Growing support for a UN Convention on Tax
#UNTaxConvention #SMCSO23 #IMFMeetings #WBGMeetings #IFC
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Growing support for a UN Convention on Tax
At the end of last month, the annual ECOSOC Special Meeting on Tax was held at the UN. This constituted the first intergovernmental debate on international tax matters following the historic approval of a new UN General Assembly resolution at the end of 2022. The resolution, which was adopted by consensus, includes the decision to “begin intergovernmental discussions in New York at United Nations Headquarters on ways to strengthen the inclusiveness and effectiveness of international tax cooperation”. The Africa Group, which had tabled the resolution, also called for the process to deliver a new UN Convention on Tax.
Watch the recording of the meeting here (Eurodad intervention at 1:23:12).
News
Spring Meetings 2023
Join Eurodad and partners at the CSPF and IMF-WBG Spring Meetings 2023
Eurodad will join members and partners at the Civil Society Policy Forum and IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings from April 10 to 16. We will continue to call for genuine governance reform, as the current development, debt and climate finance architecture is not “fit for purpose” to tackle the polycrisis. See below for all of the events we are involved with and follow us at Twitter @Eurodad for the latest news as the Meetings progress.
World Bank reform? A view from the global South
by IBON International
The World Bank Group (WBG) is one of the largest multilateral development banks in the world with the mission to end poverty and promote shared prosperity in developing countries. But social movements and civil society, especially in the global south, have questioned the WBG’s economic role for decades. Seventy-nine years since its establishment, a reckoning is necessary on the WBG’s performance as a supposed development bank.
Civil society demands the end of the ‘gentleman’s agreement’ and calls for merit-based, open and transparent World Bank presidential selection process
In this letter to the World Bank (WB), CSOs have been demanding that the institution uses the opportunity of the resignation of President David Malpass to heed long-standing calls from global civil society and countries from the global south, and ensure the next WB president is selected in accordance with a merit-based, open and transparent process, underpinned by well-defined and publicly available selection criteria and civil society engagement with the candidates. The time has surely come to put an end to the archaic gentleman’s agreement, which has its origins in the times of empire and continues to damage the institution’s standing and legitimacy.
Open civil society letter on the IMF, WB and G20 Presidency Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable
More than 40 civil society organisations from around the world have signed an open letter to the World Bank, IMF and G20 sharing concerns regarding inclusiveness and transparency in the ongoing discussions to address sovereign debt resolution. The three organisations have convened the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable, which will meet during next week's Spring Meetings in Washington, DC.
IFC announces it will stop clients funding new coal projects
by Recourse
Campaigners from across the world have welcomed with relief a new commitment by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private sector arm, that it will no longer allow financial intermediary clients to support new coal projects. A new update to the IFC’s Green Equity Approach (GEA) policy, which encourages its financial intermediary clients (e.g. commercial banks) to reduce coal investments, now explicitly states for the first time that IFC investment will not support new coal.
Blogs
New rules for loans and credit guarantees to the private sector raise questions about the OECD-DAC’s motives as aid providers
The world is at a critical juncture and many countries across the global south are at risk of being left behind. This week's negotiations, and subsequent agreement, on new reporting rules are an opportunity for OECD Development Assistance Committee members to show they take their financial commitments towards the global south seriously.
Useful resources
Development Cooperation Report 2023: Unpacking debates, going beyond the pages
by Reality of Aid
This blog looks into the OECD Development Assistance Committee’s (DAC) Development Cooperation Report 2023 (DCR 2023).
International Civil Society Organizations’ Development Effectiveness: Reflections on progress in equitable partnerships, solidarity, and accountability
by CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE)
The International Civil Society Organizations sector of the CPDE has steadily looked into the extent to which the sector has aligned itself with the effectiveness principles that the CSO community agreed to more than ten years ago, the Istanbul Principles. This study takes place at a time when the donor community has positioned itself by adopting the DAC Recommendations on Enabling Civil Society and when there is a new wave of public discussions on key dimensions such as decolonization and localization of development cooperation. This report offers a very powerful instrument to connect all these dots and help navigate the ongoing debate.
Vacancies
Interim Campaign and Fundraising Officer
Jubilee Scotland | Edinburgh | Deadline: 5 April
Events
6 April | Reform or Regress? From the World Bank’s Evolution Roadmap to the Bridgetown Agenda
This panel will explore to what extent the World Bank’s recent ‘Evolution Roadmap’, and also the ‘Bridgetown Agenda’, proposals respond to the need for international financial architecture reform, specifically addressing the increasing focus on climate as a public good and the need to close the climate finance gap. The webinar aims to be a ‘fireside chat’ between the two main speakers to allow for a conversational discussion from the policy and civil society perspective.
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This newsletter has been produced with co-funding from the European Union, Bread for the World and Norad. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Eurodad and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the funders. |
