September 29, 2008	Monday	Ramazan 28, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Sept 28: Various civil society organisations on Sunday demanded the government to cut down expenditures on defence and armaments and utilise the saved money for relief and uplift of the poor who were hit by the rise in prices of food and energy.

The demand was made by representatives of the CSOs who met here in connection with the upcoming Commonwealth finance ministers’ meeting in St Lucia in October on the theme of “Implications of high food and energy prices for economic management”.

The Pattan Development Organisation in collaboration with Commonwealth Foundation organised the Islamabad consultation. Besides the Pakistani civil society organisations, leaders and representatives of CSOs from Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and the Maldives also took part in the meeting and emphasised on greater contribution by the civil societies.

During the deliberations, speakers highlighted that price rise of food and energy were cross-boundary issues. Governance should include cooperation among countries with specific respect to this issue, they said.

The speakers shared that the CSOs should engage the media in creating a knowledge-based discourse to alter the course of governance so that the problems of the poor were addressed.

Governments were urged to ensure food security at the national level by increasing their stockpiles so that their peoples were not deprived of food at times of food crisis.

They said governance at the local levels should be strengthened and be inclusive, particularly in terms of gender, lower castes and minorities, representing all sections of society.

They also urged the governments to provide technical and financial support to small farms to enhance their productivity and called for the use of modern methods for soil and water conservation.

The asked the states to introduce land reforms wherever needed by cutting the large farms into small ones. Land reforms will not only help provide livelihood to the poor but also increase productivity as small farms have proved to be more productive, they said.

Financial commitment made by G-8 to achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) should be fulfilled on an urgent basis, the participants said, urging the rich countries in the Commonwealth to increase their MDG financial contribution from 0.7 per cent to 1 per cent in view of the rise in prices of food and energy that had pushed 55 million more people below poverty line.

The developed countries should be made more accountable for reduction in greenhouse gases and consumption of fossil fuels, they added.