ActionAid: Unfinished business in Doha leaves development goals at risk

Press release
2 December 2008

The UN summit on financing development has failed to find solutions- by approving the final text A/CONF.212/CRP.3. This will not stop the poverty tsunami brought on by this year’s food, fuel, financial and climate crises, said international anti-poverty agency ActionAid.

"Rich countries should be utterly ashamed of themselves for refusing to reaffirm predictable, tangible and serious aid pledges in the face of one of the worst poverty catastrophes the world has faced in decades," said Luca De Fraia, ActionAid Italy ’s Head of Policy. "This makes nonsense of the principle of mutual accountability between rich and poor countries, which was at the heart of the 2002 UN Financing for Development agreement in Monterrey ."

Specioza Kiwanuka, Head of Policy for ActionAid in Uganda, said:

"ActionAid’s research shows that developing countries may lose more than $400bn by 2010 due to the financial crisis. Yet some donors are refusing to set any firm timetables to deliver the aid increases they pledged back in 2005. Without the promised funds, some of the world’s poorest countries may have no choice but to cut health and education budgets as the financial crisis starts to bite."

ActionAid also slammed rich country governments for blocking steps to give the UN a stronger role in tackling tax evasion, which costs developing countries $160 billion every year, money they can ill afford to lose. Western governments vetoed moves to give more teeth to the UN tax committee, which is currently a technical body with very little power or resources. Yet it is multinational corporations from these same countries who are primarily responsible for evading taxes in developing countries.

ActionAid welcomed the agreement announced today to convene a high level UN conference to discuss the financial crisis and its impact on the developing world, but warned that time is running out to stop economic and human devastation in the poorest countries.

Mr De Fraia concluded, " What we have seen in Doha is a power struggle where rich countries want to diminish the role of the UN in the reform of the global financial architecture and poor countries want to strengthen it. The agreement on a high-level UN process could offer a way out of this impasse, but only if G20 leaders give their strong support to the involvement of the UN.”

Further information and media interviews:

Shafqat Munir , ActionAid Asia Head of Communications, +92 300 500 3959