Human Rights and Norwegian Aid to the Palestinian Areas - A Self-Monitoring Exercise

Abstract

This paper is an exercise in self-monitoring in the context of Norwegian aid to the emergent Palestinian authority in 1996. Both the size of Norway's financial contribution (more than 150 million US dollars between 1993 and 1997) and the country's diplomatic involvement in the establishment of the Palestinian authority suggested the value of a closer look at Norwegian principles of donor aid in general and aid to the Palestinian areas in particular. Self-monitoring here refers to an analysis of the consequences of Norway's aid polices vis-a-vis the Palestinian areas. The purpose of the exercise is to examine qualitatively whether Norway's stated human rights policies are followed up in a principled way. To make this assessment, the authors conducted in depth analyses of 28 Norwegian-funded projects in the Palestinian territories. The analysis included review of project descriptions prepared by Norwegian donor organizations and interviews with project implementers in Palestinian nongovernmental organizations. The paper assesses the human rights consequences for the Palestinian population of these policies and Norway's aid projects. On the basis of the research the paper presents a series of recommendations.