Forthcoming Events
EPAs: The Latest Update
A meeting with Under Secretary of State for International Development, The Rt. Hon Gareth Thomas, MP, on the latest developments on EPA negotiations post the 31st December deadline
Monday 12th May 16.30 - 17.30, Committee Room 7, Palace of Westminster
Unfinished Business: 10-Years of Dropping the Debt
A joint meeting with Jubilee Debt Campaign to mark the launch of their new report Unfinished Business, which will highlight the achievements of the debt campaign over the past ten years, and explore the key debt issues that must be addressed as we look ahead to the next ten years.
The report will be presented by Sarah Williams from Jubilee Debt Ca
mpaign while Latoya Richards from Jamaica, Muyatwa Sitali from Jubilee Zambia and Given Lubinda MP from Zambia will describe the impact of indebtedness, the role of debt cancellation, and the current debt challenges faced by their countries.
The meeting will take place on Tuesday 20th May at 18.00 in the Grand Committee Room. To reserve a place please RSVP to birchj@parliament.uk
Because I am a Girl - In the Shadow of War
A joint meeting with Plan International to mark the launch of their newest report. The report features the violations, struggles and triumphs of young girls living in the shadow of war and includes recommendations on the need for governments to focus on girls’ rights in post conflict reconstruction. This report is the second of a series of annual reports to be published every year until 2015 tracking the ‘State of the Worlds Girls’ in relation to the Millennium Development Goals
Proceedings will be chaired by Ann McKechin, MP - Chair of the APPG on Debt, Aid and Trade. The panel of speakers includes, Marie Staunton, CEO Plan UK; Kemi Williams, Senior Gender Advisor for DFID; Dr Erica Hall, Assistant Head of International Policy and Programmes at the Children's Legal Centre in the University of Essex and; Grace Harman, Child Rights Advisor for Plan Sierra Leone.
The meeting will take place on Wednesday 21st May at 18.00 in the Macmillan Room. To reserve a place please RSVP to Bindu.Issac@plan-international.org
The Potential Impact of the New EU-India Free Trade Agreement
The APPG Debt, Aid and Trade is co-hosting this meeting with the Indo-British APPG and in conjunction with Action Aid.
As one of the most significant and high profile new-generation EU trade deals, this event will provide a forum for a range of Indian speakers to discuss the potential impacts of any final deal as the UK leg of part of a wider European lobby tour on behalf of the Trade Justice Movement's EU Global Europe Campaign
The meeting will take place on Wednesday 25th June at 18.00 in Committee Room 7. To reserve a place please RSVP to birchj@parliament.uk
Recent Events
Dangerous Ideas in Development’ Series
The Impasse of the Doha Development Round: Where Next for Regional and Global Trade Agreements?
As part of our on-going series 'Dangerous Ideas in Development' series in conjunction with the Institute of Development Studies looked to consider the next steps for Trade agreements following the deadlock of the Doha round . Speakers included Professor Sherman Robinson, Fellow of the Globalisation Team at the Institute of Development Studies; and Christopher Stevens, Director of Programmes, ODI.
What is Europe offering Africa? The Pros and Cons of EPAs
A joint meeting with the Royal African Society and the Overseas Development Institute, it examined Europe’s new trade deals with developing countries – Economic Partnership Agreements. The EU says EPAs will strengthen regional trading blocs and increase competitiveness. Some Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Countries that signed the Lomé Convention accuse the EU of forcing them to open up their markets, threatening their nascent industries. How will EPAs affect Africa? Who are the winners and losers?
Discussing the issues were: Mr Karl Falkenberg, Deputy General Trade European Commission; Dr Christopher Stevens, Director of Programmes at the International Economic Development Group ODI; Joy Kategekwa, Policy Advisor on Trade Oxfam International and; Junior Lodge, Technical Co-ordinator EPA Negotiations, Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery.
The meeting was chaired by APPG Debt, Aid and Trade Secretary Andy Reed, MP.
'The Post-Bali Climate Change and the Development Agenda '
A Talk by The Rt. Hon Hillary Benn Secretary of State Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Minutes for this meeting can be downloaded here: Minutes
A talk by Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and former Secretary of State for International Development, the Rt. Hon Hillary Benn. Mr. Benn's talk will focus on Climate Change and Development post-Bali and following the Bangkok meeting due to take place in early April.
'Dangerous Ideas in Development' Series
'Poor but Powerful: What the Rise of China
and India Means for Development''
As part of our ongoing series 'Dangerous Ideas in Development' with the Institute of Development Studies, members heard from Lord Malloch-Brown, UK Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, and Professor John Humphrey, Research Fellow at the Institute for Development Studies, who discussed the nature and implications of the rise of China and India for the developing world given their divergent priorities on Climate Change, Trade and Growth from richer Developed countries, and the impact this has on both development studies and the policies of Development Agencies
Photos Courtesy of Charlie Matthews, Institute of Development Studies
Left to Right: Lord Malloch-Brown, Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN; Ann McKechin, Chair APPG Debt, Aid and Trade and; Prof. John Humphrey, Institute of Development Studies discuss the rise of China and India
European Development Co-operation - The Next Frontier
A Talk by Simon Maxwell
A copy of Simon Maxwell's Presentation Can be Download Here
Simon Maxwell, Director of the Overseas Development Institute, spoke on European Development Cooperation and the streamlining of the EU's current aid framework, ahead of the debate in the House of Commons next week.
Simon first critiqued the current multilateral aid environment before turning to examine whether a European competitive advantage in delivering multilateral assistance as a single bilateral mechanism via the EU existed and if so where, before concluding on the obstacles and opportunities which lie ahead.
'Gender Equality and the New Aid Environment'
Launch of a new report by the Gender and Development Network looking at the impact of new aid modalities on funding for women’s rights and gender equality work. The report is based on local research with women’s civil society organisations in the South and their first-hand experiences of the funding environment.
The findings show a mixed picture. Some civil society organisations, especially larger, capital city-based, advocacy organisations are doing well. But many smaller organisations, particularly those working on areas that are not the donors’ ‘flavour of the month’ are struggling to survive. The report makes a series of recommendations and raises crucial questions about gender equality and aid effectiveness, the role of donors in supporting civil society and progress towards gender equality more generally.
Tuesday 15th January, 17.30 - 18.45, Macmillan Room , Portcullis House Commons. Followed by a reception in the Robertson Room 18.45 - 19.30
'Can Pay, Should Pay'
Campaign Film Launch at Westminster
Stamp Out Poverty
5th December 2007 - 'Can Pay, Should Pay', a 10 minute film introduced by John Snow addresses the feasibility surrounding the introduction of a Sterling Stamp Duty on all Sterling currency transactions as a means to help find new innovative sources of money to address poverty. The film was made by Minamon Films whilst the launch was hosted by Lord Joffe.
The film follows on from APPG Debt, Aid and Trade's recent report Meeting the Millennium Promise and develops many of the themes raised in the report.
The film can be viewed on the YouTube website by following the links below:
[The APPG Debt, Aid and Trade is not responsible for the content of external internet sites]
A Meeting with Honourable Minister Bbumba Syda Namirembe Minister of Gender Labour and Social Development in the Government of Uganda
The Honourable Minster Bbumba Syda Namirembe Minister of Gender Labour and Social Development, Government of Uganda has been responsible for the Social Development Sector of the Ugandan Government since 2006. Her mandate is to empower communities to harness their potential through access to equal opportunities, cultural growth, skill development and labour productivity. She has direct oversight of the implementation of Uganda’s 2003-8 Social Development Sector Strategic Investment Plan. Her Ministry is now directly engaged with the development of the National Framework for Social Protection.
Over the last five years the Ugandan government has given new attention to the conceptualization of social protection as an approach and as a set of specific public policies, both to reduce risk and vulnerability and to act as a poverty-eradication intervention. Social Protection objectives are integrated into the four pillars of the PEAP planning framework: human development; enhancing production, competitiveness and incomes; and, security, conflict resolution and disaster management. Like a number of governments in Africa, Uganda has set up inter-ministerial working groups and established pilot schemes in response to commitments made at the intergovernmental conference on social protection held in Livingstone in March 2006.
The Minister explained the choices and challenges facing Uganda as it develops an affordable and sustainable system suited to the needs of its population
Economic Partnership Agreements Briefing Meeting
By Gareth Thomas, Under-Secretary of State for DFID
Gareth Thomas, Under-Secretary of State for DFID, outlined the latest developments in regard to EPA negotiations and the Governments position ahead of the European Union General Council meeting
Wednesday 5th December, 15.30-16.30, Thatcher Room, Portcullis House Commons.
'Dangerous Ideas in Development’ Series
'Stunted: Donor Attitudes to Child Under-Nutrition’
Our final 2007 instalment of the 'Dangerous Ideas on Development' series in conjunction with the Institute of Development Studies looked to address prevailing attitudes towards Child Under-Nutrition in the Developing World. Speakers included Professor Lawrence Haddad, Director of the Institute of Development Studies; and David McCoy, Managing Editor of Global Health Watch.
After graduating as a medical doctor from the UK, David McCoy worked as a junior doctor for two and a half years in England before then spending two and half years in a rural hospital in northern Kwazulu. He then worked as a senior policy research fellow at the Child Health Unit of the University of Cape Town for 18 months. For the subsequent six years, he worked for the Health Systems Trust, a non-government organisation based in South Africa established to develop a research and evidence base to support the transformation and development of the health care system through research, technical support to government, district development, training and advocacy. He has a doctorate in public health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and is currently working as a public health specialist registrar in London at the Health Policy Unit, University College London
Child under-nutrition - the cause of half of all child deaths in the
developing world- has been neglected and must be prioritised by
donors. Lawrence Haddad, Director of the Institute of Development
Studies (IDS), set out several recommendations to tackle this
extraordinary violation of human rights and called for the UK's
Department for International Development (DFID) to put child
under-nutrition higher on the agenda and to launch an investigation
into child under-nutrition, similar to the Stern Report on climate
change.
Debt, Aid and Trade Parliamentary Group Meeting to Discuss Economic Partnership Agreements EPAs)
Tuesday 13th November - Professor Robert Wade, Political Economy and Development - LSE, Aissata Sow, ACORD - an African NGO and Michael Gidney, Policy Director at Traidcraft came together to debate the current issues surrounding Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) as Secretary of the APPG DAT Andy Reid, MP, chaired the meeting which was organised in conjunction with the Trade Justice Movement (TJM).
The EPAs are being negotiated with 6 blocs: 4 in Africa, 1 with the Caribbean and 1 in the Pacific (ACP), comprising of a total of 76 countries. The European Commission is undertaking these negotiations on behalf of the UK and the other 26 European Member States. This agreement will determine the trading relationships between Europe and the ACP regions as well as the development trajectory of most ACP countries for decades to come.
EPAs are intended to act as a new set of regulations, outlining the trading access ACP countries are entitled to within European markets as well as establishing free trade areas between the EU and the ACP countries which would act to open up many markets within the ACP countries. EPAs have been designed as a response to criticism that the non-reciprocal and discriminating preferential trade agreements currently in place are actually incompatible with WTO rules.
The current preferential access to EU markets which ACP countries enjoy operates under a ‘waiver’ granted from the WTO, however, this waiver is due to expire on the 31st December 2007. With no apparent likelihood of an extension to allow for discussion of the finer detail of the agreements, the topic is currently one of the most pressing on the International Development Agenda.
Launch of Meeting the Millennium Promise - a new report by the APPG for Debt, Aid and Trade on Innovative Finance for Development
Photos Courtesy of Charlie Matthews, Institute of Development Studies
Ann McKechin, Chair of the APPG Debt, Trade and Aid alongside Jasmine Whitbread, Chief Executive of Save the Children at the Report Launch
Since early 2007 the All Party Parliamentary Group for Debt, Aid and Trade has been taking evidence from a range of governments, NGOs, financial actors, academics and other stakeholders into possible innovative sources of finance to meet the Millennium Development Goals.
Our final report, Meeting the Millennium Promise was launched on Tuesday 6 November at 5pm in the Grand Committee Room off Westminster Hall, House of Commons. An audience of MPs, Peers, NGOs and interested parties (as well as those who gave evidence to the Inquiry) gathered to hear from the Group's chair Ann McKechin MP, the report's author Philip Thornton, Jasmine Whitbread Chief Executive of Save the Children and Philip Smith of INTL Global Currencies, a city exchange trader who has previously trialled innovative finance measures.
The Final Report and Executive Summary can be downloaded from the Website here
'Dangerous Ideas in Development' Series
'Financial Turbulence in the Developing World:
Can Developing Nations Weather the Storm?'
As part of our ongoing series 'Dangerous Ideas in Development' with the Institute of Development Studies, members heard from Stephany Griffith-Jones, Research Fellow at the Institute for Development Studies, and John Williamson, Senior Research Fellow at The Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington DC. They discussed the nature and implications of global financial dips and crises on the developing world.
'Illegitimate Debt: How Can Parliamentarians Help?
Case Studies from Haiti and
the Democratic Republic of Congo'
The event featured Trisha Rogers, Director of the Jubilee Debt Campaign, Colette Lespinasse from Haiti, and Mfuni Kazadi from the Coalition on International Debt in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was an excellent opportunity to hear first hand how odious debt affects development on the ground and to examine options for Parliamentary action.
'Increased-Public Private Partnership and more Sustainable Funding: A Realistic Pathway to Better Health in the Developing World?'
In a joint meeting with the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Pharmaceutical Industry, leading experts debated the respective roles of state and market in delivering health to the world's poor.
The event featured Professor Trevor Jones, WHO Commissioner for Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health and former Director-General of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, Dr Gerry Bloom, physician and Research Fellow at the Institute for Development Studies, University of Sussex, and Dr Helena Vines Fiestas, Private Sector Policy Adviser at OXFAM.