Toespraak Knapen - Conference on ‘Peace for Humanity in the 21st Century', 20 september 2012

Toespraak | 20-09-2012

Your Royal Highness, your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

Let me congratulate the University of Peace on this occasion. The University for Peace fits the need of the world, and fits our ambitions.

I never grow tired of reminding people that progress has been slow on the Millennium Development Goals in fragile and conflict-affected states. In fact, so far no fragile or conflict-affected state has achieved one MDG. According to the World Bank, these countries account for most of the MDG deficit.

This is one of the reasons that Security and Rule of Law in fragile states and countries in conflict are a priority of our development policy. The Netherlands is spending a substantial part of its development budget on Security and Rule of Law ─ before or after a conflict. Because we have a moral obligation. Because preventing a conflict from escalating is cheaper than picking up the pieces after it ends. And because – and this is another reason - I’m convinced that my country has the knowledge, the skills and the capacity to make a difference in this field.

Let me give you an example of how we try to make a difference. Urbanisation, population growth and climate change are putting pressure on scarce water resources. Especially in the delta areas of the world. So international cooperation on water issues is needed. The Netherlands has a reputation in the field of international law and justice. We also have a long-standing tradition in water management. With the increasing pressure on water resources, it is time to combine these two types of knowledge.

So we have asked the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Clingendael, the Water Governance Centre and the Hague Institute for Global Justice to form a Water Diplomacy Consortium. The programme of this consortium, which is currently being developed, will focus on preventing and easing water conflicts. One of its first projects will be the “The Hague Water and Peace Dialogues”, in cooperation with UPEACE. This is what I mean by putting our Dutch knowledge to use.

But I digress. The main tools of our new Security and Rule of Law policy are prevention, conflict-sensitive strategies and the comprehensive approach ─ also known as the 3D approach, combining Defence, Diplomacy and Development to deal with the root causes of instability. We are using these tools to achieve five goals.

Our first goal is to ensure people’s physical safety, by preventing violence and consolidating peace and stability. Dutch development cooperation can take action ─ aligning closely with international peace missions in the area ─ by implementing security sector reform (SSR) programmes and supporting community-based security initiatives.

Our second goal, ladies and gentlemen, is to restore the legal order. In the long run, sustainable security, development and economic growth are impossible without the capacity and the will to uphold the rule of law. In fragile states, this means building a system linking police, prisons and prosecution and enhancing access to justice.

Last month, I made a visit to Afghanistan. There, we are linking police training to the rest of the justice chain. For what’s the use of training the police if the rest of the justice chain is corrupt, incompetent, or both? We cannot close our eyes to arbitrary detention. Or to the plight of women who are detained for moral issues that cannot be found in the penal code. When I visited a Kunduz women’s prison, women told me some really disturbing stories about injustice. I am proud that we can assist them with a legal aid program. We are training judges, public prosecutors and female lawyers. They have to set the standard, provide legal aid and win the trust of the population. Of course, I am aware of the fact that things won’t change overnight. Of course. I met by the way Chabama, a friendly young woman of 25 years old. She had been in prison for six years. Never saw a lawyer, never a judge. Her only crime: at 19, she ran away. My moment of joy was that she has been released recently and returned home without problems. This change for only one person may seem to some a small step, but to change things for the better we need endurance and patience.

On to the third goal of our Security and Rule of Law policy. For a stable society, it is essential to have mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of internal conflict. It applies to political and peace processes at both national and local level.

To help countries on their way to self-reliance, it is important to ensure that governments have sufficient capacity and can be held accountable. This is our fourth goal. There needs to be a certain level of trust between government and society. Efforts to build government capacity should go hand in hand with actions to build this trust. Dialogue, democratic monitoring and ─ at local level ─ community-based approaches.

And, finally, our fifth goal. Better living conditions contribute to sustainable peace and to confidence in society. In development jargon, we are looking for a peace dividend.

It goes without saying that women should get extra attention, since they play such an important role in keeping peace and building the economy. And that we offer customised programmes only, not a one-size-fits-all approach.

Our work in South Sudan is a good example of such a customised programme. Here, we try to achieve stability through UNMISS. We also want to maintain stability by building up the security sector, both multilaterally and bilaterally. Our police trainers deployed to UNMISS are working together with others in the justice chain, a chain that we support through our bilateral peace and rule of law program. Besides achieving and maintaining stability in South Sudan, we try to tackle the root causes of conflict ─ for example: limited access to water or land ─ by supporting agriculture and water resource management. We are joining hands with the country of South Sudan, Dutch private partners and experts on agriculture and water resource management to push economic development. In short: no silos, but a comprehensive approach.

The Dutch government, ladies and gentlemen, is of course well aware that it cannot go alone. What conflict countries need is international cooperation. Take Somalia, for instance. I was in Mogadishu, Somaliland, and recently in Puntland. All the problems people can possibly have, come together right there: food shortages, infiltration by radical and criminal groups, unemployment, lack of prospects and a fully disintegrated state. But there is an incredible resilience among the population too. This resilience is what inspired me to intensify our efforts to help Somalia emerge from chaos and danger.

So, for example, my government is supporting training courses to prepare Burundian soldiers for the mission of the African Union in Somalia. And besides working with countries in the region to prevent pirates from operating with impunity, we are promoting more effective use of coastguard capacity and making efforts to prevent an increase in criminal activity on land.

But more international clout is needed, from the European Union to start with. I have been pressing this point strongly. It’s true that we now have an EU Horn of Africa Strategy, and an EU Special Representative for the Horn of Africa. He has just opened an office in Mogadishu, which is good news. This will allow the EU to have a more intensive political dialogue with the Somali authorities and to play a stronger role in international coordination. These are positive steps, but more needs to be done. By integrating better its security, diplomacy and development efforts and focusing genuinely on tackling the underlying causes of instability, the EU will have much more impact in Somalia.

The European Union, in our view, simply has a responsibility to promote Security and Rule of Law. Not only in Somalia, but elsewhere as well. Unfortunately, the EU is punching below its weight. Nonetheless, there is a clear logic to working closely with our EU partners. The balance of world power is shifting; European countries will need to work together to defend themselves against threats and seize new opportunities.

Cooperation within the EU is one thing, ladies and gentlemen, but global issues demand more: a whole new architecture of shared international responsibility. When it comes to today’s most pressing issues, national governments are only one part of the equation. Other players are needed, and these players are increasingly non-state actors, such as non-profits, philanthropists and companies. So we favour cooperation with all players ─ from NGOs to companies and from knowledge institutions to nternational organisations.

And there’s more, ladies and gentlemen. I recently explained that I want to use research expenditure more strategically. In a way that’s less fragmented, more geared to our policy priorities. That’s why I am setting up five knowledge platforms. One for each of our four policy priorities: water, food security, sexual health, and security and the rule of law in fragile states. The fifth will be for innovative, cross-cutting research. These platforms are a good way for scientists, companies, NGOs and policymakers to share knowledge. Or, in other words: to cooperate ─ a subject you will discuss in greater depth this afternoon.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me conclude with this. At a historic meeting in the South Korean city of Busan, donor countries and a group of 19 fragile states identified five important principles. First, increasing the proportion of funds for capacity development that are jointly administered and funded through pooled facilities. Second, substantially reducing the number of programme implementation units per institution. Third, ensuring that external technical assistance programmes report to the relevant national authority. Fourth, working towards an agreement between governments and international partners on codes of conduct for the remuneration of national experts. And finally, facilitating the exchange of South-South and fragile-fragile experiences on transition periods.

As a co-chair, my country played an important role in drafting these principles. And we are determined to put them into practice. For Security and Rule of Law in fragile and conflict states are truly priorities of Dutch development policy. These are not empty words. We are putting our money where our mouth is. We are raising our budget for Security and Rule of Law in fragile and conflict states from 270 million euros in 2012 to more than 400 million euros in 2014. For me, the reason is simple: the people in these countries ─ from Somalia to Yemen, from Burundi to Afghanistan ─ truly deserve our support. And finally, not just that they need it. We, all of us, will live a better life when we enhance peace and stability, here and there.

Thank you.