Birmingham Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrats set out priorities for G8 Summit

The Liberal Democrats have launched their "G8 Communiqué: Priorities for Action", warning the leaders of the world's eight richest nations against limiting the Gleneagles Summit to "excuses for inaction and carefully honed presentations of warm words and sympathy". Also today, Gordon Brown has told Live8 campaigners that it may not be possible to secure all the demands made by the Make Poverty History campaign. The comments reflect concerns that the government has set its G8 presidency ambitions too high, at the risk of letting down lobby groups.

The Liberal Democrats believe that the G8 would be better placed to make progress if representatives of the poorest countries were sitting at the same table and were fully involved. World summits should operate under the maxim: 'Not about them, without them.' Aid and debt relief are essential, but so also is concerted action against corruption, to protect human rights, and to promote free and fair trade, if development is to be sustainable in the long-term.

Andrew George, Liberal Democrat Shadow International Development Secretary said "The Make Poverty History and Live8 campaigns have raised expectations among the public for progress on poverty. The G8 should not be aiming to 'manage' those expectations but to meet them. 2005 should mark a turning point in a policy area which has witnessed a catalogue of false dawns since the Brandt Commission 25 years ago."

The G8 communiqué priorities document has been set out by the Liberal Democrats as a benchmark, against which to measure the success or otherwise, on key issues, of the Gleneagles summit, and aims to reflect the broad scope of problems facing developing countries. Commenting, Andrew George said "Aid and debt relief are essential, but so also is concerted action against corruption, to protect human rights, and to promote free and fair trade, if development is to be sustainable in the long-term." Among other proposals, the Liberal Democrats want the G8 to seek a fresh UN Security Council mandate for the enforcement of peace in Darfur.

G8 COMMUNIQUÉ: PRIORITIES FOR ACTION

PURPOSE

This document sets out a benchmark against which Liberal Democrats will measure the success or otherwise, on headline issues, of the G8 summit commencing from 6th July 2005.

PREAMBLE

If G8 countries intend to spend the better part of the summit considering the contribution they could make to the poorest, then the poorest countries should take part in those discussions.

Any negotiations about developing countries should operate on the basis of the maxim "not about them, without them". It is doubtful the G8 countries will be capable of properly understanding the complexity and urgency of the situation in the poorest countries unless those countries, possibly through representatives of the Least Developed Countries, are fully engaged in the discussions. The G8 countries should not hold discussions in a vacuum and in isolation.

THE CHALLENGE

There must be a recognition by the G8 of the limited and uneven progress towards achievement of the MDGs: the scale of poverty and deprivation in the developing world; the prevalence of preventable diseases; lack of healthcare and education; limited access to safe water and sanitation; the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS; gender inequality; and abuse of human rights. In many countries, particularly in Africa, the prevalence of poverty has actually increased over the last decade.

The G8 should acknowledge that without major concerted action and additional financing there will be little or no prospect of achieving the MDGs by 2015. Equally, they should recognise the interconnection of poverty, security and human rights; and that in a globalised world the best way to achieve peace, security and stable development is through active, sustained and concerted cooperation between states.

The G8 must also take the lead on the world's pre-eminent environmental challenge: climate change. The livelihoods of millions of people, particularly in Africa, could be threatened by flooding, and increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather events. The G8 has a special responsibility to act given that G8 countries account for nearly half of all global CO2 emissions.

THE G8 SHOULD RESOLVE TO:

Governance

• Agree with poorer countries a 'kitemark' system for good governance, with reference to standards in key public sectors.

• Work with developing states to assist them to improve financial and political transparency, accountability and good governance.

• Tackle corruption, including through ratification and implementation of the UN Convention Against Corruption and the OECD Convention on Bribery.

• Support measures to improve the accountability of companies for the social and environmental impact of their activities, with particular regard to those incorporated, or having a substantial presence, in G8 countries.

Conflict resolution

• Support and resources for reconciliation programmes in post-conflict areas and a new United Nations Peace-building Commission.

• Agree to strengthen the capacity of the African Union to provide humanitarian support and peacekeeping troops.

• Agrees to seek a fresh new UN mandate to deploy significantly more peacekeeping troops to Darfur, led by the African Union, with the capacity and mandate to enforce peace.

Trade

• Press for a liberal, pro-poor outcome of the Doha round of trade negotiations.

• Eliminate tariff and quota barriers to trade with developing countries.

• Ensure that developing countries are not forced to liberalise markets at a speed and to a degree which could impede their development.

• Eliminate agricultural production and export subsidies, with a target for all G8 countries to complete by 2010.

• Ensure that no subsidised agricultural overproduction is dumped on the markets of developing countries.

Aid

• Reach the UN target of 0.7% by 2012, or 2015 at the latest, and to commit to measurable improvements in the predictability of aid.

• Ensure at least 70% of aid is allocated to low-income developing countries.

• Commit to increasing in the proportion of bilateral aid allocated to basic social services, including primary healthcare, basic education, food and nutrition, water supply and sanitation.

• Work with recipients to ensure greater accountability and transparency in the delivery and use of aid.

• Untie all aid from reciprocal purchasing obligations and eliminate inappropriate economic conditionality from aid or debt relief.

• Ensure increased funding to combat HIV/AIDS, to achieve universal access to treatment for all by 2010.

• Substantial additional support for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.

Debt relief

• Extend cancellation of multilateral debts to a greater number of the 38 Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) than the 18 currently agreed.

• Ensure that all multilateral institutions are fully compensated for debt cancellations.

• Ensure that existing aid budgets are not cut as a result of increased commitments on debt relief.

Human rights

• Respect and promote international law, including all aspects of human rights and humanitarian law.

• Support the work of the United Nations and regional organisations in their efforts to defend and protect human rights and democratic freedoms, and to tackle gender inequalities.

• Take action, including through support for the International Labour Organisation, to work towards the elimination of child labour and to commit to achieving a measurable and substantial reduction in the 170 million children who work in hazardous conditions by 2010.

• Support the proposed International Arms Trade Treaty and eliminate the export of weapons to states for the purpose of oppression, the abuse of human rights or any act in breach of international law.

Proliferation

• Respect in full the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, including the obligation to take steps towards disarmament.

• Implement the international Conventions to control the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons.

• Fund measures progressively to de-alert, dismantle, secure and protect nuclear, chemical and biological materials, particularly in the countries of the Former Soviet Union.

Climate change

• Take action on the scientific consensus that climate change is happening and has been caused by human activity.

• Commit to substantial CO2 emission reductions and take the lead on negotiations for the next set of targets for emissions, with the inclusion of developing countries, on the basis of the long term goal of 'contraction and convergence': the sustainable population-related allowance for emissions.

• Agree a target based successor to the Kyoto protocol based on a contraction and convergence approach.

• Commit to the mobilisation of resources and technologies that could help to reduce emissions, increase the use renewable energies and mitigate the deleterious consequence of climate change.