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Just Another Case of Window Dressing?
Denmark has joined non- governmental organisations in attacking a new document jointly launched Monday by the heads of the Bretton Woods institutions and the United Nations Secretary General.
“The document is very strong on what the south should do, but very superficial on what the international community should do,” says Bjorn Forde, the secretary general of the Danish Association for International Co-operation (MS) .
The document titled “ A better World for all”, was jointly launched by the UN secretary general Kofi Annan, World Bank president James Wolfensohn, Secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation Donald Johnston and the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Horst Kohler .
It discusses poverty, particularly in the south as the major impediment to the achievement of social development goals, and outlines measures which should be undertaken to curb the problem .
Forde describes the contents of the document as “too much window dressing”. “The World Bank is happy with itself that it has conducted 60, 000 interviews with the poor in 60 countries to find out that poverty is multi-dimensional. I think these poor people have known that poverty is multidimensional for the last 60 years,” said Forde .
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Has the world lived up to its 1996 commitments..?
Solidarity 2000 starting 17th of June!
MS's big summer event Solidarity 2000 will start very soon now, with a week-long variety of debates and arrangements. The activities range from encounters between young people from Balkan, Africa and Central America to big conferences on the planet's social development and environment.
Judge by yourself:
The 1996 Copenhagen Social Summit final report in English, French and Spanish.