Summary of Discussion 3: Development & Post-2015
on Sun, April 13, 2014 at 11.46 pm
Summary of Discussion 3: Development and Post-MDGs / Post-2015
Background – Inclusive Growth and Employment
Thanks to everyone who has participated in the C20 Inclusive Grown and Employment: Education and employment, Participation of vulnerable groups discussions, and Development and Post-MDGs / Post-2015.
What is the challenge?
The C20 inclusive growth discussions continue to highlight the longstanding call from civil society that for growth to be strong, sustained and balanced, it must be inclusive. The discussions supported the need for strategies to increase employment and that there are vulnerable groups that require particular attention, including children, youth, people with disabilities, women and migrants.
Summary of issues raised: how might the G20 tackle the challenge?
A range of strategies have been articulated, including:
- Adoption of a human rights-based approach adhering to the principles of empowerment, participation, equality and non-discrimination, with a focus on the poorest, most excluded groups.
- Support and facilitation of an appropriate process and help to ensure that a comprehensive and effective post-2015 agreement is established by the end of 2015 with a clear commitment which helps to make the 2013 statement more concrete and specific.
- A more equitable and efficient income distribution, which could allow the upward mobility of the lower classes.
- Support of a global tax reform for a better income distribution and inequality reduction, using part of the profits of the financial system for investment in policies that promote justice and equality in fragile states and low-income countries according to their different contexts and needs.
- Pay more attention to accountability and monitoring of their agreements and to the inclusion of civil society in this accountability process as well as in the decision-making process, with a timeline of expected progress as well as some definition of the program(s) involved.
- Measures to strengthen the local development, in order to organize and leverage local resources, ideas and creative potential, including small farmers and sustainable agriculture.
- Include involvement and participation of citizens, especially the most vulnerable groups, within the Means of Implementation as we need to ensure locally-led and transparent mechanisms for monitoring progress and ensuring accountability so that people are able to hold their governments accountable for equitable progress at national and local levels.
- Each country needs to be able to set national and subnational targets within a universal goals framework to give them the best opportunity to break out of their own cycle of poverty and inequality.
- A revision of the current understanding and definition of poverty, progress and development beyond material living standards alone (income, consumption and wealth) with a framework that addresses causal explanations of poverty.
- Assure that any new global partnerships on poverty reduction have a more equitable relationship and mainstream disability in their international cooperation efforts, including a revision of overseas development assistance (in terms of financing channels and mechanisms, accountability contracts for donors and 'beyond aid' approaches) to include disability markers identifying the percentage spends for disability-inclusive development.
- Making global health issues, including NTD control strategies, and human development top priorities on the G20 agenda, leveraging its convening power and resources to identify global health and human development as a critical element to achieving the goals outlined in the St. Petersburg Development Outlook.
- Endorsement of the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States would be a welcome and powerful statement in order to offer a means by which international cooperation can be directed in support of the peacebuilding and statebuilding agenda of these most vulnerable states and their people.
- The G20 can support the economic drivers of and barriers to development, and the role of the world's leading economies in influencing them. These could include addressing transnational crime and economic exploitation; supporting global corporate responsibility; creating an enabling environment for favorable trade terms for the poorest and most vulnerable states.
- Prioritization of education in national budgets, promoting quality education, which includes the consideration of diversities, ethics and citizenry values.
- Mainstreaming of reproductive health and rights as cross-cutting issues, for example comprehensive sexuality education at school and access to and availability of contraceptives, family planning for women of childbearing age, etc., in the Equality debate, the Sustainable development debate, the Education debate, the Employment debate, etc.
- Design and implementation of polices targeting the adolescence-youth specific issues in: health, with special attention to reproductive health and drugs; education (infrastructure and cash-transfers programs to delay the market labor entry point); youth appropriate Employment/income generation opportunities; culture-social inclusion; citizenship enrichment to enhance appropriate age participation in polices design, implementation and monitoring of; social dialogue focused on prejudice and intra-age conflicts reduction, peace building and conflict solutions mechanisms building; and protection in terms of legislation, public practices and values to provide special and priority protection against all kinds of violence.
- Financial inclusion (having access to formal and appropriate banking and other financial services) and education (ensuring financial literacy) for all children and youth worldwide.
- Assertion that children, youth and other vulnerable groups are involved in the post-2015 consultative processes.
- The promotion of practices of hiring preferentially women and the disabled with a measureable goal and annual reporting on the results.
- Promotion of actions to tackle child mortality, with focus on preventive health actions in areas of greatest vulnerability so everyone could have quick access and excellent quality health.
- Investment in children as a vital key to escaping inequality and poverty.
Author: Flavio Conrado, World Vision International
Read more at: http://www.c20conversations.org.au/c20growth