A/HRC/4/WG.2/TF/2 page 15 (b) ECA/OECD-DAC “Mutual Review of Development Effectiveness in the context of NEPAD” 63. In the view of the task force, this process of mutual review as a joint North-South undertaking is innovative and worthwhile, in terms of both substance and through the high-level political support it receives - sometimes even at the level of Heads of State and Government. Furthermore, this mutual review can build upon and elaborate related processes in the context of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement between the EU and ACP countries, the APRM, and processes within the Bretton Woods institutions, such as the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) process. 64. A preliminary assessment by the task force has led to the following findings: first, this procedure complies in large measure with several right-to-development criteria, namely those relating to national ownership, accountability and sustainability. Secondly, there was less congruence with the criteria relating to the incorporation of human rights and the right to development in national and international development policies. Thirdly, the mechanism did not focus specifically on the poor and most marginalized. Finally, the active and meaningful participation of relevant stakeholders was not evident. The task force noted that in efforts to mainstream the right to development, the partners can readily build upon regionally determined and owned human rights standard-setting acquis in Africa (the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, work of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the provisions of the new African Union Constitution), as well as on a forthcoming OECD Action-Oriented Policy Paper on Human Rights and Development. (c) Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness 65. The Paris Declaration is a welcome development from the perspective of both donor and partner countries, as it aims to improve the quality of aid. A preliminary assessment based on the criteria reveals the following main issues of concern: (a) a relatively weak focus on ownership and managing for results, when it comes to the pledging of commitments and identification of corollary indicators, despite the fact that these constitute two of the five major themes; (b) the cursory reference (para. 42) and non-systematic inclusion of the gender dimension throughout the Paris Declaration framework; and (c) the fact that the issue of untied aid is the sole indicator without a target for 2010. 66. The task force notes that the OECD has commissioned valuable research papers by the Overseas Development Institute, demonstrating significant potential for correspondence and mutual enforcement between the Paris Declaration and human rights, including the right to development. Mutual accountability and ownership appear to be the principles with respect to which the right-to-development criteria, human rights thinking and practice have the greatest potential to contribute to the Paris Declaration achieving better development outcomes. Furthermore, other research undertaken for the OECD-DAC Gender Network has shown that there is more scope for systematic inclusion of gender considerations throughout the Paris Declaration. Finally, the issue of tied aid is central to the right-to-development framework, particularly in light of the ownership of partner countries and policy coherence, and should be considered in order to reflect the interests of all parties in a partnership.

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