Eurostep WeeklyRegular News Update from Eurostep, N° 516 14 July 2008 Civil society organisations meet in Casablanca to discuss "Union for the Mediterranean" A meeting organised by the Euromed Non-Governmental Platform took place in Casablanca, Morocco, on the 4-5 July, with the purpose of discussing the new European Commission proposal entitled "Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean" ahead of its official launch at the summit of heads of state on 13 July in Paris. The meeting also aimed to prepare the structure of the Euromed Civil Forum 2008 to be held in Marseille from 31 October to 2 November. The main features of the proposed union are the strengthening of the partnership approach, with a co-governance of the presidency, and the creation of a secretariat which would be in charge of the programming and implementation of the regional projects, of which the majority are concerned with infrastructure. At the launch of the "Union for the Mediterranean" in Paris, French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged the 43 participating nations to unite to tackle problems stemming from climate change, growing migration and diminishing water and energy resources. The main challenges identified by civil society are related to the problem of peace in the region, the lack of language on human rights and the problem of financing. The financing question is of particular concern since the European Commission has only committed 50 million euros so far. Another concern is the role of the future secretariat when it comes to choosing the projects and its status as an autonomous body. The meeting further debated the role of civil society in this new Euromed context and came up with a list of recommendations which were presented to the heads of state on 13 July. The recommendations emphasised that all projects should be implemented in accordance with the principles of human rights, and rejected the economic approach in favour of a more diverse approach focusing also on education, culture and sustainable development. They also urged for the issue of migration to be central, and emphasised the key role that civil society should play in this partnership. Sources: Launch of the "Handbook on Mainstreaming Human Rights and Gender into European Security and Defence On 27 June 2008 the Slovene Presidency and ISIS Europe launched "Handbook on Mainstreaming Human Rights and Gender into European Security and Defence Policy", a compilation of EU documents, some recently declassified, on gender and children's rights in the context of the EU Security and Defence Policy. The event was attended by representatives from NGOs, civil society and relevant EU bodies. At the launch, Mr Mirko Cigler, the Slovene chair of the EU Politico-Military Group, said that the three presidencies (Slovenia, Portugal and Germany) were concerned about the impact conflict had on women and children. He stated that even though the EU has mechanisms in place to help mitigate the impact such as the EU Toolkit, information sharing at the Brussels level and collaboration with specialist NGOs, the implementation of gender mainstreaming and children's rights in the European Security and Defence (ESD) missions is still a challenge. Ms Nicole Reckinger, representing the Human Rights Unit in the Council General Secretariat, stressed that the EU's focus in conflict and post-conflict situations is on the promotion of human rights and that gender mainstreaming is definitely part of that focus. She stated that the EU is a strong supporter of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, which was adopted in 2000, and has therefore appointed specific gender focal points to make sure that the EU ESD missions implement gender mainstreaming. As a result, she claimed, these missions have started to engage more with women's organisations in the field. The EU's commitment to UNSCR 1325 was questioned by Ms Sylvie Fouet, representative of UNICEF, who argued that the resolution is being poorly implemented as women are still not included in the rebuilding of post-conflict society. She announced that NGOs are drafting a shadow report on how 1325 is being implemented in Europe. She also urged that UNSCR 1612 on Children in Armed Conflict should be expanded to include sexual violence. The digital version of the Handbook can be found on the following websites: Source: Civil society expresses deep dissatisfaction with G8 Summit As leaders met for the biggest ever G8 Summit in Japan, civil society organisations were vocal in their criticism of the process and its outcomes for key issues such as development, climate change and the global food and oil crisis. Participants in the International Solidarity Days of the G8 Action Network issued a statement entitled "Make the Hokkaido Summit the Last Summit of the G8!" The statement opens: "The G8 Summit opened in Hokkaido yesterday with the usual rhetoric of concern about conditions in Africa. These are statements that few people in Africa and the rest of the world take seriously, given how far the G8 governments are from raising the $20 billion they pledged for Africa at the Gleneagles Summit in 2005." It goes on to argue that the G8 have "failed miserably" to deliver on previous pledges concerning debt cancellation, raising aid levels to 0.7 per cent of the GDP, promoting development through trade, and tackling climate change. The statement strongly criticises the G8 nations for spearheading the structural adjustment policies of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and the trade liberalisation agenda of the World Trade Organization. Dian Kartika of Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) Indonesia has commented: "Tragically, market-driven development, one of the principal causes of the present food crisis, appears to be the solution offered by the present G8 leaders. This is appalling." Read the full statement here: http://www.just-international.org/article.cfm?newsid=20002753 Sources: People's SAARC to take place on 18-20 July in Colombo The People's SAARC, an annual regional convergence of people's organisations and movements in parallel to the annual South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, will take place in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 18-20 July, ahead of the 2008 SAARC summit of 27 July - 3 August. The People's SAARC aims to host around 500 delegates from the region and 500 from Sri Lanka, as well as mobilising over 5000 people on 20 July for a mass demonstration of South Asian people's unity. People's SAARC is a response to the failure of the SAARC to include people from all cultures, countries and social classes in South Asia. According to the organisers of the People's SAARC, "SAARC failed to fulfil the promised goals for a better South Asia. Instead, the policies pursued by the ruling classes and parties of the region created conditions of exclusion, marginalisation, and denial of rights, justice and democratic freedom to the majority of the people of the region. Consequently, South Asia and its people now stand at very testing time and at a critical crossroad in the history of the region. The rationale and trustworthiness of its policies and programs have led to surrendering the sovereignty of the people, including their economic, social and cultural rights." Source: Extraordinary GAERC meeting to be held this Friday to discuss WTO Doha round This Friday 18 July, EU trade ministers will meet in Brussels for an extraordinary session of the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) to discuss the proposals tabled during the ongoing World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations known as the Doha Development Agenda. The GAERC has also stated that it is considering holding a meeting in Geneva during the week of the WTO's high-level meetings, "to follow the negotiations on the spot". The Doha round of negotiations, which focuses on agriculture and industrial tariffs, was launched in 2001 in Doha, Qatar. The talks have repeatedly resulted in deadlock due to disagreements between trading powers like Brazil, the EU, India and the United States over farm subsidies, import tariffs and market liberalisation. However, high-level meetings are scheduled for the week beginning 21 July at the WTO headquarters in Geneva to try to revive the negotiations. WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy has stated that he hopes that the Doha round will be completed by the end of this year. A joint statement by the British and Brazilian governments released on 9 July read: "Following months of hard work and detailed negotiations we are now closer than ever to a deal. But the window of opportunity for achieving such as a deal is small and it is closing. ... We must act decisively now. If we don't, we will be failing the world's poor and destroying the best basis for continued economic growth in the future." Should these talks prove inconclusive, it is unlikely that negotiations will resume until mid 2009, after the new US administration has had several months to settle in. Sources: Eritrean diaspora delegation visits Brussels In the first week of July 2008 a delegation of Eritrean diaspora leaders from the EU and the USA visited Brussels. During the visit, the delegation aimed to increase awareness among policy-makers of EU Member States and EU institutions on the situation in Eritrea with regard to the issues of prisoners of conscience, freedom of the media, abolition of faith-based organisations, governance and democracy, refugees and national service (including sexual violence against women). The EU is one of the few donors continuing to give support to the increasingly isolated regime in Asmara and is considered as one of the few allies of the government of Eritrea. For the 10th European Development Fund (EDF), 120 million euro has been earmarked for Eritrea. The Country Strategy Paper (CSP) of Eritrea is still under negotiation with the government of Eritrea, according to sources in the European Commission. The delegation aimed to achieve increased political will and commitment of the EU and its Member States for democratic change and the improvement of the human rights situation in Eritrea. Delegates were critical of the EU for negotiating a CSP with Eritrea when the country lacks a constitution, a parliament, a judiciary, the rule of law and any free media, freedom of expression or civil society. During a parliamentary briefing, a spokesman for the European Commission assured that EU-funded projects in the country are directly managed by the European Commission's office in Asmara and are subjected to financial control. "The reality is that the European Commission supports the country and not the government or any political party for that matter. We offer our support to the country through development cooperation and through a robust dialogue with the government, which covers all issues including human rights and democracy." Glenys Kinnock, a Welsh member of the European Parliament who has been monitoring the situation in Eritrea since the 1980s, said she has made a formal request for details on how EU aid to Eritrea is used. "Nobody has ever argued that it isn't necessary for us to provide humanitarian aid and support for education and healthcare," she said. "But clearly there are huge difficulties in monitoring and controlling what the Commission is doing. There are no NGOs in Eritrea. So who is distributing the aid? Who is ensuring that it doesn't go into the wrong hands?" Source:
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