THE FOURTH HIGH LEVEL FORUM ON AID EFFECTIVENESS

CSOs at Busan HLF4

The upcoming Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF4) on November 29 - December 1, in Busan, South Korea will mark as a milestone for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) as it is the first time CSOs will participate as a full and equal stakeholder in aid effectiveness negotiations alongside governments and donor agencies. Better Aid, which is the international CSO network which has taken a lead in organizing CSOs for the HLF4, had a CSO Sherpa and thus contributed directly to the official Busan document. In addition, several CSO leaders such as Sam Worthington (CEO of InterAction) have been included in official government delegations.
Some 300 CSOs are registered to attend the HLF4 (see list attached) and they are organizing their own preparatory meeting ahead of the HLF4. The Busan Global Civil Society Forum (BCSF) will be held at the Grand Hotel on November 26-28 to make final preparations for HLF4. It is being co-organized by three CSO networks: BetterAid, Korea Civil Society Forum on International Development Cooperation (KoFID) and the Open Forum. The BCSF will consist of a series of plenary meetings, workshops, and strategy sessions geared to mobilizing CSOs around multi-lateral negotiations on aid effectiveness, and producing a common civil society statement to be presented at the HLF4. See the Forum agenda attached.
The aid effectiveness agenda has largely been a positive policy area for Bank – CSO engagement as OPCS and other Bank units have maintained an active and fluid dialogue with CSOs over the past seven years. This began with the Bank advocating for CSO participation in the HLF in Paris in 2005 and active dialogue during the HLF in Accra in 2008. This dialogue has intensified in the last two years, with several joint Bank – CSO policy sessions at the 2011 Spring and Annual Meetings. This will continue in Busan where the Bank is expected to host a reception for CSO leaders and several Bank managers and staff will be on panels sponsored by CSOs.

In the run-up to HLF4, a number of CSOs around the world have released key reports and proposals that they will advocate in HLF4. Some major advocacy CSOs such as Better Aid and Oxfam are also planning to convene various side events and campaigns during the BCSF and HLF4. CSOs have consolidated several key messages and proposals for HLF4:

· establishing democratic ownership principle;
· strengthening rights-based approach to development;
· ensuring CSO participation; and
· promoting inclusive and equitable development cooperation.

Regional and thematic CSOs are also putting forward their own statements that complement these common messages. Some examples are the CONCORD Statement (European CSOs), African CSO Paper, and MENA CSO Statement for HLF4. Most of the CSO positioning papers for Busan do not mention the World Bank specifically. Find below a description of the key CSO statements and planned events at Busan.

INTERNATIONAL CSOs

BETTER AID

Better Aid (an open platform which unites over 1000 global CSOs) will have a large presence in Busan and will hold a press conference on Nov 27. Better Aid also initiated a petition campaign on the web. Along with Open Forum, Better Aid has consolidated the CSO Key Messages and Proposals for HLF4. The key asks include establishing democratic ownership principle, strengthening rights-based approach to development, ensuring CSO participation, promoting inclusive and equitable development cooperation. See full statement below. In addition, the Better Aid Coordinating Group also released a series of position papers on issues including: aid effectiveness in fragile contexts; private sector and development; and aid &trade. See a full list on its website.

ITUC/GLOBAL TRADE UNIONS

The trade union delegation to BCSF and HLF4 comprises 40 trade unionists from 25 different countries. At the BCSF, the ITUC will host a workshop “Development for a Decent World”, focused on the preparation of the trade union delegation to HLF4. At the HLF4, ITUC will host a debate on the role of social dialogue in development cooperation, built upon the best practice of a trade union-led program strengthening the social dialogue structures in East Africa as a contribution to the democratic ownership debate. Trade union representation will be also present at the high-level debates. Wellington Chibebe, the Deputy Secretary General of the ITUC will speak at the Thematic Session on the Rights-Based Approaches on the first day of the HLF4. Jan Dereymaeker, coordinator of the TUDCN will answer press questions at the joint BetterAid press conference on November 28th, the 3rd day of the BCSF.

The issues trade unions focused on include human rights, international relations, inequality and shared responsibilities of the emerging donors, south-south cooperation, as well as the role of private sector in development. Trade unions also share the concerns of the broader civil society about the shrinking space for policy dialogue and CSO activities and calls for the promotion and implementation of an enabling environment for CSOs in development.

CIVICUS

CIVICUS has been one of the founders and one of the most active members of the Better Aid network They sit in the governance and policy groups of both Better Aid and Open Forum, and have been heavily involved in shaping the advocacy agenda and outreach efforts on aid effectivenss. In preparation to Busan, they have taken the lead responsibility in coordinating the Better Aid Communication Strategy.

Particularly, Civicus has been focused on promoting the issue of "Enabling Environment" for CSOs and advancing CSOs Development effectiveness mainly through straightening their accountability mechanisms and norms. They are organizing several major events at both the BCSF and the HLF on enabling environment for civil society, transparency, accountability and verification, and Rio +20 and beyond.

MENA CSOs
20 CSOs signed a statement raising key demands during a regional consultation on CSO Development Effectiveness Preparation to Busan in Lebanon on Nov 15. In the context of historical transformation in the region, MENA CSOs call for alternative development approach which put inclusive growth and democratic transitions at the center of development policies. They also urge donors and international organizations to adjust international aid to support national ownership and regional cooperation.

AFRICAN CSOs
In a consultation document, African CSOs present key messages for African governments, donors, foundations, private sector, and other development actors heading up to Busan. They call on the HLF4 to open a new chapter in the aid architecture that has legitimacy, ensures meaningful inclusion of all development actors especially those from the south.

ASIA PACIFIC CSOs
CSOs from Asia Pacific gathered during the “Regional Conference on Development Models: Promoting a Transformative Agenda on Sustainable Development” in Bangkok, Thailand from August 15- 16, 2011. During the conference, CSO released a statement calling for a development model that would provide enduring solutions to the systemic global crisis. They also stress that HLF4 should usher in a new development cooperation architecture that is inclusive, democratic, equitable, sustainable and truly contribute to eliminating the causes of poverty and promotes people’s sustainable development.

Click here to see a list of regional and thematic CSO statements.

US-BASED CSOs

OXFAM

So far Oxfam will have a delegation of 14 members led by Greg Adams, Director of Aid Effectiveness for Oxfam America. At senior level, the delegation includes Robert Fox, Executive Director of Oxfam Canada, and Mamadou Biteye, West Africa Regional Director for Oxfam GB. Oxfam is playing various roles in several different events. In a side event held by DFID and CGD on Results Based Aid, Mamadou Biteye of Oxfam Great Britain will join vp Joachim von Amsberg on the panel. In a November media brief, Oxfam sets out its key messages on HLF4, which mainly urges donors to improve aid effectiveness.

ONE

ONE is not planning for a large presence or separate events in Busan. However, it has been doing a blog series and policy briefs to raise awareness on Busan. ONE has been working across its international offices to make sure discussions at Busan result in clear and measurable commitments on transparency, accountability and results. Attached is a summary document of ONE’s key asks on HLF4.
(See attached file: ONE_Summary_Pitch_for_Busan FINAL.PDF)

UK-BASED CSOs

A leading group of UK-based CSOs have issued a joint statement ahead of Busan with their recommendations to make aid more effective especially in the contexts of poor governance, conflict and fragility. The CSOs endorsing the note include ActionAid, BOND, CAFOD, CARE, Conciliation Resources, Progressio, TIRI, Saferworld and World Vision.

PUBLISH WHAT YOU FUND (PWYF)

PWYF will have a delegation of several persons, led by Executive Director Karen Christiansen. They will take part in a number of activities. At the BCSF, PWYF will be mainly involved in four activities: Workshop for CSOs on transparency, accountability and verification; priorities for HLF4 and beyond; Event on the 2011 Aid Transparency Index; Aid Transparency & Predictability Thematic Session preparation for CSOs; and in the Transparency Building Block session preparation. At the HLF4 itself, Karen will be a panelist on two sessions: Thematic Session on Predictability on Nov 29, and Session on Make Aid Transparency Campaign on Nov 30.

ACTIONAID UK

In its recent notes on aid effectiveness, ActionAid UK calls for all-party accountability frameworks to increase aid transparency in donor and recipient countries. They provide a set of recommendations for aid donors, recipient countries and the citizenry aiming at increasing aid, transparency and accountability, value for money and to ensuring that aid is used to generate domestic resources. Tax cooperation features significantly in their recommendations

EUROPEAN-BASED CSOs

CONCORD/AIDWATCH

As one of the coordinators of Better Aid, CONCORD supports the Better Aid Position Paper on Aid Effectiveness released in April. CONCORD has produced a number of papers on aid effectiveness on Busan, the latest being “European NGOs Demand Greater Ambitions from EU Member States for Busan - Urgent Call for EU Action”. CONCORD urges the EU to engage further and stronger to enable developing countries to have a better control on aid budgets.
AIDWATCH, a sub group of CONCORD, which produces CONCORD's flagship Aid Watch will also be present at Busan. Aid Watch will organize a workshop on Nov 27 open only to CSOs and a strategy meeting for European CSOs on Nov 28. Aidwatch will blog on its website through HLF4.

OXFAM GB

Oxfam GB's briefing note focus more on the results angle: what are "right" results, how to design and monitor them, need to ensure we don't avoid results that are harder to achieve, how to work towards results that matter for the recipient community, etc.

EURODAD

Eurodad's main contribution to Busan remains its paper “How to Spend it: Smart Procurement for More Effective Aid” launched in September). Eurodad will present this paper at Knowledge and Innovation Space in Busan on Nov 29 to address general procurement issues.

COORDINATION SUD

Coordination SUD (leading network of France-based international organizations) issued a position paper “Document de Position pour le 4ème Forum Sur l’efficacité de l’aide de Busan”, which is structured around the BetterAid platform in order to monitor donors’ commitments as well as to coordinate their participation to the aid efficiency process. In Busan, it will have a delegation of three members from its secretariat.

KEPA

Finland's KEPA are active in the preparations through Better Aid and Open Forum + through the campaign on Make Aid Transparent. KEPA organized a discussion seminar together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in November on "Busan and Beyond - New Global Partnership for Development Effectiveness?". KEPA will have the following presence in Busan: Pauliina Saares (policy), Auli Starck (coordinator), Anna-Sofia Joro (communications). See their English-language site.



________________________
Civil Society Team
The World Bank
phone: (1-202) 473-1840
fax: (1-202) 522-7131
email: civilsociety@worldbank.org
web: http://www.worldbank.org/civilsociety