Frank Adell’s Post

Title: Strengthening the UN: A Call for Increased International Contributions Introduction: The United Nations (UN) has been a critical organization in promoting global peace, cooperation, and development. However, it is no secret that the UN's budget is significantly low, hindering its ability to effectively address pressing global challenges. With the United States serving as its largest contributor, it is high time for other nations to step up and make larger financial contributions. Additionally, given the UN's location in New York City, where the cost of living is high, a serious examination of the UN's structure, its location, and the direction it needs to take in order to regain respect and effectiveness is crucial. Let us explore the need for increased international contributions and the evolution necessary for the UN to thrive independently. The Burden of US Contributions: The United States has played a pivotal role in funding the UN, being its largest contributor for many years. While the US's financial support has been crucial, it has also created a situation where the UN's operations heavily rely on a single nation. This overreliance poses challenges, as the UN's decision-making process and initiatives may be influenced by the priorities and interests of its largest donor. To ensure the UN's independence and impartiality, it is essential for other nations to increase their contributions and share the financial burden. Encouraging Greater International Contributions: A more equitable distribution of financial responsibilities among member states is paramount for the UN's effectiveness. Other nations, particularly those with growing economies, must recognize the importance of their increased contributions. By doing so, they will demonstrate their commitment to global peace, development, and the values that the UN upholds. A collective effort to boost the UN's budget will provide the organization with the necessary resources to tackle complex issues such as climate change, poverty, and conflict resolution. Reevaluating the UN's Budget and Structure: The current UN budget, which amounts to $3.4 billion for 2023, pales in comparison to the budget of New York City. For the fiscal year 2024, New York City's budget stands at a staggering $107 billion, covering various essential services, health and safety, education, and quality of life initiatives. This stark contrast underscores the need for a comprehensive review of the UN's budget, its priorities, and the allocation of funds. Such an examination should identify areas where budgetary adjustments can be made while ensuring the organization's ability to fulfill its critical mandates. Other member states must start contributing to the United Nations if it is to regain any credibility and counter the influence of the United States.

Conflict around the globe is on the rise and while none of the SDGs are close to being achieved, no other goal is more off-track than SDG 16 on peaceful, just, and inclusive societies. Concurrently, global funding for peacebuilding activities is steadily declining, especially in fragile and conflict-affected countries. In the high-level policy briefing we are organising together with the German Permanent Mission in Geneva tomorrow, we will explore the potential for new solutions that generate more synergies between the peacebuilding community and the private sector, especially in conflict or post-conflict contexts.  The session, entitled "Peacebuilding and private finance actors: investing in partnerships that create peace", will offer the opportunity to hear from a range of practitioners and experts, and more particularly to listen to the experiences of those involved with the private sector at the local level, to discuss the practical implementation of ‘peace-positive’ investments. Join the discussion, either in person or online, on Tuesday 31 October at 5-6.30pm CET - more info here: https://lnkd.in/gU63-cPw #PeaceFinance #Geneva #GPW23 #investforpeace #event #peace

Great new paper from Eurodad - the European Network on Debt and Development on why health can’t be disentangled from development financing, debt reform and illicit financial flows: “At the core of this problem lies a systemic failure within the global economic governance systems. This includes a lack of a fair, effective and inclusive global system to tackle key factors such as sovereign debt challenges and international tax dodging by wealthy individuals and corporations”. Fulfilling the right to health requires adequate public funding, but austerity measures and inadequate levels of quality public services disproportionately the poorest and women. https://lnkd.in/eqztsNBX

Following some of the reports! Read the following summery! The streets of New York City left no doubt: high-level dignitaries had swarmed to town for the opening of UN Summits Week. Police cut off traffic several blocks around UN Headquarters as delegates from around the world braved the rain and tightened security checks. All hoped to witness a renewed global resolve to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the halfway point since its adoption in 2015. With the Global Sustainable Development Report 2023 showing that only 15% of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are on track to be met, Dennis Francis, President of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), underscored the need for transformative action and invited Member States to announce bold commitments during the SDG Summit. Want to dig deeper? Read the full Earth Negotiations Bulletin daily report. UN Secretary-General António Guterres asserted that the 2030 Agenda is not a promise among diplomats but a promise to all people to “build a world of health and progress, leave no one behind–and pay for it.” Emphasizing the SDGs need a global rescue plan, he called for a stimulus plan of USD 500 billion per year for SDG implementation. He also proposed an effective debt relief mechanism and urged reforming the “outdated, dysfunctional, and unfair” international financial architecture. António Guterres, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, UN Secretary-General Delegates then adopted the Political Declaration, whose negotiation was co-facilitated over the course of several months by Qatar and Ireland, and which will be presented to the UNGA for consideration. The opening segment continued with statements by groups of Member States. Many noted the trajectory taken by governments to reach the SDGs has been hampered by external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s war against Ukraine, and mounting climate change impacts. Others pointed out that progress on the SDGs had stalled well before the pandemic. Developing countries underscored that increasing indebtedness and unfavorable lending conditions have impeded their capacity to pursue sustainable development. They urged reforming the international finance architecture. Small island states advocated for using the multidimensional vulnerability index to account for more than just income-based criteria in assessing eligibility for concessional finance. Ursula von der Leyen, EU Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, called upon leaders to restore the promise that “tomorrow will be better for all than today.” High-level dignitaries and stakeholder representatives then engaged in four Leaders’ Dialogues on: Scaling up actions on key transitions to accelerate SDG progress; Building resilience and leaving no one behind

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly announced the UK's renewed commitment to a more equitable international financial system at the UN General Assembly. Our greatest asset is unity through pressing challenges like climate change and pandemics. 🔹 To meet the SDGs by 2030, the UK recognises the importance of mobilising resources from international financial institutions and the private sector. It includes a $2 billion pledge to the Green Climate Fund. 🔹 The United Kingdom makes significant pledges and reforms to help developing countries. Multilateral Development Banks will receive new financial guarantees, which will increase the impact of overseas aid by making loans more affordable. 🔹 The UK guarantees will help with climate adaptation efforts in Asia and the Pacific, as well as unlocking education financing for marginalised children in Asia and Africa. 🔹 Bold global action is required to close the $4 trillion annual gap required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The United Kingdom and its international partners are dedicated to the development of a more comprehensive, equitable, and inclusive international financial system. 🔹 The UK is committed to disaster risk financing, tax reform, and promoting economic stability in Commonwealth countries. These initiatives benefit nations and international businesses, including the United Kingdom. What are your thoughts on the matter? 👉🏼: https://lnkd.in/gTGs5yHx #GlobalFinance #Sustainability #SDGs #UKLeadership

New Post: Mo Ibrahim Foundation launches 2024 Ibrahim Forum Report - https://lnkd.in/eGEgkswD Ibrahim Foundation launches 2024 Ibrahim Forum Reporthttps://lnkd.in/e6SjRw4U Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s latest report, “Financing Africa: Where is the Money?” provides a comprehensive analysis of both the financial needs deemed necessary for Africa to meet its development and climate goals and the resources that are currently available. Mo Ibrahim, Chair of Mo Ibrahim Foundation The Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s latest report, "Financing Africa: Where is the Money?" provides a comprehensive analysis of both the financial needs deemed necessary for Africa to meet its development and climate goals and the resources that are currently available. The report makes the point that the resources mostly exist, but either lack the relevant processes to be effectively allocated where needed or, significantly when it comes to domestic resources, are either dormant or misused.    Commenting on the release of the report, Mo Ibrahim, Founder and Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, said:  “We need a complete change of paradigm. This is not about Africa coming to the developed world with a begging bowl and developed countries considering how much more they can pledge.  This is about smarter money, not just more money. As this report outlines, the money is already there. However current processes prevent resources from being used to properly address the challenges. Steps must be taken to reform the international financing system and update African debt structuring, risk assessment and mitigation and aid conditionalities. Even more, our continent must stop squandering its assets and take proper ownership and responsibility. In short, we must apply good governance to ensure these assets are adequately leveraged for the best interests of our people.”   The report first identifies the substantial but often incoherent numbers associated with Africa's development and climate goals. While the task of assessing financial needs is complicated by inconsistent data from multiple sources, the figures all point to staggering numbers. Whatever the numbers, the report underscores the critical need to ensure climate finance does not crowd out development finance, forcing African nations to choose between development for their population and environmental sustainability.   The report then analyses financial contributions from non-African sources. Official Development Assistance (ODA) accounts for nearly 10% of the continent’s financial resources. But ODA from Western donors remains primarily directed towards health and education and often comes with specific conditionalities. Meanwhile, non-DAC countries' commitment to Africa is growing steadily and addresses the demand. Debt cannot be the way out, as stock and servicing costs h

Impact investments are an emerging way to help people help others. However, how these impact investments are managed, is a question that economists and development policy makers are yet to answer.

[Analysis] #EUpolitics: Although the Recovery and Resilience Facility (#RRF), which allows the #Commission to raise funds on #CapitalMarkets, strengthens the #EU's executive powers, the decisive role of domestic political parties should not be overlooked, argue @nils_oel & @jasperpsimons | LSE Blog

We want to help the next government tackle pressing social and environmental issues and improve living conditions in the UK. To achieve this, there must be more private as well as public investment, both of which are chronically low as a share of UK GDP.   Impact investment can help address the UK’s social and environmental challenges whilst generating sustainable and responsible financial returns. We and 35 organisations and alliances propose four measures to unlock more private investment across the UK.    We’re urging Government to:   🤝 Create a Local Community Growth Fund to attract private investment into opportunities identified by communities across the UK. 💡 Introduce incentives that encourage investors, whether banks, pension funds, or foundations, to invest for long-term sustainable and inclusive growth. 🔎 Improve financial inclusion and access to fair banking by establishing a Financial Inclusion Taskforce. 🚀 Spend smarter, using tested outcomes models, to mobilise private investment for more cost-effective delivery of public services like healthcare   To learn how private investment can be harnessed to improve living standards and reduce poverty, now and in the future, visit https://shorturl.at/erzT0   #UKEconomy #GeneralElection #BetterBritain

I hope the new EIB presidency will bring a focus on climate and social agenda