LONDON (AlertNet) - International development may not be a vote winner, but Britain was the world's fourth largest aid donor in 2009 and all three main parties in the May 6 election race have set out policies to tackle global poverty.
Climate change is another issue politicians can't afford to ignore, despite the disappointing outcome of U.N. talks on a new global deal at December's Copenhagen summit.
Here are some of the key policies outlined in the manifestos of the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties, as well as their answers to questions posed by anti-poverty group ONE.
AlertNet also reports on how NGOs are trying to push these issues up the electoral agenda.
FOREIGN AID FUNDING
- All three parties have pledged to enshrine in law a target of giving annual official development assistance (ODA) equal to 0.7 percent of gross national income from 2013.
- The Lib Dems have called for a "Gleneagles Recovery Plan" for the G8 to fulfill outstanding aid pledges and a "Route 0.7" for all donors to set out an annual plan to meet the internationally supported aid goal.
- Labour wants a new post-2010 international target for ODA, underpinned by specific national commitments, to be agreed at a U.N. Summit in September on meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
- Labour is also looking to raise new money for development from innovative financing mechanisms, and has asked the International Monetary Fund to explore a global tax on financial transactions.
- The Conservatives plan to end aid to Russia and China and concentrate more on the poorest countries, particularly in the Commonwealth. They would also establish a Poverty Impact Fund to support innovative British NGOs that do not currently qualify for government funding.
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
- Labour is working on a Global Development Action Plan to achieve the MDGs, and will push for a focus on the most off-track MDGs for health and education.
- The Lib Dems wants September's summit to focus on making progress on the maternal and infant mortality goals.
- The Conservatives say the summit is an important opportunity to rally international action to get the MDGs back on track. The party has promised to spend £500 million a year on tackling malaria.
AID EFFECTIVENESS
- The Conservatives plan to set up an independent aid watchdog, and publish full details of British aid spending on the internet. They also want to move, where feasible, towards "results-based aid", which means "handing over cash to governments only when we see real evidence of results".
- The Tories say they would reduce, or even abolish, funding for U.N. and multilateral agencies that don't deliver, and give more to those that prove they are making a real difference.
- They also want to launch an initiative called MyAid Fund, enabling members of the public to vote for an aid project they would like to support.
- All three parties say they want to give people in developing countries more say over how aid is spent. Labour has committed to spend at least 5 percent of bilateral funding to promote accountability and transparency through parliaments, audit mechanisms and civil society. The Lib Dems say they will support the development of local democratic institutions, civil society groups and the media.
HUMANITARIAN RELIEF
- Labour says it will continue to drive reform of U.N. humanitarian agencies and work to build an international consensus on "responsibility to protect". It will spend at least half of new bilateral aid in fragile and conflict-affected states.
- The Lib Dems say they are committed to defending the neutrality and independence of humanitarian assistance from any political or foreign policy interests. They also want to reform the funding mechanism for the World Food Programme so it can work to prevent hunger rather than just respond to crisis situations.
- The Conservatives say they will support humanitarian intervention "when it is practical and necessary" while
working with other countries to prevent conflict arising.
CLIMATE CHANGE
- All three parties say they will work for a fair and legally binding international deal to tackle climate change, and provide funding for poor countries to adapt to the impacts of global warming and curb their emissions.
- The Lib Dems say development aid should be targeted on projects that are environmentally sustainable, such as renewable energy. They have called for rich countries to provide $160 billion per year in climate change funding for developing nations and say they are the only party committed to providing this finance in addition to the existing commitment to spend 0.7 percent of GNI on aid.
- Labour says Britain should contribute "our fair share" towards the global goal agreed in the Copenhagen Accord to mobilise public and private finance flows of least $100 billion per year by 2020, including finance on top of the 0.7 percent ODA commitment from 2013. It says no more than 10 percent of Britain's ODA should be counted as climate finance.
- The Conservatives want to explore ways to help the poorest developing countries take part in international climate change negotiations, and say they will work to make British aid "climate-smart".
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