Desarrollo para un mundo decente – sindicatos en el Foro de la Sociedad Civil de Busan

The trade union delegation, accounting for almost a tenth of all participants, has well marked their presence both during the forum and in the final declaration. Busan Civil Society Forum, uniting over 500 representatives of civil society organisations from all around the world, finished with the proclamation of the Civil Society Statement to the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness.

Over 500 representatives of civil society organisations, including trade unions, women’s organisations and faith-based organisations gathered in Busan, South Korea to prepare for the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness. In a series of plenary sessions and over 40 different workshops, they discussed the key issues of development effectiveness to finalize the civil society positions for the subsequent forum. The sessions’ topics included ownership and accountability, private sector in development, gender, transparency and aid architecture. The participants worked also in regional groups, exchanging on their regional priorities as well as advocacy strategies with respective governmental delegations. The discussions fed to the final statement: “Better Aid and Development Effectiveness for the World We Want” which captures the CSO positions for the High Level Forum, which took place in Busan in the following days.

Trade unions, with their 40 delegates, contributed considerably to the event. Apart from hosting the Development for a Decent World - preparatory meeting for their delegation, where the trade union positions and advocacy strategies were clarified and prepared, the union delegates addressed the other CSOs during the sessions on inclusive ownership and accountability, rights-based approach and private sector. The latter has been in the focus of attention of many organisations, including the ITUC. The trade union perspective on the issue has been elaborated in a statement published in the run up to the event (“Private sector in development”). The final CSO statement which was the outcome of all BSCF discussions reflected fully the trade union perspective on the issue, including the call for the recognition of social partners and adherence to international standards on labour rights.

While some of the BCSF participants started the journey home, over three hundred, including 30 trade union delegates, stayed in Busan to attend the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, which would bring the debates to a much higher level.

More about:
-  Key trade unions messages to the HLF4
-  Trade union statement on private sector in development for HLF4
-  Trade union contributions to HLF4