Role of CSOs in Development
of People in BRICS Countries
BRICS Civil Forum
India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India
03rd – 04th October 2016
Simon Vilakazi
Food and Climate Justice Programme
Coordinator
Economic Justice Network (EJN) of FOCCISA
The Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs)
• At the Millennium Summit in September 2000
in Johannesburg, South Africa, the largest
gathering of world leaders in history adopted
the UN Millennium Declaration.
• They committed themselves and their nations
to a new global partnership to reduce extreme
poverty and setting out a series of time-bound
targets, with a deadline of 2015
Inequality in the BRICS Countries
Levels of Income Inequality in the BRICS Countries
Source: OECD-EU Database on Emerging Economies and World Bank, World Development Indicators. OECD Divided We Stand,
2011. Accessed at: ttp://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932535432
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• It is sad to be saying that 2015 came and the world leaders
realised that they have not met the targets they set for themselves
in 2000.
• The UN’s Rio +20 Conference in June 2012, galvanized a
process to develop a new set of Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) to carry on the momentum generated by the MDGs and fit
into a global development framework beyond 2015.
• In July 2014, the UN General Assembly Open Working Group
(OWG) proposed 17 goals to be put forward for the General
Assembly’s approval in September 2015. These goals set the
ground for the new SDGs and the Global Development Agenda
2015-2030.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Goal 1
End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Goal 2
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote
sustainable agriculture
Goal 3
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Goal 4
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities
for all
Goal 5
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Goal 6
Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Goal 7
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all
Goal 8
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive
employment, and decent work for all
Goal 9
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster
innovation
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Goal 10
Reduce inequality within and among countries
Goal 11
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Goal 12
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Goal 13
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Goal 14
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable
development
Goal 15
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage
forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss
Goal 16
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice
for all, and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
Goal 17
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership
for sustainable development
Implementation of SDGs in the BRICS
countries: A Role of CSOs
1. Civil Society need to have a formal role in the BRICS
arrangements - this should be on a similar status to the
Academic Forum and the Business Forum.
2. No discussion on implementation of SDGs in the BRICS
countries should be done without civil society representation.
3. All BRICS countries must agree on a mechanism of involving
CSOs in their discussion of issues.
4. We want formal presentation on both national and at the
BRICS multilateral platforms
CSOs Must Rescue BRICS Governments from Multinational
Corporations
i) The ECSN-BRICSAM networks commissioned 2 research studies on food
systems and inequality in the BRICS countries.
i) A first report of our research was written by Andrew Guinn and Danny
Hamrich (Center on Globalization, Governance and Competitiveness
(CGGC) (Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) (Duke University)
iii) A second cross country study on the control of the food systems by the
multinational corporations was done by seasoned researchers in China,
South Africa, Mexico, Brazil and in India.
iv) Results of both studies indicate that we as members of CSOs
we need to rescue our BRICS governments from the clutches
of multinational corporations.
Get yourself this report for further information.
Thank You