*EPF109 08/19/2002
Text: Working for a Sustainable World -- Good Governance
(U.S. releases report prior to Johannesburg summit) (3410)

The United States is promoting good governance in partnerships with developing country governments, nongovernmental organizations and labor unions according to a U.S. federal government report prepared for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WWSD) to be held August 26-September 4 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Good governance is the foundation of sustainable development, the report says. The August report says U.S. assistance programs in the area help develop transparent democratic institutions, independent and fair judiciaries, and strengthened law enforcement that can combat corruption. U.S. assistance also focuses on helping countries develop sound monetary, fiscal and trade policies and include all members of their societies in decisions that affect them, the report says.

U.S. support includes helping developing countries design and institutionalize social safety net policies and core labor standards.

Following is the report's section on good governance:

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Good Domestic Governance

"Self-governing people prepared to participate in an open world marketplace are tire very foundation of sustainable development, and that begins with good governance. Without a foundation of good governance, no amount of outside assistance will produce sustainable development." -- Undersecretary of State Paula J. Dobriansky, May 23, 2002

Why Good Domestic Governance Is Essential

Almost every aspect of sustainable development will be affected by the quality of civil society, political participation and decisionmaking, and responsible and reliable governance. Because good governance is the fundamental requirement for progress and sustainability, furthering it is at the core of U.S. strategy to foster sustainable development.

The goals of U.S. assistance programs that support good governance are

-- democratic institutions that are effective, accountable, and transparent

-- an independent and fair judiciary

-- law enforcement that -- with integrity -- protects the people while strengthening their capacity to combat corruption

-- sound monetary; fiscal, and trade policies that promote economic growth, social development, and environmental protection

-- participation by all members of civil society in decisions that affect them

Democratic governance supports sustainable development by making institutions and policymaking more accountable, transparent, and responsive. Free and fair elections allow people to select and change their leaders and to express their preferences for political parties and popular movements. Increasing political participation allows citizens to influence the allocation of health services, food, clean water, and sanitation. A vibrant and politically active civil society, with a free press and the right to free association, will hold institutions accountable -- the more so when policymaking is transparent and responsive to the concerns of citizens.

An independent and fair judiciary is also crucial. Solid judiciaries support laws that protect people, commerce, and the environment, and they enable enforceable contracts, a cornerstone of a functioning economy. Good governance also facilitates economic growth and equity. Both are shackled by corruption, a worldwide problem that distorts investment decisions, leads to misallocation of resources, and has a disproportionate impact on the poor.

The U.S. Government promotes good governance in every region of the world and believes that a good governance component makes environmentally oriented programs more effective. USAID [U.S. Agency for International Development] is the lead agency in this work, providing $700 million annually to support an array of democracy and governance activities. It is worth noting that over half of the 400 sustainable development initiatives surveyed had a good governance and anticorruption component.

Initiatives for Good Domestic Governance

The United States has dedicated $19.5 million per year to the development of international law enforcement academies. The Department of State, with the Departments of Justice and Treasury, will bring the expertise of their 12 law enforcement agencies to strengthen the capacity and integrity of the law enforcement profession throughout the world. The regional International Law Enforcement Academies (ILEAs) in Thailand, Hungary, Botswana, and the United States provide training in environmental protection and criminal investigations, anticorruption investigative task forces, and prosecutorial and judicial reform. A fifth academy is planned in Costa Rica. The National Center for State Courts, with USAID support, is strengthening judicial systems in more than 50 countries, including Brazil, Croatia, the Dominican Republic, Eritrea, Guatemala, Hungary, Mongolia, Nepal, Nigeria, and the Philippines. The National Strategy Information Center, with support from the Department of State, provides public education programming that aims to provide citizens and media with strategies to combat corruption and crime. The National Endowment for Democracy, with support from the U.S. Congress, promotes competitive elections and democratic systems throughout the world. The U.S. Government's support for reducing corruption is exemplified in the funding provided for Transparency International, an agency that publicizes and works to reduce corrupt practices.

Governance issues are critical at local levels, where participatory problem solving permits effective resource stewardship. A population and child nutrition program in Morocco receiving $8.7 million from USAID promotes localized management of public health services in order to reduce bureaucracy and permit more direct assistance. This assistance will be more efficiently targeted through collaboration between public health officials, NGOs, [nongovernmental organizations] community associations, and the private sector. USAID is also helping build related capabilities within Morocco's Ministry of Health.

The Ukraine Local Environmental Action Program, begun in 2000, has increased the effectiveness of policies at the local level, and empowered citizens to influence environmental decisionmaking. With USAID support, the program reached out to over 5,000 local communities, NGOs, [nongovernmental organizations] and local businesses through eight newsletters entitled Chysta Hata (Clean Hut).

"As our Peruvian colleague Hernando de Soto has so aptly said, 'The hidden architecture of sustainable development is the law.' The law.... The rule of law that permits wonderful things to happen. The rule of law that permits people to be free and to pursue their God-given destiny, and to reach and to search and to try harder for their country; for their family. The rule of law that attracts investment. The rule of law that makes investment safe. The rule of law that will make sure there is no corruption, that will make sure there is justice in a nation that is trying to develop."
-- Secretary of State, Colin L. Powell, July 12, 2002

Local Rights and Participation in Indonesia

Reports of decentralized environmental decisionmaking and influential nongovernmental constituencies come from Indonesia, where $12 million of USAID support promoted pluralistic and transparent ant decisionmaking and management. Key components in the process are site-specific natural resource management plans; agree; incurs among local stakeholders; cooperation between resource user groups, local communities, private sector companies; and traditional groups; and the development of an integrated coastal management framework at a national level. In 2001, USAID assisted the implementation of 51 site-specific plans that placed 700,000 hectares of Indonesian forest and coastline under better management. This resulted from more than 180 Government of Indonesia policy decisions made in a participatory and transparent manner with local communities. Two site-specific examples follow:

-- In North Sulawesi, community-based coastal zone management plans helped to more than double fish abundance in "no-take" protected areas significantly increased fish diversity, a and improved or stabilized more than 72 percent of coral reefs.

-- In the Bird's Head Peninsula area of Papua, USAID helped to protect endangered sea turtles by working with communities to establish land tenure and to resolve conflicts over natural resource rights. As a result of village patrols and public awareness activities, the number of turtles nesting has increased by 50 percent since 1999.

"When development projects are infused with democratic principles and approaches, a cycle of benefits accrues. The projects not only achieve better results but also can change the way communities go about solving problems."
-- Linking Democracy and Development: An idea for the Times, USAID, June 2001

These spotlighted local environmental projects in Ukraine and disseminated success stories from other countries in the region. The project helps 10 communities solve specific environmental problems and developed a team of Ukrainian professionals who provide local communities with needed technical support for environmental activities. As a result, NGOs and local authorities are being mobilized to undertake environmental cleanup and nature conservation activities across Ukraine.

The Value of an Integrated Approach

The U.S. Government is promoting an integrated, cross-sectoral approach to addressing governance and sustainable development. USAID efforts to assure clean water in El Salvador provide a good example. The project went well beyond protecting vital watersheds: it enhanced the governance of participating water municipalities by organizing and training small community groups, municipalities, and national water agencies. Activities that emphasized improved extension practices, watershed conservation, and production of highvalue commodities contributed to substantial gains: 325 demonstration farms worked with 3,859 neighboring farms to increase the area of land conserved to almost 9,000 hectares -- more than double the original end-of-activity target. Further, 50 potable water systems were completed, rehabilitated, or improved; these serve 50 percent of the households in 24 municipalities.

The cross-sectoral approach was also embraced for the creation of Regional Environmental Centers in Hungary, Ukraine, Moldova, Russia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provided direct support to improve local environmental governance and public participation in Mariupol, Ukraine. The project instigated the first participatory approach to local planning and priority setting in Mariupol, and provided a lasting forum to allow NGOs, citizens, private businesses, and local authorities to cooperate on environmental problems.

Bringing nations together to find regional solutions to environmental challenges that transcend national boundaries can advance good governance practices in ways that go far beyond the scope of the environmental issues themselves.

Transboundary Water Issues in the Middle East

Around the world, solutions to environmental challenges require regional cooperation. Supporting the efforts of nations to work together on common environmental problems brings benefits beyond the scope of the particular issue. This point is exemplified by U.S. efforts concerning the river basins of the Nile and the Jordan, where the State Department is committed to a regional strategy that complements U.S. bilateral and multilateral diplomatic efforts.

Historically, the rest of the Middle East and North Africa envied Egypt and Sudan's access to the Nile's water, but today this great river struggles with increasing demands made upon it by population growth, economic development, droughts, and environmental degradation. As demand for water grows, so does the possibility of political and economic instability, especially if bordering countries unilaterally attempt to exploit water resources. With a host of other partners, the United States supports progress being made by the riparian states to address these issues, resolve regional water questions, and advance economic integration efforts.

Concomitantly, the Department of State is encouraging transboundary cooperation in order to promote better management of the water resources of the Jordan River and the Gulf of Aqaba. These efforts toward regional environmental cooperation exist within the context of the broader efforts to promote Middle East peace. To this end, the Department of State established one of its 12 worldwide Regional Environmental Hubs at the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan. To promote, develop, and support regional water activities that arise from the Middle East peace process, the Amman Hub facilitates cooperation between regional mechanisms and institutions, and with national governments, environmental NGOs, donor organizations, and the business communities of the region. Many of these activities derive from the Multilateral Working Groups on Water Resources and the Working Group on the Environment. Participants include experts and officials from Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Tunisia, and Oman. They grapple with such topics as regional water data banks, public awareness and water conservation, electronic networking for water information, integrated pest management, watershed monitoring, dryland management, and desalination research and training.

Partnerships for Good Domestic Governance

The U.S. Government promotes good governance through a wide range of partnerships. Often, funding goes directly to governments that have demonstrated political will to strengthen and make more transparent their judicial and legislative bodies. In Armenia, for example, USAID provided nearly $2.2 million to improve the National Assembly's ability to communicate with its constituents and others and conduct financial and economic analyses.

The U.S. Government provides significant assistance to NGOs experienced in fostering civil society and democratic processes. For example, USAID supports PACT; a U.S. NGO, in its work with the Black Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Support program in South Africa, helping it to better advise small and micro-entrepreneurs on advocacy and participation in policy formulation.

Addressing Labor Issues

The U.S. Government recognizes that addressing employment and labor issues is essential to poverty alleviation and sustainable development, and that labor unions often play key roles in promoting civil society, fostering political participation, and demanding accountability from elected leaders. The U.S. Government therefore supports significant international programs to help achieve the healthy, educated workforce that is vital to a prospering economy and the protection of natural resources.

A program of the Department of Labor -- Improving Economic Opportunities and Income Security for Workers -- provided $50 million over the FY 2000-2002 period to strengthen the ability of developing countries to design and institutionalize the social safety net policies and programs needed to foster economic growth and worker protection.

Since 2000, the Labor Department has channeled some $60 million in assistance to help countries implement core labor standards in accordance with the UN International Labor Organization's Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. To promote the adoption and enforcement of these standards, the American Center for International Labor Solidarity receives $9 million a year from USAID. Other U.S. funding -- over $500,000 since 1999 -- goes to the International Labor Rights Fund, an NGO that monitors labor practices in the apparel industry and manages two anti-sweatshop programs.

The United States is also extremely active in fighting child labor. It supports programs aimed at removing children from exploitative work, providing them with education and rehabilitation, and helping their families find viable economic alternatives.

Ending Child Labor

Child labor is exceptionally pernicious. It deprives its victims of opportunities for education, and places them in working conditions that are often harsh and miserable. It destroys their innocence and their chances for a hopeful future as productive, successful adults.

Between FY 1995 and FY 2001, the U.S. Congress appropriated some $112 million to the Department of labor for activities that combat international child labor through the International Labor Organization's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor. These funds support a wide range of child-labor elimination projects and activities in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and the Caribbean, and contribute to the following objectives:

-- Eliminating child labor in specific hazardous or abusive occupations. These targeted projects aim to remove children from exploitative work, provide them with educational opportunities, and generate alternative sources of income for their families.

-- Bringing into the International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor more countries that are committed to addressing their child labor problems.

-- Documenting the extent and nature of child labor.

-- Raising public awareness and understanding of the international child labor problem.

In 2002, the U.S. Department of Labor will contribute an additional $45 million to support such projects, including an additional number of Timebound Programs -- comprehensive, national initiatives that aim to end the worst forms of child labor in a particular country within five to 10 years. In addition, by September 2003, the Department's new Child Labor Education Initiative will award $74 million in grants to expand access to education in countries with a high incidence of exploitative child labor. This, includes the $12 million recently awarded to organizations taking on the education of children removed from or at risk of entering child labor to supplement the department's funding in FY 2001 of the first three timebound programs in El Salvador, Nepal, and Tanzania.

Resolving Conflicts

Effective governance is required to prevent and control conflict. The United States has strengthened its organizational abilities to prevent the outbreak of conflicts and to end them as quickly as possible. The United States also tries to help countries quickly recover from conflict and resume a course of sustainable development.

In Afghanistan, the U.S. Government is reducing the potential for future conflict by strengthening government institutions that contribute to political differences being debated and settled peacefully. USAID participated in recent preparations to reestablish the loya jirga, the traditional Afghan forum for selecting political leadership. The U.S. Government is providing funding for programs that enhance the nascent government's credibility, strengthen law enforcement, secure borders, and enhance logistical and communication support for the Afghan Interim Authority; it is also funding local initiatives that help communities define priorities and rehabilitate local infrastructures, including village-to-market roads and government facilities.

A new tool in the effort to prevent and control conflict is a mechanism called Conflict Early Warning and Response Network, which was designed in cooperation with heads of seven countries in the Horn of Africa by USAID and GTZ (the aid agency of the Government of Germany). The Network was formally approved by the seven participating African governments in January 2002. It will promote peace and security through cooperation and dialogue with representatives of member state governments, civil society organizations, and bilateral and multilateral donors.

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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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