Fwd: Too southern to be funded - sign the open letter to OECD DAC calling for an urgent end to discriminatory funding

[Shubha Chacko]

Please consider signing this

Shubha 

No images? Click here Despite rhetoric committing to support Southern leadership and civil society, a significant portion of aid remains unofficially “tied.” The reality is that barely 10% of aid from OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members reaches civil society organizations (CSOs) in the Global South. Read our open letter below and add your signature, joining the urgent call to end discriminatory funding against Global South CSOs.   Add your signature to the open letter Dear Members of the OECD DAC, We the #ShiftThePower movement - a global network of people and civil society groups in the Global South and North, including INGOs and allies within various parts of the international aid system - write to you with a pressing concern. For a long time, details governing the flow of resources from OECD DAC members to Global South CSOs have been “buried” in layers of paperwork and technical language in a manner that has been opaque and difficult to grasp. However, our analysis of DAC member aid flows reveals systemic imbalances in the distribution of Official Development Assistance (read the full report Too Southern to be Funded or the summary). Despite rhetoric committing to support Southern leadership and civil society, a significant portion of aid remains unofficially “tied”, disproportionately benefiting CSOs within DAC member countries, while marginalizing civil society in the South. This practice not only discriminates against Global South civil society but also undermines the spirit of the DAC Recommendation on Untying Official Development Assistance of 2001. For example, we are aware of a little known clause in the Recommendation that allows Global North governments to consider funding to their own CSOs as untied if it is core support. We feel this loophole, while it breaks no laws, also undermines the spirit of commitments to support Global South civil society. Additionally, by restricting these funds to Northern CSOs only, the current funding practices are complicit in a system that undermines access to rights in regions experiencing a shrinking civic space in the Global South. Furthermore, our analysis of the formal and informal practices that limit funding to Global South CSOs in favour of Northern organizations - including CSOs and private companies - reveals a series of disturbing assumptions the OECD DAC has made about Southern civil society. These assumptions and biases reflect a lack of nuance in understanding Southern CSOs and they include: Capacity: The assumption that Global South CSOs lack the capacity to effect change in their communities is flawed. We have spent decades building our capacity to understand and address local challenges, as well as navigating the complexities of global institutions. In any case, a lot of what the Global North considers capacity has little bearing on local realities. Trust: The relationship between the OECD DAC and Global South civil society has been marked by distrust. Southern civil society has not been trusted to take a lead on how to respond to local challenges. In continuing to maintain a system in which Southern CSOs must always look to Northern CSOs for funding, the OECD has enabled a system akin to the “indirect rule” found in the colonial histories of various countries. Assumption of guilt: OECD DAC members have continued to restrict funding to Southern CSOs in part because of an assumption of guilt and fraud laid on Southern CSOs who are assumed to be guilty until they prove themselves innocent. We urge the OECD DAC and its members to immediately: Remove the legal and regulatory barriers: To allow more direct funding to move from OECD DAC donors to Global South CSOs directly without procurement restrictions. Redefine tied aid policies: Adopt a more inclusive definition of tied aid that acknowledges and addresses the implicit biases favouring DAC-based CSOs, moving away from defining core support to only Northern CSOs as “untied aid.” Enhance transparency: Implement mechanisms for greater transparency in funding. As it is now, there is no systematic transparency to track how much of the funds that go through Northern CSOs eventually make it to the South. Advocate for reforms: Prioritizing the voices of communities that are most affected by development interventions during decision-making.  The #ShiftThePower movement envisions a world where development assistance is rooted in the principles of equality, mutual respect and local agency. We are confident that the OECD DAC can play a pivotal role in making this vision a reality. We look forward to a constructive dialogue and are available for further discussion on these critical issues. #ShiftThePower Movement    Global Fund for Community Foundations Northern Ireland Charity Number 101135 Preferences  |  Unsubscribe

[Shanta Laxmi Shrestha]

Shubha Chacko,

Signed with pleasure.

warm regards,

Shanta Laxmi Shrestha, M. Phil (Education)

Executive Board Member, NASCIF,Nepal

Executive Advisor and Past President

Beyond Beijing Committee (BBC), Nepal

Organization in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

House No. 24, Sajha Galli, Shwet Binayak Marga

Kathmandu Metropolitan-10, Buddha Nagar, New Baneshwor, Kathmandu

GPO Box No.: 4758, Kathmandu, Nepal

Tel : +977-1-4784615, 4784580

Fax No.: +977-1- 4784580

Website: www.beyondbeijing.org

Facebook: www.facebook.com

Quotes that make my life:

"The things you do for yourself are gone once you have gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy."

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "SAFA-ESCR" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to safa-escr+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/safa-escr/CAN0up5agGs4AHgeHvZczyiU514_%2BirvETHwYm_6SZbtdbWuSuw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Pam Rajput]

Dear Shubha,

I sign on behalf of NAWO

Pam Rajput

From:-

Prof. Pam Rajput

Professor Emeritus ,
Panjab University, Chandigarh

1008, Sector 15 B

Chandigarh-160015, India

Tele/fax_ 0172-2545425, 4625425, 98725-11184, 09878779517

--

[Ashila Dandeniya]

Dear Sister, 

I  Signed this with pleasure. 

Thank you so much .

Best Regards 

Ashila Dandeniya (She/Her)

Executive Director

Stand Up Movement Lanka

420/1, Baseline Road, Aweriwatta, Katunayake

077-7139006

011-2253749

--

[Md. Harun-Or Rashid]

I, on behalf of Light House, have signed with pleasure.

Thank you and all the best

Harun

Md.Harun-or-Rashid; 

MSS (Economics), MPH, Diploma (SRHR) 

Founder & Chief Executive
Light House I Beena Kanon, House-3, Road-17, Block-E, Banani, Dhaka-1213, Bangladesh.

(Organization in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of UN since 2017)

Skype-harun.lh

Website: www.lighthousebd.org; Cellphone-+880 1714 004 249(whatsApp)

 E-mail: lighthou...@gmail.com; ha...@lighthousebd.org; 

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/lighthousebogura

YouTube: https://shorturl.at/pPS05

Light House has been working for Governance, Human Rights & Justice, Climate Resilience and Health services for marginal and high risk population who are unserved and hard to reach area's people in Bangladesh

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/safa-escr/CACSuqU%3Dx_t36%2B%2BBRLGYnuhC2aPseHnEebA2D9_YJT8%2BE4f71kg%40mail.gmail.com.