United Nations General Assembly interactive hearings with civil society on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), in New York, April 1.
LDCs: Developed Countries Didn’t Keep their Promises
“It is with great sadness that we have to report today that in relation with the 48 countries listed as LDCs the commitments included in the Millennium Declaration and the Brussels Program of Action (BPoA) are not being met,” said Roberto Bissio on behalf of Social Watch, at the United Nations General Assembly interactive hearings with civil society on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), in New York, April 1.
“Not only are most LDCs not on track to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the target year of 2015, but on a careful look at the three most essential social indicators --infant mortality, maternal health and primary school enrolment and survival-- over half of the LDCs for which there are indicators available are either regressing or making no progress at all,” added Bissio.
“In three decades since the UN established the focus on the Least Developed Countries the group has doubled from the 24 countries originally identified rather than disappeared” commented Arjun Karki, coordinator of LDC Watch at the opening of the hearing. “This is an indictment of failure”.
According to Social Watch, out of 40 LDCs for which there are data available, 31 did better in reducing infant mortality in the last decade of the 20th century than in the first of the new millennium, in spite of the unprecedented high prices for the commodities and agricultural products exported by the LDCs before the global financial and economic crisis that erupted in September 2008. Those favourable circumstances did not translate into development, even less so social development, because the developed partners did not keep their promises of an enabling international trade system, technology transfer, long term solutions to the debt problems and more and better aid, all of those part of Goal 8 of the MDGs, argued Bissio.
The crisis worsened the situation, not just because of the recession in the countries that used to be the locomotive of the world economy, “but also because of ‘collateral damage’ created by the anti-crisis measures, with unfavorable conditions for migrants, cuts in the aid budgets and a return to tied aid, subsidies to industries and services that are ‘too big to fail’ without a corresponding compensation for those that are ‘too poor to fail’,” expressed the coordinator of Social Watch.
“Women usually suffer the impact of the crisis more, in their effort to substitute with unpaid work the absence or deterioration of social services. Children deprived now of adequate nourishment and attention will never recover completely later,” he stated.
“Good governance, democracy, and the right to associate and to express opinions freely, including by gathering in public squares is essential in all countries, irrespective of their level of development. Social Watch was created, precisely, to promote the accountability of governments without which there is no meaningful citizenship. But such accountability and good governance is to be demanded also of the powerful,” he told the audience.
“The ease with which trillions of dollars were mobilized to rescue the financial sector that ignited the global crisis with irresponsible behavior contrasts with the thrift and sluggishness in assisting the vulnerable. Few people can grasp what a trillion is, so in our popular education we say that if one second is a dollar, one million is 12 days, one billion is more than 30 years and a trillion brings us back to the times of the Pharaohs in Egypt. ‘If the poor were a bank, we would have been rescued,’ concluded one participant,” Bissio said.
“In practice, the rescue efforts go the other way around. Talking with a high ranking official of the finance ministry of an LDC country a few days ago, I learned how after much sacrifice the country had resumed growth and has now accumulated a solid 1.5 billion dollars in reserves. Those reserves are needed because the world finances are volatile and countries that opened their borders to financial flows need to defend themselves from speculative attacks. Which means that a major proportion of the sacrifice of low paid workers and the devastation of natural resources, instead of resulting in investments or social services, is piled up in unused reserves. The poorest countries accumulate treasury bonds of the richest countries, which is a form of providing them with soft loans that in turn create the financial bubbles that might lead to the next crisis and the unsustainable consumption patterns that are disrupting the global climate,” he added.
“In addressing the global crises and their impact over those countries and peoples that did the least to create them, the Istanbul conference provides an opportunity to reaffirm the responsibility of States and international institutions over those issues where the markets failed to correct themselves and made the problems worse. Reducing volatility and unpredictability in financial markets and addressing climate change with responsibility and a sense of historic justice will simultaneously free domestic resources, reduce risks and allow to mobilize new energies in such a way that no country and no vulnerable person needs to be left behind,” concluded Bissio.
“So what do we expect from this conference?” asked Dr. Karki. “Certainly not an outcome that rolls over the programmes of action of past decades, re-iterates commitments already made and yet again urges renewed efforts for their implementation. We have heard all this before and seen the results that are dismal”.
“We are calling for a world withut LDCs”, he emphasized. “We must mobilize all our energy and will to lift the poorest citizens of the world out of their misery, and collectively wipe the curse of being least developed off the face of the world.”
Arab NGO Network claims for democratisation for LDCs
The “least developed countries” (LCDs) of the Arab region “witness the same people’s mobilizations calling for democratic reforms” than the rest, warned the Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND), in a statement launched to raise its concerns to the United Nations Fourth LDCs Conference (UN LDC-IV) that takes place in Istanbul this week.
“The problems of peace and security are directly linked to living conditions, and stem from unsatisfied basic needs and violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms for a large portion of the population” of the LDCs, said the ANND in its declaration.
The risks on this matter also respond to “considerable disparities between regions and economic sectors and social groups, in adition [to] wasted or unfairly exploited internal and external resources”, added the network.
“This key linkage between living conditions, civic, social and economic rights and democratic institutions has been at the heart of the popular upheaval that has swept through the Arab region,” it said.
The LCDs that belong to the Arab League are Comoros, Djibouti, Mauritania, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
This is the complete text of ANND’s statement:
Civil society organizations from the Arab region raise their concerns to the UN LDC-IV Conference
Statement by the Arab NGO Network for Development
Since the establishment of the Least Developed Country (LDC) category in 1971, and the international recognition of these countries as the “poorest and weakest segment” of the international community, only two countries graduated from this status. Currently 48 countries remain stuck in the category, far from meeting the internationally agreed goals. This is despite three successive Programmes of Action targeting action-oriented commitments in several crucial areas for LDCs.
In the Arab region, LDCs suffer not only from rise in poverty, income inequality, high unemployment and lack of appropriate policy responses, but also violent conflicts and internal strife, which led to the separation of Southern Sudan for example, and is often present in the case of Yemen. The economic hardships and struggle over resources have been exacerbated by the compounded food, fuel and economic global crises, which in turn threatens to widen internal tensions.
Indeed, the problems of peace and security are directly linked to living conditions, and stem from unsatisfied basic needs and violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms for a large portion of the population. It is also linked to considerable disparities between regions and economic sectors and social groups, in addition wasted or unfairly exploited internal and external resources. These social and economic problems, both structural and contextual, have their roots in the absence of comprehensive, coherent national development strategies reflecting real developmental challenges, which is linked itself to unrepresentative political systems and weak administrative institutions. At the center of the development challenge in the Arab region is the inability to achieve effective levels of economic participation by women. The economic marginalization from which the majority of citizens suffer in the Arab region is amplified among women, who face barriers at several levels, including the economy, politics, society, and family.
This key linkage between living conditions, civic, social and economic rights and democratic institutions has been at the heart of the popular upheaval that has swept through the Arab region. LDCs in the region witness the same people’s mobilizations calling for democratic reforms, full respect, enjoyment and realization of economic and social rights and new social contract that re-establishes the relations of citizen to state. In such quested systemic revisions of development policies and efforts towards poverty eradication, employment creation, and educational reform, empowerment of women ought to take center space, integrated into the overall revision of development policies.
At this moment in particular, a fundamental debate is needed on the development models to be adopted, the social contracts framing them, and the institutional and political reforms leading to its implementation. However, this revision should not be limited to national systems, but should include as well revision of the international frameworks affecting development, aid, debt and trade. This has been long called for by various civil society groups within the framework of seeking progress son Goal 8 of the MDGs. Thus, achieving sustained, inclusive development paths in LDCs, and developing countries as a whole, requires a much more coherent and supportive international development architecture that necessitates systemic global economic reforms.
In this respect, we perceive that the renewed partnership for development to be undertaken at the UN LDC-IV Conference should call upon development partners, donors, international institutions, and LDCs to take into consideration the following:
MDG 8; Aid, FDIs, Trade, and Debt
• Recognize and enhance global commitments to complement national and local efforts of developing countries under MDG 8. The draft Istanbul Programme of Action have called for committing development partners and all international institutions, including international financial institutions (IFIs) to increase ODA budgets, in addition to delivering on the existing commitments. However, the bitter lessons learnt necessitate highlighting the urgency of political will and implementation mechanisms in order to translate global commitments into concrete and explicit implemented steps. It is important to note that Yemen has received limited aid for the past 17 years, and it was below international averages for LDCs. As per the second Millennium Development Goals Report for Yemen (2010), out of the US $ 5.779 billion pledged for the period 2007-2010 only US $ 3.677 billion has been committed with signed agreements, on which US $ 906.3 million has been disbursed.
• Promote foreign direct investment to LDCs that respects and answers to national priorities and development challenges, rather than being fast profit making investments. In fact, profit remittances (outflows of foreign investors’ profits) exceeded FDI inflows since 2005, meaning net transfer of FDI in LDCs as a whole have been negative since then.
• Put an immediate halt to the pressures faced by LDCs through discriminatory trading and implement the external trade policy within the framework of a comprehensive development strategy, whose nature is not merely economic, but also concerned with social, environmental, health, educational, and cultural factors. Both Sudan and Yemen are negotiating accession to the WTO. Both Sudan and Yemen are facing WTO-plus demands in their accession process, which defies what WTO law established as their right to special and differential treatment. However the possible negative effects of WTO membership, for instance in Sudan, on some of the agricultural products, especially cotton, sesame, and beans as well as on oil seed products and meat crops, which account for about 20% of the Sudanese agricultural production and 40% of agricultural exports must not be overlooked. This is especially when Sudan is demanding to reduce support to the agriculture sector in the process, despite being its right as a less-developed country to maintain its support ratios (according to clause 15 in the agriculture convention). Subsequently, such effects could result in deteriorating economic and social rights of communities that rely on such crops, especially that the sector currently employs 70% of the labour force.
• Cancel the bilateral and multilateral external debts of the poorest countries through enhanced programme of debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC). While the ODA flows to LDCs dropped considerably, the debt burdens of LDCs and increasing conditionality with respect to aid bring further vulnerability. It is clear that the cancellation of debt burden of LDCs would facilitate reducing poverty and achieving growth. In Sudan, external debt stood at about US$36.8 billion in 2010.
Natural resources and productive capacities:
• Renegotiate contracts on mineral and energy resources in LDCs to ensure fair, transparent allocation of exploitation rights and disbursement of revenue to national authorities and peoples. The contracts should ensure that the exploitation itself is conducted in a sustainable, environmentally safe way that develops the areas of exploitation and that the profits are equitably redistributed at the national level.
• Regulate acquisitions of agricultural lands by foreign countries and firms to ensure they are fairly, sustainably and inclusively used to ensure food security and sovereignty of LDCs. In Sudan, between 2004 and 2009, large agricultural areas were allotted for foreign investment projects, amounting to about 439.6 million US$. These agreements collide with challenges related to safeguarding the rights of the local groups to land use, food security, finding balance among possible agriculture investment’s revenues, and control over local resources. While women’s employment in the Arab countries, including Arab LDCs, is concentrated in the agricultural sector, such problematic increases stress on women’s employment opportunities and sources of income, thus increasing the incidence of poverty among them.
• Develop productive capacities of LDCs on a sustainable basis. Qualitative, quantitative, and sustainable increase of productive capacity in agriculture, industry and service sectors, infrastructure and energy, science and technology and information and communication technology are core to decreasing LDCs’ vulnerability and addressing the problematic of unemployment.
Democratic governance
• Ensure democracy, rule of law, transparency and participation of civil society for the effective and efficient achievement of development targets in LDCs. The recent turmoil in some of LDCs, particularly in Yemen and Sudan, recall the long quest of peoples towards democracy, rule of law, respect to their fundamental human rights and freedoms. It reflects their request for a new social contract in which human dignity is respected, and corruption, lack of transparency and accountability are overcome. In such reform processes, women’s rights ought to be at the center, including constitutional and legislative reforms, as well as other political, economic, social, and cultural reforms.
In light of these critical concerns, we urge that the Istanbul Programme of Action and the outcomes of UN LDC-IV Conference reflect the real development priorities of LDCs and respond to them through agreed policy reforms and commitments, clear programs and timeframes, which are developed, agreed upon, and implemented both by development partners, LDCs, and relevant stakeholders including civil society organizations and other social partners.
The “tragedy” of LCDs, according to Better Aid
Cecilia Alemany, of BetterAid.
(Photo: TerraViva) |
Source: Better Aid
“It is a tragedy that even in the 21st century there are still countries and populations categorized as poor, excluded, vulnerable, east developed, developing and developed,” said the international alliance of civil society organisatiosn Better Aid, in a statement previous to the United Nations Fourth LDCs Conference (UN LDC-IV) that takes place in Istanbul this week.
This “tragedy” is a signal of “the failure of governance at all levels and of the current development model. Under-development and vulnerability in LDCs are further exacerbated by global crises (economic, financial, debt, climate nd food, among others). These have subjected people to human rights violations, conflicts and confusion,” warns the declaration.
BetterAid unites over 900 development organisations from civil society working on development effectiveness. The BetterAid Coordinating Group consists of 31 national and global networks and platforms working on aid and development effectiveness. The BetterAid Co-chairs are Mr. Antonio Tujan of IBON and Ms. Cecilia Alemany of AWID.
This is the complete texto of the statement:
BetterAid statement to the UN LDC IV Conference, 9-13 May 2011, Istanbul, Turkey
After a series of preparatory meetings, heads of state and government are meeting here to craft the programme of action for 2011 to 2020 for the 48 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) of the world.
It is a tragedy that even in the 21st century there are still countries and populations categorized as poor, excluded, vulnerable, east developed, developing and developed. This exposes the failure of governance at all levels and of the current development odel. Under-development and vulnerability in LDCs are further exacerbated by global crises (economic, financial, debt, climate nd food, among others). These have subjected people to human rights violations, conflicts and confusion.
People living in LDCs are not only denied their fundamental rights, but they also face inherently limited capacities to cope with the multi-faceted dimensions of crises. While they are not responsible for the causes, they are always at the receiving end.
Therefore, the UN LDC-IV Conference must transcend ‘business as usual’ to yield robust and ambitious plans. This is the only way that the gap between the ‘haves and have-nots’ can be narrowed within the coming decade.
BetterAid, an international alliance of civil society organizations engaged in aid and development effectiveness, urges the delegates of this conference to formulate plans that are visibly deliverable at the grassroots level. The agreed result, known as the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA), must ensure
- specific, time-bound and measurable commitments that maintain an overall framework based on accountability and a human rights-based approach to development;
- development cooperation and aid policies are based on international human rights standards with an integrated gender equality perspective;
- the underlying causes of poverty, hunger and different forms of inequality are eradicated and that human rights, gender equality and social justice are promoted;
- environmental sustainability by effectively addressing climate change and the global financial,, debt and energy crises;
- LDC country ownership and the effective use of country systems (as outlined in the Accra Agenda for Action -AAA). Moreover, no conditionality or tying should be attached to aid provisions;
- aid transparency and predictability for LDCs (as outlined in the Accra Agenda for Action -AAA). Without transparent and predictable aid flows, the chances of continuing development efforts in LDCs are minimal;
- the immediate flow of 0.15%-0.20% of the total GNI of developed countries to LDCs, in line with the previous commitments of the international community and specified in the Brussels Programme of Actions for LDCs for 2001-2010;
- additional and increased funds for the LDCs to respond to the crisis induced by climate change. LDCs have inherently limited capacity to cope with this crisis, and are most vulnerable to the impacts and most in need of specific attention from the international community;
- democratic ownership as the core development and aid effectiveness principle, in line with the Paris Declaration and
AAA commitments;
- the fundamental rights of all workers, with a specific focus on migrant workers. A large section of the LDC population is dependent on remittances for their livelihoods; the economic, social and cultural rights of migrant workers must be respected and protected;
- the fundamental rights of excluded people and communities: women, indigenous groups, religious, ethnic and linguistic minority groups, disabled persons and sexual minorities; and
- effective civil society participation in all spheres of development planning, implementation and monitoring. Civil society is one of the most committed groups to complement the development efforts of governments and other stakeholders.
BetterAid urges that the points discussed above serve as guiding reference in the preparation and implementation of the IPoA.
Signed: BetterAid Coordinating Group
Karki: “We Are Calling for a World Without LDCs”
“So, what do we expect from this conference? Certainly not an outcome that merely rolls over the programmes of action of past decades, re-iterates commitments already made, and yet again urges renewed efforts for their implementation. We have heard all this before, and seen the results that are dismal.”
“We need a commitment from the international community to enable the development process within LDCs to work. This means ensuring there is an effective transfer of technology, debt cancellation, climate justice and real market access that is not constrained by non- tariff barriers that prevent LDC products from entering developed country markets and circumvent the DFQFA agreement. Likewise, use of subsidies is to be stopped as is the use of aid as a lever to open poor country markets to the rich country products. And of course, the delivery of aid commitments that remain an important source of revenue.”
"We are calling for a world without LDCs.”
Aldo Caliari: Small business are often neglected in LCDs
“To enhance capacity and resilience of LCDs it is crucial to correct a bias and blindspot that we have noticed exists with regard to small businesses. The economic importance of small businesses and their place in economic growth strategies is often neglected because their activities are not apparent, nor do they make the bulk, of the GDP figures that such strategies seek to lift,” said Aldo Caliari, on behalf of CIDSE (a network of sixteen European and North American catholic development agencies), at the United Nations General Assembly interactive hearings with civil society on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), in New York, April 1.
Bissio: Indicators are either regressing or making not progress at all
“It is with great sadness that we have to report today that in relation with the 48 countries listed as LDCs the commitments included in the Millennium Declaration and the Brussels Program of Action (BPoA) are not being met,” said Roberto Bissio on behalf of Social Watch, at the United Nations General Assembly interactive hearings with civil society on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), in New York, April 1.
“Not only are most LDCs not on track to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the target year of 2015, but on a careful look at the three most essential social indicators --infant mortality, maternal health and primary school enrolment and survival-- over half of the LDCs for which there are indicators available are either regressing or making no progress at all,” added Bissio.
Thida Khus: “I share the optimism”, but “the process has been more challenging”
“I share the optimism of the goal of the graduation of at least half of the LDC countries by the next decade,” said Thida Khus, of Cambodian organisation SILAKA, at the United Nations General Assembly interactive hearings with civil society on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), in New York, April 1. But, she added, “the process has been more challenging for us with the global economic and financial crisis and the effect of Global warming, which brought about the run away food price, change in weather, drought, land erosion, and storm‐that we do not have the capacity to deal with.”
The “tragedy” of LCDs, according to Better Aid
|
Cecilia Alemany, of BetterAid.
(Photo: TerraViva) |
Source: Better Aid
“It is a tragedy that even in the 21st century there are still countries and populations categorized as poor, excluded, vulnerable, east developed, developing and developed,” said the international alliance of civil society organisatiosn Better Aid, in a statement previous to the United Nations Fourth LDCs Conference (UN LDC-IV) that takes place in Istanbul this week.
This “tragedy” is a signal of “the failure of governance at all levels and of the current development model. Under-development and vulnerability in LDCs are further exacerbated by global crises (economic, financial, debt, climate nd food, among others). These have subjected people to human rights violations, conflicts and confusion,” warns the declaration.
BetterAid unites over 900 development organisations from civil society working on development effectiveness. The BetterAid Coordinating Group consists of 31 national and global networks and platforms working on aid and development effectiveness. The BetterAid Co-chairs are Mr. Antonio Tujan of IBON and Ms. Cecilia Alemany of AWID.
This is the complete texto of the statement:
BetterAid statement to the UN LDC IV Conference, 9-13 May 2011, Istanbul, Turkey
After a series of preparatory meetings, heads of state and government are meeting here to craft the programme of action for 2011 to 2020 for the 48 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) of the world.
It is a tragedy that even in the 21st century there are still countries and populations categorized as poor, excluded, vulnerable, east developed, developing and developed. This exposes the failure of governance at all levels and of the current development odel. Under-development and vulnerability in LDCs are further exacerbated by global crises (economic, financial, debt, climate nd food, among others). These have subjected people to human rights violations, conflicts and confusion.
People living in LDCs are not only denied their fundamental rights, but they also face inherently limited capacities to cope with the multi-faceted dimensions of crises. While they are not responsible for the causes, they are always at the receiving end.
Therefore, the UN LDC-IV Conference must transcend ‘business as usual’ to yield robust and ambitious plans. This is the only way that the gap between the ‘haves and have-nots’ can be narrowed within the coming decade.
BetterAid, an international alliance of civil society organizations engaged in aid and development effectiveness, urges the delegates of this conference to formulate plans that are visibly deliverable at the grassroots level. The agreed result, known as the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA), must ensure
- specific, time-bound and measurable commitments that maintain an overall framework based on accountability and a human rights-based approach to development;
- development cooperation and aid policies are based on international human rights standards with an integrated gender equality perspective;
- the underlying causes of poverty, hunger and different forms of inequality are eradicated and that human rights, gender equality and social justice are promoted;
- environmental sustainability by effectively addressing climate change and the global financial,, debt and energy crises;
- LDC country ownership and the effective use of country systems (as outlined in the Accra Agenda for Action -AAA). Moreover, no conditionality or tying should be attached to aid provisions;
- aid transparency and predictability for LDCs (as outlined in the Accra Agenda for Action -AAA). Without transparent and predictable aid flows, the chances of continuing development efforts in LDCs are minimal;
- the immediate flow of 0.15%-0.20% of the total GNI of developed countries to LDCs, in line with the previous commitments of the international community and specified in the Brussels Programme of Actions for LDCs for 2001-2010;
- additional and increased funds for the LDCs to respond to the crisis induced by climate change. LDCs have inherently limited capacity to cope with this crisis, and are most vulnerable to the impacts and most in need of specific attention from the international community;
- democratic ownership as the core development and aid effectiveness principle, in line with the Paris Declaration and
AAA commitments;
- the fundamental rights of all workers, with a specific focus on migrant workers. A large section of the LDC population is dependent on remittances for their livelihoods; the economic, social and cultural rights of migrant workers must be respected and protected;
- the fundamental rights of excluded people and communities: women, indigenous groups, religious, ethnic and linguistic minority groups, disabled persons and sexual minorities; and
- effective civil society participation in all spheres of development planning, implementation and monitoring. Civil society is one of the most committed groups to complement the development efforts of governments and other stakeholders.
BetterAid urges that the points discussed above serve as guiding reference in the preparation and implementation of the IPoA.
Signed: BetterAid Coordinating Group