The performance of the 2014 Fortaleza Summit is on a par with the BRICS four-year average of 70%, according to the report prepared by the BRICS Research Group.
The report presents the results of the monitoring study focused on BRICS countries’ compliance with eight priority commitments selected from the total 68 commitments made at the Fortaleza Summit in July 2014. It covers actions taken by the BRICS members from 15 July 2014 to 28 June 2015 to fulfil those promises. At 100%, the highest level of compliance was registered for the commitment to implement the Convention on Biological Diversity. All five members took concrete actions to protect endangered species and addressed economic and social aspects of the environmental agenda.
In second place, at 90%, were the commitments on attaining the education-related Millennium Development Goals, moving towards universal primary education and gender equality, and strengthening international anti-corruption cooperation, including law enforcement cooperation, in accordance with the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
Most BRICS countries took steps to implement the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in all four of its priority areas, achieving a score of 80%.
The same score of 80% was achieved on complying with the commitment to ensure sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights for all. Brazil, Russia and South Africa fully complied, which was manifested, inter alia, in maintaining no restrictions on the number of children in a family.
The commitment to enhance cooperation on addressing tax base erosion and information exchange for tax purposesachieved a score of 60%. BRICS members actively collaborated with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and have begun incorporating the norms in the Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting into their national legislation. Most members have announced the launch of the automatic exchange of tax information in accordance with the OECD standards.
The average compliance score for the commitment to support Afghanistan’s stabilization also amounted to 60%. Russia, India and China provided assistance to ensure security, socioeconomic development and effective governance.
The only commitment on which BRICS countries failed to make any progress was the one on the reforming the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Despite long-standing support of multilateral trade and the WTO’s primacy, BRICS members were unable to advance negotiations on DSU reform during the monitoring period.
The results of the compliance assessment carried out by the BRICS Research Group confirm the importance of enhancing “the efficiency of BRICS by improving the reporting process for previous commitments assumed by member countries,” as emphasized in the Concept of the Russian Federation’s Presidency in BRICS in 2015-2016.
The full 58-page report in English is available for download at http://www.brics.utoronto.ca/compliance/2014-fortaleza.html.
