The November 2011 Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan (HLF4) will have the future of global development cooperation in a critical state, quite certainly. It is a chance for the development community to not only assess the progress it has made against the Paris and Accra aid reform commitments, but also to build upon them by agreeing to bolder and more comprehensive reform of development cooperation in order to maximize its support for the world’s poorest people.
For CPDG, being the country's front runner of the parallel process of development effectiveness, the HLF4 must result in the following as being pushed as well by BetterAid and supported too by AidWatch- Philippines:
Measurable, time-bound and monitored commitments: The Paris Declaration’s Annex of specific, time-bound, measurable and regularly monitored commitments – despite its flaws - has been critical to the progress it has helped to generate. Without such an Annex and an independent process for monitoring its implementation, a Busan agreement will likely be soon forgotten, like many international agreements that lack these unique elements.
Commitment to implement and build on the Paris and Accra reforms: The Paris and Accra reforms will not have been implemented in full by Busan. As these reforms are already contributing to critical improvements to aid delivery and partner countries are demanding further implementation, it is important they continue. HLF4 must therefore tackle obstacles to change and push forward these and further reforms. Future reform commitments may need to focus on areas of Paris and Accra that are delivering the most change (as judged by partner country experience and the Paris Declaration evaluation) and issues neglected by these frameworks.
Operationalization of a development effectiveness approach to aid through the management for results agenda: It is critical that aid reform efforts are increasingly approached from the perspective of development effectiveness. The evolving management for results agenda provides an opportunity to take steps in this direction by helping to focus aid more effectively on supporting the poorest people to satisfy their basic needs, escape from poverty, progressively realise their rights and hold their governments accountable.
Ensure that the process of preparing for HLF4 and the negotiation of its outcome is fully transparent and participatory: Such an approach is vital to ensuring that Busan responds to the major challenges facing an evolving aid system and is legitimate and therefore has the best chance of being implemented.
