The company Massalin Particular reported that the increase responds to face a scale in its costs.
“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic.”
On Tuesday, the company Massalin Particular reported that, in order to face the increase in costs, decided to increase 5% in the price of their products. “The company continues to look for ways to give sustainability to its operations in the country, strongly hit by the spectacular increase in taxes that went into effect last May and the consequent cut in sales,” said the owner of Marlboro in a statement. .
Today the tax burden reaches 80% of the sale price of cigarettes, adds the firm. Among the main brands that the company marlboro marketed, it will cost $ 46 in its KS version and $ 47 in its version box; Philip Morris, which will cost $ 43 in its KS version and $ 44 in its version box, and the Chesterfield brand that will remain at $ 33 in its ks version and $ 35 in its version box.
Other brands such as Benson & Hedges, Parliament and Virginia Slims sold $ 52 in its box version of 20 cigarettes.
Social organizations submit to the CEDAW Committee a report that reflects the failings of the Argentine State in the protection of women from the consequences of smoking
Within the framework of the 65th session of the Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) that takes place in Geneva, the Inter-American Heart Foundation Argentina (FIC Argentina), O ‘Neill Institute for the National and Global Law of Health, the Foundation for the Study and Research of Women (FEIM), the Foundation for the Development of Sustainable Policies (FUNDEPS) and the Free Alliance of Smoke Argentina (ALIAR) presents a shadow report where they ask the Committee to recommend to the Argentine State to advance with measures that prevent and reduce the consumption of tobacco among women.
The shadow report “The control of tobacco in Argentina: the adoption of measures to protect the health of women”, concludes that the current tobacco control legislation in Argentina does not comply with the obligations in force in the Convention on the health of women and girls The recommendations emphasize the need for Argentina to ratify the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control so that it has more tools that seek to protect the health of women. In turn, the organizations recommend that all tobacco advertising be prohibited and that tobacco taxes be increased through an effective and sustainable policy in the medium and long term. It also means that the government prohibits the use of additives and flavors in cigarettes and that it promotes the adoption of tobacco control policies at the national level with the objective that the provinces have a minimum standard of protection for women’s health.
In this line, Belén Ríos, lawyer of FIC Argentina and member of the Argentine delegation together with the references of Amnesty International, the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS), of the Committee of Latin America and the Caribbean for the Defense of Rights of Women (CLADEM), among others, said: “Since 2010, the number of women who die per year due to smoking is increasing.
This reflects the lack of tobacco control policies that protect the health and lives of women. We hope that the Committee will collect our recommendations and urge the National State to adopt measures that protect women and girls from the consequences of smoking. At the same time, they hope that it will advance with the prohibition of full publicity of tobacco advertising for tobacco companies that point to many of their marketing campaigns to girls and women. ”
He added: “In addition, there was a formal oral presentation by NGOs to the Committee yesterday, where some of the priority topics included in the reports prepared by civil society were reviewed, for the first time in history, tobacco control. It was one of the most outstanding issues, which reflects the need to move forward with measures that protect women’s health from the consequences of this epidemic. ”
FIC Argentina also participated in the preparation and presentation of another report carried out with 18 organizations that account for the advances, setbacks, failures and omissions of the Argentine State regarding its obligation to respect, guarantee and enforce the rights contained in the Convention. CEDAW. FIC Argentina collaborated in the development of the health section for the real situation in our country, in the context of the risk factors of noncommunicable diseases and their consequences in women. The Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is the expert body that oversees the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination.
Fuente: cba24n.com.ar
Fundeps at Global Conference EITI 2016
On February 24th and 25th, the EITI Global Conference (Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative) is taking place in Lima (Peru). The conference has the objective of providing transparency and social participation opportunities regarding extractives activities. Fundeps and other civil societies organizations supported this stance.
La EITI es una alianza estratégica internacional conformada por gobiernos, empresas extractivas y sociedad civil de 48 países con el objetivo de promover mayor transparencia y participación de la sociedad en las actividades extractivas.
Es importante señalar que en centro América, EITI ha estado sujeta a fuertes cuestionamientos y hay señalamientos en torno a la falta de legitimidad del proceso, dado que numerosas organizaciones han señalado la imposición de la iniciativa como un medio para promover la actividad extractiva, ante el rechazo social a la misma existente en estos países.
De esta manera, diversos países están recurriendo a este espacio de gobernanza para lograr allegarse de información que por diversas razones, no se encuentra disponible actualmente, así como para fortalecer los espacios de participación.
Haciendo click acá se puede leer completo el documento que contiene el posicionamiento regional en el marco de la Conferencia Global EITI, al que suscribe FUNDEPS.
Contacto:
María Victoria Gerbaldo / Área de Gobernabilidad Global
victoriagerbaldo@fundeps.org
Cigarettes increase by 5%
The company Massalin Particular reported that the increase responds to face a scale in its costs.
“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic.”
On Tuesday, the company Massalin Particular reported that, in order to face the increase in costs, decided to increase 5% in the price of their products. “The company continues to look for ways to give sustainability to its operations in the country, strongly hit by the spectacular increase in taxes that went into effect last May and the consequent cut in sales,” said the owner of Marlboro in a statement. .
Today the tax burden reaches 80% of the sale price of cigarettes, adds the firm. Among the main brands that the company marlboro marketed, it will cost $ 46 in its KS version and $ 47 in its version box; Philip Morris, which will cost $ 43 in its KS version and $ 44 in its version box, and the Chesterfield brand that will remain at $ 33 in its ks version and $ 35 in its version box.
Other brands such as Benson & Hedges, Parliament and Virginia Slims sold $ 52 in its box version of 20 cigarettes.
Social organizations submit to the CEDAW Committee a report that reflects the failings of the Argentine State in the protection of women from the consequences of smoking
Within the framework of the 65th session of the Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) that takes place in Geneva, the Inter-American Heart Foundation Argentina (FIC Argentina), O ‘Neill Institute for the National and Global Law of Health, the Foundation for the Study and Research of Women (FEIM), the Foundation for the Development of Sustainable Policies (FUNDEPS) and the Free Alliance of Smoke Argentina (ALIAR) presents a shadow report where they ask the Committee to recommend to the Argentine State to advance with measures that prevent and reduce the consumption of tobacco among women.
The shadow report “The control of tobacco in Argentina: the adoption of measures to protect the health of women”, concludes that the current tobacco control legislation in Argentina does not comply with the obligations in force in the Convention on the health of women and girls The recommendations emphasize the need for Argentina to ratify the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control so that it has more tools that seek to protect the health of women. In turn, the organizations recommend that all tobacco advertising be prohibited and that tobacco taxes be increased through an effective and sustainable policy in the medium and long term. It also means that the government prohibits the use of additives and flavors in cigarettes and that it promotes the adoption of tobacco control policies at the national level with the objective that the provinces have a minimum standard of protection for women’s health.
In this line, Belén Ríos, lawyer of FIC Argentina and member of the Argentine delegation together with the references of Amnesty International, the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS), of the Committee of Latin America and the Caribbean for the Defense of Rights of Women (CLADEM), among others, said: “Since 2010, the number of women who die per year due to smoking is increasing.
This reflects the lack of tobacco control policies that protect the health and lives of women. We hope that the Committee will collect our recommendations and urge the National State to adopt measures that protect women and girls from the consequences of smoking. At the same time, they hope that it will advance with the prohibition of full publicity of tobacco advertising for tobacco companies that point to many of their marketing campaigns to girls and women. ”
He added: “In addition, there was a formal oral presentation by NGOs to the Committee yesterday, where some of the priority topics included in the reports prepared by civil society were reviewed, for the first time in history, tobacco control. It was one of the most outstanding issues, which reflects the need to move forward with measures that protect women’s health from the consequences of this epidemic. ”
FIC Argentina also participated in the preparation and presentation of another report carried out with 18 organizations that account for the advances, setbacks, failures and omissions of the Argentine State regarding its obligation to respect, guarantee and enforce the rights contained in the Convention. CEDAW. FIC Argentina collaborated in the development of the health section for the real situation in our country, in the context of the risk factors of noncommunicable diseases and their consequences in women. The Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is the expert body that oversees the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination.
Fuente: cba24n.com.ar
New Research Report: Is the glass half full?
Eleven civil society organizations and our organization presented a research report called: Glass Half Full? This report talks about the obstacles of communities to access to accountability tools when a specific project concerns them.
“Glass Half Full?: The State of Accountability in Development Finance” (¿El Vaso Medio Lleno? El Estado de Rendición de Cuentas en la Financiación del Desarrollo) es un informe que documenta los obstáculos que deben superar las comunidades y trabajadores para recurrir a los mecanismos de rendición de cuentas de las instituciones financieras internacionales cuando son afectados por proyectos de desarrollo. Si bien la estructura y procedimientos de estos mecanismos varían, sus actividades principales consisten en reunir a los reclamantes y a la institución que apoyo financieramente el proyecto en cuestión, a los fines para resolver el conflicto. En ese contexto, se lleva a cabo una investigación para determinar si las políticas ambientales y sociales de las instituciones financieras internacionales han sido transgredidas.
Los mecanismos de rendición de cuentas son a menudo la única opción disponible para las comunidades, y en la actualidad la única vía para que los bancos de desarrollo rindan cuentas sobre al cumplimiento de la normativa ambiental y social. Desde el Panel de Inspección (el primer mecanismo de rendición de cuentas independiente del Banco Mundial, creado en 1994) se han registrado 758 denuncias presentadas a la empresa por 11 diferentes instituciones.
Este informe evalúa el grado en que los bancos de desarrollo y sus mecanismos de rendición de cuentas están preparados para manejar las quejas de las personas afectadas. El informe también contiene anexos que analizan en detalle los mecanismos de denuncia de las diferentes instituciones financieras y ofrecen recomendaciones sobre posibles vías de mejora.
Más información:
Glass Half Full?: The State of Accountability in Development Finance
Glass Half Full?. Annex 11: The Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism of the Inter-American
Contacto:
Juan Carballo – Director Ejecutivo
juanmcarballo@fundeps.org
Increasing Chinese role in development Financing for Latin America
The discussion in general terms about China´s financial Role in Latin America. On the other hand, the discussion in particular focuses on this phenomena in Argentina.
De acuerdo a datos recientemente publicados por el Inter-American Dialogue, China sigue ampliando su rol como financiador de grandes proyectos en la región. Durante el 2015, el financiamiento chino a Latinoamérica fue mayor que el del Banco Mundial y el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo sumados. El financiamiento chino sigue teniendo un fuerte foco en el sector extractivo y de infraestructura; desde 2005 China ha financiado proyectos de infraestructura por 40,3 mil millones de dólares y 70,2 mil millones en el sector energético.
En este contexto, Juan Carballo, Director Ejecutivo de FUNDEPS, participó de la mesa de diálogo que se realizó a fines de enero en Washington DC organizado por el Inter-American Dialogue. En este encuentro, representantes del sector público, privado y de la sociedad civil discutieron sobre las implicancias de esta creciente relevancia de China en la región en cuanto a los estándares sociales y ambientales de este financiamiento.
Desde FUNDEPS, se continuará monitoreando el perfil del financiamiento proveniente de fuentes chinas, los estándares socio-ambientales de estos proyectos y el respeto a la normativa de participación, acceso a la información y protección ambiental.
Más información:
Contacto:
Gonzalo Roza – Coordinador del Área de Gobernabilidad Global
gon.roza@fundeps.org
Sobre la candidatura del Dr. Carlos Rosenkrantz en la Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación – January 2016
Carta presentada ante el Ministerio de Justicia y Derechos Humanos de la Nación con objeciones al Dr. Carlos Rosenkrantz como candidato a la Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación.
Glass Half Full?. Annex 11: The Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism of the Inter-American Development Bank – January 2016
The report “Glass Half Full? The State of Accountability in Development Finance” assessed the extent to which development finance institutions (DFIs) provide access to remedy for those harmed by DFI-financed activities. Annex 11 of this report, authored by FUNDEPS, assess the particular case of the MICI (Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism) of the IDB.
Glass Half Full?: The State of Accountability in Development Finance – January 2016
The report “Glass Half Full?” The State of Accountability in Development Finance” assessed the extent to which development finance institutions (DFIs) provide access to remedy for those harmed by DFI-financed activities. For the accountability system to function effectively for complainants, both the DFI—its Board and Management—and the DFI’s independent accountability mechanism (IAM) must meet their individual responsibilities. The report evaluates the policies and practices of 11 DFIs and their corresponding IAMs, including the Inter-American Development Bank and its Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism (ICIM). The report was authored by 11 Civil Society Organizations, including FUNDEPS.
Position towards the new Environmental and Social Framework of the WB.
In the framework of a public consult made last December 8th in the city of México, over 180 Civil Society Organizations of Latin America and the Caribbean sent their position regarding the second draft of the new Environmental and Social Framework of the World Bank. They asked for answers to the representatives of the region that are part of the Executive Board.
El pasado martes 8 de diciembre el Banco Mundial llevó adelante, en la ciudad de México, una consulta pública en relación al segundo borrador del nuevo Marco Ambiental y Social (MAS), en el marco de la revisión de las Políticas de Salvaguardas de la Institución. Este proceso, iniciado hace ya más de tres años, ha tenido una participación limitada de la ciudadanía y representantes de organizaciones de la sociedad civil (OSC), no ha sido ampliamente difundido y ha carecido de información oportuna para su revisión de manera previa a la consulta y de criterios claros que establezcan cómo los representantes del Banco responderán a las preocupaciones y propuestas que las OSC han realizado.
El nuevo borrador del MAS está siendo ampliamente criticado por diversos motivos. En particular, se destaca que el Banco no tiene un compromiso explícito respecto a respetar los derechos humanos, que se refleje en sus políticas. El MAS propuesto evita referencias a estándares internacionales en materia de derechos humanos, lo que es indispensable si se quiere lograr un desarrollo sustentable. Además, el Marco está permeado de un lenguaje ambiguo, es decir, no cuenta con procedimientos definidos, plazos claros y criterios y requisitos obligatorios.
Además, la propuesta del Banco deja abierto el cumplimiento de los estándares, es decir, no define claramente cuándo ni cómo se debe cumplir con lo establecido en el MAS. En el marco vigente, un requisito indispensable consiste en evaluar los impactos y riesgos ambientales y sociales de manera previa a la aprobación de un proyecto, así como publicar las evaluaciones antes de la fase de evaluación de proyectos de alto riesgo. El nuevo Marco, por el contrario, establece que las evaluaciones ambientales y sociales deben iniciarse “lo más temprano posible”, por lo que de entrada pone en riesgo los procesos de consulta, ya que éstos no pueden realizarse de manera efectiva sin que se cuente con la información completa y detallada acerca de un determinado proyecto.
Por esto, más de 180 organizaciones de la región de América Latina y el Caribe (ALC), entre ellas FUNDEPS, se han posicionado frente a este borrador, que va en contra de la misión principal del Banco Mundial sobre erradicar la pobreza extrema y promover una prosperidad compartida. Las organizaciones solicitan una respuesta por parte de los Directores Ejecutivos que representan a la región de ALC.
El MAS del Banco Mundial baja el estándar tanto para el propio Banco, como para toda la comunidad internacional. En lugar de promover un fortalecimiento de estándares, este borrador estimula que otros bancos multilaterales, instituciones financieras internacionales, bancos nacionales de desarrollo y otras iniciativas en el ámbito de desarrollo bajen sus estándares o carezcan de incentivos para fortalecerlos en aras de tener una mayor competitividad.
Más información:
Contacto:
Gonzalo Roza – Coordinador del Área de Gobernabilidad Global
gon.roza@fundeps.org
The new MICI´s policy. Going forward or backwards? – December 2015
Last December 17th 2014, the Executive Board of the IDB approved by consensus the new MICI´s policy, the Independent Mechanism of Consult and Investigation of the Bank. The following document analyses the main changes of this new policy and identifies its strengths and weaknesses.
Brochure: Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism (MICI) – November 2015
This brochure provides a brief overview of the work of the IDB Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism (MICI) and its procedure to file a complaint. Civil society organisations, workers, communities and groups of individuals who are harmed by a Bank project can use the MICI to address their grievance. This brochure briefly explains how.The document was prepared jointly by FUNDEPS and SOMO, and is part of a series of brochures on grievance mechanisms produced within SOMO’s Human Rights & Grievance Mechanisms Programme (see: http://grievancemechanisms.org/resources/brochures).
The World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meetings: considerations
The World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meetings took place from October 5 to 12 in Lima, Perú. Fundeps, as a member of GREFI (Regional Group on Financing and Infraestructure), co-organized an alternative event which included a demonstration that connected non governmental organization and grassroots movements. In these events, Fundeps participated in many debates and presentations connected to environmental protection, human rights and participation. As a result of this work in Lima, as member of GREFI, we share some thoughts on the ongoing events and on the upcoming challenges as civil society organizations.
1. First, we wish to thank the efforts of all the people and institutions that turned the alternative forum into a space to discuss the role international financial institutions have in our region and in the world.
2. We created a space in which thousands of people, many organizations and social movements took part. We hope this space has fostered the creation of networks that will help continuing this cooperation.
3. This space allowed us to raise other perspectives on the financing for development processes. These processes have a significant impact on the environment and on people’s rights. They also consolidate decision-making processes which are actually disconnected from the people they are supposed to benefit.
4. We believe that a major merit of this shared effort was the connection between demands which came from different levels and actors. In this way, systemic claims were made regarding the extractivism model and also regarding global decision-making processes which haven not incorporated participation and accountability mechanisms.
5. We were able to connect the weakening processes of socio-environmental standard in international financial institutions, with similar processes occurring at a local level. These processes imply either the significant weakening of socio-environmental legal guarantees, or the lack of enforcement of these guarantees. These processes generate a large number of socio-environmental conflicts, in which many different rights are being infringed.
6. In this context, we also note the massive demonstration, which conveyed another message to the official meetings, raising many claims.
Regarding the challenges that lie before us, we hope to keep making the effort of connecting global debates with local and regional needs. In this respect, we especially that this is especially applicable to the ongoing discussions around the World Bank safeguard policies.
On that point, and regarding the elements above, we are especially concerned by the dynamics of competition, which could weaken protection frameworks, as they give more importance to the action of the World Bank as a financial entity rather than to its role as an actor of development policies. Besides, regarding the weakening of legal frameworks in national and regional contexts, we are concerned about the decision to rely on country systems without creating mechanisms of implementation review.
We believe that part of our strategy regarding the social and environmental safeguards review, which involved discussing different issues of concern separately, may have weakened our argument by fragmenting the topics under debate.
Perhaps this could explain why the World Bank kept going forward in this process, despite a widespread disapproval. In our experience in Lima, we were able to connect many different demands, gather them in one sole opposition strategy and connect these claims with the local and regional contexts. Perhaps this experience will be the starting point of future collective efforts.
For further information: www.grefi.info
Contact:
Gonzalo Roza / Coordinator for Global Governance Programme
gon.roza@fundeps.org
Juan Carballo / Executive Director
juanmcarballo@fundps.org
The MICI disseminates its new Policy in Buenos Aires
A workshop that seeks to disseminate the new Policy of the Independent Mechanism of Consult and Investigation (MICI) of the IDB, took place in Buenos Aires. Many civil society´s organizations and individuals from all over the country took part in this event.
El pasado lunes 16 de noviembre se llevó a cabo el Taller “Mecanismo Independiente de Consulta e Investigación: Teoría y Práctica”, cuyo objetivo fue difundir la nueva Política del Mecaniso Independiente de Consulta e Investigación (MICI), recientemente aprobada por el Directorio Ejecutivo del BID. El evento, que fue organizado por el MICI y que se llevó a cabo en las oficinas del Banco interamericano de Desarrollo, contó con la presencia de diferentes representantes de organizaciones de la sociedad civil del país y de individuos que interpusieron quejas ante el anterior Mecanismo.
El encuentro se dividió en tres sesiones, siendo Victoria Márquez-Mees, designada como la nueva Directora del MICI, la primera oradora. Márquez-Mees comunicó sobre el rol, el alcance y las acciones del MICI en esta nueva etapa, tras la culminación del proceso de revisión de la Política, iniciado en 2013 y finalizado a fines de 2014.
En la segunda sesión se trató la temática “La experiencia como solicitante en un caso MICI”, en la que diferentes solicitantes argentinos comentaron sus experiencias a la hora de interponer una queja ante dicho organismo. Así, expusieron sus respectivos casos el Dr. Gustavo Neme (Programa de Servicios Agrícolas Provinciales II – San Rafael, Mendoza), y los señores Pablo Folonier (Multifase Desarrollo Infraestructura – Paraná, Entre Rios) y Pedro Barragán (Programa de Seguridad y Movilidad Urbana – CABA). Esta sesión también contó con los comentarios de Arantxa Villanueva, Oficial de casos del MICI, y la coordinación de Francisco Giacosa, miembro del equipo de Gobernabilidad Global de nuestra Fundación. Finalmente, la última sesión del taller abordó la relación entre la sociedad civil y el MICI, en la que presentamos nuestra opinión y perspectivas respecto de la nueva Política. Destacamos tanto los aspectos positivos como los negativos de la misma. Asimismo, debatimos junto al resto de los participantes acerca de los principales desafíos que enfrentan en la actualidad los mecanismos de rendición de cuentas de las Instituciones Financieras Internacionales (IFI’s).
El encuentro ha representado una buena oportunidad no solo para promover una mayor difusión de la existencia y funcionamiento del MICI, sino también para compartir valiosas experiencias en relación a quejas presentadas por solicitantes locales e incluso para generar vínculos más estrechos entre la sociedad civil local y el organismo. A su vez, el taller brindó el contexto propicio para presentar y difundir el Folleto sobre el MICI que hemos elaborado y publicado recientemente junto con la organización holandesa SOMO y que se encuentra disponible en nuestra página web (para descargar el documento, acceder al siguiente enlace).
Más información:
Contacto:
Gonzalo Roza – Coordinador del Área de Gobernabilidad Global
gon.roza@fundeps.org