No future without justice

A group of 18 leading civil society activists and scholars from around the globe releases a joint report titled ?No future without justice?. The report calls for fundamental changes to tackle the root causes of the multiple crises in the world and demands

?to draw lessons from the environmental, social and economic crises, to look beyond conventional development concepts and goals and to rethink fundamentally the models and measures of development and social progress ? in the North and the South. Rio+20 and the emerging discussions on a post-2015 development agenda provide a unique window of opportunity to reconsider the current development paradigm and to changing the course towards a holistic, rights-based development approach that is based on equity and common but differentiated responsibilities.?

?Governments failed to bring their policies into line with the agreed principles of sustainability and human rights. Instead, policies are still too often sectorally fragmented and misguided, with an overreliance on economic growth and self-regulation of the ?markets?. New concepts like ?green growth? are at best attempts to treat the symptoms of the problems without tackling their root causes. Instead, fundamental changes at three levels are needed:

? Changes in the mindset, the guiding concepts and indicators of development and progress.

? Changes in fiscal and regulatory policies at national, regional and international levels in order to effectively overcome social inequalities and the degradation of nature and to strengthen sustainable economies.

? Changes in institutions and governance mechanisms at national, regional and international levels.?

The Civil Society Reflection Group on Global Development Perspectives (the group's official title) makes specific proposals for fiscal and regulatory reforms oriented by a set of globally shared principles and values. It suggests a profound strengthening of democratic governance structures at national and global level and defines a future framework and core principles for Global Sustainability Goals.

The full report is published in the Development Dialogue series of the Dag Hammarskj???ld Foundation (Development Dialogue No. 59/ June 2012) in cooperation with Social Watch, Third World Network, Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN), the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Global Policy Forum and terre des hommes. It is freely accessible at: http://www.dhf.uu.se/publications/development-dialogue/dd59/

The executive summary of the report is published by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in its International Policy Analysis series (June 2012) and accessible at: www.reflectiongroup.org

The report is launched officially at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, 16 June 2012, 11:30h, Room T8, RioCentro. It is also presented jointly with the first Global State of Civil Society report by CIVICUS at the Cape Town International Book Fair on 17 June at 11:00h.

Members of the Civil Society Reflection Group on Global Development Perspectives:

Alejandro Chanona Burguete (UNAM, Mexico), Barbara Adams (Global Policy Forum Europe, USA), Beryl d'Almeida (ABC, Zimbabwe), Chee Yoke Ling (Third World Network, China), Danuta Sacher (terre des hommes, Germany), Ernst Ulrich von Weizs???cker (International Resource Panel, Germany), Filomeno Santa Ana III (Action for Economic Reform, Philippines), George Chira (terre des hommes, India), Josefa 'Gigi' Francisco (Development Alternatives with Women for the New Era, Philippines), Henning Melber (Dag Hammarskj???ld Foundation, Sweden), Hubert Schillinger (Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Germany), Jorge Ishizawa (PRATEC, Peru), Dasho Karma Ura (Centre for Bhutan Studies, Bhutan), Roberto Bissio (Social Watch, Uruguay), Victoria Tauli-Corpuz (Tebtebba Foundation, Philippines), Yao Graham (Third World Network Africa, Ghana), Jens Martens (Coordinator, Global Policy Forum Europe, Germany), Wolfgang Obenland (Assistant Coordinator, Global Policy Forum Europe, Germany).