Europe (which provides over half of all aid) to focus on democracy and human rights in aid projects

[pampango]

The EU will place a far greater focus on democracy, human rights and governance in its aid programmes, after adopting a new development policy.

In unveiling the EU's "agenda for change" (pdf), Andris Piebalgs, the EU commissioner for development, said on Thursday that human rights and democracy were guarantors that economic development was sustainable.

The EU – the world's biggest donor of official development aid – will seek to promote democratic rights through "good governance and development contracts" set up between the EU and countries receiving general budget support. In 2010, budget support represented 24% (€1.8bn) of all commitments from the EU budget. The EU as a whole is the biggest donor of official development aid. Last year, it provided €53.8bn (more than half of global aid).

The plans could see the EU cutting aid to countries such as South Africa, India and Ghana, where 75% of the world's poorest live. "The EU must acknowledge that with the majority of the world's poor living in middle-income countries, aid allocation cannot be based on GDP alone, and should ensure its own policies do not violate peoples' rights and jeopardise the EU's development objectives," said ActionAid.

...adding that countries such as Brazil, India and China were strong enough to tackle structural issues on their own. He added that the EU would continue to provide targeted aid to those countries – for HIV programmes, for example – through sector support.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2011/oct/13/eu-focus-human-rights-aid?newsfeed=true