Civil G8 2006

Civil G8 — is your opportunity
to discuss global problems!

earth

Publications

Civil Recommendations


Moscow held another event preceding G8 Summit. At the same time recommendations for the G8 leaders were prepared by NGO representatives and religious leaders. The main topics were mechanism of business and society interaction, human rights, even dangers of WTO, in a word, everything that will define the contents of the next G8 Summits.

More than 600 delegates from 50 counties – it is a record number for the G8 forum. But why G8 if so many countries take part in the conference? The answer on this question is evident for the participants.

The problems that G8 leaders are going to discuss next week, touch upon many people’s interests and their strive to influence the process of decision making, that is fate itself, is quite understandable. The human rights activists do not remember such a representative forum. The biggest Russian NGOs, as well as such International organizations as “Human Rights Watch”, “Amnesties International”, “Green Peace” sent their representatives to Moscow to discuss, argue, speak and suggest.

“I hope that this process will develop and continue, because country leaders have to understand and feel the life of the public society in our and other countries, what actually troubles it”, - says Ella Pamfilova, the chairman of Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights Counsel under the President of the RF.

“We will give a word to every one who wants it”, announced Ella Pamfilova at the beginning of the meeting, “I would like to ask the host not to abuse their rights and listen to the guests more often”. They guests did not feel shy and right from the beginning start to speak about monitoring of governmental activities, about creation of the public control mechanism and dialogue with the government.

“The problem is that very often the government officials speak to public organizations, if speak at all, in a haughty manner, as if with inferior partners”, says Ludmila Alexeeva, the chairman of Moscow Helsinki Group. “And we accept only the equal talks. And we strive for it. I hope that this forum will change mentality of the government officials somehow”.

“It is important that Governments will hear those voices. The fact that NGOs are not much loved is true. They are like a hedge in the pants that makes them think, change the common way of thinking and acting”, adds the chairman of the Health Department of the Public Chamber, the director of Moscow Scientific research Institute of Traumatic Surgery – Leonid Roshal.

Energy security, infectious disease control, educational problems – are the topics of the coming Summit in St. Petersburg. But Civil Forum moves further. How can one speak about energy security without touching upon global warming?

“We would like to pay attention to the problem of climate change. Warming is closely connected to the energy strategy, with the usage of the hydrocarbons, with the increase of industry production. All these aspects should be made clear to the G8 leaders”, says the representative of the “Green Peace’ International, Gerhard Lipold.

The tone and the contents of the Civil Forum is defined by the participants. In Moscow they discuss the interaction of the society and business, human rights and even dangers of WTO, in a word everything that will define the future forums. The main task for the near future – to prepare recommendations for the meeting of the G8 leaders in St. Petersburg.

Expert opinion

Halter Marek

02.12.06

Halter Marek
Le College de France
Olivier Giscard d’Estaing

02.12.06

Olivier Giscard d’Estaing
COPAM, France
Mika Ohbayashi

02.12.06

Mika Ohbayashi
Institute for Sustainable Energy Poliñy
Bill Pace

02.12.06

Bill Pace
World Federalist Movement - Institute for Global Policy
Peter I. Hajnal

01.12.06

Peter I. Hajnal
Toronto University, G8 Research Group


Contact us |  De | Rus |