The delegation of the Canadian Branch of the
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (C.P.A.), was composed of Senator David
Smith, P.C., and Senator Nancy Ruth. The conference was sponsored by the U.K.
branch of the C.P.A. and was held in one of the buildings of the U.K.
Parliament at Westminster.
Part I of the conference focused on scrutinising five
areas of Aid Effectiveness which were identified in the Paris Declaration on
Aid Effectiveness in 2005.
1. Ownership. Partner countries exercise effective
leadership over their development policies and strategies, and coordinate
development actions.
2. Alignment. Donors base their overall support
on partner countries’ national development strategies, institutions and
procedures.
3. Harmonisation. Donors’ actions are more
harmonised, transparent and collectively effective.
4. Managing for Results. Managing resources and
improving decision-making for results.
5. Mutual Accountability. Donors and partners are
accountable for development results.
These were reaffirmed at the High Level Forum held in
Accra in September 2008 with overarching commitments to:
1. Predictability. Donors will provide 3-5 year
forward information on their planned aid to partner countries.
2. Country Systems. Partner country systems will
be used to deliver aid as the first option, rather than donor systems.
3. Conditionality. Donors will switch from
reliance on prescriptive conditions about how and when aid money is spent to
conditions based on the developing country’s own development objectives.
4. Untying. Donors will relax restrictions that
prevent developing countries from buying the goods and services they need from
whomever and wherever they can get the best quality at the lowest price.
Part II focused on Opportunities for Parliamentarians
to Scrutinise the Effectiveness of Aid Policy.
There are many different ways Members of Parliament can
press governments on:
·Adherence to promises made in the Paris Declaration and
reaffirmed in Accra
·Accurate monitoring and evaluation of development indicators
·Increased participation from the different development
stakeholders
·Combating aid corruption through regional initiatives
·Mutual accountability, transparency and responsibility of aid
received and allocated.
The role of a Member can be split into three parts:
·Scrutiny
·Legislative work
·Representation – in the constituency
Senator Nancy Ruth was on the working committee that was
given the responsibility of drafting a statement regarding the conclusion of
the delegates. After 5 days of meetings, with a number of highly qualified
speakers, as well as focus groups, the following statement was agreed upon:
1. We, the 90 parliamentarians from 41 parliaments and
legislatures met at the Houses of Parliament in London on 17-21 November 2008
for a unique conference on International Development: Scrutinising Aid
Effectiveness”. Our purpose was to determine how better we might hold our
Executives to account for development funds given, received and allocated.
2. We welcome the initiatives to bring together
international legislators from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the
G8+5, Regional Parliaments and Small Countries to share experiences, knowledge
and develop shared understanding.
3. Following the High Level Forum in Accra in September
2008 and the adoption of the Accra Agenda for Action, we understand that
although progress is being made towards the 2010 commitments and targets, we
must ensure that our Executives strive to fulfill their commitments made in the
2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.
4. One in four people in the developing world, 1.4
billion people (of whom 70% are women and girls) live on less than US$1.25 a
day. We consider it vital that aid given and received is used effectively. We
believe that effective use of aid is essential if the Millennium Development
Goals (MDG) are to be achieved by 2015. We believe that MDG progress reports
should include empirical evidence and translate gender analysis into budget
planning.
5. As representatives of 41 parliaments and
legislatures, we strongly urge our Executives:
• To adhere to promises made in the Paris Declaration –
reaffirmed in Accra, to improve ownership, alignment, harmonisation, the
managing for results and mutual accountability as set in the 2010 targets and
to remember that the purpose of these technical structures is to alleviate
poverty for everyone, including women and children
• To ensure that there is sufficient monitoring and
evaluation of progress towards the targets set in the 2005 Paris Declaration
and the MDG, and effective communication between the several development
partners
• To encourage inter-region links and communications to
share monitoring and research capabilities
• To increase the involvement of parliamentarians in
policy making and monitoring of aid and the budget process
• To promote the participation of and communication
between Civil Society Organisations, Faith-Based Organisations and our
constituents in development strategies
• To promote and employ transparent and accountable
practices including gender disaggregated data within international development
and aid frameworks
(the two Canadian representatives both believed the
word “gender” in the preceding sentence should be replaced by the word “sex”.)
• To use their best efforts to reduce the administrative
costs of aid thus bringing greater benefits to the recipients
• To work assiduously to improve the delivery time of
aid
6. In turn we parliamentarians pledge to:
• Initiate legislation in our respective countries to
implement the Paris Declaration and Accra Agenda for Action, and call on our
political leadership to urge implementation of various United Nations
conventions, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women
• Encourage debate in our legislative bodies, including
promoting the formation of international development and overseas aid standing
committees, developing legislative aid development plans and strengthening
links between parliaments and legislatures
• Use our influence and links with political leaders,
citizens and the media to raise awareness and highlight the importance of
international development, and to improve aid effectiveness by promoting
transparency and open dialogue
• Fulfill our role as local development leaders in our
constituencies by advocating the development needs of our constituents and
encouraging participation in development initiatives among local governments
and communities
• Undertake an active role within international
development and the scrutiny of aid effectiveness by formulating development
policies, forming effective partnerships with development stakeholders and
assessing aid effectiveness
7. Furthermore, we pledge to:
• Work for a renewed partnership between donor and
partner countries to transform aid and international development policies so
that aid given and received is spent effectively and contributes to the
alleviation of poverty throughout the world and the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals
• Urge our Executives to propose that the UN starts
discussion towards proposing a UN Convention on Aid Effectiveness
SUBMITTED by Senator David Smith in consultation with
Senator Nancy Ruth.
Respectfully
submitted,
Mr. Russ Hiebert, M.P., Chair for Senators Nancy Ruth and David
Smith
Canadian Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA)