During the webinar speakers discussed perspectives and demands of movements in the global South for debt cancelation and debt relief, as well as for tax justice to respond to multiple crises and rising inequalities, looking at both cases of national tax agendas and the global tax architecture.
Side event at the UN ESCAP Asia Pacific Forum, this webinar focused on the issue of persistent caste-based discrimination which eventually increases the vulnerability of Communities Discriminated by Work and Descent (CDWD, also commonly referred to as caste) to modern slavery and slavery-like practices.
“Hopefully it [our calls for change] will contribute to the G20 agenda so that the impoverishment of Indonesian women can be addressed.”
Indonesian women from various backgrounds – from farmers to street vendors to migrant workers – came together for a series of events in March 2022 to address the inequalities they face in their daily lives. After a series of consultations and a strategy meeting, a set of 9 demands was drawn up which represented the common priority concerns of these women. These demands were released during a press conference on International Women’s Day, and a demonstration on the beaches of Bali helped draw further attention to the demands.
As a result of these activities and the sense of solidarity and sisterhood established through the process, the women decided to form a network of women for gender and economic justice, dubbed “P23+ Network”. The network is committed to working together to pursue the nine demands formulated together.
Read more here.
Pada Hari Perempuan Internasional, 8 Maret 2022, Organisasi Aksi! untuk Keadilan Gender, Sosial dan Ekologi menuntut penghentikan proyek pembangunan dan iklim yang merusak lingkungan.
Dalam pernyataan bersama 22 organisasi dan perempuan komunitas dari 10 daerah di Indonesia, sejumlah tuntutan mereka yang disampaikan dalam jumpa pers di Bali adalah pertama, menuntut negara untuk menghentikan program dan atau proyek-proyek pembangunan yang melanggar Hak Asasi Manusia dan hak asasi perempuan, merusak lingkungan hidup, dan mengeksploitasi sumber daya alam yang menggusur sumber kehidupan dan memiskinkan perempuan.
Kedua, mencabut UU Cipta Kerja (Omnibus Law) yang mempermudah negara dan atau perusahaan untuk melakukan perampasan lahan, pengerusakan lingkungan dan eksploitasi sumberdaya alam. Selain itu mengancam hidup dan sumber kehidupan perempuan, termasuk meningkatkan kriminalisasi bagi perempuan pembela HAM dan lingkungan.
Ketiga, menghentikan proyek-proyek respon perubahan iklim yang mengabaikan hak asasi manusia, mendahulukan proyek-proyek yang keberlanjutan lingkungan hidup, responsif gender, dan berpihak pada perempuan.
Keempat, menjamin pelibatan penuh perempuan dengan ragam identitas, di dalam setiap tahapan proses pengambilan kebijakan maupun persetujuan terhadap proyek atau program pembangunan.
Kelima, membahas dan mengesahkan RUU Perlindungan Pembela HAM, serta menghentikan segala tindakan ancaman dan kriminalisasi terhadap perempuan pembela HAM dan lingkungan.
Keenam, menjamin perlindungan ekonomi perempuan, termasuk perempuan pekerja informal, dengan menyediakan jaminan akses ketersediaan fasilitas, akses izin usaha bagi perempuan miskin, dan akses modal dan pasar untuk memperkuat ekonomi perempuan.
On 2 February 2022, NCDHR held a press conference in Delhi to share its analysis on the Union Budget for 2022-23, from the perspective of Dalit and Adivasis – with a particular emphasis on women from these communities.
The conference highlighted the need for economic recovery resulting from the unprecedented pandemic situation, with its particularly harsh impact on marginalised communities.
The panellists emphasised on denial of the budgetary rights of the Dalits and Adivasis and stressed the need to have appropriate allocation for the development of the Dalit and Adivasi communities. The press conference placed a special focus on Dalit women, and particularly sanitation and frontline workers, including gender budget allocations for Dalit and Adivasi women allocations for areas such as higher education and prevention of violence. Subsequently, press conferences were organised across 10 states, and the analysis was widely covered in press reports both at the national and state level in Hindi, English and regional languages (read articles here and here.)
On 15-22 January 2022, APMDD and its members participated in the Global Protest to Fight Inequality (initiated by the Fight Inequality Alliance). This included activities in Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Philippines, around the theme “It’s Time to Tax the Rich”.
Actions ranged from protests by workers and union leaders in the Philippines and dances to the tune of “We Will Tax You” (see Facebook Live stream above), a children’s art exhibit in Pakistan, a human chain in Bangladesh, a package of activities from movie screenings to talk shows, declarations and mural installations in Indonesia, and a discussion forum bringing together around 70 activists, thinkers and leaders in India.
Further details on the actions can be found in this article.
Participants to the Webinar – Inequalities, Public Services and Tax Justice made the sign for equality to cap off a two-hour session that brought together organizations and communities in the frontlines of fighting inequalities and most affected by failing public services and loss of public revenues due to flawed fiscal and tax systems. Over 110 attended the webinar, and learnt about how to strengthen campaigns on tax and fiscal justice especially in light of developments in global, regional, and domestic policy-making.
The webinar aimed to:
• Surface some of the most pressing issues faced by marginalised sectors and communities in the context of failing public services and deepening inequalities;
• Highlight the systemic barriers to making public services accessible and responsive to people’s needs and rights, drawing the links to gaps and flaws in fiscal and tax systems;
• Discuss and collectively analyze key developments in national, regional, and global policy fronts that impact inequalities and people’s access and right to public services; and,
• Facilitate sharing of strategies for advancing tax and fiscal justice agenda, with a focus on public services.
