The G8 is over, so what's the verdict?

The G8 is over, the politicians have gone and Enniskillen can return to being a quiet market town at the far end of Northern Ireland.

But as the TV Crews return to London, New York and Tokyo, this quite hamlet in the Northern Irish countryside might be returning to normal but the world is not.

Tax dodging

The Leaders of 8 of the world’s 11 largest economies (India, China and Brazil are not part of the G8) recognised that tax dodging is a problem and something needs to be done about it.  They acknowleged that developing countries are losing much needed funds through the practice, and recognised that countries should change rules that let companies shift their profits across borders.

Above: Oxfam organised a range of stunts to highlight key issues during the G8 Summit.  Top, Oxfam's 'Big Head' G8 leaders attempt to crack the recipe to end golobal hunger.  Middle, our Syria stunt highlighted the number of lives lost so far in that crisis.  Bottom, our closing stunt asked it G8 leaders scored a hole in one on global hunger.

Land grabs

The G8 Summit put the issue of land on the agenda for the first time. Commitments to improve transparency in land investments and establish partnerships with developing countries to advance land rights in line with UN-standards are a step in the right direction.

And the verdict?

While it is encouraging that reform on the issues of tax and land, which Oxfam campaigned heavily for, have received political backing, it is only the first step in a much wider campaign against the scandal of global poverty and hunger, which are exacerbated by these problems.

“Poor people will be left behind in the race for tax reform unless the G8 seriously ups its game and goes beyond secret lists that cannot tackle secrecy" said Jim Clarken, Oxfam's CEO.  "With a gold standard on global automatic tax information exchange fast becoming a reality, we need more than warm words on how poor countries get a fair deal.”

On land, more ambition is needed beyond this Summit if we are to end the scandal that has led to an area of land 12 times the size of the island of Ireland has been sold to foreign investors between 2000 and 2010.

“G8 leaders must now work towards a truly ambitious global initiative on land by 2015 that gets the right people round the table to smash the wall of secrecy that leads to land grabs.”

What we need now is for the strong rhetoric to be followed by action. Oxfam’s campaigns for tax justice and land rights for people in the developing world, along with our participation in the IF campaign in Northern Ireland, has resonated strongly with the public

It is time for governments to recognise this and take real action.