Webinar: Enough is Enough - Privatisation & public services
- 19 Oct - 19 Oct
- New York, NY, USA
Video
For the first time current and former UN Special Rapporteurs reflect on the impacts of privatisation and on renewed momentum and strategies for the public provision of services related to economic, social and cultural rights such as health, education, water sanitation and housing
Enough is Enough: Privatisation & public services, a conversation
When?
Monday 19 October - 8am EDT | 12pm UTC | 2pm CEST | 8pm PHST.
The online seminar will be held on Zoom, and be available in French and Spanish.
Click on this link to register: REGISTER TO THE EVENT
With whom?
Philip Alston, former UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
Koumbou Boly Barry, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education
Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, and former UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food
Leilani Farha, former UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context
Léo Heller, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
The event will be moderated by Magdalena Sepúlveda, former UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, and Executive Director of the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Other speakers are still to be confirmed.
This event is co-organised by ActionAid, The East African Centre for Human Rights (EACHRights), the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad), the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR), the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER), Oxfam, the Society for International Development (SID), Public Services International (PSI), and the Translational Institute (TNI).
Why?
After decades of de-regulation and privatisation policies around the world, private actors are playing an increasing role in many sectors, from education and health, to water, food and housing. However, concerns that privatised systems are gravely threatening the realisation of human rights are rising.
In recent years, dozens of human rights experts and bodies have rung the alarm bell, including four UN Special Rapporteurs who have written reports on the topic. The issue is becoming all the more critical in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, high and rising inequalities, and the ecological emergency. More than ever, the current trends towards privatisation and the dismantling of public services are proving to be untenable. The time has come to review human rights concerns across sectors and discuss alternatives to the dominant discourses.
This event will be the first ever to bring together a range of current and former UN Special Rapporteurs and explore how human rights can help build a joint analysis of privatisation and bring support to resilient, rights-aligned, gender- inclusive public services and innovative approaches to realise the common good in a changing world.
If you wish to follow the trends and be part of the change, welcome to the event!
#TheFutureIsPublic
Click on this link to register: REGISTER TO THE EVENT
Read more
Ahead of the webinar on privatisation and public services, present and former UN Special Rapporteurs publish an op-ed in The Guardian saying that "global markets have failed to provide people with basic needs like housing and water'