Post-2015 Development Agenda - Statement

In advance of the United Nations Summit on Financing for Development taking place in Addis Ababa from July 13-17, Public Services International, the Blue Planet Project, Education International, Sisters of Mercy – Mercy International Association, Franciscans International and the Transnational Institute have spearheaded a global petition calling for safeguards against the corporate takeover of essential services in the name of sustainable development. The petition signed by more than 150 organizations worldwide calls to exclude water and sanitation, healthcare and education from discussions regarding private financing and private sector financing within the context of financing for development. The petition highlights the fact that the UN discussions on private sector participation must acknowledge the fact that the proliferation of global trade deals and investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms have undermined the sovereignty of States and restricted their policy space while protecting the interests of foreign investors above human rights and the environment over the past few decades.

Despite our repeated concerns regarding the human rights and social justice impacts of privatization, there is a great push for private financing and private sector participation within the agenda. PSI condemns the global trend towards the privatisation of public services due to which millions of people have been deprived of their fundamental human rights and reaffirms that the provision of universally accessible quality public services contributes to the reduction of poverty and inequality and the expansion of decent work and enhances social integration and cohesion.

View list of signatories

Statement on private sector participation in the implementation of Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda

Considering gaps in existing national and international legal regimes for holding transnational and other corporations accountable for their role in human rights abuses;

Having reviewed the evidence that certain categories of private sector actors and the development policies that promote them are responsible for a range of systemic human rights abuses that undermine efforts toward promoting sustainable development;

Recalling that the obligation to respect, protect and fulfill human rights lies with the State, and that States must protect against human rights abuses by third parties over whom they have jurisdiction including transnational corporations operating within and beyond their borders;

Recognizing that the proliferation of global trade deals and investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms undermine the sovereignty of States and restrict their policy space while protecting the interests of foreign investors above human rights, the public interest and the environment;

And noting the history of international financial institutions using loans to impose austerity measures and structural adjustment policies that have destroyed social safety nets and exacerbated poverty;

Civil society groups call for the following safeguards and conditions to be included in the SDG implementation and financing mechanisms: 

1. Exclude essential public services including water and sanitation services, education and health care services that implicate States’ duties to guarantee the human rights to water and sanitation, education, and health for all from private sector partnerships and private financing within the FFD3 agenda.
2.  Ensure that development aid or loans aimed at implementing the Post-2015 Development Agenda are not tied to conditionalities forcing privatization or liberalization
3. Ensure that the global partnership for development is between State actors and that States be accountable to human rights obligations (including extra-territorial human rights obligations)

1. Action Aid
2. African Woman and Child Features Service (Kenya)
3. Afrihealth Optonet Association (Nigeria)
4. Agricultural Missions (USA)
5. Agrupación Lucrecia Barredes Uruguay
6. Alba Suiza (Switzerland)
7. Affiles Tunisiens A L’ISP (Tunisia)
8. Alliance Sud, the Swiss Alliance of Development Organisations
9. All Pakistan Labour Federation (APLF)
10. Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) - Alliance Against Mining Philippines
11. Asamblea Veracruzana de Iniciativas y Defensa Ambiental (Mexico)
12. Association of Canadian Financial Officers (Canada)
13. Association of War Affected Women (Sri Lanka)
14. Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID)
15. Association de Servidores Publicos Departamentales y Municipales de
16. Antioquia (Colombia)
17. Attac France
18. Bermuda Public Services Union
19. Beyond Copenhagen collective (India)
20. Blue Planet Project
21. British Columbia Government and Service Employees’ Union (Canada)
22. Campaign for Good Governance (SUPRO) (Sierra Leone)
23. Cambodia’s Independent Civil Servants Association (CICA)
24. Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)
25. Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR)
26. Centre Europe - Tiers Monde (CETIM)
27. Coalición de Organizaciones Mexicanas por el Derecho al Agua (Mexico)
28. Centro de Promoción y Educación Profesional "Vasco de Quiroga"
29. Centro de estudios e investigación sobre mujeres (CEIM), Málaga (Spain)
30. COECOCEIBA - Amigos de la Tierra Costa Rica
31. Comision Nacional en Defensa del Agua y la Vida (Uruguay)
32. Comisión Voz Profética de Hermanas de la Misericordia de las Américas -
33. Latinoamérica y Caribe
34. Comité Agrupación Lucrecia Barredes - Uruguayos en Australia
35. (Australia)
36. Committee of NGOs on the Status of Women from Latin America and the
37. Caribbean - CoNGO CSW LAC
38. Community & Public Sector Group New South Wales (Australia)
39. Concerned Citizens of Sta. Cruz, Zambales (Philippines)
40. Confederacao dos Servidorés Publicos Do Brasil (Brazil)
41. Conestoga College (Canada)
42. CONTUA, Confederación de Trabajadores de las Universidades
43. Nacionales de las Américas
44. Coolock House Aids Outreach (South Africa)
45. Corporate Europe Observatory
46. Council of Canadians
47. CUPE BC Local 1936 (Canada)
48. Curia Generalizia Agostiniana - Augustinians International
49. Dominican Leadership Conference (USA)
50. Ecological Society of the Philippines
51. Edmund Rice International (USA)
52. Education International
53. Enginyeria Sense Fronteres (Spain)
54. EPSU (European Federation of Public Services Unions)
55. Equipo de Justicia de las Hermanas de la Misericordia de las Américas(
56. Argentina)
57. Equipo de Pastoral Social de la diócesis del Alto Valle de Río Negro
58. (Argentina)
59. FH Suisse (Switzerland)
60. Federation of Trade Unions –Health Serivces - (Bulgaria)
61. Fundación para Estudio e Investigación de la Mujer (Argentina)
62. Fivas – The Association for International Water Studies
63. Freshwater Action Network Mexico
64. Food & Water Europe
65. Ghana Registered Nurses Association
66. Government Services Employees Association (Mauritius)
67. Global Alliance for Tax Justice
68. GrassRootsAfrica (Ghana)
69. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (GOA) (USA)
70. Groundation Grenada
71. Holy Cross International Justice Office
72. Indian National Defense Workers Federation (India)
73. Indigenous Peoples Links (PIPLinks) (Philippines)
74. International Network for the PreventioN oF Elder Abuse (INPEA)
75. Institute for Economic Research on Innovation (South Africa)
76. Institute for Strategic Research & Development Studies (Philippines)
77. Institute of Global Education (Switzerland)
78. Institute for Planetary Synthesis (USA)
79. Irish Doctors' Environmental Association (IDEA) (Ireland)
80. The Italian Committee for Water Global Contract ( CICMA) (Italy)
81. JA!Justica Ambiental/Mocambique)
82. Jóvenes por la Elección y el Placer (Argentina)
83. K 136 Initiative, Thessaloniki (Greece)
84. Kenya County Government Workers Union (Kenya)
85. Korean Health and Medical Workers’ Union
86. KruHa (Indonesia)
87. La Fédération Nationale des Mines et de l’Energie (France)
88. Les Jardins de Cocagne Solidarite Nord et Sud (Switzerland)
89. Mani Tese (Italy)
90. Medical Mission Sisters
91. Mercy International Association: Global Action
92. National Council of Women (USA)
93. National Organization of Nurses and Midwives of Malawi
94. Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees
95. Norsk Tjenestemannslag/Norwegian Civli Service Union (Norway)
96. Noi per Loro (Italy)
97. Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (Nigeria)
98. Other Worlds (USA)
99. Project Success (Botswana)
100. Public Service Alliance of Canada
101. Public Service Association of NSW (Australia)
102.  
103. Public Services International
104. Public Services Workers’ Union of Tuc (Ghana)
105. PIT CNT (Federation of Labour Unions, Uruguay)
106. Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (Philippines)
107. National association of Nigeria nurses and midwives (Nigeria)
108. National Health Workers’ Association of Liberia
109. National Union of Educational Institutions (Uganda)
110. National Union Of Government and Federated Workers (Trinidad and
111. Tobago)
112. Red de Educacion Popular entre Mujeres (Latin America and Caribbean)
113. la Red de Mujeres Trabajadoras Sexuales de Latinoamérica y el CaribeRedTraSex
114. (Latin America and Caribbean)
115. Loretto Community
116. REDES-Friends of the Earth (FoE) Uruguay
117. Researchers, Academicians and Allied Workers Union (United Republic of Tanzania)
118. Salesian Missions
119. SERR - Servicios Ecumenicos para Reconciliacion y Reconstruccion
120. Sigaw ng Kabataan Coalition (Philippines)
121. .Sindicato de la corporación del acueducto y alcantarillado de Santiago
122. (Chile)
123. Sindicato Democratico de Bomberos de Jalisco (Mexico)
124. Sindicato Nacional dos servidores públicos do Brasil
125. Sindicato de Trabajadoras y Trabajadores de la Universidad Nacional
126. (Costa Rica)
127. Sindicato unico de trabajadores del Gobierno del Distrito Federal (Mexico)
128. Sindicato de Trabajadores del Instituto Salvadoreño del Seguro Social (El Salvador)
129. Sisters of Charity Federation
130. Sisters of Mercy -Earth Link (Australia)
131. Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Leadership Team (USA)
132. Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Justice Team (USA)
133. Sisters of Mercy of the Americas’ Institute Leadership Team (USA)
134. Sisters of Mercy, South Africa
135. Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur
136. Regions Refocus 2015
137. Society for Change in Education (SCIE) (India)
138. South Asian Dialogues on Ecological Democracy
139. The South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (South Africa)
140. Transnational Institute (Netherlands)
141. Union de l'Action Féministe (Morocco)
142. Swarna Hansa Foundation (Sri Lanka)
143. Swaziland Nurses Association
144. Syndicat de la regie libanaise des tabacs et tombacs
145. Syndicat Autonome des Travailleurs de la Sénégalaise des Eaux
146. Temple of Understanding (USA)
147. Unión del Personal Civil de la Nación, Buenos Aires, Argentina
148. Verdi (Germany)
149. Vision Spring Initiatives (Nigeria)
150. VODOSNABDITEL (Bulgaria)
151. War on Want (UK)
152. Women in Development Europe (WIDE+)
153. Working Group on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Netherlands
154. School of Human Rights Research)

For more information:

• Read PSI's Briefing on the FfD process
• Read PSI's Briefing on the SDG and Post 2015 Development Agenda process
• Read about PSI's participation in the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD3)
• See the UN website to find out about the Post-2015 Development Agenda
• See the UN website on Financing for Development (FFD3)
• See the UN Web TV for webcasts of plenary meetings
• Follow the hashtags #FFD3 and #action2015 on Twitter