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SPECIAL
INAUGURAL MEETING
NEW RULES
FOR GLOBAL FINANCE COALITION, INC.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
12:00 Noon – 3:00 p.m.
1717 Massachusetts Avenue
NW, Suite 701
InterAction Office
12:00 Welcome: Seamus Finn,
President of the Board
Rev. Seamus P.
Finn, OMI, President of the interim Board of New Rules welcomed the Members of
New Rules for Global Finance Coalition, Inc. to the Special Inaugural Meeting.
Seamus explained that while the Coalition had been operating since the late
1990s, the decision to incorporate as a free-standing institution was taken only
recently, in late 2005. That action was driven by the increasingly complex
funding, with multiple grants with different reporting requirements, timelines,
etc. Continuing to rely on a member organization to serve as the Coalition’s
fiscal agent was proving a burden. Seamus acknowledged and thanked the
organizations that had served as fiscal agents: the Center of Concern, the
Oblates of Mary Immaculate, and the Financial Policy Forum.
The Coalition was
formally incorporated in the state of Delaware in January 2006. A small interim
Board was recruited for purposes of incorporation and the fund raising that took
place earlier this year. The present meeting, the Special Inaugural Meeting,
was so named because it was out of sequence to serve as an end-of-fiscal year
annual meeting. However the interim Board encouraged the setting of an early
date so that coalition membership could become clarified, and a full Board could
be formally elected.
To ascertain
membership, approaches were selected that were as fair, clear and expeditious as
possible. People who ordinarily attend the Washington, DC meetings in person or
by phone were invited simply to say “no” if they did not want to be included;
silence meant consent to being a member. In addition, several people who have
worked closely over the years but have not attended monthly meetings were
invited to become members. At the moment there are 76 members. [Appendix A:
List of Members as of May 17, 2006]
Seamus introduced
the other interim Board members: John Sewell, Treasurer; Paul Tennassee; James
Weaver, Secretary; and Emira Woods. He thanked them for their service.
12:30 Activity
Report for 2004-2005: Seamus Finn and Jo Marie Griesgraber, Executive
Director [Appendix B: New Rules Activities]
PHASE I:
In response to the
1997 Asian Financial Crisis, the Clinton Administration convened the G22 to
study the causes of the Asian Crisis and to propose plans for a “New Global
Financial Architecture.” The release of the G22 report coincided with an
international NGO strategy meeting on IFI reform. Few of the gathered NGOs had
heard of the G22, the NGOs confusion and consternation led to the formation of
an informal coalition on the Global Financial Architecture whose first goal was
self education. The C. S. Mott Foundation provided “venture capital” to the
coalition since no one was sure where the efforts would lead, but all agreed the
issues were important—for development, for the environment, for IFI governance.
Common ground among
all members of the Coalition was complaints against neoliberal economic policies
and structural adjustment. With its first international conference, the
Coalition demonstrated its comparative advantage: it would propose concrete
policy options that were technically excellent as well as consistent with the
goals of reducing poverty and protecting the environment.
The first
conference (May 23-24, 2002) was “Pro-Poor
Alternatives to Neoliberalism.” The keynote speaker was Professor Dani
Rodrik. The recommendations and debate retain their viability and vitality.
Like all New Rules events and publications, they are posted on the website.
The second
conference was led by Oxfam America on the issue of Global Governance;
governance is an enduring issue for the Coalition. The third conference
(January 16, 2003) “Debating the Tobin Tax”,
provided a model for how to address disagreement: one of the few areas where
there was not consensus among the Coalition members was over the Tobin Tax. The
result was a superb international conference bringing together experts from all
aspects of the issue; their papers and the corresponding discussion were
published as a book which is for sale on the New Rules website ($10) as well as
through amazon.com.
The regular monthly
meetings continued with their educational component, often involving
presentations by Coalition members, or by invited guests. The Coalition hosted
three book launches:
Title:
Future Positive:
International Co-operation in the 21st Century
Author:
Michael Edwards
Date: September 12, 2003
Title: Challenges
To The World Bank And IMF: Developing Country Perspectives
Author: Ariel
Buira
Date:
December 17, 2003
Title:
Reclaiming
Development: An Alternative Economic PolicyHandbook for Activists and Policy
Makers
Author: Ilene
Grabel and Ha-joon Chang
Date: June
8, 2004
The Coalition
endeavored, without great success, to engage in outreach to the media. It was
to improve the media and public’s responsiveness that the Coalition agreed to a
name change: from Coalition on New Global Financial Architecture, to New Rules
for Global Finance Coalition.
PHASE II:
FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT
A meeting in May
2004 on Standards and Codes “morphed” into a discussion of how the Coalition
could serve as the civil society convener of multi-stakeholder consultations for
a series of conferences leading up to the UN General Assembly’s 2006 biennial
review of the International Conference on Financing for Development. In July
2004, Coalition members made a formal presentation in New York to UN Member
States, setting out the rationale and activities for a series of 5 international
multi-stakeholder consultations. The focus would be on Section F of the
Monterrey Consensus, which dealt with global financial crises and with the
governance of international financial rule-making bodies. The UN Financing for
Development Office officially invited the Coalition to collaborate with them in
this work.
The overall
approach for the conferences involved:
1. Global
financial crises:
2. Governance of
international financial rule-making bodies
For each
consultation, New Rules agreed to invite multi-stakeholders from: UN agencies;
the IMF, World Bank, WTO; national governments; the private sector; and Civil
society, including NGOs and Academics.
The Consultations
were held: 1) at the IMF, November 2004; 2) in Lima, Peru, February, 2005; 3)
in Nairobi, Kenya, April,2005; 4) at the United Nations, June, 2005; and 5) in
New Delhi, India, August, 2005.
New Rules had a
core Planning Committee for all five consultations: Randall Dodd, President,
Financial Policy Forum; Aldo Caliari, Project Director, Center of Concern;
Seamus Finn, Director, Office of Justice, Peace/Integral Creation; Frank
Schroeder, Senior Economic Advisor, New York Office, Friedrich Ebert Foundation,
with New Rules staff Jo Marie Griesgraber and Jamie Baker.
In addition, in
each location, New Rules worked with local co-conveners.
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Lima: Asociacion Latinoamericana
de Organismos para la Promocion de Desarrollo, (ALOP), a network of
development NGOs throughout Latin America; DESCO, a research/think tank;
Agenda Peru, a Lima based think-tank. Each organization had a participant
on the planning committee. ALOP led NGO consultations in Latin America,
providing feedback into the consultation.
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Nairobi: Southern and Eastern
Africa Trade, Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI), an NGO
committed to improving the capacity of African trade negotiators.
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New Delhi: Network IDEAS, a web
based network of heterodox economists and academics from the Global South,
and the host, the Institute for Human Development. UNDP
In each of the
locations the Friedrich Ebert Foundation provided invaluable assistance,
sometimes financial, sometimes logistical, or hosting a dinner. The Swedish
Foreign Ministry was a partner throughout the process. The Open Society
Institution’s Latin America Program supported the Lima consultation. The
Commonwealth Fund, assisted with transportation for Commonwealth participants to
the Nairobi meeting. The UN Foundation provided some emergency funding for
unanticipated expenses for Nairobi. The New Delhi consultation was made possible
by a grant from the UN Development Programme.
The New Rules
website provides links to each of the consultations, with the agenda, list of
participants, background reading, presentations as available, and rapporteurs’
reports. Following the overall framework described above, in each subsection,
the brief Final Report refers to relevant texts in the Monterrey Consensus,
provides analysis of the situation including feedback from the consultations, a
link/reference to a key background document, and succinct policy
recommendation. [Appendix C. Final Recommendations from FFD Consultations]
An Interim Report
was available for the General Assembly’s June, 2006 Biennial High-Level
Dialogue. Every country delegate and all observers received copies. The Final
Report was distributed at the September 2005 World Summit. Electronic versions
of the report were distributed to all Finance Ministers, Executive Director and
Alternate Executive Directors of the World Bank and IMF, plus all UN Missions.
The Report is also available on the New Rules website.
Click here for Full details on the FFD
Consultations.
Washington, DC
Lima, Peru
Nairobi, Kenya
New York, NY
New Delhi, India
Additional
Activities
The Governance
Working Group, lead by Jim Riker, University of Maryland, was active in
challenging the undemocratic selection process for the President of the World
Bank. A petition signed by organizations from around the world was sent to
World Bank Executive Directors and Governors as well as the media. New Rules
member Rick Rowden of ActionAid International, USA, was the head of the horse in
the one-horse race in front of the World Bank.
Click here to view the photos.
The Governance
Working Group lead the way in organizing the Democratic Governance and
Parliamentary Oversight (DGPO) Project. The international planning committee
includes: Jim Riker, and Jo Marie Griesgraber, New Rules; ActionAid, Bank
Information Center, Bretton Woods Project UK, Rede Brasil, and Intercultural
Resource Center of India [Appendix D: Project Description - Democratic
Governance and Parliamentary Oversight (DGPO) Project]
Also in 2005 a new
working group was begun, with Michael Isimbabi of Capital Research Associates as
the lead. The title is not yet firm, but it works variously on domestic sources
of financing (taxes); stopping dirty money; and closing down tax havens.
Collaborators include Raymond Baker of Brookings and Center for International
Policy, and Jennifer Nordin, also of Center for International Policy.
In July, 2005, New
Rules make its first attempt at long range planning. And at the end of
November, the office relocated to share space with the Oblates of Mary
Immaculate, Office of Justice, Peace / Integral Creation—which was provided free
of charge.
1:00 Financial
Report: John Sewell, Treasurer of the Board
John Sewell
presented the Financial Report for 2005, which showed a surplus because of
project specific grant funds and a small amount of core funding available for
2006. John expressed the thanks of the Coalition to funders of activities in
2004-2005: The Ford Foundation, the International Development Research Centre
of Canada, the Swedish Foreign Ministry, the UN Foundation, the Open Society
Institute, and the UN Development Programme. He also acknowledged the receipt
of support for participants from developing countries for the FFD
Multi-Stakeholder Consultations: the UN FFD Office and the Commonwealth Fund.
The budget for
fiscal year 2006 (the fiscal year is the calendar year) is roughly $440,000. At
the present, committed grants cover approximately ¾ of the budget. Fund raising
continues to cover both project and core support. John expressed the Coalitions
appreciation to current and pledged funders: the International Development
Research Centre of Canada; the Department for International Development of the
UK; the Open Society Institute; NOVIB/Oxfam Holland; Ford Foundation; and the UN
Foundation.
Special Pitch
for Contributions: An anonymous donor has pledged $1,000 as a matching
grant. $130 was collected at the meeting. Pledges can be made on-line at the
New Rules website or by mailing checks to:
New Rules for Global Finance Coalition
1470 Irving Street, NW, 2d Floor
Washington, DC 20010
1:30 Action
Plans for 2006: Jo Marie Griesgraber
PHASE III:
IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS
The activities
for 2006-2007 are shaped by the outcomes of the FFD Multi-Stakeholder
Consultations
An overarching
endeavor will be to encourage greater collaboration and coordination on the UN
Financing for Development agenda between UN or New York based academics and NGOs
with those based in Washington.
Focused work takes
place through the leadership of working groups. Currently there are six foci,
the working groups of which range in membership, complexity, and formality.
Four dynamics need
to overlap for the New Rules Coalition to undertake activities:
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A set of policy proposals exist,
around which there is broad—not necessarily unanimous—agreement within the
Coalition. The Recommendations that emerged from the FFD process of
2004-2005 provide a ready catalog of proposals that have been researched,
extensively vetted, and enjoy broad agreement.
-
Political context: simply
stated, there is some receptivity among other organizations, researchers,
governments, or even targeted institutions that the time is ripe for action
or change.
-
Some Coalition member or members
must be willing and able to provide expertise and leadership on the issue.
It is the role of New Rules staff to support, not to lead (except by
exception!).
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Resources must be available to
implement the plans designed by the working group. This can take the form
of grants and/or the time and talent of Coalition members and broader
colleagues.
Currently there are
initiatives underway in 6 areas:
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POLICY: Governance
Democratic Governance/
Parliamentary Oversight
IMF Board Accountability
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POLITICAL CONTEXT
-IMF Managing Director’s implementation plans for medium
term reform strategy
-G-20 Finance Ministers’ Deputies commitment to changes
-NGOs’ “Shrink/Sink” plans
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COALITION MEMBER(S)
Jim Riker, lead
Rick Rowden, Manish Bapna,
ISODEC, Smitu Kothari |
RESOURCES
-OSI
-Novib/Oxfam Holland
-Ford
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POLICY
Taxes/Dirty Money
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POLITICAL CONTEXT
Formation of Tax Justice Network International and USA;
anticipated TJN Africa
Christian Aid engaged
UN, OECD, World Bank, possibly Congressional Interest
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COALITION MEMBER(S)
Michael Isimbabi, lead
Raymond Baker, Jennifer Nordin
Bill Fant, Lucy Komisar, David Spencer |
RESOURCES
?????
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POLICY
Debt: International Debt Framework
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POLITICAL CONTEXT
Several Middle Income Country governments plus private
banks of Europe interested
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COALITION MEMBER(S)
Frank Schroeder
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RESOURCES
RBF? Rockefeller? |
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POLICY
Ex Ante Poverty Impact Assessment
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POLITICAL CONTEXT
-Sections within WB and IMF working on PSIA
-DFID, GTZ and Belgium committed, with seconded staff at
WB and IMF, managing listserv
-Long term interest of IDRC
-Southern researchers
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COALITION MEMBER(S)
David Evans, Sussex, lead
Ben Gunter (effective fall 2006)
ISODEC, Karen Joyner
Marc Cohen, Caesar Cororaton, Sam Morley, Colin Bradford |
RESOURCES
IDRC—previous
DFID—previous
GTZ ???
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POLICY
IMF Reform
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POLITICAL CONTEXT
-de Rato reform package
-G20 Deputies
-G24
-NGOs
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COALITION MEMBER(S)
John Sewell, lead
Daniel Bradlow
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RESOURCES
RBF?
Rockefeller? |
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POLICY
Prudential Regulations
(First “third” of FFD recommendations)
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POLITICAL CONTEXT
Difficult but interest on part of WB and IMF, developing
countries, G24 |
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COALITION MEMBER(S)
Randall Dodd
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RESOURCES
Ford? |
Summary of
discussion from the Special Inaugural Meeting
The substantive
discussion focused on the Action Plans for 2006. A strong suggestion was
to expand the 2 x 2 “selection box” by two additional “squares” –activities;
audience or dissemination. This 6-part box would then be a tool for working
groups to present their plans or reports, and for new ideas to be vetted for
action.
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POLICY
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POLITICAL CONTEXT |
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COALITION MEMBER(S)
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RESOURCES |
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ACTIVITIES
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TARGET /AUDIENCE / DISSEMINATION |
Some members
suggested work on Trade Policy.
It was also
recommended, and agreed, that in June or July, 2006, there would be a second
Planning Day, reviewing the priorities for 2006, and looking to 2007—and beyond!
The subject of
corruption triggered considerable debate. The suggestion was made and accepted
that this would be a good subject for an internal seminar.
A Seminar on IMF
Reform was announced for June 9 (time and place being confirmed). Professor
Daniel Bradlow of the Washington College of Law, American University, will share
the paper he developed on the subject for the Government of South Africa.
2:00 Introduction of the Slate of Board Candidates
Jo Marie Griesgraber (ex-officio),
Paul Tennassee, Seamus Finn, Liane Schalatek,
John Sewell, Coralie Bryant, Randall
Dodd, Jim Weaver (not pictured)
Seamus introduced
the New Rules Members who had been recruited and who agreed to serve on the
Board. [Appendix E: Board Candidate Bios] Two volunteers were only able to
offer one year: James Weaver and Liane Schalatek. The By-Laws provide for a
simple process whereby a Board member can resign and be replaced on an interim
basis. Therefore, any Member who would still like to present him/herself as a
candidate for the Board can do so.
The ballots were
marked and collected. The votes were tallied, combining 21 votes cast online
with 17 paper ballots. All 7 candidates received the required votes (a simple
majority of votes cast).
2:30 Proposals received for discussion [APPENDIX F]
1. Editing the
Mission Statement
New Rules for Global Finance is a coalition of
development, human rights, labor, environmental, and religious organizations and
scholars dedicated to the reform of the global financial architecture in order
to stabilize the world economy, reduce poverty and inequality, uphold
fundamental rights, and protect the environment.
Jim Riker proposed
edits to the Mission Statement consistent with discussions at the July 2005
planning meeting. However, that led to a discussion of further revisions being
needed, such as referrals to “global financial architecture” being unclear and
dated. A committee comprised of Jim Riker, Diane Lavoy, and Monika Aring agreed
to review the Mission statement, edit consistent with comments made during the
discussion and present to the Board for further action. No timeline was agreed
to.
2. Advisory Group
The proposal to
have an international advisory group with elected members was not agreed to.
Several other ideas surfaced such as 1) an Advisory Group of international
experts to be printed on the letterhead to assist with visibility and fund
raising, 2) and simply extending the Membership to many more international
participants. Seamus offered to have the Board consider these and other
options, and to do a cost-benefit assessment especially in terms of staff time
to maintain such a group.
3:00
Adjournment |
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