By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 19 1997 (IPS)

The Netherlands, one of the world’s most generous donors, is gradually changing its aid policies so as to prevent conflicts from breaking out, rather than waiting to help resolve them later.

“If there is a bad situation developing, let’s not sit idle and watch it deteriorate. Let’s go in and help,” says Jan Berteling of the Netherlands Mission to the United Nations. “There is a good chance it may fail, but if we succeed, at least we have achieved something.”

As part of its new policy, the Netherlands has been focusing heavily on human security. “The new policy objectives are concentrated around a bigger effort to contribute to human development,” says Caroline Wildeman of the Dutch development agency, Novib.

The policy is based on the argument that the more economic security people have, the less chances there are of intra-state ethnic conflicts and civil strife currently raging mostly in Africa and Asia.

The Dutch government’s development support is based on four principles: 20 percent of its aid is directed at basic social services, 4.0 percent for reproductive health, 0.1 percent of GNP for environmental programmes and 0.25 percent on the world’s 48 least developed countries (LDCs).

“The United Nations can be more effective it it invests in prevention,” says Dutch Foreign Minister Hans Van Mierlo.

Van Mierlo says the international community should make effective use of development aid for conflict prevention and peace building as a complement to preventive diplomacy. “It is a major challenge for the consultative machinery within the United Nations, as well as for its operational programmes,” he says.

The Netherlands, whose aid to developing nations has long exceeded the U.N. target of 0.7 percent of gross national product (GNP), has consistently maintained that there has to be integrated approach to an overall aid policy.

The Dutch want the myriads of U.N. agencies, consultative bodies, donor community, troop contributors and the Security Council to move in concert. “But the problem with the United Nations is that there are too many cooks who spoil the broth,” complains Van Mierlo.

Wildeman says that one of the major policy instruments designed to deliver more effective aid is the orientation towards themes instead of countries.

The Netherlands is a strong supporter of the so-called “20:20” concept approved by the World Social Summit in Copenhagen in 1995. Under this scheme, 20 percent of donor aid should be earmarked for basic social services in developing nations to be matched by 20 percent of the national budget of developing nations.

The Dutch aid budget this year focused on the 20:20 initiative in five countries: Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Tanzania and Vietnam. “If these countries make a national plan to spend 20 percent of their national budget on basic social services, they will get more aid from the Dutch government in support of this,” Wildeman said.

A strong advocate of the new policy is the Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation Jan Pronk who says the core of development cooperation is to address questions such as: how to reduce infant mortality, how to improve food security and how to guarantee safety. “Such issues are far more important than whether Nicaragua, or any other country, should get more or less money,” says Pronk.

“If we look at Afghanistan, the conflict there is the result of years of stagnating development, Cold War politics and tribal, religious and ethnic disputes,”he says. “To a certain extent, humanitarian assistance becomes an alibi for not addressing the underlying political and developmental causes of the crisis,” he adds.

Last year Pronk made a plea for what he called “a new form of international development cooperation in war-torn societies or in failed states.” This cooperation, he said, does not confine itself to short term emergency relief aid, postponing rehabilitation and development activities until after peace has been restored, or after a new legitimate state authority has been established.

“We need develoment programmes which can support those community groups which themselves can be a voice for peace and reconciliation,” he added.

In the Dutch budget, there are no predictions as to how much money will be spent in each country or region. The scale of aid to a particular country depends on the extent to which it is believed possible to achieve Dutch policy aims in that country.

“We can now in effect cooperate in all developing countries,” notes Pronk, “We no longer have to restrict ourselves to a list drawn up beforehand. If, for example, aid is requested for Liberia or Sierra Leone – two countries in conflict – you can hardly say, ‘Sorry, but you are not on my list.”‘

In 1970 the U.N. General Assembly set a target of 0.7 of GNP as aid from industrial to developing nations. The Netherlands is one of the few donors to consistently exceed this target, which now stands at 0.8 percent. The average for most donors is about 0.35 percent. Total Dutch aid for 1996 was 3.3 billion dollars.

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