A TIME TO TAKE A STAND AND SAFEGUARD GLOBAL SOLIDARITY 

In January, the US government announced the suspension of foreign aid, a decision that marks a serious escalation in the crisis of multilateralism. An Executive Order (EO) titled ‘Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid’ has triggered a ’90-day pause in US foreign development assistance for assessment of programmatic efficiencies and consistency with US foreign policy’, all because it deems that the ‘US foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values.’ The document adds, “They serve to destabilize world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly inverse to harmonious and stable relations internal to and among countries,” a framing that reinforces an outdated, neocolonial donor-driven approach to aid that prioritises geopolitical interests over genuine global solidarity and development effectiveness.

Similar measures of the new Administration in relation to the Paris Agreement on climate change, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the UN Tax Treaty negotiations, and diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) indicate that this power behind the superpower is not only uninterested in an alliance with the rest of the world to pursue common goals, it also does not intend to respect previous international agreements, especially international human rights norms and standards, if, in its own interpretation, these do not align with American interests and values.

International development cooperation, specifically Official Development Assistance (ODA), despite its challenges, remains a crucial pillar of global development, particularly for the most vulnerable communities. The aspiration for an aid architecture that is resilient against unilateral measures as well as for strong sovereign economies in the Global South that are not dependent on aid continues to be valid and crucial. Sadly, this sudden disruption jeopardises years of investment in human rights, governance, and social progress, while also undermining international commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

CPDE, as a global civil society platform, holds fast to its mandate of advancing effective development cooperation that puts people and their rights at the centre. We believe that meaningful reforms in international development architecture can only be possible if there is multilateral consensus to act towards a better shared future, as represented by the SDGs. However, the abovementioned unilateral decisions contradict fundamental effectiveness principles (such as ownership, transparency, accountability, partnership, and a focus on results), run contrary to international consensus, and undermine the basic assumption of a shared interest, values and future. One must ask if one country’s interest in isolation with the rest of the world is but a smokescreen to feebly mask the military and corporate geopolitical interests of the richest and most powerful few.

As millions of lives and livelihoods are endangered and more are disrupted as almost all US-funded humanitarian and development activities grind to a halt, a bad precedent is set, and many predict a reverberating effect on the whole international development cooperation system. Furthermore, without anything to break the momentum, these actions can undo gains in human rights and development norms achieved through years of peoples’ struggle and international solidarity.

CPDE therefore calls on the international community – the UN member-states and all development actors – to take a firm and coordinated stand against this suspension of aid by the US, and to reaffirm their commitment to leaving no one behind. Strategic development partner engagement, alternative funding mechanisms, and a renewed push for multilateral cooperation are urgently needed to mitigate the fallout from this decision.

We also call on the American people to hold their government accountable for decisions that risk millions of lives and weaken global partnerships that have been built over decades. We believe that many in the US continue to value international solidarity and the fundamental principles of human dignity and cooperation.

Now is the time for collective action. We have to safeguard decades of hard-won development gains against arbitrary short-term political decisions. Civil society, governments, and development partners must work together to uphold the principles of justice, solidarity, and shared progress. #