ODA at a Crossroads: ANEEJ Champions Justice-Based Aid Framework at UN Meeting
NEW YORK (28 April 2024) – As preparations intensify ahead of the upcoming High-Level Summit on Financing for Development (FfD4), scheduled to hold in Seville, Spain later this year, Mr. Leo Atakpu, Deputy Executive Director of the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), has made a strong case for a legally binding convention on the development orientation of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA).
Speaking at a side event of the Civil Society FfD Forum during the ongoing Preparatory Conference (PrepCom) of the FfD4 in New York, United States of America, Mr. Atakpu emphasized the urgent need for improved quality, quantity, and governance of ODA. He decried decades of unmet donor commitments and the growing trend of unilateralism in global development cooperation.
Mr. Atakpu noted with concern that member countries of the OECD-DAC have significantly deviated from the original intent of ODA, which was designed to “promote and specifically target the economic development and welfare of developing countries.” He highlighted the alarming rise in poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, exacerbated by recent aid cuts from the United States, United Kingdom, and several other European nations.
He asserted that the world remains off track on most of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with ODA still far below the internationally agreed target of 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI). “As of 2025, only six countries – Norway, Germany, Luxembourg, Sweden, and Denmark – have surpassed their targets,” Atakpu stated, calling for strict enforcement of the 0.7% ODA commitment and the 0.2% allocation for Least Developed Countries (LDCs). He further called for the recognition of ODA debt (reparations), currently valued in the trillions of dollars.
Responding to the language in the zero draft outcome document, Atakpu called for a more ambitious revision. While acknowledging its recognition of the need to re-evaluate international development cooperation and reform its global and national architecture, he proposed stronger language:
“We will establish a UN intergovernmental process towards agreeing a legally binding convention on development cooperation that protects the integrity and credibility of ODA, enhances the impact of ODA in eradicating poverty and addressing inequalities, and ensures policy coherence.”
Atakpu argued that ODA should not be viewed merely as charity, but as a form of repayment for centuries of exploitation, resource extraction, and structural underdevelopment imposed during colonial rule. “Colonizers extracted natural resources, labour, and wealth, leaving behind fragile economies and social systems. Post-independence ‘aid’ has too often reinforced unequal power structures,” he said.
He further pointed out the disproportionate climate burden borne by developing countries, despite contributing the least to the crisis. “Developed nations industrialized rapidly using fossil fuels and resources extracted from the Global South. Now, climate change and environmental degradation are hitting the South hardest,” he argued.
According to Atakpu, both Climate Finance and ODA must be recognized as compensation for historical and ecological harm, not merely acts of goodwill. He supported Civil Society demands for climate reparations and debt cancellation as essential steps toward global justice.
The session was moderated by Mr. Luca De Fraia, Deputy Secretary General of ActionAid Italia, and featured panelists including Roberto Pinauin, Executive Secretary of the CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE); Mariana Paoli, Global Advocacy Lead of Christian Aid, London; and Ms. Mahinhour Elbadrawi, Global Partnership Lead at the Center for Economic and Social Rights.
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