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The Importance of the Multilateral Aid Review Act

Multilateral Aid Review ActThe Multilateral Aid Review Act calls for a complete review of The United States system for foreign assistance. It would also serve as the foundation for a Global Development Strategy for foreign aid and would assist in any potential reconstruction of U.S. developmental programs and efforts. Ultimately, the importance of The Multilateral Aid Review Act is that the bill provides a positive move towards evidence-based reforms as well as offers a potential substitution to the proposed budget cuts for international aid programs.  

A Bipartisan Group of Supporters

The importance of The Multilateral Aid Review Act can be seen by the bipartisan group of Senators who introduced the bill. Two Senators from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), introduced the legislation that will review and potentially enhance the effectiveness of The United States participation in foreign organizations as well as improve accountability. The Multilateral Aid Review Act is also cosponsored by a number of Senators including Todd Young (R-Ind.), Tim Kaine (D-Va), Marco Rubio (R-Fla), Michael Bennet (D-Colo), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga) and Bob Casey (D-Pa).  

According to Senator Bob Corker, “American taxpayers deserve to know how our involvement in these organizations benefits this country (…) Establishing an interagency review process will give us a more thorough and objective way to evaluate the performance of these institutions.” Senator Chris Coons stated, “At a time when some question the value of foreign assistance, I am proud to lead this bill which will provide data to analyze the effectiveness of our investments with these agencies and others.”  

Oversite of How the Money is Allocated

The importance of The Multilateral Aid Review Act is that it will establish an “interagency task force” that will review the organizations that receive federal foreign aid assistance. The proposed task force will be led by The Department of State, but it would have to consult with Congress and various outside experts. It would assess each organization’s financial management practices. There are three specific areas that would be evaluated:

  1. The degree to which the organization meets their declared goals
  2. Ensuring those goals align with U.S. policies
  3. The effectiveness of pursuing U.S. objectives multilaterally

In March 2018, President Trump announced, as a part of his proposed budget, that an estimated 28 percent of current spending on foreign aid would be cut. Obviously, this would have an astronomical impact on countries facing extreme poverty and the organizations hoping to put an end to this issue.

To put this in perspective, there would be a 25 percent cut in global health programs, the impact of which would be seen across all sectors. A 68 percent cut would slash The Bureau for Food Security, which works to eliminate world hunger.  

Helping Countries in Need As Well As US Interests

The importance of the Multilateral Aid Review Act is that it allows for the possibility of protecting countries receiving foreign aid as well as organizations and programs working towards solving world issues. The truth of the matter is that The United States investing in foreign aid not only helps countries in need but it also can help America in several ways.

  • Foreign aid is an investment that can be returned by creating strong trading partnerships that will eventually bring both employment and income back into The United States.
  • The United States is safer because foreign aid helps resolve the conditions that led to instability, therefore, reducing the threat of violence and even terrorism.
  • Investing in foreign aid helps prevent epidemics, which ultimately save thousands of lives, not to mention thousands of dollars in aid in the event of an epidemic.
  • The United States participating generously in foreign aid boosts the country’s reputation, which opens up several opportunities, including allowing U.S. goals to be pursued.  

The Multilateral Aid Review Act is an extremely important piece of bipartisan legislation that will allow a more detailed review of where The United States foreign aid budget goes, therefore, ensuring it is spent in the right way. If passed, this bill will not only help The United States but also countries around the globe facing extreme poverty.

– Olivia Hodges
Photo: Flickr

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The Role of African Multilateral Institutions

African Union
Intergovernmental cooperation provides a multi-faceted approach for tackling regional and global issues. African multilateral institutions allow governments to work together on developing, unifying and improving livelihoods throughout the continent.

There are a variety of roles that these institutions can play: from increasing trade, improving infrastructure, peacekeeping, promoting good governance, developing technology, providing health and education. Intergovernmental cooperation can also serve a cultural role.

The challenges that Africa is facing at the moment are unique to the culture and political history of the continent.  African multilateral institutions can provide more endogenous solutions – ones that arise from within Africa by Africans.

The African Union (AU) is perhaps the biggest and most ambitious multilateral institutions in Africa. Founded in 2002 out of the previous Organization for African Unity, the AU aims to politically and socio-economically integrate Africa. The AU also promotes peace and stability and norms of good governance. Within the AU, The pan-African Parliament functions as a forum that allows delegates from each country to present key issues and bring back advice for heads of state.

There are several subdivisions and committees the AU oversees that focus on reducing poverty and sustainable development. For example, the New Economic Partnerships for African Development (NEPAD) uses funding from Western nations to improve economic and government institutions.

The African Union is also instrumental in promoting democratic processes. They utilize a unique volunteer Peer Review Mechanism, in which states that choose to participate agree to have their political processes evaluated by experts. The AU also send observers to cover all elections in African countries.

With the creation of the Peace and Security Council in 2004, the AU plays an increasingly important role in African security. Contrary to its predecessor, the African Union is able to intervene during conflicts. This can occur through authorizing peacekeeping missions or in cases of genocide and crimes against humanity through deploying military forces.

The AU intervention after the civil war in Sudan broke out was one the most rapid and influential responses from the international community and helped create peace through a self-determination referendum after South Sudan seceded. In Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire, the AU successfully resolved post-election violence. In Somalia, the sizeable AU peacekeeping mission used a comprehensive strategy to decrease the effects of the terrorist group Al-Shabaab and stabilize the country.

As the largest economic organization on the continent, the African Economic Community is another influential African multilateral institution. It consists of all African countries that have formed eight smaller blocs based on geographical proximity: Economic Community of West African States, East African Community, Economic Community of Central African States, Southern African Development Community, Intergovernmental Authority on Development, Community of Sahel-Saharan States, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, and Arab Maghreb Union.

These regional organizations help integrate Africa’s economy and facilitate trade. The East African Community, for example, is the most integrated of these trade blocs, with free trade and plans for a common currency. The Economic Community of West African States does not only serve as a trade bloc but also engages in peacekeeping activities and has a formal judicial arm that aims to prevent human rights violations.

Together, these African multilateral institutions tackle the difficult challenges in development that the continent faces, from various angles and with multiple approaches.

– Liesl Hostetter
Photo: Flickr

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The Global Change-Maker: What Has the United Nations Accomplished?

United Nations
Established on October 24, 1945, the United Nations (U.N.) brought the world the values of promoting peace, combatting hunger, spreading democracy and other noble issues. Although critiqued by many, the United Nations has a positive record of bringing change to various lands, and leaving behind its all-encompassing mission. But what has the United Nations accomplished? Below are three of its key achievements:

1. Keeping The Peace

The role of “peace-maker” was one of the United Nation’s first large accomplishments; in fact, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations currently has 15 peacekeeping operations throughout the globe. By responding to crises — such as Haiti’s 2010 earthquake — and providing basic security commitments, each U.N. operation has reinforced political transitions and helped support fragile new state organizations. The U.N. has helped countries to cease large sectors of conflict and move towards regular development, regardless if peacebuilding challenges are present.

 

2. The Fight For Children

In 1953, the United Nations added UNICEF as a permanent affiliate of their organization. The U.N. General Assembly acquired the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which explains children’s rights to education, health care, shelter, protection and good nutrition. What has the United Nations accomplished since then? In 2017, the organization created the goal of saving 1.5 million children’s lives through sufficient vaccinations; since 1990, these vaccinations have saved the lives of 122 million children and counting.

 

3. Human Rights

Announced in 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly for the first time, a document would set out fundamental human rights to be protected universally. The declaration has been translated into over 500 languages. Within the United Nations, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has the main responsibility in the system to protect and promote human rights. The OHCHR also supports the peacekeeping missions in several countries through engaging in human rights via active reports and conducting investigations.

 

Although there are other accomplishments, these are the three that stick out in answer to the question: “what has the United Nations accomplished?” Pushing for growth as a whole for our future is key. The future is brighter for us all with the spread of peace, children having a chance to reach adulthood and all beings understanding human rights.

– Tara Jackson
Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About New Director of UNICEF Henrietta Holsman Fore

director of unicef
U.S. businesswoman and former administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and director of U.S. Foreign Assistance, Henrietta Holsman Fore, became the seventh executive director of the U.N. International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on January 1, 2018. Fore is replacing Anthony Lake as director, whose term began in 2010. The following are 10 facts about the new director of UNICEF.

  1. Fore was the first woman to hold the position of USAID administrator, which she served concurrently while being the director of U.S. Foreign Assistance from 2007 to 2009.
  2. Prior to her senior roles in the U.S. Department of State, Fore was the 37th director of the U.S. Mint. She initiated the 50 State Quarters Program and introduced laser engraving during her tenure.
  3. She was the chairman and CEO of her family’s investment and management company, Holsman International. She also was connected to at least 14 other companies, nonprofits and think tanks, according to her professional LinkedIn page, including the Aspen Institute, the Center for Global Development, General Mills and ExxonMobil.
  4. U.N. Secretary General António Guterres announced Fore’s appointment as executive director of UNICEF on December 22, 2017. The announcement received acclaim from multiple organizations, including the U.S. State Department and the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
  5. Fore was chosen by Guterres in consultation with the executive board of the U.N. The executive director position of UNICEF has gone to the U.S. candidate since the organization’s creation in 1947.
  6. Fore is committed to modernizing and revitalizing foreign assistance. In a 2008 keynote address to the Center for Global Development, she discussed reforming priorities to meet the most critical needs, promoting program coordination among agencies and increasing the number of U.S. foreign assistance personnel.
  7. To Chief Executives Organization, American diplomat John Negroponte said, “[Fore] likes to roll up her sleeves…she’s an incessant traveler.” In a speech at the 2014 International Financial Forum, Fore said she had traveled to countries such as Indonesia, Turkey, Nigeria, Egypt, Brazil and India.
  8. At the same forum, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice described Fore as, “one of the best appointments that I made,” and as, “one of the best public servants I’ve ever met.”
  9. Fore’s appointment aids Guterres’ mission for gender parity at U.N. senior leadership levels by 2021 and throughout the whole organization before 2030. Current findings suggest there is an inverse relationship between women’s representation and seniority at the U.N.
  10. As executive director of UNICEF, Fore will head one of the most important agencies within the U.N. The organization’s budget was $5 billion in 2017, the second largest of the U.N. agencies.

In his announcement, outgoing UNICEF director Anthony Lake said, “Henrietta Fore will bring a wealth of experience to UNICEF’s work for children.” Her appointment certainly excites individuals committed to ending global extreme poverty, and it will be compelling to witness what UNICEF accomplishes under Fore’s leadership.

– Sean Newhouse

Photo: Flickr