Policy Updates

On March 28, 2024, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs committed EUR50 million (US$54 million) for the launch of PROSPECTS 2.0 in Kenya to promote socio-economic integration between refugees and host communities in Kakuma, Kalobeyei, Dabaab, and urban areas.

The project marks phase 2, spanning from 2024-2027, of the original PROSPECTS Partnership initiated by the Netherlands in 2019. According to the International Finance Corporation Africa, PROSPECTS 2 will focus on four key areas:

• Education and learning;
• Economic inclusion;
• Child protection and social protection; and
• Critical infrastructure.

This partnership involves partners from the humanitarian, development, and private sectors, including the World Bank, UNHCR, UNRWA, UNICEF, ILO, the Government of Kenya’s Ministry of Interior and National Administration, and the County Governments of Turkana and Garissa.

On January 10, 2024, outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced changes in the Dutch cabinet.

Rutte announced that Minister for Health, Sports, and Welfare Ernst Kuipers handed in his resignation to the King of the Netherlands. Minister for Long-term Care and Sports Conny Helder will temporarily take over this role until a successor is found.

Additionally, Secretary General for Education, Culture and Science Steven van Weyenberg has been appointed the new Minister of Finance. His former role will be filled by Fleur Gräper-van Koolwijk.

Finally, Rutte announced that Minister for Climate and Energy Rob Jetten will take on the additional role of Vice Prime Minister, previously held by Sigrid Kaag.

On December 13, 2023, the Netherlands announced that it has become co-chair of the Global Concessional Financing Facility and pledged EUR10 million (US$11 million) to support Armenia with asylum services.

The Global Concessional Financing Facility is implemented by the World Bank. It supports middle-income countries hosting many refugees that are not eligible for soft loans from development banks at a lower interest rate and with a longer repayment period.

Following a military escalation in September 2023 in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia has hosted more than 100,000 refugees from the region. These refugees make up approximately 3% of the Armenian population and have strained social services, the labor market, and the national economy. The contribution by the Netherlands is meant to strengthen Armenian healthcare, education, and provide people with safe shelter.

On November 2, 2023, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher sent a letter to the House of Representatives announcing the allocation of the recently approved extra EUR70 million (US$76 million) for the 2023 development budget.

EUR30 million (US$33 million) will go towards humanitarian assistance by the WFP, the Dutch Red Cross, and the Dutch Relief Alliance, including the recently announced EUR15 million (US$16 million) towards water, food, and healthcare in Gaza. The other half of the humanitarian funds will go towards other undetermined humanitarian needs around the world.

EUR20 million (US$$22 million) is allocated to the reception of asylum seekers in Pakistan, and “the Horn of Africa and the MENA region,” especially the education of children. EUR12 million (US$13 million) will go towards the UNHCR and EUR8 million (US$9 million) will go towards UNICEF.

Finally, EUR20 million (US$22 million) will go towards climate adaptation, with EUR10 million (US$11 million) towards the FMO’s Access to Energy Fund and the remaining funds going towards the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program.

The extra EUR70 million (US$76 million) for ODA was a result of the Dutch House of Representatives approval on October 26, 2023, to bring forward part of the 2028 development budget buffer to reduce the previously proposed development budget cuts for 2023, known as a ‘cash move’. The additional funds will be processed in the Second Supplementary Budget 2023, which will be sent no later than December 1, 2023.

On May 30, 2023, the Netherlands published its first continent-wide, ten-year Africa Strategy (2023-2032).

The strategy outlined short-, mid-, and longterm actions to promote the 54 countries’ equal economic development, reduced poverty, improved human rights, and limited irregular migration.

The strategy displayed the Netherlands’ ambition to strengthen and deepen its strategic relationship and partnership with African countries, both bilaterally and multilaterally through the EU. The strategy prioritized equitable and reciprocal cooperation based on mutual interests. Key themes included:

• Promoting regional stability, mobility, and migration agreements;
• Achieving the SDGs and AU 2063 Agenda; and
• Increasing the prosperity and climate resilience of people and communities in Africa and Europe.

The Strategy positioned the EU as Africa’s most important trade partner and investor, and a major provider of development and humanitarian assistance. Accordingly, the strategy framed other countries’ expanding influence in Africa, such as China, Russia, and the Gulf States, as a key geopolitical and economic challenge. The strategy likewise attempted to position the Netherlands and EU as attractive partners for African countries to facilitate collaboration on key cross-border issues including migration, trade, energy transition, security, and food security.

Specifically, the Netherlands focused on good trade agreements and energy transition, presenting a model of cooperation in which African countries process raw materials before exporting them to the EU. The strategy touted the plan as a way to create jobs in Africa and to make the value chains of raw materials more sustainable.

The strategy also emphasized the importance of peace and security for African countries and their citizens as a means of preventing (cross-border) violent extremism. The Netherlands shared its aim to design effective, sustainable migration cooperation with African partners within the international and European legal frameworks. Additionally, the Netherlands shared goals to leverage this cooperation to increased food security, improved health and climate resilience, and invest in higher and vocational education.

While CSOs responded favorably to the strategy, they also expressed apprehension regarding its increased reliance on Dutch businesses. Similarly, several organizations questioned the Netherlands’ ability to realize its ambitions after the recently announced cuts of EUR3.4 billion (US$3.6 billion) to the Dutch development budget of over the following four years.

On April 28, 2023, SheDecides, a global political movement that fights for bodily autonomy and SRHR for all, published a statement in Al Jazeera on the importance of CSE in building a gender equal world.

The signatories included ten ministers and 36 health and gender equality experts, four of whom were Dutch.

The statement highlighted that despite growing evidence that CSE helps reduce gender-based violence, unintended pregnancies, and HIV transmissions, not all governments are investing in CSE programs. Moreover, due to misinformation about CSE, decision-makers around the world have rolled back their support for related programs allowing harmful practices and beliefs, including gender-based discrimination, to flourish.

To achieve the SDGs for Health (SDG 3), Education (SDG 4), and Gender Equality (SDG 5), the statements called on all governments to commit to incorporating CSE in national curricula and invest in quality teacher training, and to engage more young people, parents, teachers, community leaders, and politicians to better understand the long-term benefits of CSE.

The statement was authored by the Prime Minister of Belgium, South Africa’s Minister of Social Development and the Executive Director of FEMNET and Chair of SheDecides Guiding Group. Among the 50 signatories were the Netherlands’ Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Dennis Wiersma, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher, former Minister, MP and Initiator of SheDecides Lilianne Ploumen, and Minister for Education, Culture, and Science Robbert Dijkgraaf.

On April 3, 2023, Ministers Liesje Schreinemacher and Wopke Hoekstra reported the first support package for Ukraine in 2023.

Through a new supplementary budget, the Dutch government will provide an additional EUR180 million (US$193 million) for humanitarian assistance, recovery and reconstruction. An additional EUR19 million (US$20 million) was allocated from a second supplemental budget for reconstruction and cultural preservation.

The additional funding came from the government’s reserve of EUR2.5 billion (U$2.7 billion) for Ukraine in 2023. The ministers wrote that they are providing this first support package for 2023 in light of the World Bank’s needs assessment for the long-term reconstruction costs of Ukraine changing from US$349 billion in September 2022 to US$411 billion on March 29, 2023.

Of the extra €180 million (US$193 million) for humanitarian assistance, EUR140 million (US$150 million) will be channeled through multilaterals. The World Bank’s Ukraine Relief Trust Fund will receive EUR60 million (US$64 million), and the EBRD will receive EUR40 million (US$43 million) to reconstruct key infrastructure, including for health care, transport and housing, energy supply, agriculture, and education. The World Bank’s private-sector arm, the IFC, will receive EUR40 million (US$43 million) to support Ukrainian farmers and agri-producers with seeds and materials.

Schreinemacher also earmarked EUR30 million (US$32 million) of the EUR180 million package for humanitarian assistance and reconstruction. EUR20 million (US$21 million) will got to UNOCHA, and EUR10 million (US$11 million) will support various partners to provide mental health care and psychosocial support.

Schreinemacher also announced EUR10 million (US$11 million) in ODA to demining agricultural land, through Minister Hoekstra’s Foreign Affairs budget. In addition to extra funds, Schreinemacher appointed a special envoy to promote the involvement of the Dutch business community in the reconstruction of Ukraine.

In a second supplementary budget totaling EUR94 million (US$101 million), Hoekstra allocated EUR14 million (US$15 million) to the fight against impunity for international crimes, including the Dialogue Group on Accountability, to establish a war damage register in The Hague. Another EUR5 million (US$5 million) was allocated toward protecting and preserving identity-defining culture in Ukraine.

The ministers closed their letter with a commitment to inform the House of Representatives of the next support package before the summer recess.

In a March 22, 2023, op-ed, Dutch Ambassador for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality and Director Social Development at the BZ Pascalle Grotenhuis called for integrated approaches and increased funding for menstrual health and gender equality in development cooperation.

The op-ed was published on the first day of the 2023 UN Water Conference. Grotenhuis explained how the absence of WASH facilities, a lack of menstrual products or resources to afford these, and little to no education on menstruation have severe consequences and lead to exclusion and harmful stigma for women.
For instance, Grotenhuis cited research by UNICEF suggesting that 539 million children worldwide lack basic sanitation services at their school, which results in many adolescent girls staying home from school or quitting their education due to their menstruation.

As such, Grotenhuis underlined the importance of investing in menstrual health as a development priority for gender equality. In her role as Ambassador for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, she also advocated for menstrual health to be a central component of CSE, including for boys and young men.

Grotenhuis underscored the need for the UN 2023 Water Conference and the new Water Action Agenda to increase investments and commitments toward integrated approaches to improve menstrual health through CSE and WASH infrastructure. Since the conference closed on March 24, 2023, 19 countries made commitments that include a focus on menstrual health.

On November 25, 2022, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher submitted the third strategy for policy coherence for development cooperation.

The action plan outlined three priorities for Dutch cooperation with low- and middle-income countries for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: 1) reducing the Dutch climate, land, and water footprint, 2) addressing illicit money and tax avoidance, and 3) reducing vaccine and health inequality.

Since 2016, the Netherlands has developed action plans for development policy coherence to optimize Dutch policies on global development cooperation. The government has committed to annually evaluating these action plans and reporting on their progress.

The development of a third action plan was announced in the recent development strategy, 'Doing What The Netherlands is Good at'. The plan recognized that the Netherlands faces challenges in reducing its carbon footprint and addressing the effects of tax havens and illegal money flows, and presented new goals for addressing them.

The government's plans for reducing its environmental impact will be elaborated on in the upcoming 2023 National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan.

While recognizing existing data limitations, the government also committed to informing the House of Representatives annually in a letter about interest, royalties, and dividends from low- and middle-income countries to the Netherlands, and from the Netherlands to low-tax jurisdictions.

In line with the new 'Dutch Global Health Strategy,' the action plan mentioned that the government will promote equal access to knowledge in the field of vaccine and drug production to reduce global health inequality. The government also committed to highlighting gender-specific results in the plan’s evaluation.

The new action plan will be evaluated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs evaluation service (IOB) in early 2023. The plan’s goals, efforts, and indicators were submitted as an annex, and will be reported on during the third Wednesday in May of 2023, known as ‘Accountability Day’.

On October 28, 2022, the Dutch Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade and Development Cooperation announced that the Netherlands will extend additional security and development support worth €20 million (US$20 million) to Iraq until December 31, 2023.
The Dutch cabinet agreed on the strategic importance of Iraq to the Netherlands, and shifted its focus from defeating ISIS via 'Operation Inherent Resolve' (OIR) to the prevention of new, weaponized escalation and strengthening the Iraqi security sector.
The ministers stated that development cooperation with Iraq will focus on migration cooperation, asylum in the region, integration of internationally displaced people, and the development of the private sector. For instance, via the Sustainable Development Goals Partnership, the Netherlands offered subsidies for Dutch-Iraqi public-private partnerships for private-sector development and food security.
The Netherlands increased its funds for Iraq by €20 million (US$20 million), for a total of €40 million (US$39 million) from 2019 to 2023. The Netherlands pledged the majority of funds through large-scale, multi-year partnerships with the UNHCR, UNICEF, ILO, World Bank, and the International Finance Corporation. The partnerships prioritized increased justice, access to education, vocational training, and strengthening the position of youth, women, and girls.