CSOs and Social Movements from the South unite to Campaign for Peoples Goals for Sustainable Development

Civil Society Organizations and social movements from the Global South have banded together and pledged to Campaign for Peoples Goals for Sustainable Development (CPGSD). According to the common statement released by the campaign initiators, governments must abandon the current dominant development model that grants rights and liberties to capital over the rights and freedoms of people and the protection of the environment. They vow to fight for a new development framework that is founded on the principles of human rights, equality, self-determination, and social, gender and ecological justice. The initiators of the campaign include 16 international and regional networks as well as 8 national and local organizations representing a broad range of social movements and grassroots organizations. These include the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Peoples Coalition for Food Sovereignty (PCFS), Eastern and Southern Africa Small Scale Farmers Forum (ESAFF), Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD), African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), Asian Students Alliance, International Migrants Alliance, Indigenous People’s Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL), Latin American Network for Debt and Development (LATINDADD), Habitat International Coalition, Friends of the Earth-Indonesia and many others. This initiative was the main outcome of the Rights for Sustainability Beyond Rio+20: Global Civil Society Workshop on the Rio+20 Outcomes and the Post-2015 Development Agenda held in Nairobi last October 2-3, 2012 organized by IBON International. Antonio Tujan, International Director of IBON, describes this initiative as “a Southern-led campaign that is grounded in grassroots struggles while engaging with the official processes related to the post-2015 development agenda.” The CPGSD statement was released just ahead of the meeting of the High Level Panel on the Post-2015 development agenda in London, UK. Among the key demands of the Campaign is the establishment of multistakeholder processes for setting the post-2015 development agenda at the national and international levels with full participation of civil society in deliberations and decision-making beyond mere consultations. The CPGSD statement urges all movements, peoples’ organizations, civil society groups and all concerned citizens to join the campaign. For more information about joining this campaign, please contact:pquintos@iboninternational.org