Aid for People in Need

This Policy Framework intends to outline how the Netherlands is acting upon lessons learned in recent years in order to respond to new developments and challenges.

The Netherlands has the following ambitions:

In the case of humanitarian aid, we must, as far as possible, use local capacity and structures – or ensure that they are trengthened. We must also devote more attention to disaster risk reduction (DRR): preventing disasters, mitigating the impact of disasters, and disaster preparedness.

Emergency appeals must become more uniform, so that they are mutually comparable and better coordinated. At present, each aid organisation operates its own system, which is inefficient. More cooperation in needs assessments will ensure more cohesion, less duplication, and fewer gaps in aid provision.

Aid organisations must have free access to the people affected. The humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence must be upheld. This protects humanitarian aid
from being equated with politics and from the resulting dangers to both victims and aid workers. The Netherlands wants to be an active advocate in this area.

The Netherlands will continue to give attention to accountability for results in humanitarian aid. The Dutch public and disaster victims also need to be informed about aid results.