BHOS-beleidsnota
Reactie
| Naam | The International Development Law Organization (The International Development Law Organization IDLO https://www.idlo.int/) |
|---|---|
| Plaats | Rome, Italy |
| Datum | 15 april 2022 |
Vraag1
(see english below)Nexus (samenhang) Ontwikkelingssamenwerking & Buitenlandse Handel
Het Nederlandse bedrijfsleven kan door middel van handel, investeringen en marktkracht een belangrijke rol spelen bij een aantal van de grote wereldwijde uitdagingen van deze tijd. Om de Nederlandse inzet richting het bedrijfsleven een focus mee te geven wordt gekozen voor een focus op de “twin-transities”; de digitale transitie (via onder meer artificiële intelligentie) en de verduurzamingtransitie. Deze twin-transities op digitale innovatie en verduurzaming zullen de komende jaren een grote rol spelen om de Parijs en Glasgow-doelen voor klimaat te halen. Die doelen moeten we in Nederland halen, maar ook wereldwijd. Hoewel er een grote behoefte is aan Nederlandse expertise en investeringen, zien we dat meer nodig kan zijn om het Nederlandse bedrijven te betrekken bij deze transities in (lage en) midden-inkomenslanden.
1. Hoe kan het Nederlandse bedrijfsleven meer betrokken worden bij de twin-transitie in (lage en) midden-inkomenslanden?
(EN)
Nexus between development cooperation and foreign trade
Through their trade, investment and market position, Dutch businesses can play a key role in tackling some of the major challenges facing the world today. The focus of Dutch policy vis-a-vis the private sector will be on the 'twin transitions' of digitalisation (including artificial intelligence) and sustainability – both of which will be key to achieving the Paris and Glasgow climate goals in the years ahead. We must achieve these goals not only in the Netherlands, but across the world as a whole. While Dutch expertise and investment funding are in great demand, we also see that more may be needed when it comes to getting Dutch companies involved in these transitions in low- and middle-income countries.
1. How can we increase the involvement of Dutch companies in the twin transitions in low- and middle-income countries?
The International Development Law Organization (IDLO) is the only global intergovernmental organization exclusively devoted to promoting the rule of law to advance peace and sustainable development. The Netherlands has been a Member Party since IDLO was founded in 1989, with the Organization maintaining an office in The Hague since 2014.
In IDLO’s experience, robust legal and policy frameworks can improve the climate for international investment in digital innovation and the green economy, while ensuring that such investment responds to both local needs and the social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. Furthermore, effective trade and investment frameworks promote climate-friendly growth by facilitating access to green technologies, supporting the transition to a low carbon economy, and incentivising green investment, including in renewable energy, digital solutions, and climate-resilient infrastructure.
Incorporating a whole-of government approach is crucial to ensure that social and environmental concerns are considered throughout the decision-making process for projects attracting climate finance, and that venues are established for affected communities to address issues of concern and resolve disputes regarding those projects. It is essential to ensure that transparency mechanisms are in place, and that actors involved in climate adaptation and mitigation projects demonstrate accountability. This can help to increase Dutch private sector confidence in investing in climate action abroad.
Climate finance mechanisms should respect international human rights standards, such as the right to participation, access to information, and prior and informed consent. Legal capacity development can help to strengthen coordination within and between different sectoral institutions while protecting human rights, avoiding some of the unintended side effects of climate action that might increase social tensions and conflict risks.
Supporting inclusive, human rights-based and non-discriminatory approaches to digital innovation, particularly in the justice sector, can empower people and groups who traditionally lack access to electronic platforms to claim their rights and help narrow a growing digital divide.
Vraag2
Nederland kent een lange traditie van publieke private samenwerking. Nu de mondiale uitdagingen steeds groter worden, is het van belang deze publiek-private samenwerkingen te verdiepen en te versnellen. De duurzame ontwikkelingsdoelen zijn in 2015 vastgesteld als actieplan voor overheden, bedrijven, kennisinstellingen en burgers om duurzame ontwikkeling te verwezenlijken wereldwijd.2. Hoe kunnen overheid, bedrijfsleven en kennisinstellingen beter samenwerken om de duurzame ontwikkelingsdoelen te halen?
(EN)
The Netherlands has a long tradition of public-private partnership. As the global challenges grow ever bigger, it is important to deepen and accelerate these partnerships. The Sustainable Development Goals were presented in 2015 as a plan of action for governments, companies, knowledge institutions and private individuals to achieve sustainable development worldwide.
2. How can government, the private sector and knowledge institutions work together better to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals?
The achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals will require strengthened partnerships between States, as well as with civil society, the private sector, youth, and academia. Multilateral frameworks grounded in rule of law principles are essential to facilitate such cooperation and generate the political will, governance mechanisms, and resources needed for faster and more ambitious policy implementation.
In addition, Dutch public-private partnerships can support least developed and developing countries in meeting their development targets. Many low and middle-income countries require technical and legal advice and assistance from governments and private sector entities on investment-related matters, including negotiations and dispute settlement.
International, multistakeholder legal capacity building efforts, such as IDLO’s Investment Support Programme for Least Developed Countries, can help to ensure that LDCs derive maximum benefit from existing investment opportunities, increase sustainable investment flows, and promote greater economic diversification.
Vraag3
Nederland heeft sinds 2016 een actieplan beleidscoherentie voor ontwikkeling. Beleidscoherentie voor ontwikkeling heeft als doel om in niet-hulp (OS) beleid schade voor ontwikkelingslanden te verminderen en synergiën en samenwerking te versterken. Het Nederlandse actieplan is in 2018 herzien en geeft een overzicht van vijf Nederlandse beleidsthema’s die een invloed hebben op de ontwikkelingskansen in ontwikkelingslanden. Deze thema’s zijn: (1) het tegengaan van belastingontwijking/ontduiking, (2) ontwikkelingsvriendelijke handelsakkoorden, (3) een ontwikkelingsvriendelijk investeringsregime, (4) verduurzaming van productie en handel en (5) het tegengaan van klimaatverandering.3. Hoe kan de bovengenoemde Nederlandse inzet op beleidscoherentie voor ontwikkeling verder versterkt of verbeterd worden?
(EN)
The Netherlands has had an action plan on policy coherence for development since 2016. The aim of policy coherence is to reduce the negative effects on developing countries caused by policies in areas other than development, and to strengthen synergies and cooperation. The action plan, which was revised in 2018, identifies five Dutch policy themes that can enhance developing countries’ opportunities for development: (1) combating tax avoidance/evasion, (2) development-friendly trade agreements, (3) a development-friendly investment regime, (4) more sustainable production and trade, and (5) combating climate change.
3. How can the Netherlands’ efforts to achieve policy coherence for development be further strengthened or enhanced?
Building on existing strengths, the Netherlands could increase policy coherence, strengthen the impact of Dutch investment and donor funding, and protect those most at risk of being left behind by applying a rule of law lens to development.
The rule of law is both an outcome as well as an enabler of development. This dual role is key to helping catalyze progress on a broad range of goals and targets across the entire 2030 Agenda. Many SDGs implicitly draw on the principles of inclusivity, equity and nondiscrimination and require the creation of new regulatory and legal frameworks and institutional capacity for their implementation.
The SDG 16+ framework links progress on the rule of law to 36 targets related to peace, justice and inclusion across the 2030 Agenda. Rule of law is also a cross-cutting enabler for all 17 SDGs as it advances the type of institutional mechanisms and fair, rule-based processes needed to promote the integrated “whole of society” approaches required for sustainable development.
This point is made even more emphatically in the Secretary-General’s Our Common Agenda Report, which calls for a “new vision for the rule of law” to help renew the social contract and tackle global challenges.
A rule of law lens can help increase the coherence between the development cooperation and foreign trade strands of the new policy on the one hand, and help to ensure that priority areas including public health, climate action, and human rights are addressed in a more coordinated, synergistic and context-sensitive way.
Vraag6
Samenwerking publiek-privaat en rol Midden en Klein Bedrijf (MKB)Een succesvolle aanpak op het gebied van internationale handel vraagt samenwerking tussen burgers, bedrijven, maatschappelijke organisaties en de overheid. Het is nuttig om aan te sluiten op de behoeftes van de markt. Waar zijn bedrijven (specifiek het MKB) mee geholpen om de exportkracht en innovatiekracht te vergroten?
6. Hoe kan de overheid het bedrijfsleven (specifiek het MKB) dat internationaal onderneemt (of dat zou willen) beter ondersteunen om zaken te doen in het buitenland?
a. Welke ondersteuning hebben bedrijven nodig om internationaal succesvol te zijn op terreinen van digitale innovatie (innovatiesamenwerking) en verduurzaming?
b. Voor handel met welke landen (of regio’s of markten) zou ondersteuning moeten zijn?
c. Wat zou de overheid op het gebied van handelsbevordering niet meer moeten doen?
(EN)
Public-private cooperation and role of SMEs
A successful approach to international trade requires cooperation between the public, companies, civil society and government. It is also useful to align with market demand. What would help companies, and SMEs in particular, to increase their export performance and innovative capacity?
6. How can the government better support companies (and SMEs specifically), that are doing or wish to do business abroad?
a. What type of support do companies need in order to achieve international success in the areas of digital innovation (innovation partnerships) and sustainability?
b. For what countries, regions or markets should the government provide private sector support?
c. What type of trade promotion activities should the government stop doing?
Support is needed for companies that are doing or wish to do business in low- and middle-income countries. These are contexts where the goods and services offered by Dutch companies are perhaps most valuable, but where delivery of these goods and services may be complicated or obstructed by the poor state of policy, legal, and regulatory systems. Especially on matters of corporate, commercial, competition, intellectual property, insolvency, and financial law, support must be extended to developing countries – and to companies wishing to do business in these countries – so as to surmount the elevated costs of trade.
Clear and effective statutes and regulations are especially important in novel industries powered by digital innovation, where the regulatory environment may not have had time to adapt to new market developments. There is particular scope for the Netherlands to invest in the regularisation of policy governing such industries, since this would provide a regulatory environment more conducive to digitalization and sustainable growth in low- and middle-income countries.
The Netherlands may also wish to explore the formation of a “Corporate Forum” convened by development corporations that would discuss matters of relevance to the corporations within the scope of each Forum member’s corporate social responsibility commitments. Such communication would help all parties to identify areas of common interest where collaboration might be most fruitful.
Vraag7
OntwikkelingssamenwerkingDevelopment cooperation
Nederlandse inzet op Ontwikkelingssamenwerking
Nederland is op verschillende thema’s actief op gebied van ontwikkelingssamenwerking. Zo investeren we in het realiseren van de Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) en zetten we extra in op opvang in de regio, toegang tot vaccins, klimaatadaptatie en -mitigatie. Nederland gaat door met wat goed gaat en focust op waar Nederland goed in is, zoals verbinding tussen diplomatie en ontwikkelingssamenwerking. Meer informatie over het ontwikkelingssamenwerkingsbeleid van Nederland is te vinden op www.nlontwikkelingssamenwerking.nl.
7. Waar is Nederland op het gebied van ontwikkelingssamenwerking volgens u goed in? Op welke thema’s zou Nederland een aanjagende rol kunnen vervullen?
(EN)
Dutch development cooperation activities
The Netherlands is actively pursuing a number of policy themes in the area of development cooperation. For example, we're investing in efforts to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reception in the region, access to vaccines, and climate adaptation and mitigation. The Netherlands will continue its efforts in areas where progress is being made and will focus on its strengths, such as linking diplomacy and development. For more information about Dutch development policy, go to www.nlontwikkelingssamenwerking.nl.
7. In your opinion, what are the Netherlands’ strengths when it comes to development cooperation? In which policy themes could the Netherlands play a leading role?
The Netherlands is home to robust academic and civil society institutions and is viewed as a strong supporter and advocate of issues related to peace, justice, human rights, and the rule of law. Increased political and financial support in these areas is very much needed at a time when they are under pressure globally.
Justice for women and girls, and in particular gender-based violence and protecting women, are instances where the Netherlands, along with the EU, already leads and should continue to play a key and innovative role.
Vraag8
Innoveren op OSNederlandse internationale samenwerking is flexibel en kennisintensief, we zijn vernieuwend. Zo ontwikkelt Nederland nieuwe manieren van werken en partnerschappen die daarna door bijv. de Europese Commissie en Wereldbank worden opgepakt of opgeschaald. De Nederlandse internationale samenwerking fungeert dus veelal als een creatieve en kennisintensieve incubator (een broedplaats voor nieuwe ideeën. Nederland is een relatief kleine donor, maar als lidstaat van de EU en via bilaterale hulp kan Nederland de zichtbaarheid van EU-hulp vergroten en additionele relevante kapitaalstromen generen.
8. Op welke manier en op welk vlak kan de Nederlandse ontwikkelingssamenwerking nog meer innoveren?
(EN)
Innovative development cooperation
Dutch international cooperation is flexible and knowledge-intensive. We are also innovative, developing new ways of working and new types of partnership that are subsequently adopted or scaled up by others, like the European Commission and the World Bank. In this respect, Dutch international cooperation is like a creative and knowledge-intensive incubator. We are a relatively small donor, but as an EU member state and through bilateral aid we can make EU aid more visible and generate additional, relevant capital flows.
8. In what other ways and areas could Dutch development cooperation innovate more?
To achieve the three goals of Dutch development cooperation policy, the Netherlands may consider further investment in people-centred justice including innovations aimed at preventing disputes and ensuring their peaceful and fair resolution, protecting the rights of the poorest and most vulnerable members of society, and working at the intersection of law, development and human rights to promote a more peaceful, just and sustainable recovery from the pandemic and other global crises.
Vraag9
Een donor met durfDe Nederlandse internationale inzet is gedurfd, omdat we financiële investeringen koppelen aan onze diplomatieke inzet en expertise. We continueren thema’s waar we traditionele meerwaarde hebben: seksuele en reproductieve rechten en gezondheid (SRGR), water, voedselzekerheid en veiligheid & rechtsorde. Daarbij kunnen we nog meer gebruik maken van het diplomatieke gewicht van o.a. de EU. We investeren in systeemverandering om te zorgen dat we de SDG’s in 2030 realiseren. Met systeemverandering bedoelen we dat we de systemen die armoede en ongelijkheid in stand houden aanpakken.
9. Op welke manier/welk vlak kan Nederland als donor nog meer durf te tonen?
(EN)
A bold donor
Dutch international efforts can be characterised as bold, because we link financial investment to diplomatic efforts and expertise. We will continue our work on themes where we have always added value: sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), water, food security, and security and the rule of law. We will also make better use of the diplomatic weight of the EU. To ensure we achieve the SDGs by 2030, we will invest in systemic change, i.e. tackling the structures that maintain poverty and inequality.
9. In what ways or areas could the Netherlands, as a donor, be even bolder?
The Netherlands may wish to consider streamlining its priority areas by championing a multi-donor “Sustainable Justice Fund” as a complementary mechanism that would ensure that each area of priority to the Dutch government – such as food security, health, human rights, and gender equality – is sufficiently resourced according to a legal “underpinning” or formal commitment. This would provide reliability and operational confidence by further ensuring each investment has the framework and resources it needs to make a lasting impact.
The Netherlands might also consider expanding its current commitments on health issues through the framework of the Social Determinants of Health, so as to ensure policy coherence in addressing inequalities and to advance sustainable development.