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SACEPS
Dialogue
Demand for Implementation of Social Charter
in South Asia
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The SACEPS Task Force Meeting on A Citizen's Social Charter
for South Asia was organised by the South Asia Centre for
Policy Studies (SACEPS) and CPD during December 12-13, 2002
at the BRAC Centre Inn. Srilankan Scholar Dr. Godfey Gunatilleke
presented the Draft Report of the Task Force on the Social
Charter for South Asia. In his presentation, Dr. Gunatilleke
pointed out that the point of departure of the Charter was
that it has to address the issues relevant to the most deprived
sections of the population of South Asia. The strength of
the Charter, he said, is that it sets out targets for the
future within a time-bound framework.
Professor Muchkund Dubey, former Ambassador of India to Bangladesh,
noted that the implementation of the charter would be the
most difficult part of the task at hand since it required
both political will and adequate resources. Ms. Khawar Mumtaz,
Coordinator Shirkat Gah, Lahore, Pakistan pointed out the
justifiable cynicism of the SAARC concept across the region
and expressed concern over the eventual enforceability of
the Charter and the concrete action it would require. Ms.
Khushi Kabir, a member of the CPD Board of Trustees, emphasised
the need for a proactive attitude towards the Charter, pointing
out that the Charter prepared by the intergovernmental committee
had by no means become a document which has drawn from broad
based consultations. Mr. Basil Ilangakoon, Executive Governor,
Marga Institute, Srilanka dealt on the issue of how the citizens
of the region would
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ensure that the document can be transformed into a set of
measures that will be implemented.
Mr. Dawarika Dhungel, Executive Director, Institute for Integrated
Development Studies, Nepal pointed out the differences in
country specific targets and situation in South Asia which
made the formulation of a common charter a difficult task.
He opined that apart from the common citizen's social charter,
the country specific documents submitted by each country should
remain with the document as an addendum.
Professor S.R. Osmani, BRAC University, raised the issue of
the relationship between resources and rights which is considered
to be one of the fundamental issues. Echoing the observation
of Mr. Dhungel, he noted that it was difficult to prepare
a regional charter that would also serve the specificities
unique to each of the countries in the region.
All the participants agreed that the design of a Social Charter
was a milestone in the history of South Asia and must be considered
with due seriousness by all concerned stakeholders to ensure
its implementation.
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From
the Research Division
IRBD 2002
The Independent Review of Bangladesh's Development 2002 is
nearing completion. The papers are being peer reviewed. The
IRBD 2002 has two components - Part A focuses on the current
state of the economy; Part B, the thematic part, focuses on
the overarching theme of Dynamics of Labour Markets in Bangladesh
and its Global Linkages and looks at the relevant issues from
various perspectives.
WTO Tracking Mission
A five member CPD team visited Geneva for two weeks on a Trade
Policy Tracking Mission with a view to gain an indepth understanding
of ongoing WTO negotiations in Geneva, to gather insights
on the perspectives of key institutions and key players and
to understand the capacity building needs of the country for
a more informed policy making process in the context of ongoing
negotiations in the WTO. A major objective of the Mission
was to gather information for the preparation for Cancun Ministerial
Meeting in September, 2003.
Following the Mission, the CPD team prepared a policy brief
titled "Ongoing WTO Negotiations and Bangladesh's Interests:
Insights from CPD's Tracking Mission to Geneva (October 19-30,
2002)." The policy brief was submitted to Ministers for
Commerce, Foreign Affairs, Finance, the Secretary of the Ministry
of Commerce, and other stakeholder groups. The Trade Brief
highlighted five
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important issues of trade interest to Bangladesh: (a) Market
Access; (b) Trade in Service; (c) Singapore Issues; (d) Trade
Related Intellectual Property Rights; and (e) Environment.
CPD researchers participated in 18 meetings, including day-long
meetings at WTO and UNCTAD. The team also held meetings with
missions of USA, Canada, European Union, India and Bangladesh.
Following the meetings, the CPD researchers held a three-hour
long debriefing session at the Ministry of Commerce on November
21, 2002 where the Secretary, Minister for Commerce and high
level Ministry officials were present.
Trade Policy Papers
CPD has prepared a report on "Doha Ministerial Meeting
and Issues of Interest to Bangladesh" which highlights
some of the major areas of concern and interest in Bangladesh
emanating from the decision arrived at the Doha Ministerial
Meeting. The issues are now being discussed in the various
Negotiation and Discussion Committees which were set up in
Doha. The study focused on the major issues under discussion
and the negotiating concerns for Bangladesh.
The paper on "Impact of Recent Deceleration of the Export
Sector on Women Workers and Coping Strategies" was prepared
by Dr. Kaniz Siddiqui, a faculty member at the North-South
University, Dhaka. The objective of this study is twofold.
First, understanding the implications on family-poverty, women's
employment and women's empowerment because of the recent deceleration
in the export sector of Bangladesh as a result of current
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