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UK General ElectionInternational Development Manifesto

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UK General Election International Development Manifesto 03

Introduction

Today, the countries of the world are more interconnected than everbefore. All are affected by challenges such as the global downturn,the need to adapt to climate change, and demographic changes.What happens in one country has a direct impact on others.

Yet it is the poorest who bear adisproportionate burden of theeffects of international crisesand of the mistakes largelymade by richer countries.The impacts of climate changeare already wreaking havoc onthe lives of millions around theworld, and the financial crisisis having devastating resultsfor poor communities indeveloping countries.

Now is the time to step upBritain’s global leadership andcontribution to fighting povertyand inequality.

In this manifesto, UK civilsociety organisations set outthe key political commitments

necessary for Britain to playits full part in rising to thesechallenges and ensuring theworld meets – and exceeds –the Millennium DevelopmentGoals (MDGs), which are badlyoff-track. These commitmentsmust be underpinned by anumber of principles to supportsuccessful action forinternational development.

We are calling on all politicalparties and candidates toadopt this vision and committo our calls.

We ask the next UKGovernment to deliver on theactions set out in this manifesto.

We ask all politicians electedat the forthcoming polls to holdthe Government to accountagainst them.

We ask that the UK continuesto improve its own policies oninternational development andto build on where it is playinga leading and progressive roleas a member state of theEuropean Union (EU) andon the global stage.

Nothing less will really deliver fordevelopment. And nothing lesswill keep the promises Britainhas made to the poorest peoplein the world.

• On 28 March 2009, 35, 000 people marched through London calling fordemocratic, accountable and transparent financial institutions that work forthe world’s poor © Glen Tarman/Bond


Key principles ofinternational development

All political parties must commit to ensuring the UK does allit can to bring about a world in which poverty is eradicated,people’s basic needs are met and their rights are realised.

As one of the richest countriesin the world playing a powerfulrole in international bodies,the UK has a particularresponsibility to promote justiceand equality globally.

All political parties shouldcommit to the followingprinciples of internationaldevelopment:

1. Recognise that we live inan interdependent world:international development isa global effort and is aresponsibility of all countries.

2. Promote and supporta strong voice ondevelopment withingovernment through anindependent Department forInternational Developmentrepresented by a Secretaryof State.

3. Promote human rights by:

• Realising the fundamentalrights of all people to food,decent work, incomes, health,shelter, water and sanitation,education, social protectionand political freedom;

• Upholding the rights ofwomen and promotinggender equality;

• Protecting the mostmarginalised in society,including women, children,disabled and older people,minority and indigenousgroups.

4. Respect the will, energyand ability of poor peopleto drive their owndevelopment: empoweringpoor countries and theircitizens to determine theirown paths out of poverty.

5. Reform global institutionsto make them democraticand responsive to theneeds of poor countries andensure that the UK plays aprogressive and pro-poorleadership role at bothEuropean and widerinternational levels.

6. Keep promises to poorpeople and poor countriesembodied in internationalagreements including theMillennium DevelopmentGoals (MDGs).

• A nurse listens to the heartbeat of a foetus of a pregnant woman at a localdispensary in the village of Emukhangu in Lurambi division, of Kakamega district inwestern province Kenya. © Allan Gichigi/IRIN


More and betteraid and debt relief

Our demands – whatthe UK Governmentmust act on

Aid and debt relief are vital forthe poorest countries and havedelivered significant increasesin pro-poor spending in recentyears. However, the quantityand quality of UK aid and debtrelief need to increase.

Any UK Government shouldtherefore commit to:

• Spending at least 0.7% ofnational income on effectiveaid by 2013 at the latest andcancelling all illegitimate andunpayable developingcountry debt through thecreation of a democratic andtransparent debt tribunal.

• Targeting aid for the poorest,most marginalised andvulnerable, particularlywomen and children, to tacklehunger, ensure food securityand improve publicly providedservices such as health(including HIV/AIDS, malaria,TB and other services),education, water andsanitation and build effectivesocial protection schemes.

• Delivering aid effectively incoordinated and transparentways, including through civilsociety organisations,without economic policyconditions attached (suchas trade liberalisation andprivatisation) and ensuringstrong country ownershipof development strategies.

• Maximising the potentialof innovative financingmechanisms to generateadditional resources to fillcurrent gaps of sufficientvolume to achieve theMillennium DevelopmentGoals (MDGs).

• Women collect water at a Rain Water Harvest Project run by a local NGO, theSindh government and the World Food Programme, which grew out of aUNICEF survey identifying potable water issues in Tharparker District, Pakistan.© Sumaira Jajja/IRIN


• The waters are rising in Bangladesh’s south-central Ullapara region. Thesewomen are heading for the nearby flood shelter established by the government.Bangladesh, September 2007. © Shamsuddin Ahmed/IRIN

Tackling climate change


The impacts of climate changewill affect us all and we need torespond urgently. Climatechange needs to be seen inthe context of global justice,equity, and interdependence,and in the wider context ofenvironmental sustainability.


• Delivering on an ambitious,fair and binding global dealto keep global warmingbelow 2 degrees Celsius.

• Making deep cuts in our owncarbon dioxide emissions ofat least 40% by 2020 andmore than 80% by 2050,without resorting to offsets,and in addition supportingdeveloping countries towardslow-carbon development anda green economy.

• Taking a lead within theEuropean Union to providesufficient and verifiable newfunding and technologytransfer to the developingworld, bearing in mind thatthe EU should be responsiblefor at least one third of theminimum $150 billion neededannually by developingcountries by 2020 formitigation and adaptation.

• Ensuring that this fundingis additional to officialdevelopment assistance(ODA) and channelledthrough the UN FrameworkConvention on ClimateChange (UNFCCC)supporting the poorestcountries to adapt to andmitigate against climatechange, ensuring adequategovernance arrangementsand taking into accountsocial and political impacts.


Making the globaleconomy work for the poor


The global financial andeconomic system is markedby high levels of poverty andinequality and has contributedto environmental andeconomic crises.


• Ensuring that trade deals –whether at the World TradeOrganisation (WTO) orthrough the EU – allowdeveloping countries toretain control over theireconomies, and do not forcethrough deregulation andliberalisation which wouldundermine developmentobjectives.

• Insisting on fundamentalreform of global financialinstitutions, particularly theWorld Bank and InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF), toensure that they engage alldeveloping countries moreequitably in their governanceand decision-makingstructures, are made fullytransparent and accountableand do not insist on economicconditions that could, forexample, undermine socialprotection systems.

• Requiring greatertransparency and automaticinformation exchange for taxhavens, and pushing for atransparent internationalaccounting standard thatrequires companies to reporttheir financial activities ona country-by-country basiswith a clear breakdown ofeconomic activity.

• Introducing a UKCommission for Business,Human Rights and theEnvironment mandated toensure adherence of UKcompanies to environmentaland human rights standards.

• Supporting the decent workagenda by adequatelyfunding the InternationalLabour Organisation (ILO),and encouraging alldeveloping countries withwhich the UK works tohave Decent Work CountryProgrammes, and ratify andimplement the core labourconventions of the ILO.

• Economic liberalisation and ongoing drought have magnified the effectsof the global economic crisis in Syria. Many workers in the textile industrycan be laid off easily, sometimes without receiving due payment.© Hugh Macleod/IRIN

Good governanceand addressing corruption


Poor governance andcorruption undermine povertyeradication and development,and exacerbate conflict. TheUK Government’s domesticand foreign policy mustpromote transparency, publicaccountability and responsibleprivate sector investment.Activities that directlycontribute to corruptionand poor governance mustbe ended.


• Using its aid to contributeto expanding the spacefor citizens and stateengagement and increasedaccountability, includingsupport to parliamentarycommittees, national humanrights institutions, independentauditing, the freedom ofthe press, civil societyorganisations, anti-corruptiongroups and academia.

• Ensuring that the UnitedNations Convention AgainstCorruption (UNCAC) andthe OECD Anti BriberyConvention are fully

incorporated into UKdomestic law and establishingan annual, independentaudit of the government’simplementation of bothConventions; andencouraging other countriesto do likewise.

• Developing a cross-Whitehallstrategy for tacklingcorruption and work closelywith other donors and statesto tackle the underlyingfactors which fuel andfacilitate corruption.

• A young girl holds her mother's voting card as she waits to cast her ballot in SierraLeone's parliamentary and presidential elections at a polling station in Freetown,11 August 2007. Many people began queuing at 4am for the start of a peacefulday's voting. © Tugela Ridley/IRIN


Responding toconflict situations


Violent conflict is a humantragedy which underminesdevelopment and exacerbatespoverty. The UK must play aleading role in preventingconflict and promotinginternational human rights law.Conflict-affected and fragilecountries are complex andpose formidable challengesthat the UK Government mustapproach with a long-term view.


• Promoting human securityby upholding internationalhumanitarian and humanrights agreements and lawsincluding the UN.

‘Responsibility to Protect’,supporting the InternationalCriminal Court, pressing forsuccessful negotiations overa robust and comprehensiveglobal Arms Trade Treaty andimplementing UN SecurityCouncil Resolutions such asthose addressing violenceagainst women in conflictand the protection of childrenaffected by armed conflict.

• Developing a cross-Government strategy forpreventing violent conflictand working to joint countrystrategies across relevantdepartments, particularly inconflict-affected countries.

• Ensuring that political andforeign policy interests areclearly separated from thedelivery of humanitarianassistance, and to make

all efforts to protect andpromote humanitarianspace and humanitarianprinciples whereby peopleaffected by conflict areassured access to impartialand independent assistance.

• Ensuring that whilstdevelopment aid aims atpoverty eradication, and inconflict situations is usedto promote human securityand access to justice, it isnot diverted to equippingsecurity forces.

• Displaced people wait to be given food during a distribution organised by theUN and other international agencies in Mogadishu, Somalia, September 2008© Jamal Osman/IRIN


Responding toconflict situations

• Bond is the UK membershipbody for non-governmentalorganisations (NGOs)working in internationaldevelopment.

Bond · Regent’s Wharf · 8 All Saints Street · London · N1 9RL · United Kingdom+44 (0)20 7837 8344 · [email protected] · bond.org.ukRegistered Charity No. 1068839. Company Registration No. 3395681 (England and Wales)Printed on recycled paper

National platforms of the Global Call to Actionagainst Poverty, the world's largest civil societyanti-poverty alliance, call on parliamentarians toend global poverty and inequality.

Action for a Global ClimateCommunity

Action for Southern Africa

ActionAid UK

African Medical and ResearchFoundation

Amnesty International UK

Article 19

Bretton Woods Project

CARE International UK

Christian Aid

CODA International

Computers 4 Africa

Concern Worldwide UK

Consortium for Street Children

Disability and Development Partners

EveryChild

Handicap International UK

Hands Around the World

Homeless International

International RescueCommittee – UK

International Service

Islamic Relief Worldwide

Jubilee Debt Campaign

Jubilee Scotland

Lattitude Global Volunteering

Make Poverty History NE

Malaria Consortium

Mercy Corps European HQ

Methodist Church

Methodist Relief andDevelopment Fund

Mother Helpage UK

Muslim Agency for Development andEnterprise in Europe

Muslim Charities Forum

National Union of Teachers

One

One World Action

One World Week

Oxfam GB

Plan UK

POWER International

Prospect UK

Pump Aid

Rainbow Development in Africa

RESULTS UK

Saferworld

Save the Children

Scottish Catholic InternationalAid Fund

Send a Cow

Sightsavers International

Stamp Out Poverty

Teach a Man to Fish

The Diana, Princess of WalesMemorial Fund

The Fairtrade Foundation

The Humanitarian Forum

The Mothers' Union

TIDAL

Trade Justice Movement

Trades Union Congress Aid

UK Aid Network

UNICEF UK

United Reformed Church

Voluntary Service Overseas

War on Want

WaterAid

Welsh Centre for International Affairs

WILPF UK

World Vision UK

WWF (UK)

Y Care International

Endorsing organisations include

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