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NGOs Call on the UN to Withdraw Endorsement of "A Better World For All" | |||
cf. WCC Press Update, Up-00-22, of 28 June 2000 In a joint statement released 28 June 2000, approximately 80 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and people's movements following the Geneva 2000 process expressed outrage at the report "A Better World for All", a joint document of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and United Nations released earlier this week. The Ecumenical Team following the Special Session of the UN General Assembly is one of the signatories of the statement, and additional endorsements are being gathered. A summary of the joint statement follows: "NGOs, peoples' organisations and movements, organised in Caucuses for the WSSD+5, are outraged about "A Better World for All", a joint document of the OECD, IMF, World Bank and United Nations. Our specific objections are as follows:
Bretton Woods for All? The release of this document raises the stakes of the UNGASS outcome against the setting of new initiatives, including demands that the wealthy nations put in place measures to honour their commitments in Copenhagen. We therefore call on all Member States to:
Unachievable Goals The goals of Copenhagen cannot be achieved if developing countries are marginalised in the decision-making process of international institutions, nor can national efforts to eradicate poverty succeed without an international enabling environment.
NGOS Call for 2005 Summit NGOs call on Member States to reject "A Better World for All" which does not reflect the spirit, opinion and positions of the United Nations as a whole, particularly that of civil society. NGOs further pledge to intensify a global campaign against the document." The full text of the NGO joint statement is available on this website.
The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 337, in more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly, which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany. |