Crumbs For The Poor
Oxfam says that for poverty reduction, WSSD was an opportunity wasted
Johannesburg 3 September : After nine days of bluster the world gets some gains on a few environmental issues, and on
sanitation for the poor. But over all the deal as it appears today is feeble: a triumph for greed and self-interest, a
tragedy for poor people and the environment.
Who’s to blame? Oxfam International points the finger straight at the world’s leaders. “Most of them lacked the guts and
will to achieve a brave and far-reaching agreement that might have effectively tackled the problems of poverty and the
decaying environment. It was within their grasp,” said Andrew Hewett of Oxfam International.
Some nations get pats on the back. Some of the gains are significant - protection of the environment and reduction of
poverty are inextricably linked. But the majority of the rich countries - most of the EU nations, the US, Japan, Canada,
Australia - have been guilty here of a grand deception. They talked the talk about the poor and sustainable development
- but in most issues, when the time came for targets, timetables and money, they let the world down.
The summit outcome is well out of step with current world opinion. And it is a huge disappointment for those governments
that did come here with real proposals; for the tens of thousands from civil society across the world who laboured in
the belief they would be heard; for those members of the business community who are genuinely waking up to their
responsibilities to the environment and the poor.
But most of all the WSSD turned its back on the poor. We were told last week that addressing poverty was at the heart of
the summit agenda. What did we get?
- No new commitment or timetable to end rich countries’ agricultural export subsidies and dumping that destroy
developing world markets
- No international plan to address the commodity price crisis
- No commitment to raise aid levels - in fact the text encouraging rich countries to increase overseas aid is less
strong than it was 10 years ago in Rio
- No commitment to further cancelling of debt in the developing world
These failures will reverberate for many years. Thirteen million people in southern Africa currently facing famine must
now know that the world’s leaders have let them down - there’s no action to change the bad policies that have turned the
drought into a crisis. The 2 billion living in absolute poverty must know that the visionary promise of the Millennium
Develop-ment Goals was an empty thing. With no commitment to significantly raise aid levels, does anyone now believe
that halving poverty by 2015 is possible?
The failures here mean a crisis of credibility for our leaders and for international processes. What hope can there be
now for getting real progress in the so-called WTO development round? “If the world couldn’t deal with these most
pressing problems here in Johannesburg - when will it?” said Andrew Hewett
Ends