2007/10/24

Launch of Social Watch Report 2007 and Panel Discussion at the United Nations

Social Watch

The Social Watch Report 2007 entitled “In dignity and rights. Making the universal right to social security a reality” will be launched at the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in New York, in the context of the United Nations High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development to be held from October 23 to 24 at United Nations Headquarters. The Hearings with the civil society will precede de HLD, and are scheduled for October 22.

The 2007 Report provides an overview of social security systems worldwide, with an approach that emphasizes the right of people to live in dignity with secure livelihoods. It provides ample direct evidence of how the human right to social security is violated every day, as well as valuable suggestions on how to make it a reality.

"The question is not whether social security is possible under globalization, but rather if global civilized existence is at all possible without implementing the universal human right to social security", says Social Watch coordinator Roberto Bissio in the Introduction to the Report.

Bissio will be one of the speakers at a panel discussion on “Gender Perspectives on the Development Aid and Trade Agendas”. The panel is organized by the UN Non Governmental Liaison Service in cooperation with UNIFEM and Social Watch, and will take place October 24 during the High Level Dialogue.

The objectives of the discussion are: to advance a critical analysis of the UN development agenda in relation to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the World Trade Organization’s Aid for Trade agenda; to contribute to the dialogue within the Finaning for Development (FfD) process; to explore the civil society proposals to strengthen the FfD process and outcomes, and to explore alternative approaches and policy proposals that would support financing gender equality including innovative financing mechanisms.

A new social pact is needed at the national and global levels to balance individual rights and social rights, both universally recognized, and to balance global rules to reduce gaps between rich and poor nations, the Social Watch Report points out.

See the Social Watch Report 2007. See Press Kit.