Coalition demands Brown put people and the environment at the heart of fundamental reform of the int
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Today, a UK coalition of 24 of the most influential trade unions, development charities, environmental groups and religious leaders wrote to the Prime Minister calling on him to put people and the environment at the heart of the international economic system. The letter was sent as Gordon Brown leaves for the G20 Summit in Washington on Saturday 15 November.
Recognising that the global financial crisis will cause great hardship for people in the UK and around the world, the coalition declares that effective government action is needed to manage economies sustainably and demands that the international economic system be made more accountable to all people, particularly the poorest.
The letter was signed by the heads of the Trades Union Congress, Oxfam, ActionAid, Christian Aid, World Development Movement, UNISON, WWF-UK, Friends of the Earth, Save the Children and War on Want, among many others. It was also signed by the religious leaders Rt Rev John Rawsthorne, Bishop of Hallam and Dr Muhamed Abdul Bari, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “Workers everywhere are facing the same problems, they are fearful about losing their jobs and their homes, and worried about what impact the world’s economic slowdown will have on their families. Governments around the world must work together urgently to find ways of boosting their various economies to limit the impact of recession and must re-write the global economic rules so that financial markets and the banks come under a much greater degree of scrutiny in future.”
Max Lawson, policy advisor at Oxfam GB agreed: “This is the best opportunity in decades to make the system of international economic governance fairer for and more representative of poor people. We urge Gordon Brown to work to ensure existing commitments on aid will be met and to build a new representative global governance system.”
Christian Aid policy manager Alex Cobham said: “Christian Aid estimates that the existing global financial system allows big business to dodge some $160 billion of corporate tax in the developing world every year. This has disastrous effects on poor people?s lives. World leaders should seize this rare opportunity to enact reforms which will allow developing countries to collect what is rightfully theirs.”
Dr. Claire Melamed, head of advocacy at ActionAid stressed: “The financial crisis will cost developing countries hundreds of billions of dollars of lost growth over the next few years. This weekend’s meeting needs to urgently agree a package to compensate those countries. Poor people should not be left to suffer while banks are bailed out.”
Benedict Southworth, director of the World Development Movement said: “Despite Gordon Brown´s rhetoric on overhauling the global system, the G20 summit risks making the same mistakes based on flawed ideologies and power politics that got us into the current mess. Brown is pushing for a new world trade deal without acknowledging the inherent injustices that stack the benefits of free trade in favour of big business, but harm people in developing countries, who aren´t invited to the G20 meeting. Our leaders need to urgently realise that politics as usual is not going to get us out of the current crisis.”
The letter from UK organisations complements demands made globally by more than 850 civil society organisations. Their statement calls for a major international conference convened by the UN to review the international financial and monetary architecture, its institutions and its governance but only if it is inclusive and participatory of all governments of the world; includes representatives from civil society; is transparently organised and is comprehensive in scope.
For more information contact:
Liz Chinchen, TUC
lchinchen@tuc.org.uk
020 7467 1388
Asha Tharoor, ActionAid
Asha.Tharoor@actionaid.org
020 7561 7634
Rachel Baird, Christian Aid
RBaird@christian-aid.org
020 7523 2446
07969 314 117
Lysbeth Holdoway or Dan Timms, Oxfam
lholdoway@oxfam.org.uk, dtimms@oxfam.org.uk
018 6547 2484/2193
Kate Blagojevic, World Development Movement
Kate.Blagojevic@wdm.org.uk
020 7820 4900/4913
07711 875 345
Peter Chowla, Bretton Woods Project
pchowla@brettonwoodsproject.org
