01322pab a2200133 454500008004000000100001800040245006300058260000900121300001200130362000800142520100400150650001801154773001601172180718b2000   xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d  aPonti, Marina  aSocial watch: civil society assessing national commitments  c2000  ap.62-64  aJun  aMarina Ponti argues that the World Summit on Social Development (WSSD), held in March 1995, and the Fourth World Conference on Women, September 1995, committed the governments of the world to an ambitious programme to combat poverty and gender discrimination, promote employment and the integration of the excluded and marginalized groups. In technical jargon these commitments were `not legally binding', unlike the promises made by the governments before the World Trade Organization, or the conditions imposed on the debtor countries by the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund. She argues that the indispensable political will to carry out these commitments in each country can only be assured by a citizenship capable of holding governments to their promises. Following the deliberations of the Social Summit and Women's Conference, a group of non-profit organizations initiated the `Social Watch' programme, an annual report to monitor what has actually been carried out. - Reproduced  aCivil society  aDevelopment