The Development Policy Committee (DPC) is an advisory body with parliamentary and societal representation on development policy issues. Its purpose is to strengthen the effectiveness of development policy and to promote discourse on development policy. Development policy is an indivisible aspect of Finland’s human rights-oriented and value-based foreign and security policy and
economic foreign relations, endeavouring to strengthen security and well-being through international cooperation. The internationally agreed goal of development cooperation is to eliminate poverty
and reduce inequality.
Development policy refers to coherent activity in all areas of international cooperation and national policy that affect the position of developing countries. Finland is committed to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda, both domestically and through international cooperation. Finland’s development cooperation supports this commitment. Development policy is based on human rights. Impartial and equitable humanitarian aid is an independent part of it. Development policy aims to achieve broader societal impacts that support the realisation of the SDGs in developing countries while reducing the political and economic dependence of developing countries on foreign powers. The starting point of Finland’s development policy is to strengthen the capacity, responsibility and readiness of developing countries to take care of their own well-being and security.
The progress and results of Finland’s development policy goals are systematically measured, monitored, and analysed. Results data is collected from all different forms of cooperation. Effectiveness and efficiency require long-term commitment and coherence, the ability to respond to changes in development policy, and the concentration of resources behind the most important goals. The ability to respond quickly and effectively to potential malpractice is also important.
Our activities are based on Government Decree, which constitutes the basis of our strategy. The decree provides the DPC a more stable and independent position, ensuring its continuity. The
Committee also serves as an international model for open and inclusive development policy. The purpose of our common strategy is to serve the implementation of these tasks and the manageability of activities in a rapidly changing environment. Sustainable development is being promoted and development policy is and will be conducted in a more geopolitically tense and unstable environment. It is defined by mounting security threats, heightened geopolitical competition and confrontation, problems affecting the whole of humanity such as climate change and depleted biodiversity, and technological
development. In addition, the international context is characterised by challenges to democracy, human rights and the rule of law, as well as increasing contestation of the international rules-based system. It is therefore increasingly important to look to the future and be able to anticipate changes in development policy and sustainable development internationally and nationally. This also affects the roles of development policy and the DPC.