 Une excellente Newsletter concernant l'"advocacy" (CIDSE) Topic: LA VIE DU RESEAU Date: 2006/4/12 Dear Colleagues, Please find attached for your attention the latest issue of the CIDSE Advocacy Newsletter (April 2006). This issue contains articles on the following topics: Editorial - Changing the approach to poverty reduction Trade and Food Security - WTO April deadline unlikely to be met - EU Latin America Summit - Soy: campaigns against the model of a global export-oriented agribusiness Resources for Development - Review of governance conditionality - "Aid" Watchers Seminar - Ministeral Conference on innovative sources of finance - CIDSE calls for a human development approach to debt sustainability - Other announcements Global Governance - European Parliament calls for reform of the IMF - Partners' consultation on global governance advocacy EU Development Policy - EU aid effectiveness under scrutiny Peace, Security and Development - Peace and Human Rights Advocacy project - CIDSE study on security and development Millennium Development Goals - GCAP meeting in Beirut CIDSE News Best regards, Marie-Paule Ogereau _______________________________________ Marie-Paule Ogereau – Assistant Advocacy Unit CIDSE - Rue Stévin 16, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium tel: + 32 (0)2 233 37 52 - fax: + 32 (0)2 230 70 82 e-mail: ogereau@cidse.org - web: www.cidse.org CIDSE at the Latin America – EU Alternative Summit in Vienna, 10 to 13 May 2006. Read more. CIDSE (International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity) is a coalition of 15 Catholic development agencies in Europe and North America. They share a common vision on poverty eradication and social justice and a common strategy on development programmes, development education and advocacy. Get more information on www.cidse.org.Advocacy Newsletter Issue No 32 April 2006 Rue Stévin 16, B-1000 Brussels - Tel: +32/2 230 77 22 - Fax: 230 70 82 – Email: ogereau@cidse.org–www.cidse.org IN THIS ISSUE Editorial Trade and Food Security �� WTO April deadline unlikely to be met �� EU LA Summit �� Soy: campaigns against the model of a global export-oriented agribusiness Resources for development �� Review of governance conditionality �� Aid “Watchers”’ seminar �� Ministerial Conference on innovative sources of finance �� CIDSE calls for human development approach to debt sustainability �� Other announcements Global governance �� European Parliament calls for reform of IMF �� Partners’ consultation on global governance advocacy EU Development Policy �� EU aid effectiveness under scrutiny Peace, Security and Development �� Peace and Human Rights Advocacy Project �� CIDSE study on Security and Development Millennium Development Goals �� GCAP meeting in Beirut CIDSE News �� Populorum Progressio �� News in Brief �� Secretariat contact numbers EDITORIAL Changing the approach to poverty reduction The first Millennium Development Goal is to halve the proportion of people living in extreme poverty. A common assumption is generally that economic development will contribute to poverty eradication. But this simple view is largely contradicted by the 2006 World Bank Development Report, which highlights that equity is a necessary condition to make development working against poverty. This new analysis means that reducing economic, power and gender inequalities does not request equal rules for everyone but public policies that ensure the same opportunities for all and therefore take into account the differences of context and capacities. Three main conclusions can be drawn out of this new analysis. First, this approach gives a clear justification for special and differential treatments for vulnerable developing countries. For instance, as underlined also in the recent Carnegie Endowment “Winners and Losers” report, in order to deliver development, trade policies should include key measures such as special products and special safeguard mechanisms. Secondly, the individual responsibility to make good use of these opportunities is inherent to this equity approach. At a global level, this advocates for paying much more attention to quality of aid and good governance. This challenge was one of the main conclusions of the last Advocacy Strategy Meeting held by CIDSE in Paris at the end of February. Thirdly, many inequalities could not be solved only through redistributing measures but need structural changes. Such changes request capacity building of social movements and awareness and mobilization of civil society. Finally, equity means that not all inequalities could be eliminated. But there are unacceptable inequalities and any poverty reduction policy cannot be separated from an ethical point of view that should prevail on any collective preference. In other words, social justice is not only the belief of faith people but also a useful framework to make poverty history. 1 TRADE AND FOOD SECURITY WTO April deadline unlikely to be met To complete the Doha Round before the expiration of the Fast Track Trade Negotiating Authority in the U.S. mid 2007, WTO members must conclude the full modalities (detailed commitments including numerical targets) for further liberalizing trade in agricultural products and industrial goods by 30 April 2006. But the April deadline is unlikely to be met as long as there is no concession of the US on farm subsidies, the EU on agricultural market access, and India and Brazil on NAMA. Furthermore it is clearer and clearer that the increasing narrow focus on market access for exporters will not deliver much for development and poverty reduction. Even the latest World Bank statistics suggest that developed countries will gain more than developing countries. Developing country WTO members are now trying to minimize the potential damage of the Round. CIDSE member organizations wrote to their trade ministers to call on the recognition of the right for developing countries to protect their food security, livelihood security and rural development through the designation of 20% of their agricultural tariff lines as Special Products and a Special Safeguard Mechanism in case of price or import trigger levels. As talks fail to break the deadlock over the trade deal, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and Brazilian President Lula call for a Heads of State Summit in an attempt to achieve a breakthrough in the negotiations - a proposal also made by CIDSE in the run up to the Hong Kong meetings. As many civil society organisations, CIDSE is worried to see the multilateral trade talks falling in a non-end process while both the EU and the US speed up the conclusion of bilateral trade agreements that threaten people in poverty. EU Latin America Summit The European Union will host the fourth Heads of State and Government Summit with Latin America, in Vienna from 11 to 13 May 2006. On this occasion, an Association Agreement with Mercosur should be concluded and the negotiations of Association agreements with Central America and Andean countries are likely to be launched. Even though these agreements include sections on co-operation and development, they have mainly been, until now, free trade agreements shaped to match the economic and commercial priorities of the European Union. Around 220 million people lack access to satisfy their essential needs in Latin America. Trade liberalisation has so far already increased the vulnerability of these economies: dependence on trading partner countries and transnational companies, specialisation on few export-oriented products, negative impact on environment and cultural heritage, increased rural poverty, lower quality of basic public services… Association Agreements are a cause for concern for civil society. In the face of forthcoming negotiations, CIDSE, APRODEV and CIFCA have consulted with their partners in Latin America to create a manifesto. With this document entitled “For Fair Agreements”, civil society groups want to ensure that every Association Agreement promotes sustainable development and human rights, while at the same time contributing to the reduction of poverty and inequality. To sign the manifesto, go to: http://www.euforic.org/manifiesto/. Parallel to the official EU-LA Summit, civil society organisations from Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean will hold an alternative Summit to articulate efforts 2 around alternative models for development. CIDSE will seize this opportunity to reinforce dialogue between Latin American and European organizations by conducting on 12 May, two workshops on access to land and rural development, and on trends of non-governmental cooperation with Latin America. For further information, go to: http://www.cidse.org/detail_page.phtml?&text10=spotlight. Soy: campaigns against the model of a global export-oriented agribusiness CIDSE has facilitated background work on soy among some of its member organisations. In partnership with other national NGOs, they are now moving to more active campaign and lobby actions. CORDAID is working on specific policy recommendations for the Dutch and EU levels; the focus is on trade and agriculture, soy imports and export dumping. In February, CCFD launched a campaign targetting changes in agriculture and trade policy between France and Latin America; the campaign is calling for the end of State financial support to soy production through the International Financial Institutions, integration by transnational companies of social and environmental impact of soy production, the promotion of sustainable family agriculture and public awareness on quality of food. CIDSE partner organisations from Latin America are also actively involved in campaign and lobby actions toward their governments. For further information on Cordaid’s work on soy, please contact Bob van Dillen at bvd@cordaid.nl and on CCFD’s campaign, please contact Catherine Gaudard at c.gaudard@ccfd.asso.fr. RESOURCES FOR DEVELOPMENT Review of Governance Conditionality Donors increasingly stress the need for recipient governments to demonstrate ‘good governance.’ This was reflected in the final statements of the G8 in 2005, of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank at the end of their Annual Meetings, by the EU in various communications, among others. The issue has also been highlighted in the press and by public opinion especially in the wake of decisions to step-up aid spending. The CIDSE-Caritas Internationalis Resources for Development Working Group aims to examine the implications of this increasing emphasis on good governance on donor conditionality in recipient countries by engaging in a dialogue with partners in recipient countries. This will be done in the form of a survey to find out southern NGOs’ views on present and ideal forms of governance conditionality and how they promote good governance in their countries. The first survey will be carried out in a selected group of countries from Sub-Saharan Africa in partnership with the Southern African Regional Poverty Network (SARPN). There will be a dialogue on the outcomes of this survey at a workshop in July; a position paper will then be developed to influence reviews of conditionality at the Annual Meetings of the International Financial Institutions this September. The Working group is also in the process of determining how to extend the survey and exchange exercise to Latin America and Asia and will decide on the next steps by mid-2006. Aid “Watchers” Seminar Following a decision at a meeting of European NGOs monitoring EU aid in December 2005, a number of NGOs 3 including CIDSE will organise a meeting to discuss ways by which European aid can be monitored in a more systematic way. The meeting will bring together all European networks and national organisations under the auspices of CONCORD (the European platform of development NGOs) on 6-7 April and will be preceded by the release of a new European NGO report reviewing progress of EU Member states towards improving the quality and quantity of their aid after the commitments that were made in 2005. This initiative especially aims to send out a clear message to governments that NGOs continue to attentively follow aid policy. Ministerial Conference on innovative sources of finance The French government-hosted Ministerial Conference on Innovative Sources of Finance, 28 February to 1 March brought together 93 countries and NGOs from all over the world. The main outcomes was the announcement that 15 countries intend to adopt an airline ticket tax to raise money for development initiatives varying from the French ‘International Drug Purchasing Facility’ (to finance the purchase of drugs to treat tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS) to actions against hunger and malnutrition that Brazil intends to take. Another outcome was the formation of a 40 country ‘Leading Group on Solidarity Levies to fund development.’ While the details of the group’s function still remain unclear (including for some of its own member countries!), the stated objectives of the group include studying and promoting not only the airline ticket tax but also other innovative mechanisms. At the side event held the day before, CIDSE along with NGOs from all over the world discussed a strategy to respond to the outcomes of the official conference and to press on with the NGO demands for innovative mechanisms that would substantially increase money for development additional to the official 0.7% of GNI (a long-standing commitment made by rich countries which many have yet to reach and for which most not even having a time-table to reach). Equally important are the demands that the funds generated be administered transparently and allocated according to priorities set by recipient countries, for pro-poor objectives, without harmful conditionality. Participants agreed to meet again during a Brazilian government-hosted Conference on Tax cooperation issues in the middle of 2006 to review their joint work. See NGO statement co-signed by CIDSE.1 CIDSE calls for human development approach to debt sustainability CIDSE with co-sponsors Eurodad, Afrodad, Latindadd, EED (Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst, Germany) and Jubilee USA will organise an event critically looking at the Debt Sustainability Framework one year after it has come into operation. The event will be held on the eve of the Spring Meetings of the International Financial Institutions where the issue is expected to be on the official agenda. CIDSE will present a new paper, which discusses the human development approach to debt sustainability; an approach which argues for human development to be prioritised over debt payments. Afrodad and EED will present the findings of their study of a selection of African countries whose debt sustainability has been assessed under the new framework in the last year. Officials from the Board and the Debt Department of the World Bank will be invited to respond to the NGO presentations. The event will be organised in Washington DC on the morning of 21 April. For more details on the event and the paper please contact Aldo Caliari at aldo@coc.org. 1 http://www.cidse.org/docs/200603061046143786.pdf 4 Other announcements Trocaire with co-sponsors CIDSE, Christian Aid, CAFOD and Eurodad will organise a side-event ‘The World Bank and Governance Conditionality’ in Washington DC, ahead of the Spring Meetings of the International Financial Institutions. The event is tentatively scheduled to take place on Friday, 21 April from 3 to 5 pm. At the event Trocaire plans to present the findings of its recent research into the presence of governance conditionality in 20 Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC) programmes in 10 countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, Honduras and Nicaragua). The panel of speakers will also include a World Bank official who has been involved in the drafting of the institution’s annual Global Monitoring Report. For more information on the event and the research paper please contact Caoimhe De Barra at cdebarra@trocaire.ie. GLOBAL GOVERNANCE European Parliament calls for reform of IMF Following the lead of the US Congress, the European Parliament undertook its own strategic review of the IMF in the latter half of 2005 and in early 2006. The chief rapporteur was Benoît Hamon (PES) of the Parliamentary Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs who invited civil society input on the concept of the report and right through its drafting process. CIDSE contributed to this input. After many delays and successful attempts by conservative parties in the Parliament to block and skew its more progressive language, the final report was released on 14 March.2 2 http://www.europarl.eu.int/omk/sipade3?PUBREF=-//EP//NONSGML+REPORT+A6-2006-0022+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN&L=EN&LEVEL=0&NAV=S&LSTDOC=Y Some features of the report include: – A call for a single EU or eurozone constituency. – Calls for more appropriate weightings of voting rights to be given to the developing and emerging economies. – A call to reorient IMF action towards its core mandate. – Repeatedly calls for MDGs to be at the centre of IMF policies, also of conditionality. – Calls for a strengthened role for parliaments, also underlining the need to involve NGOs in the definition of conditionality. The CIDSE Resources for Development Working Group will continue to monitor discussions on the IMF strategic review. CIDSE plans to consult partners on global governance advocacy CIDSE’s Global Governance Working Group is presently in the process of determining its detailed advocacy agenda primarily based on the network’s vision on global governance spelled out in its 2004 paper ‘Working Towards Progressive Global Governance3.’ CIDSE partners from Africa, Asia and Latin America as well as strategic allies from international organisations have been invited to input into this planning process. The group will host a workshop in Zambia in June 2006 during which partners will be invited to present their proposals on global governance along side CIDSE proposals to promote a human-rights-centred vision of global governance. Based on this discussion, the group hopes to map out a clear plan to proceed with its advocacy work, which clearly involves partners and 3 http://www.cidse.org/docs/200504110959007260.pdf 5 takes into consideration the work already being done in this area by strategic allies. The workshop is being organised with the active cooperation of the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection based in Lusaka who have also been very involved in the group’s work. EU DEVELOPMENT POLICY EU aid effectiveness under scrutiny The meeting of EU Development Ministers in the 10-11 April General Affairs and External Council will be a crucial moment for delivery on commitments made by the EU in 2005 on poverty eradication. The European Consensus on Development pledged that Community resource allocation would give priority to least developed and low income countries. CIDSE, together with Caritas Europa, is calling for a significant increase in Community aid targeted to the poorest countries in the 2007-13 Financial Perspectives, through a single Development Instrument clearly focused on poverty eradication in all developing countries. Any measures funded by development aid under the new “Stability Instrument” should contribute directly to poverty eradication based on the priorities of developing countries, rather than to EU security objectives. More than one year after the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, the OECD DAC has been unable to finalize concrete targets for 2010 for all of the declaration’s 12 indicators. The EU needs to set the example by agreeing to set up a strong monitoring mechanism, and by defining more ambitious targets for aid effectiveness on conditionality, a transparent and effective mutual accountability framework and predictability, through a process involving consultation of civil society. MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS GCAP meeting in Beirut From the 13 to the 15 March, 160 participants from over 80 countries met in Beirut to discuss the future of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty. The meeting agreed to renew the Call to Action for 2006 and 2007. Supporters of GCAP are invited to continue mobilisation behind four broad policy asks: - Public accountability, just governance and the fulfilment of human rights - Trade justice - Debt cancellation - Major increase in the quantity and quality of aid and financing for development. More specific policy objectives will have to be determined by national coalitions and participating networks and organisations responding to their specific contexts. The meeting also agreed that gender equality is a central issue for poverty eradication. For 2006, a month of mobilisation starting on the 16 September (to coincide with the IFI Annual Meetings) and building up to a climax on a global white band day on the 17 October (International Day on Eradication of Poverty) was agreed. The global white band day for 2007 shall be announced in October after a broader consultation. It was agreed that national campaigns and coalitions would be the focus of mobilisation, action and coordination. An International Facilitation Team with a majority of Southern representatives was formed. CIDSE is represented as one of 6 international NGOs and networks in this IFT. 6 For further information please contact Philipp Rohrer (rohrer@cidse.org). PEACE, SECURITY & DEVELOPMENT CIDSE improving its Peace and Human Rights Advocacy The CIDSE Country Working Groups4 are often faced with violent conflict situations or severe human rights violations in their respective countries. These range from the brutal attacks on civilians in Northern Uganda to the effects of the open mining on the indigenous population in Guatemala. In recent years, the CIDSE network has responded to them with initiatives launched through the Urgent Action Mechanism. Some of these initiatives have been quite effective, however, the current approach also has its limitations and, often, urgent actions have remained isolated one-off initiatives with a lack of follow-up. As part of its new Strategic Framework (2005-2008), CIDSE aims to strengthen the capacity of the Country Working Groups to respond with advocacy initiatives to cases of conflict and human rights violations. In order to reach this, the CIDSE Secretariat will develop – in close cooperation with experts from within the network and from outside – a strategy with recommendations on how Country Working Groups’ lobby actions can be done more effectively. In the past couple of months, member organisations have been asked to contribute case studies of successful country-focussed peace and human rights advocacy work. They will be completed by a thorough background research of relevant literature and analyses of experiences from sister organisations and strategic partners. An 4 Country Working Groups bring together the Desk Officers from CIDSE member organisations working on the country in question. Many of the fifteen groups currently existing are joint groups with the Caritas network. intern hired by the Secretariat will develop a strategy in the coming months together with the Programme Cooperation and Peace Officers. The strategy will be discussed with Country Working Groups and other experts from member organisations during the drafting process. By the end of the year, Country Working Groups will hopefully be able to implement this new tool, hence improving the impact of joint reactions of the CIDSE network to conflict and human rights violations throughout the world. For further information, please contact Antoine Gouzée (gouzee@cidse.org). CIDSE Study on Security and Development During 2005, CIDSE member organizations engaged in a collective study on the relationship between security and development, resulting in a reflection paper with recommendations for CIDSE and its members related to both advocacy and programme work. The study, released early 2006, looks at the evolution of the relationship between security and development, and how the international community has responded to perceived changes. Evidence of development aid shifting to use for security objectives is examined, in the context of broader concerns that development is increasingly being looked at with a security and military logic rather than for meeting the needs of the poorest. Opinions of CIDSE partner organizations in Colombia, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda are included. The study (EN, FR, Executive Summary in ES) is available on the CIDSE website5. CIDSE NEWS 5 http://www.cidse.org - Areas of Work – Security and Development. 7 Populorum Progressio In 2007, CIDSE will celebrate its own 40th anniversary that coincides with the 40th Anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s Encyclical Populorum Progressio (On the Development of Peoples). CIDSE and its member organizations (MOs) have decided to take this opportunity to revitalise the debate on the ethical foundation of CIDSE’s work and the meaning of international social justice for our Christian faith. This process was launched at the last CIDSE Forum in January where Pete J. Henriot SJ, Director of the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (Zambia), gave a keynote speech on “Populorum Progressio – Challenge and Guidance for the Church today” (en français). A number of activities will be organised at agency and network level in 2006-2007. Moreover, a conference to celebrate both the anniversary of Populorum Progressio and the 40th anniversary of CIDSE is planned in autumn 2007 that will explore how Catholic Social Teaching guides and challenges us as CIDSE and as members today. For further information, please contact Géraldine Thomas (Thomas@cidse.org). In brief At their January meeting, the CIDSE Board of Directors elected two new members of the Executive Committee. These are: Chris Bain, Director of CAFOD/UK and Heinz Hödl, Director of KOO/Austria. CIDSE pays farewell to Etienne du Vachat who worked as an intern to the Advocacy Unit from September to March 2006 and welcomes Antoine Gouzée who will start working as an intern on the Peace and Human Rights advocacy project on 18 April. CIDSE Secretariat contact numbers Christiane Overkamp (Secretary General): Tel. +32. 2.233.37.55 - overkamp@cidse.org Guillaume Légaut (Trade and Food Security, Advocacy management): Tel: +32 2.233.37.51- legaut@cidse.org Jean Letitia Saldanha (Resources for development, Global governance): Tel: +32 2. 233.37.53 – saldanha@cidse.org Denise Auclair (EU Development Policy, Security and Development): Tel: +32.2.233 37.58 – auclair@cidse.org Géraldine Thomas (Assistant to the Secretary General): Tel +32.2.282.40.70 – thomas@cidse.org Marie-Paule Ogereau (Advocacy Assistant): Tel: +32 2.233.37.52 – ogereau@cidse.org Steffi Rosenbusch (Advocacy Assistant): Tel: +32 2.233.37.54 – rosenbusch@cidse.org Philipp Rohrer (Africa,Asia,Communication,COMED): Tel: +32 2 282 40 71 - rohrer@cidse.org Geneviève Tournon (Asia, Latin America): Tel: +32 2.233 37.50 – tournon@cidse.org Antoine Gouzée (Peace & Human Rights project): Tel: +32.2.230.77.22 – gouzee@cidse.org CIDSE (International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity) is a coalition of 15 Catholic development organisations in Europe and North America working with partner organisations in all the developing countries. CIDSE members share a common vision on poverty eradication and social justice and a common strategy on development programmes, development education and advocacy. CIDSE’s advocacy work covers trade & food security, resources for development, global governance, EU development policy, and security & development. CIDSE Secretariat, 16 rue Stévin, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium - Tel: +32 2 230 77 22 - http://www.cidse.org 8 This article comes from IRED.ORG32 http://www.ired.org The URL for this story is: http://www.ired.org/article.php?storyid=225 |