World Social Forum 2018 declaration by parliamentarians and representatives of political forces
The Forum took place in Salvador da Bahia in Brazil between 12 and 17 March 2018
21/03/2018
ON DEMOCRACY IN DANGER IN BRASIL
Meeting in the framework of the World Social Forum of Salvador de Bahia, in order to have a dialogue with social movements and coordinate joint campaigns, we, parliamentarians, local authorities, and representatives of political movements of several parts of the World, we want to express our deep concern because of the situation of deterioration of democracy, human rights in the region, with even coups in Latin-America , in Honduras, Paraguay and recently also in Brazil.
We firmly condemn the assassination on March 14th of Marielle Franco, feminist and social activist, and counselor in Rio de Janeiro for PSOL, and President of the investigation committee on crimes committed by authorities against young people of the poor areas of the city. This new step in violence aims to intimidate the People, but thy will not succeed.
We reject the misuse of parliaments and justice that allowed reactionary forces to commit a coup against President Dilma Rousseff, democratically elected, and to persecute juridical and illegally the candidate for President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, pretending to withdraw to the Brazilian People the freely right to elect the President it wants.
We also rejet those policies contraries to the people’s interests that, thanks to those violations of democratic rules, the current Government of Brazil is applying concerning social rights, environmental rights, culture, and concerning civil liberties democracy and human rights.
We want to express our full solidarity with the People of Brazil in its struggle for peace, democracy and progressive social politics.
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ON THE MERCOSUR-EU FTA (MEFTA)
Meeting in the framework of the World Social Forum of Salvador da Bahia, where present in order to have a dialogue with the social movements and coordinate joint campaigns, we oppose any initialing of a FTA between the EU and Mercosur (MEFTA).
We consider unacceptable a conclusion of this agreement negotiated in secret, without up-to-date due Sustainable Impact Assessment study, ignoring asymmetries would condemn the Mercosur countries to depend only from the exportation of raw material, agribusiness products, fossil energy, mining products, while the UE would strongly increase its exportation of industrial goods, and its market Access to services, public procurement, and intellectual property rights, impeding access to medicines, among others.
On the other hand, this agreement would finish thousands of small and middle farms on both sides, and the destruction of more than 50 million hectares of rain forest in the Amazonian region, with devastating consequences for indigenous people and for biodiversity and environment, a blatant violation of the Paris Agreement.
Therefore we claim that no agreement should be signed, Peoples of Mercosur and the EU must be duly consulted on what kind of agreement they want to intensify their relation.
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ON ACCESS TO WATER AS PUBLIC GOOD
As parliamentarians and representatives of progressive and internationalist forces involved in the struggles for the rights to quality water and against its commodification from across the world, gathered in the World Social Forum, we reiterate that the human right to water is indispensable for leading a life in human peace and dignity. It is a prerequisite for the realization of other human rights.
United in a global understanding of water, we consider that:
1. Water is a common good of the living and access to it is a fundamental, inalienable human right. Water belongs to the living and is managed by communities, peoples and humanity and therefore is not a commodity;
2. Management and control of water needs to be in a sphere that is public, social, participative and not based on profit;
3. Solidarity must be assured for present and future generations and between continents, countries, regions, communities and peoples.
We reject:
– all forms of privatisation, including Public-Private Partnerships, as they systematically lead to rate hikes, cut-offs to customers who can’t pay, reduced water quality, huge profits for corporate investors, secret contracts, bribery and corruption.
– all models of water development that are consumerist.
– demands of multinationals and corporations for lost profits and compensation for investments as illegitimate.
We support :
– sharing experiences of establishing solidarity funds for financing models of public, participative, community and social management (eg remunicipalisations);
– all struggles, movements and governments actively involved in the realisation of the 6th UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (Ensure access to water and sanitation for all);
– the elaboration and implementation of an International legally binding instrument on transnational corporations, in particular in the water sector;
– the effort of several International, European and Brazilian organisations in the promotion of the Alternative Water Forum that is happening in Brasilia from 17th until 22nd March.
We call authorities attending World Water Forum to take account of this Declaration as well as the Alternative Water Forum’s conclusions.
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AGAINST MILITARIZATION AND WARS
As parliamentarians and representatives of progressive and internationalist forces We are concerned by wasting immense resources in the recent global tide of militarization and raising military budgets of a lot of countries worldwide. More and more sophisticated weapons are counterproductive not only for global peace – they produced in order to be used – but for the survival of the planetary ecosystem. Massive propaganda creating an enemy image is boosting in all corners of the world against each other, otherwise people, voters, would not allow this to happen.
These means should instead be used to create a socially and environmentally just world, for a decent life of all people on the Earth.
To achieve this, we have to push for:
a) Stopping any war propaganda which creates fears and preparing for war (called „defence”).
b) Gradually diminishing military budgets worldwide under 1 pc of GDP.
c) Dissolving all military pacts and alliances at the end, coming back to peace diplomacy.
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