Since a motion was accepted in 2019, the Dutch minister of Foreign Trade and Development is obliged to update parliament annually on the ministry’s efforts for persons with disabilities. The letter from the minister has been similar in form every year: summing up a long list of examples where persons with disabilities are included or targeted in development projects. Although interesting, this content does not address or answer the intention of such a document, which was to express and discuss how the Netherlands views disability inclusive foreign policy.
In order to encourage the Ministry to dive deeper into this topic, We are Able! and DCDD together wrote a letter in May 2024 to request and suggest a more policy-focused letter.
Unfortunately, this year’s letter again was limited to providing examples of persons reached and supported, without an overarching vision or outlook. With regard to food security, the letter does mention examples where Dutch embassies have provided job opportunities for youth with disabilities, and how they supported farmers with a hearing impairment in agriculture trainings. It furthermore refers to disability inclusion roadmaps of the World Food Programme as a way of strengthening food security of persons with disabilities. In our opinion, however, this update remains superficial.
Moreover, in the supporting note for the letter to parliament, the ministry requests that the series of letters will be discontinued, since gathering the list of examples is a too time consuming activity. As We are Able!, and DCDD, we are disappointed with this course of action, as this would diminish the attention for inclusive development policies.
Our Dutch advocacy team will look for other ways to keep both the ministry and the parliament engaged on the topic of inclusive food security. We are engaging in constructive dialogue with the ministry to see how we can keep this topic on the radar, without putting a heavy burden on their staff.
