G20 - London

It’s still an under reported tragedy. Over 20 million people in neighbouring Pakistan have lost all but their lives as flood waters continue to surge forth – even three weeks on since heavy rains hit the country.The UN has called for a $460 million response plan to deal with this humanitarian disaster – far worse in its impact than many in recent times put together - the Haiti earthquake, the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 and the 2008 Cyclone Nargis.

We have just had another G8 Summit. As other blogs here have discussed, there are clearly problems with the G8. Campaigners, lobbyists and developing country governments put huge amounts of time and attention into deceasing returns.

During the last eight weeks, while I’ve been in Niger, I’ve often been overwhelmed by the scale of the problems people face here. It’s not just the current food crisis and the number of people who are going hungry now but also the future and what this has in store.

The G8 summit has now drawn to a close and the Deerhurst resort in Muskoka will be getting back to normal. The world leaders flew back to Toronto by helicopter with Obama and Cameron flying together to start their bilateral meeting. Apparently Cameron and Merkel will be watching the England v Germany World Cup match together tomorrow and the press are invited can't imagine he'll look anything other than awkward!

The WHA is seen by some as an ineffective UN meeting but it has much greater legitimacy than the G8/G20 on account of its democracy. Unlike the rich countries' clubs of the G8 and G20, all countries, however poor, have the right to speak out and to vote.

It was in spring this year that I went to Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh – India’s largest and one of the poorest states – to oversee a photo-shoot. The subject was a nondescript van that ferries pregnant women across rocky terrain to the nearest health facility. Its remarkable drive lies in achieving this safely and in time.The van goes by the name of Janani Express – janani meaning ‘mother’ in Hindi – and is run by the government to promote safe births in rural India.

The Put People First G20 Counter Conference was one of two alternative G20 conferences held simultaneously in London and St Andrews on November 7th 2009 to coincide with the G20 finance ministers meeting on 7th-8th November.
Over three plenary sessions we invited academics, activists, campaigners, unions and policy makers to debate alternative policies to promote jobs, justice and a safe climate.

1.02 billion people live on this earth in chronic hunger. If this shocks you, sign up at www.1billionhungry.org! FAO’s new online anti-hunger petition will send out a strong message to world leaders.But a new report launched ahead of the World Summit on Food Security starting early next week offers some hope. Thirty-one countries have noted success in halving the number of hungry by 2015 or are on track to meet this goal.

I was away attending the Second Global Forum on the Power of Peace, I mentioned at work today. ‘Power of peace… I thought it was spam,’ a colleague remarked referring to a mail she had got on the same.A similar thought was shared at the forum last week. People do mistrust ‘peace’ or ‘unity’ messages as bugs ready to spam their inbox. In a world ridden with conflicts of all nature, isn't it ironic the way our minds function?

November  7 2009 – Westminster Central Hall – London.

Jobs, Justice, Climate – Alternatives to the G20 – Book NOW!
In March, we marched in our tens of thousands to demand the G20 Put People First. Far from putting people first we’ve seen nothing but a tinkering around the margins followed by the return to business as usual.
On Nov 7, as the G20 returns to the UK, the agenda on the table nurses an already failed economic model back to life, whilst looking to sew up an international climate deal of unprecedented urgency.