GCSPF E-Newsletter #15 - September 2018

e-GCSPF # 15 - September 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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:

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.

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.

SDG target Indicators
1.3 Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable 1.3.1 Percentage of population covered by social protection floors/systems, disaggregated by sex, composed by the following:

  • % of older persons receiving a pension;
  • % of households with children receiving child support;
  • % of working-age persons without jobs receiving support;
  • % of persons with disabilities receiving benefits;
  • % of women receiving maternity benefits at childbirth;
  • % of workers covered against occupational injury;
  • % of the working age population covered for pensions;
  • % of poor and vulnerable people receiving benefits
3.8 Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all 3.8.1 Coverage of essential health services (defined as the average coverage of essential services based on tracer interventions that include reproductive, maternal, new-born and child health, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases and service capacity and access, among the general and the most disadvantaged population)
3.8.2 Number of people covered by health insurance or a public health system per 1,000 population

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:

1 In this note we shall only consider reporting procedures in the context of the United Nations.  There may also be reporting procedures at the regional level, such as in the context of the African Union and the European Union.

2 See for example the Report on participation of people living in poverty (A/HRC/23/36), submitted by the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights (March, 2013)

3 Statement on social protection floors: an essential element of the right to social security and of the sustainable development goals (ECOSOC, 2015, document E/C.12/54/3)

4 ECOSOC, 2000, document E/C.12/2000/6.

5 Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR): “Human Rights Indicators. A Guide to Measurement and Implementation”, (United Nations, 2012).

6 The Danish Institute for Human Rights has elaborated a guide that provides the link between the SDG targets (including 1.3) and the States’ obligations (and in some cases, voluntary commitments) under international and regional human rights, labour and environmental instruments (http://sdg.humanrights.dk/en/node/10).

Download here the pdf version.

By Wouter van Ginneken (ATD Fourth World)

Civil Society Call for a Global Fund for Social Protection

Over 200 civil society organizations and trade unions unite to call for a Global Fund for Social Protection to protect the most vulnerable during COVID-19 and beyond.

Read the Call

SP&PFM Programme

The programme Improving Synergies Between Social Protection and Public Finance Management provides medium-term support to multiple countries aiming to strengthen their social protection systems at a national level and ensure sustainable financing. The programme aims to support countries in their efforts towards achieving universal social protection coverage.

This initiative is implemented jointly by the ILO, Unicef, and the GCSPF.

Read more

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