Solidarity not partnership, to redefine the poorest nations

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Dr Essam Yassin Mohammed

The Independent Expert Group (IEG) sees solidarity, rather than partnership, as being the key to effective international collaboration in the post-2015 framework as it implies shared interests and responsibilities rather than the outdated donor-recipient relationship.

Dr Essam Yassin Mohammed, a researcher with IIED and member of the Independent Expert Group made the statement in a release by the IEG. 

The release goes on to advise that, to assert their position, Tanzania and other Least Developed Countries (LDCs) need to redefine themselves, act to improve governance and promote greater solidarity both with each other and with more developed nations. 

 

Supported by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the group aims to influence the UN’s efforts to define Global Sustainable Development Goals to take effect from 2015, when the Millennium Development Goals expire. 

 

 “The LDCs are in many ways the weakest but they also have strengths such as, their local knowledge and institutions, their culture and values and their resilience to uncertainty,” says Dr Tom Bigg of International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) which coordinates the IEG’s activities. 

 

“The LDCs can be leaders in the post-2015 process by promoting new forms of international cooperation that enables greater solidarity and sharing of knowledge and responsibilities,” reads part of the IIED statement available to our reporter.

 

 “They can act to redefine development assistance by working harder to use their national wealth to meet the priorities of the poor and they can do more to share their lessons and experiences of how to measure development and manage environmental resources.” Dr Tom Bigg explains.

 

The IEG’s mission is to ensure that UN-led processes to set international goals for development and sustainability take account of the perspectives and priorities of the LDCs and promote leadership from the LDCs at the UN level. 

 

The IEG consists of 13 experts from LDCs, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Eritrea, Gambia, Haiti, Mali, Nepal, Senegal, and Uganda. The former prime minister of Haiti, Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, is the Chair.

 

The IEG members work in research institutes, media, civil society organizations and government agencies in the LDCs.