Dialogue in Pursuit of Development - Are you looking for one of ...

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Providing assistance is still a matter that can be unilaterally decided by
each individual government. Bilateral as well as multilateral aid is voluntary.
Even in the richest countries such budget posts are not popular. Only
five of the donor countries have reached the long ago agreed target of
providing 0.7 per cent of their Gross National Product for development
co-operation.
A donor government must justify these expenses and convince the public
that such money is well used. As the majority of the citizens in the donor
country cannot see any direct result of the assistance, it has become important
for their governments to seek ways to show its positive impact. This in
itself leads to a form of indirect conditionality.
Furthermore, donor agencies have pointed out that there is a clear correlation
between the effectiveness of development co-operation and the degree
to which human rights are respected. Freedom of speech, for instance,
could be essential to minimize mismanagement and corruption.
The link between development programs and human rights goes further
than that. Implementation of civil, cultural, economic, political and social
rights can be seen as the very purpose of development work. In that perspective,
aid is a means for making a reality of human rights.
This view would give important nuances to the discussion on
‘conditionality’. The conditions would focus on will and the genuine intentions
of the recipient government rather than on the present status of human
rights. As the donor participation is voluntary it is hard to object to
such goal-oriented, indirect ‘conditionality’.
NGOs and human rights
Non-governmental groups (NGOs) in the donor countries also relate to
colleagues in the South, sometimes in the form of a dialogue. One basis is
that Western NGOs get funding from governmental agencies at home to be
used in partnership with groups in developing countries. Indeed, a substantial
part of development aid today is channeled that way.
This kind of dialogue is delicate and requires a special study. As always,
money could corrupt the relationship and make the recipient adjust its positions
to suit the donor partner, particularly as many human rights groups
in the South are inevitably poor. It has happened that the Western organizations
have listened badly and pushed through programs which were not of
highest priority or even desirable. Western consultants have been used when
local capacities would have been more appropriate.
At the same time, there are many examples of outside NGOs which have
provided good advice based on experience in other parts of the world. In
addition, such co-operation has sometimes given an ‘umbrella’ protection
for local groups against harassment by domestic authorities.