Global Policy Forum

Budgeting for Human Rights: Progressive Realization

2014-10-01T12:12:59Z

The obligation of progressive realization has long been central to understanding how economic, social, and cultural (ESC) rights recognized in the present International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) should be achieved. Indeed, at the time the ICESCR was adopted, it was considered appropriate to underscore that the right to health, education and social security, among other rights, could not be fully and immediately realized everywhere in the world. In her blog, Helena Hofbauer from the International Budget Partnership explores the implications of progressive realization for government budgets. She argues that the connection between international human rights law and budget analysis has the potential to be a powerful tool for holding governments to account for their obligation of progressive realization not only at times when public resources are scarce, but equally when they are plentiful.

14 Misconceptions about Extraterritorial Human Rights Obligations

2014-04-04T07:19:02Z

A new brochure by ETO Consortium reacts to the considerable urgency to strengthen Extraterritorial Obligations by States (ETOs) and implement the primacy of human rights in the middle of diverse and global crises. On the basis of its mandate, the ETO Consortium deals with economic, social and cultural rights and uses the Maastricht Principles on States’ extraterritorial obligations as its key term of reference. Just as the Maastricht Principles carry the spirit of indivisibility of human rights, so do the responses to these fourteen misconceptions. They are applicable to extraterritorial obligations related to human rights in general.

LBT Activists Call on Governments not to Use Rights as Bargaining Chips

2014-04-04T07:02:44Z

Governments at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) ignored evidence of and regional support for key elements of sustainable development in its declaration adopted March 21, 2014, says a coalition of lesbian, bisexual women, trans* (LBT) and allied activists and organizations in a statement. The human rights of people targeted because of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression have long been recognized by UN entities and expert bodies as part of general human rights protections. However, some governments continue to create conditions that limit the ability for all people to enjoy these rights.

Moving Beyond The Corporate Vision of Sustainability

2014-02-11T15:36:02Z

Photo:

www.green-logistique.fr

In this column, Share the World's Resources' Rajesh Makwana calls for an end to the corporate capture of sustainable development policies, especially at the international level. Makwana cautions against the growing influence of corporate interests in UN processes and the pro-market solutions they advocate for, in particular the concept of a "green economy" that does not question the growth paradigm and proposes to monetize nature. His column comes at a time when GPF has just co-published a working paper on the influence of corporations in the Post-2015 Agenda at the UN.

Feminist Economists Respond To The Recent IMF Discussion Note Women, Work, And The Economy

2014-02-07T13:00:14Z


source: digital cat

In this second of a two part series on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Discussion Note on 'Macroeconomic Gains From Gender Equity' feminist economists Prof. Stephanie Seguino with Associate Prof. Elissa Braunstein and Dr. Anit N. Mukherjee take a look at the some of the shortfalls in the report related to gender wage gap, how macroeconomic policies perpetuate gender inequality, female labour force participation rate and unpaid care work.

Working for the Few

2014-01-27T11:10:23Z

A new Briefing Paper by Oxfam deals with the diagnosis that economic inequality was rapidly raising in the majority of countries: "almost half going to the richest one percent; the other half to the remaining 99 percent". As this inequality was interdependent with economic capture, Oxfam's paper calls on the World Economic Forum to do something about that: "Left unchecked, political institutions become undermined and governments overwhelmingly serve the interests of economic elites to the detriment of ordinary people. Extreme inequality is not inevitable, and it can and must be reversed quickly."

Joseph E. Stiglitz’s address to panel on Defending Human Rights

2013-12-10T16:11:35Z

American economist Joseph E. Stiglitz addressed the second UN Forum on Business and Human Rights on 3 December 2013. In his powerful speech he called on Governments to move beyond soft law towards a binding international agreement on business and human rights. He concluded: "Economic theory has explained why we cannot rely on the pursuit of self-interest; and the experiences of recent years have reinforced that conclusion. What is needed is stronger norms, clearer understandings of what is acceptable—and what is not—and stronger laws and regulations to ensure that those that do not behave in ways that are consistent with these norms are held accountable."

SOMO launches further support in filing complaints against multinationals

2013-11-20T09:55:27Z

The Human Rights & Grivance Mechanisms programme (HRGM), a SOMO initiative, launches a website which provides information and advice on various non-judicial grievance mechanisms for filing complaints against companies and multinationals. More recently HRGM has included a brochure and introduction video in particular regarding the grievance mechanism of the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Moving from Rhetoric towards Real Implementation of Gender Equality

2013-10-22T13:52:27Z

The Women’s Major Group (WMG) responds to the Special Event convened by the President of the UN's General Assembly to review progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, and to chart the way forward. In acknowledging the achievements the Women's Major Group is nevertheless greatly concerned that without a transformative shift in the way that gender equality and women’s human rights and justice concerns are articulated, a truly sustainable post-2015 Development agenda will not be achieved.

UN meeting held against discrimination of LGBT people

2013-10-11T07:41:47Z

In September a high-level meeting on ending violence and discrimination against LGBT People took place after a 2011 study by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights had found that 76 countries still continually criminalize adult same-sex consensual relationships. With this meeting the UN hopes to join forces to present a large front against the unjust discrimination of LGBT People and to create a more equitable society.