- 1 -
Global Social Policy
GSP Digest 8.2May 2008
Long Version
For more information on the journal Global Social Policy visit:
The GSP Digest is produced by the Globalism and Social Policy Programme (GASPP) in collaboration with the International Council for Social Welfare (ICSW). It has been compiled by Bob Deacon, Meri Koivusalo, Alexandra Kaasch, Mike Chai, and Anja Jakobi; and has been funded by GASPP, the ICSW from SIDA and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland resources, and the University of Bremen Center for Social Policy from Hans Böckler Foundation resources. A pre-publication version of this Digest with direct links to the web sites is available on and All the web sites referenced were accessible in April 2008. This edition of the Digest covers the period mid December 2007 to mid April 2008.
Global Social Policies: Redistribution, Regulation & Rights
REDISTRIBUTION
Those interested in global redistribution are faced with the good news and the bad in 2008. On the one hand, plans progress for the forthcomingDoha Finance for Development Conference( and on the other,ODA is in general falling rather than rising as planned at the G8 Gleneagles meeting.
The President of the UN General Assembly(GA) has published a programme of work for the preparation of the development financing conference ( including six thematic “review sessions” hosted by the UN covering domestic financial resources, foreign direct investment, international trade, international aid, debt relief and reforms of the international monetary, financial and trading systems. Further, there will be “hearings” to involve NGOs and the business sector in the process.More background materialby CSOs on “the road to Doha” is available at and a more substantial scholarly treatment of the subject is in the WIDER’s Development Finance in the Global Economy(
Many civil society actors in the Global South are articulating a more radical agenda within this context arguing for restitution for past imperial wrongs and rejecting aid and aid dependency in favour of self sufficient Southern regional industrial development (e.g. recent conference on World Inequality ( revealed the very different political positions of Northern and Southern global reformers on Aid.( In this context of importance are the OECD Development Centre’s Policy Insights No. 57, 58 and 59 addressing‘Sovereign Development Funds’ and the new role of China in aid to Africa ( as well as Kemal Dervis’ statement on South-South cooperation ( and that of UNCTAD’s Secretary-General (
While these preparations are on their way, total ODA further fell in 2007 by 8.4%. However,aid to Sub-Saharan Africa rose by 10%. Only Norway, Sweden, Luxembourg and Netherlands continue to commit over 0.7% of GNI to aid. ( contrast to the downturn in ODA and the aid shortfall for the IDA reported in digest 8.1, donor contributions to the World Bank have now reached a record amount, namely a 42% increase in support from donor governments to $25.1 billion, as an outcome of the Fifth IDA15 Replenishment Meeting in Berlin (13-14 December 2007). On a visit to China the World Bank President Zoellick welcomed the announcement by China that it would for the first time contribute to the IDA. ( Many CSOs are not satisfied that enough has been done by donor governments to change Bank policy on conditionality before replenishing funds – only Norway holds back some funds pending resolution of this issue. ( funds continue be to generated for Aid by the RED campaign. (
At the same time, the MDGs Global Monitoring Report(April 2008) tracks the continued shortfalls. ( This report is of note because it includes within the targets for poverty reduction the new agreed target of ensuring decent work for all.[1]The ILO is working on a methododolgy to measure progress with decent work which includes not only decen jobs but also social protection, social dalogue and labour standards. (see Social Protection). Also, the UN Secretary-General diagnoses a “mixed record” on the achievement of the MDGs(
But whether or not there is enough money going to ODA, another issue is theeffectiveness of existing aid. This is the topic of the Third High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness ( to take place at Accra (2-4 September 2008), currently being prepared by an international partnership of developing and developed countries and international finance institutions ( And that under close observation of CSOs (e.g. (see also Global Social Governance)The OECD reflects upon its role on aid effectiveness and fragmentation in its DACnews Ideas on Aid ( a report by the Advisory Board for Irish HelpGood Governance, Aid Modalities and Poverty Reduction( calls for better aid systems and changing Northern perspectives and practices;and the Center for Global Developmentassesses whether aid achieves donor goals (
There is, however, more on aid effectiveness than ODA – a Development & Cooperation ( study examines why some NGOs from rich countries distribute aid to the world’s poorest no more effectively than official state agencies, and concludes that NGOs would provide better-targeted aid if they undertook independent initiatives amongst the lowest income groups which governments fail to reach.
At the same time, the IMF Executive Board ( and the World Bank’s Trade Team discuss Aid for Trade.(
REGULATION
The UN Global Compact continues to pursue its path of encouraging global business to behave in a socially responsible way through promulgating good practice. Its second volume, produced jointly with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, entitledEmbedding Human Rights in Business Practice( aims to help establish the business case for human rights.
The OECD works on combating corruption in global business. Its Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions congratulated the United Nations Convention against Corruption for its important accomplishments so far in combating corruption, including through the ratification of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) by over one hundred countries and the substantial work of its various working groups. ( The OECD published a report on Bribery in Public Procurement which describes how bribery is committed through the various stages of government purchasing; how bribery in public procurement is related to other crimes, such as fraud and money laundering; and how to prevent such crimes. (
The Center for Migration Studies (CMS) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) held a Conference on International Migration and Development: Continuing the Dialogue -- Legal and Policy Perspectives in New York City( (17-18 January). Following major intergovernmental events on migration and development (see Digest 7.3 and 8.1),this conference provided an opportunity for experts, researchers, policy makers and programme officials to critically review the outcomes, implications, and achievements of these events. The IOM have just published a road map for preparation of the second Global Forum on Migration and Development ( to be held in Manilla in October 2008.
Migration to OECD countries is accelerating, posing major challenges to the integration of immigrants and their children. At the same time, more and more countries are adopting selective policies to attract highly skilled workers, raising fears of a brain drain from many developing countries. This issue is addressed in a new OECD report A Profile of Immigrant Populations in the 21st Century( see also the Migration and Remittances Factbook 2008( (see also Health section)
RIGHTS
The Human Rights Council met for its 7th meeting ( It“welcomed” the adoption by the UN GA on 13 December 2006 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,and also the fact that already 126 States have signed and 17 have ratified the Convention; and“requested” the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a thematic study to enhance awareness and understanding of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The Human Rights Council was supposed to improve upon the general discredited predecessor, the UN Commission on Human Rights. Instead critics argue, two years after its creation, it continues much the same: Verbiage in homage to human rights is issued at great length while the council excuses the world’s worst human-rights abusers. It then proceeds to target Western countries which mostly uphold human rights. ( just focusing on the role of states, the Bretton Woods Project took the Human Rights Council’s session as the opportunity to call attention to reports on greater human rights accountability of the World Bank. ( A more detailed assessment of the Human Rights Council is provided by the project that, in its Development Bulletin (issue 245), states that progress was made both on Council institution-building and on human rights work.
The UN GAin December adopted 54 resolutions and 12 decisions recommended by its Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), concerning, amongst other things, social development, the advancement of women, and human rights (
International Women’s Day 2008 ( was themed Investing in Women and Girl’ and celebrated by various UN and other international organisations with special activities. UNIFEM ( sponsored a number of events, particularly focused on financing for gender equality at the country level. The ILO was concerned about it under the slogan Investing in Decent Work for Women: Not just right, but smart ( The OECD launched a Wikigender to promote gender equity ( and points to the economic and social benefits of gender equity ( The UNESCO organised an international roundtable Gender Equality: make it your business( FAO published a report on Women and the Right to Food ( And – how could it be otherwise – the World Bank entitles its website Gender Equality as Smart Economics ( Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said “we should not lose sight of the fact that widespread discrimination against women persists in law and practice, directly or indirectly, all over the world”, and called on governments to “show their determination to empower more than half of the world’s population, and thus enable women to claim and enjoy their human rights and contribute to the welfare of all” ( Equally the UN Special Rapporteurs called on states, donor agencies and business enterprises “to step up efforts to respect, protect and fulfill women’s civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights, and allocate adequate resources towards addressing discrimination and violence against women” ( Finally, from the Center for Global Development came a report Girls count. A Global Investment and Action Agenda ( and the Social Watch launched its ‘Gender Equity Index’ (
Preceding the day, the Committee of Discrimination against Women had held its 40th session ( and the Commission on the Status of Women had come together for its 52nd session (
Global Social Governance
The IMF continues to address its reform agenda. Its recent reform means that the voting share of low-income countries was increasing as a result of a tripling in IMF members’basic votes ( two African constituencies on the IMF Board would benefit from the appointment of a second Alternate Director. ( However, the South African Minister for Finance remarked that the 47 countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, despite counting for 25 percent of the Fund’s membership, hold just 5.6 percent of the vote and two seats on the board, and called for more reform ( Oxfam too said that the IMF governance reform was negligible and needed to go much further ( other critical views:
A report by the IMF’s evaluation arm ( faulted the Fund’s overuse of structural conditionality and partially blamed donors for the problem, but civil society critics of conditionality are not satisfied with the scope of the report or the changes accepted by the Fund( is taking place as the concern about the adequacy and independence of World Bank research continues in the wake of the earlier Deaton Report (see digest 7.2) ( It will be interesting to see what impact on Bank research thinking will follow from the appointment of Justin Yifu Lin as World Bank Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President for Development Economics. This is the first time this position is held by a citizen from the developing world. Lin is known for his criticism of the Washington Consensus, and particularly of shock therapies and mass-scale privatizations. (
It was none-the-less business as usual at the IMF-World Bank Spring Meeting ( Of more interest is the related statement by global unions ( It welcomes the steps that some divisions of the World Bank have taken to ensure that the projects they finance do not violate core labour standards.But it also contends that the Bank should adopt a coherent approach in support of decent work by ending the promotion of labour market deregulation through the retrograde labour market flexibility index of its annual Doing Businessreport ( the statement calls on the IMF to adopt a series of measures that will help member countries protect their populations against the impact of the global economic slowdown; including to offset the impact of higher food and fuel prices, an emergency credit facility for countries in financial difficulty, a new international regulatory framework for private equity and hedge funds, and measures to protect against destabilising speculative capital movements.
At the UN member states resume talks on the future of the System-Wide Coherence Process ( It is reported by Jona von Freiesleben of the Center for UN Reform( on one hand, the large donor groups (the EU, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) continued to focus on increased efficiency and accountability "on the ground," while the G77 and NAM, on the other hand, largely prioritised overall funding, development and governance. Several diplomats interviewed for this article feared that these opposing views could stall the future. The 48 recommendations of the November 2006 Report of the High Level Panel have since been grouped into eight thematic categories for consideration by Member States, among them ‘Delivering as One’, ‘Funding’, ‘Governance and Institutional Reform’ and ‘Gender’, for which consultations began on 28 March. ( Progress on the ground is evidenced in Albania where the ILO and UN deliver as one with a package for social and economic progress(
Meanwhile the Secretary-General stressed ECOSOC’s critical role in advancing the global development agenda. He promised to make every effort to ensure the success of the Council’s first ever biennial Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) (New York July 2008), which was expected to become a principal mechanism for global dialogue and policy review on key development cooperation issues; and to contribute to the Conference on Financing for Development (see above). The Forum process could also provide stepping stones towards renewed global consensus on aid quality and architecture, including national ownership and leadership. ( The South Centre’s expectations of the Development Cooperation Forum are that it will replace and become an alternative to the OECD-DAC and World Bank and it will address wider issue of Finance for Development. ( Alongside the first ever DCF will be the Annual Ministerial Meeting (
The South Centre view that the DCF should replace OECDDAC might be given further weight by the DAC’s decision to elect Eckhard Deutscher, until recently the German Executive Director to the World Bank, to lead the Committee. ( But of course the OECD continues to expand its membership and the membership of its Development Centre suggesting it will not be replaced ( - neither does the increasing collaboration between the World Bank and OECD ( and even the ILO (
As if reforming the Bank and the IMF and the UN and abolishing the Bank and OECD in favour of the DCF is not enough, moves continue to reform the G8! One practical way to improve the state of the world argues Tomothy Garton Ash ( is to turn G8 into G14. This might be sensible if the G8/G14 were more able to fulfill its promises. The 2007 Heiligendamm G8 Summit Interim Compliance report which indicates shortcomings on delivering promises is provided by the G8 watch centre in Toronto. (
And in the reform agenda debatethere are those who say that Global Business be brought more on board,for example the Centre for Global Development in its Joining the Fight Against Global Poverty: A menu for corporate engagement( and those world business leaders and UN officials who discussedthe contribution of corporate philanthropy (
International Actors and Social Policy
HEALTH
On 21-26 January, the WHO Executive Board met for its 122ndsession ( But more important, this year the WHO turns 60 ( and the Alma-Ata Declaration’ 30 – sufficient cause for returning to the ‘Primary Health Care’ (PHC): An International Conference on Primary Health Care and Health Systems in Africa was organised by a number of international and regional organisations, hosted by the Government of Burkina Faso ( The Italian Global Health Watch prepared From Alma Ata to the Global Fund: The History of International Health Policy ( and ’New Global Health’ A Reversal of Logic, History and Principles( These anniversaries gave also reason for Jeffrey Sachs to suggest ten key steps to realise health for all in the next few years, including that rich countries should devote 0.1 percent of their gross domestic product to the cause of health care in the poorest countries (