GLOBAL COOPERATION NEWSLETTER
July 2011
In this edition
Expert Group Meeting on Poverty Eradication
Call for abstracts - 2012 World Conference of Social Work & Social Development
New Secretary General - International Federation of Social Workers
Progress of the world’s women: In pursuit of justice
NGO Laws in Sub-Saharan Africa
World Social Situation: The Global Social Crisis
World Economic and Social Survey 2011
Poor Poverty: The Impoverishment of Analysis, Measurement and Policies
Conference - Reforming Social Protection Systems in Developing Countries
Expert Group Meeting on Poverty Eradication
ICSW President Christian Rollet represented ICSW at the expert group meeting on poverty
eradication held in June in Geneva Switzerland. The meeting formed part of the preparations for the50th session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD). ICSW will be represented at theCommission meeting which is scheduled to take place in New York in February 2012.
The UN Economic and Social Council decided that the priority theme for the 2011-2012 review andpolicy cycle of the Commission should be ―Poverty Eradication, taking into account its relationshipto social integration and full employment and decent work for all.‖ The outcomes provide important
inputs to the work of the Commission, in particular contributing to formulation of policies that havebeen shown to have a major impact on efforts to reduce poverty.
The papers presented at the Expert Meeting can be found on the UN website at:
http://social.un.org/index/ExpertGroupMeetingsPanelDiscussions/2011/PovertyEradication.aspx
Of particular interest are the following papers:
Report of the Independent Expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty,
http://social.un.org/index/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=D5WxQuv7g8o%3d&tabid=1560
Enhancing the Role of NGOs in Poverty Alleviation: Challenges and Opportunities by Catherine
Ferguson http://social.un.org/index/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=m02cRJ4sFlk%3d&tabid=1560
Rethinking poverty eradication efforts post-2015 Issues Note for Discussion by Sakiko Fukuda-Parr
http://social.un.org/index/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=0r1wi0QsG5Q%3d&tabid=1560

Call for abstracts - 2012 Joint World Conference of Social Work and Social
Development: Action and Impact
In July 2012 Stockholm will be the venue for the second joint world conference. It follows theamazing success of the first joint conference held in Hong Kong in June 2010
The organisers have made the first call for abstracts. Deadline – 30th November 2011.
The conference will take place in Stockholm, Sweden, between the 8 th and 12th of July in 2012. The
conference will be the meeting point for policymakers, social workers, scholars and students toexchange experience and development in social work practice, social research and education andsocial policy to develop a sustainable welfare system for the future.

Global Cooperation Newsletter

Page 1

Visit the conference website to obtain information about the conference and the call for abstracts.
Information is available in English, French, Spanish and Swedish: www.swsd-stockholm-2012.org
For questions regarding registration, hotel booking, social events, abstract handling, exhibition
management and general information please contact Congrex at socialwork2012@congrex.com
Regarding the scientific programme you are welcome to contact the Conference Secretariat that will
open on 15th August. The conference administrator is Lina Fahlgren lfahlgren@icsw.org
Visit the conference on Facebook: Stockholm 2012 – Social Work Social Development

New Secretary General - International Federation of Social Workers
Gary Bailey, President of the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) has announced theappointment of Dr. Rory G. Truell as the new Secretary-General of IFSW. Dr. Truell, who has spent
the last four years as the Chief Executive of The New Zealand Social Services Industry Training
Organization, assumed the position on 1st July 2011. IFSW is a federation of national member
organizations in 90 countries representing more than 745,000 social workers worldwide. IASSW,IFSW and ICSW are the partners in the world conference to be held in Stockholm in July 2012.

Progress of the world’s women: In pursuit of justice

UN Women on 6th July 2011 launched its flagship report Progress of the world’s women that focuses
on women's access to justice. It can be found at http://progress.unwomen.org/
The report argues that well-functioning legal and justice systems can be vital mechanisms for
women to achieve their rights and calls on governments around the world to "take urgent action toend the injustices that keep women poor and less powerful than men in every country".
Specifically, it calls on governments to:• repeal laws that discriminate against women and ensure legislation protects women from violence
and inequality at home and at work
• support innovative justice systems, legal aid and specialised courts for women• put women on the frontline of justice delivery, in parliaments, the police and the courts• increase funding for justice reform that specifically targets women and girls
Madeleine
Bunting
reviewed
thereportinThe
Guardianon
6thJuly2011.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2011/jul/06/un-women-report-access-tojustice?intcmp=122
Ms Bunting said ―More than half of working women in the world, 600 million, are trapped in
insecure jobs without legal protection, according to the first flagship report of the new agency UN
Women. A similar number do not have even basic protection against domestic violence, it finds,
while sexual assault has become a hallmark of modern conflict.
Michelle Bachelet, the executive director of UN Women, said the document showed that many
millions of women had no access to justice. "The report reminds us of the remarkable advancesthat have been made over the past century in the quest for gender equality and women'sempowerment," she said. "However it also underscores the fact that despite widespread guarantees
of equality, the reality for many millions of women is that justice remains out of reach."
For millions of women in both rich and poor countries, the search for justice is fraught with difficulty
and is often expensive; laws and legal systems frequently discriminate against them. In Cambodia,
for example, the forensic test necessary to lay a rape charge costs two weeks' wages, while in
Kenya a land claim in an inheritance case can cost $800 and extend across 17 different
administrative stages.
The report offers 10 recommendations to overcome the paradox that while huge improvements
have been made in the legal position of women over the last century, there is still a dramatic lag intranslating that into equality and justice.

Global Cooperation Newsletter

Page 2

NGO Laws in Sub-Saharan Africa
The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law has published Global Trends in NGO Law: NGO Laws
in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Recent years have witnessed proliferating efforts by various governments in Africa to restrict thespace for civil society. Many labels have been applied to a global trend of using law to narrow
space for civil society: the ―regulatory backlash against civil society,‖ the ―associational counterrevolution,‖ and most recently, the ―steel vice in which governments around the world are slowly
crushing civil society and the human spirit.‖ It is within the global context that the same trend is
unfolding across Africa. This issue of Global Trends provides examples of enacted or proposed
regulatory measures – including laws, policies and regulations – that illustrate how this trend istaking shape in the region. The journal can be downloaded as a PDF at
http://www.icnl.org/knowledge/globaltrends/GloTrends3-3.htm

World Social Situation: The Global Social Crisis
The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) has released The Global Social Crisis:
Reportonthe World
SocialSituation.
Thereport
canbedownloadedfrom:
http://social.un.org/index/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=v0LQqd2FT3k%3d&tabid=1561
The DESA Report shows that recovery has been uneven and continues to be fragile, with a wide
range of negative social impacts lingering from the economic downturn.
Importantly, the DESA Report asserts that the effects of the crisis in areas including health andeducation will become fully evident only in the long term. The increased levels of poverty, hunger
and unemployment due to the global crisis is expected to continue, affecting billions of people foryears to come. Poverty and unemployment have been linked to malnutrition, crime, domestic
violence and substance abuse.
The Report stresses that it is essential that governments take into account the likely social
implications of their economic policies. Economic policies considered in isolation from their social
outcomes can have dire consequences for poverty, employment, nutrition, health and education
which, in turn, adversely affect long-term sustainable development. The disconnect between
economic policies and their social consequences can create a vicious circle of slow growth and poorsocial progress.
Cutting social expenditures may worsen and prolong negative impacts from the crisis. On the other
hand, increasing expenditures to expand social protection systems and improve access to educationand health services, as well as to promote productive employment, will help ensure more inclusive
development with stronger domestic demand and a more solid foundation for future growth.

World Economic and Social Survey 2011
The Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) has released the Great Green TechnologicalTransformation - UNDESA World Economic and Social Survey 2011. It can be downloaded fromhttp://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wess/wess_current/2011wess.pdf
In order for populations in developing countries to achieve a decent living standard, especially thebillions who currently still live in conditions of abject poverty, and the additional two billion people
who will have been added to the world‘s population by mid-century—much greater economic
progress will be needed.
In the next three to four decades, humankind must manage a fundamental technological overhaul
or risk failure in fulfilling global commitments to end poverty and averting the catastrophic impactsof climate change and environmental degradation. This latest report analyses the options andchallenges associated with the shift to more efficient and renewable energy technologies, withtransforming agricultural technologies so as to guarantee food security without further degrading

Global Cooperation Newsletter

Page 3land and water resources, and with applying the technology required to adapt to climate change
and reduce risks to human populations from natural hazards.
Governments will have to take a leading role through implementation of investment and incentive
schemes designed to accelerate green technological innovation and structural change directed
towards sustainable production and consumption. Strengthened international cooperation andsignificant adjustments in multilateral trade and financing mechanisms will be needed if developing
countries are to effect the necessary technological transformation without compromising theiraspirations regarding growth and poverty reduction. Recovery with a human face must and can also
be sustainable.

Poor Poverty: The Impoverishment of Analysis, Measurement and Policies
UN DESA‘s recent book, "Poor Poverty: The Impoverishment of Analysis, Measurement andPolicies," offers a critical appraisal of the conventional measures and analysis of poverty as well asof poverty reduction policies. In particular, it highlights the major limitations of the international
community inspired policies and popular poverty reduction programs. It also compares theperformance of two apparently successful countries – China and India – and identifies their failuresin critical areas such as inequality (both regional and interpersonal) and structural transformation.
The book argues that without sustained productive job creation, poverty policies and programmes
will not succeed. Structural adjustment and other conventional policy prescriptions have resulted in
reduced policy and fiscal space and hence greatly damaged economic development prospects, withdire consequences for poverty, inequality and destitution.
Economic growth needs to be stabilised with consistently counter-cyclical macroeconomic policies
and institutions. Measures to promote structural change and reduce inequality are also crucial fordevelopment and poverty reduction. Universal social protection and more inclusive social
provisioning should also be promoted. To obtain a copy of the book go tohttps://unp.un.org/Details.aspx?pid=21558 The book costs USD38 for developed country buyers
and USD19 for those from developing countries. Editor‘s note. It would be nice if OECD adopted asimilar pricing policy.

Conference October 2011 Bochun Germany Reforming Social Protection Systems
in Developing Countries – Determinants and Strategies of Institutional Change
The Institute of Development Research and Development Policy at the Ruhr-University of Bochum,
Germany, together with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and theDeutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) is convening the InternationalConference ‗Reforming Social Protection Systems in Developing Countries – Determinants andStrategies of Institutional Change‘. The event will take place from 20 th to 21st October 2011 inBochum, Germany. The Conference aims to analyse on-going reforms of social protection systems
in developing countries from both a political economy and legal point of view. After the event, theorganisers plan to publish all conference contributions (full papers) in an edited volume.
The conference registration is open until 15 August 2011. Conference website: http://www.socialprotection-conference.com/.
The content of this Global Newsletter may be freely reproduced or cited provided the source isacknowledged. Views do not necessarily represent policies of ICSW.
Newsletter Editor: Denys Correll, Executive Director
PO Box 28957
Kampala Uganda
Phone: +256 414 32 11 50
Website www.icsw.org Email: icsw@icsw.org
If you wish to cease receiving this newsletter, please click 'here' providing your name and email addressGlobal Cooperation Newsletter

Page 4