INFID
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INFID stands for the International NGO Forum on Indonesian
Development, was established in June 1985, under the name of INGI (Inter-NGO Conference
on IGGI Matters) based on the initiative of several Indonesian NGOs and their
partners in the Netherlands. INFID is an open and pluralistic network of NGOs
from Indonesia and various member countries of the Consultative Group for
Indonesia (CGI) as well as of international organisations with an interest in
and commitment to Indonesia. Since 1985, INGI (INFID) has given critical
input and recommendations to IGGI (Inter-Governmental Group on Indonesia)
concerning development issues in Indonesia. The IGGI was a consortium of donor
nations to Indonesia, which in 1992 was changed to become the CGI chaired by the
World Bank. INFID's aim is to give voice to the perspective and common
concerns of the people represented by NGOs involved in Indonesia vis-à-vis governments,
multilateral development agencies (MDAs) and the private sector
involved in Indonesia. INFID aims at facilitating communication between NGOs
inside and outside Indonesia in order to promote policies to alleviate structural
poverty and to increase the capacity to improve conditions of the poor and
disadvantaged in Indonesia. Objectives To endeavour, to ensure that the formulation and implementation of
national and international policies on development in Indonesia, including
those related to lending that creates debt dependency, investment and trade,
are in the interests of the poor and disadvantaged, and based on principles
of peace and justice; To create conditions allowing for the strengthening of democratic life
through broadening people's participation in, access to, and control of
development in Indonesia. Participants and Operational Framework More than 100 NGOs participate in INFID, approx. 50 from Indonesia and
approx. 60 from 14 other countries. The activities of INFID Participants
themselves are emphasised in the set-up of INFID. Since May 2000 INFID is registered
as a foundation in Indonesia. Mandate The dialogue and co-operation among NGOs inside as well as outside
Indonesia, converge in the INFID General Assembly as decision-making body and in
the INFID Conference for facilitating a platform for contact and dialogue with governments, multilateral development agencies and other international
institutions, such as WTO, APEC and others. The INFID Secretariat acts
on a mandate of the INFID General Assembly and the INFID board. The
secretariat is located in Jakarta. INFID has two liaison offices, one in Tokyo,
Japan, the Japan NGO Network on Indonesia (JANNI) and one in Brussels, Belgium.
The agendas of action for INFID are based on the joints responsibility of all NGOs
concerned, taking into account the prime contribution of Indonesian participants. There is a constant emphasis on human right issues in
INFID, since such rights in the fullest sense - social, economic, cultural and
political - are integral to any participatory development. The INFID Board is a
permanent body of INFID, elected by the participating NGOs. Target Audience INFID is targeting its activities towards (1) Donor governments; (2) Multilateral development agencies (MDA's); (3) The Government of
Indonesia; (4) Community leaders; (5) Media; (6) Parliaments (7) The private sector. Current Priority Issues and Activities Debt Campaign Indonesia's debt situation is becoming more precarious and is
affecting the poor and disadvantaged in Indonesia. In this context INFID is emphasizing
the importance of promoting poverty alleviation by bringing the debt
burden into sustainable level. INFID seeks comprehensive debt relief in the context
of good governance, anti corruption and the promotion of human rights that
should be honored by both the Indonesian Government, the donor community and the
International Financial Institution. CGI and Trade Monitoring The International Financial Institution, especially the IMF, World
Bank and ADB have significant role in determining the economic policy in Indonesia.
And globalisations have affected all countries. However, in this time of
crisis, Indonesia is particularly vulnerable. Globalisation is embedded in the
World Trade Organisation (WTO). INFID is monitoring the projects both funded
by CGI members and by ODA as well as advocating the development policies
introduced and implemented by the International Financial Institutions in Indonesia.
INFID also pays attention on trade agreements that directly impact farmers,
labours and other vulnerable groups. Support on Democratization Initiatives In this context, the main tasks of Indonesian NGOs as part of civil
society are to maintain and ensure civil liberty, promotion and protection of
human rights and good governance. INFID is mandated by the participants to be
involved in democratization initiatives, carried out by various other coalitions
and organisations. In this programme, INFID is focusing mainly on the
following issues: (1) protection and promotion of human, civil, political and
economic rights; (2) public policy reform; (3) solidarity for humanitarian
issues. General Assembly, Forum INFID and Conference The Indonesian INFID participants regularly assemble in the Forum
INFID every two years, i.e. in the year where there is no INFID Conference in
order to discuss common concerns and to make commitments on certain issues. The
INFID Conference and the General Assembly are conducted every two years. The
conference, attended by all INFID Participants, is a forum to share
and discuss currents issues on selected topics. There have been 12 conferences
held since 1985 up to 1999. The General Assembly is the highest decision-making
body of INFID. Based on its priority issues, INFID carries out the following
activities: ·
Promoting and organising consultations and dialogue among NGOs
representing different groups of people inside Indonesia, as well as NGOs
representing different groups of people outside Indonesia. ·
Facilitating the growth and development of NGO networking and of
critical strength inside as well as outside Indonesia in order to
consistently advocate for the rights of the disadvantaged in relation to
policies on development, including lending that creates debt dependency,
investment and trade. ·
Organising General Assemblies and Conferences for discussion and
decision making on common concerns of NGOs inside and outside Indonesia to be
communicated to the Indonesian Government, members of the CGI, Multilateral
Development Agencies, and other international organisations. ·
Facilitating seminars, workshops, and lectures aimed at sharing
matters of concern with NGOs within and outside Indonesia. ·
Distributing information to the CGI members as well as other
international institutions on the results of the INFID General Assembly and
Conference by means of open or quiet diplomacy and, if so desired, by means
of persuasion or any other legally permitted actions. ·
Distributing information to INFID Participants and others considered
to have an interest in the activities of INFID. ·
Monitoring the policies on development, including lending that creates
debt dependency, investment and trade in relation to their relevance for the
Indonesian society particularly for the disadvantaged. Stichting TitanE |