Report of the Secretary-General

Substantive session of 2012. New York, 2-27 July 2012. Item 2 (b) of the provisional agenda*

High-level segment: Development Cooperation Forum

N1235352.pdf

InformeSGFCDECOSOC2012.pdf

N1235353.pdf

Summary

In accordance with General Assembly resolution 61/16, the present report is

submitted by the Secretary-General for consideration by the Development

Cooperation Forum. The report builds on discussions at high-level symposiums held

in Mali in May 2011, in Luxembourg in October 2011, and in Australia in May 2012.

The main findings of the report are:

(a) Many Millennium Development Goal 8 commitments remain unfulfilled.

The world economic crisis is eroding debt sustainability, trade negotiations are

stalemated, and access to affordable medicines and technology is patchy. Stronger

development cooperation partnerships could accelerate progress;

(b) There has been little progress on achieving coherence between

development cooperation and the non-aid policies of developed countries. However,

development cooperation can play a strong role in catalysing domestic financing for

development by increasing tax revenue and access to affordable financial services.

Deliberations at preparatory meetings and studies of the Development Cooperation

Forum have identified best practices;

(c) Sustainable development implies rethinking the model and results

underlying development cooperation, giving prominence to rights to development,

equity, employment, sustainable resource use and fighting climate change. Global

and national institutions will need to enhance their ability to spur coherent policies

that are led by programme countries and fully involve non-executive stakeholders.

Mutual accountability processes need to reflect this evolution. Funding needs to be

dramatically scaled up and its delivery improved, and partnerships have to be

nurtured to catalyse innovation and technology and ensure access for the poor. Best

practice stories of development cooperation success need to be validated by ex ante

and ex post impact analysis to show that they are supporting all three pillars

(economic, social and environmental) of sustainable development;

(d) Growth in development cooperation is slowing, but it remains vital for the

least developed countries and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.

Providers continue to diversify, with rising South-South, philanthropic and

decentralized cooperation. Development Assistance Committee official development

assistance (ODA) is likely to stagnate over the medium term, with receding prospects

of countries reaching 0.7 per cent ODA/gross national income (GNI) by 2015. More

cooperation should flow via multilateral institutions;

(e) There has been some progress on allocating ODA to countries which need

it most, but this must be accelerated. Aid modalities continue to be inconsistent with

programme countries’ wish to see increased budget support and reduced technical

assistance. There needs to be more investment in infrastructure, health systems, basic

education and gender equality;

(f) Development Cooperation Forum debates have emphasized the

importance of a comprehensive approach to assessing the quality and results of

development cooperation. Different providers assess quality differently, but

programme countries and non-executive stakeholders place particular emphasis on:

measuring longer-term results; assessing progress in increasing predictability;

reducing conditionality, fragmentation and tying; and maintaining concessionality;

all being issues on which progress is poor. Duplication of discussions and

frameworks on aid quality should be avoided, for example by building more

systematic linkages between post-Busan ministerial meetings and the Development

Cooperation Forum, which is a universal forum;

(g) Accountability and transparency are crucial for results. United Nations

surveys indicate that national strategies, targets for each provider and strong

leadership are key to progress on national mutual accountability between providers

and programme countries. Such mutual accountability in turn can have a major

positive impact on the behaviour of programme countries and providers, and bring

about sharp increases in results. Mutual accountability should allow all providers and

domestic stakeholders to participate much more fully. A strong global mutual

accountability framework is a prerequisite for progress at the national level, as is

overcoming capacity constraints. Transparency is also vital, but must be more closely

tailored to what is needed for accountability;

(h) Global political dialogue on South-South cooperation has increased since

2008. Flows are set to continue growing. Such cooperation varies widely in terms of

modalities and country focus. Studies conducted by the Development Cooperation

Forum indicate that South-South infrastructure support is highly cost-effective and

predictable and that well-designed South-South cooperation in agriculture can boost

smallholder production and food security. Triangular cooperation continues to have

major advantages, especially for capacity development.

The report concludes with a number of action-oriented recommendations on the

future role of development cooperation. These include measures to address the

Millennium Development Goal 8 commitments, to catalyse domestic resources more

effectively, to promote sustainable development, to improve allocation, to increase

quality and results, to accelerate progress on accountability and transparency, and to

maximize the benefits of South-South and triangular cooperation. Finally, the report

considers the possible future role of the Development Cooperation Forum in

assisting progress on those initiatives.

Post by Bruno Ayllón.

Pesquisador bolsista doutor no PNPD, projeto "Cooperação Internacional ao Desenvolvimento", IPEA, Brasil