Success Stories - Made by Concord

Fighting inequalities & injustice: the NGOs' perspective

The eradication of poverty is the main objective of EU development cooperation and policies. These are more than mere noble ambitions; the Lisbon Treaty provisions on development are binding and enforceable.

Achievement of an objective as vast as the eradication of poverty requires an unerring commitment to policy coherence, the coordinated and consistent use of all tools, policies and resources toward the objective at hand. Development policy alone will not bring success in this area; EU and Member States' policies in related areas, such as trade, environment, agriculture and foreign policy, must support—or, at minimum, not harm—national, local and regional efforts to eradicate poverty in Southern partner countries.

Like effective treatment of any disease, successful strategies to eradicate poverty must address the causes of the malady, not just the symptoms. The symptoms of poverty include exclusion, hunger, lack of access to education, violence, lack of economic opportunities for people, lack of access to health and so forth. A strong EU development policy must address the causes of poverty as a means to achieving the objective of eradicating it, and thereby alleviating the symptoms. Inequality and discrimination are core amongst these causes, contributed to by poor governance and corruption. A sustainable European Union international development framework should support people, by addressing these causes and building an environment that is conducive to the realization of human rights. This commitment to the basic rights of equality and non-discrimination lays the foundation for true, enduring empowerment of the citizens of the Global South.