Kommentar der Anderen What we mean is not what we count in aid statistics Center for Global Development (CGD) (20.04.2022) Recently, the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) published the annual statistics summarizing how much foreign aid its 30 member states, including Austria, provided in 2021, loudly trumpeting the all-time high levels of ODA achieved A comment by Ranil Dissanayake1 weiter
Kommentar der Anderen The global corporate tax deal – an African perspective private (23.02.2022) Changing attitudes towards taxation can only happen if citizens are engaged in shaping tax policy making and if tax systems are seen to be equitable, including appropriate taxation of large corporations as well as linking tax revenues to development outcomes like improved infrastructure, healthcare and education A comment by Luckystar Miyandazi & Orria Goni1 weiter
Kommentar der Anderen Global gesehen: Die Bedeutung europäischer Debatten um Versorgungssicherheit für den Globalen Süden privat / Birgit Machtinger Die COVID-19-Pandemie hat verdeutlicht, wie fragil globale Wertschöpfungsketten sind. In allen Weltregionen kam es zu Lieferengpässen, auch im Fall dringend notwendiger, kritischer Güter wie medizinischer Schutzausrüstung. Die in der EU entbrannte Debatte, durch welche Maßnahmen die Versorgung gesichert werden könnte, hat Implikationen für den Globalen Süden. Politikkohärenz auf Seiten der EU und Süd-Süd-Kooperation sind mögliche Antworten auf strukturelle Herausforderungen Ein Kommentar von Jan Grumiller & Hannes Grohs1 weiter
Kommentar der Anderen Notwendigkeit für ein faires und transparentes Staateninsolvenzverfahren privat (07.12.2021) Die Notwendigkeit für ein faires und transparentes internationales Staateninsolvenzverfahren zeigt sich in der aktuellen Krise deutlicher denn je. Bereits 2021 – inmitten der pandemiebedingten Wirtschaftskrise – haben 85 Länder des Globalen Südens ihre öffentlichen Ausgaben (u.a. im Bildungsbereich) gekürzt, um stattdessen ihren Schuldendienst bedienen zu können. Die von den G20 ergriffenen Entschuldungsmaßnahmen haben bislang keine substantiellen Schuldenerlasse ermöglicht Ein Kommentar von Malina Stutz weiter
Kommentar der Anderen ‘Hands-off’ lending through financial intermediaries: what are the risks and opportunities? privat (15.11.2021) There is a growing trend in development finance that you may not have heard about: lending through intermediaries. What are the risks and opportunities? A comment by Kate Geary weiter
Kommentar der Anderen Another squandered year? The role of the EU in the upcoming negotiations for a UN binding treaty on business and human rights Jill McArdle (19.10.2021) With the 7th round of negotiations on the UN binding treaty on its way, we look at the 3rd draft and what it says about the treaty process. With little change from the last version of the treaty, there is no excuse for states not to dig in and start negotiating seriously. Yet shamefully the EU still won’t be at the table. This next year will be decisive for the EU: with a regional law on corporate accountability on its way, they need to step up and get ready to finally engage in negotiations. A comment by Jill McArdle weiter
Kommentar der Anderen EU’s response to COVID-19: Not the moment to play ‘hide and seek’ with the SDGs (16.12.2020) The COVID-19 crisis is reversing progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While the virus has impacted everyone, developing countries are the worst affected. The 2030 Agenda is about achieving 17 transformational goals to reduce poverty and inequality globally, but the EUs response to the pandemic seems not to have been designed with this in mind. It is key that COVID-19 recovery plans are aligned with the SDGs. But what are the first steps the EU should take to put the 2030 Agenda at the centre of efforts to recover from the COVID-19 crisis? A comment by Alexandra Rosen weiter
Kommentar der Anderen New rules on reporting debt relief as aid lack credibility and signal a decline in the OECD’s statistical culture (11.11.2020) The traditional measure of foreign aid is “official development assistance” (ODA). Figures on ODA have been compiled by the OECD since 1969, based on annual reports from members of its Development Assistance Committee (DAC), a club of aid donor countries. ODA figures have been of fundamental importance in tracking global aid efforts and fulfilment of aid pledges, including against the United Nations target of raising aid to 0.7% of rich countries’ national income. Ein Kommentar von Hedwig Riegler weiter
Kommentar der Anderen COVID-19 Response: Is the World Bank right about not suspending debt service payments of developing countries? A Pro & Contra (16.09.2020) The COVID-19-pandemic and its social and economic consequences are hitting developing countries particularly hard. Many of these countries are heavily in debt and lack the financial resources to address the crisis effectively. Nevertheless, the World Bank has so far been reluctant to suspend debt service payments of developing countries, which would free up much-needed resources. While some experts argue that this is justified since suspending debts would jeopardize the World Bank’s financing model, others criticize the Bank for getting priorities wrong. The following Pro & Contra summarizes the most important arguments of both sides. A Pro & Contra by Scott Morris and Iolanda Fresnillo weiter
Kommentar der Anderen Protecting human rights and the environment in company supply chains (10.06.2020) Spätestens seit dem Einsturz des Rana Plaza, bei dem vor sechs Jahren in Bangladesch 1.138 Bekleidungsarbeiter und -arbeiterinnen ums Leben kamen, gibt es intensive Debatten um gesetzliche Möglichkeiten, Konzerne für Menschenrechtsverletzungen in der Lieferkette zur Verantwortung ziehen zu können. Der EU-Kommissars Didier Reynders hat nun einen Gesetzesvorschlag der Europäischen Kommission für ein umfassendes europäisches Sorgfaltspflichtengesetz angekündigt. In ihrem Kommentar gehen die ExpertInnen Claudia Saller (European Coalition for Corporate Justice,ECCJ) und Isabella Schömann (European Trade Union Confederation) darauf ein und diskutieren auch offene Fragen. Ein Kommentar von Claudia Saller und Isabelle Schömann weiter