European Consultations on CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness

In the CSO meeting in Busan in December 2011, the Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness and the BetterAid decided to merge both global processes in CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE). This decision was confirmed by the consensus in Cebu in February 2012. The objectives, strategies and structures for cooperation within CPDE were proposed by a drafting group and submitted for regional and sectoral consultations.

The European consultations took place in Belgrade on 3 and 4 July 2012. The day before, the Working group on CSO Development Effectiveness of CONCORD met to prepare the European meeting and to discuss the priorities for the Working group action plan.

There were 34 participants from 23 European countries (EU and non-EU) and from regional and global organizations. After detailed discussions, the participants agreed on key issues and proposed number of improvements in the CPDE paper. The general comment is that the document should be shorter and less bureaucratic to make it clearer for large constituencies; some issues could be left for regional, sub-regional and national bodies.

The key European requirements include:
• There must be a better balance between the advocacy work of CPDE and the emphasis on own development effectiveness.
• The members of CPDE must agree both with the Istanbul Principles* and Key Asks paper**.
• The structure and the representation in the Global Council must be clarified; the same organization cannot have 2 seats, organization hosting the secretariat cannot have a co-chair, etc. – the structure must stay transparent and avoid conflict of interest.
• The members of the Independent Accountability Body must be selected with random process from the nominees.

At the end of consultations, the group selected Justin Kilcullen as CPDE representative of the European region. The representatives of sub-regions will be selected in sub-regional consultations.
The European group proposes to have 3 sub-regions.


* Istanbul Principles:
1. Respect and promote human rights and social justice
2. Embody gender equality and equity while promoting women and girls´ rights
3. Focus on people´s empowerment, democratic ownership and participation
4. Promote environmental sustainability
5. Practice transparency and accountability
6. Pursue equitable partnerships and solidarity
7. Create and share knowledge and commit to mutual learning
8. Commit to realizing positive sustainable changes

** Key Asks (Key CSO messages and proposals actors; agreed by the Open Forum and BetterAid in Harnosand in March 2011):
A) Fully evaluate and deepen the Paris and Accra commitments
B) Strengthen development effectiveness through practices based on human rights standards
C) Support CSOs a independent development actors in their own right, and commit to an enabling environment for their work in all countries
D) Promote equitable and just development architecture

More information: Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness and BetterAid
Or contact Daniel.Nuijten@concordeurope.org

Information provided by Daniel Svoboda, Civic Association Development Worldwide and member of the Global Facilitation Group of the Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness