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GCAP UNITES THOUSANDS OF GLOBAL ACTIVISTS
Call for G8 to show “greater sense of urgency”
GCAP UNITES THOUSANDS OF GLOBAL ACTIVISTS TODAY
From the banks of the river Thames
in London to the lawns of Canada’s Parliament Hill and the streets of Rostock in Germany,
tens of thousands of anti-poverty campaigners are expected to take part in
send-off events aimed at G8 leaders today.
Mobilising under the umbrella of the Global Call to Action Against
Poverty (GCAP), they will remind leaders going to the G8 Summit in Germany of
their responsibility to use their money now to improve conditions for the
world’s poorest people.
Already this week in Mali, civil society representatives handed a petition to the German Ambassador, Russian campaigners sent their message to President Putin at the Kremlin and meetings are scheduled next week between French and Italian campaigners with President Sarkozy and Prime Minister Prodi. In Germany on Thursday June 7th, the local GCAP campaign has organised a concert at which GCAP Chairman, Kumi Naidoo, will present a petition for Chancellor Merkel to carry into the last day of her Summit.
“We are looking for a greater sense of urgency from these leaders. What I am hearing in the South, in Africa where I live, is disbelief at the length of time it seems to take to find miniscule amounts of money to deliver aid where it is most needed when billions can be found for war in a mili-second. They are beginning to ask if this isn’t some sort of new global economic apartheid?” said South African, Kumi Naidoo, Chairman of GCAP, in London today there he is taking part in the rally on the banks of the river Thames.
While strong steps already being taken by some governments are welcomed, GCAP is still concerned that targets are well off track and they must deliver on financial urgently.
1) Aid – the G8 must show clear leadership in the donor community and guarantee resources needed to reach the 0.7% UN target not by 2015 but by 2010. The $50 billion aid increase promised at Gleneagles in 2005 – of which $25 billion was for Africa ‑ will fail at current levels.
2) HIV/AIDS– 6,000 people die in Africa every day from this disease. In Gleneagles, the G8 promised universal access to prevention, treatment and care for all people with HIV and AIDS by 2010 but the pace is disgracefully slow. Leaders must commit to a comprehensive funding plan and support measures to promote the production and distribution of generic medicines NOW.
3) Health and Education– essential health services must be made free to the poor just as universal free education is recognised. The G8 need to finance the recruitment and retention of an extra 4.25 million health workers in developing countries and scale-up domestic education of health workers. We’re asking for $21 billion to pay for this.
4) Climate change – the poor who least contribute to climate change are the most directly affected by it. The G8 countries are the main polluters so must make progress towards a post 2012 framework as part of the UN Kyoto process, keeping global warming at less than 2 degrees. They need to commit to reduce their own emissions by 80% before 2050.
Kumi Naidoo will be in Rostock and at the G8 Media Centre on June 7th and 8th.
GCAP Contacts in Germany:
- Ciara O’Sullivan, GCAP Media Coordinator, + 49 151 53655193 ciara-os@hotmail.com
- Kel Currah, GCAP’s G8 Working Group, + 49 151 536 55 191 kel_currah@wvi.org
The Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) is a worldwide alliance of trade unions, community groups, faith groups, youth and campaigners working together across more than 100 national platforms. GCAP is calling for action from the world’s leaders to meet their promises to end poverty and inequality. In particular, we demand solutions that address the issues of public accountability, just governance and the fulfilment of human rights as well as trade justice, aid quality and quantity, debt cancellation and gender equality.
