GLOBAL CALLS :POVERTY & EQUALITY

CREATING NEW FINANCIAL AND TRADE ARCHITECTURE IS BEST OPPORTUNITY TO END POVERTY

Nov 25th, 2008; Members of the Global call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) from every continent will represent the voices of millions of people at next week's FFD meetings in Doha, Qatar. The alliance, which last month helped mobilise 117 million people worldwide, is calling on governments attending the conference to include the initiatives and proposals of developing countries, civil society and women's organisations in particular, in their discussions and final declaration.

GCAP has been campaigning on aid, trade and debt since 2005 and sees the Doha meeting as a great opportunity for progress on five main areas (more details below);

1) Cancelling irreversibly illegitimate and unpayable debts

2) Mobilising new resources and adopting policies to tackle the food, fuel and finance crises

3) Honouring past aid commitments on quantity and improving aid quality

4) Integrating gender and climate change considerations into the process

5) Reforming the trade system so it works for all

The alliance urges every government attending Doha to reform the global economic system, building on the recent G20 in Washington,, in more democratic forums so the people affected by poverty have a full and equal say. A new financial architecture must deal with global imbalances, the need for government regulation and interventions for each developing country.

"With the ink barely dry on the Washington G20 declaration, we can see no reason why the Doha conference cannot deliver much more. If there is no scaling down on the initial ambitions, both womens and other organisations need to be included in development planning. The long term solution to the financial crisis requires much more than restablishing rich county economies and bailing out banks, " said Kumi Naidoo, Co-Chair of GCAP.

The Civil Society Forum is an opportunity for civil society organizations and NGOs to prepare strategic policy interventions and bring them to the round tables of the Financing for Development review conference. These will all include long term proposals to tackle the financial crisis, improve multilateral cooperation and donor performance and also involve the private sector in future country development programmes.

"We come from Africa, Latin America and Asia with solutions for a new financial and trade architecture that could provide for the poor and often voiceless people in the world" said Adelaide Sosseh, GCAP Co Chair from the Gambia. "We have taken this position to Accra in September, the High Level event on the MDGs in New York so now the political will to implement needs to be demonstrated in Doha."

GCAP will be represented in Doha by; members of the Feminist Taskforce, Arab Region, Africa, Asia, Europe coalitions members and Co-chairs Sylvia Borren and Adelaide Sosseh.

For more information or to book an interview contact;

Ciara O'Sullivan Cel.+ 34 679 594 809 ciara.osullivan@civicus.org

Kinda Mohamadieh – local number 974-625 1980

For information on GCAP and blogs www.whiteband.org

For information on the civil society forum http://www.ffdngo.org/