Dutch aid to education and conflict

This report focuses on developments in Dutch aid to education in conflict affected areas in the last decade, with a focus on the period 2007-2010, when ex-Minister for International Development, Koenders was in office. In this relatively brief time frame, Koenders prioritised development cooperation in ‘fragile states’3 and his policies coincided and aligned themselves with wider international tendencies toward increased attention to conflict affected regions or emergency situations.   We start by outlining the rationale and main policy developments regarding Dutch aid to education in conflict affected situations, emergencies and fragile states. Aid to conflict and education from the government of the Netherlands is characterised by a very diverse system of aid channelled through multilateral, bilateral and non-governmental/private channels. Furthermore, various (development, humanitarian and fragile states departments) departments within (and outside) the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) are involved in providing funding and policy advice in education sectors in conflict affected regions. We then turn to discuss the country or area selection processes, and the various labels and lists that are used to distinguish fragile states or conflict affected regions. The UNICEF Education in Emergencies and Post-Crisis Transition Programme, totalling over 200 million US dollars, has been the largest investment of the Dutch government directed to foster education in emergencies and crisis situations. The paper elaborates on the rationale and the genealogy of the UNICEF programme, as well as some of the initial lessons learnt since its inception. Following on from that we provide an overview of the variety of multilateral, bilateral and non-governmental/private initiatives supported by the Dutch MFA in the case of Afghanistan and Sudan, including both short term and immediate responses, as well as longer term capacity building programmes. Throughout the paper, we draw from evidence of the involvement of the Netherlands in other countries such as Colombia, Pakistan, Haiti and Yemen. The paper concludes with some reflections on Dutch aid to education in conflicts and emergencies, and briefly anticipates possible future directions.