"One World Liberalism" - Helping Poor Countries, not just the Commonwealth

Written by Merlene Emerson and published in OBV Blog http://operationblackvote.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/helping-poor-countries-not-just-the-commonwealth/ on Fri 7th Aug 2009

Last month the Tories presented their Green paper on international development aid and pronounced their plan to target UK aid to Commonwealth countries. Under a Tory Government there will be a root and branch review that may see aid cut from 108 countries that currently receive help from DfID to about 60.

At first glance this policy appears to make sense, afterall we are no longer the super power we once were when a third of the world map was coloured red. At the same time this Commonwealth-centric policy would be likely to appeal to older Tory voters nostalgic for the days of our imperial past.

However in my view the policy lacks both reason and humanity and will lead to anomalies. Take Burma, a province of British India till 1937 and which gained independence from UK in 1948 but, unfortunately, not a member of the Commonwealth.

I cannot imagine anyone who would not wish to help this country after seeing the scenes of devastation caused by cyclone Nargis, not to mention the oppression and neglect of its people by the present military regime.

True, Burma had chosen not to join the Commonwealth at the time of independence but surely the Burmese people today should not be punished for decisions taken in the past?

Then there are the countries in Africa and those in the Middle East. Based on the Green paper, we could grant aid to, say, Malawi and Sierra Leone but not to Congo or Sudan?

What of Kosovo or Palestine? No specific mention of those countries though there was a section in the Green paper devoted to aid to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

China was specifically singled out as a country where bilateral aid will be terminated. Should there be another earthquake disaster in China such as that in Sichuan last year or more floods caused by global warming, under the Conservatives, UK will not be offering any aid or assistance.

This despite the fact that there are semi-autonomous regions such as Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia which may well require the attention of the international community in years to come.

The Lib Dem spokesman for International Development Michael Moore MP had this to say about the Green paper:

"The new commitments on aid spending and maintaining DfID as a separate independent government department are welcome, but you only need to scratch the surface of these proposals to reveal the old Tory dogma…

Recycling discredited ideas is not a shining example of the results based approach to aid which the Conservatives have called for. School vouchers were not only a bad idea for the UK, but are completely unfeasible in developing countries."

The key problem of aid prioritisation according to Professor Paul Reynolds of the University of Westminster is not the number of countries receiving aid but the effectiveness of aid coordination. He argues instead for a better country-by-country analysis of the causes of poverty (politics, neighbour relations, conflict, regional governance or tribal factors) in order to lead to better focused role for UK bilateral grant aid.

In addition there has to be greater strengthening of regional organisations such as East African Economic Community, ECOWAS, ASEAN, Mercosur/Andean Pact, AU, SADC).

Despite my faith in the Commonwealth as a vehicle for the promotion of security and democracy, I am deeply sceptical of a Commonwealth-centric approach to aid. As the world is in recession we need to make our development aid go even further.

Earlier this year the Lib Dems pushed for a global stimulus package that will put the Millennium Development Goals back on track. We continue to fight for a global fund to assist in food security and for a safety net for poorer nations.

We also advocate investment in a 'green new deal' for developing countries. Our approach is based on three strands: delivering on failed aid pledges, protecting vulnerable people regardless of their history as well as revitalising the private sector.