Governance and the Post-2015 development
framework: a civil society proposal
Open, inclusive, accountable and effective governance needs to be at the heart of the United Nations’Post-2015 framework, as a stand-alone goal and an integral part of other goals, if the framework is
to win legitimacy from citizens and maximise its effects on poverty and sustainable development.
The UN General Assembly has affirmed that the Post-2015 framework should promote democratic
governance and expert inputs have underlined the critical importance of governance, as did theMillennium Declaration in 2000.1 The UN’s MyWorld survey of more than a million people in
194 countries has found “an honest and responsive government” to be one of citizens’ top fourpriorities, a theme which often recurs in consultations with people around the world.2
As the UN Secretary-General has noted, governance is both an outcome and an enabler ofdevelopment.3 Countries with more bribery make less progress in areas like maternal mortality
and child education, for example, while small gains in governance could have big effects onthese areas.4 So the framework needs to promote openness, accountability and effective public
institutions, build trust between states and citizens and curb corruption and waste. These issues
go hand in hand with promotion of the rule of law and access to justice, the promotion of peacefulsocieties and the addressing of inequality.
The question is how to integrate governance into the framework in a way which balances national
diversity with global comparability, extends from governments to international bodies and private
corporations and builds on existing human rights laws and norms. We believe the framework needs to:
1. Enable all people and public bodies to obtain detailed and reliable information on sustainable
development in a timely and accessible manner: in particular, information about what
resources are available, how they are raised and spent and what results they contribute to.
2. Curb corruption and illicit financial flows, which drain away huge sums in much-needed funds.
3. Enhance the effectiveness of public institutions in curbing poverty and promoting sustainable
development and maximise their accountability for the use of public resources.
4. Ensure public backing for efforts to curb poverty and inequality by enabling participation of all
people in the design, delivery and monitoring of policy, without exclusion or discrimination,and by ensuring rights of free speech, assembly and access to information.
5. Enhance the accountability and positive impacts of business by ensuring full disclosureof relationships between corporations and states and requiring corporations to report to aconsistent standard on their impacts on the environment, society and human rights.
These five aims should become global targets which are included in a stand-alone Post-2015 goal on“ensuring open, inclusive, accountable and effective governance” and integrated into other goals.5
There also need to be mechanisms for reporting on, and ensuring accountability for, the attainmentof all Post-2015 goals (including a goal on governance) at the global, regional and national levels.
A stand-alone governance goal is needed to address serious obstacles to development which are
structural and transnational and so cannot be addressed by sectoral goals (on health or education,for example). One such obstacle is corruption, which is said to cost the European Union as much as
120 billion euros a year.6 Another is unrecorded illicit financial flows, which are estimated to havedrained more than a trillion dollars from Africa since 1980. It has been calculated that retaining
this capital within the continent might enable it to meet its MDG targets on child mortality 13
years earlier on average.7
The selection, implementation and evaluation of national actions to meet global goals should happen at
national level, in ways which actively involve all stakeholders (especially the poor and other marginalised
groups) and within global parameters which ensure rigour and comparability between countries. In thetable overleaf, we suggest a global minimum for each governance target. As a contribution to debate,
we suggest ideas for indicators which might be used to evaluate progress beyond this global minimum.
We look forward to working with the United Nations and its Member States on these vital questions.

A Post-2015 goal: Ensure open, inclusive, accountableand effective governance
Suggested global target

Target needs to ensure

Suggested global minimum

Possible indicators

1. Enable all people andpublic bodies to obtain timely
and reliable information onsustainable development:in particular, about what
resources are available, how
they are raised and spent andwhat results they contribute to.

The law empowers people toobtain information in a timely
fashion, in forms they canaccess and use.

Right to information isembodied in a law based oninternational standards.

Reduction in time taken forpeople to obtain data undersuch laws.

Full and timely reporting of
all government budgets andother financial flows at thenational and subnational levels,
including corporate and income
taxes, aid flows, commercial
and concessional lending.

Government proactively
publishes budget documents9,
has a well-resourced andindependent statistics office
and reports on the value,
terms and use of all externalfinancing.

Improved Right to Information
rating. Ratification of Open
Data Charter.8

Corporations required todisclose all tax payments tostates (see also 5. below).
Bilateral, multilateral donors
and lenders report to minimum
IATI standards.10

2. Curb corruption and illicit
financial flows.

Regular and timely reporting,in formats accessible to all
citizens, on progress towards
Post-2015 goals, broken down
by region, gender, age andother key markers, as well as
by resources invested and theirresults.

Government reports annually
to its citizens, with input fromnational stakeholders, on its
implementation of the Post2015 agenda.

Governments take effective
action against corruption andillicit financial flows.

Country has signed and ratified
UNCAC and implemented an
up-to-date legal framework
against bribery, corruption andtax abuses, which facilitatesstolen asset recovery.

International institutions also
report annually to the public onthese issues.

Country clamps down on
tax avoidance, bribery andcorruption by all companies
under its jurisdiction.
Transparent public
procurement and public
disclosure of all companies’
ultimate beneficial ownership(see 5. below).
Public officials’ assets are fully
disclosed and audited.
Independent experts take partin drafting and review of anticorruption laws.

Compliance with accessto information clauses of
UN Convention Against
Corruption.11
Improved score on Open
Budget Index and Financial
Secrecy Index.12
Improved IATI score fordonor aid. Improved score on
Resource Governance Index(where relevant).13

Progressive improvements inthe scope and quality of suchreports.
Information is increasingly
accessible to, and useable by,
marginalised groups.
Reporting leads to progressive
improvement in theeffectiveness of policy.
Fall in Global Financial
Integrity’s estimate of illicit
flows. Improved score on
Basel Institute’s Anti-Money
Laundering Index.14
Improved scores relative
to peers on Transparency
International’s Corruption
Perceptions Index, Global
Corruption Barometer andBribe-Payers’ Index.15
Faster recovery and return ofstolen assets to their rightful
owners.
Surveys report that citizens
have fewer personal
experiences of corruption.16

Suggested global target

Target needs to ensure

Suggested global minimum

Possible indicators

3. Enhance the capacity of
public institutions to makeeffective use of resources andmaximise their accountability
to the public.

The effectiveness of policy
and public spending isregularly, independently andtransparently reviewed.

Country has a independent
audit agency or other oversight
body which carries out regular
audits that are published in full.

Supreme audit bodyreports improved take-up
of its recommendations bygovernment bodies.

Steady improvement in thecapacity of states to raise,manage and spend revenues
for development, to provide
effective and equitable public
services, and to evaluate theresults.

Aid donors enhance support
for building the capacity of
public institutions in countries
which lack the means to do sothemselves.

Improvements in World Bank
Institute’s Worldwide GovernanceIndicators on Effectiveness andRegulatory Quality.17
Tax/GDP ratio moves closer to
global averages and tax due but
uncollected falls.
Fall in gap between allocatedand executed budget, delays
to service delivery and state
payments of debts, bills andsalaries.

4. Increase the active
participation of all people
in sustainable development
and ensure that people
enjoy freedoms of speech,
association, peaceful protest
and access to information.

5. Ensure full disclosureof relationships between
corporations and states andreporting on corporate impacts
on the environment andsociety.

Overarching target:
create global and national
accountability mechanisms for
Post-2015 which ensure that
institutions at all levels areworking to support the aims of
the framework.

Legal framework protects
basic rights and forbids
discrimination.

The legal framework enshrines
rights of free speech, assembly
and access to information.

Improvements in Freedomof Assembly and Freedom of
Association on the CIRI Human
Rights Dataset.18

The media is free to operate
independently without fear of
violence or repression.

The legal framework protects
the right of journalists to reportin the public interest without
harassment or censorship.

Elimination of violence against
and sanctioning of journalists,
as recorded by Committee to
Protect Journalists.19

Human rights defenders andcivil society groups are able towork without harassment or
undue restriction.

The law enables civil society
groups to operate freely.

Higher score on Civicus’ Civil
Society Enabling Environment
Index.20

All citizens, without exclusion
or discrimination, can play
an active part in creation,
implementation andmonitoring of policy (e.g insetting budgets and provisionof public services).

Formal mechanisms exist whichenable all citizens, especiallythe poor and marginalised,
women and youth, tocontribute to the creation,
implementation and oversightof policy.

Higher participation scores on
Rule of Law Index and Open
Budget Survey (for participationin budgeting).21 More citizens
tell opinion surveys they
feel able to participate indevelopment.22

Full transparency in public
procurement (including full
disclosure of all contracts
between the state andprivate companies), tax
payments, corporate political
donations and lobbying
activities; companies report
all social, human rights andenvironmental impacts.

Law requires corporations
to report on tax payments,
political donations, lobbying
and social, environmental andhuman rights impacts, in arigorous, timely fashion.

Increases in scope, quality andtimeliness of reporting.

All institutions, includinginternational bodies andprivate corporations as wellas governments, are under anobligation to contribute to theaims of Post-2015.

The framework makes clear
respective responsibilities ofeach kind of institution.

Law requires transparent public
procurement and disclosure ofcompanies’ ultimate ownershipand contracts with the state.

Inclusive reporting andaccountability mechanisms are
created at global level, and ineach country.

Citizens express increased
trust in state-private sector
relationships (for example,
through opinion surveys.)
Fall in investment’s negativesocial, environmental andhuman rights impacts.23
Institutions meet their
responsibilities under the Post2015 framework in a fashionthat is increasingly timely,
comprehensive and inclusive of
all stakeholders.

This statement is published in
January 2014 and endorsed by:

Endnotes

Advocates Coalition for Development andEnvironment (Uganda)
AfroLeadership (Cameroon)
Alliance for Budget Transparency (Kyrgyzstan)
Cahurast (Nepal)
Caritas Zambia
Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (India)
Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia
Civil Society Platform for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding
Community Health and Research (Nigeria)
Community Initiative Action Group (Kenya)
Fitra (Indonesia)
Fondation Chirezi (Democratic Republic of Congo)
Fundación Nacional para el Desarrollo (El Salvador)
Fundación Solidaridad (Dominican Republic)
Fundar (Mexico)
Global Integrity (United States)
Global Movement for Budget Transparency, Accountability
and Participation (BTAP)
Global Witness (United Kingdom)

1

See United Nations General Assembly. Outcome document of the special event to follow up efforts made towards achieving the Millennium
Development Goals. A/68/L.4. 1st October 2013. Page 4. See Report of
the Secretary General. A Life of Dignity for All. A/68/202. Page 13. Millennium Declaration, Article 13.

2

See http://www.myworld2015.org/?page=results. See also the final reportof the Global Thematic Consultation on Governance and the Post-2015 Development Framework at http://www.worldwewant2015.org/governance/
finalreport. See also Howard, J and Leavy, J. What Matters Most? Evidence
from 84 participatory studies with those living with extreme poverty andmarginalisation. Institute for Development Studies. 2013.

3

See Report of the Secretary General. A life of dignity for all: accelerating
progress towards the Millennium Development Goals and advancing theUnited Nations development agenda beyond 2015. A/68/202. 26th July
2013. Paragraph 81.

4

See http://www.transparency.org/news/feature/ending_corruption_
to_end_poverty and https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/sites/default/
files/docs/Getting_to_Zero.pdf

5

For example, a Post-2015 education goal should include targets on useof public funds for education (our Target One), curbing corruption in the
education system (Target Two), citizen participation in design of policy andthe running of schools (Target Three) and the financial dealings of private
providers and suppliers with the public education system (Target Four).

6

See EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström. Fighting
Corruption. From Intention to Results. Speech, 5th March 2013.
Accessible at http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-13-187_
en.htm?locale=en

7

African Development Bank. New AfDB-GFI Joint Report: Africa a Net
Creditor to the Rest of the World. Media release. 29th May 2013. The
definition of illicit financial flows includes financial flows from illegal
activities and legal activities which become illegal because they infringe
exchange control regulations. See also http://international.cgdev.org/
blog/oecd-financial-secrecy-african-child-mortality

8

See http://rti-rating.org/ and http://odta.net/post/open-data-charter9

We recommend that all countries should be expected to publish four basic
budget documents: the Executive’s Budget Proposal, Enacted Budget,
Citizens Budget and Audit Report.

Groupe D´Etude, De Recherche et D`Action PourLe Developpement (Senegal)
Grupo de Ciudadanía y Finanzas Públicas de la ESAP Escuela
Superior de Administración Pública (Colombia)
Human Rights First Rwanda
Institute of Public Finance (Croatia)
Instituto de Estudios Estratégicos y Políticas
Públicas (Nicaragua)Instituto de Estudos Socioeconômicos (Brazil)
Integrity Action
Integrity Watch Afghanistan
International Alert (United Kingdom)International Budget Partnership
Kemitraan (Indonesia)
Luta Hamutuk (Timor Leste)
National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (India)
Obeng Denis Udo-Inyang Foundation (Nigeria)
Perkumpulan IDEA (Indonesia)
Policy Forum (Tanzania)
Public Service Accountability Monitor (South Africa)
Publish What You Pay Indonesia
Restless Development
Saferworld
Samarthan Center for Development and Support (India)
Save the Children
Society for Civic Development (South Sudan)
Soros Foundation Kazakhstan
Stakeholder Forum
TearfundTransparencia Mexicana
Transparency International
Transparency International Indonesia
Trocaire (Ireland)
Youth for Social Development (India)

10 See www.aidtransparency.net
11 See, for example, United Nations Convention Against Corruption. Articles 10 and 13.
12 See http://internationalbudget.org/what-we-do/open-budget-survey/
and http://www.financialsecrecyindex.com
13 See http://www.revenuewatch.org/rgi/. This index covers natural
resource-producing countries.
14 See http://www.gfintegrity.org/ and http://index.baselgovernance.org/
15 See http://www.transparency.org/research
16 See, for example, http://www.latinobarometro.org/lat.jsp, http://www.
afrobarometer.org/ and http://www.asianbarometer.org/
17 See www.govindicators.org
18 See http://www.humanrightsdata.org/
19 See http://www.cpj.org
20 See http://socs.civicus.org/?p=4297
21 See http://worldjusticeproject.org/rule-of-law-index
22 As per footnote xix.
23 For example, the UN Human Rights Council’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights could be relevant for an indicator on the humanrights impacts of business.