Publications by: Guest content
Climate change could drive 122m more people into extreme poverty by 2030
Article / 18th October 2016The UN's 2016 State of Food and Agriculture report warns that without measures to halt and reverse climate change, food production could become impossible in large areas of the world. Consequently, millions more people could be living in extreme poverty by 2030, despite new government pledges in the sustainable development goals. Reported by Claire Provost for the Guardian.
Human rights beyond borders: The Maastricht Principles turn five
Blog / 8th October 2016Five years ago, the Maastricht Principles on Extraterritorial Obligations of States was adopted in the area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and these Principles are increasingly being used by civil society organisations to hold States accountable for their extraterritorial conduct. Human rights obligations are now well recognized to extend beyond borders, as explained in the following news update published by the ETO Consortium.
The struggle for a UN Treaty: Towards global regulation on human rights and business
Article / 8th October 2016A global alliance of civil society organizations are demanding a binding treaty to regulate the activities of transnational corporations with respect to human rights. The Treaty process presents a unique opportunity for governments to prove that it is in their hands to put human rights above the interests of big business. Because profits can be shared—human rights cannot, write Jens Martens and Karolin Seitz.
‘Good news’ claiming ‘falling global poverty’ isn’t news at all
Blog / 7th October 2016Is poverty really on the decline across the world, as widely reported by the World Bank and United Nations? This ‘good news’ narrative is far from the whole truth, explains The Rules team.
Monsanto Tribunal and People’s Assembly
Article / 6th October 2016Civil society groups have organised a people’s assembly to hold Monsanto accountable for their crimes against humanity and the environment, and to spell out an alternative vision for the future of food and farming based on reclaiming the commons, earth democracy and agroecology.
Seeds of corporate power vs farmers’ rights
Article / 6th October 2016The expansion of corporate control in agriculture is reflected in three international treaties that establish the global rights of various stakeholders to seeds, germplasm, and plant varieties. But the balance of power needs to tilt back the other way, with farmers’ rights taking precedence over agribusiness profits, whether in these treaties or in trade deals, explains Karen Hansen-Kuhn.
Tax havens are a global shame. Now is the time to put an end to them.
Article / 4th October 2016A rapidly growing global web of tax havens is one of the key drivers of global inequality, allowing some of the world’s super rich to pay no taxes or far less than they should. Now is the time for a historic ethical pact to finally deliver tax justice to the world, and to end the existence of tax havens altogether, writes Rafael Correa.
Want national security? Dismantle the war machine
Article / 4th October 2016We need a deep rethinking of how we prioritize and respond to security threats. If we want a healthy Earth, justice, peace, and democracy, we need a 21st-century security agenda that addresses the causes of contemporary conflicts, encourages cooperation and diplomacy, and supports every person in their quest for a healthy and dignified life, writes David Korten.
Corporations running the world used to be science fiction – Now it’s a reality
Blog / 13th September 2016The power of corporations has reached a level never before seen in human history, often dwarfing the power of states. That is why civil society organisations are backing the new UN initiative for a legally binding global treaty on transnational corporations and human rights, as explained by Aisha Dodwell of Global Justice Now.
Questions for the commons movement
Article / 13th September 2016There are many questions still to be answered in the growing literature on the commons, central to which is the role of the state in respecting and fulfilling our basic socioeconomic rights. The ‘commons’ can become a very strong discourse and practice to re-order today’s progressive political forces, but does it mean we have to abandon universal claims of equality and human rights? An enquiry by Francine Mestrum.