Second drafting session for the Addis Ababa Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3) – day 2

The logo and website for the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3) were launched by UN Under-Secretary-General (USG) Wu Hongbo, USG Cristina Gallach, and Ambassador Tekeda Alemu, Permanent Representative of Ethiopia at the beginning of the second day of the drafting session. 

As reported by IISD, Member States then discussed the modalities for the drafting session. Several developing countries stated their preference to begin a negotiation, paragraph-by-paragraph, with text projected on the screen. They also opposed the development of another revised draft by the Co-Facilitators. Developed countries, however, said that a detailed negotiation on the text was not feasible at this session, and supported a revised text from the Co-Facilitators. The session was suspended until a compromise could be reached, whereby delegates agreed to project the draft text on a screen to facilitate the discussion.

The discussion on “Domestic Public Finance,” initiated on Monday, resumed. 

Delegates next made comments on the first section of the zero draft, on a global framework for financing sustainable development. Developing countries sought clarity on the objective of the conference and section titles to reflect the mandate of FfD3; reaffirmed responsibility of national governments while underscoring the need for a supportive international enabling environment; and called for a bridging section to link the outcome document with all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Some developed countries, meanwhile, called for the FfD3 outcome document to be the “one and only MOI pillar” of the post-2015 development process, and urged reflecting changing realities since the adoption of the Monterrey Consensus and the Doha Declaration.

In the evening discussions on domestic and international private business and finance, Member States were generally supportive of the strong role of the private sector in the draft. Some States cautioned against mandatory environmental, social and governance reporting frameworks, and supported the use of existing infrastructure initiatives to coordinate and promote investment, while others called for a greater commitment from the business sector for accountability and human rights, including gender equality and empowerment.

Many developing countries opposed references to the use of remittances as public finance, saying remittances are privately owned and not in the control of governments. They did, however, support targets to reduce the cost of remittance transfers.

See also: http://www.iisd.ca/ffd/icffd3/fds2/