Hon. Hazel Manning, Minister of Local Government of Trinidad and Tobago;
Members of the Media
Distinguished Members of Civil Society
Ladies and Gentlemen
Although I was unable to attend the entire Civil Society Forum, my brief engagement today and the reports I received have left me in no doubt as to the exceptional value of the exercise in which you were involved over the past two days. It has also reaffirmed my long-held belief of the critical role of civil society in the development process. I therefore take this opportunity to congratulate the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and particularly the organizing Committee as well as the participants for their contributions to the success of this Forum.
Over the years, Civil Society throughout the World has demonstrated its value to the global debates on several critical issues. For example the CIVICUS World Assembly held in Vancouver in 2001, shortly after the globalization protests in Seattle, Genoa and Quebec City, brought together over 700 leaders of Civil Society from 67 countries to reflect and make recommendations on how to put people at the center of the global development agenda.
Also in the same year, the World Conference against racial discrimination held in Durban, South Africa, dealt with intolerance, refugees, protection of minorities, migrants and ethnic conflict and was distinguished for its recommendations on compensation for slavery. In addition, prior to these two Conferences, the UN Special Session on Women had addressed the issue of gender equality, development and peace for the 21st Century as a follow up to the famous Beijing Conference on Women and Development of 1995 which resulted in a wide-ranging set of recommendations, including those on violence against women.
This Forum follows in the tradition of significant civil society consultations and is taking place at a time when the whole World is consumed by the financial and economic crisis, deemed to be the worst in over 50 years. It is therefore fitting that one of the panels at this forum dealt with the key challenges and opportunities in the current economic environment and that one of your six working groups (this morning) addressed the impact of the economic crisis on promoting and protecting the human rights of all citizens, particularly migrants, children and other vulnerable groups.
There is no doubt that the fall out from the present crisis includes: decreased solvency of the
global and financial credit systems; recessionary effects causing a decline in GDP, jobs and corporate profits; and an increase in personal and small business bankruptcies. All of these threaten the health of the economies of both developed and developing countries alike.
In that regard, the many stimulus packages by individual countries including those in the hemisphere and the recent decisions of the G20 in London are an attempt to shore up the global economy. It is a recognition that wealth loss as widespread as this crisis, affects the ability of all countries to provide the social safety net that protects the most vulnerable in our societies – a central preoccupation of civil society and an overriding concern in this Forum.
Allow me to draw on the sanguine perspective of Jim Novak, President of the Reinvestment Fund of the NGO Association of Performing Arts in the USA, who points out that while we have had about half a dozen global recessions in the past fifty years, the current down turn represents something special. What he refers to as the “debt bubble” could have severe negative effects on international AID and on support for NGOs.
In this regard, I wish to expand somewhat on the conclusions of the Secretary-General of Association of Caribbean States, H.E Luis Fernando Andrade Falla (at yesterday’s session) on the role of civil society in managing the economic environment for prosperity. In so doing, I wish to point to two emerging lessons of particular relevance to civil society, from the crisis that we are experiencing:
First of all, beware of the bubble mania. This was mainly related to the way that technology was elevated as the science of a “flat world”; whereby companies with interesting websites could generate substantial market value that seemed unworldly, and in which productivity gains were no longer measured through the profit and loss statements of companies. We in the Caribbean now know the eventual results. It has left many financially stranded and perhaps flattened.
Secondly, we must acknowledge that disruptive change is rarely predictable.
One year ago who would have predicted the demise of CLICO and Stanford and its wide ranging implications for the entire Caribbean? I like most of you in this room would not. This illustrates the lesson that may be drawn from Nassim Taleb’s book Black Swan in which he states that we have a tendency to overvalue what we know and undervalue what we do not. This is why your discussions on social innovation, information and transparency, are so relevant. The three however must be taken simultaneously
I note with interest, Madam Chair, that the discussions of the Forum placed much emphasis on the use of newer information technologies to increase the connectivity among civil society.
The Sustainable Development Networking Programme (SDNP), for example, which emanated from a UNDP supported project, has created an ICT Virtual Stakeholders system linking 300 participants across 30 countries of the hemisphere. This is an initiative worth supporting and sustaining. So also is a programme such as Voices of Climate Change in Jamaica comprising as it does a social network of artists and entertainers and focused on delivering messages in a manner that is easily communicated to the ordinary people.
But this form of Social Media – whether as edutainment or through websites and pod casting (and these are not necessarily mutually exclusive) – could also be used to expand the
realm of legitimacy. This can be done by using ICT to ensure greater inclusion of civil society in the discourse of and ideas on how our economies are being managed. At the same time, we can use ICT to increase transparency by simplifying the transmission of financial information, thereby broadening the scope of due diligence that civil society can itself exercise. These can also facilitate a campaign for consumer safety information not only to protect the consumer but to avert the risks to the citizens. These are all perspectives that could truly secure the future and indeed could have averted or mitigated the danger now confronting all of us.
It is also particularly welcome that your consultations have given due recognition to the need for government and civil society activities alike to be transparent as laid down in the Inter American Convention Against Corruption. That Convention has been signed by virtually all countries in this Hemisphere.
It is alarming to learn, however, from the research of Professor Clayton (presented to this Conference), that in some instances millions of dollars in increased AID for noble purposes such as health, education, road building did not correlate with any subsequent increase in the rates of social and economic development, in the respective countries.
In this context, the role of Transparency International, a network of NGOs in over 100 countries including 16 in this Hemisphere – should be promoted and supported. Its approach based on enhanced collaboration with governments, must be applauded and so must its advocacy for the application of laws to increase access to information and international cooperation.
The Caribbean Community is very conscious of the important role that Civil Society must play in the development of this Region. Our Heads of Government agreed to the establishment of a Civil Society Council at its Forward Together engagement with Civil Society in 2002. This
landmark event focused on human resource development, justice and governance, and the role of civil society in the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). Admittedly, implementation has lagged somewhat; but perhaps the time is now and the occasion of this Conference most propitious to reactivate and dynamise this important process for the Caribbean Community.
Already, the CARICOM Region has demonstrated its capacity for leadership by civil society through the initiatives taken in the run up to this Fifth Summit of the Americas under the leadership of persons such as Ms Beverley Beckles, Chair of the Civil Society Advisory Group and Ms Hazel Brown Chairperson of the
Network of NGOs for the Advancement of Women of the Caribbean region. Similar leadership was shown by Julio Cesar Cabrera of the Central American, Mexico, Dominican Republic and Hemispheric Forum; and Celia Ramirez of the South America and Inter American Forum of Afro Descendants. These leaders have indeed all demonstrated that value of collaboration to achieve specific outcomes through sub-regional and hemispheric consultations.
Among the notable and most exciting advances arising out of these consultations were the Virtual Forum which permitted several stakeholders throughout the Hemisphere, to participate in the discussions via web cast; and
the development of the terms of reference for a Citizens Observatory to monitor the commitments from the Summit, including the recommendations for equitable growth in relation to decent work in response to the ILO conventions.
These are all laudable but the issue is to ensure that they are implemented and further, how to build on them.
That having been said as we are all aware, Civil Society is by no means homogeneous and its proliferation and varying objectives over the years have made it very difficult to establish a common platform with a consensus that is binding on the various strands. Hence, as Dr
David Malone, President of International Development Research Centre warned in his lunchtime address yesterday, we must be wary of romanticizing Civil Society and be aware that among the clan are “vanity” NGOs, with their narrow objectives and even political agendas, with a tendency to polarize. In these circumstances, Civil Society needs to strive to be professional, creative and influential in their particular area of the development agenda. In that pursuit, its advocacy must be based on sound information and research, relevant to the policies they seek to influence.
Also there is need for civil society to work with allies within the government and private sectors;
share credit for successes with decision makers who are required to sustain commitments; and contribute to the media by understanding how it works.
Before closing, I must commend the Forum for its expressed support for special policies and programmes to help lift our Member State Haiti from its present situation. There is so much that that country has given to the Caribbean and so much more that it has to give, if only afforded a chance to so do.
I must also mention your strong statement on the reintegration of Cuba into the family of the Americas. It is a position that the Heads of
Government of the Caribbean Community as well as of many other countries of the hemisphere and indeed the wider international community have long endorsed. The time may be propitious for this to occur.
Madam Chair, Ladies and Gentlemen, these last two days have demonstrated that there is commitment at the level of the civil society in the Americas, to be part of the global forum on improving the lives of the people of the world and in particular the people of this Hemisphere. We must always bear in mind that global problems require global solutions and we all bear responsibility for providing those solutions – governments, private sector and civil society.
I thank you.
