[E-rundbrief] Info 194 - WSF 2005 - Global Action against Poverty (GCAP)

[Matthias Reichl]

E-Rundbrief - Info 194 - World Social Forum 2005 - Launch of global poverty 
movement sets challenges to world leaders. The Global Call to Action 
against Poverty (GCAP) launched at World Social Forum 2005 in Porto Alegre 
(Brasil) - Press Release of ICFTU.

Bad Ischl, 29.1.2005

Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit

www.begegnungszentrum.at

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Launch of global poverty movement sets challenges to world leaders.

The Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) launched at World Social 
Forum 2005 in Porto Alegre (Brasil)

Porto Alegre, 27th January 2005

The Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP), the biggest ever global 
mobilization to  hold governments accountable for the promises they made 
to  eradicate poverty, was launched today at the World Social Forum  in 
Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, expressed his  solidarity 
and support for the global call and delivered a speech  before the 12.000 
people that gathered at the Gigantinho stadium  wearing white bands, the 
symbol of the campaign.

The Global Call to Action against Poverty is a worldwide alliance  of 
hundreds of organisations. These comprise grassroots  organizations, trade 
unions, women's groups, non-governmental  organizations, human right 
advocates, international civil society  and faith groups. The campaign is 
calling on world leaders to  fulfill their commitments on trade justice, 
more and better aid  and full debt cancellation. It is also demanding 
transparency and  accountability from all governments in their plans to 
eliminate  poverty and reach the Millennium Development Goals.

"This should be the year in which governments keep their promises  and 
respond to the more than one billion people who are living in  absolute 
poverty, who demand justice," said Guy Ryder, GCAP  representative and 
General Secretary of the ICFTU, a founding  member of the campaign. At the 
launch today, Ryder highlighted  that achieving more and better jobs for 
workers, with full  respect for their basic rights, as the most important 
single  means of increasing poor peoples' incomes and cutting poverty.

Speaking at the launch today, John Samual on behalf of GCAP said,  "We need 
a shift in national and international policies and  agendas. At a time when 
bombs, security and terror dominate the  political agenda it's imperative 
to bring poverty into the centre  of government thinking. We just can´t 
afford to keep quiet when  50,000 people die of poverty related causes 
every day and the  rich and the powerful choose to ignore it. GCAP is a 
wake up call  to people in both rich and poor countries to mobilize and 
force  their governments to take action."

Leaders around the world have made endless promises to end  poverty. In 
2000, they committed to halving extreme poverty and  hunger by 2015 by 
signing the Millennium Development Goals; to  establish fair trade rules at 
the World Trade Organization  development round in 2001; and to end the 
burden of debt that  forces low income countries to pay $100 million every 
day to  their creditors.

"The truth is that little has been done. At the current rates of  progress, 
it will take more than a 100 years, not ten, for many  countries to achieve 
the Millennium Development Goals", says Wahu  Kaara, a GCAP representative 
from Africa.

During 2005 millions of people are expected to demand that world  leaders 
fulfill their promises at three key "White Band Days":  the G8 summit in 
July in UK, at the UN General Assembly in  September and in December at the 
WTO Ministerial meeting in Hong Kong.  The white band is a symbol of the 
united call to end poverty once  and for all.

"This is a really crucial moment in the global fight against  poverty. We 
are a massive and diverse group which has come  together this year to 
demand change. It is high time for action  on trade justice, improved aid 
and debt cancellation. So, our  message today is that united we cannot be 
ignored by our  governments," said Coumba Toure from GCAP Africa who 
presented  President Lula with a white band during the launch event.

  The GCAP demands that in 2005 world leaders:
·  Immediately end dumping and rich country subsidies that  keep people in 
poverty.
·  Enact measures to protect public services from enforced  liberalisation 
and privatisation, secure the right to food and  affordable  access   to 
essential drugs and strengthen corporate  accountability
·  Increase accountability and transparency of governments  and 
international organizations in the formulation of  international trade 
rules and national trade policies.
·  Give more, untied and better aid now to achieve the  Millennium 
Development Goals.
·  Meet the agreed target of 0.7% of national income in  overseas aid.
·  Ensure aid is directed towards achieving development objectives.
·  Cancel debt - rich countries, the World Bank and the  IMF should cancel 
100% of the debt of the   poorest countries in  order to reach the 
Millennium Development Goals.
·  National efforts to eliminate poverty and to reach the  Millennium Goal 
that are developed and implemented in a way that  is democratic, 
transparent and accountable to citizens.

Website: www.whiteband.org

ICFTU OnLine...  013/270105

  INTERNATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF FREE TRADE UNIONS (ICFTU)

The ICFTU represents 148 million workers in 231 affiliated  organisations 
in 150 countries and territories. ICFTU is also a  member of Global Unions: 
http://www.global-unions.org

For more information, please contact the ICFTU Press Department  on
+32 2 224 0232 or +32 476 621 018.

From: ICFTU Press [mailto:press at icftu.org]
Sent: 28 January 2005 14:19

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Matthias Reichl

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