2. RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES
A stronger and more effective multilateral engagement in the development agenda is a prerequisite for fighting poverty and hardship in the world’s poorest countries in order to further effective and accountable states and global security. Through the multilateral organisations, Denmark can promote fundamental values and universal principles of human equality, freedom and the right to a life in dignity.
Responsibility, but also self-interest. Denmark has first and foremost a responsibility in relation to the world’s poor to contribute to improvements in the global multilateral development policy and assistance. But our multilateral development engagement is also based on an element of self-interest. The nature of local problems quickly assumes global dimensions, and today no state or region is an isolated island. In the era of globalisation, we are all connected.
Cornerstones in the multilateral development engagement
Creating global norms and standards
At the UN General assembly, at international conferences and in the day-to-day work, standards are set for the international community. One example is the adoption of the UN Millennium Development Goals and the UN Millennium Declaration.
Legitimacy
The global, institutional membership basis and neutrality of multilateral organisations gives legitimacy and thus the drive to act; in particular in disaster, conflict and post-conflict situations.
Public goods
Many of the challenges of globalisation deal with regional and global public goods such as climate-proofing and security. The multilateral organisations have good preconditions to form alliances, also with non-traditional partners, on binding international development cooperation based on common principles for sustainable development.
Economies of scale
For instance by having special capacity in selected areas – technical expertise and/or capacity to coordinate – and a more comprehensive country representation.
Some tasks are best dealt with multilaterally. Denmark’s multilateral development engagement cannot be seen in isolation – but must be seen as a cogwheel in the foreign policy and development policy. The engagement is central to Denmark’s relation to the world as well as the world’s relation to Denmark. Common problems are best dealt with by taking joint action.
In some situations a task is best solved through an effort and approach which represents the international community, for instance human rights missions, monitoring missions and peacekeeping activities. Other tasks are of such a scope, for instance creating infrastructure, that there will be a need for a strong engagement through the international financial institutions or the EU. Finally, the partner country may have an explicit desire for a multilateral partner with regard to neutrality or special expertise. In the given situation, it is essential that attempts are made to establish the most effective division of labour between bilateral and multilateral partners.
Increased impact of the multilateral development engagement. Denmark wants to optimise its influence in the multilateral organisations in relation to the priorities of the Danish development policy while at the same time respecting the different mandates of the organisations. We will focus our contribution to the organisations – both quantitatively and qualitatively. Our contribution will be linked to results and relevance at country level as well as progress in relation to the reform agenda and the normative work.
Objectives
Denmark wants poverty reduction to be maintained as the core objective of the activities of the international development organisations. This implies that the proportion of funds allocated to low-income countries and to meeting the needs of the poorest population groups remains a key parameter to assess the organisations.
Denmark wants the international development organisations to adapt to the global challenges and opportunities that we face today. This means that Denmark will focus the Danish multilateral engagement even more in accordance with the desire for an effective and rule-based global engagement.
This page forms part of the publication 'DENMARK’S MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION TOWARDS 2015' as chapter 2 of 9
Version 1.0. 28-08-2008
Publication may be found at the address http://www.netpublikationer.dk/um/9014/index.htm
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