Luxembourg's development cooperation - Annual report 2012

In 2012, the 97 NGOs accredited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under the amended law of 6 January 1996 on development cooperation and humanitarian affairs, disbursed 32 536 869 euros for development cooperation activities through the main funding mechanisms:

• Cooperation framework agreements: 19 framework agreements (including three consortia between two NGOs) were co-financed in 2012, for a total of 20 123 479 euros.
• Co-financed development projects: 115 individual projects by 45 NGOs were supported in 2012, for a total of 8 845 146 euros.
• Mandates within the context of bilateral cooperation: 3 568 244 euros.

Additionally, there were those funds that were recorded as official development assistance, including allocations for humanitarian activities (emergency relief, food aid, crisis prevention, reconstruction and rehabilitation), grants for development awareness-raising and education activities, and support in terms of
administrative costs. The total ODA allocated to accredited non-governmental organisations in 2012 was 47 116 638 euros, the equivalent of 15.07 % of Luxembourg’s official development assistance.

Luxembourg’s Development Cooperation places a great importance on civil society organisations as actors in development in their own right. Indeed, it is one of the few countries that relies heavily on civil society organisations to implement development projects and programmes. NGOs represent a complementary vector to bilateral aid, enabling intervention in countries and sectors where the ministry cannot intervene and reaching sections of the population in developing countries that would not otherwise benefit from cooperation.

It is important to emphasise the fact that, despite the difficult economic climate, the funds allocated to civil society organisations in 2012 remained roughly the same as in 2011.

The large number of accredited NGOs, and the substantial percentage of ODA allocated to them, shows the importance that the Luxembourg’s population accords to civil society organisations as a form of expression of international solidarity.

The ministry’s strong commitment to Luxembourg’s NGOs, whether in support of development projects abroad or development education and awareness-raising projects, enabled ODA to be maintained at 1 % of GNI. Indeed NGOs provide the medium through which Luxembourg’s population can actively participate in the implementation of the country’s development cooperation policy.