Some groups are disappointed agreement included no new aid, others criticise weak tax reform
WASHINGTON, July 15 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A framework for financing the world's ambitious development agenda to end extreme poverty by 2030 got a mixed response from civil society groups disappointed it included no new aid.
The deal struck by world leaders meeting in Addis Ababa at the United Nations Financing For Development (FFD) conference is due for final agreement on Thursday.
It relies on raising tax revenues, mobilising private investment and cutting down on illicit finance and corruption that robs developing countries of money.
Following are comments from top development officials and civil society groups:
UNITED NATIONS: Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General
"This agreement is a critical step forward in building a sustainable future for all. It provides a global framework for financing sustainable development.
"The results here in Addis Ababa give us the foundation of a revitalized global partnership for sustainable development that will leave no one behind."
Wu Hongbo, UN Secretary-General of the Conference:
"This historic agreement marks a turning point in international cooperation that will result in the necessary investments for the new and transformative sustainable development agenda that will improve the lives of people everywhere."
UNITED KINGDOM: Justine Greening, International Development Secretary
"This is a historic international deal that takes us beyond aid. It is the first ever agreement that allows us to harness private sector investment and developing countries’ domestic resources, including tax revenues, to turbo charge development.
"The significance of today’s unique agreement cannot be underestimated. This deal would have been unthinkable just a few years ago and is a major step towards getting the resource levels we need if we are to fast track economic growth in the developing world and eradicate extreme poverty."
OXFAM INTERNATIONAL: Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director
“Today, one in seven people live in poverty and Addis was a once in a decade chance to find the resources needed to end this scandal. But the Addis Action Agenda has allowed aid commitments to dry up, and has merely handed over development to the private sector without adequate safeguards.
"Developing countries held firm in Addis on the need to set up an intergovernmental tax body that would give them an equal say in how the global rules on taxation are designed. Instead they are returning home with a weak compromise meaning rigged rules and tax avoidance will continue to rob the world’s poorest people..... But it is just not logical to ask developing countries to raise more of their own resources without also reforming the global tax system that prevents them doing this."
CIVICUS: Dr Danny Sriskandarajah, Secretary General
“We are disappointed that the FFD process has not yielded new resources to fund the investments needed to end poverty or taken meaningful steps to address problems in the international financial system. The outcome will not deliver the reforms we need in areas like tax, that most in civil society had hoped for and, that are needed to increase the resources available for development.
"Rich countries seem unable or unwilling to increase official aid flows, which stand at a fraction of what they themselves promised years ago. Meanwhile, the new ‘innovative’ and ‘blended’ financing solutions that have been touted are not materialising at anywhere near the scale needed."
GLOBAL FINANCIAL INTEGRITY: Tom Cardamone, Managing Director
GFI praised commitments to reduce illicit financial flows from developing economies by agreeing to redouble their efforts to curtail them by 2030, including combating tax evasion and corruption through national regulations and increased international cooperation. The agreement also calls for international and regional institutions to publish estimates for illicit flow volume and composition.
"This language is an affirmation that illicit flows have a corrosive impact on development and is a recognition that significant global focus is required to address the problem if the Sustainable Development Goals are to be met," Cardamone said.
JUBILEE USA NETWORK: Eric LeCompte, Executive Director
"The accord is an important step on a path towards ending poverty and addressing inequality."
"The final negotiations were challenging. But now we have an agreement and we need to keep working together because people's lives hang in the balance."
(Reporting by Stella Dawson; Editing by Maria Caspani)
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