DAWN on behalf of WMG, participated in the stakeholder dialogue of the Helsinki meeting of the committee on Financing for Sustainable Development. The concerns of civil society are partly reflected in the summary, but not with the strong language which civil society proposed.
For instance, it is mentioned that private and public activities should be based on Sustainable Development objectives and criteria, “cost of inaction is high, but action in the wrong directing could be even more costly”. There is a reference to UN principles on Human Rights, labour environment and anti-corruption. Even if these are mentioned as “moral commitments” they need to be turned into action. Civil Society sees the need for better assessment on partnerships, explaining that partnerships should be “country-led investment that are fair to tax-payers and secure wider stakeholder participation while avowing excessive proliferation of partnerships”. The co-chairs document gives a reference on focusing on quality of investment and partnership above their quantity, recognizing the “existing different of interest among stakeholders”. There is a call for “enabling stronger national level coordination and oversight as well as effective monitoring and evaluation for accountability” as well as to “establish appropriate standards, codes and guidelines for partnerships”. The co-chairs document mentions the heterogeneity of the private sector and referred to the SME and informal sector. The concerns of additionally and risk transfers are also acknowledged and the need for “democratic oversight, robust national accounting systems and regular audits”. Also at the end there is a recognition of the need for policy space, the role of state in financial regulation and the need to reform current investment regime. Therefore all in all the co-chairs document has a number of important recognitions. Read the full co-chair text here
