An alternative post-2015 development strategy (II)
New priorities for development
We commit ourselves to reduce the part of those suffering from hunger by half till 2015, our Heads of State and Government proclaimed in 2000 when they adopted objective no. 1 of the MDGs. At that time, there were some 850 million people suffering from that scourge. A 2012 United Nations report (A/67/257) recognizes that some 900 million people are still suffering from hunger. It adds that hunger and malnutrition remain the most critical global challenges. This shows that the international community is heading towards a flagrant and scandalous failure. By Jean Feyder
There is a basic fact which remained unknown for a long time: Some 80% of those suffering from hunger and malnutrition – more than 700 million – live in the rural areas. Around 50 % of these persons are small peasants, 20% are landless peasants and 10% are herdsmen, fishermen and people working in the forests ...
Jean Feyder has been Ambassador of Luxembourg in Geneva and served in 2009/10 as President of the Trade & Development Board of UNCTAD. He is a member of ASTM (Association Solidarité Tiers Monde), Luxembourg, and SOS-Faim, Belgium/Luxembourg.
At first glance, everyday life seems not to have changed in Istanbul. The streets are congested; people hurry to the ferry or the bus. For weeks, there has been no terror attack. Nevertheless, there are some visible changes. There are much more policemen in the streets. In some days, the Istiklal Caddesi, the main shopping street on the European side, seems to be under a state of siege. At every street corner, there is police van with the blue light switched on.
Recent disturbing trends in international finance have particularly problematic implications, especially for developing countries. The new United Nations report, World Economic Situation and Prospects 2017 (WESP 2017), is the only recent report of a multilateral inter-governmental organization to recognize these problems, especially as they are relevant to the financing requirements for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Trump government signals unequivocally the end of international US hegemony. An international hegemon is able to define rules that find relatively broad acceptance internationally and plays a role in safeguarding international economic stability. The Trump government announced measures that go against the present economic rules while not proposing new ones.
The global deficit in quality jobs and deteriorating economic conditions in a number of regions threatens to undo decades of progress in poverty reduction, warns a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the World Employment and Social Outlook (WESO) 2016.
Weakening of workers' rights in most regions is being aggravated by severe crackdowns on freedom of speech and assembly, according to the 2016 Global Rights Index. Restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly, including severe crackdowns in some countries, increased by 22%, with 50 out of 141 countries surveyed recording restrictions.