Advancing the Business and Human Rights Agenda through the G7/G20 G20 Background Paper March 2017 ICAR / DIMR BACKGROUND PAPER ON THE G20 MARCH 2017 2 Acknowledgement This document is an adaptation of the G20 Summit Handbook, published by InterAction and authored by John Ruthrauff. The German Institute for Human Rights and the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable would like to thank InterAction for allowing the reproduction of their work. More information on InterAction is available at https://www.interaction.org/project/g7g20/overview. Contents 1 About the G20 3 1.1 G20 Countries 3 1.2 Policy Issues 4 2 Involvement of outside organizations 4 2.1 International organizations 4 2.2 Engagement Groups 5 2.2.1 The Civil 20 (C20) 5 2.2.2 The Labor 20 (L20) 6 2.2.3 The Business 20 (B20) 6 2.2.4 The Think 20 (T20) 7 2.2.5 The Youth 20 (Y20) 7 2.2.6 The Women 20 (W20) 7 2.2.7 The G20 Interfaith Summit 7 3 German G20 Summit Calendar 8 4 2017 G20 German Priorities (Official) 12 5 Summit dates and host countries 14 6 Delegation of G20 projects in 2016 15 6.1 Anti-Corruption 16 6.2 Food and Nutrition Security 17 6.3 International Tax and Financial Transparency 18 6.4 Jobs, Employment, Pro-Poor and Clean Infrastructure Investment 19 ICAR / DIMR BACKGROUND PAPER ON THE G20 MARCH 2017 3 1 About the G20 The G20 was initially organized by the major economies in 1999 in response to the Asian financial crisis. It began as a forum for finance ministers and central bank governors to discuss international economic issues and met once a year. The 2008 global economic crisis was too overwhelming to be addressed only by the G8 countries. The G20 was elevated to a country leaders’ summit for international economic cooperation. Meetings of finance ministers and central bank governors continued to take place under the auspices of the G20 Heads of State (Leaders) Summits. There have been 11 G20 summits beginning with the initial meeting in Washington DC in November of 2008. In 2010, when Korea led the G20, the focus was expanded from primarily economic crisis issues to include nine pillars of economic development. This included infrastructure, private investment and job creation, human resources development, trade, financial inclusion, food security, governance and knowledge sharing. The G20 leaders endorsed the Seoul Development Consensus for Shared Growth and its Multi- Year Action Plan on Development. The G20 is often criticized by civil society and the smaller economies for being unrepresentative. There are only 19 G20 countries plus the European Union, which represents an additional 24 European countries. The G20 economies account for 85 percent of global output, 75 percent of world trade, and two-thirds of the world’s population. 1.1 G20 Countries Argentina China Indonesia Russia Turkey Australia France Italy Saudi Arabia United Kingdom Brazil Germany Japan South Africa United States Canada India Mexico South Korea European Union In 2017, additional participants include Spain (permanent guest), the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, and the chairs of APEC, the African Union, and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development. The G20 Summit’s host country serves as the summit lead, or summit President for a year, which begins on December 1st with the summit normally held in the fall. However in 2017, the German G20 summit will be held July 7-8 in Hamburg. Along with the G20 Troika (previous, current and upcoming country leads), the host country sets the agenda and schedules the preparatory meetings – over 40 in 2016. The G20 has no permanent secretariat, so most of the priorities are selected by the host country with input from members, especially the Troika. The coordination work is handled by the G20 leaders’ personal representatives, known as “Sherpas” and Finance Ministers. ICAR / DIMR BACKGROUND PAPER ON THE G20 MARCH 2017 4 The G7 presidency begins a month later, it runs from January 1 to December 31st with the G7 summit usually held in May or June. 1.2 Policy Issues Over the years, the G20 has focused on a wide range of issues, including: anti- corruption, financial transparency and tax fairness, G20 accountability, infrastructure investment and public-private partnerships, jobs and employment, food security, nutrition and agriculture, the Sustainable Development Goals, the Syria crisis, financial inclusion, financial stability, tax transfer, global health, safe drinking water and sanitation, education, and trade. G20 Summit issues are divided into two tracks, one led by the Finance Ministers and one by the Sherpas representing the heads of state. Working groups and expert groups are established as needed to support the work of the Leaders, Finance Ministers, and Sherpas. These groups are generally co-chaired by one advanced and one emerging economy with the host country often being one of the co-chairs. Below are descriptions of the tracks and working groups. It is anticipated that most of the tracks and working groups will continue. The 2016 Finance Ministers Track foci included global economic developments and outlook; the framework for strong, sustainable and balanced growth; investment and infrastructure; international financial architecture; financial regulations; and international tax issues. These were dealt with in three working groups: the Framework Working Group (for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth), the Infrastructure Investment Working Group, and the Trade Working Group. The 2016 Sherpa Track included four working groups: the Development Working Group, which focused on infrastructure, domestic resource mobilization, human resource development, financial inclusion, and food security, plus three others: the Employment Working Group, the Energy Sustainability Working Group, and the Anti- Corruption Working Group. 2 Involvement of outside organizations Outside organizations are involved in the work of the G20 states in one of two ways: either through delegation of G20 projects to the organizations themselves – as is often the case with established international organizations and subsidiary entities of the United Nations – or through so-called Engagement Groups, input tracks in which organizations are able to contribute to the working groups and consultations through a structured process. 2.1 International organizations The G20’s work is supported by a wide range of international organizations including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the International Labor Organization, the World Trade Organization, and the Financial Stability Board. The G20 calls upon experts from these and other institutions for technical advice and input on their respective areas of responsibility. For example the Financial Stability Board addresses financial vulnerabilities, develops and implements financial ICAR / DIMR BACKGROUND PAPER ON THE G20 MARCH 2017 5 regulatory, supervisory and other policies in the interest of financial stability. They also monitor and report on progress in strengthening financial regulation. See Annex 8 for a partial list of the G20’s “delegation of duties”. 2.2 Engagement Groups The G20 has seven authorized Engagement Groups: the Civil 20, Labor 20, Business 20, Think 20 (for think tanks and research institutions), Youth 20, Women 20, and the G20 Interfaith Summit. 2.2.1 The Civil 20 (C20) Civil society had pressed for the recognition of a C20 for several years. It was initiated by the Russian Federation prior to the 2013 G20 summit in St. Petersburg. The official recognition by the host government of the C20 has resulted in some additional access but has also created difficulties depending on the host government’s desire for control. In 2013 the Russian C20 Secretariat was staffed by government employees who reported to the Russian G20 Sherpa. This resulted in strong disagreements in several C20 Working Groups, which were co-chaired by Russian business leaders. There were also significant disagreements about a draft C20 statement to the G20 heads of state, which asserted that civil society wanted to be regulated by the government. This statement was finally revised after significant pressure over several months by the civil society Working Groups’ co-chairs, led by Transparency International. Russia held two civil society meetings: December 2012 and June 2013 and opened a web site for input on seven policy issues. The C20 formed seven Working Groups which produced policy papers on: environmental sustainability and energy, food security, anti- corruption, the situation post Millennium Development Goals, financial inclusion, jobs and employment, and the global financial architecture. 2014 Australian C20: The Australian government appointed the C20 Steering Committee in September 2013, Chaired by World Vision Australia, with a Deputy Chair from the Australian Council of Social Services. They attended the G20 Summit in St. Petersburg. The government also allocated $250,000 for the C20 secretariat. The secretariat established an improved web site for input on the selected policy issues. One of the complicating factors was the appointment of both international NGOs and national non-profit organizations to the Steering Committee. The C20 Summit was held in Melbourne in June 2014. The C20 Working Groups were Climate and Sustainability, Infrastructure, Governance, and Inclusive Growth and Employment. 2015 Turkish C20: In 2014/15 Oxfam International provided funding for a C20 Secretariat in Istanbul. In the fall of 2014, with an experienced and skilled staff, the Secretariat organized a C20 Steering Committee with a dozen Turkish NGOs. Extensive global consultations were undertaken to select and draft policy briefs for the summit. However the Turkish government delayed official recognition and the appointment of a C20 Steering Committee Chair until April of 2015. This delay caused the C20 Summit and the final C20 policy briefs to be delayed until September. This was only two months prior to the G20 Summit and after many of the key decisions had been made. The C20 Working Groups published policy papers on gender equality, governance, inclusive growth, and sustainability (renewable energy).