Global Alliances and Multilateral Policy.

• Author: Herfkens, Eveline
• Position: Brief Article

MAKE MULTILATERAL AID WORK

The United Nations is no more and no less than the contributions of individual nations. As long as States lack the political will to make it a powerful organization, how realistic is it to expect it to play a pioneering role in tackling global issues? The need for effective multilateral policy is more pressing than ever. Rapid globalization has dearly shown that global governance is not keeping pace with new problems and challenges. Investment in "public goods" -- maintaining the quality of the atmosphere, protecting biodiversity, fighting infectious diseases, reducing the gap between rich and poor, preventing violations of human rights and intervening where necessary--comes under inevitable pressure if left to market forces and individual States, as is largely the case nowadays.

The United Nations has to acquire greater political authority and financial resources--that has long been the aim of Dutch policy. The Netherlands is the only country in the world with a Constitution that obliges the Government to promote the development of international law. Multilateral organizations are an essential part of this; support for them and the active exploitation of their potential, not without a critical eye, have therefore been an established feature of Dutch policy for decades. The Netherlands is one of the few countries to surpass the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product for aid, and it has done so for over 25 years in succession. The Government wishes to increase the share of the development budget earmarked for multilateral aid.

The potential advantages of multilateral aid compared to bilateral aid are enormous. Multilateral organizations often have more knowledge and experience in their particular field than individual donor countries. Channelling aid through them prevents fragmentation and overlap, reduces the administrative burden on the recipient country and increases the effectiveness of aid. What is more, it facilitates coordination because the number of parties involved at the local level declines. Multilateral aid also promotes ownership, since it is less driven by the interests of donors--economic self-interest or geopolitical goals--although, sadly enough, there are donors who even tie their contribution to multilateral agencies for these purposes.

Unfortunately, many of the advantages are lost in practice as a result of poor cooperation, lack of coherence, misplaced priorities and bad management...