Reaction To London G20 Communique

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LEADERS OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST ECONOMIES AGREE THAT AID TO DEVELOPING NATIONS IS CRITICAL TO GLOBAL ECONOMIC STABILITY InterAction Reaction to 2009 London G20 Summit Communiqué Washington D. C. (April 2, 2009) -- "We commend the G20 for its collective action in maintaining its commitment to the world’s poorest and agreeing to new investments in food security. However, these commitments must be realized to have an impact on the world’s poor," said Samuel A. Worthington President and CEO of InterAction, an alliance of 179 US humanitarian and development non‐governmental organizations (NGOs). "The bold decision of President Obama and the other G20 leaders to provide over $1 trillion to restore trust in the banking system and to initiate job growth and economic stability, is critical to addressing the financial health of the world. The proposed sale of IMF gold for concessional financing for low income countries along with the provision of $50 billion to the World Bank’s Vulnerability Fund will significantly help address the financial crisis of developing and emerging countries and lessen the impact of the global financial crisis on the world’s poor." InterAction applauds the G20 leaders for their re‐commitment to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 and their ODA pledges of foreign aid. These agreements will increase support to the international financial institutions (IFIs) including the IMF and the World Bank for the financial stabilization of low income countries; will strengthen the regulation of financial transactions and markets, especially hedge funds; and will crack down on tax havens. We urge the G20 to use innovative mechanisms, such as the World Bank’s Global Food Response Program for a rapid disbursement of the funds within one year. We urge the G20 to protect recipient countries from the IFI’s pro‐cyclical policy conditionalities that limit their ability to respond during economic downtown. Developing countries should have immediate access to the emergency funds and the ability to pursue counter‐cyclical policies to reduce or neutralize the social impact of this economic downtown as is the case in G20 countries. To ensure these commitments are met, InterAction calls for the immediate development and implementation of a transparent accountability mechanism to monitor decisions, pledges, and disbursements as agreed to at the Summit. The G20 countries’ agreement to meet again by the end of the year is a good first step to ensure accountability. ###  InterAction is a coalition of more than 175 US-based private relief, international development and refugee assistance organizations. InterAction members have agreed to abide by a set of standards to ensure accountability to donors, professional competence and quality of service.