Report concludes that state action that facilitates tax avoidance and evasion may amount to a violation of human rights.

Rights & Justice Post-2015: Call for Registration

Academics, NGO leaders, and policy makers from around the world will gather at Yale October 18-20 for the conference Human Rights and Economic Justice: Essential Elements of the Post-MDG Agenda. Speakers and conference participants will discuss policy solutions to urgent problems in international development, including global health disparities and illicit financial flows and will investigate new ways for academics to contribute to the fight against global poverty. We invite you to review our agenda and register. You can also download a printable version of this call for registration.

This event is the fifth in a series of annual conferences at Yale on financial transparency, all co-hosted by the Yale Global Justice Program and Global Financial Integrity. For the second year in a row, year Academics Stand Against Poverty has come on board as a co-organizer. The event will take place in Sudler Hall, 100 Wall Street, in the heart of Yale\’s campus.

The conference is free and open to the public, and complimentary coffee and light lunch will be served. Luce Hall Auditorium is conveniently located near New Haven’s central business district and a 10-minute walk from spacious parking facilities. Information about travel and accommodation in New Haven is provided at the end of this page.

Schedule and Themes:

Conference sessions will run from 9 am to 5 pm on Friday, 9 am to 6 pm on Saturday, and 9 am to noon on Sunday.

Friday, October 18, the opening day of the conference, will be dedicated to illicit financial flows from the Global South — massive outflows of money resulting from tax avoidance and evasion, corruption, and organized crime. It is estimated that every year $1 trillion flows out of developing countries through illicit means, roughly ten times the amount that comes in as foreign assistance. Such losses seriously aggravate poverty and weaken public institutions. Recent commitments from the G8 and G20 to tackle tax dodging add new urgency to the search for policy solutions, and identifying a policy agenda for the Global South will be the focus of the day\’s presentations. We are honored to host a group of distinguished policy makers and scholars from around the world as contributors to this important discussion. For a list of confirmed speakers, see the bottom of this document and accompanying agenda.

Saturday, October 19, will have a dual focus on global health and the role of academia in poverty alleviation. The morning session will feature speakers leading diverse initiatives to improve healthcare in the Global South, including a proposed global fund that would extend access to new medicines by rewarding pharmaceutical companies based on the health impact of their products and an organization using the energy from cell towers to refrigerate vaccines in remote areas.

Saturday’s second session will feature academics researching, advocating for, and implementing initiatives to alleviate poverty, and Sunday, October 20 will be wholly dedicated to the question of how academics can more effectively work together to improve the lives of people living in poverty. These panel discussions will be chaired by members of the International Board of Directors of Academics Stand Against Poverty, as a part of the Impact: Global Poverty project. Through Impact: Global Poverty, ASAP seeks to shed light on best practices from academic efforts at influencing poverty policy and civil-society efforts.

The conference will conclude on Sunday at noon. On Sunday afternoon, there will be a closed session for leaders of research centers focused on poverty and global justice, to discuss future collaboration.

Registration, Travel, and Accommodation:

Registration is free but necessary. To register, please e-mail Mariana Ramírez Herrera at ramirezh_mariana@hotmail.com.

If you need hotel accommodation in New Haven, consider reserving a room today, because local hotels tend to fill up early. We suggest the Omni Hotel, the New Haven Hotel, the Study, and the Courtyard Marriott. New Haven is served by the Greyhound bus company, MegaBus, MetroNorth, and Amtrak. The city has a small airport, called Tweed, which connects to a few regional airports. If you plan to come to New Haven by way of New York City airports or Hartford\’s Bradley airport, you can reach New Haven by bus, train, or by using a shuttle service like GO Airport Shuttle or CT Limo. If you have questions about travel and lodging, contact Mariana Ramírez Herrera at ramirezh_mariana@hotmail.com.

Learn more about the Global Justice Program and Global Financial Integrity at their respective websites.

Conference Speakers:

Friday, October 18: Perspectives on Illicit Financial Flows Post-2015

• Peter Ackerman, Founding Chair of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict; Raymond Baker, Director of Global Financial Integrity
• Jose Cuisia, Jr., Ambassador of the Philippines to the U.S.
• Shaazka Beyerle, Senior Advisor of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict
• Lena Diesing, Governance Advisor in the Global Partnerships and Policy Division of the OECD
• Pascale Dubois, Chief Suspension and Debarment Officer at the World Bank
• Rafael Espada, Former Vice President of Guatemala
• Itai Grinberg, Associate Professor of Law at Georgetown Law School
• Gail Hurley, Policy Specialist in Development Finance at the UNDP
• Thomas Pogge, Leitner Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs at Yale University
• Ebrahim Rasool, Ambassador of South Africa to the U.S.
• Susan Rose-Ackerman, Henry R. Luce Professor of Jurisprudence at Yale University
• Lee Sheppard, Contributing Editor at Tax Analysts\’ Tax Notes
• Jarmo Viinanen, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Finland to the UN

Saturday, October 19, Morning Session: Global Health

• Julian Cockbain, Consultant European patent attorney
• Steven Hoffman, Assistant Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at McMaster University
• Thomas Pogge, Leitner Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs at Yale University
• Harvey Rubin, Director of the Institute for Strategic Threat Analysis and Response at the University of Pennsylvania
• Sigrid Sterckx, Founding Member of the Bioethics Institute at the University of Ghent

Saturday, October 19, Afternoon Session: Impact: Global Poverty

• Martha Chen, Lecturer in Public Policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
• Teddy Cruz, Co-Director of the Blum Center for Cross-Border Poverty Research and Practice at the University of California-San Diego
• Andries du Toit, Director of the Institute for Poverty, Land, and Agrarian Studies at the University of the Western Cape
• Juliana Martinez-Franzoni, Member of the Scientific Committee of the Comparative Research Programme on Poverty
• Nidhi Sadana Sabharwal, Director of the Indian Institute for Dalit Studies
• Alberto Cimadamore, Scientific Director of the Comparative Research Programme on Poverty
• Alberto Minujin, Director of Equity for Children at the New School
• Jonathan Morduch, Managing Director of the Financial Access Initiative at New York University
• David Hulme, Executive Director of the Brooks World Poverty Institute at the University of Manchester
• Sukhadeo Thorat, Chairman of the Indian Council of Social Science Research

Sunday, October 20: Impact: Global Poverty, Continued

• Fonna Forman, Co-Director of the Blum Center for Cross-Border Poverty Research and Practice at the University of California-San Diego
• Tim Hayward, Director of the Just World Institute at the University of Edinburgh
• Darrel Moellendorf, Chairman of Normative Orders Cluster of Excellence at Goethe University Frankfurt
• Jill Coster van Voorhout, Researcher in the Rule of Law Program at The Hague Institute for Global Justice
• Heather Widdows, Director of the Center for the Study of Global Ethics at the University of Birmingham
• Thomas Pogge, Leitner Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs at Yale University

Poster photo: CC photo courtesy of Shreyans Bhansali via Flickr

The first chapter of Academics Stand Against Poverty Chapter in Latin America was launched on August 20, at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City.

The Structural Roots of Global Poverty
Yale University, February 14-16, 2013

ASAP sponsored The Structural Roots of Poverty: Theory Meets Practice, a three-day intensive workshop at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, hosted by the Yale Global Justice Program and Global Financial Integrity. This meeting was the fourth annual conference of The Global Justice Program at Yale\’s MacMillan Center and Global Financial Integrity.

Here are daily blog entries by members of an ASAP Students delegation to Delhi, India.

ASAP established its Canadian chapter with a three-day intensive workshop at Ryerson University in downtown Toronto. More than 300 participants from 30 North American universities attended the event entitled: \”Beyond 2015: Towards a New Consensus on Ending Global Poverty\”. It focused on the current process for replacing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the global agreement to reduce poverty and related deprivations, which will expire in 2015. The workshop featured some of the world\’s most prominent poverty researchers, as well as representatives of leading poverty NGOs and civil servants. They were united by the concern that the new international agreement superseding the MDGs make good on the promise of ending world poverty.

\”We had a fantastic turnout and some really thoughtful, engaged dialogue with the speakers,\” said lead organizer Mitu Sengupta, an ASAP Board member and Associate Professor of Political Science at Ryerson. \”We all look forward to building on the conference momentum and developing a vibrant ASAP chapter in Canada.\”

You can view and download the full conference program and final conference report.

Day 1, Opening Remarks

In these remarks, Thomas Pogge introduces Academics Stand Against Poverty (ASAP), explaining its motivation and goals as they relate to global poverty.

Day 1, Panel 1: Growth, Inequality, and Unemployment

This panel examines general strategies for global poverty eradication. The discussion focuses on strategies for tackling inequality, ensuring inclusive growth, and creating employment. Chaired by Roberta Rice, University of Toronto at Scarborough.

Speakers:

• Paul Shaffer, Trent University (at 1:12)
• Albert Berry, University of Toronto (at 13:38)
• Solomon Benatar, University of Cape Town (at 35:13)
• Murtaza Haider, Ryerson University (at 43:43)
• Randy Spence, Economics and Social Development Associates (at 59:50)

Day 1, Panel 2: Reforming Governance and Institutions – Connecting the Local with the Global

The two sessions that comprise this panel examine general strategies for global poverty eradication, recognizing poverty as a global problem that requires responses not only at the national level but also at the global level.

Session 1 – Chaired by Anil Varughese, Carleton University

Speakers:

• Joseph Wong, University of Toronto (at 00:17)
• Richard Sandbrook, University of Toronto (at 30:25)
• Ananya Mukherjee Reed, York University (at 51:37)
• Discussion (at 1:14:35)

Session 2 – Chaired by Andrea Brown, Wilfred Laurier University

Speakers:

• Pablo Idahosa, York University (at 00:00)
• Judith Teichman, University of Toronto (at 12:35)
• Mustafa Koc, Ryerson University (at 27:28)
• Discussion (at 45:20)

These remarks begin a series of panels that examine general strategies for global poverty eradication. The focus of Thomas Pogge and Gilad Tanay’s remarks is on reforming global institutions and the supranational rules that perpetuate global poverty and inequality.

Speakers:

• Thomas Pogge, Yale University (at 00:00)
• Gilad Tanay, Yale University (at 30:58)

Day 2, Panel 1: Replacing the Millennium Development Goals

This panel examines specific strategies for influencing the MDG replacement process, emphasizing consensus building within the academic community. Chaired by Gilad Tanay, Yale University.

Speakers:

• Varun Gauri, World Bank (at 00:00)
• Sakiko Fukuda Parr, New School (at 19:10)
• James Orbinski, Balsillie School of International Affairs (at 38:35)
• Stephen Marks, Harvard University (at 1:12:35)
• Meera Tiwari, University of East London (at 1:29:01)
• Discussion (at 1:48:39)

Day 2, Panel 2: Curbing Illicit Financial Flows as an International Development Goal

In this panel, speakers discuss the significance of illicit financial flows as a factor contributing to the persistence of global poverty, along with possible solutions at both the global and national levels. Chaired by Melissa Williams, University of Toronto.

Speakers:

• Raymond Baker, Global Financial Integrity (at 00:00)
• Chris MacDonald, Ryerson University (at 17:05)
• Ian Smillie, Diamond Development Initiative (at 30:37)
• Thomas Tieku, Munk School of Global Affairs University of Toronto (at 50:27)
• Discussion (at 1:03:38)

Day 3, Panel 1: Innovation and Access to Medicines

This panel examines how innovations might be stimulated through an alternative scheme under which innovators could sell their product at cost in exchange for publicly funded reward payments proportional to the product’s measured benefits.

Speakers:

• Matthew Herder, Dalhousie University (at 00:00)
• Stephen Marks, Harvard University, as Chair (at 11:18)
• Tim Gilbert, Gilberts Avant Garde Lawyers (at 12:20)
• Alex Wellington, Ryerson University (at 26:28)
• Aidan Hollis, University of Calgary (at 42:17)
• Ryoa Chung, University of Montreal (at 1:00:27)
• Jocelyn Mackie, Grand Challenges Canada (at 1:15:40)
• Discussion (at 1:31:52)

Day 3, Panel 2: Consultations with Civil Society Groups and Community Leaders

In this panel, representatives of the non—profit sector identify problems, propose solutions, and offer insight, expertise, and advice to the academics, students, aid practitioners and policymakers attending the workshop. The discussion focuses on the role of civil society and community organizations in global poverty alleviation and their thoughts about linking local issues and struggles with those that are transnational or global in focus. Chaired by Lisa Mills, Carleton University.

Speakers:

• John Lewis, KAIROS (at 0:00)
• Winnie Ng, CAW Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy (at 16:00)
• Sara Hildebrand, Millennium Kids (at 32:20)
• Salimah Valiani, Ontario Nurses Association (at 43:32)
• Ian Smillie, Diamond Development Initiative (at 59:54)
• Discussion (at 1:18:26)

Day 3, Panel 3: Consultations with Students

Members of ASAP jump start an open group discussion by discussing the role that students can play in ASAP. Chaired by Melanie Adrian, Carleton University.

Speakers:

• Ashok Acharya, Delhi University (at 0:00)
• Elisabeth King, Balsillie School of International Affairs (at 16:50)
• Matthew Lindauer, Yale University (at 27:06)

Global Poverty and the Duties of Global Citizenship in Developing Countries

Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de México, November 6, 2012

Luis Cabrera speaks on the duties of global citizenship at ITAM. David Mena Alemán provides the Spanish translation.