The G8 grades itself

The G8 has just come out with an assessment of whether its members have fulfilled their pledges from previous years on development assistance. The critics are ready. Oxfam is already accusing G8 members of cooking the books: In their Deauville Accountability Report, the G8 has massaged the figures, claiming to have delivered almost US$49 billion ...

By , a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.

The G8 has just come out with an assessment of whether its members have fulfilled their pledges from previous years on development assistance. The critics are ready. Oxfam is already accusing G8 members of cooking the books:

The G8 has just come out with an assessment of whether its members have fulfilled their pledges from previous years on development assistance. The critics are ready. Oxfam is already accusing G8 members of cooking the books:

In their Deauville Accountability Report, the G8 has massaged the figures, claiming to have delivered almost US$49 billion of the promised $50 billion.  But according to the OECD, responsible for measuring the official aid figures, the G8 have delivered just $31 billion. Of the promised $25 billion promised to Africa, only $11 billion has really been delivered.

“Rather than deliver on their promises, the G8 have cooked the books and massaged their aid figures upwards to cover up their lack of action,” said Emma Seery, spokesperson for Oxfam. “This is not an accountability report, it is a cover up that is deeply embarrassing for the G8 and an insult to the world’s poorest people.”

David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist

Tag: G7

More from Foreign Policy

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?

The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.
Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World

It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.

Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.
Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing

The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.