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Executive summary

1. The following is the executive summary of a more comprehensive Civil Society Declaration adopted by acclamation by the UNCTAD XIII Civil Society Forum on 19 April 2012 in Doha. It has been crafted in consultation with, and is delivered on behalf of, a wide range of civil society organizations, and reflects the diversity of views within the civil society community. In this Declaration, we present our collective analyses, calls and proposals to UNCTAD XIII. We invite member States and the international community to consider them at Doha and beyond, to ensure that we collectively build an equitable and sustainable future.

2. UNCTAD XIII is a decisive United Nations conference on global economic issues and development in 2012. It cannot be “business as usual”. The conference must live up to the challenge of its theme of “Development-centred globalization: towards inclusive and sustainable growth and development.”

3. [We are very concerned that throughout the negotiations, developed countries have unanimously attempted to silence UNCTAD’s vital work on finance and macroeconomic issues in relation to trade and development.][1.The content of this bracketed sentence may change depending on the outcome of the UNCTAD XIII negotiations.]. The importance of UNCTAD’s work has been highlighted by the global financial and economic crisis and its continuing catastrophic effects on peoples and economies. While the Bretton Woods institutions have consistently promoted unbridled liberalization and deregulation of markets and finances that produced the crisis, UNCTAD’s analyses have pointed out the dangers of these policies. The turmoil provoked by the crisis makes strengthening UNCTAD’s work in these areas imperative.

I. The current global economic and development context: challenges, threats and opportunities

4. The world is experiencing a confluence of interrelated crises that are driving humanity and ecosystems to the brink of global disaster. Rather than a sustained quest for a truly transformative agenda, across the world, and especially in developed countries, we see the continuation of the same policies that fostered these crises, with only a few positive reforms so far agreed to.

5. The ongoing financial crisis reflects a growing disconnect between deregulated finance and the real economy. It has entered a new, perhaps even more dangerous phase than that experienced during the crisis of 2008–2009, which was predicted by civil society at the Civil Society Forum at UNCTAD XII.

6. The return to the crudest forms of neoliberal policies is largely the result of the massive influence of the financial industry – which is richly resourced despite relying on public bailouts. These policies have devastating impacts on the lives of people and families and especially on women-headed households in the countries concerned, with knock-on effects in other countries and regions including in Africa and the least developed countries (LDCs).

7. A key underlying cause of the financial crisis – besides deregulated financial markets – is fast-rising inequalities. The current wave of austerity is deepening this trend to alarming proportions.

8. The build-up of unsustainable debt is a crucial concern, and with developed economies accumulating the highest levels of debt since the Second World War, it is clearly no longer a problem exclusive to developing countries. While many claim that developing countries were not so strongly impacted by the financial crisis, many developing countries are at risk of – or actually now experiencing – increased debt distress.

9. The growing “global decent work deficit” (including persistent mass unemployment and stagnant or declining household incomes) especially among youth and women, is a key factor in global inequalities. Despite the commitment by world leaders in 2009 to a Global Jobs Pact to counter the deflationary spiral, many are practising the opposite. They are cutting minimum wages, deregulating labour markets, and failing to meaningfully rein in finance to make it work for people and the real economy.

10. Livelihoods are further challenged by continued global food insecurity and poverty.

The global food crisis was at its peak when we met at UNCTAD XII. We noted that among its multiple causes were decades of neglect in smallholder agriculture support and investment, unilateral trade liberalization in the South, increased financialization of the food and commodity markets, and monopolistic practices. Smallholder agriculture is the backbone of many countries’ economies: smallholder farms produce over half of the world’s food supply, and many families’ livelihoods depend on it. Global fuel and food price increases mean that the number of people at risk will only rise.

11. The above-mentioned negative trends are compounded by a growing climate and ecosystem crisis. We have already exceeded the carrying capacity of the Earth’s ecosystem, yet developed countries have failed to deliver on their historical responsibility and legally binding commitments and obligations to halt climate change, biodiversity loss, and other ecological catastrophes. Unsustainable and inequitable production and consumption patterns are placing the very survival of humanity at risk.

12. The disconnect between these multiple crises and the apparent “business as usual” attitude of political elites around the world is provoking a political and legitimacy crisis. This is reflected in the wave of democratic movements witnessed since the beginning of 2011. Movements from the “Arab Spring” to the “indignados” to the “occupy” movements are each expressing discontent with political and economic systems and calling for justice and equity.

13. The international community failed to offer comprehensive alternatives in 2009. We cannot afford to delay the fundamental overhaul of economic governance required at all levels, including of the international financial, monetary, and development cooperation architectures.

14. Only a paradigm shift in development will save future generations from global social and environmental chaos. We must develop more holistic visions and measures of progress than economic growth and gross domestic product (GDP). We must craft a new global social contract, based on universal human rights and on social and environmental justice, to rejuvenate the one that is fast unravelling. We must also find alternative ways of organizing social and economic relations. There are many sources of inspiration that can take us in the right direction – from feminist economics, to alternative conceptions of well-being such as “Buen Vivir”.