WUNRN
The
Group of Eight (G8) is a forum for the leaders of eight of the world’s most
industrialized nations, aimed at finding common ground on key topics and solutions
to global issues. The G8 includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,
Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
___________________________________________________________
ADD YOUR VOICE:
April 18, 2012
On May 18, leaders of the world’s eight largest economies (the G8) will
gather at Camp David, a walled-off retreat reserved for the US President and
his guests. There, they will make decisions that will affect all of us, no
matter where we live.
This unjust distribution of political power means that sustainable alternatives
to harmful policies are ignored, and voices of the global 99% are silenced.
But women's human rights advocates refuse to be ignored. We know that women
worldwide are creating solutions to the crises we all face, including poverty,
economic injustice and militarism. We are putting forward our own G8 agenda. We
need your input to craft it.
Visit www.madre.org/g8agenda
to share your ideas and to join our effort. Together, we can demand policies
that protect women’s human rights worldwide.
This Is the Reality:
Income Inequality: G8 policies protect the richest at the expense of the rest. When governments value private profits above the public good, poverty and instability result.
Labor Rights Violations: The rights to unionize and to be free from gender discrimination are essential. But workers worldwide are routinely denied protection for internationally recognized labor rights.
A Broken Aid System: Aid today is insufficient and ineffective. It often does not reach where it is needed most. It does not address the root causes of poverty and inequality. What’s more, aid delivery perpetuates dependency and is conditioned on policies that enrich the G8.
This Is Our Vision. Women Demand G8 Policies That:
Add your voice at www.madre.org/poverty
This Is the Reality:
Food Price Crises: The neoliberal embrace of deregulated markets has allowed financial traders to speculate in food staples, causing prices to shoot up. Waves of food crises have gripped communities worldwide, as basic foods are priced out of reach.
Unfair Trade Policies: Massive subsidies by G8 nations have protected corporate agribusiness while destroying the livelihoods of farmers in the Global South by flooding local markets. What’s more, countries have been pressured to produce agricultural commodities for export, not food for eating.
Industrial Agriculture: Small-scale farmers have been hurt by G8 policies that prioritize monoculture and industrial farming. This has destroyed biodiversity, worsened climate change and increased the use of polluting fertilizers and pesticides.
This Is Our Vision. Women Demand G8 Policies That:
Add your voice at www.madre.org/food
This Is the Reality:
Denial of the Right to Health: G8 governments are abdicating their responsibility to provide comprehensive health care for their people. They tell us that free markets can do the job. Instead, women pick up the slack, shouldering the responsibility of providing care to their families.
Attacks on Reproductive Health and Rights: In the name of “traditional values,” right wing forces have launched new political attacks. At the global and local levels, women’s access to family planning is at risk—jeopardizing women’s health and safe motherhood.
This Is Our Vision. Women Demands G8 Policies That:
Add your voice at www.madre.org/health
This Is the Reality:
Greed Without Accountability: G8 governments have shielded the bankers and corporations responsible for the financial crises that have devastated communities across the globe. Rescued by government bailouts, they are quickly returning to business as usual.
The Next Phase of the Arab Spring: The revolutions of the Arab Spring were made possible and accelerated by women’s leadership. Women have created new opportunities to have a say in their future—but they are already confronting a backlash from fundamentalist forces.
Unfair International Institutions: Global governing power is concentrated in the hands of wealthy nations—and the G8 is a prime example. But countries of the Global South are organizing to demand a space at the table.
This Is Our Vision. Women Demands G8 Policies That:
Add your voice at www.madre.org/democracy
This Is the Reality:
War in the Name of Rights: G8 governments have used women’s human rights to justify war. We’ve seen this charade in the US/NATO invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead, these occupations put women’s human rights at risk.
“War on Terror”: Policymakers have used post-9/11 fears to distort our definitions of security. Proponents of the so-called “war on terror” promote xenophobia and anxiety to distract from human rights abuses, like torture at Guantanamo Bay.
The Next War: Hawks are pressing for a pre-emptive attack on Iran. This would violate international law and spread massive suffering—and activists are already mobilizing against it.
This Is Our Vision. Women Demands G8 Policies That:
Add your voice at www.madre.org/peace
This Is the Reality:
Rampant Privatization: G8 policies have embraced privatization of public goods, including basic services like electricity and water.
Extreme Austerity: In the wake of global financial crises, many governments are still struggling. But they are foisting the worst sacrifices on those least to blame, by slashing public services. In Greece, drastic austerity programs have reduced living standards by 30%.
This Is Our Vision. Women Demands G8 Policies That:
Add your voice at www.madre.org/services
This Is the Reality:
Land Grabbing: Small-scale women farmers in the Global South produce most of their families’ food. But their communities are being dispossessed by corporations to make way for industrial agriculture and biofuel plantations.
Extractive Industries: G8 governments have misdirected vital investment dollars into industries like oil and mining. In communities from Peru to the Congo, people are confronting the harmful practices of extractive industries on their land—often facing brutal retaliation.
Climate Change: We are fast approaching a global point of no return—irreversible climate change, including droughts and famines, unpredictable farming seasons and intensified disasters.
This Is Our Vision. Women Demands G8 Policies That: