Between November 29th and December 1st, 2011, the next High Level Forum of Aid-Effectiveness will take in Busan,Korea. This meeting will take stock of the progress made in the implementation of harmonization, ownership, accountability principles that were agreed in the previous meeting in Paris as key prerequisites for successful development cooperation.
UCLG, both through the World Secretariat and its Committee on Development Cooperation, is actively involved in this international debate and is eagerly providing inputs to the draft outcome paper of Busan, which is being discussed now by governments.
UCLG hopes to engage different actors in the development process, in particular Parliamentarians and Civil Society. Yet, we are disappointed that local governments are barely mentioned in the draft outcome paper and that the accountability and governance principles of the level of government closest to the citizens are not taken into account.
We feel that at the High Level Forum in Busan we have an opportunity to strengthen the voice of local governments and advocate decentralized allocation of aid. In order to accomplish this we need our voice to be heard. We urge you to:
- Approach your national delegation to Busan and inform them about the importance of decentralized development cooperation;
- Lobby at your national government to include a representative of local governments into their delegation for Busan.
For more information about the amendments the UCLG proposes to the draft outcome paper please follow see UCLG Circular 15: Aid Effectiveness Agenda: Draft Outcome Document for Busan.