Manila Hosts Social Watch 2011 Global Assembly
“By demanding accountability for social and economic justice we are claiming democracy”. Social Watch
Over 100 delegates designated by national coalitions from 60 countries around the world attended the Social Watch 2011 Global Assembly this year in Manila from July 12 to 15. With the theme “Claiming democracy: accountability for social and economic justice”, Social Watch gathered representatives of women groups, human rights activists, unionists and other campaigners for social justice to discuss the new challenges brought about by the global crises and civil society responses. The world wide network of citizens’ organizations took fully account of the changing global environment and integrated it into its strategy.The Social Watch’s mission statement to “eradicate poverty and the causes of poverty, to end all forms of discrimination and racism, to ensure an equitable distribution of wealth and the realization of human rights” was also reaffirmed.
The Social Watch Strategy Plan covering advocacy and capacity building programs for 2012-2014 was set up, and the newly Coordinating Committee in charge of implementing that strategy until the next Global Assembly in 2013 was elected. According to the Strategy Plan, “the current growth-led economic model is economically inefficient, socially unjust, environmentally damaging and politically unsustainable.” The mistakes of a powerful minority have allowed for a series of shocks: the financial crisis, climate crisis, food crisis, fuel crisis, economic crisis, social and political crisis. Moreover, these crises do not appear in isolation but are manifestations of a growth model that has led to overconsumption, extreme inequality and has perpetuated unacceptable levels of poverty. Accoding to Social Watch, the current economic model needs to be fundamentally changed in a manner that redistributes wealth and power to all corners of society, with particular regard for the most vulnerable.
Background information on Social Watch:
Social Watch was created in 1995 as a “meeting place for non-governmental organizations concerned about social development and gender discrimination, and engaged in monitoring the policies which have an impact on inequality and on people who live in poverty.”
The basic methodology of Social Watch still remains the same: to make governments accountable for their commitments and thus promote the political will to implement them.
Social Watch holds governments, the UN system and international organizations accountable for the fulfilment of national, regional and international commitments to eradicate poverty.
Social Watch believes that the key action to achieve poverty eradication, gender equality and social justice happen primarily at local and national level and, therefore, its international activities and structures should be accountable and at the service of national and local constituencies, and not the other way around
Coordinating Committee members: CO-CHAIR: Prof. Leonor Magtolis Briones, Social Watch Philippines; CO-CHAIR: Tanya Dawkins, Global-Local Links Project; Abdulnabi h. Alerky, National Centre for Studies; Gustave Benjamin Assah, Social Watch Bénin; Mirjam van Reisen, European Solidarity Towards Equal Participation of People (EUROSTEP); Milena Kadieva, Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation (BGRF) – Plovdiv branch; Kate McInturff, Feminist Alliance For International Action (FAFIA); Yao Graham, Third World Network Africa (TWN-Africa); Norayda Arabella Ponce Sosa, Coordinación de ONG y Cooperativas (CONGCOOP Guatemala); Himanshu Jha, Social Watch India; Kinda Mohamadieh, Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND); Martina Kabisama, SAHRINGON Tanzania Chapter; Barbara Adams, Global Policy Forum; Roberto Bissio, Social Watch
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