ADB and the ‘Development through Empowerment’ delusion
The same destructive policy imperatives remain in place
Asia has achieved remarkable economic growth, but is leaving hundreds of millions still mired in poverty, thus causing a widening gap between rich and poor and undermining the basis of growth itself. The Asian Development Bank is moving to address this worsening poverty and inequality through its core agenda "Development through Empowerment." Underlying this agenda, however, remains the ADB's market fundamentalism and a spin on "good governance" that remains anchored on private sector dominance, and which perpetuates the same policy imperatives that violate the basic human rights of poor people in the region.
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Indonesian Peoples Alliance hits arrest of 4 activists by Surabaya cops
Asian peasant group slams dispersal of anti-trade lib rally
The Indonesian Peoples Alliance condemned what it called “the fascist action” of the Indonesian government in arresting four activists and dispersing an anti-trade liberalization rally on April 20. The IPA-led demonstration in Surabaya, East Java, opposed the government’s economic agenda for the upcoming APEC Summit as well as the WTO Ministerial, both slated to be held in Indonesia later this year.
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Indigenous groups move to join CSO Platform for Dev’t Effectiveness
'Collecting the historical debt due us'
Indigenous groups from various countries have decided to take the first steps towards joining the CSO Platform for Development Effectiveness (CPDE). Gathered recently in Baguio City, Philippines for an international workshop on aid and development effectiveness, delegates from indigenous groups and advocates worldwide expressed their intent to participate “as a peoples’ movement” in the CPDE, and “to collect the historical debt due us.”
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CSOs gather for 3rd High-Level Panel meet on post-2015 agenda
Bali meeting to produce report on post-MDG future of development
CSOs from across the world are gathered in Bali for the third meeting of a UN-convened High-Level Panel which will produce a report on how the Millennium Development Goals should be replaced in 2015. They are hopeful the HLP will produce the bold recommendations needed on the future of international development – or be prepared to live with the dire consequences of its failure, in the face of multiple crises and entrenched poverty and inequality.
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Campaign for People’s Goals toolkit now available
Valuable resource for people's organizations
This toolkit is a contribution by the Campaign for People’s Goals to organizations seeking to participate and build campaigns around the process to define post-2015 global development goals. It is a resource designed for organizations working closely with poor and marginalized communities for real, substantive and sustainable solutions.
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Give grassroots groups a say in development
Campaign for People's Goals op-ed published in the Guardian
An op-ed article written by IBON International/Campaign for People's Goals on Sustainable Development has been published in the Guardian. The article challenges the status quo of the post-2015 development agenda, in which civil society's meaningful participation is at risk. (Picture by Ace Alegre/nordis.net)
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