Nesta semana, a Articulação Sul participará de três oficinas no People's Forum on BRICS, evento que será realizado dia 13 e 14 de outubro. Disponibilizamos abaixo um resumo de cada um dos espaços
1) SUPERVISÃO PARLAMENTAR NO NOVO BANCO DE DESENVOLVIMENTO E IFIS
Dia 13 de Outubro 16hs- 18hs Hall No (H3) Xavier’s Centre of Historical Research, Alto Porvorim, Goa
CONVIDADOS: Medha Patkar – Narmada Bachao Andolan / NAPM Patrick Bond - Professor University of Witswatersrand, South Africa Leo Saldhana – Environment Support Group, Joe Athialy – Centre for Financial Accountability, New Delhi Laura Trajber Waisbich - Articulação Sul, Brazil
BRICS countries received 25% of World Bank lending from 1945 to 2015 according to World Bank lending data. AIIB and NDB have announced loans of $509 million and $911 million. These loans have been signed and announced while the banks still do not have a full set of social and environment safeguard and oversight policies.
The banks have announced their focus on sustainability, innovative modes of finance, and quick turnarounds on lending. They have also shown themselves to be quite shy of community engagement, shirking proper consultations on key areas such as safeguards policies. Many are concerned that the new banks’ ‘lean’ procedures will result in a race to the bottom among IFIs in terms of standards and safeguards, leading to more environmental destruction and socially negative impacts for project affected communities and countries.
It is therefore essential that the Parliament to have a oversight of these financial institutions in the context of old and new Multilateral development Banks? Parliamentary Oversight is an instrument for accountability, transparency and responsible governance. An IFI lending going through a Parliamentary process also opens the possibility of information flow to the people concerned and general public, promoting an informed discussion making IFIs and government more accountable.
2) JUSTIÇA SOCIAL NOS BRICS: PERSPECTIVAS POPULARES
Dia 14 de Outubro 10hs- 13hs Hall No (H7) Xavier’s Centre of Historical Research, Alto Porvorim, Goa
CONVIDADOS: Jorge Romano (Writer and Senior Researcher, Brazil Dr Noorjehan Niaz (BMMA) Katherine Robinson (Queer activist, South Africa) Bezwada Wilson (Safai Karamchari Andolan) (tbc) Dontha Prashanth (Hyderabad Central University) Omhle Ntshingila (Fees must fall, South Africa) e Laura Trajber Waisbich (BRICS Feminist Watch/Articulação Sul)
The BRICS countries have extremely diverse populations, with rich civilizational histories. Yet over the past two decades many of these countries have witnessed a sharp rise in polarisation along the lines of caste, religion, class, gender, and ethnicity. Exclusionary growth has intensified inequalities, and there is widespread dissatisfaction related to access to education and decent jobs amongst their large, aspirational youth populations. There is also a discernible trend of rise of militarisation and of regressive, patriarchal forces.
This 3 hour workshop will see social movement leaders, activists, and student leaders from India, Brazil and South Africa share their experiences and struggles, with the intention of extending solidarity and commitment towards social, economic, and political equality in all the BRICS countries. It also aims to reflect on alternative paradigms of development which focus on social justice and articulate a vision for the BRICS grouping based on the imaginations and aspirations of people’s movements.
3) BANCO DOS BRICS: O que isso significa para os povos e a ecologia?
13 de Outubro 14hs-16hs Hall No (tbc) Xavier’s Centre of Historical Research, Alto Porvorim, Goa
CONVIDADOS: Ketak Kamat – Vasudha Foundation, India Sameer Dossani – ActionAid, South Africa Baone Twala –Centre for Applied Legal Studies, South Africa Khuraisha Patel -Centre for Applied Legal Studies, South Africa Anirudha Nagar- Coalition for Human Rights in Development Laura Waisbich - Articulaçao Sul, Brazil
The BRICS New Development Bank was launched in 2015 with the promise to spur South-South cooperation and promote infrastructure and sustainable development in BRICS countries and beyond. But after the NDB's first year of operation, serious questions remain regarding whether the NDB will promote truly socially and environmentally sustainable development, or promote the same development model that has increased poverty and degraded the environment. This workshop will explore what the NDB is and why it matters for people and ecology, including looking at the Bank's first set of investments and its recently released social and environmental framework. Together, participants from BRICS countries will strategize what we as civil society and social movements want to demand from the NDB, and how we can work together to influence it and hold it accountable.
