Minister of International Development Anne Kristin Sydnes

Statement to the Storting on Development Cooperation Policy

Stortinget, 9 May 2000 at 10.00

(As delivered in the Storting)

Mr. President,

Development cooperation policy is an integral part of foreign policy and international efforts to promote peace and security. The news we see every day makes this abundantly clear. Zimbabwe is undergoing a deep political, economic and social crisis while at the same time maintaining its controversial and costly military involvement in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Over the last few days, the unrest in Zimbabwe has almost been overshadowed in the media by the unrest and violence in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone is one of many tragic examples of how conflict impedes development. The conflict also demonstrates the importance of development cooperation in preventing past conflicts from being re-ignited. Prevention and resolution of war and violent conflict is essential if poverty is to be effectively combated. The human suffering in Ethiopia and Eritrea in all its brutality illustrates how conflict impedes development and how it is the weakest who suffer most.

Norway is active in a number of processes for the prevention and resolution of conflicts, for example in the Middle East, Columbia, Sri Lanka and Sudan. At the same time, the Government is involved in establishing mechanisms for better interaction between humanitarian relief and long-term assistance, for example in the context of the UN.

Mr. President,

Poverty is not an abstract notion, it has a face and a voice. Poverty is when parents cannot give their children food, clothes or clean water, when people in rural communities do not have access to land, when people do not have jobs or money. Poverty is sickness, poverty is lack of education. Poverty is the violation of basic human rights. Being poor is being in other people’s power, having few or no prospects of building a better future for yourself or your family.

The problem of poverty is the greatest challenge of our era. One quarter of the earth’s population still have to live on less than a dollar a day. It is still the case that the people of sub-Saharan Africa have a life span that is 25 years shorter than ours. Infant mortality is still 15 times higher than in the industrial countries.

Every country must pursue a national policy that allows people to feel secure and enables them to overcome poverty. Development cooperation means solidarity and partnership with poor countries that have set themselves these goals.

Development cooperation is about giving the forces for change in a society a chance, creating choices – giving people the means to choose not to be poor. Choice is greatest in countries with democratic governments. Supporting democracy and combating poverty are therefore two sides of the same coin.

Norway has endorsed the UN and OECD target for poverty reduction: to reduce by half the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by the year 2015. The target is an ambitious one, and will make heavy demands on all of us. The primary responsibility for reaching this target lies with the developing countries themselves. The role of development cooperation policy is to support the developing countries’ own efforts.

Norway is known as a frontline nation in the fight against poverty. We will keep up this commitment. And we must keep our sights set on our goal. We must ensure that we always employ the instruments that yield the best results. If new approaches work better than old ones, they are the ones we must choose. If alliances with other actors make the going easier, there is no reason to go it alone. It is the results that count.

Poverty reduction must be on the agenda when decisions are being made on the options open to the developing countries. It is both in our interests and in those of the developing countries to ensure that the major actors are bound as far as possible by the same rules. Only the largest and strongest countries can afford to have weak international institutions. Our involvement in the UN and the World Trade Organization is part of our effort to promote a fairer and better organized world. This also applies to our cooperation with the EU. The Government wants to be involved in deciding the agenda in these important fora – and to make it an agenda that will promote development.

Mr. President,

A child born in Zambia or Zimbabwe today has a greater risk of dying of AIDS than of not dying of AIDS. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is one of the greatest single obstacles to development. AIDS is now the major cause of death in Africa, and in some countries life expectancy has fallen by close to 20 years. AIDS strikes young people, often those who are well educated, and now women and girls in particular are falling victim to the disease. Schools are losing their teachers. Health personnel are overworked and are themselves contracting the disease.

AIDS undermines progress, reverses economic and social development, and causes poverty to become more firmly entrenched. The fight against HIV/AIDS will therefore be one of our highest priorities in the time to come.

Access to basic social services is essential for economic and social development. Norway has played a catalytic role in connection with the so-called 20/20 initiative, under which rich and poor countries are encouraged to set aside enough funds to ensure basic education and health services for all. The Government will continue these efforts both through its development assistance and internationally, making use of new measures that coordinate and target resources.

In our part of the world, we take it for granted that our children are vaccinated. But for millions of children born every year vaccination is not available. Many die of diseases like polio, diphtheria, tetanus and measles. These diseases are preventable. Routine vaccination only costs NOK 160 per child. Vaccination is a cost-effective means of combating poverty.

The Government’s support for the new global vaccination initiative, GAVI, involves a pro-active approach and strategic contributions within the framework of a global partnership, where multilateral, bilateral and private actors work together. The next board meeting of GAVI is being held in Oslo on 13 June at the invitation of the Norwegian Government.

GAVI works on three fronts. First, it helps countries secure an efficient infrastructure and maintain a high level of vaccination coverage. Second, it offers countries economic assistance so that they can use effective existing vaccines. And third, it helps develop new vaccines for some of the diseases that take most lives, but for which there is currently no cure. This applies not least to AIDS and malaria. We want to establish close cooperation with Norwegian experts, research institutions and the business sector so that we can play an active role in international efforts in this field.

Mr. President,

Some of the most demanding tasks we face have to do with debt, trade and investment. Many developing countries are still weighed down by old debts, almost 20 years after the term debt crisis was coined. For many of the poorest developing countries the debt servicing burden is so great that it undermines any real opportunity for development.

The Norwegian debt relief strategy allows us to forgive 100 per cent of the debts of the poorest and most indebted countries. Tanzania was the first country to benefit from this strategy, and others will follow. We will continue to seek to improve international debt schemes, for example by establishing a separate negotiating arrangement for fully financing the so-called HIPC scheme so that it can be implemented.

Norway will continue its active efforts to ensure that the debt relief granted by the multilateral banks is not given at the expense of their other assistance to poor countries.

The poorest countries account for only 0.5 per cent of world trade. Low domestic capacity and, not least, protectionism on the part of the industrial countries are major obstacles for the developing countries. According to the 2000 UNDP report on poverty, the cost of protecting the agricultural sector in industrial countries was about USD 350 billion in 1998. This is about seven times the total annual amount of aid given by these countries. We must not allow ourselves to become complacent about this.

The developing countries will only benefit from the opportunities presented by globalization if there is a strong, open, rule-based trade system. The Government will continue to work for a new, comprehensive negotiating round in the WTO that takes account of the special needs and interests of the poorest developing countries. These countries must be given a real opportunity to take an active part in the negotiations and thus be involved in the further development of the trade rules. Better market access for products from the poorest developing countries, preferential treatment and more trade-related technical assistance, especially for the least developed countries, are important elements in our WTO strategy. In its review of future general tariff reductions in the WTO, the Government will take into account exports that are of special interest to the developing countries.

Towards the end of the 1990s sub-Saharan Africa received only 2.5 per cent of all private capital transfers to developing countries. In other words, this form of assistance has made an extremely modest contribution to Africa’s economic growth and thus to poverty eradication. This trend must be reversed. The Government will do what it can to improve conditions for private Norwegian investment in Africa.

At the same time, we must be aware that African countries will continue to be heavily dependent on official development assistance. I can therefore confirm that Africa will continue to be given priority in Norwegian development cooperation.

Poverty is a reflection of weak economic development and ineffective mechanisms of distribution. Economic growth creates jobs and income. The basis for increased tax revenues, public contributions to health and education, more equitable distribution and a safety net is primarily created by the private sector. However, growth does not automatically benefit the poor. An equitable distribution policy is something the governments we cooperate with must choose.

The Government places great emphasis on the efforts to increase employment and promote acceptable labour standards. This has to do both with the rights of individuals and with the contribution they make to development. The ILO plays a key role here, and the Government will support the organization’s strategic goals for the promotion of basic workers’ rights and employment-promotion measures.

There must be a broader emphasis in Norwegian development assistance on a coherent effort to promote growth through private sector development. Later in my statement I will outline the main elements of the Government’s policy in this area.

Mr. President,

The challenges posed by environmental degradation, resource depletion and climate change are all part of the poverty problem. Resource depletion and environmental degradation result in poverty – while poverty often exacerbates environmental degradation. When climate change brings drought and flooding, the poorest are the hardest hit. As members of the consumer societies of the industrialized world, we bear the greatest responsibility for climate problems, but we are now witnessing a steep rise in emissions from the major developing countries. Today China is the second largest source of anthropogenic greenhouse gases after the USA. In India greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 60 per cent over the last 10 years. The developing countries are precisely where the increase in emissions is expected to be steep.

Consequently, the developing countries have a central role in the efforts to deal with the global environmental challenges. We want to use our development assistance to enable developing countries to negotiate and follow up international environmental conventions. Environmental management in the developing countries must be strengthened. To this end the Government will encourage long-term institutional cooperation in public administration and continue its cooperation with Norwegian centres of expertise and the Norwegian private sector.

The Government would like to see new momentum in international cooperation on environment and development. In this respect, the work being done by the UN Commission on Sustainable Development and the preparations for the ten-year review in 2002 of the World Conference on Environment and Development in Rio will be an important process.

Mr. President,

Poor governance is one of the main reasons why poverty persists. Peace, a democracy that works and respect for human rights are central to any country’s development. The main responsibility lies with the developing countries themselves. If development assistance is to be more than acute emergency relief, we must be able to rely on social structures that allow for participation and equitable distribution. Efforts to promote democracy and good governance must therefore permeate every aspect of our development cooperation policy.

Good governance means respect for human rights. Respect for human rights is fundamental to any development process. This is not a matter of exporting values, but of helping to strengthen the ability of our partner countries to fulfil their national and international commitments.

In developing countries persons with disabilities are often among the poorest. Efforts to improve their situation are an important part of the poverty orientation of our development assistance. The Government will therefore follow up the Plan for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Development Cooperation.

The Government will give high priority to combating corruption. Corruption takes many different forms, but it is found in all countries. Corruption undermines confidence, democracy and human rights. Corruption promotes crime and impedes private sector development and economic stability. Again, it is the poor who are hardest hit.

Many of the developing countries have launched their own initiatives to combat corruption. There is also a growing focus on corruption in the international dialogue on development issues. An effective public sector, active media and informed actors in civil society are essential to acquire knowledge of corruption and to control it. The Government will therefore support efforts to build institutional capacity and will promote the interplay between the various actors as part of our overall development policy.

One of the main goals of our development cooperation is to strengthen the developing countries’ ability to further develop a democratic society. The Government will give more emphasis to support for democracy, both in its bilateral efforts and in its cooperation with NGOs and international organizations.

In areas where Norway has relevant expertise, the Government feels it is important to make use of it. I intend to increase support to independent media, for instance by providing funding for training journalists. I also want us to play a part in strengthening political structures in our partner countries. This is an area where Norwegian political parties could participate. We could also contribute to democracy-building through the involvement of the Norwegian private sector. These forms of support will be discussed in the guidelines for support for democracy, which are currently being revised.

Mr. President,

Zimbabwe is undergoing a deep political, economic and social crisis while at the same time maintaining its controversial and costly military involvement in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The crisis has been further aggravated as a result of growing political violence and unrest in connection with the upcoming elections and the occupation of large white-owned farms. There is reason to fear that the violence and unrest will prevent free and fair elections. Norway has for a long time been viewing the developments in Zimbabwe with growing concern and has protested strongly at the way the authorities have dealt with the situation. We have also made it clear to the Zimbabwean authorities that the situation is causing us to review our development cooperation with Zimbabwe. As part of this review the Government has just sent a Norwegian delegation to Zimbabwe to assess the situation. The delegation returned this weekend and its report is now available.

In the main the delegation’s report confirms our impression of the situation. The Government has therefore decided to implement the following measures:

• Until further notice we will freeze parts of our government-to-government development assistance to Zimbabwe. However, in order to protect the poorest segments of the population we will as far as possible refrain from reducing the poverty-oriented assistance in the social sector. The freeze will in practice comprise about NOK 20 million of the remaining NOK 35 million in this year’s country programme. No further agreements at government level will be concluded.

• We will at the same time increase our assistance in the human rights and democracy sectors through NGOs, church networks and trade unions.

• We are cooperating with other countries with a view to sending Norwegian observers to Zimbabwe to monitor the preparations and holding of the elections. We attach great importance to the fact that representatives of both the opposition and civil society in Zimbabwe want us to send observers.

• We intend to cooperate with the SADC and the countries in the region to try to reduce the intensity of the conflict. A political and economic breakdown could have serious consequences for the whole of southern Africa.

• The implementation of land reform is essential if some of the more fundamental political and economic problems in Zimbabwe are to be solved. The Government has therefore taken the initiative through the UN/UNDP to try to bring the reform process back onto a track the international donor community will be able to support after the elections.

These measures are broadly the same as the recommendations of the delegation that has just returned from Zimbabwe, although we have gone somewhat further than the delegation in connection with freezing government-to-government assistance. We have been compelled to take this step because of the gravity of the situation and the need to send a clear signal to the authorities in Zimbabwe.

At the same time we feel it is important to support the active elements of civil society that exist in the country and that are essential for further long-term democratic development. We are also giving weight to the fact that the representatives of civil society and the opposition who the delegation met during their visit were strongly in favour of Norway maintaining its development assistance involvement.

We will continue to follow developments in Zimbabwe closely, and the Government will, in connection with the government budget for 2001, assess whether Zimbabwe should continue to have the status of priority country for Norwegian government-to-government development assistance.

Mr. President,

Conflict impedes development. It is absolutely necessary to prevent and combat war and violent conflict if the battle against poverty is to be fought effectively. Many of today’s conflicts show that war can become a way of life in which society is brutalized and where many people can see no future after the end of the war.Norway has played an active role in conflict prevention and resolution. And we will continue to do so.

Emergency relief and humanitarian assistance are by definition short-term measures. But when emergency relief is due to be stopped, we often see the huge gap between the resources provided to alleviate the needs of the population in the short term and the means required to meet the needs of the population in the longer term. Norway is working to improve interaction and coordination between emergency relief and long-term assistance, for example in the context of the UN.

Mr. President,

The poorest developing countries are those that are most in need of assistance. These are also the countries where the density of donors and projects is greatest. The coordination of international development cooperation is not good enough today. The Government will therefore build alliances with other donors in order to simplify procedures, improve selectivity, and encourage more frequent co-financing and more systematic utilization of each other’s reports.

Debt relief and development cooperation in general must be based on the partner countries’ own strategies for poverty reduction.

It is a matter of creating a common platform for development, built on broad consultation between government, parliament, the private sector and civil society. Getting this to work in practice is still a sizeable challenge.

In the so-called Utstein cooperation between the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and Norway, which my predecessor successfully helped to establish, we have selected the health sector in Tanzania as a model for a recipient-led and coordinated approach. Part of the challenge from now on will be to develop working methods that enable us to pool capacity and expertise and to use it more effectively. Here, the close cooperation we have with the other Nordic countries will of course be important.

The NGOs have been playing an important role in Norwegian development assistance for a long time. And they will continue to do so. In the future, we will have to require that these organizations, too, coordinate their efforts in accordance with national development plans. The guidelines for providing support via NGOs are currently being revised. The Government will revert to this matter in the government budget proposal for 2001.

Norway will emphasize the importance of closer interaction between the bilateral and multilateral channels through which we provide support. We fully endorse the World Bank’s initiatives for the coordination of development cooperation at sector and country level. Coordination is also central to the work of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC), which is currently drawing up poverty reduction guidelines for its member countries.

Mr. President,

It is clearly in Norway’s interests to have a common international framework. Norway gives high priority to the multilateral system as a channel for Norwegian development assistance. Multilateralism must be strengthened.

One of the main issues will be how the UN system, established during a period of internationalism, can now adapt to globalization. Today the contrast between the under-financed UN system and the enormous wealth that is to be found in what we can call the global private sector is striking. The UN system will have to seek alliances with new actors on the global scene, with the private sector and states. These creative coalitions – these new partnerships – hold great promise. The UN Millennium Summit, which will continue as the autumn session of the General Assembly, will be discussing the UN’s role and challenges in the 21 ^st> century – and the need to enter into new partnerships. These are also issues which will have to be put on the agenda for next year’s major conference Financing for Development.

Globalization requires all national and international policies to be seen as a whole in a new way. The conference and the preparations leading up to it provide a genuine opportunity to address in a holistic manner important systemic issues, the transfer of public and private resources and the requirement for the developing countries to mobilize resources themselves. The conference will thus be an important building block in the development of what is now generally termed a new development architecture. The challenge will be to fill this somewhat diffuse term with practical, effective development policy.

Mr. President,

It is easy to be overwhelmed by all the sorrow, distress and powerlessness you see and encounter. There is an intolerable amount of human degradation and suffering. Nonetheless, I choose to approach our tasks with optimism.

We have largely reached consensus on the complex causes of poverty. There is also international agreement that a concerted effort is called for to reduce poverty. There is even broad consensus on what must be done, though not necessarily on how much and when.

New technology creates new possibilities. The dramatic developments in Internet and computer technology provide us with new weapons for combating poverty. A major computer company recently installed a large screen and computer equipment in the slums of Bombay in India. The children of the city, who could neither read nor write, threw themselves over this new toy. In the course of a few hours they had logged themselves onto the computer and found their way to Disney.com on the Internet. An example of children’s intense need to explore and lack of fear of the unknown, but also an illustration of how new technology could be used for learning and development. We will continue to investigate how we can make better use of these resources in our own development cooperation policy.

We have already seen examples of countries and people who have escaped poverty by focusing systematically on the new knowledge-based industries. Today, Western countries recruit highly-qualified manpower from countries we previously defined as developing countries. Our task must be to encourage the development and exchange of knowledge across national borders, without draining the developing countries of their expertise.

Poverty takes children out of school and puts them to work. Illiteracy and ignorance impede the development of democracy and keep poor people in poverty. Education – at all levels – is therefore a priority area in the Government’s development cooperation policy. I am particularly concerned about girls’ right to education and the potential for social development this represents. Our objective to increase educational assistance to 15 per cent of our total development cooperation budget stands firm.

Poverty affects women in particular. Women are often portrayed as a weak group. This is the wrong approach. The entry of women into working life and community life has contributed substantially to making Norway the prosperous, modern country it is today. In the same way, women are an invaluable and under-utilized resource in the development and modernization efforts in the developing countries. The Government will therefore intensify its efforts to integrate women’s and gender equality perspectives into development cooperation.

Culture, sport and social commitment are not to be viewed as luxuries in development cooperation policy. On the contrary. It is important to create a climate conducive to happiness and self-expression, not least where poverty is most severe. This helps to create faith, hope and commitment. Giving priority to culture is also an excellent example of cooperation on an equal footing and exchange that enriches both sides. When children from Tanzania and Tynset meet on the football field during Norway Cup, or when folk musicians from Guatemala meet Norwegian colleagues, they do so on a basis of equality and reciprocity which is easily forgotten in traditional development cooperation.

Mr. President,

Poverty eradication must be reflected in every aspect of development policy. Globalization not only requires an integrated South policy; it also requires the broad support of the Norwegian public and that we make the South perspective clearly visible in all policy areas. We will strengthen Norwegian development assistance by actively engaging in a partnership between government, non-governmental organizations and the private sector.

In private sector development in the South in particular, there is potential for greater interaction between government, unions and the private sector. We must take advantage of the fact that the private sector in Norway is conscious of its social responsibility. The Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry has drawn up check-lists on human rights issues for companies operating abroad. They are in the process of doing the same as regards corruption. This is something our partner countries view very favourably. The cooperation with the pilot countries is opening up new opportunities for cooperation. Both the Norwegian Federation of Trade Unions and the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry are already involved in strengthening the social partners in countries such as Uganda and Mozambique. We want to go on with this work.

In the view of the Government, it is important to give priority to the task of creating conditions enabling the Norwegian private sector to compete for development projects on equal terms in the global market. In this connection, the international efforts to untie aid will be very important. At the same time, I would stress that the untying of Norwegian schemes must be done in step with developments in other countries.

In order to convince the Norwegian private sector that investing in developing countries also makes good business sense, it is important to have optimal policy instruments to facilitate the establishment of Norwegian companies in these countries. The present Norwegian set of instruments and measures is often regarded as complicated, unsystematic and ineffective. The Government will therefore call for a dialogue on simpler and more effective arrangements for the private sector. We are now looking at specific ways of simplifying and strengthening our arrangements and are considering, for example, establishing an untied loan scheme –similar to the schemes used in our neighbouring countries.

One alternative would be for a new scheme of this kind to incorporate the current mixed credits and parallel financing arrangements, giving us a single scheme consisting of both tied and untied funds. This would equip us with an effective and flexible financing scheme which would be very useful to the Norwegian private sector, but which would also require companies to demonstrate competitive strength in an international context. A single credit scheme of this kind would give us valuable flexibility.

I also call on Norwegian educational institutions and research communities to join in a more active partnership in development policy based on the developing countries’ own needs and wishes.

Mr. President,

The goal of our development cooperation policy remains the same. At the same time, we must be open to the idea that some of yesterday’s instruments may not necessarily be ideal today. Our choice of instrument must be determined by the results that can be achieved. With this as our starting point, this government will proceed on the basis of the following main elements:

1. We wish to intensify our efforts. I can confirm that it is the aim of the Government to increase Norwegian development assistance to 1 per cent of gross national income, as and when the funds can be used in an effective way.
   
2. Support for basic social services will continue to be the building blocks of Norwegian development cooperation. Special priority will be given to support to health and education, as one of the most important contributions to poverty eradication.
   
3. Development assistance is politics. Promotion of good governance, democracy and respect for human rights will be given high priority, as an important part of the fight to reduce poverty.
   
4. We are open to adjustments. The question of which countries are to benefit from development assistance and to what extent will be critically assessed on a regular basis. We will also assess the degree to which regional cooperation can contribute to more effective development assistance.
   
5. We are interested in forming partnerships. We want the private sector, unions, research communities and other actors in civil society to join us as partners in the fight against poverty.
   
6. We will give priority to investment. I will take steps to facilitate increased investment to promote private sector development in the South and strengthen NORFUND’s capital base.
   
7. We want more debate and a stronger and broader base for our development policy. I will call for a dialogue on Norwegian development assistance, including the role of NGOs in a holistic development policy. I will seek to establish better contact with various actors in Norwegian society.
   
8. We want to strengthen coordination. The Government will play its part in improving the coordination of international development cooperation, preferably led by the recipient countries themselves.
   
9. We must ensure the quality of what we do. Evaluation work will therefore be given high priority and we intend to make development cooperation administration even more effective.
   
10. And finally, we must be better at providing information. In order to justify our use of resources, we must become even better at reaching the general public, particularly young people.

Mr. President,

Development cooperation requires commitment, active efforts and the participation of new partners. We need inspiration and ideas from all sectors of society. I would like to see even more young people join in the debate about poverty eradication and development.

If we are to succeed in holding – and perhaps increasing – the interest of young people, the Internet is clearly the information channel of the future. It is important that development cooperation information on the net is also directed at young people, so that they will stop and take interest, rather than surfing by. Development cooperation must be made relevant, interesting and exciting. We must make sure that people know about the contributions we make and the results we achieve.

This is the only way to give substance to our invitation to new groups and new generations to join us in our efforts.

The future of these efforts will be dependent on the commitment of the younger generation, on their drive and their ideas.