It’s time to stop the privatisation of the development agenda
In 2000, the United Nations announced eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to reduce poverty worldwide. As the goals “expire” next year, new goals are being defined in UN assemblies and corridors. Some doors in the UN will be shut to public scrutiny but wide open to corporations. “This issue will determine the future of the UN as such,” recently commented a member of the Brazilian delegation to the UN, Guilherme Patriota. The UN is increasingly…
UN General Assembly discusses monitoring and accountability in the new development agenda
The President of the UN General Assembly’s convened the Interactive Dialogue “Elements for a Monitoring and Accountability Framework for the Post-2015 Development Agenda” that was held on May 1, 2014 in the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The outcome of the event will provide an additional input into the report mandated to the Secretary-General to synthesize all inputs available by the end of 2014. Roberto Bissio, Third World Institute's Executive Director, who participated in…
The Privatization of the Post-2015 Development Agenda
The increased influence of corporations over the UN development agenda was highlighted by several civil society organizations last April 8, 2014 in New York. During a side-event at the Church Center, (see the video here) different worrying trends were highlighted: the redefinition of ODA that will put more public funds in the hands of corporations, the lack of accountability of the different associations between corporations and UN agencies and the privileged access that big corporate…
The Uruguayan experience: A letter to civil society and to the UN
Inspired by this evidence that there are, indeed, viable alternatives to the classical neoliberal formulas, participants from over 20 countries in five continents discussed during the next two days the current state of the conversations on the Rio +20 follow-up and the post-2015 development framework. In plenary and in small groups we discussed the opportunities and challenges of on-going and emerging global processes such as Post-2015, G20, Rio+20, Climate negotiations, Trade-related negotiations (WTO/TPP/investment agreements), new…