10 December 2009 — The 15th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is taking place in Copenhagen from December 7th to 18th. It should result in an agreement that renews the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. Developing countries and civil society organizations demand a binding, fair and ambitious agreement. Based in these principles the Tck Tck Tck campaign has collected 10 million signatures. Check its website!!
16 November 2009 — Several civil society organizations, and the UBUNTU Forum Secretariat among them, have signed a letter addressed to the Managing Director of the IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, lobbying for the implementation of a Financial Transaction Tax (mainly on currencies) and for the participation of civil society in the IMF study on this kind of taxes. Check the request here!!
11 November 2009 — The UBUNTU Forum Secretariat has elaborated a report on the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group Annual Meetings, held in Istanbul. Check it here!!
20 October 2009 — The Human Rights Council of the UN has approved the Goldstone Report by 25 votes against 6 and the abstention of 11 countries. The report accuses the army of Israel and Hamas of committing War Crimes during the Israeli offensive over the Gaza Stripe between December 2008 and January 2009. Besides, Israel is accused of committing Crimes against Humanity during the same period. You can read the Report here
28 October 2009 — The UBUNTU Forum Secretariat has elaborated a report of the Ninth follow-up conference of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. Check it here!!
13 October 2009 — The international movement La Vía Campesina calls for struggle against the privatization of agriculture and natural resources through the first day of international action against transnational corporations that will take place next October. You can check the movement's website for further information
13 October 2009 — The October 16th is the World Food Day. Several mobilizations are launched from civil society, and one of the most important is the Action Aid campaign. Sign the statement!!
06 October 2009 — This week are held in Istanbul (Turkey) the IMF and the WB Annual meetings. Whithin a crisis context and when the first signs of improvement are appearing, an in-depth reform of these financial institutions is imperative, just after the most powerful countries, under the G20, have revitalized them.
17 September 2009 — The 64th anual session of the General Assembly has been opened. The former president, Miguel d'Escoto, has been replaced by the lybian Ali Abdussalam Treki. The challenges for this new president are huge, mainly the follow-up process of the Conference on World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development, the climate change, the Millenium Development Goals, the disarmament and the United Nations reform.
30 July 2009 — UNIFEM has released the report \"Progress of the World's Women 2008/2009\", which recognizes that gender issues and the achievement of the MDGs cannot be separated from a strong recognition of women's problematic and the defense of their rights.
07 July 2009 — The United Nations Conference on the Financial and Economical Crisis and its Impact on Development finished with the adoption by general consent of an outcome document. It has not had a good acceptation within civil society, as the last Social Watch report shows.
09 June 2009 — The "UN Conference on World Financial and Economical crisis and its Impacts on Development", convened by the president of the General Assembly and that had to take place on the first days of June, has been postponed until June 24th and 26th, to attain a high-level meeting with the presence of a great number of state and government leaders.
21 May 2009 — Next June NY will hold the UN Conference on World Financial and Economical crisis and its Impacts on Development. Unlike the G20 summits, the UN meeting will count on the representation of all the member states. This is the reason why a high-level representation is urged. Here you can sign the campaign urging world leaders to attend the meeting!!
20 April 2009 — The G20 meeting in London, to seek ways to face the challenges presented by the economic and financial world crisis, has generated much expectations. Civil Society is carrying out a follow-up process and has elaborated some position documents which are available in our database.
31 March 2009 — France has asumed the permanent secretariat of the Leading Group on Solidarity Levies to fund Development and has inagurated a new website in order to give more continuity and enhance the follow-up process. You can check the website here!!
05 March 2009 — After the online Consultations by NGLS relative to the work of the Comission of Experts of the President of the General Assembly on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System, a document has been made and given to its President Miguel d'Escoto to transfer the civil society points of view. You can check the document in our data base!!
02 February 2009 — \"Urgente: refundación de las Naciones Unidas\" (\"Urgent: refounding the United Nations\") is the title of Mr. Federico Mayor Zaragoza's article published in El País on the need to reform the United Nations.
27 January - 1 February 2009 World Social Forum Bélem 2009
29 January 2009 — In April the Commission of Experts on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System of the General Assembly is going to present its conclusions. Civil society can participate in the Comission's work through a round of consultations by NGLS until the 13th of February. Click here to participate in it!!
19 December 2008 — One of the main conclusions of the G20 meeting in Washington was the defense of free trade and WTO's role. Last weekend negotiations to finish the Doha Round rested completely paralised and this expands the distances between North and South.
10 December 2008 60th anniversary Universal Declaration of Human Rights
On this 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and at the initiative of the World Forum of Civil Society Networks — UBUNTU, we, the undersigned, wish to emphasise that all Human Rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent, in full accordance with the Declaration of the World Conference on Human Rights made in Vienna...
05 December 2008 — On december the 10th the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will be celebrated. From civil society have been launched several activities to commemorate it. Amnesty International is one of the most active organizations in Human Rights field. Check its website!!
20 November 2008 Currency Transaction Tax for Financing for Development Campaign
03 November 2008 — The financial crisis proves the urgent need to reform and regulate all the financial system, which is to be done in upcoming meetings. Civil society has elaborated a statement in order to obtain a more transparent and inclusive meetings. Check the statement!!
17 October 2008 — The meetings of the Bretton Woods Institutions are held in October like every year. These year, the core issues have been the financial, climatic, food and energetic crisis. Nowadays the voices asking for a in-depth reform of these institutions are heard all over the world. From the Campaign we always have defended its reform and now it is more necessary than ever. Check our documents on this website!!
24 September 2008 Take part in the Campaign Week (17-24 October 2008)
23 September 2008 — The recent financial system \"rescue\" by the USA government is another evidence of the collapse of the neo-liberal model. During decades it has spread poverty to the great part of the world and now nervousness is touching places where benefits have been accumulated during years. From the Campaign we always have defended the reform of the financial arquitecture and now is more necessary than ever!!
5 September 2008 3rd High Level Forum - Accra 2008
31 July 2008 — In the last WTO meeting in Geneve, seven years after the beginning of the Doha Round, the negotiations have totally collapsed mainly because of the North countries non-flexible positions. Check the Third World Network for more information."
18 July 2008 — The Doha Review Conference of the Monterrey Consensus (2002) begins next 29th November. The accreditations for civil society organisations to attend to the Conference are now available on the web site.
04 July 2008 — The G8 holds its meeting in Japan this year under an economic crisis background which is spreading to different sectors. Global answers to these new challenges that damage mainly the poor countries are required from the vast majority of civil society organizations. Documents like the one by Action Aid confirm it. Check it in our data base!!
19 May 2008 — The World Debt Day was celebrated last 16th May, commemorating 10 years since the great world call for debt cancellation which took place in Birmingham during the G8 meeting 1998. Nowadays the situation has not improved and the debt issue is still on the agenda of civil society organisations.
28 April 2008 — There have been many financial crises like the current one in the past years, and despite it the financial sector is more deregulated. ATTAC has launched a campaign claiming for a better regulation of the financial sector at european level.
03 March 2008 — Financial convulsions and their impact on the South have shown the need for an efficient financial system regulation. Civil society organisations have submitted a statement with some proposals and recommendations. Check the document in our data base!!
07 February 2008 — The G8 meets in Japan and one of the first meetings is the one of the finance ministers. Japanese organizations appeal to their government to regulate speculative movements of money, debt cancellation and creation of ODA effective mechanisms. Check the document in our data base!
04 December 2007 — Dominique Strauss-Khan is the new IMF Chief. Some state that his term of office will develop substantial reforms, but from civil society there are many doubts about it, and one of the main challenges is the reform of the decision-making in the IMF. Check the document in our data base!!
2 & 3 December 2007 2nd Seminar on Future Scenarios for the Reform of the System of International Institutions
05 October 2007 — From UBUNTU Secretariat we are very pleased to present the updating that we have done in the Reformwatch section into the Reformcampaign website, and we encorauge you to check it!!
14 September 2007 — Many Southern countries have a Northern heritage in the form of a debt, from which they are trying to free themselves gradually, in order to achieve the full sovereignity of their lands, resources and cultures. The ecuatorian government of Rafael Correa has begun an Audit process to evaluate the damages that it has occasioned in the latinoamerican country. Jubilee South supports this initiative and encourages other countries to adopt it through a statement. Check the document in our data base!!!
18 July 2007 — Six years after the beginning of the Doha Round, the negotiations within WTO are completely stagnated and there is no visible progress in the short term. This paralysis could be a new chance for civil society to start a new and fairer process for the southern countries. Together with other civil society organisations, OWINFS asks Pascal Lamy to announce the end of Doha Round. Check the document in our data base!!!
15 June 2007 — According to the lately "SIPRI Yearbook 2007", military expenditure in 2006 increased 3.5% over the 2005 figures, and is 37% higher than a decade ago. The International Peace Bureau claims that these amounts should be redirected to fight against mass poverty and the climate change. Check the IPB document in our data base!!
18 May 2007 Times of crisis for international institutions?
17 May 2007 — The scandalous corruption case involving Paul Wolfowitz, the President of the World Bank, proves the seriousness of the structural problems in the BWI. Signatories from academic, institutional and civil society field claim for a reform of the informal agreement -dating back from 1940-, according to which the US government designates the president of the WB while European governments designate IMF's managing director. A fairer and more appropriate selection procedure for the BWI role is demanded. See the statement in our database!!!
08 May 2007 — The meeting "UN reform and a possible new agency for women" was held last March in Montevideo. As well as an in-depth reform of the UN, the meeting also claimed for the inclusion of gender perspective in the future institutional structure, what would be absolutely necessary in order to establish a fully democratic UN. See the Meeting Document on our database!!.
11 April 2007 — The 7th PNoWB Annual Conference held in South Africa in March 2007 resulted in the "Civil Society Demands", a document produced by SANGOCO, AIDC and the Secretariat of the UBUNTU Forum containing the main demands and criticisms from civil society to the financial policies of the Bretton Woods Institutions. These policies have proved to have a negative impact on most of the Southern countries, especially in Africa.
29 March 2007 — The 4th session of the Human Rights Council (to be celebrated in Geneva from 12 to 30 March) has lead the participating NGOs to make a global petition in defence of the Special Procedures -the most innovative, flexible and responsive tools used for 40 years so far in order to protect Human Rights- that now some states are proposing to change. Join the petition on this website!
09 March 2007 — 65 non-governmental organisations from across Europe have just launched a new campaign calling European governments to press the WB to accept specific reforms or to channel their funding elsewhere. The campaign coincides with the start of negotiations for further funding for the Bank. See the Campaign and its statement in our database!
12 February 2007 Open letter to the new UN secretary general: Mr. Ban Ki-Moon
We the signatories have over the last seven years, at the initiative of UBUNTU — World Forum of Civil Society Networks, issued a number of communiqués to world public opinion detailing various common issues, important among them the fact that "the democratisation, strengthening and primacy of the UN in international politics are essential in order to make a better world possible". View more
Contact the Secretariat
Play a more active role in the Campaign in your area by establishing a new focal point and/or Campaign Committee. Contact the Secretariat: info@reformcampaign.net
Select a comittee:
City councils have started getting involved in the Campaign
A new website for the second phase (2006-2009) of the Campaign; Key political messages in the second phase of the Campaign
After all the developments in the world of International Institutions in recent years, especially in 2005 - when most of the "extraordinary" meetings of such international institutions as the WTO, the BWIs and the UN did not live up to expectations -, and according to the Organising Committee assembled in Barcelona on 10 and 11 February, if this Campaign did not already exist, it would be absolutely essential to launch it.
The Campaign therefore continues, and seeks to extend and increase its impact by taking present political realities into account and will be relaunched with new political and working goals in a second phase covering the 2006-2009 period. View more
Some images from the first phase (2002-2005) of the Campaign
