Takeaways from the Busan Partnership Forum and the 11th Steering Committee

Seoul was host to the 11th Steering Committee of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC) which took place the 6-8 of October 2016.

By Matt Simonds

The third annual Busan Partnership Forum of the GPEDC took place just weeks in advance of the 2nd High Level Meeting schedule for end November in Nairobi. The forum was immediately followed by a meeting of the steering committee. Both the forum and the steering committee offered a space for the GPEDC constituents to reflect on the work of the GPEDC since its inception, and gave way to exchanges of ideas on the future of the partnership, especially in light of the adoption of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. Directly related were presentations and deliberations on the second draft of the Nairobi Outcome Document which in many ways seeks to deliver renewed mandate and revitalized partnership. Trade unions were represented by a small delegation including national unions FFW Philippines and FKTU Korea.

The forum and steering committee gave something of a boost in momentum ahead of the Nairobi HLM2, at least from the perspective that all actors appear committed to enhancing the partnership through more concrete work. There was unanimous recognition of the importance of the GPEDC’s monitoring work as well as its unique multistakeholder character. There was a clear sentiment that revitalizing the partnership with more concrete and regular work is needed especially as a bridge to country level efforts. This would entail linking all the elements, the monitoring findings, the global partnership initiatives (GPIs) and the ad hoc convening activities of the partnership in a more coherent and systematic way going forward. The specifics are still under discussion but the idea that the partnership requires more continuity at a technical level and for practitioners was welcome.

On this issue the trade union movement was clear to emphasise that the Busan Partnership Principles, and the development effectiveness commitments remain the foundation of the GPEDC and should be reinforced as part of the renewed mandate. Recognizing that the adoption of the Agenda 2030 rightfully necessitates that the GPEDC examines how it can best contribute to the ambitious SDGs and targets, trade unions suggested that the Partnership focus on how improving the effectiveness of development cooperation will support the achievement of the SDGs.

The trade union delegation agreed with others present that the GPEDC monitoring framework is a cornerstone of the partnership and should continue to be strengthened to better reflect the totality of the aid and development effectiveness commitments. We suggested that the GPEDC in its new mandate should better utilize the findings of the monitoring report to inform the work of the partnership, especially through the GPIs. We therefore emphasised that working arrangements should place greater emphasis should be given to technical level exchange, supported by evidence and data. High Level Meetings are useful only if the necessary momentum is maintained through regular policy exchange on a technical level. For this reason we suggested resources are better utilized by creating spaces for practitioners to meet and exchange on how to improve the effectiveness of development cooperation.

Finally, trade unions oppose the overemphasis of the role of the private sector as part of the renewed mandate. We have recognized that governments will insist on a role for the private in this arena, however, the suggested approach by some is out of balance with other actors in the partnership.

TUDCN will have a small delegation at the HLM2 in Nairobi and will continue to promote priorities, like social dialogue in development in the context of the GPEDC.