Leading transparency and access to information campaigners including CAFOD, Global Witness, Integrity Action and Publish What You Fund, today welcomed a new UN report as driving progress towards enhanced citizen accountability around the world. The report by the High Level Panel of Eminent Persons on Post-2015 Development Agenda calls for a ‘data revolution’, proposes a goal to ‘Ensure Good Governance and Effective Institutions’ and puts transparency, accountability and people’s participation at the heart of the new framework.

The recommendations are a dramatic shift from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which expire at the end of 2015. The focus on improved data and measurable goals will mean, for the first time, that policymakers and citizens will be able to track progress of the new goals, monitor the delivery of services and hold their governments accountable for their actions. Better access to information will reduce corruption, improve decision-making and allocation of resources, empower citizens and support good governance: all prerequisites for successful poverty reduction.

The Panel, which is co-chaired by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, and Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom, will now work with the UN Secretary General and the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development to refine the proposals.

David Hall-Matthews, Director of Publish What You Fund, said:

“Making aid more effective is a crucial part of ending extreme poverty by 2030. We welcome today’s report which places transparency and accountability at the heart of this agenda. A focus on improved data and measurable goals will mean, for the first time, that policymakers and citizens will be able to track progress, monitor the delivery of services, and hold their governments to account.”

Judith Randel from Development Initiatives said:

“The absence of transparency, accountability and participation as explicit aims within the current Millennium Development Goals is part of the reason why not all of them will be achieved. We are glad the panel has learnt the lessons from the past and very much hope their proposals will be adopted by governments and institutions around the world.”

–ENDS–

• The organisations involved are: CAFOD; Development Initiatives; Global Witness; International Budget Partnership; International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA); Integrity Action; Network for Information & Digital Access (NIDA); Publish What You Fund (PWYF); and Publish What You Pay (PWYP).

— Contact info—

Nicole Valentinuzzi, Publish What You Fund

nicole.valentinuzzi@publishwhatyoufund.org

+447726831197

Amy Barry, Development Initiatives

amy@amybarry.net

+44 7980 664397