2005/06/23
Advance Social Watch Report 2005 - Press Conference
Social Watch
Press Conference: Mr. Roberto Bissio, Social Watch Coordinator, Dr. Karina
Batthyany, Social Watch Head Researcher, Ms. Rehema Kerefu-Sameji, Social Watch
Tanzania, and Ms. Barbara Adams (moderator), Chief of Strategic Partnerships
and Communications at UNIFEM, to discuss Social Watch's publication, "Advance
Social Watch Report 2005: Unkept Promises. What the numbers say about poverty
and gender."
[Webcast: Archived Video - 31 minutes]
PRESS
RELEASE
New York,
June 23, 2005 - 11:15 AM, UN Press Room
UNKEPT
PROMISES: Social Watch launches an Advance Report 2005, claims that the MDGs
will not be achieved at present progress rates.
"What the
numbers tell us is a sad story: at present progress rates the solemn commitment
made by the world leaders to substantially reduce poverty and achieve gender
equality by 2015 will not be met". This conclusion is subsubstantiated by Social
Watch with figures for every country in a report titled "Unkept Promises"
launched today at the UN.
Social
Watch decided to advance its findings and launch an extraordinary report today
in order to underline the messages that civil society will be giving this week
to the UN General Assembly in New York and to the meeting of the leaders of the
most powerful countries in the world in the first week of July in Scotland.
"In spite
of all the promises, investment in social services are going down all around the
world and inequalities are on the rise since 1990", concludes the Social Watch
report.
"Social
Watch is an international network based on citizen coalitions in 60 countries,
poor and rich. The Social Watch report keeps track every year about progress and
regression in the path towards eradicating poverty and achieving gender equity,
a promise made by governments at the UN in 1995 and reaffirmed in the year 2000
in the largest gathering ever held of world leaders.
Yet,
according to Social Watch, the necessary increase in aid has been too little and
too slow, the international trade system is still biased against the poor
farmers that consititute a majority of the pople living in poverty and the world
finances have not been reformed in a way that might help poor countries overcome
chronic indebtedness that sucks away the their scarce resources. In contrast,
military expenditures are on the rise everywhere.
Social
Watch was created around the idea that unless citizens monitor the commitments
made by governments and held the leaders accountable, they will not be met.
The
Advance Social Watch report 2005 will be officially launched at the United
Nations in New York on June 24.
See the
Advance Social Watch Report 2005 titled "Unkept
Promises. What the numbers say about poverty and gender".
---
Social Watch spokepersons:
Roberto Bissio, Coordinator of the international secretariat, Karina Batthyany,
head of the social sciences research department, Rehema Kerefu-Sameji, Social
Watch Tanzania, and Barbara Adams (moderator), Chief of Strategic Partnerships
and Communications at UNIFEM.
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