Location:	Online, Zoom  (https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYsc-qtqTgrE9SnIIq5oLZYCd_geocWOB2B)
Date:	4 October, 2023
Time:	3 – 4 pm (CEST)

Agenda 

3:00 - 3:05	Opening and welcome Farah Al Shami, Arab Reform Initiative
3:05 - 3:25	Global testimonies on the challenges of poverty targeting and pension privatization Allana Kembabazi, ISER, Uganda Feminist Collective for Economic Justice in Colombo, Sri Lanka (TBC) Guillermo Zuccotti, CGT, Argentina Manuel Riesco, CENDA Foundation, Chile
3:25 – 3:35	Questions & Answers Moderator: Farah Al Shami, Arab Reform Initiative
3:35 - 3:45	Introduction to the universal Social Security Campaign Isabel Ortiz, Global Social Justice Program
3:45 – 4:00	Q&A and closing Farah Al Shami, Arab Reform Initiative

        
    Additional information

Interpretation will be provided for Arabic and Spanish . Please register at this link before 2 October 2023.

         
   Background and Context

Cascading crises – from the pandemic to conflict and the climate breakdown – are exposing social tensions and deepening fractures arising from an economic approach that has emphasized growth with little regard to human rights, the equitable distribution of resources, or the environment. The erosion of public services, social security/protection and labor rights, have increased inequality and enabled an elite few to capture the vast majority of global resources, posing one of the most pressing threats to human rights of our time.

Correcting course demands transforming economies, social policies, development paradigms, and the international financial architecture to enable states to fulfill their human rights obligations. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, which play a key role in responding to these crises, have a critical opportunity to contribute to transformative change, yet they are continuing the same failed policies and practices.

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) will meet in Marrakech, Morocco, 9-15 October, and the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors – supported by many other civil society organizations and trade unions – is launching a campaign to highlight key demands to end the injustice that more than 4 billion people in the world face every day without social protection coverage:

• The IFIs should commit to support states to realize the right to social security by setting up or strengthening rights-aligned universal social protection systems, beginning with the establishment of social protection floors.
• The World Bank should immediately stop developing, and phase out existing, poverty-targeting programs and replace them with universal programs. It should strengthen a fair distribution of resources by coupling universal social security with fiscal reforms that reduce inequality.
• The IMF should support equitable and sustainable public social security systems in accordance with international standards that include adequate employers’ contributions and ensure income security.
• The IMF should stop austerity policies that increase social spending in one sector at the expense of other rights and replace universal systems with means-testing. It should redesign programs to consistently promote universal social security and universal quality public services. It should ensure that spending on health, education, and social security meets, at a minimum, international benchmarks as a percentage of GDP and national budgets. 

You are kindly invited to take part in the launch event, on 4 October 2023 (3 – 4 pm, CEST) by registering through this link (https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYsc-qtqTgrE9SnIIq5oLZYCd_geocWOB2B).

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