Successful Consultation With The Global South

Policy Paper

Credits — Line K Christensen (SCIAF), Craig Dalzell (Common Weal), Kim Pratt (FoES)

Overview

This paper is the result of a collaboration between Friends of the Earth Scotland, Common Weal and the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund and sets out the case for meaningful and effective consultation with the Global South on issues pertaining to Scottish policy-making where those policies have global impacts generally and disproportionate impacts on the Global South in particular. This paper was prompted by the Scottish Government’s development of policies around the Circular Economy.

In addition to the primary authors, this paper would not have been possible without insights from Chimwemwe Sakunda Ndhlovu (Caritas Malawi) and Mam Sambath (Development and Partnership in Action, Cambodia).

Consultation is used to ensure decisions are made involving the people they affect. In our interconnected world, decisions in the powerful and rich countries of the global north can have huge consequences for those in the global south. If those in the global south are not consulted on matters which affect them, proposed Scottish policies and proposals may have unanticipated and unchallenged implications. This is especially true of policies and proposals which have social and environmental impacts. Speaking to the people most directly affected can help to understand potential consequences and ensure that they do not have negative or counter-intuitive effects for us all.

This paper sets out how and why Scottish policy makers should consult with global south representatives in a meaningful and effective way. While there is political will to engage with global south representatives, a gap in knowledge has been identified around how to conduct such consultations in a way that is inclusive and impactful. Existing efforts often lack structured guidance, leading to consultations that may be tokenistic or fail to translate into substantive policy changes. This paper aims to bridge that gap by offering concrete recommendations on how to engage with global south representatives in a way that ensures their perspectives are heard, valued, and integrated into decision-making processes.

Global south nations are found mainly in Africa, Latin America and Asia. They are typically poorer and have lower levels of social-economic development than global north nations, found mainly in North America and Europe. Scotland is a global north nation, and its history of colonialism and capitalism has created a power dynamic which we still benefit from today.

Consultation has long been used in Scotland to gather and understand the views of interested parties on legislation, policies and proposals. There is an accepted approach to consultation which, when adhered to, means consultation processes are fair and appropriate.

However, this way of consultation is not without its disadvantages, particularly relating to participation, which can have an impact on how the those in the global south are included in the process.

For consultations with global south representatives to be effective, the Scottish Government must go beyond symbolic participation. This requires carefully selecting the right participants, creating equitable engagement opportunities, and addressing structural barriers that prevent meaningful representation. The Scottish Government should prioritise representatives from community-based organisations, grassroots movements and local NGOs, particularly those working with marginalised groups. It should aim to foster long term partnerships, rather than one off participation.

Key Recommendations to the Scottish Government

Before a consultation begins, the Scottish Government must:

• Commit to taking meaningful action based on the results of consultations, led by the principles laid out in their National Performance Framework.

• Ask whether the proposed changes could have impacts on people in the global south, and where they do, consult these people.

• Clarify the purpose of a consultation, including why understanding global south perspectives is necessary and which countries and people from the global south are most relevant to consult.

• Consult Indigenous people as decision makers, not stakeholders. This means treating Indigenous people as you would another government who has ultimate responsibility for a choice that affects them.

• Consider what consultation format is most suitable for global south representatives and, if this is different from the main consultation process, how and when to combine the findings from consultation with global south representatives.

• Commit adequate resources to removing financial, resource and

language barriers to global south engagement.

To ensure appropriate representatives from the global south are consulted, the Scottish Government must:

• Prioritise representatives from community-based organisations, and grassroots movements, particularly those working with marginalised groups and local NGOs over international NGOs.

• Target engagement where there are known groups to interact with or where suspected conflicts around policy developments exist.

• Explore whether Scottish based NGOs can support global south participation through their international networks.

• Where limited resources are available, use local networks and partnerships to find appropriate representatives, target engagement where it is most relevant, adapt consultation methods to save time and resources and be clear about follow up plans and accountability.

To ensure participants from the global south are fairly included in a consultation process, the Scottish Government must:

• Reduce barriers to participation through inclusive consultation design (e.g. allowing adequate time and support for global south representatives to engage, hybrid meetings, translation services and removing policy jargon from consultation documents)

• Be mindful of the power dynamics of interactions between people from the global north and south and create safe spaces for people to speak and interact. It is useful to acknowledge our historical responsibility for systemic problems experiences by people in the global south, and dominant global north narratives, in creating a more equal consultation space.

After the consultation process, the Scottish Government must:

• Maintain contact with global south participants and communicate the findings of the consultation and the final legislative or policy changes.

• Ensure that the consultation leads to action.