NZ's ICESD, COP25, Trust in Humanitarian workers, and more

+ Government’s new policy statement on aid

New Zealand’s International Cooperation for Effective Sustainable Development’ (ICESD) has been released. 

Key points:

•  Maintains the primary focus of ODA on the Pacific
• Secondary region is South East Asia
• Humanitarian aid will focus on fragile states and conflict zones, particularly in the Middle East, Asia (and Africa)
• Marks a shift away from funding ‘projects’ to funding multi-year programmes
• In line with the Pacific Reset, a key emphasis on human rights, governance, democracy, gender and women’s empowerment, youth and climate change
• Policy coherence will mean a ‘development lens’ over domestic policy (eg trade, environment etc) to test impact on development outcomes, particularly in the Pacific
• A more integrated approach to foreign policy will mean greater collaboration on development with key departments like defence, environment and others
• Majority of ODA will focus on small island developing states and Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
• ‘Partnership’ will guide relationships, particularly in the Pacific where there is a ‘shared Pacific destiny’ and ‘collective ambition’
• Middle-income countries will be supported through policy and technical assistance to ultimately move ‘beyond aid’
• Where New Zealand has expertise it will support these countries with a range of products and tools as they transition off aid
• MFAT will strive to work across sectors, including New Zealand businesses to leverage skills from other sectors and increase impact.

This is a welcome snapshot of the government’s new approach to aid, and CID members look forward to working with MFAT and our Pacific partners to implement the strategy.

+ White Island Eruption & Red Cross Restoring Family Links

Whakaari/ White Island erupted at 2:11pm yesterday, and this is the biggest eruption there since 2001. 47 people were on the island at the time of the eruption. 8 people remain missing, believed dead, on the island. There are 5 confirmed fatalities, and 31 people are being treated at 7 hospitals throughout the country.

At the request of New Zealand Police following the Whakaari / White Island eruption, New Zealand Red Cross has activated their Family Links website. The Family Links website allows for people in New Zealand or overseas to self-register themselves as safe and well, and/or register the details for the person they have lost contact with. People seeking to enquire about a loved one who they are unable to make contact with as a result of the eruption can also do so by visiting this site.

The Police 105 number can also be used by members of the public to submit information regarding friends or family who might have been visiting Whakaari/ White Island during the eruption. People from overseas can call +64 9105 105 or use the Police online contact form.

 

+ CID Talk: Cash transfers in the Pacific (+ Xmas drinks)

Oxfam’s Pacific cash advisor, Sandra Hart will deliver a talk to CID members and friends in Auckland and Wellington during the second week of December.

Sandra has been leading Oxfam’s innovative cash projects in Vanuatu. One was a major cash programme for Ambae evacuees on Santo, the second a blockchain pilot project (which we’ve previously discussed) for IDPs in Port Vila.
 
Sandra will give her talks on the following days:

• AUCKLAND: Tues, 10^th December at 12.30 pm at Oxfam (Level 1/14 West Street, Eden Terrace, Auckland)
• WELLINGTON: Fri, 13^th December at 12.30 pm at Volunteer Service Abroad (Level 2/77 Thorndon Quay, Pipitea, Wellington)

The Wellington Talk on 13th December will be followed by CID Xmas Drinks at Thunderbird Cafe, 154 Featherston Street, Wellington, from 5.00pm.

+ COP25 - What's at stake?

Intense and unpredictable, the world is increasingly seeing the impacts of climate change, but progress on international commitments continues to fall behind. It is in this context that COP25 -the Conference of the Parties that have signed on to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)- is being held in Madrid from the 2^nd-13^th of December this year, with groups such as the ITUC pushing for ambitious and urgent action.

“Loss and damage” financing have been put high on the priority list by some campaigners for COP25. Addressing loss and damage is a highly divisive issue, with more contentious suggestions requiring wealthier countries to contribute increased sums to climate funding.

However, it is hoped by campaigners that amending loss and damage funding mechanisms could help to address the current funding gap experienced by countries hit the hardest by climate change and contribute to rebuilding programmes after disasters strike. If changes to policy are not made, a coalition of 152 civil society groups warns that “the most vulnerable parts of the world will sink deeper into debt and poverty every time they are hit by climate disasters they did not cause”. The amendment of this policy involves the review process of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage.

The Guardian reports what happened during the first week of COP25 here.

+Tessa Temata - standing up for the Pacific 

It is with huge sadness that we learnt yesterday of the death of the High Commissioner to the Cook Islands, Tessa Temata. 

Many of our members came across Tessa during her time negotiating Pacer Plus. She was always open to talking with CID members. She listened and took criticisms on board. Having been the country director for HOPEworldwidePNG, an NGO focusing on community healthcare, before joining MFAT, she understood the NGO sector, as well as the needs of MFAT.

She respected both sectors - government and civil society -  as organisations driven by people equally determined to make a difference, and deeply principled.

Always for Tessa, you felt that her primary focus was ‘what’s right for the Pacific?’, and she had the courage to stick to a position if she felt it was in the best interests of Pacific communities. 

She was tough, principled and warm.

It feels wrong to be writing an obituary for someone with so much more to do in life. 

Our thoughts and condolences go out to her family and our MFAT colleagues who will be grieving her loss and trying to come to terms with what has happened just before Christmas.

+ New CID working groups - get involved!

Thank you to those of you have put your names forward to help set up the CID Working Groups. We’ll be in touch.

These Working Groups will report to the CID Board, and help to drive activities and advocacy in key areas of interest for our sector. 

If you would like to be part of these groups, please contact CID at office@cid.org.nz

We will be in touch with all of you have already contacted us in the new year to discuss Terms of Reference and next steps. The CID working groups are as follows:

• Localisation 
• Partnerships with Business 
• Partnerships with Academia 

 

+ Devnet announces plans for 2020 conference

Details of the ‘Development Matters’ conference for 2020 has been released by the Devnet team. 

Here are the details:

“Regardless of who we are or where we live, we all want our whānau, friends and communities to live safe, healthy and prosperous lives on a thriving planet. For many people, this is the vision of ‘development’. In contrast, some see development as the capitalist political economy that has brought us climate destruction, water pollution and loss of wildlife. For others, development is a long-term process of struggle towards an equitable share of power. However, you wish to define it, development matters.
 
At the 2020 DevNet Conference we will explore contemporary development matters, by asking the questions:

• Why does development matter and how?  
• How can we achieve the Sustainable Development Goals? 
• How can we stop climate destruction while also reducing poverty and inequality? 
• What are Indigenous perspectives on social change? 
• Should we abandon the ‘development project’ and embrace an alternative way of viewing human and planetary life? 

 
If you care about the wellbeing of people in Aotearoa and around the world and about the Earth we live on, Development Matters is the Conference for you.
 
Put December 2-4 2020 in your diary now, and look out for more information in new year!
 
Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for regular updates.“
 

+ Trade for All Report Released

The Trade for All Advisory Board (TFAAB) released its final report. 

The sector was represented on the Board by CID Director Josie Pagani, and Fairtrade CEO, Molly Harriss-Olsen.

Key points:

• Independent evaluations and assessments of national interest
• Earlier and deeper consultation on trade negotiations with the public and key stakeholders 
• Assess trade deals against a triple bottom line framework – they need to meet social, environmental and economic objectives, and be consistent with the Crown’s partnership objectives and obligations to Māori under te Tiriti/the Treaty.

For a full copy of the report go here.

The independent board was established in 2018 to take a fresh look at how our trade policy can better deliver to people, at a time when the global trading environment is increasingly challenging.

 

+ IOM launches Migration Report 2020

International Organization for Migration (IOM) has launched the World Migration Report 2020, the tenth in the world migration report series to contribute to increased understanding of migration throughout the world. This new edition presents key data and information on migration as well as thematic chapters on highly topical migration issues and is structured to focus on two key contributions for readers: Part I: key information on migration and migrants (including migration-related statistics); and Part II: balanced, evidence-based analysis of complex and emerging migration issues.

+ Once again, it's about trust

There is a troubling gap between the way humanitarian actors see themselves and the way they are perceived by the people they set out to help.

“They never listen, so I don’t trust them.” This stark appraisal of aid workers was given by one young woman caught up in the 2016 Europe migration crisis. Feedback like this – and other examples we have collected – speaks to a breakdown of the one commodity humanitarians have always relied on, and perhaps taken for granted: trust. 

The good news is that a recent study from Ground Truth Solutions, surveying 7,000 people across seven countries, found that 70 percent of people trust that aid workers will act in their best interest. People seem to believe in our good intentions – i.e. humanitarians are, in theory, good people.

But what the data also shows is that people don’t believe in our ability to be fair, or to actually help them and have an impact. A shocking 75 percent of disaster-affected people say aid does not meet their most pressing needs. And a staggering 57 percent of people said that aid is not provided equitably. 

This shows how the international community is still struggling to adapt its work to ensure more community ownership of the response. To build trust, we need to be representative of the communities we serve. Our greatest strength as the International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement is that our volunteers often come from the communities they are helping. Our volunteers speak the same language, understand unique cultural norms, and are present before, during, and after a crisis, reports Francesco Rocca on The New Humanitarian.

As we put people’s feedback at the heart of our operations, and hopefully start shifting the power imbalances that continue to exist, not only will we gain the trust of the people we serve, but we will ensure that our work is relevant and impactful. 

We will need time, funding, and space to test and adapt the way we work.

+ CID Talks for 2020 - let us know!

Have you got a topic that you'd like to see discussed in a CID Talk? Are you expert, or do you know someone who's an expert of some cutting-edge development theme? Are you conducting a special piece of research and you'll like to share it with other fellows CID members and supporters? 

If yes, we would really like to hear from you! Please, send any CID Talk proposals or suggestions for the next year to Gaia at office@cid.org.nz
 

+ Pacific Koloa Collective - Plans into the Future

On behalf of our newly formed indigenous Pacific and Maori development practitioners group, I would like to thank the sector leaders including the Chief Executives Officers of our membership. A big malo/thank you for your support at our presentations at the CID Conference in October. Since the conference, we have increased our membership and we have had amazing conversations about what the future holds for our Collective. In January 2020, we will resume our bi-monthly meetings with an ambitious plan for our members to present at the DevNet conference. We also hope to have at least one face-to-face meeting in Wellington. Thank you all again and we wish you all the best over this holiday and Christmas season. Christine Nurminen – Chair.
 

+  Ākina: climate positive!

The Ākina team are proud to announce they have become a climate positive accredited organisation through working with ekos - a non-profit enterprise that provides carbon measurement services and carbon zero certification.

Becoming climate positive accredited means they’ve proven that they have measured and offset 120% of their carbon footprint for their entire business operations for the previous financial year. To do this, every emission of carbon from the business was calculated and then offset by the growing and protection of indigenous forest. It’s been quite the journey!

As they kicked things off, they came across a whole lot of language that they needed to get really clear on the meaning of. With ‘climate’ or ‘carbon’ appearing in many of the terms in this space, things can get confusing pretty quickly. Learn more here.