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Overseas Development

Conservative & Labour

Liberal Democrats
Under the Conservatives, British aid has fallen from 0.51% of Gross National Product (GNP) in 1979 to only 0.31% in 1993.

Labours future spending commitments on overseas development is still unclear. The promise to reach the United Nations target of 0.7% GNP is not one of the party's pledges.

Britain devotes less bilateral aid to poverty alleviation than most other OECD countries. Nearly two-thirds of all the governments spending commitments have conditions attached to buy British good, services and to purchase goods from the British arms trade.

 Liberal Democrats would make overseas development a high priority. We would:
  • Increase aid towards the United Nations (UN) target of 0.7% of GNP.
  • Insist that British aid money never props up corrupt regimes that have poor records on human rights.
  • Tackle the debt crisis, acting with other nations to write off some debts and offering to reduce others if the debtor nation purses better environmental or development policies.
  • Reform the world trading and financial systems, to remove discrimination against developing countries.
  • Help open up western markets to developing countries' products by removing protectionalist trade barriers.
  • Address the problems migration by providing additional aid for countries suffering from migration problems.
  • A co-ordinated approach to limit population growth.
  • Promote greater rights for women and improving women's literacy standards.
  • An increased role for non-government organisations in supporting and promoting public and private developing initiatives.
  • Conversion of the UN Development Programme into a UN Sustainable Development Agency, becoming the main agency for providing technical assistance to promote sustainable development.

 

global

Facts & Figures.

  • The majority of Overseas Aid is either wasted or taken by corrupt officials.
  • A Billion people are trapped under a mountain of debt they can never pay back. Debt repayments have rocketed since the 1970's.
  • In 1993 rich nations took back £3 in debt repayments for every £1 they give in aid.
  • Debt caused social and economic instability. It played a major role in the collapse of Rwanda.
  • Debt means that countries can not afford imports. This has helped to cause global recession and a rise in Western unemployment.
  • Rain forest is being destroyed to provide timber and beef to earn foreign currency to pay back debt.
  • Debt fuels the drug trade as poor farmers turn to growing high value cash crops such as opium and cocaine.
  • Large area's of the world after making steady progress are sliding back into poverty.
  • Over 500,000 children die each year because of cut backs in health services.
  • In the world's 37 poorest countries, spending per person has dropped 50% on health and 25% on education.
  • The number of people living in absolute poverty will rise to 1.5 billion by the end of the 1990's.

Questions & Answers.

Q.
Why should we spend so much on foreign aid?.
A.
Not only is it a moral duty, it's common sense. A world in which resources re distributed fairly is less prone to instability, pollution and refugee problems.

Q.
Overseas aid creates dependent nations that cannot help themselves?.
A.
We have always emphasised the need to ensure that local communities are fully involved in aid projects and that aid teaches skills and boosts the country's economies rather than just instils dependence.

 

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