THE NEEDLE HAS MOVED, BUT NOT QUITE ENOUGH

As the world witnesses the impacts of multiple crises and conflicts day by day, exacerbated by the unilateral decisions of governments that contradict the fundamental principles of effective development cooperation (EDC), we welcome that discourse on the road to FfD4 is shifting towards a consensus for urgent change. 

The First Draft of the Outcome Document somewhat reflects this shift. However, it may be too little to respond to the behemoth challenges of today’s global context. The Draft still falls short of being the transformative document it needs to be, and continues to reflect an inadequate ambition in the areas of time-bound commitments, actionable priorities, and substantive reforms.

In order to put forth an Outcome Document (OD) that can help bring about this urgent change, CPDE reiterates its calls on UN Member States to:

1. Uphold past commitments, but push the limits on aid volume. CPDE welcomes the improved language on aid quantity and quality in the FfD4 OD First Draft. Specifically, the undertakings to ‘reverse reductions… while preserving the concessional character of flows reported as ODA’ as well as the call for most developed countries to ‘set concrete and binding targets,’ and to “refocus international development cooperation on poverty eradication.” 

Despite the trend of significant ODA reductions in many provider countries and the EU, we maintain our position that to make a significant impact, adhering to past commitments may not be enough. We continue to advocate for recognition of the cumulative shortfall in the Development Assistance Committee’s (DAC) commitment, estimated at USD 7.1 trillion, as unmet ODA debt. This debt should be delivered to countries of the Global South over time, in full and unconditionally. Recovering unmet targets from previous years as an additional mechanism for financing development initiatives can ease financing stress and address critical socio-economic priorities in developing countries, such as poverty eradication, health, education, gender equality, and social protection. In the face of recent developments, this can also assuage volatility and predictability challenges, address fallouts, and guarantee actual flows to partner countries.

Further, key to safeguarding aid volume is ensuring the differentiation and additionality of humanitarian and climate finance. In this regard, we welcome the FfD4 OD First Draft’s commitment to “enhance cooperation across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus to build the resilience of affected communities and contribute to longer-term peacebuilding and sustainable development.” Similarly, we commend the reaffirmation of ‘the importance of accelerating action in this critical decade on the basis of the best available science, reflecting equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances and in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty.’

We also laud the differentiation between ODA and climate finance and the decision to ‘set up an intergovernmental working group under the auspices of the General Assembly… to enhance consistency and transparency in ODA and climate finance reporting, and to better measure impact of financing on development and climate.’

These areas are vital amid persistent conflict and climate change skepticism induced by the same forces that threaten to dismantle international cooperation.

2. Strengthen the effectiveness agenda to put countries in the drivers’ seat. The call for EDC is resounding among all groupings of Member States. Such came with an implicit acknowledgement that fragmentation and a lack of coherence persist, among other challenges that have already been identified, problematised, and supposed to have been addressed by the Paris Principles on Aid Effectiveness and later by the Busan Partnership on EDC. To some degree, this progress is reflected in the FfD4 First Draft, appending ownership to country leadership as well as spelling out ‘strong focus on results, transparency, mutual accountability and strengthened partnerships as core tenets of effective development cooperation.’ It is equally important that the First Draft reiterates that “while each country has primary responsibility for its own economic and social development, national development efforts need to be supported by an enabling international environment.”

However, this recognition demands the corresponding political will to ensure that ODA and any other forms of development cooperation and partnership is effective, rights-based, accountable, and directed towards democratic country ownership, which includes locally-led development. We restate the following positions that can help in the genuine revitalisation of the effectiveness agenda: 

• The international community must uphold the integrity of the effectiveness principles: country ownership, transparency and mutual accountability, focus on results, and inclusive partnerships. Moreover, the Whole-of-Society approach should be at the foundation of international development cooperation and global partnerships for development.
• A strict set of rules must be developed to govern how development cooperation and, in particular, ODA should be used, and fulfil its core mandate of eradicating poverty and addressing inequalities, with development priorities set by the right-holders at the centre. 
• While we welcome the recognition of civil society’s role in development cooperation architecture at the country level in the FfD4 First Draft, the revitalisation of effectiveness should recognise and support the vital role of civil society at all levels in ensuring an effective aid architecture.
• A sound and credible discussion on financing for development—specifically in the case of ODA—must be firmly grounded in robust evidence. This is especially crucial when assessing the effectiveness of development cooperation. With this in mind, we urge all relevant parties to actively engage in existing monitoring mechanisms and accountability frameworks. In particular, we emphasise the importance of participation in the ongoing monitoring exercise within the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation or GPEDC, a multi-stakeholder platform leading the implementation of effectiveness principles. Active engagement in such processes is essential in enhancing transparency, accountability, and impact in development cooperation efforts.

3. Define decisive mechanisms to turn commitments to change. A key area where the First Draft remains sluggish in is enforcement. In this regard, we join the broad civil society community in the CSO FfD Mechanism in calling for a UN intergovernmental process to agree on a legally binding convention on development cooperation that includes developing measurable, time-bound, and enforceable indicators for the fulfilment of these targets.

If a process toward a convention is not feasible given the current political terrain, at the minimum, we ask Member States to commit to enhancing coherence in development cooperation to deliver results on poverty and inequality. They should synergise relevant efforts across international development cooperation platforms and initiatives. To this end, we propose establishing an intergovernmental working group under the auspices of the General Assembly, supported by the Development Cooperation Forum and with the participation of all relevant ministries, to make proposals thereto, in consultation with development cooperation actors such as the GPEDC, DAC, and the International National Financing Framework; and ensuring participation of other stakeholders, especially civil society.

We cannot lose hope, while recognising that the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is already derailed. Towards Seville, all those who still believe in the power of solidarity and common humanity must buckle up and ensure that we generate enough steam to bring it back on track, and move the needle in a way that will deliver significant change.  

About CPDE

CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE) is a platform that unites civil society organisations (CSOs) from six regions and seven major sectors (feminist, indigenous peoples, international CSOs, labour, migrants, rural, and youth) around the world on issues of effective development cooperation. It participates in the CSO-FfD Mechanism under the International Development Cooperation Workstream. Visit csopartnership.org to learn more.