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Civil Society forum to
draw attention to development challenges during UNCTAD
meeting
Accra, March 20, Ghanadot/GNA – Civil Society organizations
(CSOs) said in Accra
on Wednesday that they would use the UNCTAD XII conference
slated for Accra
in April to draw attention of the public to the continuous
threat posed by globalization to the economic and social
integration of developing countries into the global economy.
At a press briefing in Accra, Dr Yao Graham, Coordinator of
the Third World Network, said developing countries continued
to be marginalized in their efforts of sustainable
development because of globalization.
The UNCTAD XII Conference will be held against the
background of poor progress towards internationally agreed
development goals, unemployment and underemployment and
widening gap between the rich industrialized countries and
Africa.
Ahead of the main meeting, the Civil Society Organisations
will hold a forum from between April 17 and 19.
Dr. Graham said a primary concern of the civil society forum
would be to finalise the civil society statement to be
delivered at the opening plenary of the main conference.
“The forum will in addition provide a platform for groups to
hold workshops, have strategy sessions, organize festive
events, showcase their publications and have exhibitions
among others,” he said.
The deliberations in the CSOs forum would be around issues
from the four sub-themes of the conference - Free Trade
Agreements, Investment Agreements, Commodity Markets and
Prices; Cultural Rights; Conflicts and Wars and Global
Governance and Multilateralism.
Dr. Graham urged the media to participate actively in the
activities of the conference by setting agenda and promoting
discussion on the issues.
The UNCTAD’s 192 member countries would deliberate on the
general theme: “Addressing the Opportunities and Challenges
of Globalisation for Development,” at the Accra conference
from April 20-25 this year.
GNA
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