GLOBAL COOPERATION NEWSLETTER
December 2012
Best Wishes for the Holiday Season and a very Happy New Year!
In this issue:Featured article: The Post-MDG 2015 UN Development Policy:
From the Global Politics of Poverty Alleviation to the GlobalPolitics of Solidarity.
Moving towards a Convention on the Rights of Older Persons:the UN takes an important step forward
In pursuit of innovative development financing
Useful resources and links

 The Post-MDG 2015 UN Development Policy: From the Global Politicsof Poverty Alleviation to the Global Politics of Solidarity.
by Bob Deacon.
Emeritus Professor of International Social Policy, University of Sheffield, UK.
Member of the Scientific Committee of the Comparative Research
Programme
On Poverty (www.crop.org ). UNESCO-UNU Chair in Regional Integration,Migration and the Free Movement of People (www.ucrm.org).
The process of thinking through the post-2015 Development Agenda within the UN systemstarted with the first step being given to the internal UN Task Team made up ofrepresentatives from over fifty UN agencies. It began its work in January 2012 with a zerodraft prepared by the staff of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social
Affairs and United Nations Development Programme, drawing on a number of papers that
had been critical of the MDGs. Presenting a balanced review of the perceived positive andnegative aspects of the MDG goals, it noted among the shortcomings of the MDG agendathat it was “not explicit as what are to be seen as the structural causes of poverty andsocial exclusion, [my emphasis], nor regarding the strategies and policy actions to betaken to address the structural causes so as to facilitate the achievement of the MDGs”(UN 2012; 4). It went on to suggest that “critics have suggested that the MDGs haveintroduced an undue and mechanistic association of poverty reduction with economic
growth with no reference to the structural causes of poverty and deprivation” (ibid:7). TheTask Team submitted its report in May 2012 (UN 2012b). Its Executive Summary wasPage 1 of 5

predictably bland but did suggest a future development agenda centred on “four key
dimensions of a more holistic approach: (1) inclusive social development; [my emphasis](2) inclusive economic development; (3) environmental sustainability; and (4) peace andsecurity” (ibid: 2). The baton then passed to the High Level Panel (HLP) on Post 2015
Development Agenda, whose membership and terms of reference was announced on July
15th 2012. The beginnings of the post 2015 discussions therefore do open up for debate
the issue of inequality and equity rather than just poverty and do open up a space forengaging in policy recommendations and not just targets and do permit of a reordering ofpriorities other than economic growth. So what should be the emphasis of this new
approach after 2015?

The UN post-2015 development agenda must leave behind the global politics of poverty
alleviation and focus instead on shaping a new global politics of social solidarity. For thepast 30 years the dominant discourse in international development has been the ‘global
politics of poverty alleviation’, which focuses on the poor and seeks policies that lift
populations out of poverty or protect others from falling into it. Subsequently, global
policies have pursued the elimination of the indirect causes of poverty, such as disease
and poor education, and compensation for lack of income, whether through cash transfers,
micro-credit, or low-wage employment.
It is suggested here that the difficulties with this approach not only point to the generalneed for a new direction but also call for the more specific engagement of other socialgroups normally excluded from global policy interest. This would mean replacing thestrategy of targeting the most vulnerable populations with support for a ‘global politics ofsolidarity’ based on inclusion of the ‘middle class’ in development policy. It would include afocus as much on the welfare needs of middle class state builders as on the poor in orderto create those solidarities. The new strategy would promote alliances between the poorand non-poor, especially the middle class, while making services and opportunities moreavailable and more effective for all. Middle class here signifies educated men and women
working in professions, small and medium-sized enterprises, management, public sector
administration and skilled vocations. Based on the development of welfare states in the20th century, social policy and social development science tells us that the better way to
reduce poverty is fairly consistent and involves middle-class buy-in to inclusive state
welfare provision.
There is increasing support for this position. Nancy Birdsall has argued that “A focus on
the middle class does not imply a lack of concern for the poor. To the contrary; in theadvanced economies the poor have probably benefited from the rule of law, legal
protections, and in general the greater accountability of government that a large andpolitically independent middle class demands, and from the universal and adequately
funded education, health and social insurance programs a middle class wants and finances
through the tax system. (Birdsall, 2010: 159). Such arguments have been reproduced
recently in a research report of the African Development Bank: “The middle class is also
helping to improve accountability in public services through more vocal demands for better
services. The middle class is better educated, better informed and has greater awarenessof human rights. It is the main source of the leadership and activism that create andoperate many of the nongovernmental organizations that push for greater accountability
Page 2 of 5and better governance in public affairs. . . . policies that include the promotion of middle
class growth are more cost-effective and generate more long-term poverty reducing
benefits than policies that focus solely on addressing problems of the poor. (AfDB, 2011:15). Also the new ILO Recommendation on Social Protection Floors says as much about
the need to extend social protection vertically (to ensure better contributory benefits) as it
does about the need to extend it horizontally (to provide a tax-based floor for the poor).
Michael Cichon and his colleagues assert that “a social protection system that does notsupport higher benefit levels to a significant proportion of its population can lose thesupport of its own beneficiaries and contributors” (Cichon M., Behrendt C., Wodsak V.
2011: 8).
The Post-2015 UN Development Agenda should, in my view, take these considerations onboard.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
References
AfDB (African Development Bank). (2011) The middle of the pyramid: Dynamics of the
middle class in Africa. Market Brief, 12 April.
Birdsall N (2010) The (indispensable) middle class in developing countries; or the rich andthe rest, not the poor and the rest. In: Kanbur R and Spence M (eds.) Equity and Growthin a Globalizing World. Washington, DC: World Bank, 157–188.
Cichon M., Berendt C. and Wodsak V. (2011:9) The UN Social Protection Floor Initiative:
Turning the Tide at the ILO Conference. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. Germany
UN (2012a ) Post-2015 United Nations Development Agenda: Preliminary Review of theContribution of the MDG agenda. Zero Draft, 6 January 2012
UN (2012b) UN System Task Team: Report: Realizing the Future We Want for All.
http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/untaskteam_undf/unttreport_summary.pdf
The opinions expressed in the article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect
the opinions of the ICSW Management Committee Moving towards a Convention on the Rights of Older Persons: the UN
takes an important step forward
On 20 December 2012 the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 67/139 entitled”Towards a comprehensive and integral international legal instrument to promote andprotect the rights and dignity of older persons”. Despite the absence of consensus (it wasadopted with 54 votes in favour, 5 against and with 118 abstentions), the adoption of theresolution signifies a very important step in the context of efforts undertaken at theintergovernmental level to strengthen the protection of the rights of older persons
worldwide, paving the way to further steps in this direction, including the elaboration of abinding international legal instrument such as a Convention on the rights of older persons.
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Member States renewed the mandate of the Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing(OEWG) established in 2010, and requested that, at its fourth session to be held in 2013,
the OEWG will consider proposals for a new international legal instrument on olderpersons aimed at promoting and protecting the rights and dignity of this growing yet
extremely vulnerable population group. The resolution also requests the OEWG to present
the General Assembly with proposals as soon as possible, which are to contain the mainelements that may be included into such an international legal instrument. The SecretaryGeneral was requested to submit a compilation of existing international legal instrumentsthat directly or indirectly address the situation of older persons.
The number of countries that abstained during the vote speaks volumes about potential
difficulties on the road towards the elaboration of a comprehensive legal instrument that
could satisfy all Member States and eventually be adopted by consensus; it is obvious thatthe forthcoming negotiations cannot be easy. Much diplomatic work still needs to be done
behind the scenes to secure political support and convince skeptics among Member States,
particularly from Europe and North America, but also from Asia that such a binding legal
instrument is feasible and represents the best way to address the issues of ageing andolder persons. This proactive diplomatic effort is being led by a group of Latin Americancountries, which consistently speak in favour of a legally binding international instrument
on older persons, presenting solid arguments for the Convention and the need to plug the“ normative gap” as well as the “implementation gap” in pertinent international andnational legislations, thus facilitating the fight against wide-spread discrimination in oldage and securing effective protection and promotion of the rights of older persons.

 In pursuit of innovative development financing.
The high-level meeting on innovative financing for development was convened on 17December in New York. The event, jointly organized by Finland and United Nations
Development Programme, took place in the context of activities undertaken by theLeading Group on Innovative Financing for Development-- a voluntary group, establishedin 2006 that aims at reviewing and sharing experiences and best practices as well as
promoting the adoption of innovative financing mechanisms. The group is an open forum
for international organizations such as the UN, the European Commission, numerous NGOs
and 63 countries. The participants of the meeting explored how both new and oldfinancing instruments could be leveraged to support a post-2015 development framework,
as well as ensure that funds are allocated in the most effective and efficient way. The key
idea is not to replace the development aid provided by donor countries through official
channels, but to identify more development financing sources, diversifying the set ofavailable instruments. The range of such sources could be broad, embracing alreadytested levies and voluntary solidarity contributions on airline tickets, the financing of lifesaving immunization programmes through the issuing of floating bonds on theinternational capital markets and numerous other means.

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Useful resources and links
 Strengthening older people’s rights: Towards a UN Convention,
HelpAge International, 2012.
This publication prepared by several international NGOs working in the area of ageing,examines the current rights situation with regard to older persons and advocates a rightsbased approach to ageing and older persons. It aims at strengthening understanding andawareness of the need for a UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons, providing anoverview of current international law, as well as a summary of laws and rights in different
countries, looking also at pertinent UN documents and processes in the area.
It also presents some arguments and tools for engaging stakeholders around the world in
debate about the rights of older persons and outlines the role a convention would play intheir lives.
For further information go to:
http://www.helpage.org/download/4d34303582ac4

 Improving International Support to Peace Processes. The Missing
Piece, OECD, 2012

Improving international support to peace processes considered vital in this publication
prepared by the OECD. Such processes hold the promise of re-starting non-violent efforts
aimed at creating more equitable, resilient and developed societies. Yet, such courses ofaction are politically and psychologically complex, as well as high-risk. Many fail and such
failure is harmful, as it reduces confidence and increases cynicism among parties to aconflict, citizens and international partners alike. International support can help a peace
process to succeed but its nature and quality matter greatly.
The publication identifies seven recommendations to improve the quality of support thatstates and international organizations provide to peace processes. It does this through athorough analysis of: the characteristics of today’s violent conflicts, the factors that
influence the success and failure of a peace process and the current strengths &weaknesses of international support. For further information go to:www.oecd.org/dataoecd/27/34/49071359.pdf
The content of this Global Newsletter may be freely reproduced or cited provided the source isacknowledged. Views do not necessarily represent policies of ICSW.
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