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Forum for the Future of Aid

Southern Voices for Change in the International Aid System Project

The Forum on the Future of Aid is an online community dedicated to research and opinions about how the international aid system currently works and where it should go next

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The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness

Author: Roberto Bissio

The report analyses the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (PD) according to the criteria agreed by the Working Group on Right to Development (RtD).
While the PD does not deal with the commitments spelled out in MDG8 (trade, finance, debt, increased aid), it can indirectly contribute to them. However, while relatively minor gains in efficiency could be obtained from avoiding duplications in delivery and simplifying reporting, the main causes of aid inefficiency (i.e. tied aid and unpredictability of aid income) are not properly addressed. There is a danger that the political momentum around the PD might deviate attention from the need of building global development partnerships around the commitments of MDG8.
The report concludes that the PD does not constitute in itself a partnership, as it brings together actors with extremely asymmetrical conditions and fails to provide institutional mechanisms to address the asymmetries in power. Also, human rights, including the RtD, are not mentioned in the PD. While some of its principles (national ownership and mutual accountability) can be supportive of the RtD, the practical implementation of the PD and the down to earth objectives can work in practice against RtD and erode national democratic processes.

To read the full report, click here



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