Presentation

Introduction and Context

Participation at the OfficialSummit

18 June: UBUNTU Side-event “Food, sustainability and global democracy: challenges and perspectives”

21 June: Side-event of the Leading Group: “Innovativefinancing for sustainabledevelopment”

Participation at the Cupula dos Povos

19 June: Activities related to theRobin Hood Tax Campaign

21 June: Workshop “Building new paths towards global and environmental governance”

Participation in other activities

WORLD FORUM OFCIVIL SOCIETY NETWORKS

The RIO+20 memo

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) known as Rio+20 took place in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), from 15 to 23 June 2012. Parallel to this was the People’s Summit or Cupula dos Povos. The UBUNTU Forum was present and took an active part in both summits.

At the official conference the UBUNTU Forum organized a side-event on food-related issues, and took part in the side-event organized by the Leading Group on Innovative Financing for Development (LG). At the parallel one it co-organized two activities and was present at the Robin Hood Tax demonstration. The UBUNTU delegation participated in several meetings such as the UN Global Dialogues, informal meetings of the Helsinki Process and of the International Council of the World Social Forum (WSF), the presentation of the document “Another future is possible” and the launch of the Inter Press Service TV project.

This is an executive report of all those activities.

Presentation

Report of the activities of the UBUNTU Forum at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD)

RIO DE JANEIRO, 16 – 23 June 2012

Statement “A financial transactions

tax for the future we want”

Introduction & Context

In 1992 the first UNCSD –that time known as the “Earth Summit”– took also place in Rio de Janeiro and resulted with several outcomes, such as the Agenda 21, the creation of the Commission on Sustainable Development or the establishment of the conventions on Biodiversity, Climate Change and Desertification, among others. These were aimed to address environmental degradation and to acknowledge sustainable development through its three pillars: social, environmental and economic. Twenty years later the environmental crisis has worsened and the need to confront it is absolutely imperative. In parallel, the world is suffering a severe multidimensional crisis which has dramatically influenced the negotiations leading to Rio+20. The main issues at stake in the negotiations were the “green economy concept”, the proposal of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the institutional framework and the means of imple-mentation. The clash in negotiations between the North and the South, particularly the emerging countries, was evident both in the negotiations and in the process itself.

The final outcome document adopted at the UNCSD íXQGHU�WKH�WLWOH�³7KH�IXWXUH�ZH�ZDQW´�GHPRQVWUDWHV�the serious problems that the international community has in dealing with the sustainable development agenda. However the renewal of the political compromise on sustainable development and the idea to introduce additional measurement mechanisms beyond the GDP can be considered its main achievements. The lack of political will to effectively face environmental issues and the increasing gap between Southern and Northern countries, but also from civil society and social movements towards the process causes serious concerns regarding the future of the process. This was clearly reflected in the People’s Summit which denounced the commoditization of nature, the exercised power of transnational companies, the green economy concept, etc., and exhorted the urgency of building a new paradigm.

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On 18 June, the UBUNTU Forum, in collaboration with the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (FUNGLODE), organized a side-event at Riocentro entitled “Food, sustainability and global democracy: challenges and perspectives”. This counted with the participation of Selvino Heck, Special Advisor to the Presidency of the Republic of Brazil; Daniela Sanchez Frozi, from the Brazilian National Council on Food Security (CONSEA); Natasha Despotovic, from FUNGLODE; Julian Oram, Senior Political Advisor on Agriculture of Greenpeace International; and Manuel Manonelles, Director of the UBUNTU Forum. The main objective of the event was to promote a multi-stakeholder debate to discuss the existing alternatives to eradicate hunger and to highlight the importance that the role of international institutions should have in this area.

Selvino Heck emphasized, on the basis of the Brazilian experience, how the UNCSD had to focus on promoting integrated public policies against

����-XQH��UBUNTU Side-event: “Food, sustainability and global democracy: challenges and perspectives”

hunger based in substantive changes of the current economic and social models. Following this idea, Daniela Sanchez stated that all the actors involved must participate in the democratization of the process, something which is not anymore evident in some countries of the North, resulting with a feeling of growing democratic deficit. This participation implies the need for a different food security approach based on a participatory and inclusive process. This is how Brazil has elaborated its policies and how proper nutrition has become one of the priorities to achieve progressive social change. Julian Oram from Greenpeace stated that the challenges for food and agriculture are, on the one side, how to avoid the control of corporations of agriculture and, on the other, how to reach a food paradigm based on family and farmers agriculture.

Finally, Natasha Despotovic addressed one of the key elements responsible for the rise of food prices in the last years: speculation in food markets.

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Speculation is fed by economic, political and environmental conditions searching to increase marginal benefits. These dynamics have driven more than 150 million people into poverty. In order to confront speculation, Despotovic exposed the initiative that Leonel Fernandez, President of the Dominican Republic, is promoting within the UN General Assembly context, that resulted with the General Assembly’s resolution 66/188 “Addressing excessive price volatility in food and related financial and commodity markets”.

����-XQH��Side-event of the Leading *URXS�´,QQRYDWLYH�ÀQDQFLQJ�IRU�sustainable development”

The LG "the UBUNTU Forum is one of its members since 2006", also organized a side-event in the context of the Summit. This, as it was agreed in its Plenary meeting in Madrid last February, took place in a very sensitive moment, since the debate on the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which has been strongly promoted within the LG, has attracted much attention in different scenarios during the last months.

The event counted with the participation of high-level representatives from several LG members.

The discussion was introduced by Jomo Kwame Sundaram, UN Assistant Secretary, who pointed out the support of the UN Secretary General for innovative sources of generating additional revenues to fund development. The governments of Belgium, Finland and Norway –represented at ministerial level– also expressed the need of promoting new sources for funding development, and stressed their backing to a FTT implementation. Brazil, as host country, but also member of the LG, was present and expressed its support.

The representatives of the European Commission and the European Parliament –where the discussion on FTT is being held in terms of an imminent implementation– also stated their support for putting development needs as one of the destinations for the funds to be collected by this new tax.

Civil society was initially represented by Mary Robinson, who spoke on behalf of Oxfam International. After the abovementioned interventions, Manuel Manonelles, in representation of the Robin Hood Tax Campaign, presented the statement prepared for the occasion and signed by a large number of organizations.

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Side event at Riocentro. From left to right: Julian Oram, Natasha Despotovic, Manuel Manonelles, Selvino Heck and Daniela Sanchez-Frozi. Photo UBUNTU Forum.

Participation at the Cupula dos Povos

The day of action entitled “A Robin Hood Tax for a Sustainable World” took place on 19 June, and was made up of two activities.

The first one was a panel –moderated by Manuel Manonelles– that counted with the presence of representatives of Brazilian trade unions and campaigners from Europe and North and Latin America. The US campaigners were represented by Jean Ross from National Nurses United, while Julie Chaverou from Coalition Plus and Markus Brun from CIDSE shared the insight from the European campaign, Alessandra Nilo from the Brazilian organization GESTOS, presented the incipient articulation of the campaign in the region. Professor Ladislau Dowbor and Pablo Solon, director of Focus on the Global South, gave important conceptual inputs, and raised awareness regarding the feasibility and implications of the tax.

The event was closed with the presentation of the draft statement “A FTT for the Future we Want”, read by Hernán Cortés from the UBUNTU Forum, as the civil society position paper for the event of the LG, scheduled on 21June.

The second activity, held in the context of the Robin Hood Campaign, was a march that gathered FTT supporters, from Brazilian NGOs and trade unions, campaigners from different organizations and countries. The march ended in front of the headquarters of the “Caixa Econômica Federal” in Rio de Janeiro, with several speeches, including the one by Senator Eduardo Suplicy.

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����-XQH��Activities related to the Robin Hood Tax Campaign

����-XQH��Workshop: Building new paths towards global and environmental governance

On 21 June the UBUNTU Forum, together with the Forum for a New World Governance (FNWG), organized a workshop entitled “Building new paths towards global and environmental governance”. It counted with the participation of Matt Davies, from ATDM-Fourth World and the Beyond 2015 Campaign; Gustavo Marín, from the FNWG; Germán Niño, from LATINDADD; Alan Tuckett, from ICAE, and was moderated by Manuel Manonelles, from the UBUNTU Forum. The discussion was focused on different views and options on how to find ways to build a new and effective global and environmental governance.

The first speaker, Gustavo Marín, started his intervention stating that it is crucial to think and to ask the right questions. These would be, assuming that institutional actors are not able to respond to global governance challenges, and that we are living in a turbulent political period, the following: How can we build new institutions? Is it possible to transform the state and to democratize it? In Marín’s opinion it is necessary to rethink the current system and start to build a new paradigm. Following this idea, Alan Tuckett stated that future needs are to be built through an imaginative approach, by acknowledging that when we debate about global governance we are also referring to power relations. Therefore, the role of power must be challenged by giving voice to the unvoiced, demanding accounta-bility to the international community and linking the local arena, with the global one.

descripció foto

View of the panel “Global financial transactions tax: A just solution for human development”. Photo CONTRAF.

Germán Niño focused on economic relations and

the role of corporations in global governance,

which, linked the lack of transparency, results in

state’s powerlessness or unwillingness to combat

corruption. He also denounced the prominence of

corporations as one of the main characteristics of

Rio+20.

The last speaker was Matt Davies who, paying

tribute to Mercedes Sosa, quoted her by saying that

“I am not indifferent to injustice”.

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Participation in other activities

Besides organizing the above-mentioned events, the

UBUNTU Forum delegation also participated in the

following activities:

16 June: The UBUNTU Forum delegation attended

the second Sustainable Development Dialogue,

entitled “Sustainable Development as an Answer to

the Economic and Financial Crises”.

16 June: Presentation of the document entitled

“Another future is possible. This document was the

result of the compilation of all the Thematic Group’s

of the Thematic Social Forum that, prior to the

Rio+20 summit, was held in Porto Alegre on

January 2012.

He presented the work that ATDM-Fourth World is

carrying on, as well as the one of the “Beyond 2015”

Campaign, in which UBUNTU Forum is

participating. Both are working on extreme poverty

related issues and trying to dignify people suffering

from it. This situation can only be overcome

through participation, one of the main objective of

“Beyond 2015”, and a key element for global and

environmental governance.

18 June: The Ministers of Foreign Affairs and of

International Cooperation of Finland organized an

informal meeting of the Helsinki Process Group in

Rio. The UBUNTU Forum, which is part of the

process and was recently invited to participate in the

Helsinki+10 Process gathering, took part in the

meeting.

21 June: IPS TV: Inter Press Service presented its

WebTV project in an event at Riocentro that

counted with the participation of the President of the

UN General Assembly. The UBUNTU Forum was

present in the event and in some parallel meetings

related to it.

21 June: Informal meeting of the International

Council of the World Social Forum. This meeting

discussed the main issues to be included in the

agenda towards the next WSF to be celebrated in the

Magreb-Mashrek region.

The delegation of the Ubuntu Forum during a

Robin Hood Campaign action at Riocentro. Photo UBUNTU

Workshop “Global Environmental

Governance: New Paths”. Gustavo

Marin speaking.

Photo UBUNTU Forum.

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StatementA FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS TAX FOR THE FUTURE WE WANT

Rio de Janeiro – 22 June 2012:

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, known as RIO+20, has taken place at a critical moment. The G20, that has taken place almost simultaneously, has not shown enough collective will by the world’s major economies to resolve the economic and financial turmoil we face. Member states of the European Union are facing a crucial test of their leadership in overcoming the financial and debt crisis. They are being called to choose whether or not to adopt a FTT for human and sustainable development. A positive answer could lead to a fairer and more sustainable future for the EU and contribute to sustainable human development worldwide.

The FTT can help address many of challenges at hand. It can contribute to economic stability, reducing hot capital flows that fuel speculation and drive instability both in the financial markets and in prices of essential commodities like food. It is time for the financial sector to pay for their responsibility in the expanding crisis that is increasing, even more, the social and economic vulnerability of millions of people. The revenues of a FTT would generate hundreds of billions of dollars per year.

Our message is clear: world leaders must commit to implement the FTT to fund decent sustainable jobs, tackle poverty and inequality, advance public services such as health and education, and strengthen global action against climate change.

Today, more than 30 countries have FTTs at their national levels. In different occasions, political leaders from –among others- France, Germany, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Norway, Finland, Ethiopia and South Africa have stated their support for the FTT. They have also affirmed that a good proportion of FTT revenues should be used to tackle development and climate change challenges. In doing so, they reinforced proposals on FTT need and use from the Leading Group on Innovative Financing for Development, a unique multi-stakeholder platform for consensus building on the implementation of innovative financial mechanisms for development.

We are concerned that the FTT is not at the top of the global political agenda. Even where there are serious discussions on its adoption, as in the case of the European Union, there are risks that FTT revenues will neither be used for social expenditure nor development and climate change, which is worrisome. In the outcome document of Rio+20 too we see no mention of the FTT. We need to move from the good intentions towards clear action.

We, representatives of citizens and civil society, demand that world leaders no longer turn a blind eye to the potential of financial transactions taxes to contribute to a better world for ourselves and future generations. We have come out in large numbers: in Brussels during EU summits; in Nice and Cannes during the G20 in 2011, in Chicago during the G8 in 2012 and now at Rio+20 demanding that our governments implement the FTT for human and sustainable development.

The FTT, also known as the Robin Hood Tax, is growing as a movement around the world – involving thousands of social justice, human rights, environmental, health, trade union and faith-based organizations. Further, it is significant that yesterday, on June 21st, 52 financial industry leaders released a public statement in support of financial transaction taxes.

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Also this week, the President of the EU Commission, José Manuel Durao Barroso, has stated his support for the FTT as a means to fund sustainable development. According to a new global poll commissioned by the International Trade Union Confederation, two-thirds of people in 13 countries support a financial transactions tax. The Robin Hood Tax campaign has been launched this week across the United States, in parallel with the Robin Tax for a Sustainable World events here in Rio.

The hopes and future of billions of people worldwide are at stake at this moment. World leaders must seize this opportunity to ensure a more equitable, greener, healthier and prosperous world for all. We call upon the Leading Group to maintain and advance their work towards the implementation of the FTT for a sustainable world. It is time to give the people of the world hope in the form of realizable solutions that link equality, sustainability and economics. This is the future we want.

Signatories:

·11.11.11. Flemish North South Movement

·ABONG

·ABGLT

·Action for Global Health

·AFL-CIO

·Altermonde

·Asociación Noruego – Cubana

·Association of Citizen for International

Solidarity Taxes (ACIST)

·ATTAC Norway

·ATTAC Vlaanderen

·Center of Concern

·Center for Interethnic Cooperation

·Centro de Cultura Luiz Freire

·CIDSE

·CNCD 11.11.11. , Belgium

·Coalition Plus

·Commonwealth HIV&AIDS

Action Group

·CONTRAF CUT

·CSA TUCA

·Federaçao dos Bancários Rio de

Janeiro e Espírito Santo

·FENTAP Perú

·Forum for Development and

Environment in Norway

·GCAP

·GESTOS/LACCASO

·Global South Initiative Nepal

·Internationale Entwicklung und Mission

·Institute for Policy Studies, Sustainable

Energy & Economy Network

·International HIV/AIDS Alliance

·ITUC-CSI

·Jubilee USA Network

·KOO- Koordinierungsstelle der Österr

·National Nurses United

·NGO Forum on International Solidarity

Levies

·Norwegian Solidarity Committee for Latin

America

·Norwegian Union of Municipal and

General Employees

·Oxfam

·PSI

·Robin Hood Tax Campaign Norway

·Robin Hood Tax Campaign UK

·Sindicato dos Bancários do Rio de Janeiro

·Stamp Out Poverty

·Stop AIDS Alliance

·Stop AIDS now

·Trocaire

·TUC (Trades Union Congress) from Great

Britain

·UBUNTU -World Forum of Civil Society

Networks

·Utviklingsfondet - The Development Fund

·Vida Brasil

·WWF Brazil

WORLD FORUM OFCIVIL SOCIETY NETWORKS

Secretariat of the UBUNTU Forum Universitat Politècnica de CatalunyaJordi Girona 29, edifici Nexus IIBarcelona, 08034ubuntu@ubuntu.upc.eduEdition: March 2012

This Memo has been prepared by the Secretariat of the UBUNTUForum. It has been prepared and edited by Laia Bertran,Hernán Cortés, Marc Gavara and Manuel Manonelles with the collaboration of Marisa Velasco.Special thanks to the support of Mª Antònia Bogónez from The FoundationCulture of Peace

With the support of:

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