External Evaluation of the Policy Coherence Unit of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Summary
This document presents an English summary of the main findings, conclusions and recommendations of the second external evaluation of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Policy Coherence Unit (PCU). This unit was established in 2002, following a letter to the Dutch Parliament by the then Minister for Development Cooperation Eveline Herfkens. In the letter, the minister confirms the Dutch government’s awareness that the main goal of its development cooperation policy – sustainable poverty reduction – is not just a mission for the Minister for Development Cooperation and not just a matter of providing development assistance. The minister subsequently states that moving towards a coherent policy for poverty reduction requires careful examination of the development dimension of all relevant policy areas, and that the interests of low income countries must be explicitly taken into account.