Statement by
Mr. Luc Stevens
Resident Representative
United Nations Development Programme
Arab Regional Workshop
on the Opportunities and Challenges of Civic Engagement
in Socio-Economic Policies
Amman, Jordan (13-15 March 2007)
Your Excellency Suhair Al Ali, Minister of Planning & International Cooperation
H. E. Dr. Jamal Smadi, Secretary General of the National Council for Family Affairs
Mr. Adil Khan, Representing UNDESA
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to be here with you today and, on behalf of UNDP, I wish to welcome you all to the Arab Regional Workshop on the “Opportunities and Challenges of Civic Engagement in Socio-Economic Policies”.
Civil Society Organizations, in today’s world, have a crucial role to play in the policy making processes of the state to ensure achievement of effective sustainable human development. Civil society organizations are no longer restricted to the role of service delivery but are increasingly influential in policy making and performing watchdog functions.
The Millennium Development Goals constitute an opportunity for enhancing the involvement of the civil society organizations. By design, these goals are an instrument for advocating human based development and provide ordinary people with the tool to hold their leaders accountable for results. Achieving the MDGs requires both political support and sustained broad popular support. Hence, participation of civil society organizations is necessary to pressure governments to meet their commitments.
Of course to achieve that, the capacity of civil society organizations needs to be built. They need to become self-reliant and more independent and need to rise up to the responsibility with which they are entrusted.
Furthermore, avenues for participation need to be provided either through formal democratic structure or through direct collective mobilization and action. Civil Society Organizations need to be empowered both to make demands on decision-makers and to monitor that proper policies, when adopted, are effectively implemented.
The issue of decentralization needs to be mentioned here, because local governments are considered closer to the people and can achieve higher public participation in decision making. In conclusion, having a stable central government, capable local authorities and strong organized civil society organizations are paramount for successful positive impact on socio-economic conditions of the poor and marginalized.
In the Arab World, despite existing hurdles, initiatives by civil society organizations have been intensified with varying degrees from one country to the other. In Jordan, there certainly is an opportunity for civil society organizations’ growth, especially given the government’s continued commitment for reform.
It is reassuring to witness that there is growing recognition that engagement with civil society organizations is critical to national ownership, accountability, decentralization, democratization of development co-operation, and the quality and relevance of official development programmes.
Engagement and participation are at the heart of UNDP’s people-centric approach to development. UNDP has realized that individuals are active agents in development and not only beneficiaries, and that strengthening partnerships with civil society organizations as representatives of those individuals, is crucial to achieve positive, long-term impact on their lives.
In Jordan, UNDP together with the government, have partnered substantially with civil society organizations. A number of our key policy processes in the country have been and will continue to be substantially enriched through civil society organizations engagement and mobilization.
The production of Jordan’s 2004 Human Development Report entitled “Building Sustainable Livelihoods” and Jordan’s 2004 Millennium Development Goals Report drew on a wide body of expertise and experience and are results of a consultative process engaging a wide range of stakeholders including government, non-governmental organizations, community based organizations and the private sector.
This is being replicated at the Governorate level, as currently two local MDG reports are also being prepared in close consultation with local communities’ organizations. The Aqaba MDG report will soon be launched, while Zarqa MDG report is under preparation.
With the aim to integrate the country’s social development policies in Jordan, UNDP has partnered with the Government in a project which has shown that proper policy setting will require building capacities of not only government institutions but also the civil society in policy development, research and advocacy.
At this stage, I would like to also emphasize the importance of partnering with the private sector. We at UNDP are aiming to increase the role of the private sector and civil society organizations in collectively addressing issues related to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by launching the UN Global Compact (GC) in Jordan. With this initiative we are hoping to ensure responsible business practices and to promote greater involvement of private sector in development.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
Improving the condition of the poor and fulfilling the tasks required for sustainable human development requires the active participation and partnership of citizens and their organizations.
Therefore, I hope this workshop will serve as a platform that will create a discussion and promote action that would enable civil society to effectively perform their roles in advocating for human development and in dialoguing with their governments representing their citizens at the policy level.
In closing, I wish to take this opportunity to thank UNDESA for their pivotal role in this initiative and the National Council for Family Affairs and the government of Jordan for their dedication and hard work for hosting and arranging this workshop.
My sincerest appreciation.
Thank you.