6. PRINCIPLES OF DANISH MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT ENGAGEMENT

Poverty-oriented and long-term multilateral development cooperation engagement. The multilateral assistance effort is based, as is also the bilateral development assistance, on a long-term commitment, where it is Denmark’s goal to make a difference as a credible partner that maintains the focus on the UN Millennium Development Goals and on poverty reduction.

As a small country with an open economy, Denmark has a clear foreign policy interest in an effective multilateral system which can meet the challenges of the future. Therefore, Denmark contributes substantial development assistance through the multilateral organisations. Together with an active engagement, this development assistance gives Denmark an opportunity to generate influence beyond what we as a small nation could otherwise expect. Thus, the multilateral system helps to provide a framework for coordinating diplomacy, security and development.

A more strategic and focused approach. The increased complexity of the architecture of international development assistance has generally underlined the need for a more strategic and harmonised approach for donors as well as recipients of development assistance. The core challenge is to achieve a more strategic and focused approach. Therefore, the funds are channelled through the most effective organisations in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals and in accordance with the developing countries’ own development strategies.

Fewer, but larger contributions. The global multilateral development assistance is expected to increase in the coming years, at the same time as the architecture of international development assistance and the interaction between the various players are becoming increasingly crucial issues. Concerning Denmark, this is a situation where it is possible to achieve greater development policy impact by focusing the multilateral development assistance on fewer organisations. Significant financial and long-term contributions, together with focused and dedicated work in the organisations, could give Denmark a stronger voice in relation to shaping the international organisations’ policy development, the dialogue with developing countries and their work to define global norms and standards.

More systematic, less automatic. Henceforth, contributions to multilateral organisations will systematically be assessed on the basis of four parameters. There will be no automatism in the allocation of funds and no fixed division between multilateral and bilateral development assistance. There will be no “either-or” parameters. The international organisations will be expected to live up to all the parameters – although to a different extent. The concrete Danish policy of contributing to the organisation will depend on a continuous and comprehensive assessment of the parameters within the framework of the overall priorities of the Danish Government’s development policy.

Ratings and evaluations based on existing systems. The assessment of the four parameters will, among other things, be based upon the follow-up of the Danish organisation strategies and on the evaluations which other countries or research institutions prepare. Moreover, the studies carried out by multilateral and bilateral organisations themselves of how their partner countries assess the effectiveness and relevance will be central (“partnership surveys”). Furthermore, Denmark participates in the MOPAN Network (Multilateral Organisations Performance Assessment Network), together with ten other donors that have a common interest in monitoring the effectiveness of multilateral organisations.

Quality assurance, which is based on information generated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, will be complemented by independent evaluations of the effectiveness of the multilateral organisations. Since 2004, it has been accepted practice under the auspices of DAC not to evaluate the multilateral organisations individually but, instead, to use the evaluations produced by the multilateral organisations’ own independent evaluation teams.

Explicit strategy for influence. As an integral part of the organisation strategies, Denmark will explain how and in what areas influence is being sought in each organisation. This will be done by strengthening the link between financial contributions – core and earmarked contributions – dialogue, working in the governing bodies and building alliances with like-minded countries as well as new players.

Denmark also has an interest in promoting the employment of Danes in international organisations, first and foremost in order to make qualified personnel and management resources available for the organisations.

At the same time, an effective Danish commitment to the multilateral organisations will make it vital to prioritise human resources in order to ensure that Denmark maximises the influence which the contributions to the international organisations create opportunities for.

Focus of the main areas of assistance in the multilateral field. Firstly, there is assistance directed towards a specific theme, a particular region or a specific group of people which because of its nature requires an international approach. It could, for instance, be the fight against HIV/AIDS, climate and environment assistance, the promotion of human rights or the rights of children and indigenous peoples. Here focus should be on organisations that have a special mandate and a comparative advantage in relation to the concrete assistance. For instance UNICEF when it comes to children or IWGIA to promote the rights of indigenous peoples.

Secondly, there is assistance with a focus on promoting economic growth, employment and creating infrastructure. Here the interest will often be for a strong engagement through well-capitalised organisations such as the World Bank, regional development banks, or the European Commission, which can combine substantial financial resources with high technical expertise.

Thirdly, there is assistance aimed at dealing with new global challenges where a truly global framework has not yet been established and where there, consequently, is a need for developing new standards and approaches. It can, for instance, be issues such as climate change, migration, terrorism or infectious diseases. Often the UN system will have a particular comparative advantage when it comes to developing new approaches that can be adopted at the global level.

Fourthly, there is assistance in fragile states and post-conflict societies. Here, there is often a relatively weak bilateral presence and a high demand for multilateral actors that are seen as more legitimate. As countries move away from conflict, a need will often arise for investments demanding large sums of capital and thus also active cooperation with, among others, the World Bank and bilateral actors. The EU is likely to be an increasingly important partner in fragile states because of the extensive representation at country level and strong humanitarian and development assistance to this group of countries.

Fifthly, there is humanitarian assistance. Humanitarian assistance has special features that distinguish it from the long-term development assistance and are based on universal principles of impartiality, neutrality and independence. Humanitarian disasters and conflicts are characterised by the fact that the rights and basic needs of those suffering cannot be addressed without international support. Danish assistance will therefore focus on organisations that most effectively can deliver the emergency aid and prevent violations of basic rights. On the multilateral side, specialised UN agencies such as the UNHCR and the UNRWA as well as the ICRC/IFRC have a particular comparative advantage because they combine an emergency and a protection mandate. At the same time, the WFP and the Red Cross movement have the world’s largest logistical capacity to deliver relief quickly.