CAFOD responds with cautious optimism to DFID’s new Advocacy Fund
A new initiative from the British government should help poorer countries have a stronger voice and a bigger say in future development talks, according to the Department for International Development (DFID).
An Advocacy Fund has been set up, to help provide legal advice and training to the poorest and most vulnerable countries, so that they can “prepare for and engage in key talks, including the World Trade Organisation’s trade negotiations and the UN climate change meeting in Durban,” a DFID press release has announced.
CAFOD’s Head of Policy Joanne Green said: “We welcome the UK Government’s new Advocacy Fund which aims to empower developing countries with the tools to defend their interests and promote the change they want to result from both climate and trade negotiations. For too long, the international community’s negotiating forums have sidelined or silenced the very voices who have most at stake.
“However, let us be clear: there is dishonesty in facilitating the voices of the poor only to have them excluded from other forums, such as the G20, where critical decisions on climate and their own economic development are made. DFID’s initiative must do more than give the poorest countries a seat at the table; it must be backed by a real understanding of the impacts of climate and trade deals on the those countries’ sustainable development. Without that, the chances of their participation translating into real gains are minimal.
“So as the world faces up to the reality of climate change, it is vital that the poor nations feeling the brunt of its impacts are heard loud and clear at international negotiations. Their ability to have an effective say on global emissions curbs, and the financing of low carbon development and adaptation for developing countries could mean a game change in progress on these issues at the UN.
“And the same process is needed on trade.
“The poor men and women who make up the vast majority of economic actors in low income countries – particularly in informal, micro and rural enterprises – currently go ignored in economic development strategies and trade consultations, because of the narrow definitions of what constitutes growth and who contributes to it. Yet they will be massively affected – positively or negatively – by any trade deal. The DFID Advocacy Fund must help address this blind spot.”
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