Open Forum is encouraged to highlight paragraph 19 of the newly revised draft Busan Outcome Document:
"19. Civil society organisations (CSOs) play a vital role in shaping development policies and new partnerships, overseeing their implementation. They also provide services in areas that are complementary to or go beyond those provided for by states. Recognising this, we will:
a) Implement fully our respective commitments to enable civil society organisations to exercise their roles as independent development actors, with a particular focus on an ENABLING ENVIRONMENT that maximises the contributions of CSOs to development.
b) Encourage CSOs to implement practices that strengthen their own effectiveness, accountability and contribution to development results, guided by the ISTANBUL CSO DEVELOPMENT EFFECTIVENESS PRINCIPLES".
The revised 3rd draft Busan Outcome Document (BOD) was circulated this morning Friday 14th of October, following the Working Party on Aid Effectiveness (WP-EFF) concluding meeting before the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness HLF4 which took place last week.
The revised draft BOD will be used by the agreed group of multi-stakeholder representatives, including civil society, as the basis for finalising the document in advance of HLF-4.
The inclusion of the Istanbul Principles and the emphasis on the Enabling Environment for CSOs is a welcome signal for civil society as it directly responds to CSO Key Messages and Proposals for HLF4, Point C:
Affirm and ensure the participation of the full diversity of CSOs as independent development actors in their own right - Endorse the Istanbul Principles and acknowledge the Open Forum’s International Framework on CSO Development Effectiveness to put these Principles into practice.
Following the official acknowledgement of the International Framework by the government of South Korea, Open Forum looks forward to mobilizing more development actors including governments and donors to support the outcomes of the Open Forum process and the entirety of the CSO Key Messages and Proposals for HLF4.
Read the 3rd draft Busan Outcome Document here.
Read the accompnying note from the Working Party on Aid Effectiveness co-chairs here.
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