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OXFAM Leading British NGO

What Happens Next?
 
A paper by the leading British NGO, Oxfam, analysing the results of Gleneagles, concluded by asking: What happens next?

A paper by the leading British NGO, Oxfam, analyzing the results of Gleneagles, concluded by asking: What happens next?
Just as the successes at the 2005 G8 can be attributed to the tireless campaigning of people worldwide, and the leadership shown by the British government, so the G8 will only deliver on its promises if it continues to feel under popular pressure to act.

The G8 is notoriously poor at keeping its promises. By 2010 it is likely that almost all the current leaders will be gone. Only time will tell whether their signing of the communiqué in 2005 will make any difference. Debt relief had to be discussed at six G8s before the latest deal was agreed, and even so the debt crisis remains far from solved. This was the fifth year that Africa has been on the agenda, and yet some of the promises made will not come into effect for another five years. Although Gleneagles, and the UK presidency, were critical moments for the international debate on development, what happens in 2006 is also critical. Next year sees Russia's first spell as president of the G8, and there is a very real danger that it will let the profile of development decline. After Russia comes Germany in 2007. Keeping up the pressure on G8 governments to keep and exceed their promises remains critical.

For now, the rest of 2005 is packed with important moments for development. The UN Millennium+5 summit in New York, and the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and IMF in Washington, will be held in September 2005. Campaigners will be pushing for concrete steps to follow up the warm words of Gleneagles on issues such as bringing an end to World Bank economic policy conditions, making aid more effective, and giving clear financial commitments to support education and health for all.

This will be followed by the WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong in December 2005, when the development credentials of powerful states will be tested in the area of trade reform. So far in 2005 we have seen good progress on debt cancellation and moderate progress on aid, even though both deals fall far short of what is needed. Trade reform is a far more contentious issue which reaches into the heart of domestic politics. Vested interests from US corporations to the EU sugar lobby put politicians under pressure to do the wrong thing. Reforming trade will take real political courage and massive worldwide pressure from campaigners. In New York and Hong Kong, the 150 million people worldwide supporting the Global Call to Action Against Poverty will continue to play a vital role in demanding action from their political leaders.

Millions of people around the world have demonstrated they will not tolerate poverty any longer, or leaders that allow it to continue. In this sense Gleneagles represented a truly historic movement and a new standard has been set in making poverty the issue of our generation. The pressure remains on our leaders to live up to our expectations, to deliver what they have agreed and to go much further in the coming months.

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