Transparency International welcomes progress on development finance agenda, urges strong implementation

Berlin – Transparency International welcomes the approval of the outcome document for the upcoming Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) but urges stronger action to ensure the commitments lead to meaningful change. After months of negotiations amongst UN member states, the agreement was reached by consensus, despite the late US withdrawal from the process. The document – the Compromiso de Sevilla – will be voted on and adopted at the FfD4 in Seville, Spain in July.

In a welcome step, the agreement explicitly recognises anti-corruption as a cross-cutting issue throughout the entire financing for development agenda, as Transparency International and our partners have consistently urged over the past year. In doing so, member states have acknowledged the need to implement robust financial integrity and anti-corruption measures to ensure development resources are mobilised effectively and protected from misuse.

Likewise, UN member states have made their first significant commitment to effectively regulate professional service providers – such as real estate agents, lawyers and corporate service firms – who have historically enabled illicit financial flows. The outcome also commits countries to improve quality and effectiveness of beneficial ownership registers and consider setting up a global beneficial ownership register to better capture and exchange this crucial data.

The agreement sets out significant progress towards debt transparency and accountability, including the commitment to develop a global public debt registry, to strengthen the oversight role of parliaments in approving and monitoring debt, and to fully utilise the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) to prevent corrupt lending and borrowing. This marks the first time specific mentions to the role of corruption in public debt management are included in a UN agreement.

However, the FfD4 process missed an opportunity to generate ambitious pledges that could have a transformative impact on low- and middle-income countries’ ability to mobilise more resources and deliver their sustainable development goals. Key provisions were weakened late in the negotiations – including the removal of a commitment for beneficial ownership transparency frameworks to cover a wide range of assets, as well as the deletion of the UN Framework Convention on Debt from the document.

The agreement also fails to acknowledge the vital role of civil society in shaping and monitoring financing frameworks. Despite significant engagement throughout the process, no formal recognition of this monitoring role was included in the final text – a missed opportunity to reinforce vertical accountability and participation.

Future progress now hinges on concrete follow-through and active discussions on specific measures needed to help developing countries shore up funds through other multilateral processes and fora, such as the UNCAC Conference of States Parties, G20 and the Financial Action Task Force. Moreover, high-income countries must fulfil their sustainable development commitments and support domestic resource mobilisation efforts in alignment with the agreement.

Maíra Martini, CEO at Transparency International, said:

“The outcome document is an important step towards a more transparent global financial architecture with new pledges on accountability in public financial management, clean lending and borrowing, and combatting illicit financial flows. We welcome governments standing up to seek collective solutions – but much more could, and must, be achieved given the crises the world is facing. Multilateralism can’t mean settling for the lowest common denominator. It is the time for action. To fully realise the Sustainable Development Goals by the 2030 deadline, we need strong implementation of the measures set out, a significant increase in ambition and meaningful involvement of civil society.”

Transparency International will be present at FfD4 in Seville to make the case for robust implementation of the anti-corruption and financial integrity commitments, and will also be co-hosting a side event on safeguarding domestic resources during the conference on 3 July, 12:30-14:00 CEST.