Statement made by the NGO Committee on Financing for Development

I represent the NGO Committee on Financing for Development. We place emphasis on “development” that is people-centred and pro-poor. We have members of our organizations in almost all countries of the world. As part of a global network we are concerned with economic justice. The message we hear from the ground is ‘we are in a dangerous situation´

As NGOs, part of civil society – the “We the Peoples” of the UN Charter – believe the United Nations must play a strong role in building a new future for an increasingly interconnected world.

The vision that brought this organization to birth was of a safe and secure world where all people could experience a modest level of prosperity where their basic rights would be protected and promoted.  The 3 pillars of the UN – security, development, and respect for human rights of all, are presently at risk.

This vision of a more equal and safer world is slipping away as rampant inequality divides us. The place of the UN in the world’s economic wellbeing is at risk.

The OECD report “Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising” shows the gap between rich and poor in OECD countries is at its highest level for over 30 years, in the US, for almost a century. This is true of almost all countries. Secretary-General Angel Gurría, launching the report, said “The social contract is starting to unravel in many countries. This study dispels the assumptions that the benefits of economic growth will automatically trickle down to the disadvantaged and that greater inequality fosters greater social mobility. Without a comprehensive strategy for inclusive growth, inequality will continue to rise.”

Despite numerous calls to recover the vision and the continuing validity of the principles of Monterrey and Doha, the reality seems to be different. The rhetoric that some institutions are “too big to fail” suggests underlying acceptance that inequality is natural and normal. We strongly challenge this paradigm. We need a new paradigm that recognizes the equal dignity of all people, elaborated within a human rights framework that is participative, and speaks to the real world we inhabit in an integrating manner. We call all member States of the UN to restore this organization to its proper place as the forum where real debate happens on how we can actually integrate all the policies needed to shape economic, human/social wellbeing and environmental protection.

Most global economic policies are formulated and implemented in groups operating independently of the UN, such as the G20, the Bretton Woods institutions. This is not how the global system was visualized over half a century ago.  The UN is increasingly marginalized as such decisions are made elsewhere. The level of representation at this High Level Dialogue seems to bear this out! We NGOs are deeply disappointed that it does not seem to be taken very seriously by you, Member States. ECOSOC deliberations and UN review meetings rarely attract the same level of presence by senior officials from finance, trade and economic ministries as do meetings of the BWI or WTO. Despite repeated statements calling for strengthening within the UN of the FfD follow-up mechanism, many influential Member States seem keen to promote coordination through such other groupings as the G20, where they have greater influence.

In a world that calls for coherence, the social impact and the equity issues are notable by their absence in diagnosing the current problem or creating policy to address the crisis. “Austerity measures” announced by many countries have led to savage reductions in “social spending” and fly in the face of strong consensus that increased public spending in a time of economic crisis, is needed to create a counter-cyclical direction for the economy. The very term ‘social’ is made to sound like a luxury that can’t be afforded at present, rather than an essential tool to create jobs as integral to addressing the crisis. Segmentation and compartmentalising have blocked an effective and integrated way forward.  Social/ equity dimensions are not optional extras, but essential pieces if an enduring solution is to emerge.

Social inclusion can no longer be seen as extraneous to building a functioning global economic system. They can no longer be left to be treated in another forum well isolated from financial and economic concerns. Issues of job creation and the provision of a social protection floor, not only make for more harmonious societies, but they also make for good investment and economic sense.

We strongly recommend that the General Assembly:

• Start an open and truly inclusive dialogue on strengthening the international economic and financial system and architecture.
• Hold a review conference on financing for development in 2013 that addresses the democratic deficit in the international financial architecture and that deals with the impact of the world financial crises on the financing of development.
•  Acknowledge the changed reality of the world by strengthening UN engagement with civil society and other non-state actors through multi-stakeholder forums and other informal FfD initiatives.
• Make better use of the special high-level ECOSOC meetings with the BWI, WTO and UNCTAD to enable more focused dialogue, with discussions that are outcome oriented.
• Establish an adhoc panel of experts of the world economic and financial crisis and its impact on development.
• We support the call of Barbados to replace the International Committee of Tax Experts with a UN intergovernmental body. This is vital if information on tax avoidance and tax evasion is to be shared among countries and so build tax systems needed to promote development.
• Establish a Financing for Development Committee that is representative and multi-stakeholder in order to effectively oversee the implementation of the Monterrey and Doha commitments.
• It is time to revisit and act on the idea of a Global Economic Coordination Council. This would be a small body with representation based on a constituency system. Sectional interests must be put aside in favour of the common good of us all. Inclusion is the catchcry of the many protest movements. It must also apply to the multilateral system. A more robust UN system able to offer effective oversight of policies affecting us all is long overdue.
• Listen to the call from Africa to be fully included in the economic decision-making processes. We suggest that the motto of the UN could be “Nothing about us, without us!”

The agenda of Monterrey remains unfinished. We must rebuild momentum for the needed political will to act multilaterally once more.

Thank you Madame Chair
Kevin Dance, C.P., Passionists International
Chair, NGO Committee on Financing for Development