GCSPF E-Newsletter #3 - August 2017

e-GCSPF # 3 - August 2017

GCSPF at the HLPF 2017 Members of the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors participated in the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development convened under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council, that was held from July 10 to 19 in New York. Members of the GCSPF held an informal meeting. GCSPF coorganized two side events: “Global Partnership on Universal Social Protection: Ending Poverty by 2030” and “Universal Social Protection: End poverty and reduce inequality” Universal Social Protection: End poverty and reduce inequality During the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York, the significant majority of countries voluntarily reporting mentioned social protection programmes as an effective instrument to fight against poverty and reduce inequalities. But social protection is more. It can tackle poverty in all its dimensions and provide for education, appropriate health care systems and support a healthy and diverse diet. In this sense, Prof Martin Ravallion of Georgetown University demanded in his key note speech at the HLPF a “full basic income” meaning not just cash transfers but basic social security including education, health care and mechanisms for redistribution. By Dr. Luise Steinwachs, Bread for the World. Read more We need a change in paradigm Photo: UN Web TV Roberto Bissio spoke on behalf of the GCSPF during the side event “Global Partnership on Universal Social Protection: Ending Poverty by 2030” held on July 10th. "Social Protection is a Human Right. Every right has a right holder and a duty bearer. We know who the right holders are: every human being, particularly those more in need of social protection: The right to be protected and cared is a right of children, the elderly, the sick, the people with disabilities. But who is the duty bearer? Societies organize social protection in many different ways, but they all have in common the unwritten rule that says that caring for people is a responsibility of women. A sacred responsibility even. While no government is held liable for not providing social protection or essential services, women are judged to be sinful by omission, socially ostracized and even criminally prosecuted if they fail to properly care for family and community members. The caring duties of women are fulfilled too often without any pay or recognition and when paid the task to care for the people we most love such as our children and parents barely deserves a minimum salary and most often than not without any form of contract or the formal protection of social security. We need more resources, yes. We need to collect taxes and to build capacity, but we also need a change in paradigm, towards a caring system that orients and coordinates the programs of education, health and social development, starting with a recognition of the right to be cared and the duties of the state in that regard." The video is available here Guaranteeing SPFs as a prerequisite for SDGs realization Photo: Wolfgang Obenland Gala Díaz Langou spoke on behalf of the GCSPF during the side event "Universal Social Protection: End poverty and reduce inequality". "All children have the right to achieve the full development of their capabilities and potentialities; yet in Argentina, in spite of significant progress, the rights of children are still being undermined. The current state of affairs reveals that during the last decade Argentina has experienced an ‘infantilisation’ of poverty, as in spite of a decline, over 44% of children live in poverty. In addition, malnutrition has increasingly become a concern for public health, due to unhealthy and nutrientdeficient diets, and it is more prevalent in the most vulnerable sectors of society. Moreover, in Argentina, the State provides universal healthcare and there is a high share of the population that resorts to alternative healthcare providers. Nonetheless, maternal and infant mortality are still pending matters of attention, access to sexual and reproductive health services is not guaranteed, and the adolescent fertility rate remains high. It is also worth noting that female poverty is the counterpart of the infantilisation of poverty. The households with more children are also proportionately more feminine. One of the reasons for this is the unequal distribution of upbringing and care between genders. This also impacts on women having fewer possibilities of accessing and staying in the labour market, which impedes poverty alleviation. What this reveals is that social protection floors are not guaranteed for all. One of the main obstacles for this is the lack of follow-up, monitoring and evaluation in policy implementation. The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, to which Argentina subscribed in 2015, are a unique opportunity for advancement." Read more A universal basic income: the solution to ending extreme poverty? ATD Fourth World organized a panel discussion at the UN with Philip Alston, the Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights on the subject of a universal basic income. Isabelle Doresse, the person responsible for ATD People’s Universities in the north of France, talked about the reactions of people living in extreme poverty to the idea of a universal basic income. Surprisingly, there were a number of hesitations and concerns about the idea. Serious concerns were expressed about the idea in the People’s University discussions. People living in poverty would prefer to be able to live from their work. With a universal basic income, they are afraid of being permanently excluded from the world of work, to which they aspire. They are afraid they would be told, “Now, with the basic income, you have some money, we don’t want to hear from you anymore.” Read more Liberia: civil society rejects privatisation project Education International and ActionAid have release a new report, Partnership Schools for Liberia: a critical review by University of Wisconsin researcher Tyler Hook. In 2016, the government of Liberia began plans to outsource administration of 94 primary and pre-primary schools, a form of public-private partnership. The study examines the first year of the effort and raises serious concerns. The largest private operator in the Liberia project is the US-based Bridge International Academies. The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation took a $10 million equity stake in Bridge in 2013. Since then, Bridge schools were suspended in Uganda for failing to meet basic educational and sanitary conditions. The for-profit Bridge relies heavily on scripts for untrained teachers, and in Liberia has allegedly warned teachers not to speak with their union. The IFC has maintained its investment in Bridge despite criticism. Read more Wellcome to PRDC India and SPII South Africa that joined us last July Psychological Research & Development Council-India (PRDC India) Mohan Lal K. (Chairperson) will be working with us. PRDC India focuses on youth training, women empowerment and environmental protection (against nuclear weapons project). Members of the organization are doctors, psychologist, social activists, social workers, and teachers. Please visit their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/prdcindia/ and more information is available at https://www.facebook.com/GSK2017/ Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute (SPII), South Africa Isobel Fryre, Director of SPII, will be working with us. SPII is an organisation characterised by a sense of vision, justice and commitment to research and policy innovation. SPII focuses on generating new knowledge, information and analysis in the field of poverty and inequality studies in South and Southern Africa. Through facilitating collaborative partnerships with and between government, labour, institutions of democracy, academia, social movements and civil society organisations, SPII is able to develop and advocate for the implementation of innovative and empirically-based social and economic policies capable of combating poverty, reducing inequality, and promoting sustainable development. SPII supports the development of a tradition of effective public participation in policymaking and implementation. You can find more information in their 2016 Annual Report.

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Roberto Bissio spoke on behalf of the GCSPF during the side event: “Global Partnership on Universal Social Protection: Ending Poverty by 2030” held on July 10th.

"Social Protection is a Human Right. Every right has a right holder and a duty bearer. We know who the right holders are: every human being, particularly those more in need of social protection: The right to be protected and cared is a right of children, the elderly, the sick, the people with disabilities.

But who is the duty bearer? Societies organize social protection in many different ways, but they all have in common the unwritten rule that says that caring for people is a responsibility of women. A sacred responsibility even. While no government is held liable for not providing social protection or essential services, women are judged to be sinful by omission, socially ostracized and even criminally prosecuted if they fail to properly care for family and community members.
The caring duties of women are fulfilled too often without any pay or recognition and when paid the task to care for the people we most love such as our children and parents barely deserves a minimum salary and most often than not without any form of contract or the formal protection of social security.

We need more resources, yes. We need to collect taxes and to build capacity, but we also need a change in paradigm, towards a caring system that orients and coordinates the programs of education, health and social development, starting with a recognition of the right to be cared and the duties of the state in that regard."

“Global Partnership on Universal Social Protection: Ending Poverty by 2030”
On Monday, 10 July, 1:15-2:30 pm in the ECOSOC Chamber. Organized by Finland, Malawi, the ILO and the World Bank and co-sponsored by the Social Protection Inter-Agency Cooperation Board (SPIAC-B), and the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF).
The preliminary agenda combines two elements (1) the Global Partnership on USP 2030 and (2) financing social protection.
Download the invitation here, the programme here, and Mr. Bissio's statement here (pdf version).
The video of the side event is available  here and the video of Mr. Bissio's intervention here.

Gala Díaz Langou spoke on behalf of the GCSPF during the side event: "Universal Social Protection: End poverty and reduce inequality" that was held during the High-level Political Forum 2017. "All children have the right to achieve the full development of their capabilities and potentialities; yet in Argentina, in spite of significant progress, the rights of children are still being undermined. The current state of affairs reveals that during the last decade Argentina has experienced an ‘infantilisation’ of poverty, as in spite of a decline, over 44% of children live in poverty. In addition, malnutrition has increasingly become a concern for public health, due to unhealthy and nutrientdeficient diets, and it is more prevalent in the most vulnerable sectors of society.

Moreover, in Argentina, the State provides universal healthcare and there is a high share of the population that resorts to alternative healthcare providers. Nonetheless, maternal and infant mortality are still pending matters of attention, access to sexual and reproductive health services is not guaranteed, and the adolescent fertility rate remains high.

It is also worth noting that female poverty is the counterpart of the infantilisation of poverty. The households with more children are also proportionately more feminine. One of the reasons for this is the unequal distribution of upbringing and care between genders. This also impacts on women having fewer possibilities of accessing and staying in the labour market, which impedes poverty alleviation.

What this reveals is that social protection floors are not guaranteed for all. One of the main obstacles for this is the lack of follow-up, monitoring and evaluation in policy implementation. The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, to which Argentina subscribed in 2015, are a unique opportunity for advancement."

“Universal Social Protection:  End poverty and reduce inequality”
On Tuesday, 18^th July, from 18:15 – 19:45 at the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United. Organized by the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF) and the Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations.
Download the invitation, the concept note, the agenda and the statements. See also HLPF: Universal Social Protection: End poverty and reduce inequality.

Mr. Reinhard Krapp, Minister and Head of Economics Department, Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations
Dr. Ingolf Dietrich, Director, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
Vinicius Pinheiro, Director, International Labour Organization (ILO)
Dr. Gala Diaz, Director of Social Protection Program at CIPPEC Argentina/Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors
See also "Sustainable Development Goals and Early Childhood in Argentina: Gaps and priority actions to leave no one behind", Díaz Langou and Caro Sachetti, CIPPEC, July 2017.
Mr. Adolfo Ayuso, General Director of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Office of the President of Mexico

During the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York, the significant majority of countries voluntarily reporting mentioned social protection programmes as an effective instrument to fight against poverty and reduce inequalities. But social protection is more. It can tackle poverty in all its dimensions and provide for education, appropriate health care systems and support a healthy and diverse diet. In this sense, Prof Martin Ravallion of Georgetown University demanded in his key note speech at the HLPF a “full basic income” meaning not just cash transfers but basic social security including education, health care and mechanisms for redistribution.

The Global Coalition at the HLPF

As a member of the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors, Bread for the World together with the International Labour Organization (ILO) organized a side event where the initiative of World Bank and ILO „Global Partnership on Universal Social Protection: Ending Poverty by 2030“ was presented. In September 2016 at the UN General Assembly, ILO and World Bank launched this initiative  USP 2030. It invites governments and other actors to engage for social security systems and to reach the goal of universal social protection by 2030. The main concept of this initiative is the social protection floor based on the ILO Recommendation 202 of 2012. The main focus is to support countries in setting up social protection systems that are designed to reach especially people living in poverty and exclusion. “Our shared objective is to increase the number of countries that provide universal social protection, supporting countries to design and implement universal and sustainable social protection systems” Guy Ryder, General Director ILO.

This issue of “other actors” that are invited to join the initiative is not yet clear. Certainly the private sector is asked to join – it was the main tenor of the HLPF – mainly providing necessary finance. However, the discussion about the catalogue of criteria and guidelines on which this “invitation” can be based is still due. Civil society organisations like Bread for the World demand clear frameworks and indicators, clear and transparent monitoring mechanisms, accountability, respect for human rights standards and a focus on poverty eradication, not profit making.

Social Protection in the Agenda 2030

Eleven goals and 27 targets of the Agenda 2030 have direct links to social protection. The eradication of poverty and the reduction of inequality were the main focus of a second side event organized by the Global Coalition for social Protection Floors, Bread for the World and the German Mission at the UN "Universal Social Protection: End Poverty and Reduce Inequality" that was held on July 18. The representative of the German government, Dr. Ingolf Dietrich of the Ministry for Development Cooperation, highlighted the great significance of social protection for the realization of the Agenda 2030. But what about financing? Apart from suggestions to include the private sector, Vinícius Carvalho Pinheiro, ILO Director and representative to the UN, presented several different and innovative instruments including the idea of a Global Fund for Social Protection that was presented by de Schutter / Sepulveda a few years ago when they were special representatives to the UN. Other concepts include the already existing World Solidarity Fund or several types of Trust Funds. Some instruments that are already established in other contexts could be adapted to financing social protection as for example an airline ticket levy or Financial Transaction Taxes (FTT) that already exists in some G20 countries.

The debate around social security has long been established and has gained reputation especially by proving that it has a positive impact and social and economic life. The presentations of the situation in Argentina by Dr. Gala Diaz Langou, Director of Social Protection Program at CIPPEC Argentina/Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors and of the successful Global Partnership and Joint Learning for Universal Social Protection by Mr. Adolfo Ayuso Audry, General Director of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Office of the President of Mexico, have shown the significance of concrete implementation. Some questions remain as for example – how can all people be reached through social protection systems, especially those who are marginalized and how can financial instruments be diversified at the national and international level? For civil society organisations like Bread for the World it is clear – social protection has to be rights based and should not be subject to political whim.

By Dr. Luise Steinwachs, Bread for the World.

“Universal Social Protection:  End poverty and reduce inequality”
On Tuesday, 18^th July, from 18:15 – 19:45 at the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United. Organized by the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF) and the Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations.
Download the invitation, the concept note, the agenda and the statements.

Mr. Reinhard Krapp, Minister and Head of Economics Department, Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations
Dr. Ingolf Dietrich, Director, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
Vinicius Pinheiro, Director, International Labour Organization (ILO)
Dr. Gala Diaz, Director of Social Protection Program at CIPPEC Argentina/Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors
Mr. Adolfo Ayuso, General Director of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Office of the President of Mexico

Members of the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors submitted comments on the draft General Comment of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) on Business activities and human rights. The meeting was held in Geneva, Switzerland last February 2017.

In the document the crucial role of business on decent work and the financing of social protection floors was recognized. A number of general comments were included and also pleaded for tax justice at the international level to make sure that social protection floors can be properly financed. Read here the complete submission.

During the meeting, members of the GCSPF presented and statement. Read here the complete oral statement.

Further information can be found here.

Members of the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors presented an statement at the fifty-fifth session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD55) held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 1 to 10 February 2017.

The choice of Strategies for the Eradication of Poverty to Achieve Sustainable Development for All as the priority theme of the 55th session of the Commission for Social Development is timely and of utmost importance as it firmly embeds anti-poverty efforts undertaken globally and nationally in the context of the SDG framework. Striking a balance between social, environmental and economic goals is essential to ensure that the benefits of growth reach all people, especially those still living in poverty. Evidence confirms that eradication of poverty can bring numerous opportunities and benefits to society, facilitating concrete actions on the road towards sustainable development. At the same time, it is widely recognized that the effective efforts aimed at poverty eradication are closely linked to mitigation and adaptation policies.

We invite the Commission to prioritize the issues of inequality and poverty reduction in a comprehensive manner, linking human rights with the social protection of individuals and communities. Universal social protection is an important enabling factor conducive to protecting these rights, developing human potential, and reducing income inequalities. Giving weight to the importance of essential material conditions that are required for living with dignity, social protection facilitates upholding human dignity as a value and a legal principle, confirming its central place within social and economic rights. Moreover, it is an essential material prerequisite for the effective empowerment of people, and the social and economic integration needed to enjoy civil and political rights.

Here you can download the full version of the statement presented by the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors.

Further information can be found here.