[Aidwatch] Multilaterals, Melanesia and Management Committee Membership

[AID/WATCH E-Bulletin]

 Dear supporters


Covering the news at the moment is the big delay in the Government’s
promise to increase the aid budget to 0.5% of GNI. As AID/WATCH pointed out
in a recent article in the
Conversation<https://theconversation.edu.au/beyond-aid-numbers-accountability-for-human-rights-abuses-6396>,
whilst we support the call made by other NGOs to honour the aid
commitments, we believe that the focus on the quality of our aid program
should not be forgotten.

The Government has been undergoing a process of reviewing the quality and
“effectiveness” of the Australian Aid program. Part of this involved a
review of donor or multilateral organisations that sadly but predictably
gave greater weighting to organisations like the World Bank due to their
pro-market economic mandates. As promised AID/WATCH undertook our own
assessments of Multilateral
performance<http://www.aidwatch.org.au/publications/tracking-the-independent-review-measuring-up-the-multilaterals>based
upon human rights and social indicators (many thanks to all those who
came and made our launch of our Assessments in April a great night!) Our
assessments are now all available on the A/W website
here<http://www.aidwatch.org.au/publications/tracking-the-independent-review-measuring-up-the-multilaterals>.


In the past AID/WATCH has helped to successfully change or halt damaging
aid projects through working with local organisations. One such success was
around the Pacific Lands Program which threatened to displace and alienate
Indigenous people from their land through an ill-conceived reform of
customary land across the
Pacific<http://www.aidwatch.org.au/sites/aidwatch.org.au/files/IssuesPaperLand.pdf>.
The Melanesian Indigenous Land Defence Alliance which formed in
response<http://www.aidwatch.org.au/campaigns/pacificwatch>has
recently launched a new website to support their ongoing work against
development processes that exclude community voices and promotion of
customary alternatives www.mildamelanesia.org. It has heap of fantastic
documents and videos produced by local activists so check it out!
*AID/WATCH are looking for new Committee Members*

Finally, A few long term AID/WATCH committee members are stepping down this
year, so this is an excellent opportunity for new members to get involved.
We are looking for enthusiastic and dedicated people to join our Management
Committee (CoM). As part of a dedicated group of volunteers, the Management
Committee provides a vital role in setting the direction for AID/WATCH,
driving campaigns and dealing with management issues. Go to our
website<http://www.aidwatch.org.au/news/positions-vacant-aidwatch-management-committee>to
find out more.

And one last thing - AID/WATCH will shortly be turning the grand old age of
20! We’re in the process of organising a suitable celebration and will be
back in contact soon with details and invites. As part of this celebration
we’ll be re-launching our newsletter in an e-format with the first issue
set to cover some of our highlights and promote our latest projects.

But for now, don’t forget to like us on
facebook<https://www.facebook.com/AIDWATCH>for all the latest
information.


AID/WATCH
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