The Civil Society Forum, meeting on the occasion of UNCTAD XII (20-25 April 2008), took place in Accra, Ghana from 17 to 19 April 2008. It convened social movements, pro-development groups, women’s groups, trade unions, peasants and agricultural organizations, environmental organizations, faith-based organizations, and fair trade organizations, inter alia, (referred to as We thereafter) who expressed a variety of perspectives on trade, investment and competition policies, and their impacts on development. Participants of the forum are united in the defence of a number of principles, positions and actions that they wish to present to the member States of the United Nations Trade and Development Conference at its 12th session.

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In February 2008, the Halifax Initiative organized a conference on “The Changing Face of Global Development Finance – Impacts and implications for aid, development, the South and the Bretton Woods Institutions”. The Final Report is now available in English on-line. It includes a summary of the presentations and discussions at the conference.

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A REALITY OF AID NETWORK and IBON FOUNDATION presentation on Development Finance and Aid Effectiveness during the UNCTAD XII Civil Society Forum.

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The issue of aid effectiveness has gained prominence in recent years especially with the signing of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness at the Paris High Level Forum II organized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on February 28 - March 2, 2005. The Paris Declaration is an unprecedented achievement for the international donor community and the partner governments, committing themselves to key principles for aid reform. Since the aid effectiveness agenda is narrowly focused on aid management and delivery, there is little knowledge of the issue among broader circles of the development community and even more so among civil society organizations, parliaments, media and the public in general. It is often not understood that the aid effectiveness agenda actually addresses the crucial issues of reforming relationships in development cooperation and aid which are as old as official development aid itself.

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The theme of the 2008 Report is aid effectiveness guided by international human rights norms, including democratic ownership, the principles of transparency, participation, and accountability.

The Reality of Aid 2008 Report will argue that “ownership” must be democratic and rights-based. It is the result of strong engagement by movements and organizations representing citizens, and particularly women and vulnerable and marginalized groups, who are deeply affected by poverty and inequality. Efforts for poverty reduction must include the space for organized efforts of poor people and organizations to claim and promote their rights.

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Programme: Regional Workshop on CSOs and Aid Effectiveness, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Read
Programme: Regional Workshop on CSOs and Aid Effectiveness, South and West Asia Read
Overview Report on the Hanoi Consultations for East Asia, Central Asia and the PacificRead
Overview Report: Asia (South and West) Regional Workshop on CSOs and Aid EffectivenessRead
Report on Gender Issues in the Kathmandu Consultations on CSOs and Aid EffectivenessRead
HANOI Regional Workshop on Aid EffectivenessRead
Multi-stakeholder national consultation on CSOs and aid effectiveness, Bangladesh Read
National Consultation workshop on Aid Effectiveness, Tanzania Read
Inter-regional multi-stakeholder dialogue on aid effectiveness, Zambia Read

AFRODAD studies on Aid Management in selected African Countries

A critical assessment of aid management and donor harmonisation in Ghana: A case study
A critical assessment of aid management and donor harmonisation in Liberia: A case study
A critical assessment of aid management and donor harmonisation: The case of Kenya
A critical assessment of aid management and donor harmonisation: The case of Malawi
A critical assessment of aid management and donor harmonisation: The case of Mozambique

Here are some updates on workshops

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RoA Chair Tony Tujan (second from left) together with OECD Chair Richard Manning (fourth from left) during the Opening Panel of the 2006 Global Report launch in Oslo, Norway. (photo courtesy of Ma. Theresa Nera-Lauron)