The Danish NGOs’ policy paper

New Goals for Global Governance?

Nordic Conference

5^th October 2001

During the UN Millennium Summit in New York in September 2000 the world’s heads of states decided on the goal to reduce by half the current levels of poverty before 2015. However, it is necessary to take this task seriously in order to prevent that this objective will not end up as just another empty promise from the rich countries. Anything else may be an offence to the world’s poorest nations, and will only serve to increase the mistrust against the international organisations and their political and economic capabilities. The UN conference Financing for Development - to be held on Mexico in March 2002 - has to lead to new and supplementary ways that can promote financing for development, if the current figure of 1.3 billion people living with less than 1 US dollar a day should be reduced by half and secure the right to development before the year 2015. We have to admit that today’s economic injustice, instability and poverty are the main threats against the global security.

Four Danish NGO-organisations – The Danish Association for International Cooperation (MS), K.U.L.U. Women and Development, IBIS and the United Nations Association Denmark - welcome the UN conference Financing for Development (FfD). On the agenda is a number of  issues with great importance for the future international development co-operation. What is new and exciting about this conference is the global and holistic approach to development, which is reflected  by the direct co-operation between the UN, the World Bank (WB), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). International co-ordination and consistency are the key for a global economic co-operation aiming the common good and the accomplishment of the Millennium goals. This conference might create the basis for a new global leadership or Global Deal, which is so badly needed.

Common objectives for poverty reduction

The WB and the IMF have recently engaged themselves in the objectives set for year 2015, while WTO’s objectives regard in particular the increasing of trade and liberalisation. The lack of common objectives and co-ordination means that there are internationally various conflicts that basically have to do with the hierarchy between the different institutions, aims, conventions and resolutions.  It is essential that the international agencies have the same goals regarding poverty alleviation in order to create international coherence between politics, policies and to improve the effect of the international development aid. In the same way in the follow up process the organisations have to implement fully the decisions taken during the FfD conference into their policies and programs.

The conference Financing for Development must first of all be the starting point of a discussion about the future global economic and political structure, which includes concrete initiatives that can lead to a higher coherence and consistency between the global goals of the institutions, politics and efforts. Secondly the conference’s objective shall create new and supplementary funding that can lead to the solution of the global poverty and development. The rich countries should be committed to increase their international aid to 0.7 % of their GDP. But at the same time it is fundamental to find new ways of raising funds – e.g. through global taxation – in order to finance the enormous challenges that in particular the poor countries face, for instance HIV/AIDS, environmental problems, and peace and conflict resolution.  The tying knot must be the international goals for poverty alleviation, and both organisations and governments must be evaluated according to their capacity of meeting these expectations.

Democracy, openness and co-ordination.

It is essential that concrete steps are taken towards a reform of the international institutions. This reform must lead to higher openness and transparency, and more equal access for the poor men and women from the civil society in all developing countries. They should be ensured real access to the decision making processes and have influence on the shaping of global economic policies.

In the short run the follow up of the conference Financing for Development to be held in March 2002 should be a FfD secretariat with a new and precise mandate, which will work to assure the implementation of the decisions taken during the conference. A way to continue the process could be the initiative to hold a Summit on Globalisation, as it was suggested by the Zedillo report. At the same time, the current follow up mechanisms should be taken into use. A strengthen of the co-ordination and legitimacy of the current co-ordination mechanisms could take place, for instance, by an integration of the UN’s Development Group (UNDG), UN’s Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF) and other relevant UN mechanisms.

It is necessary to demand from the international institutions, in particular the WB, IMF and WTO, engagement and keeping of the international human rights conventions, action plans, and policies, and the goals that have been adopted during the UN conferences in the last 20 years, including the conference Financing for Development. Furthermore, the international organisations should set common targets towards the struggle against poverty, which shall be based on human rights and equal rights between men and women.

UNCTAD should play a more central role in relation to WTO and focus on documentation, support and capacity building of the developing countries engaged in the WTO. The resources lacking LDC countries should be secured equal access,  participation and influence, which could be achieved through capacity building and by decreasing their contribution to the international agencies.

In the long run it is necessary to carry out a comprehensive revaluation of the global structures in the light of the trends of the increasing globalisation. An option could be the establishment of an Economic and Social security council, but other options should not be excluded. The main objective shall be to guarantee that the countries actually keep their promises and responsibilities, and make sure that there is consistency and coherency between the international agencies and their political objectives.

Development – a common responsibility

In our view the negative effects of globalisation can only be prevented with the help of the international regulation based on binding agreements, control and sanctions. In order to an international regulation to be effective and valid it is necessary to increase the co-ordination through transparency, coherence and engagement of all relevant players.

We welcome the FfD conference, which tries to gather various players, including the private business sector. However we are concerned about the fact that the private sector has been given such a priority, that the participation of players from the civil society only are given at a very modest position in the discussions and apparently not considered as being important in the further development of this process. Since the last international preparatory meeting the NGOs have experienced a certain opposition in being heard in line with the private sector in the relevant forum. This is completely unacceptable. The implementation of the Millennium goals is of course a common responsibility of the international, national and local politicians, who – in co-operation with the civil society – have to re-conquer the political scene and implement the necessary initiatives that can effectively lead to the reduction of the poverty to a half before year 2015.

The policy paper has been written through the co-operation of the following Danish NGOs: United Nations Association Denmark, IBIS, K.U.L.U. Women and Development,  and Danish Association for International Cooperation (MS). These NGO organisations are co-ordinating their activities and political work regarding the process  prior to the final FfD conference in Mexico in 2002.