taken to reflect www.socialwatch.org the views of the European Union, Oxfam Novib and the Phone: +598 (2) 902 0490 Fax: +598 (2) 902 0490 ext.113 Translation Ford Foundation. Soledad Bervejillo, Marcela Dutra, Bachir El Omari, Ana Fostik, Susana Ibarburu, Emilie Jung, Richard Manning, María Laura Mazza, Alexandra Potts, And national reports from: Álvaro Queiruga, Alejandra Trelles Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Canada, Central African Republic, Chile, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, France, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Iraq, Italy, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal , Nicaragua, Nigeria, Palestine, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, The content of this publication may be reproduced by non-governmental organizations for non-commercial purposes (please send us copies). Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, United States Of America, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia Any other form of reproduction, storage in a retrieval system or transmission by any means for commercial purposes requires prior permission from ITeM. Voices that make a difference This Social Watch Report goes to print in September 2009, Thus, the convening at the heads of state level of the “G-20”, a year after the US Government failed to rescue Lehman an informal grouping of 22 economies from the North and Brothers from bankruptcy. The collapse of this global the South considered to be of “systemic importance” is a investment bank marked the peak of a crisis that started at welcome step towards recognizing the new realities in the the epicenter of globalized finance on Wall Street and soon world economy. But it is clearly not enough, for two main spread to national economies everywhere. reasons: first of all, because some 170 countries are left out, Since “crisis” has been the keyword for 2009, the as happened at the G-20 summits in Washington (November question that Social Watch asked its network of national