The Netherlands’ 2018 Policy “Investing in Global Prospects” is guided by the Sustainable Development Goals and the pledge to leave no one behind. The policy identifies four closely connected objectives: 1) preventing conflict and instability; 2) reducing poverty and social inequality; 3) promoting sustainable and inclusive growth and climate action worldwide; and 4) enhancing the Netherlands’ international earning capacity. Dutch trade policy addresses leaving no one behind with its focus on a living wage, the poorest groups and women.
For the Netherlands, it is in everyone’s interest to tackle the root causes of extreme poverty, which is increasingly concentrated in fragile regions and the closely intertwined nature of global problems such as poverty, conflict, terrorism, climate change, population growth and irregular migration.
The Netherlands’ approach to leaving no one behind focuses on fragile situations and states with high levels of extreme poverty; the empowerment of women and girls; and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. It also aims to improve the protection and prospects of refugees and displaced persons and will actively target young people – a rapidly growing share of the population. Data gaps, especially disaggregated data and political and cultural barriers to including minority groups, are key challenges to its leaving no one behind approach.
