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July 04th, 2015

7/4/2015

Dear friends

Recently I have completed a series of videos on “how to use economics and not be used by economists” with the Real News Network. I thought they may be of interest.
Best regards

Ha Joon Chang
University of Cambridge

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=832&Itemid=74&jumival=1352

93 Comments

July 03rd, 2015

7/3/2015

Dear Friends,

The initiative for Universal Social Protection by ILO and the World Bank could not be more timely. As a staff member at UNRISD which has been listed as one of those which have been “fighting for universal systems for years” by Isabel, I would like to express my full support for the initiative. In particular, I would like to emphasize the importance of documenting country experiences on universal social protection coverage (one of the ILO-World Bank actions to achieve the shared vision of universal social protection) while highlighting two important points of consideration based on the UNRISD's prior and ongoing research on universalism.

UNRISD has been arguing for universalism in social policy and universal social protection over the last three decades. Up until the early 2000s, ideas and practices relating to social protection programmes or social policies in developing countries were dominated by targeting and safety net approaches. Under the circumstance, UNRISD’s take on the issues of universality and argument for a universal approach to social policy was polemic against the deficiencies of targeting(Thandika Mkandawire 2005). As the international development community started to introduce universalism into key development agendas, such as the Millennium Development Goals and their call for universal primary education and the WHO’s initiatives for universal health coverage, UNRISD's research started to pay attention to the diverse pathways to universalism.

This shift is based on two crucial points which have been central to UNRISD's social policy research framework. First, social policy (and universal social protection) is a historical construct from the production of and interactions between economic, social and political elements. Second, social policy (and universal social protection) is inevitably diverse since it is shaped by specific national and local contexts and institutional structures, norms and practices, as well as power relations between and within states.

From these I would like to raise an important point we must keep in mind when we document country experiences on how they have moved towards and achieved universal social protection coverage; focusing on the design and function of a specific programme alone cannot provide us with sufficient data and valuable lessons for achieving social protection. Political economy approaches which situate the welfare state or social policy development within the development trajectory is absolutely crucial to understanding the successful achievement of universal social protection.

Another crucial point for documenting country experiences is the recognition of the distinctive nature of sectoral policies (health, education, housing, etc.) as a system of provision of distinctive goods and services. Pension programmes are different from health programmes in that they are shaped by “different intermediate relations, processes, structures, agencies and ideational factors” (Ben Fine 2014). Universalism or universal social protection as a vision should be translated into much more detailed concepts and policy advice reflecting the distinctive nature of sectoral policies.

The recent UNRISD research project on the experiences of emerging economies in moving towards universal social security (particularly in healthcare), which has been developed around this framework of universalism and the distinctive nature of sectoral policies, may be interesting to those sharing the similar concerns.

ILCHEONG YI

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ILCHEONG YI
Research Coordinator
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development
Palais des Nations, 1211, Geneva 10, Switzerland
Email: yi@unrisd.org
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July 02nd, 2015

7/2/2015

Dear colleagues

Below the preliminary Report of the Truth Committee on Public Debt

http://cadtm.org/Preliminary-Report-of-the-Truth

Best regards,

Eric Toussaint
Scientific coordinator of the Truth Committee on Public Debt
see: http://cadtm.org/Legal-foundations-for-repudiation
http://cadtm.org/Preliminary-Report-of-the-Truth

July 01st, 2015

7/1/2015

UN human rights experts welcome Greek referendum and call for international solidarity

GENEVA (30 June 2015) – Two United Nations human rights experts today welcomed the holding of a referendum in Greece to decide by democratic process the path to follow to solve the Greek economic crisis without deterioration in the human rights situation.

The UN Independent Experts on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, Alfred de Zayas, and on human rights and international solidarity, Virginia Dandan, stressed that there is much more at stake than debt repayment obligations, echoing a warning* issued earlier this month by the UN Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights, Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky.

“All human rights institutions and mechanisms should welcome the Greek referendum as an eloquent expression of the self-determination of the Greek people in conformity with article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and in pursuance of article 25 ICCPR on public participation. Indeed, a democratic and equitable international order requires participation by all concerned stakeholders in decision-making and respect for due process, which can best be achieved through international solidarity and a human rights approach to the solution of all problems, including financial crises.

It is disappointing that the IMF and the EU have failed to reach a solution that does not require additional retrogressive austerity measures. Some leaders have expressed dissatisfaction with the idea of holding a referendum in Greece. Why? Referenda are in the best traditions of democratic governance.

No one can expect the Prime Minister of Greece to renounce the commitments he made to the people who elected him with a clear mandate to negotiate a fair solution that does not dismantle Greek democracy and lead to further unemployment and social misery. Capitulating to an ultimatum imposing further austerity measures on the Greek population would be incompatible with the democratic trust placed on the Greek Prime Minister by the electorate. By nature, every State has the responsibility to protect the welfare of all persons living under its jurisdiction. This encompasses fiscal and budgetary sovereignty and regulatory space which cannot be trumped by outside actors, whether States, inter-governmental organizations or creditors.

Article 103 of the UN Charter stipulates that the Charter provisions prevail over all other treaties, therefore no treaty or loan agreement can force a country to violate the civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights of its population, nor can a loan agreement negate the sovereignty of a State. Any agreement that would require such a violation of human rights and customary international law is contra bonos mores and hence null and void pursuant to Art. 53 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

A democratic and equitable international order requires a commercial and financial regime that facilitates the realization of all human rights. Inter-governmental organizations must foster and under no conditions hinder the achievement of the plenitude of human rights.

Foreign debt is no excuse to derogate from or violate human rights or to cause retrogression in contravention of articles 2 and 5 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

In 2013, the Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights stated that the policy of austerity measures adopted to secure additional financing from the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank had pushed the Greek economy into recession and generally undermined the enjoyment of human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights.

This is the moment for the international community to demonstrate solidarity with the people of Greece, to respect their democratic will as expressed in a referendum, to proactively help them out of this financial crisis, which finds a major cause in the financial meltdown of 2007-08, for which Greece bears no responsibility.

Indeed, democracy means self-determination, and self-determination often calls for referenda – also in Greece.”

(*) Read the statement by the UN Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights (2 June 2015) – “Greek crisis: Human rights should not stop at doors of international institutions, says UN expert”: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16032&LangID=E

ENDS

The Independent Experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

Learn more, log on to:
International solidarity: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Solidarity/Pages/IESolidarityIndex.aspx
International order: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/IntOrder/Pages/IEInternationalorderIndex.aspx

See the 2014 report on Greece by the Independent Expert on foreign debt: (A/HRC/25/50/Add.1): http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/IEDebt/Pages/CountryVisits.aspx

Alfred de Zayas

United Nations Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order
www.alfreddezayas.com

July 01st, 2015

7/1/2015

Dear friends,

This is to highlight the importance of yesterday's launch, calling world leaders to move away from targeted safety nets to universal social protection systems.

Many in this list have been fighting for universal systems for years, like UNRISD, OHCHR, UNICEF, ECLAC, ESCAP, CROP, ITUC, FES, Helpage, People's Goals, and many others (all of you are welcome to contribute!).

But it is the first time that a World Bank President calls on world leaders for universal social protection.

Precisely, the international financial institutions have been the main supporters of minimal, temporary, targeted safety nets since the 1980s.

Up to the 1980s, developing countries were gradually constructing universal systems, linked to nation-building, development processes and a country's social contract. But many of these pre-1980s universal policies were weakened as redistributive policies were sidelined by market-oriented reforms and critical attacks on state interventionism. The structural adjustment programmes launched after the 1982 debt crisis severely curtailed social expenditures. Social security was given lesser importance and funding, and was often centred on short-term targeted measures to the most vulnerable, to mitigate natural disasters or economic restructuring.

This minimal approach was insufficient to achieve balanced social and economic development. After having been pared to a minimum, social protection has been reconsidered since the 2000s with the renewed attention to poverty reduction and human rights.

In the 2000s, universalism also re-entered the development agenda. First it was education: universal primary education became a Millennium Development Goal in 2000.

Then it was health: in December 2013, the World Bank and WHO committed to universal health coverage.

Now it is time for universal social protection.

Isabel Ortiz
Director Social Protection
International Labour Organization (ILO)
4 Route des Morillons
CH-1211 Geneva 22 Switzerland
Tel. +41.22.799.6226; ortizi@ilo.org
Visit www.social-protection.org

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Isabel Ortiz
Director Social Protection ILO

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