Stop Poverty Prinsippdokument

Building global justice and peace together 

Poverty is a man-made scandal. God has created the world and the earth holds enough resources for everyone. However, the current political and economic structures benefit those that already live in abundance. People have created unjust systems of wealth distribution, and people can change them. All humans have the right to a life free from poverty. 

Stop poverty is a youth based and inter-religious campaign to stop poverty completely. We need to fight the root causes of poverty with non-violent means. We want to see policy empowerment of young people and policy change by dutybearers. As global activists for justice and peace we need to influence decisions by policymakers, as well as our own and fellow citizens’ attitudes and practices. 

We need to build a broad based global social movement. When social activists took on the struggle to abolish slave trade the task was enormous. The struggle to end apartheid was also extremely ambitious and difficult to achieve. However, through global social movement-building they managed to dismantle the injustice. Poverty is created by specific political and economic policies. By building a global movement for justice and peace, we can resist and change these policies. We can stop poverty. 

Policymakers are found at different geographical levels: local, national, regional and global. YMCA and YWCA are present at all these levels with individual members, groups, branches, national movements, and regional and global alliances. The YWCA is the largest women movement in the world to day and the YMCA is the largest youth organisation. We have the network already, and we can build the movement. 

New Development Goals 

We need to aim for more ambitious development goals. The current Millennium Development Goal aim to reduce extreme poverty by 50%, and the main strategy is to increase aid. Y Global stresses that we must aim to eradicate extreme poverty. 

The Stop poverty campaign therefore demands a 100% reduction in extreme poverty (as defined by UN) as development goal for 2030. 

The poverty eradication must be based on principles for social and economic justice, not more aid. We need to form partnerships across the globe to change policies so that unjust resource leakages is plugged and economic resources are spent to deliver right based social services to people of all nations. 

Economic justice 

The Stop poverty campaign’s main objective on economic justice is that young people are empowered to take control of their finances and create political structural change that ensures economic justice from local to global level. Economic justice is a concept in which the economic policies must result in a fair and sustainable distribution of benefits to all. This is the basis for peace and a just world: 

a) Tax justice: Country by country reporting, publish what you pay, Robin Hood tax. 

b) Trade justice: Fair market access in Northern markets, protection against dumping, global regulations of corporate investments (FDI and portfolio) to secure social, environmental and decent work standards on all production globally. 

c) Debt and Finance Justice: Cancellation of all unpayable debt, cancellation of all illegitimate debt, and responsible lending regulations that make sure that new illegitimate loans are not provided and that loans are not given when grants are appropriate. 

Climate- and environmental justice 

Y Global supports the social movements calling for justice in all environmental policies. We find it completely unacceptable that individuals and companies can pollute natural environments without paying the total price of the same pollution. The goal of the Stop poverty campaign is that youth have become active citizens in the struggle for justice in climate- and environmental policies from local to global level. We want to join the struggle for environmental and climate justice by promoting the following policies: 

a) New global binding climate agreement committing all industrial nations to substantially reduce carbon emission to guarantee the two degrees target. 

b) Provision of funding for developing countries to adapt to the changes that are unavoidable. 

c) Strict regulation of pollution by companies and enforcement of environmental rights of communities living next to production sites. 

Just peace 

Peace is essential for sustainable development and for protecting human dignity. Therefore, the Stop poverty campaign aims to make youth actively involved in creating peace through inter-religious cooperation for a just development of society. Reconciliation and peace building are fundamental interventions for upholding human dignity. The Stop poverty campaign aims to contribute to an environment conducive to sustainable long-term development through just peace. Religious communities are a relevant presence at all levels of civil society and have great potential for peace building. Furthermore, this program will empower youths to use non-violent tools to fight for justice as well as mobilizing youth in the struggle to stop gender-based violence. 

Just peace is sought after in individual and family levels where the focus will be on livelihood, life skills and skills for dignified lives. Local society level will focus on basic services and keeping local authorities accountable. National and global levels focus on political change that ensures the whole person’s human rights 

Democratic citizenship 

The Stop poverty campaign promotes an understanding of democratic rights in young people and wants to empower them for active democratic participation from local to global level. This programme area is cross cutting in the sense that it serves as a basis for the other programs to be implemented effectively. Democratic citizenship is inspired by the African Alliance of YMCA’s programme «From Subject to Citizen» and a gender perspective is fully integrated. The programme aims to provide essential knowledge and motivate the participants to increased involvement as citizens in their local communities as well as engagement in major global issues. Youth of the world will be listened to concerning issues such as poverty, climate justice and violation of basic human rights. text goes here