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IDDC reporting live from the European Development Days 2011
As previously announced an IDDC delegation is currently in Warsaw (Poland) at the European Development Days, taking place on 15 and 16 December. They are participating in panel discussions and raising critical questions as "the voice of inclusive development". Those of you who have not made it to Warsaw can have a view of what is going on there through our live reports and photos.
--> Luisa's blog Esther Sommer (Project Coordinator, IDDC) reports in more detail on the session 'Beyond 2015 – A Citizen Driven Agenda': Panel speakers included: >Paul Ladd (via phone conference): Advisor to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on issues related to inclusive globalization, Coordinator of UN Task Team of Senior Technical Experts (to be set up in January 2012) Moderator: Olivier Consolo, Director of CONCORD (European NGO Confederation for Relief and Development)
Impressions and reflections from the panel discussions Mr. Ladd highlighted the process envisaged post-MDGs (Millennium Development Goals): --> Currently collecting material on examples of successful dialogue exercises. These should serve as input for UN country team.
Mr. Ngoyi emphasised a few key points: --> The new process should include those excluded.
Mr. Smith responded to the question of the Moderator asking for his view regarding the way citizens work around the globe and highlighted the following issues: --> The process of building to 'Beyond 2015' is a unique opportunity for change between citizens globally; it is about challenging the existing order. The objective is to "moving beyond a development project to a world project"
Mr. Lastra stressed the importance of the social agenda and citizen's involvement.
Mr. Morales on his turn called attention to the importance of policy coherence and synergies in development politics.
Input from the audience and civil society organisations - A representative of an Armenian NGO raised the issue that consultations are not fair, because donors only invite their beneficiary NGOs. Mr. Ladd responded that the misuse of consultation processes remind of old critiques. He stressed that country coordinators and offices would be advised to not only hold consultations, but to engage civil society in dialogue. - Another statement was made regarding the need of participation and citizenship inclusion. - Laura from Action Aid underlined that the focus should be on policy coherence. Bio-fuel consumptions will triple which will have an impact on food security and increase prices. - Karen from APRODEV made the following statements via video message: the EU are the biggest agricultural importer and exporter. Outsourcing land and usage for European consumption has strong implications on water and other resources. The design of agricultural policy has failed to take this into account. Inconsistence, imbalance, rights to food, trade and agricultural processes all need consideration. - I took the floor, on behalf of IDDC, making a statement both regarding the process and the content. I stressed that people with disabilities, representing one billion people according to the recently published World Report on Disability, need to be included in the process. Furthermore, I emphasised that inclusion of vulnerable groups and of people with disabilities should be one focus topic. Esther Sommer (Project Coordinator, IDDC) gives a short impression on the session 'Migration, Development And Human Rights - Towards a changing paradigm in EU development policies': Luisa, Kirsty and I are currently attending the panel debate on development and migration. The panelists are very strong and explain the linkages between migration and development and the right to migration. What I find most striking is the voice of Charito Basa from the Filipinos Women's Council. She got very emotional when she talked about the recruitment and brain drain of health staff from the Philippines and the role of the Diaspora. Her organisation also fights for domestic workers to be recognised as they belong to the most vulnerable parts of the population. Celia Cranfield (EU Liaison Officer, LIGHT FOR THE WORLD) reports about the session 'How To Prevent Another Famine In The Horn Of Africa: Luisa and I followed the debate on rights based approached with a panel discussion on the drought in the horn of Africa and building resilience to avoid famine. This was a challenging and sometimes quite technical discussion on agriculture and security and the impact of politics on humanitarian aid. I was pleased to hear Ms Georgieva - Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response - say that it wasn't enough in crisis situations to give aid to the easiest to find, that there needs to be a conscious effort to find older people, children and people with disabilities who are more vulnerable and sometimes harder to reach. I think probably more work is needed to raise awareness in the humanitarian community about the challenge of reaching the poorest within the poorest communities, as the representatives of bigger aid organisations (NGOs) seemed convinced they were reaching the poorest, but I think IDDC and partners' experience is slightly different. Warsaw has been super welcoming and the European Development Days have been organised really well. Polish greetings from me before the long train home. Celia Cranfield (EU Liaison Officer, LIGHT FOR THE WORLD) reports about the session 'The Human Rights Based Approach To Development - Experience from the right to adequate housing':
Luisa and I attended a really constructive session this morning, organised by Amnesty International and Minority Rights Group, on rights based approaches to development illustrated by the right to adequate housing. The panelists - after a prompt from me on accessible sanitation facilities - almost all spoke explicitly about people with disabilities as demonstrating how participation and inclusion in planning processes and development means understanding that communities are not homogeneous and a variety of interlocutors need to be consulted. The European Commission was very open in discussing the challenges and also the merits of rights based approaches to a large donor and acknowledged that one of the keys in future will need to be more attempts to open up and be transparent about the timelines and discussions when budget support is being organised and the acknowledgement that the EU has a role to play in supporting dialogue between government and civil society. Esther Sommer (Project Coordinator, IDDC) gives a short reflection about the session she just attended: The panel discussion 'Beyond 2015 - A Citizen Driven Agenda' was quite long with many speakers present in the room and joining by video message. A lot was said about the process of what the post-MDG agenda could look like. Matt Baillie Smith (Northumbria University) criticised the misuse of so-called consultation or participatory processes a lot. A very personal and committed speach was made by John Patrick Ngoyi from the Justice, Development and Peace Commission, Nigeria. He said that "the process should include those excluded" and that "exclusion at any level (local, national etc.) brings insecurity for both the excluded and the excluding". The main speaker was actually Paul Ladd from UNDP, who presented the current process on Beyond 2015 including data collection and apparently an existing, but not yet published, list of 50 countries. During the interaction with the audience a woman from an Armenian NGO raised the point of how fake consultation processes can sometimes be. I then pointed out how crucial the inclusion of persons with disabilities is during the formulation process, but also that it's important to have inclusion of vulnerable groups and people with disabilities as one of the thematic areas of the next framework. You can find more info on the debates on the following links: http://www.beyond2015.org/ and www.concordeurope.org A more detailed report will follow later. Esther Sommer (Project Coordinator, IDDC) reports in more detail about the session 'Aid Effectiveness and Accessibility':
Panel speakers included: > Renata Hallam: Deputy Head, Unit Poliy Coherence for Developemt and Aid Effectiveness, European Commission
Impressions and reflections from the panel discussions Mr. Tujan highlighted the important changes introduced under the Busan accountability framework. As the only representative of civil society organisations in Busan he particularly pointed out the change in the understanding of accountability implying new principles on transparency and accountability or on risk management. As the only representative of the European Commission in this panel Ms. Hallam highlighted the shift from aid effectiveness to development effectiveness. In her opinion the European Union (EU) was a strong defender of human rights during the negotiations. Focusing mainly on national governments to improve budget and policy transparency she stated that "as EU we have committed to make our own aid funding very transparent". Mr. Tujan, however, strongly rejected the attitude of EU Member States blocking the introduction of a strong human rights focus in the framework. He expressed that "the problem of Busan is that the donors didn't commit to what they should have". Ms. Alonso acknowledged the comprehensive outcomes of Busan, but said that the framework was weak when measuring the real impact on persons living in poverty. She pointed out that "the results we want is people getting out of poverty", however shared principles contain differentiated committments on a voluntary basis. Thus, not all the donors have to fullfill the same obligations. She also criticised the lack of leadership of the EU delegation in Busan and the lack of political will to put in practice what has been agreed before in Accra, Paris and now Busan. One breakthrough in Busan was that finaly civil society organisations were acknowledged as playing a key role in the development process. Mr. Bossuyt focused on the political dimension of Busan in contrast to the more technical process in Paris. He still sees a lot of work to be done in the European Union and the need to find smart indicators. For him the local level is most important because transparency of national resources and systems are very crucial. The EU very recently included participation of civil society organisations into budget support conditions.
Highlights from the speakers about why the Busan agreement is important Mr. Tujan:
Ms. Alonso:
Mr. Bossuyt:
Ms. Hallam:
Next steps needed The moderator, Ms. Moshiri, then questioned the panel about what the following steps should be: --> A monitoring framework, indicators and new organisation --> Post-Busan is going to be country focused; civil society organisations to be engaged and included at country level. --> Meaningful indicators should mainly be established at country level
Relevance for inclusion of people with disabilities Relevant for disabled people's organisations (DPOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working at country level is among other the focus of the Busan framework on the country level. As Mr. Tujan highlighted, this implies that civil society organisations can advocate and potentially influence how the indicators at country level will be monitored and implemented. People with disabilities often belong to the most vulnerable groups in developing countries. Aid being used efficiently, budget processes being inclusive and transparent, and governments being hold accountable for using aid and other resources can have a huge impact on their daily lives. Esther Sommer (Project Coordinator, IDDC) reports: The first panel discussion I attended on Aid Effectiveness and Accountability was much more interesting than I had expected. The moderator, Nazanine Moshiri, facilitated a lively discussion on the post-Busan process. What was most important for me was that representatives of civil society organisations indicated how important the implementation of aid effectiveness is at country level. Budget support is a big focus and the focus is put on the role of national government budgets and policy frameworks. This means that it is very important for disabled peoples organisations (DPOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to remind governments and donors to include persons with disabilities at all levels. Indicators at country level should include people with disabilities, who are often part of the most vulnerable groups of society in developing countries.
IDDC's first impression at the European Development Days in Poland is very positive. The event is well organised with an interesting opening session conveying strong statements by amongst others Shirin Ebadi, 2003 Nobel Prize Laureate from Iran.
1) Agenda for Change - Season 1: Human Rights and Development: Mixing the Families? --> Download more information 2) Aid Effectiveness and Accountability 3) Supporting Change Through Advocating More Power to Women: Gender Equality and Development 4) Spotlight on Decentralisation: Strengthening Local Governance and Accountability Mechanisms: Translating Development Strategies into Results at Local Level
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