The Council of Ministers, at the proposal of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, has approved the Master Plan for Spanish Cooperation for 2024-2027, which contains the objectives and priorities that will guide actions for international cooperation for sustainable development in the coming years. The Council has also approved the Royal Decree on the Statute for Cooperating Persons, which redefines the labour and social framework for this group, guaranteeing a decent professional career and protecting their working conditions. These are the first milestones in the implementation of the new Law on Cooperation approved in 2023.
According to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, “the Master Plan lays the foundations for tackling today's major global challenges such as peacebuilding, hunger, inequalities and the climate crisis, and will strengthen Spanish Cooperation, allowing it to continue to operate effectively where most needed.”
West Africa and the Sahel, a priority region
The new plan includes West Africa and the Sahel as a priority region. Countries of origin of the migratory flows require enhanced cooperation to address the root causes of migration. Therefore, the minister recently travelled to Cabo Verde, Gambia and Senegal, countries of origin of irregular migration, to strengthen political dialogue and cooperation. This is evidenced with the recent funding of €180 million to promote youth employment in Senegal over the next four years.
Spanish Cooperation will also prioritise work with partner countries in North Africa, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as with Latin American and Caribbean countries, all areas which Spain shares strong ties and challenges with. Further work will be carried out on an ad hoc basis in other countries to promote global public goods or to respond to emerging crises, with a particular focus on emergencies and emerging humanitarian appeals, such as in Ukraine.
The new plan focuses its vision on the role of international cooperation to achieve a threefold just transition (social, ecological and economic) and to meet the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals. It also commits to a series of principles that encompass all Spanish Development Cooperation actions: peacebuilding, the fight against poverty and inequalities, human rights, a feminist approach and gender equality, environmental sustainability, climate justice and cultural diversity.
New Statute for Cooperating Persons
Today, the Council of Ministers, at the proposal of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, has also approved the Royal Decree of the Statute for Cooperating Persons, replacing the 2006 Statute, which at the time represented a turning point in the protection of the rights of cooperating persons by addressing crucial aspects such as social and labour security. This regulatory framework is now being strengthened in response to today's needs.
The new statute incorporates several new features, such as extending the implementing framework, improving the rights of development workers and their families, and strengthening the duties of both development workers and promoting entities. Measures have also been established to promote the training and professional development of aid workers, as well as to facilitate their reincorporation when their international mission is over.
Law on Cooperation
The Master Plan and the Statute for Cooperating Persons represent two of the first milestones in the implementation of the new Law on Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Global Solidarity, approved with broad social and political consensus in February 2023.
The new law makes Spanish Development Cooperation more robust and gives legal status to Spain's commitment to allocate 0.7% of Gross National Income to Official Development Assistance by 2030. It also strengthens governance of the Spanish Cooperation system with new instruments for coordination and collaboration between actors. In particular, it is committed to strengthening the role of decentralised cooperation, a hallmark and strength of Spanish Cooperation.
2024 sees the implementation of the new Cooperation Law, which provides for, in addition to what has been approved today, the drafting of five other royal decrees implementing its content: reform of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID); reform of financial cooperation, with the creation of the new Spanish Fund for Sustainable Development (FEDES); reform of subsidy regulations; strengthening of coordination mechanisms within the government and with decentralised cooperation (autonomous communities and local authorities); and creation of the High Council for Cooperation for Sustainable Development, an advisory body and cornerstone for the cooperation system.
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