MORE DETAILS ON THE UN, IMF/WORLD BANK, AND WTO MEETINGS.

UN Special Summit (14-16 Sep).
This was supposed to be a summit for reviewing progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on reducing poverty and hunger, improving access to education, maternal and child health, gender equality, the environment, debt, trade justice and aid. However, this agenda was sidelined by concerns for security, and reform of the UN. No concrete collective action plan for reaching the MDGs was drawn up.

On aid, rich nations repeated their ambitions to give 0.7% of GDP as aid – commitments first made 35 years ago. Some countries are aiming to do this by 2015. Others have no timetable, or have opt-out clauses. Other initiatives on aid are lacking in general support.

On debt, world leaders agreed to consider “significant debt relief or restructuring” for low and middle income developing countries facing massive debt burdens.

On other issues, there was some positive language on one or two issues such as climate change and HIV/AIDS, with climate change recognised as a “serious and long-term challenge” and governments committing themselves to “act with resolve and urgency” in tackling it.

IMF / World Bank Meeting (24-25 Sep).
On debt, the IMF and World Bank have ratified the decisions taken at the G8 to cancel the unfair debts of 18 of the world’s poorest countries. This is good news for that select group of 18 countries, where it will transform lives for the better. Millions will go to school for the first time, be vaccinated against killer diseases and get access to clean water. And for the other ten or so countries that could qualify by next year, the deal brings hope.

But more than 40 other countries need immediate and total cancellation of their external debts and many more need a substantial reduction in what they are required to pay if they are to eliminate extreme poverty. This includes countries such as Bangladesh, Brazil, Kenya, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Peru, Haiti, Guatemala, Indonesia and others that have been left behind. The world’s poorest countries continue to pay more every year in debt payments than they receive in grants and loans – forking out $120 million every day. In total more than 100 other poor countries that urgently need debt relief.

World Trade Organisation Ministerial meeting (Dec13-18).
The WTO promotes 'free trade', but this does not automatically lead to poverty eradication or environmental sustainability. In fact, it can increase poverty and be harmful to countries at different stages of development. The WTO is also expanding to cover areas such as water and healthcare, which should not be part of its remit.

Although in theory, the WTO is democratic, with one vote for each member, in practice, it is quite undemocratic. Poor countries are subject to bullying and exclusion from key discussions and decision making. Over 30 developing countries have no negotiators at the WTO headquarters. Other poor countries have only one negotiator, who has the impossible task of attending over 1000 WTO meetings a year.

We are calling on the UK Government and its partners in the European Union to:
· stop pushing poor countries to open their economies
· respect poor countries' right to decide on trade policies to help end poverty and protect their environment.
· Remove rich country trade barriers

Tags: g8 poverty make poverty history africa debt aid trade wto trade justice mdg