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Official development assistance (ODA) remains important in meeting sustainable development objectives of some developing countries, particularly least developed countries. But more than just mobilizing finance, ODA is, and must be treated as, a tool to achieve redistributive justice, wherein wealth acquired by rich countries through historical colonization and exploitation is rechannelled to Global South countries.
The Challenge
Since 50 years ago, when the commitment to allot 0.7% of donor countries’ GNI was made, most countries have failed to deliver their historic promise. Unmet “ODA debt” owed to the Global South is estimated to be over USD 6 trillion. As a tool for justice, ODA should contribute to correcting historical wrongs and dismantling poverty and inequality. And yet, numerous challenges emerge from the current practices by Global North countries that treat ODA otherwise, including maintaining the status quo that, in the first place, produces and entrenches the poverty and inequality that ODA is supposed to help address.
Many of the problems associated with ODA in terms of volume and quality are directly attributable to the fact that the governance of the aid system is led by a handful of rich countries. This exclusive membership and lack of transparency and accountability has resulted in a series of questionable decisions that have eroded the integrity of ODA and its development impact.
Our Recommendations
The CS FfD Mechanism calls for:
Agreeing on a UN Convention on International Development Cooperation: Building on the UN’s Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) process, UN member states should agree a UN legally binding agreement that protects the integrity of Official Development Assistance (ODA), ensures the credibility of ODA statistics, and enhances the impact of ODA in eradicating poverty and addressing inequalities. Such a convention should also establish a mechanism for the fulfillment of the trillions in unmet ‘aid debt’ owed to the Global South through decades. This process will ensure involvement of all countries, particularly those from the Global South, in decision-making related to ODA.
