This Command Paper announces the Government’s new approach to international development. It has 12 strands.
SECTION 1
THE CHALLENGE OF DEVELOPMENT
We shall:
1. Refocus our international development efforts on the elimination of poverty and encouragement of economic growth which benefits the poor. We will do this through support for international sustainable development targets and policies which create sustainable livelihoods for poor people, promote human development and conserve the environment.
SECTION 2
BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS
We shall:
2. Work closely with other donors and development agencies to build partnerships with developing countries to strengthen the commitment to the elimination of poverty, and use our influence to help mobilise the political will to achieve the international development targets.3. Pursue these targets in partnership with poorer countries who are also committed to them.
4. Put in place new ways of working with the UK private and voluntary sectors, and the research community, towards the international development targets including transforming the Commonwealth Development Corporation into a dynamic public/private partnership.
5. Measure the effectiveness of our efforts, alongside others, against the targets, including the aim of halving the proportion of the world’s population living in extreme poverty by 2015.
SECTION 3
CONSISTENCY OF POLICIES
We shall:
6. Ensure that the full range of Government policies affecting developing countries, including environment, trade, investment and agricultural policies, takes account of our sustainable development objective.7. Give particular attention to human rights, transparent and accountable government and core labour standards, building on the Government’s ethical approach to international relations.
8. Use our resources proactively to promote political stability and social cohesion and to respond effectively to conflict.
9. Encourage financial stability and the reduction of the external debt of developing countries to sustainable levels.
SECTION 4
BUILDING SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT
We shall:
10. Increase public understanding of our mutual dependence and the need for international development.11. Ensure that resources made available for development are used only for the purposes intended, and consider the case for a new International Development Act.
12. Provide the necessary resources for the development programme: the Government will start to reverse the decline in UK spending on development assistance, and reaffirms the UK’s commitment to the 0.7 per cent UN target.
