Post-2015: Global Action for an Inclusive and Sustainable Future

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Post-2015: Global Action for an Inclusive and Sustainable Future"

Vanessa Tucker
5 years ago
Views:

1 James Mackie (ECDPM), ERD 2013 Team Leader For more than 18 months, there has been an emerging debate on a possible post-2015 consensus on international development, which would replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) framework. The European Report on Development (ERD) 2013 aims to provide an independent and we hope timely and useful- contribution to that issue. The decision to focus on this key topic was made by the ERD Steering Committee, comprising representatives from the European Commission and the seven EU Member States (Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom), who together support the ERD initiative. Our approach is to look beyond the MDGs and beyond Aid. The United Nations is the main driver of the international debate and the Secretary General set up a High Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda including six Europeans members, including Andris Piebalgs, European Commissioner for Development. The UN is also spearheading the organisation of thematic and national consultations in many countries, as there is growing interest in the issue worldwide. In this report, we tried to look at how the MDGs have worked, but, most of all, we tried looking beyond the MDGs and beyond aid. The MDG effort has been very much focused on aid. Now, we have to look beyond aid, beyond the MDGs. The report looks at what it means for all sides, whether richer countries or poorer countries. The world is changing. You have countries like China, India and others that are emerging. On the other hand, ODA levels may dry up, or diminish in the decade to come. The report seeks to answer questions such as: What are the possible elements of a global agenda that would help to focus efforts on poverty eradication over the next decades? What do the poorest countries need and want, if anything, from a new global consensus on development? What can the EU contribute? The report chose to focus on three drivers with a major impact on creating an international environment that is conducive to development, namely development finance, trade and investment, and labour migration. The last chapter of the report delivers a set of ten messages and recommendations, in addition to key conclusions. If four of these conclusions were to emerge, I would cite the need for a much more transformative agenda, the issue of national ownership, the need to focus on not only on goals but also on instruments, and a call for a far greater push for international collective action on many policies. James Mackie has been working for the ECPDM for ten years. Before ECDPM he headed the EU umbrella NGO Concord for ten years and before that worked for a British NGO.

2 Pedro Martins (ODI) ERD 2013 Core Team Member The vision enshrined in the Millennium Declaration is quite comprehensive and, in a way, the MDGs only provide a snapshot of this vision. We decided to take this as the starting point of our work ( Beyond MDG and Beyond Aid ). To help us in this exercise, we commissioned about a dozen academic background papers on specific topics, as well as four country case studies: Peru, Nepal, Cote d Ivoire, and Rwanda. These countries have different types of relations with the EU, and are at different stages of development. For instance, Nepal and Rwanda are classified as Least Developed Countries, while Côte d Ivoire and Peru are middle-income countries. To a certain extent, these countries face different development challenges and are affected by international policies and regimes to varying degrees, which means that a post-2015 framework will have to cater for diverse needs. In this report, we focus on the A post-2015 agenda will need to facilitate economic and social transformations in order to promote inclusive and sustainable development. role of international finance, trade and migration as important catalysts of development. We also felt the need to highlight the critical importance of economic and social transformations in promoting inclusive and sustainable development. The latter partly entails creating better employment opportunities and reducing inequality, which can only be achieved through a transformative agenda especially one that facilitates structural transformation and economic diversification. We saw this as an area where the EU can play an important role, both through its own policies and through the leverage it can exert in discussions regarding global policy regimes. Prior to joining the ODI, Pedro Martins worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the European Commission. He has also undertaken several consultancy assignments for the ADB, UNECA, UNDP, UNCTAD and the World Bank. Niels Keijzer (DIE) ERD 2013 Team Member We looked at what the European Union has done and how MDGs affected the general debate in Europe on development. Although we looked at post-2015, we also reflected on the current MDGs, on what have been the main challenges and achievements. More specifically, we looked at what the European Union has done and how MDGs affected the general debate in Europe on development. We also examined the impact of EU policies, such as trade and migration, on the economies in developing countries and how these can make it more or less easy for countries to pursue a development path that takes its people out of poverty. If such impacts could be documented more rigorously, and made accessible to people who actually have to negotiate agreements, I believe that would be extremely valuable. In general, we tried to feed the EU debate in a constructive manner. Niels Keijzer has worked forthe ECDPM from 2005 until Since January 2013 he works as a researcher at the Deutsche Institut für Entwicklungspolitik. He has a background in Geography and previously worked in the education sector.

3 Gillian Hart, Manager of ERD 2013 project for the ODI/DIE/ECDPM research consortium Director of Communication, ODI The Overseas Development Institute (ODI), the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), and the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungs politik (GDI/DIE) first worked together on the 2012 report: Confronting Scarcity: Managing water, energy and land for inclusive and sustainable growth. The introduction of case studies into the 2013 report s research methodology gave us the opportunity to really deepen consultation and engagement with the South. We worked with the Centre Ivoirien de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (CIRES) in Côte d Ivoire, South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE) and Social Science Baha in Nepal, Rimisp and Instituto de The report is the result of a very positive collaboration between the founder members of the European Think Tanks group, a number of influential Think Tanks in the South, and input from a raft of influential thinkers on the post-2015 debate. Estudios Peruanos (IEP)and the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR) in Rwanda. Each institute has made a major contribution to the quality of the debate by bringing with them a variety of different ideas and perspectives. During the preparation of the report, we also benefited from the input of many key stakeholders as consultations have taken place in Paris (in partnership with the OECD), London, Bonn, Abidjan, Kathmandu, Kigali, Lima, and Brussels. We also conducted virtual consultations, through which many influential thinkers and researchers provided us with feedback on the drafts. Prior to joining ODI, Gillian Hart held various senior international marketing and consultancy positions with Macmillan Group Publishers and the Financial Times, where she gained a broad strategic and operational understanding of integrated marketing communications across Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. She has also held a number of public sector non-executive directorships in the health sector.

4 Gaspar Frontini, Head of the Policy and Coherence Unit Directorate-General for Development and Cooperation-EuropeAid. A post-2015 framework is of major political importance The reflection on the follow-up to the MDGs post-2015 is ongoing within the United Nations and the international community. In parallel, a process was launched following the Rio+20 Conference held in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012, in view of developing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Both these processes are very important as they are about setting goals for the planet after But we must already reflect on how they can converge into a common framework, in order to provide a coherent and comprehensive response to the challenges faced. For its part, the Commission has just adopted the Communication A Decent Life for All: Ending Poverty and Giving the World a Sustainable Future, which deals with both the MDGs follow-up and the SDGs. This Communication, presented by European Commissioners Andris Piebalgs and Janez Potocnik - in charge of Development and the Environment respectively - will be subsequently debated by the Council and by the European Parliament in order to establish a common EU position. A post-2015 vision for the European Commission Having a global framework that sets goals for all and approved by all, is important for us and for the international community as a whole. The MDGs played a major role in galvanising action in support of development at global as well as national level. Impressive progress has been achieved; the goals have brought real added value. Now we need a new framework, one that enables us to build on this progress, to focus on what remains to be achieved, and to set new ambitions to do even better in the coming decades. The new goals will have to cover both the fight against poverty and sustainable development, as these challenges are universal and inter-related, and need to be addressed together by all countries. While poverty eradication and basic living standards will remain a core concern, the post-2015 framework should be broadened to include a number of other elements. Indeed, we must take into account the drivers for inclusive and sustainable growth, which play a key role, for example in the improvement of productive capacities and in the creation of decent jobs. More attention should be paid to economic foundations and drivers, in particular the role of the private sector. The new framework will also have to address issues of sustainable management of natural resources; equality, equity and justice; and peace and security. These are all priority elements. Finally, it is important to pay particular attention to fragile countries, to countries in crisis and conflict, which are those who have the most difficulty in achieving the MDGs. What s at stake is sustainability, growth, development and peace for all. 1 COM(2013)92, adopted on 27 February 2013

5 The contribution of the European Report on Development (ERD) In this context and for a topic of such major political importance, it is very important to build bridges with research, in order not only to inform and enrich our understanding of the issues, but also to gather ideas on possible solutions. The ERD 2013, prepared by a team of researchers from three leading European institutes of research on development, is furthermore the result of a very participative process. It is the result of numerous consultations in Europe and beyond with civil society, practitioners and researchers. As practitioners, we expect the Report s analysis to inform us and sometimes challenge us in order to help us to enrich our positions and our policies. While it is supported by the European Commission and seven EU Member States, the ERD nevertheless remains an independent report, and not an official position. The Commission and the Member States are therefore not bound by its conclusions. But this report has informed our reflection and will continue to do so. Finally, we also hope that the Report will contribute to the global reflection on post-2015 and enable us to stimulate debate with our partners. Many presentations will be held throughout the EU and worldwide, and I hope they will provide the opportunity for fruitful dialogue and exchanges of ideas. Gaspar Frontini Is Head of the Policy and Coherence Unit in the European Commission s Directorate General for Development and Cooperation-EuropeAid.

6 Charlotte Bué (European Commission), ERD Secretariat The ERD is a truly unique project. The European Report on Development (ERD) is a truly unique project, supported by the European Commission and several EU Member States who together launched the «Mobilising European Research for Development Policies» initiative back in The idea behind this initiative was to better harness the potential of European research, in order to enrich the EU s vision and policies for development on the basis of knowledge excellence, stimulate debate on key issues for the development community in the EU and beyond, and bridge the gap between policy and research. The main output of the initiative is the ERD, now in its fourth edition with Post-2015 : Global Action for. Previous editions have focused on Fragility, Social Protection and Confronting Scarcity. 1 A key feature of the ERD is that it s an independent report, prepared by independent researchers and academics, in this case from a consortium of three leading European research centres in the field of development (ODI, DIE and ECDPM). Yet the ERD Steering Committee which comprises the European Commission and the seven EU Member States supporting the ERD initiative (Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden and the UK) is involved in steering the project, in order to ensure the ultimate quality and relevance of the report. The main role of the ERD Secretariat, which sits in the European Commission, is to act as an interface between the various actors involved in the ERD project, most notably the ERD research team and the ERD Steering Committee. Towards the ERD 2013: behind the scenes First, the ERD Steering Committee decided that the 2013 edition of the ERD should focus on the post-2015 development agenda, as it was felt that it would be key to draw from research to inform this crucial debate in a timely fashion. When work on the report started in early 2012, there were discussions with the research team in order to decide on the best angle for the report. We all agreed that the objective was to contribute to the global debate and the UN-led process, without pre-empting it. This is for instance why the report does not attempt to propose a framework with goals, targets and indicators. It s also why a choice was made to focus mostly on what the poorest countries would need from a global framework while it is understood that the post-2015 framework might very well be universal, we thought that in the report, poverty eradication, especially in the poorest countries, should remain the core focus. Building on these initial agreements, the ERD team refined its vision framing it around the beyond MDGs/beyond Aid approach, and looking at the need for global action to achieve inclusive and sustainable development, with a focus on some key drivers. 1 A research paper by Bourguignon et al. MDGs at Midpoint : Where do we stand and where do we need to go? was also published in 2008 as part of the ERD initiative.

7 A collaborative approach In essence the ERD is more than a report it s also a process, which aims to facilitate exchanges and build common ground between key stakeholders. We are particularly pleased that this year the ERD is informed by four case studies prepared by researchers from developing countries. These have been absolutely key in enriching and informing the report. The collaboration between the ERD 2013 Team and their local partners has been most fruitful. And there has been a lot of interest in these case studies, which will be published in full on the ERD website. The ERD 2013 also draws up a dozen of background papers prepared by academics, researchers and experts. Harnessing this wealth of knowledge is also part of the ERD process. Last but not least, consultations play a crucial role in the ERD preparation process. Consultative activities involving a wide variety of stakeholders from the development community were organised in Abidjan, Bonn, Brussels, Kathmandu, Kigali, Lima, London and Paris. These have provided opportunities for very valuable exchanges of ideas, which have informed the drafting of the report. On top of this, eminent researchers and experts provided written feedback on the draft report. The way forward All in all, the process towards the ERD 2013 has been a learning experience for all involved. And the outcome is an informative, challenging and original independent report, which will contribute to informing the EU s reflections and position, and to feeding the global debate. Now that the ERD 2013 is finalised, it is the beginning of a new phase: following the official launch on April 9th in Brussels, the research team is being invited to present the report at various events in the EU and beyond. These will provide the opportunity to learn from what research has to say and to stimulate debate with a wide variety of interested stakeholders around the future post-2015 agenda. Charlotte Bué is Policy Officer at the European Commission, DG Development and Cooperation- EuropeAid, Unit A1, Policy and Coherence.

General Assembly. United Nations A/63/411. Information and communication technologies for development. I. Introduction. Report of the Second Committee

General Assembly. United Nations A/63/411. Information and communication technologies for development. I. Introduction. Report of the Second Committee United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 2 December 2008 Original: Arabic Sixty-third session Agenda item 46 Information and communication technologies for development Report of the Second Committee