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UNCTAD Meeting Overcomes Serious Disagreements April 27th, 2012

At a contentious meeting of the UN Commission on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) ending Thursday in Doha, Qatar, the role of the UN organization in examining trade and development was confirmed, but not after a week of hard debate. The Doha Mandate, adopted by consensus by the member States, requests that UNCTAD continue its work along the three pillars of consensus-building, policy research and technical assistance. “UNCTAD remains the focal point in the United Nations for the integrated treatment of trade and development, and interrelated issues in the areas of finance, technology, investment and sustainable development,” reads part of the agreed text.

Profound discord between industrialized nations and developing countries threatened to ruin the UNCTAD meeting in Doha, and endangered the survival of this United Nations body that defends the interests of the developing nations of the South. Disagreements between the blocs, broadly identified as countries of the North and of the South, have arisen mainly from differing views of UNCTAD’s mandate and different visions of development and how it relates to social, environmental, economic and financial variables. 

One important area under discussion involved giving UNCTAD a mandate to investigate the current global financial crisis and its effects on the real economy, something for which developing countries and NGOs pressed, but which industrialized countries rejected out of hand.

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Lift the Debt Burden on Poor Countries September 21st, 2009

Without debt relief, the developing world has little hope of economic progress, say the Rev. John Welch* and Ruth Messinger*.

The two members of Jubilee USA argue for debt cancellation in the poorest countries in a compelling article published in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette on the eve of the G-20, the international financial summit being hosted by President Obama.

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Civil Society Groups Urge President Obama to Press for Greater Financial Regulation September 21st, 2009

The Missionary Oblates joined with over 50 organizations representing some  eight million Americans in sending a letter to President Obama urging him to advocate for strong regulation needed to prevent future financial crises.

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Civil Society Demands Changes to International Financial System November 13th, 2008

Anticipating the November 15th meeting of major global economies to discuss the continuing financial crisis, civil society groups from around the world drafted a common position calling for a more participatory reform process. The Oblate JPIC Office signed onto the statement.

Download PDF of the Final Statement with signatories

Oblates join Civil Society Groups calling for Democratic Reform of the International Financial System November 3rd, 2008

Members of the G-20 will be meeting in Washington DC on November 15 to discuss the global financial crisis – in what some are calling Bretton Woods II – after the site of the conference that led to the founding of the World Bank and IMF just after WWII. This time, groups around the world are demanding a more democratic, equitable and just process.

The Oblate JPIC Office has joined over 1,700 people and organizations in a statement on the proposed “Global Summit” to reform the international financial system. The statement demands a truly global response to the global crisis and lays out a set of principles for doing so.

Download full text of the statement (PDF)

Statement available in Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese

More information on the Bretton Woods II Conference…

Reform of the International Financial System Must be Inclusive October 23rd, 2008

URGENT ACTION: Sign this Global Statement on the proposed “Global Summit” to reform the International Financial System

Please sign on (as an individual or organization, along with your country) to the statement given below by midnight GMT on TUESDAY OCTOBER 28th

FAQs about the recent calls for a global summit on the financial crisis are available on-line at EURODAD

Alert and Statement in French and Spanish

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