In this paper we assess the outcomes of the London Summit and the UK government's progress towards the 12 recommendations set out by the Put People First platform in March 2009. The G20 London Summit on 2 April 2009 issued "a global plan for recovery and reform". G20 leaders have not yet gone far enough on the fundamental changes the world needs. The communique appears to have made progress on some critical issues but there were also missed opportunities, especially on building a green economy,
The global financial and economic system is in crisis. Existing economic policies and institutions have overseen an economic system scarred by high levels of poverty and inequality, which is contributing to an environmental catastrophe. This paper is the result of an unprecedented collaboration between a wide spectrum of civil society organisations in the UK with millions of members from across the nation. We call on the UK government to show its commitment to putting people first by signal
On April 2 several industrialised and emerging market economies will meet at the London summit. Slowly, the policy positions of participating countries are emerging and give an overview of what might be the outcomes of the meeting. This paper gives an overview of official standpoints of participating countries ahead of the summit on a variety of topics and, taking that into considerations, provides an overview of what is likely to be agreed on in the end.
Eduardo Gudynas argues that the financial crisis reveals a profound crisis of the multilateral governing system.
What roles should twenty first century international financial institutions (IFIs) play, and how should they be structured? This paper sets out some of the key issues that would need to be resolved at a second UN monetary and financial conference - a 'Bretton Woods 2' - and discusses the road ahead.
On 28 October, more than 40 representatives of NGOs, development organisations, labour unions, think tanks, academia and the media came together in London to discuss how to take forward demands for a fundamental redesign of the international financial system. The main themes for the day were about creating a system that works to improve people's live, reduce poverty, and protect the environment.
The consensus among civil society observers was that the agreement struck at the December Hong Kong WTOtrade ministerial was a bad deal for developing countries, with IFI-backed 'aid for trade' used as a "major distraction".
Bold statements made by the UN special rapporteur on the right to food argue that international law is binding on organisations such as the World Bank, IMF and WTO.
Highlights of meeting between Tom Scholar and UK NGOs, December 2006
Highlights of a civil society meeting on trade-finance linkages in Latin America, 20 April 2006, Washington. Hosted by the Center of Concern.
Dialogue on the Doha trade round at the World Bank-IMF spring meetings in Washington, 20 April 2006.
Hosted by the New Rules for Global Finance coalition, this meeting summarised the findings of…
The sixth annual conference of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank will be held 21 - 23 October in Helsinki, Finland.
The Global Transparency Initiative will be holding a three-month consultation starting 28 September, on a draft charter of transparency principles which the international financial institutions should uphold.
A new book by two researchers at the University of Oslo describes the structure and decision-making processes of multilateral institutions.
Members of the Brazilian parliament have called on their colleagues to form a parliamentary front on IFIs and the national banking system.
