Statement by the Women’s Working Group on Financing for Development (June 2009)

We, the Women’s Working Group on Financing for Development (WWG on FfD) are deeply concerned that the draft outcome document of the UN Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impacts on Development continues to support the failed policies and flawed governance system that have created the current crises. We underscore that the financial and economic crisis exacerbates the disastrous impacts of the global food, energy, and climate crises, which have increased the number of hungry and undernourished people worldwide to over one billion, the majority of which are women and children. We recognize the pivotal role of the United Nations in addressing the impacts of these multiple crises and the crucial need to strengthen the UN’s ability to fulfil its development mandate. We urge governments not to make this conference a missed opportunity to build a global consensus around a multilateral economic governance system that is fair, inclusive, gender equitable, rights-based and pro-development.

We urge member states to ensure that the Conference outcome is not business as usual and provides the necessary resources and effective follow up mechanisms. We are concerned that the G-20 has taken a prominent role that undermines the UN as the legitimate forum for the resolution of this crisis.

It is only through a more inclusive approach that the search for solutions can move beyond double standards, the perpetuation of moral hazard, the inequitable distribution of resources, and disproportionate burdens on the most vulnerable. Women and all the other social groups affected by the crisis are key to a response that is harmonized with international standards and commitments to gender equality, women’s rights and human rights and empowerment.

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