PRESS RELEASE
COP28: Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors Calls for Building Social Protection Systems to deal with "Loss and Damage"
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[Montevideo, 30.11.2023] – The Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF) welcomes the decision to establish a Loss and Damage Fund. It is an important step towards climate justice. Estimates by scientists projecting climate damages ranging from $290 to $580 billion by 2030 and surpassing one trillion dollars by 2050 underscore the urgency of such measures.
Member organizations of the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors collectively advocate for strategic utilization of financial resources from this Fund. A central concern is to specifically allocate fund resources for the establishment and fortification of rights-based Social Protection Systems. These systems play a pivotal role in mitigating the catastrophic consequences of climate change and adequately cushioning individual damages and losses, while contributing to increase resilience and improve adaptation.
The Social Protection Systems we call for encompass the right to preventive and curative health services and financial livelihood security, also in the face of crop failures or natural disasters, and support for dependent family members in the event of death. A Loss and Damage Fund, financed on the basis of the polluter-pays principle, can contribute to implementing these measures in particularly vulnerable countries.
We emphasize that well-thought-out Social Protection Systems can be more sustainable than project-specific approaches or purely humanitarian interventions. These systems have the potential not only to cushion individual damages but also to contribute to socio-ecological transformation and promote societal redistribution.
It is imperative that national Social Protection Systems are robust, coherent, and prepared for the collective risks posed by climate change. Therefore, the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors calls for investment in the development and strengthening of these systems, ensuring they can reach all residents and are prepared for climate-change-induced crises.
Financial resources from the Loss and Damage Fund and other climate financing instruments should be strategically deployed to support the establishment of rights-based social protection systems. Planning should be forward-looking, and mechanisms for rapid expansion or situation-specific adjustment of programs must be in place.
The Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors appeals to the international community to seize this opportunity and actively participate in fair burden-sharing. Only in this way can we collectively advance transformative societal development that leaves no one behind and brings about the positive changes our world urgently needs.
The Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF) demands the use of climate funding to invest into social protection system building, as this will facilitate more sustainable and transformative support than humanitarian aid and reconstruction of damaged infrastructure alone.
The annual climate talks under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change - UNFCCC (COP28), the Kyoto Protocol (KP) and the Paris Agreement (PA) are taking place from 30 November to 12 December in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. During the opening plenary the long expected Loss and Damage Fund was adopted with new pledges by the UAE, Germany, UK, Japan and the USA.
Member organizations of the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors collectively advocate for strategic utilization of financial resources from this Fund. A central concern is to specifically allocate fund resources for the establishment and fortification of right-based Social Protection Systems. These systems play a pivotal role in mitigating the catastrophic consequences of climate change and adequately cushioning individual damages and losses, while contributing to increase resilience and improve adaptation.
The key priorities of the GCSPF are:
Climate-proof social protection
Pay for Loss and Damage and enable countries to expand social protection
The Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors appeals to the international community to seize this opportunity and actively participate in fair burden-sharing. Only in this way can we collectively advance transformative societal development that leaves no one behind and brings about the positive changes our world urgently needs.
Read more
The Loss and Damage Fund and Funding Arrangements and Social Protection Systems by Markus Kaltenborn, Professor at the Faculty of Law and Director of the Institute of Development Research and Development Policy (IEE), Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany and member of the GCSPF.
This paper was submitted to the UNFCCC Transitional Committee, July 2023.
Social Protection and Climate Action. A policy brief by Act Church of Sweden, Olof Palme International Center, Social Policy Initiative and the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation.
The Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF) delivered a written statement at the 62nd session of the Commission for Social Development 2024 which priority theme is “Fostering Social Development and Social Justice through Social Policies to accelerate Progress on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to achieve the overarching goal of poverty eradication”.
Save the Children International, member of the Global Coalition for Social Protection, also submitted a written statement. Download pdf version here.
Statement delivered by the GCSPF
Download pdf version of the written statement
The Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF) consists of more than 120 CSOs, NGOs and Trade Unions from all parts of the world, united in their motivation to realize social protection for all. We welcome the theme of the 62nd Commission of Social Development of “Fostering social development and social justice through social policies to accelerate progress on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to achieve the overarching goal of poverty eradication”.
Halfway to Agenda 2030, we are nowhere near achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Member States are failing to commit to the urgent action required to accelerate response towards poverty eradication and rising inequalities, to uphold human rights, to make tangible progress on gender equality, to tackle violence and discrimination of all types, to end ageism and xenophobia and to take clear and lasting decisions to halt and reverse climate change. We need clear pathways for social and climate justice, to achieve peace and the end of militarism, and for all to double down on efforts for the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Governments must match the political determination and persistence of civil society and activists, many of whom face significant dangers in calling out our failure to achieve the SDGs, which if allowed to happen will be catastrophic for humanity and our planet.
We are extremely concerned that with seven years to go, barely 15% of the targets of the SDGS have been reached and the transformative vision of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is in jeopardy. The principle of leaving no one behind and of upholding human rights is fundamental to achieving the topic of this Commission. It is imperative therefore that we focus on the full implementation of target 3 of Goal 1.
Universal Social Protection (USP) and the full implementation of Social Protection Floors in all countries must be at the heart of social and economic policies required to achieve the SDGs. Universal Social Protection is a right enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. USP is an essential lever to realise the sustainable development goals and their targets (specifically SDGs 1.3, 3.8, 5.4, 8.5 and 10.4) and underpins the global commitment to end poverty and reduce inequalities for all people within and between countries (SDGs 1 and 10). USP is a driver of social development and affords agency and self determination to recipients over the life course. It is a core lever to tackle poverty and marginalisation. The inclusion of target 3 of Goal 1 to end poverty ‘to implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable’ is a clear acknowledgment that social protection and social protection floors are recognized as foundational to ending poverty.
National floors of social protection are vital to leave no one behind. They ensure universal access to essential health care and basic income security across the life course and are a human right. However currently only 47% of the global population are effectively covered by at least one of the guarantees; in Africa this is a mere 18%. This is at a time when as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, ongoing conflicts and wars and highly volatile situations affecting millions of children and adults of all ages, the number of people facing acute food and economic insecurity has more than doubled - from 135 million in 2019 to 276 million in 2022.
In this challenging environment multiple studies have shown that ensuring a basic level of social protection for all is not only urgently needed now, but doable and affordable for most countries. It is entirely achievable through the solidarity and political will of the international community. And while many national governments are developing, financing, implementing and monitoring social protection floors, with the participation and monitoring of civil society, trade unions and informal worker organizations, and while generally and principally the financing of social protection systems must be within national budget frameworks, some countries will require temporary international co-financing of social protection floors, while they strengthen domestic resource mobilisation and digital and technical support in their establishment.
This is why the UN Secretary General, the International Labour Conference and the Un Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights have expressed their support for mechanisms to increase financing for SPFs including the establishment of a new international financing mechanism, such as a Global Fund for Social Protection.
A Global financing mechanism for Social Protection must be based on the principle of global solidarity, to support countries and their citizens to design, implement and, in specific cases, provide temporary co-financing for national social protection floors as described in ILO recommendation 202.[1]
Recommendations:
[1] https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_INSTRUMENT_ID,P12100_LANG_CODE:3065524
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The video of the event "Building a New Eco-social Contract and Advancing Social Security in Times of Debt and Austerity" is now online. The event took place on Friday, October 13, 2023 during the Civil Society Policy Forum of the WBG-IMF Annual Meetings 2023 held in Marrakech, Morocco.
Recent research analyzing IMF programs show that, far from “mitigating” austerity measures, IMF policies and social spending floors fail to address negative social impacts. The panel explored how the World Bank and IMF could build a human rights-based economy with better developmental outcomes.
The event was moderated by Shahir Ishak (Senior Social Protection Specialist, Inclusive Social Security Policy Forum).
And the speakers were Sarah Saadoun (Senior Researcher, Human Rights Watch), Allana Kembabazi (Program Manager, Initiative for Social and Economic Rights), Isabel Ortiz (Director of the Global Social Justice, Initiative for Policy Dialogue) and Rodrigo Cerda (Division Chief, IMF), the World Bank Group (WBG) declined the invitation to participate in the event.
The event was organized by Act church of Sweden, ActionAid international, AWC, ANND, Amnesty International, CESR, End Austerity Campaign, FTC, Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF), Global Social Justice/Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD), HRW, ISSPF, ISER, ITUC, Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, Oxfam International, BWP, WIEGO, ARI and MenaFem.
Further information on this event is available here. Further information about the Right to Social Security Campaing is available here.
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Members of the Social Security for all Campaign participated at the Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group (WBG) - International Monetary Fund (IMF) Annual Meetings 2023 held in Marrakech, Morocco, from 9 to 15 October, 2023.
Members of the Social Security for all Campaign participated at the Reclaim our Future Conference, from 8 to 9 October 2023. The event End Austerity! Reclaim the Right to Education, Health and Social Security took place on October 8th.
This session presented the new austerity policies advised by the IMF and the World Bank, and implemented by most Ministries of Finance, from cuts to public services and social security/social protection, to privatization and labor flexibilization reforms, affecting more than 6 billion people. All the human suffering these reforms cause is unnecessary: there are alternatives that even the poorest countries can implement to achieve human rights including the right to education, health and social security.
The speakers were Isabel Ortiz (Director of the Global Social Justice Programme), Matti Kohonen (Director of the Financial Transparency Coalition), Nabil Abdo (Senior Policy Advisor, Oxfam International), Roos Saalbrink (Global Lead on Economic Justice and Public Services, ActionAid International) and Sarah Saadoun (Senior Researcher and Advocate, Poverty and Inequality, Human Rights Watch).
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Members of the Social Security for all Campaign participated at the Civil Society Policy Forum (CSPF) of the WBG-IMF Annual Meetings 2023, from 9 to 13 October 2023. The event "Building a New Eco-social Contract and Advancing Social Security in Times of Debt and Austerity" took place on Friday, October 13th. The video is here and further information is available here.
Recent research analyzing IMF programs show that, far from “mitigating” austerity measures, IMF policies and social spending floors fail to address negative social impacts. The panel explored how the World Bank and IMF could build a human rights-based economy with better developmental outcomes.
The event was moderated by Shahir Ishak (Senior Social Protection Specialist, Inclusive Social Security Policy Forum). And the speakers were Sarah Saadoun (Senior Researcher, Human Rights Watch), Allana Kembabazi (Program Manager, Initiative for Social and Economic Rights), Isabel Ortiz (Director of the Global Social Justice, Initiative for Policy Dialogue) and Rodrigo Cerda (Division Chief, IMF), the World Bank Group (WBG) declined the invitation to participate in the event.
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Members of the Social Security for all Campaign participated at the Global Counter-Summit of Social Movements, that was held from 12 to 15 October 2023. See the programme here.
Further information about the Right to Social Security Campaign is available here. Please sign on to the statement using this link here, and help us spread the word and encourage others for endorsements.
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The session “Building a New Eco-social Contract and Advancing Social Security in Times of Debt and Austerity” will take place during the Civil Society Policy Forum (CSPF) of the WBG-IMF Annual Meetings 2023 in Marrakech, Morocco.
Recent research (for instance, by Oxfam, IPD, and HRW) analyzing IMF programs show that, far from “mitigating” austerity measures, IMF policies and social spending floors fail to address negative social impacts. The panel will explore how the World Bank and IMF could build a human rights-based economy with better developmental outcomes.
The organizers of the session are Act Church of Sweden, ActionAid international, AWC, Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND), Amnesty International, CESR, End Austerity Campaign, FTC, GCSPF, Global Social Justice/Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD), HRW, ISSPF, ISER, ITUC, Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, Oxfam International, BWP, WIEGO, ARI and MenaFem.
Moderator: Shahir Ishak, Senior Social Protection Specialist, Inclusive Social Security Policy Forum
The Panelists are:
Friday, October 13th, 2023 - 2 pm - 3:30 pm (Marrakech time). Confirm your local time here.
Hybrid session: Location Room SC03 Saghro
Join us on Zoom at: https://imf.zoom.us/j/91582662390?pwd=dUtYUjIwNnI4NnJDbFFYTmt4ZGpUZz09
The video of the launching of the Campaign: Social Security for All – Key Pillar for a New Eco-Social Contract is now online. The event took place on Wednesday, October 4th, 2023.
The event was moderated by Farah Al Shami (Arab Reform Initiative). Global testimonies on the challenges of poverty targeting and pension privatization were presented by Allana Kembabazi (ISER, Uganda), Sarala Emmanuel (Feminist Collective for Economic Justice in Colombo, Sri Lanka), Guillermo Zuccotti (CGT, Argentina) and Manuel Riesco (CENDA Foundation, Chile). Isabel Ortiz (Global Social Justice) presented the Campaign: Social Security for All – Key Pillar for a New Eco-Social Contract.
Further information about the campaign is available here. Please sign on to the statement using this link here and the list of signatories is here.
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.
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.