Source:
Common Frontiers
This is the final declaration of the III People's Summit of the Americas, civil society's counter conference that took place in the city of Mar del Plata, 1-5 November 2005.
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The Summit of the Americas, sponsored by the Organization of American States (OAS), brings together 34 Heads of State and Government - with Cuba expressly excluded - to develop a shared strategy to tackle the region's problems.
"Creating Jobs to Confront Poverty and Strengthen Democratic Governance" is the official theme of the upcoming IV Summit, in which leaders will adopt a declaration and plan of action for the hemisphere.
The first Summit of the Americas, held in Miami, Florida in 1994, was organised by the United States to launch its initiative for the creation of a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) - a project that has failed to prosper because of disagreements between Washington and a number of other countries.
Although there have been attempts to emphasise other issues at subsequent summits, such as poverty, education and employment, the FTAA is nevertheless the raison d'être for the Americas Summit, and free trade has continued to be the focus of the agenda, the debate, and the criticism of those who oppose this process.
For that reason, civil society groups throughout the continent have called to mobilize and unite in a mass counter conference : "the Third Summit of the Peoples of America" in which indigenous peoples, women, farmers, workers, youth, and other representatives of the sexual, cultural and religious diversity of America will gather to discuss alternatives to neo-liberalism and war.
Through different trade related mechanisms privatization and deregulation processes are being imposed.
Global labour rights
As transnational corporations spread their operations around the world in search of a cheap and flexible labour force, the call for global labour rights becomes more urgent.
Agriculture and food sovereignty
Farmers could produce enough food to eradicate world hunger. So, why won’t they let them?
Beijing +10: Conference on Women review
This global process was held in 2005 to review the implementation of the Platform for Action signed at the UN 4th World Conference on Women, in Beijing 1995.
Economic, social and cultural rights - ESCR
ESC rights are valid, enforceable, justiciable and claimable under both local and international law. Civil society is campaigning for their full implementation.
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
It promises to give indigenous peoples a unique voice within the UN system.
World Trade Organization - WTO
Trade at the service of people, or people subjected to trade? The WTO makes the difference.
Millennium Development Goals - MDGs
A comprehensive list of resources from the United Nations and civil society organizations.
On November 4th and 5th, 2005 in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina, the Organization of American States (OAS) will hold the IV Summit of the Americas, where 34 heads of state from all over the continent will meet - with Cuba expressly excluded. This year, governments aim to give job opportunities a central place on the hemispheric agenda but civil society groups fear the real goal is to push forward the process of trade liberalisation and the implementation of the FTAA. This is the official web site of the Summit.
This meeting gathers indegenous organizations across the region that struggle for greater aknowledgment of indigenous people's rights. It aims to unite voices to confront the Heads of State that will gather for the IV Summit of the Americas. The site also offers articles, reports, declarations and photos.
Indigenous people, women, environmentalists, young people and human rights activists hope their participation in the debate prior to the fourth Summit of the Americas will not be sterile, and that their concerns will be reflected in the documents to be signed by the hemisphere's presidents.
At the IV Summit of the Americas, the U.S. government and its followers will continue in their attempts to impose a project of continental domination and pillage. Faced with this reality, the popular movements from the American continent will gather to raise their voices and unite struggles in making their presence felt.
Women from throughout the hemisphere are mobilising to make sure their voices are heard at this year's 4th Summit of the Americas in Argentina, but while some place emphasis on the negative impact of trade liberalisation, others are striving for the inclusion of a much broader range of issues on the agenda. May 2005.
On one hand, the United States outlined the need for free trade at a continental scale, while on the other hand, the MERCOSUR countries—including its new partner, Venezuela—referred to the existing economical inequalities, as an obstacle to resume the FTAA negotiations. 7 November 2005.
Delegates of social organizations from all regions of the continent - from Canada to Patagonia; workers, farmers, indigenous, young and old, of all races, women and men with dignity, have come together in Mar del Plata, Argentina, to demand that the powerful, who normally ignore them, listen to the voice of all of the peoples of the Americas. November 2005.
Activists taking part in the III People's Summit, the civil society gathering parallel to the IV Summit of the Americas 4-5 November 2005, are already celebrating what they see as a rolling back of U.S. influence over the hemispheric agenda. 2 November 2005.
As this week's fourth Summit of the Americas looms, the divergence of the governments' positions on the issue of free trade is jeopardising the hoped-for consensus. 1st November 2005.
Ahead of the Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG) for the 4th Summit of the Americas, a group of social organizations and unions from different countries believe it is necessary to make their voices heard. (PDF format). September 2005.
Members of the Argentinian security forces began taking a census today of all the people who live or work in the vicinity of the hotels where the IV Summit of the Americas will be taking place in November. 20 August 2005.
