GCSPF E-Newsletter #18 - December 2018

e-GCSPF # 18 - December 2018

Hardly anyone is too poor to share The IMF has released the December 2018 edition of its quarterly Finance & Development, which is dedicated to the theme “Rethinking the Social Contract”. The issue contains, among others, the contribution "Hardly anyone is too poor to share" by Michael Cichon, member of the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors. The main focus of Cichon’s article is the highly attainable financing of social protection floors in all countries, for which he cites a detailed study carried out by the GCSPF. Read more Profit Over People: Working Conditions in Sinar Mas Palm Oil Supply Chain Asia Monitor Resource Centre (AMRC) and Sawit Watch conducted a joint-research project to investigate working conditions on palm oil plantations owned by Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), the palm oil division of Sinar Mas. The global demand for palm oil is increasing, and palm oil plantations are also increasing in many places, in particular in Indonesia, the largest palm oil producer in the world. In 2015 Indonesia exported a total of 28,276,871 tons of both crude palm oil (CPO) and kernel palm oil (KPO), with a value of more than US$15,413 million. The demand for palm oil keeps rising, and there is little attention to the working conditions of palm oil plantation workers. Based on recent investigations, many similarities in working conditions can be found in almost all palm oil plantations. There are frequent practices in terms of irregular employment that have no job security, heavy workloads, unachievable daily targets, discrimination against workers, child labour, inadequate social security and other human rights violations. It can be said that the abusive working conditions is one of the key features of the palm oil supply chain. Read more PSI welcomes the adoption of the UN Global Compact on Migration PSI went to Marrakesh with a 45-member strong trade union delegation. In addition to participating in the Adoption Conference, PSI organised a Strategy workshop and participated in the civil society days of the Global Forum on Migration and Development, the Peoples Global Action and in the Global Unions Forum on Migration. On the eve of the Adoption Conference, PSI also organized a side event to promote a Stakeholders' Dialogue on Health Worker Migration and the Global Skills Partnerships. Read more ODS 1. Financiar los sistemas de protección social para todos The Report Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2018 "Exploring new policy pathways. How to overcome obstacles and contradictions in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda" by the Civil Society Reflection Group on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is now available in Spanish. Lea aquí el informe Spotlight Enfoques sobre Desarrollo Sostenible 2018. El artículo ODS 1. Financiar los sistemas de protección social para todos escrito por la GCSPF se encuentra disponible aquí International Conference: Together to achieve Universal Social Protection by 2030 In September 2016 ILO and World bank launched the Global Partnership for Universal Social Protection aiming at unleashing an unprecedented effort to roll out universal social protection in countries all around the world. A USP 2030 high level conference will take place in February 2019. The aim is to inspire governments from a broad range of countries to join in and to politically commit to take action for universal social protection in their countries. To that end, a ‘Call to Action’ will be launched during the Conference. Dates: - 5th February: USP2030 High-Level Conference organized by the EU and USP2030 partnership - 6th-8th February: Universal Child Grants international conference jointly organized by UNICEF, ILO and ODI In case you are interested to participate, please pre-register online. Participation is free, but organizers do not provide funding for travel expenses. In case you are planning to participate in any of these events, please send a message to Ana (anaclau@item.org.uy) before 31.12.2018, as we are planning to coordinate a meeting and joint lobby activities. Read more Welcome to new individual member: Tara Patricia Cookson Dr. Tara Patricia Cookson earned her PhD from the University of Cambridge, where she was a Gates Cambridge Scholar. She is author of Unjust Conditions: Women’s Work and the Hidden Cost of Cash Transfer Programs, an ethnographic account of women’s experiences of participating in the world’s most widely implemented anti-poverty programs. In 2014 she received the Bill Gates Sr Prize for founding a leadership program called Learning for Purpose. Tara is a SSHRC Research Fellow at the University of British Columbia, a Seattle Women’s Commissioner, and has served as a proud board member of the Kelowna Women’s Resource Centre, not far from her grandmother’s birthplace, Ladysmith. Tara is Co-Founder and Director of Ladysmith. Her email is tara@ladysmithventures.com. For more information please visit here SEASONS GREETINGS. Whising our members health and prosperity in the coming year.

JOIN US TO ACHIEVE SOCIAL PROTECTION FOR ALL GLOBAL COALITION FOR SOCIAL PROTECTION FLOORS - GCSPF For comments, sugestions, collaborations contact us at: anaclau@item.org.uy To stop receiving this newsletter send a message with the subject "unsubscribe" to: anaclau@item.org.uy

A basic level of social protection is affordable nearly everywhere

"The world does not lack the resources to abolish poverty, it lacks the right priorities. " So said Juan Somavía, former director general of the International Labour Organization (ILO), in 1999.

We may have made progress in recent decades, but the world remains a miserable place for more than half of its population. Each person in that majority suffers from at least one of three human-made or at least human-tolerated societal plagues: gross inequality, debilitating insecurity, and inhumane poverty. We have known for more than a century what can be done to make things better. Social protection effectively and swiftly reduces inequality and poverty through transfers in cash and kind. A solid basic level of social protection is affordable and implementable nearly everywhere. It can be achieved now or—at least after some investment in good governance—fairly soon.

For decades, the community of nations has had a global ethical compass when it comes to social protection. Since the ILO’s 1944 recommendations on income security and medical care—and the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights—social protection has been recognized as a human right. More recently, the ILO’s 2012 Recommendation R202 concerning national social protection floors and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted at a United Nations summit in 2015, have given concrete content to the right to social protection.

R202 provides guidance on introducing basic social protection, defining the twin objectives of income and health security as the ability to access all essential goods and services. This requires a balance of cash and direct provision of services. The overriding objective is to achieve universal protection for all who need it.

The SDGs likewise pursue a broad agenda including social transfers, health care, education, and other essential services. The main social protection targets are to "implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all’’ and to "achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection.’’

What has kept us from making greater progress toward social justice?

Publicly financed social protection transfers were often portrayed as unsustainable and detrimental to economic development. Many societies’ and governments’ economic and development strategies were based on economic myths—among them the alleged trade-off between economic performance and redistribution, and the theory that the trickle-down effect would automatically reduce poverty and inequality as economies develop. Reality and research show that these are merely myths. Virtually all developed economies have substantial social protection systems, with expenditure of 20 to 27 percent of GDP and more. There is no proof that they have sacrificed much growth as they combated poverty, inequality, and insecurity. If the trickle-down myth were true, we would not see wide variation in poverty and inequality between countries with similar per capita GDP. Markets—left to themselves—do not develop conduits for redistribution other than transfers of wealth or sharing of income within family or kinship groups.

However, the knockout myth that has often stifled progress in social protection is that it is not affordable and not sustainable. This line of thinking claims that many countries neither have nor can mobilize the resources to finance even basic social protection. That notion is challenged by a comprehensive study from the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors, a worldwide network of almost 100 trade union and nongovernmental organizations, and by similar studies from other groups.

The coalition has developed an index for 150 nations that calculates the resources necessary to close their social protection gaps; that is, to achieve the minimum income and health security required under R202. About half of the 150 countries could close the gap by devoting less than 2 percent of their GDP to social protection (see chart). Eighty percent could do so with less than 5 percent of GDP. Only about 12 countries would need international assistance to finance minimum social protection. A global fund to foot about 50 percent of these countries’ social protection bills would need $10 billion to $15 billion annually. That is equivalent to about 0.09 percent of close to $1.7 trillion in annual global military spending, as calculated by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. It is a fraction of a thousandth of the global fiscal cost triggered by the worldwide financial crisis and is a level of solidarity we should be able to afford.

The chart calculates the cost of a perfectly targeted, or means-tested, social protection system. In reality there is no perfect targeting, and consequently many countries will and should resort to more universal benefits. These benefits could be combined with tax systems that claw back a part of the redistributed resources from people whose needs are less urgent. Fair and effective tax systems can help collect much more in additional resources than equally complex individual means-testing mechanisms could ever save.

Most countries not only can afford social protection, they cannot afford to neglect it. No country will be able to fully realize its economic potential without investing in the health, education, and material security of its people.

Recently, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde declared pursuing the SDGs a "global priority." When it comes to reducing inequality, she said, there is an "important role for public investment in areas such as health, education, and social protection systems."

What does it take to organize swift progress toward social protection for all? It takes political will and the courage to align our development and governance with our globally accepted moral compass.

It takes the courage to overrule objections and mobilize fiscal resources to finance investment in social protection. An affluent state must pay for effective and efficient social transfer systems. Simply put, we need effective, fair, progressive tax regimes; sound collection mechanisms; and good fiscal governance.

Most of all, it takes the political will to make social protection a top policy priority. We cannot rely on the ruling elite to bring about such change. Civil society has the moral compass and the underlying data to show that almost no country is too poor to share.

The IMF’s forthcoming social protection strategy will potentially affect the lives of many millions of people. The conscience of the community of nations, rather than the untethered promotion of often badly defined fiscal sustainability, should guide that strategy.

By Michael Cichon.

Michael Cichon is a fellow of the International Council on Social Welfare and its immediate past president. He is a former professor of social protection at the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance at the United Nations University in Maastricht, Netherlands.

Source:  International Monetary Fund, Finance & Development, December 2018, Vol. 55, No. 4. The article is available here and the pdf version is available here.

e-GCSPF # 17 - November 2018

Written Statement of the GCSPF to the CSW63 The GCSPF submitted a written statement to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63). The priority theme of the CSW63 is social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. The CSW63 will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 11 to 22 March 2019. Read more Gender equality and the economy in the G20 The issues of physical violence against women and lack of access to sexual and reproductive rights have given international visibility to the gender agenda in the last few years. Yet a third issue, closely related to the previous two, is slowly becoming more relevant: the economic rights of women. All around the world, women’s poverty rates are often higher than men’s. Given its crucial role in the global economy, the G20 has vast potential for contributing to gender equality in this regard. Increasing women’s labor force participation was one of the goals set by the 2014 multilateral forum – the leaders agreed to aim to reduce the gap in labor force participation rates between men and women by 25% by 2025. Since then, the topic has grown in stature in the G20 thanks to the creation of an engagement group focused on women’s economic empowerment: the Women 20. Read more Decent work in Jordan 2018: Persistent gaps Jordan – the first Arab country ever to sign a commitment agreement with the ILO, in 2006 – has, to date, failed to achieve broad application of decent work standards in the country's labour market, with working conditions even deteriorating in some sectors. While many labour policies currently in place were developed on purely ideological grounds, all other channels and devices conducive to the development of fair and effective labour policies have remained wrapped in red tape. It's illogical to envisage any improvements to working conditions where there is no space for social dialogue and tripartite negotiations between independent parties. The effects of regional instability on the economy and its ability to generate new jobs, as economic growth rates have steadily declined to 2% over the past 5 years. In addition, the influx of Syrian refugees and mostly Egyptian migrant workers has produced a ‘race–to–the-bottom’ effect in some sectors, resulting in the further deterioration of average working conditions. Read more Event on Disability-Inclusive Social Protection A shift from social protection as charity to a right is necessary both to tackle stigmatisation of persons with disabilities and to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, a London event on disability and social protection has heard. Disability-Inclusive Social Protection: A Time for Action, co-hosted by Development Pathways, Leonard Cheshire, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and HelpAge International, brought together key institutions working on research linking social protection and disability, to discuss the key challenges persons with disabilities face in accessing social protection in low- and middle-income countries. The expert panel in their presentations shared case studies of some policy actions countries have taken in order to overcome some of these barriers, and offered recommendations in line with the commitments countries agreed to at the Global Disability Summit. See the video here and the presentations here

Written Statement of the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63)

The Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF) consists of more than 100 CSOs, NGOs and Trade Unions from all parts of the world, united in their motivation to realize social protection for all. Download the pdf version of this written statement here and further information about the CSW63 here.

Intersecting inequalities and social protection for women

The empowerment of women and girls of all ages is essential for realizing the Sustainable Development Goals, and for this to be achieved their needs, rights and preferences at every stage of their lives must be considered.

Although gender equality and women’s empowerment are increasingly prominent themes on the international policy agenda the diverse experiences and needs of women across the life course must be fully considered and women’s human rights to income security through adequate and rights-based social protection need to be ensured.

The Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors therefore calls to the attention how social protection systems in many countries do not reach most workers, especially those in informal employment. Social protection systems have been designed around a male breadwinner model, assuming an uninterrupted and full-time career in the formal economy. This tends to penalise women, who are lower paid, disproportionately represented in precarious and informal work, and shoulder most unpaid care, resulting in substantially lower coverage rates and benefit levels.

Economic, social, cultural and gender-specific processes moreover affect the accumulation of assets and liabilities over a life-course, and ultimately social security entitlements. These intersecting inequalities often result in women arriving at older age with few economic, social and cultural assets to call upon, resulting in an urgent need for adequate social protection.

Recognizing the gendered nature of life-courses and the inadequate coverage by many social protection systems around the world, the Global Coalition has set out recommendations on how to design and implement gender-responsive social protection systems that can mitigate and redress accumulated inequalities throughout the life-course.

The statement emphasises the importance of ensuring universal coverage in social protection schemes, in line with ILO standards. It stresses the need to guarantee adequate, comprehensive social protection floors, extend social protection schemes to workers in the informal economy and to those outside the labour market, and address gender bias within these schemes. The development of, and public investment in gender-responsive quality public services such as child care, health care and elder care services, is moreover essential.

Finally, a strategy to address gender inequalities in social protection must also include concerted action to reduce gender inequalities in the labour market and enable the transition from the informal to the formal economy as per ILO Recommendation 204.

Gendered life-courses and social protection design

Gender gaps in social protection are the result of discriminatory, intersecting and cumulative inequalities that affect women throughout their lives and are being reinforced by a gender bias in the design of social protection systems.

Throughout their life women and men are exposed to different risks and vulnerabilities, which are often specific to their gender and related to gendered inequalities or discrimination. These inequalities stem from the accumulation of multiple and interconnected disadvantages, discrimination, inequalities and denial of rights that women experience across the life-course, such as education and wage differentials; women’s disproportionate share of unpaid care work which limits their access to paid and decent work, culturally-specific gendered work norms; gendered productive and reproductive roles; mobility constraints and a lack of voice and agency. Because of a lifetime of economic disadvantage, particularly in the labour market, women end up with lower incomes, fewer assets and lower or no social security entitlements - ultimately exposing them to a higher risk of poverty.

The disproportionate share of unpaid care work done by women significantly affects their social protection entitlements. Globally, women undertake 76% of all unpaid care work. Women often interrupt their careers, work shorter hours, take on flexible and informal work, and remain outside the labour market altogether due to care responsibilities. Women are overrepresented in informal and precarious work. Women are paid less compared to men for doing work of equal value. Therefore, women’s contributions to social security systems are significantly lower than men’s, leading women to experience lower coverage rates and substantially lower benefit levels.

Gender differences in social security are particularly acute within contributory systems. Women are less likely than men to receive a pension, and if they do, they have considerably lower benefits. Even in countries where women enjoy broad access to pensions, their benefit levels are often only a fraction of men’s.

Similarly, non-contributory social protection instruments, even when specifically aimed at women or girls such as conditional cash transfers, sometimes do not produce positive impact in terms of social and economic empowerment. On the contrary they might increase the care burden for women and reinforce gendered division of care and domestic work in the household. Moreover, they are mostly directed at extremely poor women and girls, and do not address the needs and vulnerabilities of women more broadly.

While gendered labour market and life course patterns lie at the roots of women’s disadvantage in social protection systems, their impact can be magnified or mitigated by specific features of social security design. The conditions for entitlement, the links between benefits and past earnings, elements of redistribution, and the provision for widows and divorcees and indexation and retirement age all impact on gender inequality, especially in older age. For instance, the close link between contributory pensions and labour markets means that contributory pensions tend to replicate inequalities that women experience throughout their lives.

The existence of adequate, survivors’ benefits as well as non-contributory social protection benefits, including social pensions, all play an important role in ensuring that women can access at least a basic pension and enjoy a minimum standard of living in old age. Non-contributory benefits can also be an effective way of recognising the value of women’s non-remunerated work within the household and community.

Finally, a lack of quality, gender-responsive public services including childcare and long-term care for dependent relatives exacerbate unequal distributions of care work to the detriment of women’s labour and social protection entitlements. Lack of care services, unaffordability, poor accessibility and low quality have all been shown to present significant barriers.

Recommendations for Members States to strengthen social protection for women

A package of measures is needed to address the root causes of gender gaps over the life-course, particularly with regards to gender inequalities in education, employment and care.

• Member States should ensure adequate, comprehensive social protection systems in line with ILO Convention 102 on Social Security and ILO Recommendation 202 on Social Protection Floors. In this regard, they should extend social protection floors, including social pensions, child benefits, paid maternity leave and survivors’ benefits through a complementary mix of non-contributory, contributory and tax-based schemes.
• Member States should address gender-biased rules in contributory schemes, which disproportionately disadvantage women. Harmful rules such as long vesting periods in pension system should be phased out. In addition, reforms should include compensatory measures addressing gendered life-course inequalities, such as adequately crediting periods of care to address the unequal sharing of unpaid care.
• Member States should ensure adequate benefit levels of social protection benefits, including non-contributory benefits, to ensure income security for women. To the extent that older women rely more heavily on non-contributory pensions than men, the adequacy of these benefits is of major concern from a gender equality perspective.
• Member States should ratify and implement ILO Convention 183 on Maternity Protection. Safeguarding the health of expectant and nursing mothers and protecting them from job discrimination is a precondition for achieving genuine equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women at work. Moreover, paid parental leave for both women and men can allow for a more equal distribution of work and care responsibilities.
• Member States should support the development of gender-responsive quality public services and sustainable infrastructure including through the creation and formalization of jobs and enhancing pay and conditions in the care sector, and ensuring access to affordable and quality health services, childcare and long-term care and quality public education.
• Member States should take measures to address women’s lower pay, job insecurity and underrepresentation in formal work, which ultimately reflect in lower social protection entitlements. This includes active labour policies, supporting the transition to the formal economy, and tackling the gender pay gap.
• Member States should take appropriate legislative, institutional and other measures to address harmful social and cultural practices in the context of gender roles.

e-GCSPF # 16 - October 2018

ITUC Meeting of experts confirms social protection for all is affordable The majority of the world’s population is not covered under any type of social protection scheme, and less than 30 per cent enjoy comprehensive coverage. Women, workers in the informal economy and workers in non-standard forms of employment are disproportionately under-protected. This is in spite of the fact that social protection floors are essential tools in eliminating poverty, as well as driving factors in boosting employment, fostering skills development, formalising work, reducing inequality and achieving inclusive economic growth. Trade unions and social protection experts from around the world have come together in Brussels this week to identify how financing social protection can and should be strengthened. Representatives from over 30 trade unions, along with academics, civil society organisations, government officials and international organisations discussed the range of options that governments have at their disposal to finance the extension of social protection to all people. They agreed that social protection floors for all are financially feasible in all countries and that governments need to get their priorities right to fund them. Read more Reporting on SPF implementation to UN Organizations: Opportunities for national platforms During the last meeting of the core group of the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF) in Nairobi last January a number of national SPF platforms asked for more detailed information on how they can report on SPF implementation to international organizations1. There are three main international organizations or fora to which such reporting can be addressed: (i) the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, and in particular through the Committee for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). (ii) the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York, which oversees the implementation of the 2030 agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); and (iii) the ILO in Geneva, which in 2012 adopted Recommendation No.202 on National Social Protection Floors. National platforms are most effective when various civil society organizations and social organizations, such as trade unions, work closely together. They would also benefit from the support of other actors, such as academics, journalists, UN agencies such as UNDP, ILO, WHO, and UNICEF, as well as National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs). Read more Inaugural edition of the CESCR Yearbook GI-ESCR announces the first edition of the CESCR Yearbook for 2017. This annual publication provides a concise overview of the accomplishments of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Right’s each year. The first edition covers the Committee’s work in 2017. The Yearbook provides general information on the composition of the Committee as well as results related to its State reporting procedure, communications and working methods over the course of 2017. It also includes information on the Committee’s thematic work, which in 2017 entailed its Statement on the Duties of States Towards Refugees and Migrants under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as well as the adoption of a General Comment on State obligations under the Covenant, in the context of business activities. Read more Pro-business agenda drives World Bank’s report on the future of work The future of work has become a popular theme for research in international organisations and institutes. The UN’s International Labour Organization has created a commission on the topic and will devote its 100th anniversary conference in 2019 to it. The main themes of almost all the research have been the prediction of massive job dislocation, increased precarious work, downward pressure on wages and exacerbated inequality unless robust policies are put in place to protect workers’ interests. Even a recent IMF working paper modelling the impact of new technologies cautioned that without vigorous policy responses, “the labour share [of national income] declines substantially and overall inequality rises”. The World Bank’s upcoming World Development Report 2019: The Changing Nature of Work, scheduled for publication in October, presents a vivid contrast to this understanding. Read more Neoliberalism disability income reform: What does this mean for Indigenous Australians living in regional areas? Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have experienced some of the harshest effects of neoliberal intensification and its continuous pursuit of state welfare retraction and stigmatisation. Given the highly racialised nature of these measures, practitioners, activists and researchers concerned with the advancing of neoliberal principles in Australia have been mostly interested in Indigenous social policy. To identify the potential impacts of the trends in disability social security retraction, this publication provides an overview of the changes to the DSP and then focuses on the implications for regional Australia. This publication raises significant questions about the impact of the national neoliberal retraction of social policy on regional towns. It also shows the kind of adjustments and policy responses that local government authorities harness for some of their most vulnerable populations in times of economic change. Finally, the publication discusses the potential effects on regional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disabilities who are seeking access to the disability income support system but are frequently denied it due to the interstice of Aboriginality, disability and regionality, drawing upon theories of economic insecurity advanced by Bruce Western and colleagues. Read more Welcome to new individual member: Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona's affiliation with UNRISD started in early 2013. Based at UNRISD in Geneva through June 2015, she was the impetus behind the web-based resource platform Linking Social Protection and Human Rights; contributed to the project inception workshop for New Directions in Social Policy with a paper on "Human Rights, Poverty, and Social Policy"; and assisted the Director with partnerships and external relations. Ms. Sepulveda was the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights between May 2008 and June 2014. She is a Chilean lawyer who holds a Ph.D in International Human Rights Law from Utrecht University in the Netherlands; an LL.M in human rights law from the University of Essex in the United Kingdom and a post graduate diploma in comparative law from the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. Ms. Sepúlveda has worked as a researcher at the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights, as a staff attorney at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and as the Co-Director of the Department of International Law and Human Rights of the United Nations-mandated University for Peace in San Jose, Costa Rica. She also served as a consultant to the Division of International Protection of UNHCR and to the Norwegian Refugee Council in Colombia. More recently she has been Research Director at the International Council on Human Rights Policy in Geneva. For more information please visit here

JOIN US TO ACHIEVE SOCIAL PROTECTION FOR ALL GLOBAL COALITION FOR SOCIAL PROTECTION FLOORS - GCSPF For comments, sugestions, collaborations contact us at: anaclau@item.org.uy To stop receiving this newsletter send a message with the subject "unsubscribe" to: anaclau@item.org.uy

e-GCSPF # 15 - September 2018

Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2018 “The world is off-track in terms of achieving sustainable development and fundamental policy changes are necessary to unleash the transformative potential of the SDGs.” This is the main message of the Spotlight Report 2018, the most comprehensive independent assessment of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. When UN Member States adopted the 2030 Agenda, they signaled with the title 'Transforming our World' that it should trigger fundamental changes in politics and society, argues the report. Yet, “three years after its adoption, most governments have failed to turn the vision of the 2030 Agenda into real policies. Even worse, policies in a growing number of countries are moving in the opposite direction, seriously undermining the spirit and the goals of the 2030 Agenda.” The Spotlight 2018 report focuses on policies that are needed and, as the authors underline, “possible”. The GCSPF and several members of the Global Coalition participated in the 2018 Report. The chapter on SDG 1 is entitled Mobilize the financial means for social protection systems for all by the GCSPF. Read the publication here and see below the chapters. SDG 1. Mobilize the financial means for social protection systems for all By the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors There is no doubt that social protection is a key instrument to end poverty and to give people access to opportunities for a self-determined life in dignity. National social protection systems can also contribute to achieving other SDGs, including food security, good health, decent work, gender equality, reduced inequality and cohesive communities. The social protection target is ambitious as there is an extremely wide gap between the commitment and the current situation. The ILO World Social Protection Report 2017-2019 shows that only 29 percent of the world’s population is covered by adequate social protection.2 And yet many more countries than those who already have complete social protection systems could afford at least to complete their Social Protection Floors (SPFs). Read more SDG 8. What policies are needed to achieve Goal 8? The trade union recipe for SDG implementation By Paola Simonetti, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Implement international labour standards, including freedom of association, collective bargaining and social dialogue as a means of implementation of the 2030 Agenda Promoting the Decent Work Agenda (DWA) remains the main objective of the trade union input into the 2030 Agenda. Based on rights and democratic ownership, the DWA is the foundation for sustainable development, as opposed to palliative interventions. Read more SDG 10. Invoking extraterritorial human rights obligations to confront extreme inequalities between countries By Kate Donald, Center for Economic and Social Rights The issue of inequalities between countries is often conceptualized and measured in terms of GDP. Moreover, the way to reduce these is often implicitly assumed to be convergence upwards through rapid growth. However, although economic growth may be important for many countries (especially LDCs), global convergence with the GDP of the richest countries would be environmentally catastrophic. In the context of SDG 10, there is an urgent need to look more holistically at power imbalances and inequalities between countries. Even economic power is far broader than just GDP. Trade balance sheets, size of sovereign wealth funds, access to natural resources, sway over trade negotiations and global tax regimes, currency strength, size of national debt; all of these contribute hugely to inequalities between countries. Read more SDG 14. Sustainable fishery or Blue Economy? By Francisco J. Marí, Bread for the World – Protestant Development Service The inclusion in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of a stand-alone goal addressing the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans – SDG 14 – has resulted in a veritable boom in global ‘blue’ initiatives. No doubt it is encouraging to see the world’s largest habitat receiving more political attention. At the same time, however, one has to take a very close look at what enthusiasm over a ‘Blue Economy’ or catchwords like ‘Blue Growth’ actually conceals and who ultimately benefits from these concepts. Read more SDG 17. Trading away the SDGs? By Roberto Bissio, Social Watch Trade and trade-related policies and international agreements are addressed explicitly in seven of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and are identified as key to implementation of the 2030 Agenda and of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA). Market access is deemed essential to promote the graduation of the LDCs (targets 10.a, 17.11 and 17.12) and to improve the livelihood of small food producers (target 2.3). Trade distortions are to be dealt with, reducing subsidies on agriculture (target 2.b), on fossil fuels (12.c), and on fisheries (14.6). Capacity-building on trade is required (target 8.a) and the WTO is urged to complete the Doha Round (target 17.10) as one of the key means of implementation for the whole Agenda. Read more Alternative national reports throw light on inequalities By Roberto Bissio, Social Watch The 2030 Agenda and its universal commitments to eradicate poverty and reduce inequalities within planetary boundaries are inspirational. People from around the world expect their governments and the international system to act on their promises. While government reporting to the UN is voluntary and without any form of required response, civil society's role as ‘watchdog’ is exercised in multiple ways. Independent ‘spotlight’ reports by citizen groups throw light on obstacles and trade-offs in public policies. The national civil society reporting promoted and compiled by Social Watch clearly show that while circumstances and capabilities are unique in each country, common threads emerge: Inequalities, often exacerbated by the international policy framework, are not being reduced, poverty is underestimated or hidden but not eradicated, sustainability is sacrificed to extractivism. As the 2030 Agenda is universal, civil society in developed countries grab the opportunity to discuss both domestic policies and their extraterritorial impact. Those spotlights are welcome, and at the same time challenge the system to take on board the contribution of every lantern lit by those that were promised to not be left behind. Read more How to leave no one behind in statistics? By Xavier Godinot, International Movement ATD Fourth World The universality of the SDGs is challenging most statistics institutions at international or national level. Implementing SDG 1 requires that extreme poverty be measured in absolute terms, with the meaning Amartya Sen gave to this term. Yet the World Bank is accustomed to measuring absolute poverty in developing countries, not in developed ones, while the OECD or Eurostat is accustomed to measuring relative poverty in high-income countries, not absolute poverty. Eurostat recently stated that “the target for eradicating extreme poverty focuses primarily on developing countries in continuity with the earlier Millennium Development Goals”, which is completely at odds with the spirit and the wording of the SDGs. As for the OECD, its set of indicators for monitoring SDGs in member countries includes an indicator of the absolute poverty rate at the level of US$ 10 per person per day, without providing any solid evidence for this figure. Read more The increasing concentration of wealth and economic power as an obstacle to sustainable development – and what to do about it By Kate Donald, Center for Economic and Social Rights, and Jens Martens, Global Policy Forum A major part of the inequality picture is increasing market concentration and the accumulation of wealth and economic power in the hands of a relatively small number of transnational corporations and ultra-rich individuals. Intense concentration of wealth and power is in fact inimical to progress across the entire 2030 Agenda. This trend has not emerged accidentally: inequality is the result of deliberate policy choices. In many countries, fiscal and regulatory policies have not only led to the weakening of the public sector, but have also enabled the unprecedented accumulation of individual wealth and increasing market concentration. But, there are robust and progressive alternatives to these policies, which could effectively redistribute wealth and counteract the concentration of economic power. Such alternative policies will be a prerequisite to unleash the transformative potential of the SDGs and fulfill their ambition “to realize the human rights of all”. Read more Vector of hope, source of fear By Roberto Bissio, Social Watch The 2030 Agenda is enthusiastic about the “great potential” for accelerating human progress brought by information and communications technology and global interconnectedness. At the same time, however the UN now acknowledges “the dark side of innovation” and the new challenges of cybersecurity threats, the risks to jobs and privacy unleashed by artificial intelligence and the use of military related ‘cyber operations’ and cyber-attacks. As with climate change, increasing inequalities or power concentration, those challenges cannot be solved by countries acting in isolation and urgently require strengthened multilateralism. At the same time, a major technological shift is necessary to implement the global transition -required by the 2030 Agenda- towards less resource-intensive and more resilient economic and social development models. Most of that technology already exists, but new strategies are needed to generalize it at global level. Read more

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During our last meeting of the core group of the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF) in Nairobi (15-17 January 2018) a number of national SPF platforms asked for more detailed information on how they can report on SPF implementation to international organizations1. There are three main international organizations or fora to which such reporting can be addressed: (i) the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, and in particular through the Committee for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). (ii) the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York, which oversees the implementation of the 2030 agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); and (iii) the ILO in Geneva, which in 2012 adopted Recommendation No.202 on National Social Protection Floors.

National platforms are most effective when various civil society organizations and social organizations, such as trade unions, work closely together. They would also benefit from the support of other actors, such as academics, journalists, UN agencies such as UNDP, ILO, WHO, and UNICEF, as well as National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs).

The three reporting procedures: Opportunities and limitations

The CESCR is probably best equipped for civil society to report on SPF implementation.  The CESCR monitors the implementation of the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which explicitly recognizes the right to social security and is ratified by almost all countries in the world.  A number of other committees monitor the implementation of the right to social security in core human rights treaties covering specific groups of the population, such as the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a procedure through which the HRC monitors the implementation of all human rights instruments, including civil and political rights.  This is principally a State-driven process, on which civil society can have a – limited – impact.  Its results can sometimes reach the headlines in the national media.

The advantage of reporting to the HLPF is that it happens every year, and that a number of indicators have been developed (amongst others by the ILO) that permits regular monitoring.  The advantage is also that the monitoring results are generally well published.  However, it is basically a state-controlled procedure on which civil society can only have a limited impact.

ILO Recommendations – unlike ILO Conventions – are not regularly monitored by the ILO Committee of Experts.  However, at irregular (10 or more years) intervals the ILO may decide to undertake a General Survey on a particular topic.  In June 2019 the International Labour Conference will consider the General Survey that will focus on ILO Recommendation No.202, with questions also related to other ILO social security instruments.  Workers’ organizations –being part of ILO’s tri-partite constituency - have a very significant impact on these surveys.

Reporting on the four social security guarantees

The aim of the reporting is to show whether a particular government is providing the four social security guarantees that have been formulated in ILO Recommendation 202, i.e.

• Essential health care, including maternity care, that meets the criteria of availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality;
• Basic income security for children and providing access to nutrition, education, care and any other necessary goods and services;
• Basic income security for persons in active age who are unable to earn sufficient income, in particular in cases of sickness, unemployment, maternity and disability; and
• Basic income security for older persons.

What is considered basic or essential in a particular country will depend on its priorities, as well as on its level of economic and social development.  In practice that level may be linked to a national poverty line that may have been determined (and updated) in the context of national dialogues.

We – as a global coalition - consider these guarantees as human rights obligations for which government are accountable.  The fulfilment of these obligations can be measured by a number of indicators, which were developed by the ILO and other organizations, and which are reviewed in Annex 1.    The reporting on SPF implementation will have to cover at least the following five main aspects for which concrete recommendations can be formulated:

• Has the government fixed the basic level for the four guarantees?  If not, is there a plan with time horizon to fix these levels?  Are there procedures to regularly review and update (index) these levels?  Have social benefits been maintained or increased in real terms?
• Has the government put (or is going to do so?) aside (and will continue to do so in the future) sufficient administrative and financial resources to implement the four guarantees?  If not, what do you consider to be the obstacles and pressures from inside and outside the country?  What have been the trends in social security expenditure?
• Has the government put in place a legal structure that permits right-holders to claim access to the four guarantees, and that allows individuals to easily recognize and understand (a) the eligibility criteria, (b) the specific benefits they will receive, and (c) the existence and nature of complaints and redress mechanisms (which should also be free of charge)?  How do these mechanisms work in practice?
• Has the government put in place a system to regularly monitor and evaluate the implementation of the social security guarantees?
• Has the government made provisions for consultation with relevant civil society organizations in the four areas listed above?  Experience has shown that systems are more cost-effective when developed with those who are most concerned.2

Reporting to the Committee for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR)

The CESCR reviews once in five years the report of each country that has ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).  ICESCR article 9 recognizes “the right of everyone to social security, including social insurance”.  Some countries have also signed the so-called optional protocol, which allows people or groups of people from the ratifying country to submit communications to the CESCR, when they claim to be victims of a violation of any of the economic, social and cultural rights.  Moreover, in 2015 the CESCR3 recognized the four social security guarantees, as formulated in ILO Recommendation No.202, as part of the core obligations of States to realize the right to social security.

The CESCR has put in place an extensive procedure for civil society participation in the consideration of State party reports4. This procedure takes about a year, and NGOs can submit shadow or parallel reports, including information and recommendations, to (i) the pre-sessional working group, (ii) the State-party report session, and (iii) participate in the follow-up to the Committee conclusions.  At each of these stages civil society representatives will be able to interact with government representatives and with the 4-5 CESCR experts who write the CESCR conclusions.  As mentioned earlier, the impact of NGO participation can be increased through closer contact with the government, links with other NGOs, trade unions and NHRIs, as well as contact with academics, the media and possibly political parties.

Since the ICESCR includes a vast range of rights, such as health, education and housing, coalition members are advised to team up with other civil society organizations, each of whom may wish to focus on particular rights.  They can then present a joint report that provides recommendations on the implementation of a variety of rights.  A section on recommendations on how to improve the implementation of the four social security guarantees would take between 5-8 pages.  Writing a joint report would also have the advantage of co-financing – if possible – the travel and lodging expenses for a civil society representative.

For the time being, the CESCR has only planned their country report activities for 2018.  In September 2018 the Committee discussed the country report on South Africa.  Two of our coalition members, the Dullah Omar Institute and Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute, contributed to a civil society report that provided recommendations on how to improve the realization of the right to social security. The programme for 2019 is to be released shortly, and can be found on the following website: (http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/MasterCalendar.aspx?Type=Session&Lang=En).

Reporting to the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF)

Countries are invited to voluntarily submit SDG implementation reports to the HLPF, which normally convenes in New York for about 10 days during the second and third week of July.  Each year about one-third of the SDGs are selected for reporting, and SDG1 was on the agenda in July 2017, and may be on the agenda again in July 2020.

Civil society and other stakeholders are allowed to intervene in official HLPF meetings in New York, as well as to submit documents and present written and oral contributions.   However, in order to increase impact, it is preferable that civil society organization try to already take up contact with their governments, when they are preparing their contributions to the HLPF, and see whether they can influence that submission.  The time allotted to the discussion of nationally submitted reports in New York is short, often not more than 15 minutes.  However, the impact on media and socio-economic actors should be sought in the countries themselves – during the whole submission process, i.e. from the drafting of the government and stakeholders’ reports to the discussion during the HLPF in New York.

Reporting to the ILO

As mentioned earlier, the 2019 International Labour Conference will consider the General Survey that will focus on ILO Recommendation No.202, with questions also related to other ILO social security instruments.  In 2016 the ILO sent an elaborate questionnaire (see http://www.ilo.org/global/standards/WCMS_548284/lang--en/index.htm) to its tri-partite constituents (government, workers’ and employers’ organizations). Civil society has not been consulted in this procedure, but the questionnaire can be a useful model for reporting to other international organizations.

The questionnaire for the General Survey distinguishes four major groups of questions that can also be relevant for reporting to CESCR and HLPF.

• The conceptual framework of the Recommendation, including the human rights approach, the four guarantees within the context of an integrated design of the social protection system, and the right to social security as an economic and social necessity;
• The institutional and legal framework and the social responsibility of the State;
• The four basic social security guarantees that constitute the social protection floor (basic income security and access to essential health care);
• Conclusions.

Conclusions

All three reporting procedures can significantly improve the implementation of SPFs at the national level, and they can feed into each other.  The reporting will have greater impact, if civil society, trade unions and other national actors work together, and when they are prepared to invest in a procedure that can take at least one year. Participation in a national dialogue would also be a strong contributory factor, in particular if the government is involved in that process, and wants it to succeed.  The impact could also be increased if support is obtained from academics, UN agencies, the media and possibly political parties.

CESCR reporting may provide new opportunities for the improved implementation and monitoring of SPF programmes.  The SDG reviews in the context of the HLPF are very concrete, but they will have greater long-term impact if they can bring about – or are based on – national dialogues.  The outcomes of the General Survey can directly influence ILO policies, but opportunities for direct CSO input is weaker and reporting is not regular.

3.10.2018

Annex 1: SPFs, SDGs and Human Rights Indicators

For the reporting to international organizations, it would make sense to follow the indicators that the ILO and WHO have formulated on social protection floors, which are included in SDG targets 1.3 and 3.8.

The ILO statistical database on social protection floors (SDG target 1.3) can be found at http://www.social-protection.org/gimi/gess/AggregateIndicator.action.  The WHO indicators for SDG3.8 can be found in WHO, World Health Statistics: 2018, Annex B, Part 2, pp 68-74.  The national data should obviously be used when they are more detailed and available over longer time periods than those provided by the ILO and the WHO.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights5 (OHCHR) has defined three types of human rights indicators.  First of all, the so-called outcome indicators measure the enjoyment of human rights, such as the right to social security, and these are represented by the SDG indicators mentioned above. Secondly, the input and process indicators measure the efforts and resources of the duty bearer to achieve the enjoyment of human rights.  These refer to the administrative and financial resources that the government has deployed to achieve the four social security guarantees.  Statistics on government expenditure can also be found in the above-mentioned ILO and WHO publications, but more detailed information may be available at the national level.  And finally, the structural indicators measure the commitment of the State towards realizing human rights, such as through ratification of international instruments6 and inclusion in national legislation, as well as through the adoption of national policies and corresponding time frame.

Notes:

Download here the pdf version.

By Wouter van Ginneken (ATD Fourth World)

e-GCSPF # 14 - August 2018

Discussion Paper “Sustainably Financing Social Protection Floors” The discussion paper “Sustainably Financing Social Protection Floors” Toward a Permanent Role in National Development Planning and Taxation by Barry Herman, the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors and Brot für die Welt. Social protection systems must be fiscally sustainable so they will provide all residents with adequate social protection in all the challenging situations over the life cycle that pose a risk to livelihood security now and in the future. This is often not the case. Read here the publication. Leave no one Behind, are we succeeding? Lead Discussant remarks by Sylvia Beales, Gray Panthers/Stakeholder Group on Ageing, at the Side Event at the HLPF 2018 “SDG 6 and Leave No Woman Behind. Removing the barriers for all women – including girls and older women and women with disabilities – to water, sanitation and hygiene with a focus on their safety and security. Read more ITUC contribution to Public Consultation on IMF Strategic Framework on Social Protection On 13 July, the ITUC submitted a response to the International Monetary Fund's public consultation on social spending. This consultation is supposed to inform the IMF's development of a strategic framework on social protection. The ITUC has stressed in its response that the IMF should cease promoting retrenchments to social protection, and instead give priority to enlarging the coverage of social protection and improving the adequacy of benefits, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals target 1.3 on ensuring social protection for all. The ITUC also stresses that when dealing with social protection in its policies and programmes, the IMF should ensure consistency with international labour standards and agreed international commitments, as well as ensure close consultation with social partners and civil society actors on the ground. Read more The impacts of IMF-backed austerity on women's rights in Brazil Since 2015 the Brazilian government has implemented unnecessary and excessive austerity measures with major human rights implications, especially for women's rights, despite the availability of less harmful alternatives. Among these austerity measures, the unprecedented constitutional amendment – CA 95, which came into effect in December 2016 – capped social expenditures and investments at 2016 levels, adjusted to inflation, for the next 20 years. Read more 2018 Report on the World Social Situation Promoting Inclusion Through Social Protection. In order to promote inclusion, social protection systems must be sensitive to the needs of those population groups that are at highest risk of poverty: children, youth, older persons, persons with disabilities, international migrants, ethnic and racial minorities, and indigenous peoples. The Report on the World Social Situation 2018 shows that each of these groups faces particular barriers to social protection coverage. It contends that inclusive social protection systems must guarantee access to a minimum set of tax-financed schemes. It explains why universal schemes are better at reaching disadvantaged groups than schemes targeted at them and considers how social protection programmes should be implemented in order to avoid excluding people in need. Read more Crisis Narratives, debt and development adjustment This paper by Don D. Marshall seeks to provide a relational understanding of an endemic crisis in accumulation/development across the Commonwealth Caribbean. This crisis is both ideational and material. It is material insofar as households continue to bear the brunt of wage stagnation, income inequality, rising personal debt and cuts in social expenditure – the net effects of failing development paradigms. It is ideational as authority for assessing the scope of our development predicaments is left to an international public policy community of experts drawn from IFIs, the OECD donor states and United Nations agencies. Read more Welcome new members Community and Familiy Aid Foundation – Ghana CAFAF is a Ghanaian National Non-Governmental Organization with a global and local content thinking currently exclusively identified with promoting the empowerment of women, communities, young people to manage issues concerning their development and to advocate for and work towards adolescent and sexual reproductive health, rights and well-being; to advocate for and on behalf of young people, in the area of reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, environment, health, education, climate change, and other related issues that affect their total development. Aim at hosting the largest effort of reaching out to youth of Ghana to appreciate and respond to their sexual health rights needs for a bright future and promoting their development toward the nations building. CAFAF: exist to create possibilities to improve lives, where our development interventions will live indelible mark on people, communities and underserved populations to fashion a world, where all will be happy and useful includingrespectively living for others to reflect equal, participatory economy releasing that a person is a person through other persons as a lasting legacy for generations to come for replication. For more information please visit http://familyaidfoundation.wixsite.com/cafaf Shanta Memorial Rehabilitation Center (SMRC), India SMRC is a leading voluntary organization working in the field of disability for the last two decades. It was 1985 when Mr. Ashok Hans thought for an organization that could rehabilitate disadvantaged spinal injury victims and give voice to the disabled for their rights and equality. With support and unwavering dedication from like-minded people, Shanta Memorial Rehabilitation Center (SMRC) came out under the leadership of Mr. Hans, who sustained a spinal cord injury after a traffic accident in 1974, which left him a tetraplegic at the age of 22. SMRC’s core area of intervention is to apply modern rehabilitation techniques creatively and comprehensively. It has adopted the essential principle that is returning or integrating a person to his home, community and work to establish a happy, productive life. Vision: Develop a sustainable organization that responds to the rights of people with disabilities in India, particularly gendered and in the rural areas, through research, education and awareness. Mission Statement: To support change, aimed at the creation of an environment where persons with disabilities can enjoy equal rights. For more information please visit https://www.smrcorissa.org/ Olive Community Development Initiative (OCDI), Nigeria OCDI is a Non-governmental, non-religious, non-political and non-profit making organization, based in Kwara State Nigeria, with commitment to support community development programs by generating relationships to foster human and community development. This is achieved by linking community based organizations to various opportunities and support that exist for rural/community development as the need arises. Community based organizations, Faith based organizations, youth organizations and women groups are in turn supported in designing, implementing and sustaining their own programs. OCDI belongs to several coalition on health, education and environment that will also benefit from the knowledge gained from this coalition. OCDI is also part of the NGOs selected by the lead CSO in Kwara state saddled with the responsibility of monitoring and reporting on social protection programmes implemented by the Federal Government of Nigeria. For more information please visit http://www.olivecommunitydevelopmentinitiative.org/

JOIN US TO ACHIEVE SOCIAL PROTECTION FOR ALL GLOBAL COALITION FOR SOCIAL PROTECTION FLOORS - GCSPF For comments, sugestions, collaborations contact us at: anaclau@item.org.uy To stop receiving this newsletter send a message with the subject "unsubscribe" to: anaclau@item.org.uy

e-GCSPF # 13 - July 2018 - HLPF

Members of the GCSPF participate at the High Level Political Forum 2018 The high-level political forum on sustainable development will meet from Monday, 9 to Wednesday, 18 July 2018. The ministerial meeting of the forum will be from Monday, 16 July, to Wednesday, 18 July 2018. The theme is: "Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies". The HLPF will also review progress towards the SDGS and focus in particular on Goal 6, 7, 11, 12, 15 and 17. During the ministerial meetings 47 countries will carry out Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs). Members of the GCSPF will organize and/or participate in several side events, see below the information. Members of the GCSPF will hold an INFORMAL MEETING next Monday 16th at 10:15 am at Guillermo Campuzano’s office which is located at 246 E 46th street between 2nd and 3rd., New York. SDG 6 and Leave No Woman Behind Access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is a human right. It is a precondition for combating poverty, securing good health and well-being, enhancing dignity, and reducing exposure to violence for all women and girls. Slow progress ensuring the right to water and sanitation for all is a significant obstacle to the achievement of all SDGs. Rapid urbanization has brought particular challenges including housing, transport and inadequate basic services for water and sanitation. Difficult terrain, unsafe access to toilets and the risk of sexual assault are special hazards for children, adolescent girls and older women. This event will bring together the experiences of marginalized women, including girls and older women, and women with disabilities, in accessing safe and secure water, sanitation and hygiene in slum communities. It will discuss innovations and best practices to promote women and girls’ greater safety and security. Commentary for progress will be given by UN Women and WaterAid. Organizing Partners: Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP)| Gray Panthers Co-Organizers: Action for Sustainable Development (A4SD) | Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities | Stakeholder Group on Ageing | International Disability Alliance | International Forum of National NGO Platforms | Asia Dalit Rights Forum | Asia Civil Society Partnership for Sustainable Development | African Platform for Social Protection | FEMNET The African Women’s Development and Communication Networks | WaterAid Friday, 13 July 2018, 12:30 to 14:30 Venue: AARP office 750 Third Avenue (between E 46th St and E 47th St), 31st Floor Read more SDG-implementation at national level: What's the point of national reports? VNRs and shadow (or spotlight) reporting: How it is key for meaningful participation and accountability The national voluntary reporting to the High Level Political Forum of ECOSOC is a practice that has gained traction, as dozens of governments are volunteering each year to participate and contribute their VNRs. A number of CSOs have prepared their own shadow or spotlight reports to follow-up on their governments efforts to implement the 2030-Agenda. Is there a meaningful dialogue between the official and the alternative reports? What is the value of the whole exercise? These issues will be debated on July 13, 2018 | 1:15 PM to 2:45 PM at WeWork Grand Central, 4th Floor, Room 4A, 450 Lexington Ave, New York 10017 Read more Partnership or Business Case? Private Sector and the SDGs The private sector plays a significant role in achieving the SDGs of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Several corporations have already pledged their support for the SDGs or evaluated the relevance of SDGs in their business activities. The UN Global Compact has started a global campaign to celebrate business leaders who are taking action to advance the 2030 Agenda. In many countries, engaging the private sector in SDG implementation is part of official policy. Governments and the UN are seeking increased commitment from the private sector in order to finance SDG implementation and bring growth to their economies. Many governments expect the involvement of companies in SDG implementation to lead to greater social and environmental awareness in business strategies. Date: Friday, 13 July 2018, 7:15 pm – 8:45 pm Place: Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the UN, 871 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017 Read more Sustainable Use of Waters – Precondition for a World without Hunger The implementation of SDG 6.4 Water use and scarcity and its link to the Human Right to Food Monday, July 16th, 2018, 06:30 p.m. – 08:30 p.m. Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations, Auditorium, 871 United Nations Plaza (First Avenue between 48th and 49th Streets), New York The side event is organized by Bread for the World together with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Read more

JOIN US TO ACHIEVE SOCIAL PROTECTION FOR ALL GLOBAL COALITION FOR SOCIAL PROTECTION FLOORS - GCSPF For comments, sugestions, collaborations contact us at: anaclau@item.org.uy To stop receiving this newsletter send a message with the subject "unsubscribe" to: anaclau@item.org.uy

e-GCSPF # 12 - July 2018 - HLPF

Members of the GCSPF participate at the High Level Political Forum 2018 The high-level political forum on sustainable development will meet from Monday, 9 to Wednesday, 18 July 2018. The ministerial meeting of the forum will be from Monday, 16 July, to Wednesday, 18 July 2018. The theme is: "Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies". The HLPF will also review progress towards the SDGS and focus in particular on Goal 6, 7, 11, 12, 15 and 17. During the ministerial meetings 47 countries will carry out Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs). Members of the GCSPF will organize and/or participate in several side events, see below the information. Building inclusive and resilient cities in an ageing world: From words to action Rapid urbanisation and rapid population ageing are two global trends that are reshaping our world. However, the two are rarely considered together, despite a rapid increase in the number of older urban citizens. The pledge to leave no one behind requires all actors to take a rights-based, life course, approach to urban planning that solicits the active participation of all, including older persons. This event will bring together a range of experts to examine practical steps for implementing goal 11’s promise to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Wednesday 11th July - 1.15 - 2.30 PM Venue: Conference Room A Read more Conversation with authors of Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2018 Exploring new policy pathways: How to overcome obstacles and contradictions in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda The world is off-track in terms of achieving sustainable development. Fundamental policy changes are necessary to unleash the transformative potential of the SDGs. In particular, there is a need for more coherent fiscal and regulatory policies and a whole-of-government approach towards sustainability. The Spotlight Report 2018 describes policies, resources and actions that are necessary to implement the 2030 Agenda. It highlights strategies and approaches which depart from business-as-usual and prioritize fulfilment of human rights and respect for planetary boundaries. At the roundtable event authors of the Spotlight Report 2018 will present key findings and recommendations to participants for discussion. Church Center, 10TH Floor, 777 UN Plaza, New York 12 July 2018, 6:15-7:45PM Jointly organized by Arab NGO Network for Development, Center for Economic and Social Rights, Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era, Public Services International, Global Policy Forum, Society for International Development, Social Watch, Third World Network with support from Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Read more SDG 6 and Leave No Woman Behind Access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is a human right. It is a precondition for combating poverty, securing good health and well-being, enhancing dignity, and reducing exposure to violence for all women and girls. Slow progress ensuring the right to water and sanitation for all is a significant obstacle to the achievement of all SDGs. Rapid urbanization has brought particular challenges including housing, transport and inadequate basic services for water and sanitation. Difficult terrain, unsafe access to toilets and the risk of sexual assault are special hazards for children, adolescent girls and older women. This event will bring together the experiences of marginalized women, including girls and older women, and women with disabilities, in accessing safe and secure water, sanitation and hygiene in slum communities. It will discuss innovations and best practices to promote women and girls’ greater safety and security. Commentary for progress will be given by UN Women and WaterAid. Organizing Partners: Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP)| Gray Panthers Co-Organizers: Action for Sustainable Development (A4SD) | Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities | Stakeholder Group on Ageing | International Disability Alliance | International Forum of National NGO Platforms | Asia Dalit Rights Forum | Asia Civil Society Partnership for Sustainable Development | African Platform for Social Protection | FEMNET The African Women’s Development and Communication Networks | WaterAid Friday, 13 July 2018, 12:30 to 14:30 Venue: AARP office 750 Third Avenue (between E 46th St and E 47th St), 31st Floor Read more SDG-implementation at national level: What's the point of national reports? VNRs and shadow (or spotlight) reporting: How it is key for meaningful participation and accountability The national voluntary reporting to the High Level Political Forum of ECOSOC is a practice that has gained traction, as dozens of governments are volunteering each year to participate and contribute their VNRs. A number of CSOs have prepared their own shadow or spotlight reports to follow-up on their governments efforts to implement the 2030-Agenda. Is there a meaningful dialogue between the official and the alternative reports? What is the value of the whole exercise? These issues will be debated on July 13, 2018 | 1:15 PM to 2:45 PM at WeWork Grand Central, 4th Floor, Room 4A, 450 Lexington Ave, New York 10017 Read more Partnership or Business Case? Private Sector and the SDGs The private sector plays a significant role in achieving the SDGs of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Several corporations have already pledged their support for the SDGs or evaluated the relevance of SDGs in their business activities. The UN Global Compact has started a global campaign to celebrate business leaders who are taking action to advance the 2030 Agenda. In many countries, engaging the private sector in SDG implementation is part of official policy. Governments and the UN are seeking increased commitment from the private sector in order to finance SDG implementation and bring growth to their economies. Many governments expect the involvement of companies in SDG implementation to lead to greater social and environmental awareness in business strategies. Date: Friday, 13 July 2018, 7:15 pm – 8:45 pm Place: Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the UN, 871 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017 Read more Sustainable Use of Waters – Precondition for a World without Hunger The implementation of SDG 6.4 Water use and scarcity and its link to the Human Right to Food Monday, July 16th, 2018, 06:30 p.m. – 08:30 p.m. Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations, Auditorium, 871 United Nations Plaza (First Avenue between 48th and 49th Streets), New York The side event is organized by Bread for the World together with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Read more

JOIN US TO ACHIEVE SOCIAL PROTECTION FOR ALL GLOBAL COALITION FOR SOCIAL PROTECTION FLOORS - GCSPF For comments, sugestions, collaborations contact us at: anaclau@item.org.uy To stop receiving this newsletter send a message with the subject "unsubscribe" to: anaclau@item.org.uy