Stand in solidarity with Philippine HRDs amid new wave of crackdowns
IBON International is highly concerned that the recent cases of unjust arrests in the Philippines would precede repression on a larger scale.
Delivering Real Change: Scaling Up People-powered, Climate Change Initiatives through Global Public Climate Finance
IBON International, in partnership with Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, invite you to a parallel session on climate initiatives at the Stockholm Civil Society Days this 19 November.
On the complicity of the IMF, other IFIs in violating people’s economic rights today
As the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group (IMF-WBG) hold their 2019 Annual Meetings in Washington D.C. this mid-October, mass mobilisations have thwarted IMF-dictated austerity measures in another part of the Americas, in Ecuador.
Investment in Southeast Asia: From IFIs to BRI
What are key investment trends today that are affecting peoples of Southeast Asia?
Rev. Malcolm Damon: A life of service for social and economic justice
We are in solidarity with social movements, faith-based and grassroots organisations in Africa and across the world in mourning the loss of our chairperson, Rev. Malcolm Damon.
Corporate land exploitation and climate change: Reflections on the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land
The report validates civil society’s critique that big agricultural transnational corporations must stand accountable for contributing to ecological land degradation and the current climate catastrophe.
BAPA+40 ends with no commitments, without heeding civil society
The Second High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation (SSC) or BAPA+40 concluded without commitments.
On the US interventionist policy against Venezuela’s sovereignty
IBON International is concerned about the aggressive posture of the US against Venezula, which compromises the people's right of the Venezuelan people over their domestic political, social and economic life.
On the latest threats to civil society and democratic spaces in the Philippines
IBON International joins various organisations in expressing serious concern on the Memorandum Circular No. 15 released by the Philippine government’s Securities and Exchange Commission.
Amidst widespread rural poverty, farmers are being killed in the global South
According to latest World Bank data on poverty, released October 2018, 46 percent of the world’s population continue to subsist on less than USD 5.50 a day by 2015.
Time for the IMF-WB to retire old assumptions, 10 years since financial crisis
The 2018 IMF-WB meetings are held ten years since the global financial crisis, withthe IMF-WB continuing to privilege the private sector and so-called business friendly investment climate.
Indonesian security forces’ move to halt peoples’ conference: Southern dev’t prospects at stake – Southern CSO
Southern-based civil society organisation (CSO) IBON International joins movements in raising concern on the “tactics of repression” used by the Indonesian government’s police and militia against what the CSO called a “legitimate and justified people’s initiative.”
On the repressive moves against peoples' initiatives for the IMF-WB annual meetings
IBON International joins movements in denouncing Bali authorities' moves to prevent a people’s conference to be held parallel to the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund-World Bank.
On the repressive moves against peoples’ initiatives for the IMF-WB annual meetings
IBON International joins movements in denouncing Bali authorities' moves to prevent a people’s conference to be held parallel to the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund-World Bank.
Indict US-backed Pres. Duterte for violations of right to dev’t, nat’l self-determination
We call for peoples around the world to stand in solidarity with the Filipino people and its organisations who have been active in forwarding people’s development.
Golden opportunities for profit: OceanaGold in the global South
OceanaGold operations reveal the danger of persisting neoliberal policy norms from which many other transnational corporations benefit.
Remaining quiet has never led to justice: Reflections on a solidarity trip with NutriAsia Workers
Reflections on the workers' assertion of their rights and sovereignty.
HLPF 2018: Where’s people’s development in the “transformation to sustainable and resilient societies”?
It is with awareness that some civil society organisations (CSOs) admit that the HLPF is a space that, from its first day, already has limits.
On a “binding treaty” for TNCs, and why people’s grassroots actions remain key
Since 2014, a UN process has been underway towards establishing a treaty that aims to regulate transnational corporations’ (TNCs) activities and hold them accountable for rights violations under international human rights law.
The World Bank’s “new” approach to development: Corporate interests first
Since 2017, the WBG has been working with its “Cascade” approach, later renamed as “Maximizing Finance for Development” or MFD.
South-South Cooperation: From resistance to neocolonialism, towards genuine people’s development
We gave insights from a Southern people’s perspective during a session on Southern countries’ development cooperation, stressing not only the need for genuine people’s participation but also how solidarity, mutual benefit and equality are important principles.
Development with a clear bias for marginalised and oppressed peoples: IBON International at 2018 UN DCF
We highlighted the need to ensure people’s rights, especially for marginalised communities, and the people’s ownership of their development path and related processes – with poverty eradication as the essential development outcome.
Side Event @ UN DCF: Human Rights-based Approaches in South-South Development Co-operation
The activity will bring together representatives from different stakeholder groups to discuss and share experiences and challenges in advancing human rights-based approach in South-South development cooperation, towards strengthened partnerships in its active promotion.
New report reveals development partnerships for SDGs still weak in human rights-based approaches
The report also shows why the traditional approach to development partnerships is failing to bridge the gap between rich and poor, how adopting a rights-based approach is the way forward to achieving effective development cooperation.
Stop the Duterte administration’s crackdown on rights defenders and people’s organisations!
IBON International joins various organisations in the Philippines and abroad in denouncing the Duterte administration’s tagging of Filipino rights advocates, activists and civil society as “terrorists”.
International fact-finding mission: Dire rights situation as Martial Law continues in southern Philippines
An international fact-finding mission has found cases of false charges, harassment, and even torture and killings against farmers and indigenous peoples, under continued Martial Law in Mindanao island in southern Philippines.
Challenging inequality? Assert people’s collective rights and sovereignty
Peoples and their organisations especially in the Global South need to take back economic power, resist the monopoly-led economic system that contributes a large part to worsening inequality.
IBON International announces new director
IBON International announced that its Board of Trustees has recently appointed Amy Padilla as Director.
WTO talks breakdown: Temporary setback for pro-TNC agenda in global South
The 11th Ministerial Conference (MC11) of the WTO ended yesterday without the adoption of a Ministerial Declaration document, which would detail the agenda agreed upon in the trade talks.
A deadly irony for people’s economic rights as WTO opens talks on International Rights Day
Today, December 10, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will have its opening session for its 11th Ministerial Conference (MC11). December 10 is also commemorated as the International Human Rights Day.
WTO promotes plunder of global South, silences peoples’ justified opposition
IBON International stands with advocates and peoples from both the global North and South in resisting the WTO's attack on both economic and political rights.
Advocates of peoples’ rights in the global South elected to IBON Int’l Board of Trustees
Members of a new Board of Trustees were elected at the second General Assembly (GA) of the IBON International Foundation, coming from various organisations that forward people's rights.
Out with neoliberalism, forward people-centred development
With the UNCTAD (and to a lesser extent, the IMF) admission of neoliberalism's failures, it is now ever pertinent to heed peoples' calls to end neoliberal policies and forward development with and for the people.
World Bank "trillions": More PPPs, even worse days of privatisation?
The World Bank's shift to "billions to trillions" in development finance threatens more corporate-led development and privatisation through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).
World Bank “trillions”: More PPPs, even worse days of privatisation?
The World Bank's shift to "billions to trillions" in development finance threatens more corporate-led development and privatisation through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).
Development for Whom? How Navotas fisherfolk resist the displacement of their people and livelihood
Reflections on the struggle of Navotas fisherfolk for their community and right to livelihood, and the impacts of corporate-led development pushed by the WTO and governments.
Forum on the 2017 International Situation
Join us on August 19 as we hold a Forum on the 2017 International Situation, to be held at the College of Mass Communication of the University of the Philippines-Diliman, in Quezon City, Philippines!
Lenin's 'Imperialism' in the 21st Century: A Book Launch & Forum
To commemorate the hundredth anniversary of Lenin's "Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism," the Institute of Political Economy (IPE), in co-operation with IBON International, launched a new book with the title "Lenin’s 'Imperialism' in the 21st Century."
Lenin’s ‘Imperialism’ in the 21st Century: A Book Launch & Forum
To commemorate the hundredth anniversary of Lenin's "Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism," the Institute of Political Economy (IPE), in co-operation with IBON International, launched a new book with the title "Lenin’s 'Imperialism' in the 21st Century."
USAID in Mindanao: The Other Side of the US COIN
Examining the case of USAID in Mindanao, southern Philippines, and how development could be subsumed to military objectives at the expense of addressing roots of armed conflict.
Remembering the Legacy of François Houtart
We remember the legacy of a prolific thinker and a friend to oppressed peoples of the world, François Houtart.
Cordillera Day 2017: A Story of Vibrant Struggle for Rights
We look back at the Cordillera peoples' struggle against development aggression and other ills until the present. Their struggle manifests how rights are not just given but could be claimed through collective action.
Just Peace and the Shift from Neoliberalism
In the Philippines, agrarian reform and development of national industries forms an important part of the talks between the government and the National Democratic Front, and could point to a new direction for the country's economy.
RCEP legitimacy in question: trade deal in behalf of the people, without the people?
Civil society organizations raised the issues of transparency of the RCEP negotiations and the trade deal's potential effects to various social sectors last May 10 in Manila.
Keynote Address at the Conference on the Self-Determination and Liberation of West Papua
Antonio Tujan, Jr., IBON International Director, delivers a keynote address on the right to self-determination and the struggle of the West Papuan people.
Upholding People's Rights amidst Global Crises
IBON International launched a book of case stories on the experiences of Philippine people’s organizations in claiming and defending rights in their communities.
Upholding People’s Rights amidst Global Crises
IBON International launched a book of case stories on the experiences of Philippine people’s organizations in claiming and defending rights in their communities.
Launch of new book on People’s Rights and People’s Sovereignty
IBON International will launch a book of case stories of people's organizations claiming and asserting their rights.
People’s Rights and Half a Decade of US Direct Intervention in Syria
US intervention in Syria has only worsened what was once an internal conflict, at the expense of the Syrian people's rights.
Trade unions and campaigners boycotting World Bank consultation on PPPs
The boycott was launched after repeated calls for the Bank to stop promoting PPPs that contain dangerous hidden debts, which are especially damaging for world’s poorest countries.
Global Partnership Must Put People over Profit to Meet “Leave No-one Behind” Challenge
The outcome document of the 2nd High-Level Meeting of the GPEDC, despite some significant drawbacks, can be a start in creating substantive change in global development processes.
Challenges persist in donor and government action on development cooperation commitments
Five years since commitments were made in the Busan Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation, giant strides are still needed especially when it comes to donors’ and governments’ efforts toward targeted development outcomes.
The Struggle for Peoples' Rights: Land, Food and Justice in Kidapawan
IBON International expresses its solidarity with the marginalized who continue to assert their economic and social rights.
The Struggle for Peoples’ Rights: Land, Food and Justice in Kidapawan
IBON International expresses its solidarity with the marginalized who continue to assert their economic and social rights.
CSOs: Nairobi High-Level Meeting must not give imprimatur on corporate takeover of development effectiveness agenda
CSOs warn that development cooperation may be progressively reduced to being a catalyst for private forms of financing, and that the use of public funds with the accompanying standards of accountability and inclusiveness will be weakened.
Global Partnership Must Uphold Democratic Ownership Against Profiteering and Militarization
In light of the Second High-Level Meeting of the GPEDC, IBON International asserts the principle of democratic ownership against the profit motive in development cooperation.
Action, action everywhere but nowhere
Expectations that this annual meeting of the world’s leaders will set the wheels into motion on the Paris Agreement (PA) do not seem likely as huge disagreements on its interpreting have emerged between developed and developing countries.
Thousands troop to the Kasbah as climate talks enter 2nd week
An estimated 7,000 people took to the streets of Morocco on Sunday, calling for meaningful action from the world’s leaders to solve the climate crisis.
IBON International: Climate Justice
ClimateJustice-remastered-02The planet is experiencing a climate crisis of catastrophic proportions. Extreme weather events have vividly shown how these can bring entire countries and communities to a virtual standstill. Volatile weather…
‘COP of action’ opens with a high note
The 22nd Conference of Parties (COP) opened with a high note that heralded the ‘early into force’ of the Paris Agreement (PA), last year’s landmark agreement that sealed the international community’s commitment to climate action.
USAID Influences Philippine National Policy to Advance US Interests
IBON International contends that US policy and practice disprove the US Department of State assistant secretary, Daniel Russel, who denied the fact of aid conditionality.
Global Launch of People Over Profit
The People Over Profit network launch was held on October 23 at the Lakbayan ng Pambansang Minorya 2016 camp grounds in UP Diliman, Philippines. For more information, please visit: http://peopleoverprofit.online/
Global Launch of People Over Profit
The People Over Profit network launch was held on October 23 at the Lakbayan ng Pambansang Minorya 2016 camp grounds in UP Diliman, Philippines. For more information, please visit: http://peopleoverprofit.online/
Trade for the people, not for corporate elites!
A Call to Action to Stop RCEP, TPP, TTIP, and CETA! The world’s people have long been subject to ever-worsening poverty and injustice – from the erosion of labor protection measures across the globe, the continued privatization of key sectors of the economy, to the rampant dispossession and displacement of peasants, farmers and indigenous communities from their lands. The unrelenting depression of the global economy has pushed millions of workers to leave their home country in pursuit of greener pasture elsewhere; women continue to suffer miserable wages, landlessness, and hunger atop of discrimination and violence as the world’s youth are perpetually deprived of free and accessible education and decent employment. But the worst is still yet to come.
Monitoring and review of development cooperation in the 2030 Agenda
IBON International participated in the Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) 5th Biennial High-Level Meeting at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 21-22 July 2016, which was part of the High-level Segment of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The meeting focused on development cooperation as a lever for effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda. IBON International representative Jennifer del Rosario-Malonzo made an intervention during the session on "Monitoring and review of development cooperation in the 2030 Agenda: quality, effectiveness and impact for sustainable development." Below is the full text of her intervention.
Challenges in Mobilizing MOI at the National Level (Financing, Technology, Capacity Building)
Lei Covero of IBON International did an intervention in behalf of the Women's Major Group at a UN official meeting titled "Challenges in mobilizing means of implementation at the national level - Financing, Technology, Capacity Building" last 13 July 2016.
Reclaiming UNCTAD: Draw from its roots to resist neoliberal agenda
The fourteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XIV) comes at the heels of WTO 10th Ministerial Conference last December 2015 in Nairobi, where the US, EU and other developed countries slayed the Doha Development Round in order to introduce “new issues” into the multilateral trading system.
TPP: An Expansion of Whose Agenda?
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a regional free trade agreement (FTA) created to reduce trade barriers and harmonize rules and regulations that further intensify the concentration of resources, wealth, and power into the hands of industrial countries and their corporate elites.
Peasant leader hailed as next PH Agrarian Reform chief
IBON International joins the Philippine peasant and social movements in applauding the appointment of incoming Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Rafael “Ka Paeng” Mariano under the administration of presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte.
IBON CJ Watch May 2016
The Bonn Climate Change Conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) convened from May 16 to 26, 2016 in Bonn, Germany to discuss the operationalization of the Paris Agreement which was adopted by 194 Parties in December 2015 and endorsed by 177 countries in April 2016. The Conference is expected to have laid the foundation for the success of the COP 22 in Marrakech, Morocco in November; however, it is still a long way from achieving the vision of balance, equity, and ambition to genuinely solve the planetary crisis.
International Conference for Peoples’ Rights in the Philippines
The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP), Initiatives for Peace in Mindanao (InPeace), KARAPATAN Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights, and Ecumenical Voice for Human Rights and Peace (EcuVoice) invite friends to the International Conference for Peoples’ Rights in the Philippines (ICPRP) from July 23 to 24, 2016, in Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines.
Inaugural FfD Forum: Missed potentials
Insufficient preparations, limited time allocation and a disappointing outcome document marked the inaugural ECOSOC Financing for Development (FfD) Forum, held from 18-20 April 2016 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, which was meant to initiate a follow-up process for the FfD Conferences (from Monterrey, Doha, to Addis Ababa).
Inang Bayan Global Day of Action for Kidapawan edition
The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) released their new edition of “Inang Bayan” which highlights the Global Day of Action for the thousands of farmers and peasants who were brutally dispersed and fired at by police forces in Kidapawan, North Cotabato during a legitimate protest action for food relief.
Heading for higher ground: Climate crisis, migration and the need for justice and system change re-launch
April 22, 2016, Earth Day, IBON International is re-launching this video, "Heading for Higher Ground: Climate Crisis, migration, and the need for justice and system change" to signify our solidarity with migrants and refugees who are forced to leave from their homes due to poverty, wars and conflicts, and climate change.
US Congress Rep with World Bank oversight demands end to Bank’s unethical water privatization deals, cites Manila’s privatized water
US Congressional Representative Gwen Moore, a Ranking Member of the House subcommittee tasked with World Bank Group (WBG) oversight, yesterday issued a rare letter of condemnation of the WBG for its failure to prevent conflicts of interest from shaping the decisions of its development finance institution, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), in its projects in the water sector.
Justice for the Victims of State Violence in Kidapawan, North Cotabato!
IBON International condemns in the strongest terms the violent repression in Kidapawan undertaken by the Philippine National Police (PNP) in response to the occupation by 6,000 unarmed peasants and Lumad tribe-members of the Kidapawan highway to demand food aid and immediate relief from drought for the six (6) El Niño-stricken municipalities of which they are residents. The attack reportedly resulted in seven (7) deaths and over a hundred injured, while some 89 (including women, elderly and six minors) are counted among those still missing.
Internationally-Recognized Environmental Activist Berta Cáceres Martyred
On March 3, indigenous leader Berta Cáceres, cofounder of the Council of Civic, Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) and winner of the 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize, was murdered by armed intruders in her home in La Esperanza, Honduras.
Stop the attacks on Lumads and their rights!
IBON International strongly condemns the arson attack perpetrated by a paramilitary group on a Lumad refugee camp at UCCP-Haran in Davao City.
IBON International joins call for greater PPP transparency
Last February 29, IBON International together with more than 50 civil society organisations(CSOs) from around the globe urged the World Bank (WB) to push for more financial transparency on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).
IBON International elects first set of Foundation officers
IBON International Foundation held its first Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting last November 9-10, 2015 at the Sacro Costato Retreat House, Quezon City, Philippines.
WTO Nairobi Declaration: Death Certificate for the Doha Development Mandate
After extending for a final non-stop 24-hour negotiation between the major trading powers, the 10th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) concluded with a Ministerial Declaration that marks a turning point for the multilateral trade body according to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman.
A Burial Ground for the Doha Development Round
Attempts to kill the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) exposes the WTO’s pretentious claims that it seeks to support development in the Global South.
The Paris Agreement in perspective (or ten or more reasons why elation must be kept on hold, and a serious reality check be done)
The 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) concluded its meeting on December 12th, a day behind the original schedule of finalizing an agreement on global efforts to respond to the growing impacts of climate change.
WTO Nairobi Ministerial: Deathbed of the Doha Round?
Recent attempts of the United States (US), the European Union (EU) and other developed countries to put an end to the Doha Development Round (DDR) exposes the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) pretentious claims that it seeks to support development in the Global South, global activists said.
WTO’s 20 years of servitude to TNCs and Monopoly Capitalism
Agriculture has always been on top of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) agenda from the very start. Since it was created two decades ago to replace the GATT, WTO’s trade liberalization policies immediately found its way to open up agricultural trade markets in the Global South. Being the primary economic sector of the developing world, efforts to cut down tariffs on agricultural goods while allowing rich countries to dump heavily subsidized products devastated local economies and pushed the people – peasants, farmers, fisherfolk, indigenous people, rural women and youth, to deeper poverty.
Global activists welcome WTO Ministers with protests
On the opening day of the 10th Ministerial Conference (MC10) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Nairobi, global activists welcomed trade ministers from over 100 countries with a protest. Some 200 activists from 12 countries joined grassroots organizations in Nairobi, Kenya to protest 20 years of the WTO’s broken development promises. Simultaneous actions were held in the Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan and other countries spearheaded by the Asian Peasant Coalition and the International League of Peoples Struggles.
WTO Nairobi Ministerial: ‘Permanent solution to Food Security? Junk the WTO!’
No solution in sight from a system that breeds the world’s problems, warns global activists a day ahead of the 10th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Nairobi, Kenya.
20 years of WTO: A Tale of Two Economies
Twenty years since its establishment, the World Trade Organization (WTO) remains one of the most important mechanisms used by monopoly capital to advance neoliberal trade and concentrate wealth at the hands of the richest one percent.
People's Forum: 20 Years of WTO is Enough!
20 years of WTO have been 20 years of opening up the world to transnational corporate plunder and the languishing of billions of people in poverty, landlessness, unemployment, precariousness, and environmental catastrophes. The 10th WTO Ministerial in Nairobi is set to perpetuate the same neoliberal free trade agenda, and more! Corporations and governments are pushing for new rules to strengthen corporate control and reverse the hard-won rights fought for by people through their collective action.
People’s Forum: 20 Years of WTO is Enough!
20 years of WTO have been 20 years of opening up the world to transnational corporate plunder and the languishing of billions of people in poverty, landlessness, unemployment, precariousness, and environmental catastrophes. The 10th WTO Ministerial in Nairobi is set to perpetuate the same neoliberal free trade agenda, and more! Corporations and governments are pushing for new rules to strengthen corporate control and reverse the hard-won rights fought for by people through their collective action.
Time nearly up for global leaders to seal the Paris climate deal, illegitimate and immoral even before it is sealed?
The Paris Climate Summit, happening from 30 November to 11 December, is due to conclude a new international agreement to limit global average temperature rise and avoid the most dangerous consequences of climate change.
The historical responsibility and climate vulnerability conundrum: real or conjured?
The 21st meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) only has a few days left to smooth out an international agreement for measures that will keep the world and its inhabitants safe.
Climate Activists raise alarm bells vs corporate capture of climate
Climate justice activists gathered at the Climate Action Zone in Paris during the COP 21 to raise the alarm on the corporate capture of climate at the global policy levels, and also at the implementation climate-related policies at national and community levels.
Redefining vulnerability and dodging responsibility: the more things change, the more they stay the same
The 21st Conference of Parties (COP 21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), meeting in Paris with the objective of coming to an agreement on global efforts that will respond to the increasing impacts of climate change, entered its second week of negotiations yesterday.
Women Rise for Climate Justice at COP21
Women activists, grassroots leaders, and advocates danced the One Billion Rising at the Climate Action Zone in Paris during the COP21 to demand governments to set emission cut targets that will hold global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius and provide reparations for the climate debt incurred by developed counties because of their unsustainable consumption and production practices.
Not just an agreement, but a just agreement needed
Three days into the 21st Conference of Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), negotiations are nearing fever pitch as the December 4 deadline for a revised draft text of the Paris climate agreement looms.
SIGN ON STATEMENT: 20 years of the WTO is enough! Junk WTO!
It has been two decades since the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO), a successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which created a multilateral trading system encompassing trade in goods, services, agriculture, and intellectual property.
More ‘hot air’ from Heads of States as Climate Summit opens
Over 130 Heads of State have arrived in Paris in an attempt to sign a new global agreement, amidst high expectations of people all around the world for urgent and meaningful action to respond to the climate crisis. Just over the weekend, the world saw the biggest ever climate marches of almost 1 million people gathering in 175 countries demanding leaders to come to an agreement that is binding, ambitious, durable and just, to replace the Kyoto Protocol and to take effect in 2020. This new climate deal that is yet to be agreed on is quite controversial already in the approach it takes, as it calls on each and every government to say just what and how much it is willing to undertake actions to reduce emissions, provide finance, and adapt to the increasing impacts of climate change.
Fight Neoliberal Trade, Junk WTO and Advance the People’s Trade Agenda!
Twenty years since its establishment, the World Trade Organization (WTO) remains one of the most important mechanisms used by the global monopoly capital to advance neoliberal trade and concentrate wealth at the hands of the richest one percent. By imposing trade rules that empower transnational corporations (TNCs) from rich countries, the WTO serves to keep the vast majority of countries underdeveloped while a tiny minority accumulates more power and wealth.
Resistance needs no permit: COP 21 opens with climate marches all over the world and the arrest of around 200 in Paris
The 21st Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) opened today in Paris, where the world’s leaders are expected to come to an agreement on actions to solve the climate crisis.
No holds barred: Global peoples surge against imperialist attacks on people and planet
Even as authorities and world leaders try to suppress peoples protest surrounding the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to be held in Paris from November 30 to December 11, 2015, the people are unwavering in their stance for a genuine global climate agreement that reflects the peoples’ aspirations for social transformation and system change that will solve the roots of the climate crisis.
COP21 SERIES: Free trade undermines our right to health and the fight against climate change
Climate change threatens the right to health. According to the World Health Organization, climate change is already responsible for approximately 150,000 deaths every year. It also worsens environmental conditions, contributing to poorer health, nutrition, and water quality.
Multinationals in West Africa: massive fraud and environmental degradation
In West Africa, tax evasions by multinational corporations are costing billions in local currencies to ECOWAS countries. According to several estimates they exceed international development assistance. So these losses affect government budgets and public spending on basic social services. This, in turn, affects poor and low income families.
NGOs dare presidentiables to present disaster response agenda
As the country commemorates the second anniversary of supertyphoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan), a network of NGOs challenged presidential candidates to present their own disaster response agenda.
NGOs: Unspent disaster funds – callous, immoral
A consortium of non-government organizations branded the failure of government agencies to spend funds for disaster victims and to implement the much-need housing project as callous and immoral.
Measuring change, but (still) leaving inequality behind
The Second meeting of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on the Sustainable Development Goals (IAEG-SDGs) took place in Bangkok, Thailand, on 26-28th October 2015. Statistics experts from 28 national governments convened with the objective of coming to an agreement on the list of indicators to measure progress for each of the 17 SDGs ratified last September during the United Nations General Assembly.
IBON CJ Watch October 2015
The Bonn climate change negotiations commenced last October 23, 2015 with a still contentious 33-page draft negotiating text.
No to FTAs!
A few days ago, the United States, Japan and 10 other countries from the Pacific region arrived at a final agreement to approve what has been cited as the largest regional trade accord in history, The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. The trade deal focuses on lowering trade barriers to goods and services, tightens intellectual property (IP) laws and establishes an investor-state dispute settlement mechanism.
Up Close and Personal: UN Post-2015 Development Agenda Makes the 1% Richer and 99% Poorer
Amidst the celebrity hype over the announcement of the United Nations’ Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Pope Francis’ address of the UN member states, not all who travelled to New York City for the UN Development Summit were buying it.
The (UN)Sustainable Development Goals: Now Open for Business
More than 150 world leaders, hundreds of representatives from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and corporate executives attended the UN Summit on Sustainable Development from September 25-27 at United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York to formally adopt a new sustainable development agenda.Titled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, the agreement contains a set of 17 goals and 169 targets that would come into effect on 1 January 2016, replacing the Millennium Development Goals set in 2000.
IBON CJ Watch ADP2.10
Negotiators have yet again wrapped up another set of climate talks without producing a draft text that will be the basis of a new global climate agreement to be adopted in December by the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
IBON International’s Statement on the Swedish Government’s decision to terminate partnership with civil society
IBON International, a Southern civil society organisation, regrets the decision of the Swedish government to unilaterally terminate the partnership of its international development cooperation wing the Swedish International Development Cooperation…