Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg confirmed the coalition government’s commitment to giving 0.7 per cent of the gross national income in aid by 2013, at the UN Millennium Development Goals Summit yesterday.
Addressing the audience he said that the UK is “significantly off track” in meeting its aid goals but affirmed that this was to change by setting targets as law:
“My message to you today, from the UK government, is this - we will keep our promises; and we expect the rest of the international community to do the same.
“For our part, the new coalition government has committed to reaching 0.7 per cent of GNI in aid from 2013 – a pledge we will enshrine in law,” said Clegg.
Instead of a blanket aid policy the UK is to target specific problems where aid money can “make the biggest difference” he added, stating that efforts to combat malaria and infant and maternal mortality would be stepped up. Developing countries should not expect a “blank cheque”, he stressed, but should be prepared to work together with developed countries “as equal partners towards securing our common interest”.
The 0.7 per cent target was first pledged in the 1970 General Assembly Resolution but many developed countries including the UK have not yet met this commitment. A draft bill was published during the January 2010 Queen’s speech to meet the 0.7 per cent pledge that the UN Millennium Project seeks to firm across all developed countries.
Clegg’s speech confirms the new government’s commitment to the pledge despite the changed economic scenery.
“The UK makes these commitments at a time of significant difficulty time in our domestic economy,” he said. “The new government has inherited a £156bn budget deficit, so increasing our international aid budget is not an uncontroversial decision.
“Some critics have questioned that decision. But we make this choice because we recognise that the promises the UK has made hold in the bad times as well as the good – that they are even more important now than they were then. Because we understand that, while we are experiencing hardship on our own shores, it does not compare to the abject pain and destitution of others.”
Clegg used the opportunity to call on other nations to act similarly and firm up their commitments towards the Millennium Development Goals.
