Putting the World on the Right Track: Thoughts from Sweden

In September world leaders adopted new and universal Sustainable Development GoalsOGP countries are experimenting with open government innovations to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 16+ which includes peaceful, just and inclusive societies... which set the world on a new pathway. The goals embrace the vision of truly socially, economically and ecologically sustainable societies and offer us unique tools to end extreme poverty and save our planet. To make this vision come true the world needs strong and broad public engagement, participation and ownership. Here two interlinked concepts become central: transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More and accountability.

The Swedish Government is a strong advocate of budget transparency, participation, collaboration, local ownership and accountability. Transparency promotes accountability, enables participation and provides information for citizens about the use of public resources. Collaboration actively engages citizens, and public engagement enhances the Government’s effectiveness and improves the quality of its decisions. Accessing detailed, up-to-date information is essential to enable partner countries to plan, manage and coordinate resources effectively. Transparency and accountability can help to combat inefficiencies, including corruption, and identify development gaps.

The Open Budget Survey 2015 reveals that even though improvements are being made a vast majority of the 102 countries assessed — where more than 68 percent of the world’s population live — provide insufficient budget information. It is apparent that more efforts need to be made if we don’t want to jeopardize the implementation of the new goals.

As Minister of International Development Cooperation I have become more and more convinced that supporting democratic institutions is essential to enable an environment where public resources are used in line with the public interest, where people can enjoy their human rightsAn essential part of open government includes protecting the sacred freedoms and rights of all citizens, including the most vulnerable groups, and holding those who violate human rights accountable. T... and have access to school, health service, justiceTo address barriers that prevent citizens from having their justice needs met, OGP participating governments are working to expand transparency, accountability, and inclusion into all systems of justi..., banking systems and where the private sectorGovernments are working to open private sector practices as well — including through beneficial ownership transparency, open contracting, and regulating environmental standards. Technical specificat... More can thrive.  The challenge is often corruption, lack of transparency, lack of people’s inclusionOGP participating governments are working to create governments that truly serve all people. Commitments in this area may address persons with disabilities, women and girls, lesbian, gay, bisexual, tr... More and capacity regarding auditing systems. This gap feeds distrust between the public and its leaders, including the institutions, and makes societies more fragile. Civil society plays a key role as watchdogs but they can never replace the role of formal oversight institutions.

Sweden is therefore a leading aidMore and better information about aid helps partner countries and donor institutions plan and manage aid resources more effectively, parliaments and civil society to hold governments accountable for t... donor with a strong focus on transparency. We have a long tradition of supporting Public Finance Management (PFM) reforms. Sweden has supported broad-based PFM reform programmes including reforms to taxPlacing transparency, accountability, and participation at the center of tax policy can ensure that burdens are distributed equitably across society. Technical specifications: Commitments related to c... and audit systems, budget processes and core institutions such as the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank, National Audit Institutions and debtOpenly disclosing information about government debt enables informed decision-making, mitigates the risk of financial instability, and allows citizens to hold their governments accountable for respons... More offices. This has been, and remains, strategically very important since these institutions and systems influence all other sectors.

Sweden has a feminist government. In Sweden’s foreign and development policy there are three indispensable and interdependent concepts, all beginning with “r”, that are crucial to the ‘how’ of moving this policy agenda forward: Rights, Representation and Resources. Respect for human rights is a starting point and increasing women’s representation, political participation and resources across the board is essential for achieving genderOGP participating governments are bringing gender perspectives to popular policy areas, ensuring diversity in participatory processes, and specifically targeting gender gaps in policies to address gov... More equality. Achieving gender targets requires political commitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action..., including specific budgeting and budgetary methods that support the targets. In order to contribute to gender equality we need to get high quality and transparent information of the situation of women and girls and gender power structures. Budget decisions should be based on gender analyses and indicators, measured by sex-disaggregated data. This is how we make sure that 50 percent of the population is not unintentionally discriminated against through biased budget allocation. 

At the beginning of this year I was appointed as Co-Chair of the International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and State building. Implementation of the so called New Deal for fragile states is at the top of the agenda. Among the key elements of the New Deal Principles are an emphasis on national ownership and commitments to achieve better results that include transparency and timely and predictable aid. The aim is to build mutual trust, strengthen the capacity of institutions and promote inclusivity, which is essential for achieving sustainable peace.  In that process it is equally important that donors are transparent and publish what they pay. Therefore the Swedish International Development Agency, Sida, has established the website Openaid.se – in order to strengthen people’s engagement and possibility to scrutinize where the development cooperation money is spent.

One of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals makes clear the critical need of legitimate institutions as the basis of a sustainable global society. Connecting different transparency initiatives and ensuring compatibility will contribute to an emerging global picture of resources available, which will be necessary in order to end global poverty and promote real sustainable development.

Together we have the chance to put the world on the right track – let’s make that happen.

Header photo credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Sweden.svg