Platform HD 2010: Towards a People’s Multilateralism
Co-convened by UNDP and PRIA (Participatory Research in Asia)
Bangkok, 30-31 August 2010: Summary Report
1 Section I. Background and Introduction
The year 2010 is the 20th anniversary of the launch of the UNDP Human Development Report (HDR), the ten-year review of the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals, as well as the Beijing+15. These reviews are taking place in the face of financial crisis, food insecurity, climate change challenges, violation of political and human rights and the failure of governance institutions to tackle persistent poverty, inequality and social exclusion.
Against this background, the UNDP Civil Society Division, through the Platform HD 2010 initiative, seeks to forge multifaceted partnerships between the United Nations, civil society and other actors to address the converging food, financial and climate crises at a time when the institutions responsible for global governance are being transformed by the emergence of new actors and alliances.
Platform HD2010 was launched in June 2009 by the Civil Society Division in the Partnerships Bureau of UNDP, with support from the MDG Achievement Fund. The idea behind it is two-fold: to foster and expand ongoing debates on a citizen-centred or people’s multilateralism, and revitalize UN(DP) engagement with civil society in rethinking human development and advancing the MDGs.1 Both objectives have acquired a fresh urgency in the context of the crises, now known as the four ‘Fs’-- food, finance, fuel and fiscal – which call for new forms of governance at the local, national, regional and global levels.
These crises have grave impact on the most vulnerable and marginalized populations in the Asia-Pacific region. Even if many countries were initially cushioned from the effects from the financial crisis that have taken a toll elsewhere, the region faces food insecurity from rising prices and inflation, persistent poverty, social exclusion and rising inequality. In addition, many countries are working against difficult odds to rebuild fragile societies after years of strife and instability. The humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Pakistan points to the increasing complexity of these crises and the need for the UN and all of its partners, in particular civil society, to work together to find innovative and lasting solutions.
The Civil Society Division in the Partnerships Bureau, co-convened a two-day UN-civil society regional consultation, in partnership with the Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA).2 This consultation, the first of three such planned under the Platform HD2010 initiative, was held in Bangkok under the aegis of the UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Centre, with support and participation of the Democratic Governance Team. It brought together civil society representatives from over 15 countries3 and United Nations colleagues.
1 The concept for this regional consultation was an output from discussions at a Platform HD 2010 consultation in June 2009, which brought together the UNDP Administrator, civil society representatives at the global and regional levels. It was thought this regional consultation could capture innovative governance solutions at the local, national, regional and global levels. The ultimate objective of the consultation is to take forward the idea of a people’s multilateralism in order to influence the policy and governance discourse within the overall framework of advancing the MDGs and human development. To this end, national pilots will be identified with inputs from PRIA and APRC. It should also be noted that Platform HD 2010 has a national level component whereby UNRCOs have launched initiatives funding by the programme to strengthen civil society participation in the MDGs and Human Development. 2 See www.pria.org for further details or email [email protected]. 3 Selection criteria for civil society participation: civil society organizations and their representatives were selected following broad consultations with the UNDP Civil Society Advisory Committee, the Regional Centre in Bangkok, and PRIA. Several criteria were used in the selection process with a view of ensuring appropriate geographic distribution, gender parity and the representation of marginalized groups. The Platform HD 2010 initiative funded the participation of more than 20 civil society representatives, which included reimbursement of travel and related expenses.
2 The consultation was intended to start the process to catalyse further policy dialogue between the UN and civil society at the regional and national levels on issues of particular concern. As the first such interaction between the UNDP APRC and diverse society from across the region, this was a unique dialogue which generated much interest and expectations on both sides.
In preparation for the consultation, PRIA drafted a background paper, “We the People: Towards a Peoples Multilateralism in Asia and the Pacific,”4 with inputs from the Civil Society Division, APRC, and from civil society participants. PRIA and UNDP also worked together to develop the agenda around the broad themes of MDG achievement, innovations in democratic governance, democratic space, and UN-civil society strategic engagement. After an opening session of analysis and overview of the political and development contexts in Asia-Pacific, each theme was taken up in detail, concluding with three parallel working group discussions about strategies for UN-civil society co-convening and a presentation of recommendations.
Section II. Key themes and messages
The “Big Picture”— political and economic contexts A ‘people’s multilateralism’, as embodied by the opening words, “We the People,” in the UN Charter, implies deeper state-citizen engagement in shaping democratisation processes and new ways of defining the state-citizen compact in the region. In the context of varied political, economic and social specificities in the Asia-Pacific, this terminology needs adaptation and indigenisation. Multilateralism should go beyond government-to-government relations and tap civic energy and voices, so that citizens have a stake in their future and can aspire to safe, productive and dignified lives. The UN has a key role in facilitating and democratizing state- citizen interactions.
The region has seen a rapid rise in free-trade zones and public-private partnerships, to attract investment and stimulate economic growth. These trends reflect the fact that the private sector is now recognized as the primary vehicle for growth, often at the expense of the environment, labour and human rights and civic participation. In the absence of transparency, accountability and citizen oversight, these trends are likely to further exacerbate social and economic disparities, particularly in countries where democratic space is being encroached.
While GDP is the ‘new god,’ economic growth has not been inclusive: the region suffers from environmental degradation, the impact of climate change, and the diverse effects of rapid urbanization and rural-urban migration. By 2015, more than half the region’s population will be urban – and escalating levels of violence related to dispossession of land and natural resources, regional identities, and ethnic and sectarian conflict.
Development challenges The convergence of global crises and rethinking of the global governance architecture offers an historic opportunity to advance inclusive forms of governance that are accountable to the world’s poorest, while also revitalizing human development and civic engagement.
A foremost issue remains the status of women. Inequality and exclusion, discrimination and violence are persistent challenges, exacerbated in times of conflict and humanitarian disaster. Promoting the inclusion and participation of women in development and public life needs to receive greater attention by policymakers and the international community.
4 The PRIA paper will be uploaded to the Civil Society Division website in the coming weeks. See: http://www.undp.org/partners/civil_society/Platform_2010.shtml
3 Civil society organizations and governments must ensure the full participation of the marginalized, including religious minorities, indigenous peoples and those who are discriminated against due to caste or social standing.
In aggregate terms, the Asia-Pacific region has had high MDG achievement, but a disaggregation of the data reveals a disturbing picture of social exclusion, persistent hunger and malnutrition among vulnerable populations, in particular, indigenous communities, minorities and women. Poverty is reduced at one end and reproduced at another end.
Role of civil society In the 1980’s and 90’s, the Asia-Pacific region was known for its vibrant regional cooperation among civil society organizations and their active engagement with inter-governmental organizations such as ASEAN. However, in the last decade, this solidarity has weakened at a time of unbridled economic growth and increasing closeness between governments and the private sector. Civil society organizations must begin to rebuild regional cooperation and solidarity around issues of mutual concern.
Going towards 2015, the focus of MDGs should be acceleration, along with inclusion and localisation. The role of civil society is critical in this endeavour as they can bring pressures on the national governments, raise public awareness and participate in and monitor implementation.
Civil society in the region should view newer inter-governmental groupings such as BRIC, BASIC and the G-20, as platforms to advance common agendas and new multilateralism.
Greater sensitivity also needs to be paid to the seismic effects of the shift from agrarian to urban- centric societies. The UN, civil society and governments, must begin to better understand and address growing urban poverty in order to put in place the needed social protection mechanisms.
Section III. Summary of Discussions
The MDGs at Mid-Point: Challenges and Opportunities The Asia-Pacific region has had high MDG achievement: it will likely halve the number of those living in extreme poverty and is set to achieve gender parity in primary school enrolment. There is also a decline in cases of HIV & AIDS and tuberculosis and a rise in access to safe drinking water. In terms of country progress, Nepal will likely achieve the target to reduce infant mortality and Bangladesh will reduce maternal mortality.
However, disaggregation of this data to the national and local levels reveals that inequalities and social exclusion are key major challenges towards the achievement of the MDGs, especially in three key dimensions: gender, social groups and geographical region. South Asia, for example, is the capital of hunger in the world, where half of the children are malnourished and seven states in India have hunger worse than Sub-Saharan Africa. The region is home to 1.3 billion rural citizens who do not have access to sanitation; this figure accounts for more than 70% of the rural citizens in the world who go without this basic dignity. Poverty is concentrated among indigenous communities, minorities and women. Poverty has been reduced on one end and reproduced at another end.
Many countries have already put in place policies and strategies for MDG achievement and many have reiterated their commitments to meet these goals by 2015. Achieving the MDGs requires commitment from both developing and developed countries to better coordinate and leverage capacities to deliver services efficiently to the populations most in need. There is growing realization that inefficiencies in
4 service delivery are impeding progress. Developing countries hold primary responsibility for improving policy and service provision in order to deliver “Goals 1-7”. Governments, the UN, and civil society, must ensure that “Goal 8” countries play their part in this global partnership by increasing the quality and quantity of aid, reforming trade policy and implementing debt cancellation. The global financial downturn and national political shifts have posed challenges in fully achieving this goal, however governments must continue to honour their commitments in order to solidify the gains made thus far and to ensure further progress.
Democratic Space: Progress and Setbacks Democratic space is the arena between the state and the private sphere in which citizens interact and engage in political processes. This interaction may take the form of communication, cooperation, or mobilisation among civil society organizations, political parties and coalitions, and the arts. Democratic space is supported and strengthened by four institutional pillars: inclusive, responsive and capable states; representative democratic institutions; a legal system that protects the rights of citizens; and a robust public sphere.
A draft paper on democratic space commissioned by APRC was presented and discussed at the consultation. It emphasised that the establishment of formal state and democratic institutions does not guarantee the health of democratic space. In order for democratic space to be a conduit for the “supply” (formal governance structures such as parliaments) and “demand” sides (civil society) of governance, there is a need to look into the informal political culture, which underlies the incentive and drives behaviour of the institutions. These incentive structures determine access to economic resources, power relations, cultural understanding and religious and ethnic identities. They also create a political settlement of how the power relation operates.
Formal democracy is expanding in the region and democracy “ratings” continue to improve overall,5 however the depth and quality of democratic space remains an area of concern. In several countries, democratic space has been encroached and the rights to information and assembly have been compromised.
Actions that point to a trend in the “shrinking” of democratic space include: restrictions or direct censorship of the freedom of expression, particularly through electronic media (legal controls on internet content, banning of communication devices, legal controls on internet content). Furthermore, policies and practices have been adopted that prevent CSO formation, financing and registration. More than half of the twelve countries listed at the bottom of the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Impunity Index of unsolved murders of journalists are in the Asia-Pacific region.6 Threat and intimidation of the media continue in several countries while other countries have seen an increase in the restriction of foreign donations to civil society.
Democracy assistance has tended to invest primarily in capacity building and the internal machinery of formal institutions, such as parliaments and election commissions rather than the demand side of democratic governance taking into account ensuring justice and rights-based approaches to governing, political settlements, incentive structures, and capacity to utilise opportunities for change from below. In practice, power has remained in the hands of elites, excluding the poor and the marginalised from the governance reform processes.
5 According to the Economist’s Economic Intelligence Unit and the Freedom House “Freedom of the World” survey. Please see http://www.eiu.com/Default.aspx and http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=505 for details. 6 Discussion paper commissioned by APRC: “Democratic Space in Asia-Pacific: Challenges for Democratic Governance Assistance and Deepening Civic Engagement,” Lisa Horner and Andrew Puddephatt, Global Partners and Associates, August 2010, p. 10.
5 Therefore, formal change does necessarily open up democratic space, including freedoms for media, political parties, and more scope for civil society. However political parties in many countries become populist instruments of charismatic leaders and the media a mouthpiece of the elites. Freedoms may be confined to small urban elites and power exchanges that exclude the poor and marginalised. In some countries, political systems have been built upon rigid inequalities that exclude major segments of population from the benefits of citizenship and impede collective action.
The main challenges to building democratic space from the “bottom-up” include: 1) civil society that mobilises but may also be deferential to, or dependent upon, the state; 2) social movements that tend to be broad, shallow or unable to impact formal institutions; 3) the lack of clear mechanisms for accountability and transparency of civil society that is representative of the people; and 4) democracy that is expected to produce rapid improvements in economic wealth, but falls short; because of this authoritarian governments promising to deliver economic growth, services and stability are often able to take root.
It is useful to analyze the international factors that influence democratic space at the national level. In many cases, governments have invoked the so-called “war on terror” to justify policies that constrain democratic space and the role of civil society. Furthermore, the rising economic power of non-democratic states (in the regions) and the presence of international security and economic powers in the region also come into play.
The Asia-Pacific region has seen a major expansion of democracy without its promises being delivered. Poor services at rural and local levels and violence resulting from neglect of indigenous peoples and vulnerable populations are just a few symptoms of this failure. Nevertheless, there is opportunity to expand democratic spaces persist at the sub-national level, making local governance a potentially rich and promising area of cooperation among the state, civil society and the UN(DP). Moreover, additional efforts could be made to: connect the “demand” and “supply sides” of democratic governance; enhance impact of state-citizen accountability; support formal institutions and processes; and strengthen the role of civil society and media.
It is important for the region to take ownership of these problems and work towards solutions, given the growing emphasis on sovereignty placed by the large emerging powers. One solution is for the UN, civil society and other actors to take a stronger role in advocating for the representation of women and marginalized groups in elected government. UNDP should expand its role in advising and supporting governments on the development of election laws, systems and policies that allow for a diverse and representative government. The first step must be accompanied by providing capacity building to enable women and marginalized groups to realize their full potential as candidate and legislators. One of the key highlight in the discussion is that, “we changed the language of politics but not the grammar.” This means that greater attention is required to design democratic governance support that connects demand and supply side (as opposed to focusing on capacity building of the formal governance institutions) . In doing so, there is a need to identify civil society engagement through the lens of democratic governance.
Not all civil society organizations are a positive force for the democratization process. There is a need for CSOs to implement transparency and accountability mechanisms . Both CSOs and local politicians sometimes claim they represent the people. But in reality, issues of representation and participation are major challenges. It is important to recognize that collective action that benefits the poor and marginalized does not take place automatically through the strengthening of CSOs. Addressing the political settlement and incentive structures for reform to open up the space for participation and representation is critical.
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Innovations in Democratic Governance The converging crises facing the region cannot be tackled by national governments alone. Unfortunately, progress is impeded by the governments in several countries less willing to engage with civil society and to consider their perspectives in decision-making.
In many countries, civil society engagement is ad hoc and at the discretion of the government; such engagement is often restricted to a cadre of well connected civil society organizations that do not necessarily reflect the needs of poor and marginalized. Civil society participants presented innovative mechanisms to carve out niches, including working on electoral processes such as electoral observation and participatory governance initiatives such as budget analysis and tracking and performance monitoring. Examples include electoral observation in India, parliamentary monitoring activities in the Philippines and Maldives and the use of community score cards to track the progress of local governance initiatives in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. During the consultation, participants from several civil society organizations shared case studies on the health of civil society and innovations in democratic governance. Following are a few highlights:
In Maldives, more than 1100 civil society organizations are registered, although most are located in the nation’s capital and are not active on a daily basis. However, an informal network of civil society organizations instituted a few activities that had national impact, including a successful “get out the vote” campaign for the 2008 presidential elections. Furthermore, the network successfully lobbied the Government to blocked proposed changes to limit transparency and accountability for the Civil Service Act of 2008. This network also lobbied for the passage of the Disability Act of 2010, which aligned Maldives policy with that of the UN Convention of Persons with Disabilities.
In Lao PDR, civil society is still in its infancy, with fewer than 55 registered associations. In 2009, the Government, under pressure from national civil society, ASEAN and other international actors, mandated the Public Administration and Civil Authority to develop the first national decree on civil society organizations. Prior to the decree, there was no operational or legal framework for civil society registration – Government ministries were responsible for registering civil society organizations in their sector, leading to confusion and a lack of transparency.
In Nepal, the process of developing the interim Constitution of 2007 led to the involvement of all stakeholders, thus marking the recognition of civil society organizations in the process. The policies have resulted in better local and national coordination among the government and civil society organizations in several areas including establishment of an community service organization desk in district development committees, and using community service organizations for monitoring and mobilization activities. Civil society organizations have been invited to participate in several national governmental bodies pertaining to development, violence against women, climate change, disaster prevention and water and sanitation. They have also participated in community forest management. However, the participation of community service organizations is not mandatory and thus it is at the discretion of the government.
In Cambodia, civil society is restricted at the national level to issues concerning public welfare issues; civil society is still excluded from contributing to policy issues in a substantive way. However, space for civil society widening through decentralization policy and a national plan that called for the involvement of all stakeholders. To this end, there are a few burgeoning issues in which civil society inputs are key including in gender mainstreaming issues and in developing equitable policies on real estate taxation.
7 Section IV. Key Recommendations A. Longer Term: UNDP democratic governance practice concentrates on 3 key result areas: 1) fostering inclusive participation; 2) strengthening accountable and responsive governing institutions; and 3) grounding democratic governance in international norms and principles. Nevertheless, democratic governance can tend to suffer from a ‘silo’ approach whereby activities are not necessarily cohesive or cross-sectoral. The concept of democratic space provides a useful framework to connect the demand and supply sides of democratic governance. More attention is required to enhance citizen engagement and civil society support of active citizens through community engagement; new forms of citizen involvement; and improving policy and legal frameworks for citizen participation in local governance.
There is much scope for partnering with, and learning from, civil society experiences with strengthening independent media, improving access to justice and legal empowerment, promoting human rights-based approaches and community-led processes. UN involvement with civil society organizations at the country level is often relegated to the “usual suspects” and those who are well connected with the government. The UN should become more sensitized to the diversity of civil society at the national level and ensure the involvement of stakeholders traditionally marginalized or excluded. UNDP Country Offices in the region should make greater use of civil society assessments to develop a better understanding of the diversity, strengths, values and impact of civil society.7
Civil society and the UN can both play a key role in ensuring the MDG data is disaggregated and analyzed through the lens of the “3g’s” – gender, social groups, and marginalized geographical areas. It is also essential to reinforce a rights-based approach in achieving the MDGs.
A foremost issue for all to address pertains to the status of women. Inequality and exclusion, discrimination and violence against women are persistent challenges. Promoting the inclusion and participation of women in development and public life needs to receive greater attention by policymakers and the international community.
The UN should provide civil society organizations with the tools they need to develop their institutional capacities. Nevertheless, at the heart of the UN partnership with civil society, there is a need to focus on answering a few key questions: How does engagement bring about genuine and sustainable change in development and governance process? And, how does this engagement help to promote citizens’ empowerment in the long run? Collective action that benefits the poor and marginalized does not take place automatically from strengthening CSOs. Understanding political settlements and incentive structures needed in order to open spaces for participation and representation are critical work in this area.
The UN must become better sensitized at viewing civil society as equal development players. To this end, the UN should seek opportunities to co-convene forums with civil society and should facilitate the participation of civil society representatives in national decision-making processes.
7 See the details regarding the CIVICUS Civil Society Index at http://www.civicus.org/csi, or contact the UNDP Civil Society Division for further details.
8 Given the growing dominance of business in economic affairs and development, the UN with its convening powers should encourage partnerships between the government, private sector and CSOs in addressing development priorities. The collaboration between these stakeholders should be at all levels, sub-national, national and regional, and also make space for accountability mechanisms to take into account the voice and concerns of the marginalized.
B. Short to Medium Term: State-citizen interactions for local governance; in many countries, is a promising arena for civic engagement. UNDP should actively promote civic participation with local authorities and private sector in programme delivery policy planning.
The UN needs to be more assertive in representing citizens’ issues. Good practices can be taken from some countries like Viet Nam and Indonesia and should be replicated elsewhere. To make inclusive multilateralism a reality, it should be anchored in citizen-centred and citizen-led initiatives. As follow-up to this consultation, it is necessary not merely to exchange experiences and share information, but to take forward UN-civil society co-convened debates and actions simultaneously at regional and national levels to expand democratic space and reinforce this message.
Often, the so-called “anti-state” stance of civil society and citizens groups may make cooperation with the state difficult. In this sense, both parties need to be sensitized on how to effectively work with each other. UNDP, given its relationship of trust with governments and civil society, is best placed to understand both sides and convene productive and useful dialogues to promote citizen- state interface.
The UN should create, foster, and expand UN-civil society spaces and networks for dialogue and exchange at regional and national levels. Civil society networks at the regional and national levels, and civil society mapping tools, should be maintained so they are readily accessible on an as-needed basis.
As appropriate, the UN should seek out entry points in national political processes the view of protecting and extending democratic space. Governments seeking UN advice and support on legislative and taxation reform, for example, should be counselled on how to promote a strong civil society by easing legislative restrictions and providing CSOs with tax reductions or exemptions.
One measure of a strong civil society is to ensure that organizations conduct their work in a credible, transparent and accountable manner. Civil society organizations must look inward to ensure they have a sound organizational structure and should use ethical safeguards such as staff codes of conduct and external account auditing.
Achieving gender parity and representation should not be solely the task of national civil services or the United Nations. Civil society organizations must review their management and organizational structures to ensure that women and representatives of marginalized groups have management responsibilities and decision-making roles.
Civil society in the region can make better use of existing mechanisms in treaty bodies (such as the universal periodic review in the Human Rights Council) to monitor government commitments.
9 Civil society organizations in the region should build coalitions around common agendas – addressing the status of women, mainstreaming the participation of the marginalized in society and ensuring a rights-based approach to the MDGs were determined as having universal importance.
The role of civil society is key in ensuring that governments provide services in an efficient and accountable manner. Civil society watchdog groups in Goal 1-7 countries must take the lead in assessing, tracking and monitoring service provision at the local and national levels.
C. Immediate to short term:
For UN(DP)
Institute regional UN-civil society dialogue mechanism under the leadership of the Asia Pacific Regional Centre, e.g., continuing expanding engagement with the civil society participants in this regional consultation, and expanding this group of participants at the national level.
Initiate country-level co-convened UN-civil society strategic dialogue to foster closer interactions between both sides and greater civic participation in UN programmes. Two suggested countries to pilot are Viet Nam and Indonesia.
For Civil Society
Create and maintain regional exchange and network: UNDP can facilitate this by setting up a web space /e-platform to initiate contact.
Voice ‘demand’: include UN(DP) in civil society advocacy and strategies and bring external perspectives and maintain pressure.
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