Civil society urged to work together with other players

BUSAN ― The chief of a group of civil society organizations urged its members to work with governments and the private sector to forge better global development cooperation.

“Success is possible only if we work together and be inclusive of people and their civil society organizations in development,” said Antonio Tujan, Jr., co-chair of Better Aid Platform, which brings together CSOs that engage in development cooperation, in his speech at the opening ceremony of the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, or HLF-4, in Busan.

The platform enables a structured engagement of CSOs in policy dialogue to increase aid and development effectiveness. The International Steering Group, as the coordinating group of the Better Aid Platform, took the lead in organizing the Civil Society Parallel Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Ghana.

Representatives of about 500 CSOs ― trade unions, farmers’ organizations, women’s groups, youth groups and NGOs ― gathered at the Busan Civil Society Forum, before the HLF-4.

“Our meeting here in Busan is critical, as we all focus on working for better results for our people. We forge a new global partnership for development effectiveness,” he said.

Public What You Fund, a global campaign group for aid transparency, welcomed the U.S. decision to sign up to the International Aid Transparency Initiative.

“This is a huge step forward for aid transparency and for the U.S. as a responsible and effective aid donor,” the group’s managing director Karin Christiansen said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Gregory Adams, head of the Oxfam delegation to the talks, said donors have failed to meet the commitments they made at previous global aid forums.

“Secretary Clinton’s challenge can’t be met without global monitoring systems to keep donors and partners honest. This won’t be decided until June 2012,” he said.

However, he shared the view with Clinton that development was about rights, and aid needs to support people’s right to get out of poverty.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)