Gathered together here in Dakar during the Convergence Assembly for Action against the G8/G20 at the World Social Forum, we - the social movements, trade unions, international solidarity associations, women and men from all continents - are calling for massive popular mobilizations during the G8 summit on May 26th and 27th in Deauville and the G20 summit on November 3 and 4 in Cannes. In Dakar, we have debated on the way to address the social, ecological, economic and geopolitical crises that together constitute a true crisis of civilization.

The G20 was formed by the 20 richest countries in disdain/disregard of the rest of the other countries of the world. It proclaimed itself as the protector of world economic and financial stability the day after the financial storm hit in 2008, but has done nothing to protect the people from this great crisis. On the contrary, the G20 upheld the dictatorship of finances that exerts its power over all aspects of our existence: housing, employment, education, agriculture, climate, pensions, knowledge, biodiversity... Through its action, it reinforces the actors and the mechanisms at the origin of the crisis, while making the citizens pay the price.

We know that the democratic responses, based on solidarity with the people, to the global crisis will not come from the leaders of the richest countries, but rather from the peoples themselves. We refuse to give the powerful the right to impose the solutions to the crises they have generated.

This is why we are calling on all to make the G8 and the G20 in France moments of convergence of all struggles of resistance: the struggles against the financial opacity and deregulation, the illegitimate debt in the North and the South, against the austerity policies and in defence of public services, against the false solutions to climate change and in favour of production and consumption models that preserve the planet, against job instability and for decent work, against speculation on raw materials and for food sovereignty, against dictatorships, militarization and colonialism and for the democratic rights of the peoples...

Our movements demonstrate through their practices and proposals that alternative paths exist. Access of all to fundamental human rights and the protection of our planet can only be achieved through a just distribution of wealth, other modes of development and the democratic management of the common goods.

On the occasion of the G8 and G20 summits in France, we call all movements, networks and organizations to unite. We will count on their diversity and the complementary nature of their ways of reflecting and their modes of action to organize a diverse range of initiatives to build a broad international mobilization.

Next steps:

 Meeting for exchange and coordination: March 26-27 in Paris and then in May on the eve of the mobilization against the G8.

For more information and to contact:

g8g20 at altermob.org