Resolution number: 05
Title:

For an Effective, Coordinated and Results-Oriented Development Cooperation

Submitted by: FDP (Germany), German Group of Liberal International

The Congress of the Liberal International, convened in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on 20 October 2012

Recognising, that

we have a common responsibility to uphold the principles of freedom, human rights, the rule of law and democracy at the global level and that these are indispensable foundations of a more prosperous and peaceful world,
attaining sustainable economic growth and worldwide development is not only our responsibility, but also in our common global interest,
globalization can be a driving force towards our aim of reaching the Millennium Development Goals,
It is important that all countries remain committed to reaching the Millennium Development Goals as soon as possible,
despite our commitment to the aforementioned principles each country is first and foremost responsible for its own development and improvement of its population’s living conditions,
development should therefore not be perceived as a one-way-road and must be the result of an equal partnership, considering the developing countries’ responsibility for, but also their legitimate claim to ownership of the process,

Considering, that

economic growth is a prerequisite for poverty reduction because it not only creates jobs and business opportunities, but also increases tax revenues for the respective governments,
only a competitive economy is able to generate sustainable growth,
sustainable growth needs the initiative and innovation of the private sector in order to create local value chains,
The civil society sector is instrumental in promoting local economic development and alleviating poverty, advocating policy shifts and contributing to good governance
economic development therefore is not only a domain for government action, but needs to recognize the different and complementary roles of civil society actors and private enterprises,

Noting, that

transparency and mutual accountability is critical to delivering adequate results,
in the past, development cooperation has too often suffered from a lack of coordination and too seldom been evaluated for its effectiveness,
in times of economic crisis and soaring debts, all governments have a particular responsibility towards their constituencies for the effectiveness of their actions,
development cooperation thus needs to be effective, transparent, coordinated and results-oriented to be legitimate,

Calls on all agents of development cooperation,

To treat development cooperation as an equal partnership and have faith in the abilities and strengths of all partners involved,
To constantly evaluate the effectiveness of their actions, to reduce fragmentation of development assistance and to foster international and cross-sector coordination,
To include the expertise and the resources of private enterprise and civil society into their efforts,
To encourage free trade and the fight against market-distorting subsidies in order to unleash the full potential of both the developing and the developed countries’ economies,
To assess the impact of all measures, subsidies or regulations that could influence the chances of development in third countries and in particular third world countries,
To strengthen sound coordination and policy coherence and to frequently evaluate its effectiveness.