DISCUSIÓN DE RESULTADOS

insTruMenTs For oVercoMing PoVerTy,

ineQuAliTy And exclusion.

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roma settlers in the bašaid village near Kikinda, during the visits to the roma settlements in AP Vojvodina, serbia (Photo: Mr slobodan cvejic, sociologist lead of the consultation process)

go to cities, booming towns or other countries in search of better job oppor- tunities, swelling the ranks of informal traders, miners and migrants. Many youth may continue studying in the hope that this would improve their job prospects. other young people may take to the streets to express their anger and insecu- rity. Most people take jobs — any jobs — regardless of whether they are mistreated or abused, whether working conditions are dangerous or whether the job is just for a day or a few hours.

informal-sector workers and migrants feel particularly insecure and vulnerable. For example, in rwanda, people trying to earn a living by trading on the streets tell of how they are vulnerable to arrest: “street hawkers are arrested, dispossessed of their goods, and jailed, and the start-up small capital disappears.”

lack of jobs fuels labour migration, which, if badly managed, creates large contingents of migrant workers who are often criminalized and have limited rights in receiving countries. in Moldova and Tajikistan, participants emphasized how migration has also created hardship and risks for families and children left behind, especially when social protec- tion coverage is weak. in Tanzania, participants said that internal migrants face huge insecurities, and that many are victims of violence and even homicide, leaving themselves and their families even more insecure.

youth unemployment has reached alarming proportions in some countries, developed and developing alike. in some countries in southern europe, over 50 percent of youth are unemployed. in djibouti, unemployment has reached alarming proportions and affects nearly 50 percent of the active working popu- lation and about 60 percent of young people. given the difficult economic situation and persistent unemployment, the younger generations say they have lost confidence in themselves and in the future of the nation. Most young people have grown fatalistic and consider that the solution is to go abroad. Particularly

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gender-bAsed discriMinATion conTinues

To be A serious bArrier in AchieVing

eQuiTAble And susTAinAble liVelihoods.

desPiTe The FAcT ThAT WoMen consTiTuTe

Three QuArTers oF The WorKForce engAged

in AgriculTure, ProPerTy righTs Are heAVily

sTAcKed AgAinsT TheM.

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PArtiCiPAnt FroM FArMerS’ ASSoCiAtionS, nAtionAl ConSultAtion, inDiA

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[W]hen PeoPle Are APPlying For Jobs iF

you liVe in The gheTTo you hAVe To PuT An

uPToWn Address in order To geT The Job.

”

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The FuTure is griM For us WoMen

sMAllholder FArMers. in locAl cusToMs,

only Men inheriT lAnd, AlThough WoMen do

MosT oF The WorK in Fields. This sTrucTure

KeePs us dePendenT on Men And shAcKles us

in PoVerTy.

”

consultation with youth in belford roxo, rio de Janeiro state, March 2013 (Photo: Flavio lopes unV/undP brazil)

worrying is the large number of young people who are neither in employment nor in full-time education.

Addressing these tremendous employment challenges requires nothing short of structural transformation of economies. The lack of inclusive growth is seen as contributing to inequality, injustice and insecurity. in the growth and employment consultation, there were strong calls for more active policies to promote employment-generating sectors and enable structural transformation to higher value-added production. The iMPorTAnce oF GoVernAnce Markets and the private sector, on their own, are seen as being incapable of ensuring growth that is socially and environmentally sustainable: governments have to be proactive in promoting productive and sustainable sectors while reducing environmental pollution and natural resource degrada- tion. governments need to put in place coherent economic policies to spur creation of decent work for many. People in consultations also expect govern- ments to do a better job in creating public ‘goods’, addressing discrimina- tion in labour markets, extending social

protection coverage and other rights to informal and migrant workers, and taking more proactive measures to tackle the high levels of unemployment or exclusion from labour markets particularly experi- enced by young people and women.

expectations of a more proactive role of governments come together with expectations of greater accountability of governments. deficits in governance — such as corruption, control of key resources by political and business elites, compounded by low capacity of govern- ment institutions — are seen as hindering inclusive growth by squandering resources needed for development. Many participants, particularly from African countries, see corruption as not only leading to misuse of public resources, but also eroding the culture of trust that is necessary for deepening and broadening markets. For example, tackling corrup- tion among government elites is seen as key for diversifying economies that rely on the export of a limited number of unrefined products. There were calls from the private sector in the Middle east and north Africa for a shift away from a system that is dependent on state- controlled resources and contracts to one that can harness independent capital and

entrepreneurial initiatives.

greater interdependence among countries requires changes in interna- tional economic governance. Participants in the consultations called for a reform of global trade, finance and technology transfer, because without these reforms many countries will not be able to make progress on inclusive growth, employ- ment and environmental sustainability objectives. For example, in the consulta- tions in indonesia and the Philippines, concerns are voiced about the impact of trade agreements on small traditional industries and local livelihoods. These are expressed in calls for ‘fair trade not free trade’. continued subsidies of agricultural production in rich countries pose barriers to improvements in agricultural jobs and incomes in less developed economies. The lack of transparency in international financial systems is leading to increased volatilities and the ‘socialization’ of risks, with which vulnerable economies and vulnerable sections of societies are less able to cope. rules that inhibit technology transfer and knowledge exchange are holding back opportunities for diversifica- tion and business development, and also more sustainable solutions for future growth.

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We hAVe To TAKe cAre oF

our PAchAMAMA [MoTher

eArTh], oTherWise, hoW Are

We going To liVe?

”

drawing by Milica Petronijevic, 10 years old, who took part in a drawing contest on the topic ‘The serbia i Want’. This drawing presents her vision of serbia after 2015 (Photo: uncT serbia)

The need For

enVironMenTAl susTAinABiliTY environmental sustainability is treated as a separate goal in the Mdgs architecture, whereas in the Millennium declaration it is treated as an underlying value that should run through all other goals and targets. This has meant that the link between environmental sustainability and income poverty and inequalities has been underestimated. The environmental Sustainability consultation has drawn out these linkages, and the national consultations show clearly how the lack of environmentally sustainable practices and current unsustainable growth patterns are contributing to inequalities and increasing insecurity for highly and newly vulnerable populations. The consultations call for both a goal on environmental sustainability and for sustainability to be considered as a basic principle to be streamlined in all other goals.

consultations in Africa, for example, showed how changing weather patterns exacerbated by deforestation and land degradation are directly impacting not just incomes through loss of arable land, but also food and water security. in latin America and the caribbean, concerns were also expressed strongly about the present and future impact of resource depletion on human security.

The lack of sustainable manage- ment of natural resources is seen as reinforcing inequalities by leading to more unequal access to natural resources, including safe water, safe waste disposal, safe air and exposure to pollution and chemical or agricultural hazards. At the international level, inequalities are felt by poorer countries, and their popula- tions, which often bear the burden of climate change, are less able to cope with the effects and have contributed little to its causes (for example, Africa is responsible for 2.5 percent of carbon emissions).6 _{global inequalities in the} use of natural resources are also seen in the use of water for producing energy: worldwide, energy uses 8 percent of all freshwater withdrawals, but rich countries

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We Are The FuTure leAders

oF TodAy, ToMorroW And beyond 2015,

And our righTs (To exPression)