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Press Release Tackling poverty in South
Asia: What role for the EU ? Press conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Poverty promotes insecurity and conflict. This is the conclusion of leading civil society researchers in South Asia as expressed in a new report Poverty in South Asia: Civil Society Perspectives, published by the South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE) [1]. South Asia is home to almost 40% of the world's 1.2 billion people living in absolute poverty. The report demonstrates how, in several countries of the region, internal conflicts and terrorism have been a direct result of deprivation, discrimination and the resulting poverty. Conflict will only be effectively tackled when its root cause, poverty, is properly addressed. The report presents alternative ways of dealing with the crisis of poverty affecting South Asia. It seeks to bring the voice of the poor to policy makers, and to let them understand the impact of their policies in real terms on the daily lives of those struggling in poverty. Dr. Arjun Karki, coordinator of SAAPE stated that "while the EU debates the focus of its development assistance, its trade and other external policies undermine attempts to tackle poverty within the region." The European launch of SAAPE's Poverty Report will call on the European Union to recognise the key role it can play in tackling South Asia's poverty. The report is being published as EU Member States start discussing the future financial needs of the Union. Commission proposal for financing EU activities from 2007 to 2013 includes a 38% increase in the resources dedicated to external relations. However, this increase will finance strategic security leaving other areas of EU external policies such as development co-operation and humanitarian aid with little additional investment. The Commission justifies this proposal by the growing need for a powerful Europe able to speak with one voice in response to global security concerns. Responding to the "fundamental threats: terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, failed states, internal and regional conflicts" are projected as priorities for the new European Security Strategy adopted by the European Council in December 2003. Civil society actors from Europe and South Asia criticise this approach, which, they state deliberately ignores EU commitments to actively target the eradication of poverty as the principal objective for external policies. They point to the conclusions of the January 2004 General Affairs and External Relations Council that "the EU's commitment to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals should be reflected across the range of EU policies and its decisions on financial allocations." For SAAPE and its European partners this should lead to substantial increases in the levels of aid being committed to EU co-operation with South Asia as a reflection of the scale of poverty in the region. It also implies that the outcome of the final phase of the Commission's re-structuring of its external services, must ensure sufficient scope and capacity for implementing EU co-operation with developing countries on the basis of its development objectives. Simon Stocker, director of Eurostep, stated that "Current proposals being considered inside the Commission to abolish the Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Commissioner are absolutely contradictory with the Draft Constitutional Treaty that provides clear legal basis for those two crucial policies." With current world attention focused on the threats that terrorism and weapons of mass destruction pose to international security, huge amounts of resources are being used in South Asia to fight the elusive enemy, terrorism, while the evident enemy, poverty, is left to grow more dangerous than ever before. Dr. Karki states in the Report that "Eradicating poverty is not as simple as it sounds. But the task is not impossible if the resources available today, both wealth and knowledge, are properly mobilised by those responsible." We kindly request you to send a member from your agency to cover the press conference. For further information and personal interviews
please contact: Camilo Tovar (ctovar@eurostep.org)
or
[1] SAAPE is a regional network of non-governmental and grassroots organisations who are committed to fighting poverty and injustice in South Asia
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