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Action on commitments and a new push towards peace and security
The 2004 HLM will focus on the following issues:
Aid effectiveness: Assess how far both donors and recipient countries have come in making a reality of host country ownership, the central role of PRSPs, and more collaborative donor support for local strategies. Encourage support for the High Level Forum on Harmonisation to be held in Paris in 2005. Endorse the Memorandum on Management for Results, signed by all the Heads of the Multilateral Development Banks and the DAC Chair at Marrakech in February 2004. Consider a report on the implementation of the DAC Recommendation on Untying for the Least Developed Countries, and suggest a possible future agenda in this area.
Aid volume: Review whether, after the increases in 2002, a significant trend has emerged - at constant prices and exchange rates - in relation to the commitments made at Monterrey. Determine whether DAC members can make an initial assessment of the composition of flows (the 2002 increase was largely accounted for by Technical Assistance and debt relief). Identify what members’ expectations are for 2004 and beyond.
Security and development and ODA eligibility: Provide an opportunity to exchange experiences of operating along the development/security interface; endorse a DAC best practice paper on security system reform; and consider ways the DAC Reporting Directives for Official Development Assistance might be updated in this area. Participants will also consider proposals on the eligibility of concessional public expenditures for activities under the Clean Development Mechanism.
Growth and the Millennium Development Goals: Reflect on the broader agendas which have a strong development dimension, and where donors are often looked to for support, e.g. trade, agriculture, investment, migration and remittances. Consider how best to engage other policy communities. Discuss the role of civil society. Determine whether donors can help shape outcomes with better results for the smaller and poorer developing and transition countries.
Public awareness: Discuss levels of support for development in member countries, including for development cooperation, and the opportunities and limits for developing stronger support, including through development information. Examine what action, if any, should be taken that might help members build and sustain support.
International aid architecture: Consider whether DAC member governments want multilateral aid to account for a smaller or larger proportion of rising aid budgets. Identify the key factors that inform members’ own judgement of the right balance. Ascertain what members make of the progress of the various global funding instruments developed over the past few years and examine their interaction, at country level, with other priority-setting exercises, such as poverty reduction strategies or medium-term expenditure frameworks.
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Development Co-operation Report, 2005
