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Elisabeth Thioleron, from the DAC Peer Review team, looks at the role of the Peer Review and talks about Switzerland’s recent review.
Switzerland was peer reviewed in June, 2005 and Norway and New Zealand were the examiners. With a net official development assistance (ODA) of USD 1.55 billion, or 0.41 % of Gross National Income (GNI) in 2004 – the country is the world’s 13th largest donor and the 8th in terms of ODA/GNI. This performance is some distance from the 0.7% target advocated by the United Nations to fight poverty worldwide.
So the DAC recommended that Switzerland increase its aid volume and concentrate its co-operation on fewer countries and themes in order to maximise its impact.
The recurring need for policy coherence emerged again.
Switzerland is committed over the long term to reaching a fair and market-oriented trading system in agriculture and plans to gradually abolish import tariffs and quotas on agricultural products from the poorest countries. The DAC advocated concrete implementation of international commitments towards reducing agricultural protection. As capital flight also attracted the DAC’s interest, Switzerland was encouraged to bring this topic to the attention of the international community, with the aim of addressing its root causes and impact on developing countries.
Read all the main findings and recommendations from the Swiss Peer Review.
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