Publications
Weltwirtschaftliche Auswirkungen und internationale Reaktionen
Die globale Corona-Pandemie hat nicht nur gravierende Auswirkungen für die Gesundheitssituation in vielen Ländern der Welt. Sie wird auch den Welthandel, die Finanzmärkte und die Verwirklichung der international vereinbarten Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung (SDGs) massiv beeinflussen. Das ganze Ausmaß der Krise und ihrer Folgen lässt sich derzeit noch nicht abschätzen.
Fest steht aber schon jetzt, dass das Coronavirus die Weltwirtschaft in einer kritischen Phase getroffen hat. In vielen Ländern des Globalen Südens hatte sich die gesamtwirtschaftliche Lage bereits vor Ausbruch [...]
Weltwirtschaftliche Auswirkungen und internationale Reaktionen
Die globale Corona-Pandemie hat nicht nur gravierende Auswirkungen für die Gesundheitssituation in vielen Ländern der Welt. Sie wird auch den Welthandel, die Finanzmärkte und die Verwirklichung der international vereinbarten Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung (SDGs) massiv beeinflussen. Das ganze Ausmaß der Krise und ihrer Folgen lässt sich derzeit noch nicht abschätzen. Fest steht aber schon jetzt, dass das Coronavirus die Weltwirtschaft in einer kritischen Phase getroffen hat. In vielen Ländern des Globalen Südens hatte sich die gesamtwirtschaftliche Lage bereits vor Ausbruch [...]
Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2019
Transforming institutions – shifting power – strengthening rights
Four years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda the world is off-track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Most governments have failed to turn the transformational vision of the 2030 Agenda into real transformational policies. Even worse, xenophobia and authoritarianism are on the rise in a growing number of countries.
But there are signs of change. Social movements have emerged worldwide, many with young people and women in the lead. [...]
Global civil society report assesses structural obstacles and institutional gaps in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda
New York, 8 July 2019: “The world is off-track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Most governments have failed to turn the transformational vision of the 2030 Agenda into real transformational policies. Even worse, xenophobia and authoritarianism are on the rise in a growing number of countries.”
“The implementation of the 2030 Agenda is not just a matter of better policies. It requires more holistic and more sweeping shifts in how power is vested, including through institutional and governance [...]
Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2018
How to overcome obstacles and contradictions in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda
“The world is off-track in terms of achieving sustainable development and fundamental policy changes are necessary to unleash the transformative potential of the SDGs.” This is the main message of the Spotlight Report 2018, the most comprehensive independent assessment of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
The third edition of the civil society report Spotlight on Sustainable Development states that unpaid care work represents the largest subsidy to the global economy and the main obstacle for women´s economic participation. Care public policies are needed to transform the social organization of care and narrow gender gaps.
Global civil society report assesses obstacles and contradictions in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda
New York, 9 July 2018: “The world is off-track in terms of achieving sustainable development and fundamental policy changes are necessary to unleash the transformative potential of the SDGs.” This is the main message of the Spotlight Report 2018, the most comprehensive independent assessment of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The report is launched on the opening day of the High Level Political Forum at the United Nations in New York by a global coalition of civil society organizations [...]
The Private Sector and the Sustainable Development Goals
At the United Nations (UN) summit in September 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was adopted by all UN member states. The Agenda gives a comprehensive framework for a global socio-ecological transformation.
The novelty of the SDGs vis-à-vis the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is its paradigm shift: all countries, not just the countries of the Global South, have to implement the SDGs, working closely together to achieve the common goal of a [...]
The United Nations face a funding dilemma. On the one hand, member states continue to transfer new responsibilities to the UN system, not least in implementing the 2030 Agenda and their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); on the other hand, they do not match these mandates with adequate resources.
Some see the way out of this financial mess in reinforced UN partnerships with private donors and their foundations. The UN Foundation (UNF) plays a special role here. It was established by [...]
Report of the third session of the UN working group on a binding instrument on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights (“treaty”)
n 2014, following a resolution initiated by Ecuador and South Africa, the Human Rights Council of the United Nations decided by a majority vote for the establishment of a process to create a human rights treaty to regulate business activity. In 2015 and 2016 the first two sessions of the open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights (OEIGWG) took place, and between October 23 and 27, 2017 the working group convened [...]
Global Policy Watch Briefing #18
The World Bank, together with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the development banks, have been proclaiming since 2015 that “to meet the investment needs of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the global community needs to move the discussion from ‘billions to trillions’” — that is from billions in official development assistance (ODA) to trillions in investments of all kinds: public and private, national and global, in both capital and capacity.
Further, many Member States have promoted and the UN [...]
On the last official day of the UN High-Level Political Forum, civil society express concern that ‘vision without implementation is hallucination’.
New York, 19 July 2017: Despite soaring rhetoric, glossy reports and slick presentations, the fact remains that implementation on the ground is “stalled”, as highlighted in a series of civil society national reports as part of the global Spotlight Report initiative.
Increasingly, civil society is expressing concern that the SDGs are being used not as a roadmap for social, economic and environmental transformation, but as a vehicle to entrench inequitable power relations. In particular, as exhibited in many speeches at [...]
Civil Society sees ‘room for improvement’ in national implementation of 2030 Agenda as well as an unfavourable international environment
New York, 18 July 2017: During the Voluntary National Reviews (VNR) of 44 countries at the 2017 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, many civil society activists raised questions, criticizing government (in-)action as well as crippling framework conditions that slow down implementation of the 2030 Agenda at the national level.
Ziad Abdel Samad, Director of Arab NGO Network for Development, highlighted the situation in his region: “Foreign occupation, armed conflicts and wars are key challenges, even before talking about [...]
Will national partnerships with private sector accelerate implementation if global obstacles remain?
New York, 17 July 2017: On Monday, 17 July, the sponsors of the High-Level Panel report on Women’s Economic Empowerment are presenting a panel on “Accelerating women’s economic empowerment to achieve the 2030 Agenda”, head-lined by the Secretary-General. They will be joined by a diverse Member State ‘group of champions for women’s economic empowerment’. Given the knowledge and expertise of the High-Level Panel and the national level experience of the group of champions, they will have many examples [...]
Civil Society activists critique first week of deliberations at High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
New York City, 14 July 2017: With the first week of deliberations at the 2017 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development coming to a close this Friday at the UN in New York, civil society activists are criticizing a piecemeal approach to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Especially worrisome to activists is a growing gap between aspirational goals and a lack of proper and comprehensive means of implementation.
On many occasions – during side-events as well [...]
Global spotlight report challenges the notion that “trillions of private finance” are needed to advance SDG implementation.
New York 13 July 2017: As the SDG 17 is under review today at the HLPF 2017, civil society groups express their concern for the inadequacy of the combined MoI/AAAA framework to match the ambition of the 2030 Agenda. The worrying slogan of ‘making the business case for sustainable development’, clearly exemplifies how private finance, rather than public policies and investments, is being portrayed as the fundamental key to SDG implementation, says the Spotlight Report, a comprehensive independent assessment released [...]
Global Spotlight Report warns against risks of Public-Private Partnerships
New York, 13 July 2017: Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), usually portrayed as a useful tool towards sustainable development, actually “involve disproportionate risks and costs for people and the public purse”, claims a global coalition of civil society organizations and trade unions in the Spotlight Report 2017 launched earlier this week.
Global Spotlight Report says SDG2 is only achievable if present food systems change towards agroecological diversification and food sovereignty.
New York, 12 July 2017: SDG2 ‘end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture, articulates one of the highest aspirations of the 2030 Agenda. Failure to advance it will significantly affect the entire agenda, claims the Spotlight report, a comprehensive independent assessment released in New York on the opening day of the High Level Political Forum 2017.
New independent Spotlight report points out that women´s lower wages and poorer labor conditions have resulted in unfair advantages for corporations
New York, 12 July 2017: Corporate power threatens women´s human rights by promoting a race to the bottom in labour standards and avoiding taxes in the countries where profits are obtained, concludes the report Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2017, in its analysis of the fifth Sustainable Development Goal which promises to achieve gender equality by 2030 and empower all women and girls.
Global Spotlight Report says that the Agenda 2030 proposal to eradicate poverty by 2030 is achievable but tax policies need to change.
New York, 11 July 2017: “The promise made by governments to eradicate poverty by 2030 is doable if countries cooperate to fight tax evasion and capital flights” argues an independent report submitted to the High Level Political Forum of the United Nations as an input to its debate today around the first of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Global Spotlight Report says that the proposed “cascade” of private financing for infrastructure will result on more corruption, high fees for essential services, and massive resource transfers to the rich from the poor
New York, 11 July 2017: The “leave no one behind” slogan and the proposition to increase funding “from billions to trillions” made by the development banks and the International Monetary Fund are the two policy messages most commonly heard at the debate around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that started yesterday at the United Nations. “You cannot have both at the same time” commented Roberto Bissio, coordinator of Social Watch, summarizing the analysis of the first SDG by the global [...]
Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2017
New York, 10 July 2017: A global coalition of civil society organizations and trade unions presents today the report Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2017. It is published on the opening day of the High Level Political Forum at the United Nations in New York. The report provides the most comprehensive independent assessment of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2017
Privatization, partnerships, corporate capture and their impact on sustainability and inequality - assessments and alternatives
In the 2030 Agenda governments committed to a revitalized Global Partnership between States and declared that public finance has to play a vital role in achieving the SDGs. But in recent decades, the combination of neoliberal ideology, corporate lobbying, business-friendly fiscal policies, tax avoidance and tax evasion has led to a massive weakening of the public sector and its ability to provide essential goods and [...]
Multi-Akteur-Partnerschaften nehmen eine Schlüsselrolle bei der Umsetzung der 2030-Agenda und der Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung (SDGs) ein. Neben den Chancen, die solche globalen Partnerschaften für nachhaltige Entwicklungsprozesse bieten können, existieren auch eine Reihe von Risiken. Ein gemeinsames Dossier von Brot für die Welt, Global Policy Forum, Misereor und welt-sichten nimmt daher verschiedene Formen des derzeit herrschenden Partnerschaftstrends kritisch unter die Lupe. Die Beiträge befassen sich mit einigen der großen globalen Partnerschaften im Bereich Ernährungssicherheit, Erneuerbare Energien und Datenverfügbarkeit. Auch eine [...]
The case of the B20 and transnational business networks
Over the past eight years, the G20 has emerged as one of the most prominent political fora for international cooperation. For transnational corporations and their national and international associations and lobby groups, the G20 process provides important opportunities to engage with the world’s most powerful governments, shape their discourse, and influence their decisions. For this purpose, business actors have created a broad network of alliances and fora around the G20, with the Business20 (B20) as the most visible symbol of [...]
