The strength of lobbying and advocacy Ten recommendations from the field

Transcription

1 The strength of lobbying and advocacy Ten recommendations from the field Fair, Green & Global alliance: Both ENDS, ActionAid, the Clean Clothes Campaign, Friends of the Earth Netherlands, SOMO and the Transnational Institte

2 2 colophon The strength of lobbying and advocacy Fair, Green & Global alliance, April 2014 c/o Both ENDS (coordinator) Niewe Keizersgracht VC Amsterdam Nederland Telephone Website Text and editing Barbara van Male Translation Mark Speer Design Margo Vlamings

3 Contents 3 1. introdction Knowing when to shift Why civil society organisations need a toolbox of interventions Complementary assets Varios organisations with different roles complement each other to inflence policy Same goal, different path The processes in the world of trade and development are highly complex. Civil society organisations need to skilflly adapt to circmstances. Nothing abot s, withot s Becase policy, prodction and trade have a global impact, cooperation between northern and sothern civil society organisations is a logical corse of action. Better, more accrate nderstanding Policy is not a qestion of instinct, it is based on knowledge. Effective policy inflencing reqires in-depth research and knowledge development Slow cooking Yo need endrance to bring abot change in a policy area: moving others to become aware of a particlar problem, develop a vision and a soltion all takes time. Knowledge and strength on both sides Northern and sothern partners contribte eqally and learn from each other. Mtal capacity development is crcial in policy inflencing. Enabling environment Inflencing policy can only scceed if yor conterpart acknowledges yor legitimacy. It reqires an enabling environment. Serving as a global model Policy in trade and development benefits from alternative methods. The strength of alternatives is that all stakeholders win. Keeping policymakers on their toes Lobbying and advocacy is not a flash in the pan it needs perseverance and vigilance, so that bsinesses and government agencies actally pt their promises into practice In closing 15

4 4 Introdction In her 9 October 2013 letter Cooperation with civil society in a new context, Lilianne Plomen, Dtch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, clearly expresses her idea of the role civil society shold play. Indeed, she aims to strengthen its lobbying and advocacy capacity: Relatively speaking, the role of lobbying and advocacy receives less spport internationally, and yet international spport is crcial for inclsive and sstainable growth. Hman rights, trade, poverty, climate change, secrity, food prices, land grabbing, environmental polltion, mining, biofels, water, prodction chains these are all isses that knowledgeable civil society organisations are working on in alliances with sothern partners. The participation of civil society organisations in local, national and international policy processes is essential to ensre that policy becomes inclsive and effective. [ ] Civil society organisations have the ability to pt isses of general pblic interest on the agendas of government agencies and market players, at the local, national and international levels. Minister Lilianne Plomen in her letter to Parliament. Lobbying and advocacy, or policy inflencing, is a powerfl tool civil society organisations wold agree with this statement. Becase this tool is sed to address systems, rather than symptoms. Advocating for better policies generates positive change for disadvantaged people, grops and contries. Its reach is vast, and its approach tackles the systematic cases of problems, ths empowering local voices and promoting the sstainable development of sothern contries. Policy inflencing means working with sothern partners to inflence Dtch, Eropean, international and local policy in government agencies, other NGOs and in the bsiness sector. Lobbying and advocacy means acting as a watchdog, and mch more than that. It concerns cooperating, establishing networks and partnerships, complementing each other s work, condcting in-depth, long-term research, responding flexibly to new knowledge and opinions, developing alternatives and persistently prsing policy reform. The Fair, Green & Global alliance presents clear insights into the many shapes and forms of policy inflencing according to ten factors that lead to sccess, inclding recommendations for policy spport measres. The Fair, Green & Global alliance consists of Both ENDS, ActionAid, the Clean Clothes Campaign, Miliedefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands), SOMO and the Transnational Institte.

5 5 1. Knowing when to shift A wide range of interventions Lobbying policymakers directly, pblic campaigns, in-depth research, policy analyses, conferences and seminars, mlti-stakeholder dialoges, good media relations, networking and capacity bilding in partner organisations lobbying and advocacy is not one size fits all. Knowing when to shift between a range of activities in a variety of areas, often with different partner organisations, is the most effective way of inflencing policy from pblic pressre and one-on-one talks with decision makers, to analyses and the right intervention at the right time. The fight against food price speclation shows that civil society organisations need to have a wide range of strategies at their disposal. Instittional investors, sch as banks, hedge fnds and pension fnds (inclding Dtch ones) are speclating on food prices on ftres markets. As a reslt, the ftres markets are not fnctioning as they shold anymore, and prices no longer reflect actal food prodction. More importantly, speclative trading is a significant and particlarly mrky factor behind rising or strongly flctating food prices. It creates a dilemma for farmers who need to sow and want to know how mch they can earn. And it is a hge problem for the world s poorest people, who spend at least 80% of their income on food. The Food and Agricltre Organization of the United Nations considers food price speclation to be one of the cases of hnger that is afflicting one billion people in the world. Civil society organisations opted for a series of interventions to get measres on the agendas of all parties in the political, pblic and financial sectors that wold tackle this problem. These measres inclded technical analyses and reports abot legislation and visible protests in Brssels; investigations into the involvement of major Dtch banks and pension fnds, and media attention; lobbying dring consltations with legislators and Toolbox ptting pressre on financial instittions. Civil society organisations Policymaking reqires spport: from citizens, also focsed a great deal of attention on Eropean and national policymakers, politicians, the media, civil politicians and policymakers with their analyses and information society organisations and private parties. and by lobbying for stricter reglation. This attention was important One grop needs information and knowledge, becase food price speclation by Eropean players reqires a while another needs to be pt nder Eropean approach and measres were needed to protect pblic pressre, and yet another grop needs interest from the powerfl financial sector lobby. As a reslt of these to serve as opinion shaper. To effectively interventions, several Eropean banks ceased activities related inflence policy, civil society organisations to food price speclation. Moreover, PGGM, APG and Rabobank need to have a toolbox at their disposal that decided to reassess their policies. And new Eropean legislation was they can se to pick clever, strategic and introdced that pt tighter restrictions on food price speclation well-timed interventions. than previosly proposed by the Commission. The strength of a mltifaceted approach is that it ncovers the mltiple layers, perspectives and mechanisms who are we dealing with and where? behind problems. This contribtes to effective legislation and helps to get it the spport it needs. In addition, NGOs can combine and share knowledge acqired from mltiple fields of work with each other, ths improving their ability to switch flexibly between interventions to achieve better reslts. The recommendation is that civil society organisations shold maintain and se a toolbox of interventions. These organisations or networks of organisations need sfficient leeway to bild expertise in different dossiers sing a range of strategies in order to be able to seize opportnities at the right time. The FGG alliance in collaboration with several other organisations for each activity

6 6 2. Complementary assets Complementarity Civil society organisations differ in the way they work and in their expertise: while one may excel in research or in its legal and procedral approach, another may be more activist oriented and know how to mobilise pblic pressre. Effectively exerting inflence on policy often reqires action to be taken on several fronts and civil society organisations can benefit tremendosly from dividing their tasks and roles and complementing each other s work. The inside otside strategy, which was sed to stop POSCO, a Korean steel company, from land grabbing and violating hman rights, is a vivid example of complementary working styles. POSCO has had its eyes on a major steel factory in the Indian state of Odisha, with mines and a private harbor. The investment wold have gone hand in hand with land grabbing, loss of livelihood and hge damage to the natral environment and the living environment of the local poplation all of which are violations of the OECD gidelines for mltinational enterprises. The inside strategy was to get a dialoge started. To that end, civil society organisations lodged complaints with the National Contact Points of Soth Korea, Norway and the Netherlands. In Soth Korea, the complaint was mainly aimed at POSCO, while in Norway and the Netherlands, it targeted pension fnds for their role as instittional investors in POSCO. Informal talks with investors were also part of this strategy. Local, Indian and some Dtch civil society organisations handled the otside strategy. Their tactics were to psh for divestment throgh pblic pressre and non-violent protest. Some local NGOs even deliberately refrained from participating in the complaint procedre in order to maintain their freedom to take action. This strategy confirmed Individal strengths that investors with a minority interest have to be aware of the Different resorces, different players OECD gidelines as well, and more importantly, that they have to and different roles: complementarity is a comply with them. sefl mechanism to establish dialoge or encorage policy reform. Becase not every The strength of a complementary approach is that northern civil society organisation has an entire array and sothern NGOs divide tasks and therefore have a larger of tools at its disposal to effectively inflence variety of interventions at their disposal to inflence policy. policy, and each one has its own individal Besides complementarity amongst civil society organisations, strengths and skills. Spplementing an they can also complement other actors, sch as corporations. Civil otside strategy for example, mobilising society demands for hman rights protection can, for example, pblic pressre with an inside strategy lead to more goodwill, better reptations and more sstainable for example, lodging a formal complaint is entreprenership. an example of a proven complementary method. The factors for sccess inclde The recommendation is to spport those civil society close coordination for the division of tasks, organisations both northern and sothern that have a the ability to operate in networks and the proven track record of joining forces and complementing one willingness to let others take credit. another to achieve the same goal. NGOs operating in the sphere of international cooperation are good at virtally organising and effective at working together in networks. This reqires acknowledging the vale of different forms of cooperation in platforms, alliances and networks, for example. In choosing its partners, the Dtch Ministry of Foreign Affairs can ensre the presence of complementary capacities. The FGG alliance in collaboration with Lok Shakti Abhiyan (India), Korean TNC Watch (Soth Korea), the Form for Environment and Development (Norway) and the Mining Zone Peoples Solidarity Grop (USA)

7 7 3. Same goal, different path Flexible, agile and skilfl Neither politics nor the political context can be planned five years in advance. Pblic opinion is not cast in stone. Social circmstances change. As a reslt, NGOs need to develop strong and sensitive antennae, remain alert and adaptable so they can respond to nfolding events, and se their toolboxes of interventions, which often means deploying different strategies, players and roles. In other words, a civil society organisation needs to be flexible, agile and skilfl to inflence policy effectively. Civil society organisations can actally se one problem to demonstrate or inflence another problem. Trade and investment are a good example. Investment treaties almost invariably contain an investment protection clase that gives mltinationals the opportnity to lodge million-dollar claims for loss of profits de to changing government policies. Civil society organisations, for example, have skilflly sed to their advantage the debate on fracking, a controversial method of extracting shale gas. Fracking is a clear and topical case for revealing that this kind of investment protection is at odds with sstainable economic and energy policies. It is a clear case that illstrates the need for alternative investment treaties. And it is also a clear case that has enabled NGOs to adeptly adjst their tactics and strategies by Skilflly adapt to circmstances forging new alliances, for example: environmental protection is The processes in the world of trade enjoying more spport among critics of investment treaties, and and development are highly complex, conversely, environmental activists are more aware of the harmfl particlarly when it concerns the balance scope of investment protection. Or by shifting from lobbying to between pblic and private interests. These mobilising pblic pressre: when directly lobbying civil servants processes are not easy to predict, bt fails to persade them to take action, then it is more effective civil society organisations are expected to strategically to inflence pblic opinion. And that, in trn, pts skilflly adapt to circmstances. For these pressre on policymakers and civil servants to engage in dialoge. organisations to have maximm impact, they As a reslt, the investment treaties (which people were initially need to seize opportnities, switch between completely naware of) and their detrimental effect on pblic plans, programmes and capacities, and interests now have a prominent place on the Eropean agenda. strategies and partners. In short, civil society These treaties are part of a political and growing social debate. organisations have to be prepared for the Moreover, criticism from the north and soth abot the one-sided nexpected. So they shold have long-term character of investor state dispte settlement mechanisms, which objectives, bt not ones that are rigidly and may cost governments dearly, is now being heard. breacratically planned. The strength of flexibility is cstomisation. The right pressre at the right time, the right intervention by the right party: civil society organisations take advantage of the changing political context and social dynamics. This enables them to capitalise on nexpected opportnities, and effectively and creatively inflence policy. The recommendation is that civil society organisations always keeping in mind agreements abot objectives and reslts, of corse shold be able to change their path, in terms of both content and organisation. This allows them to navigate the complexity of their work and garantees maximm impact. Planning, monitoring and evalation systems have to focs on organisational learning and strategy development, instead of being saddled with massive administrative brdens. The FGG alliance in collaboration with, among others, La Via Campesina, the Food First International Action Network, Pblic Services International, the Social Movement Alliance for an Alternative Asia, EU ASEAN FTA Campaign, Focs on the Global Soth (Asia), FTA Watch (Asia), Monitoring Sstainability of Globalisation (Malaysia), Pang K (Brma), the Alternative Information and Development Centre (Soth Africa), the Economic Jstice Network (Sothern and Eastern Africa), REDES/Friends of the Earth (Urgay), Eqit (Brazil) and the Democracy Centre (Bolivia)

8 8 4. Nothing abot s, withot s Global cooperation Why shold we pay more for food, jst becase yor need for energy is growing and yo want to battle the accompanying environmental problems? These words, spoken by a Tanzanian colleage, illstrate the harmfl conseqences of Dtch and Eropean policy for the average inhabitant of his contry. Since Erope and the Netherlands have made it obligatory for petrol to be mixed with biofels, clever prodcers and investors have started to view the fertile land in developing contries as an attractive investment. Food crops there are making way for crops that yield biofels for or energy needs. As a reslt, local farmers are losing their land, food prices are increasing, and environmental problems sch as deforestations and water scarcity are on the rise. A clear illstration of the imbalance in global relations and of the sometimes detrimental global conseqences of Eropean and Dtch policy. In this case, strong global cooperation in civil society confirmed the need for policy reform in the north. The colleages from Kenyan and Tanzanian NGOs who identified this problem have joined forces to condct research, spport affected commnities and tell their side of the Nothing abot s, withot s story with northern partners. For example, they met with Dtch Becase jst abot every process policy, parliamentarians, civil servants, ministers and jornalists, to prodction, trade has a global impact, share their experiences and expertise abot the impact of biofel global cooperation between northern and policy here on life there. Testimonies like these and firsthand information encorage policy reform. The debate in the logical corse of action. Sothern partners sothern civil society organisations is a Netherlands and its position on blending fels is more critical than inflence their own governments and share previosly as a reslt, and members of Parliament that are working their experiences and knowledge in the north. on this isse still refer to these visits. So this was the first crcial Conversely, northern partners give sothern step towards policy reform, to crb biofels from food crops and partners the opportnity to join international invest in real alternatives. Moreover, the Dtch government has platforms that are normally difficlt to restricted the blending of food crops and is providing spport to a access. Investigating problems, opening p similar proposal by the Eropean Commission. a discssion and inflencing policy is more effective when done by sch global networks. The strength of global cooperation is that sothern partners By condcting research and reporting on are involved in policymaking, policy reform and policy evalation. it locally and internationally, sch networks Their northern partners facilitate access to platforms where can clarify problems, conseqences and they can work together to reform harmfl policies in the north. approaches. Northern partners, in trn, receive an accrate and clear pictre of the conseqences in the soth. Networks of NGOs like these can work together qickly at a global level, condct joint research and establish feedback mechanisms. As a reslt, spport for policy inflencing and the chances of it scceeding increase exponentially. The recommendation is to shift the emphasis, in this globalised world, from the difference between northern and sothern organisations to organisations and networks that nderstand the dynamics behind globalisation and play a mediating role. It is only throgh an approach that takes the entire chain into consideration that all voices of change can be heard. Involving civil society organisations from the north and the soth in the development and evalation of policy increases effectiveness and policy coherence. The FGG alliance in collaboration with ActionAid Kenya, ActionAid Tanzania and ActionAid International

9 9 5. Better, more accrate nderstanding Knowledge bilding Mltinationals want to pay the least amont of taxes as possible, and they devise sophisticated techniqes to accomplish that goal. Differences between national tax regimes are what make tax evasion possible: the Netherlands, for example, is poplar with mailbox companies, and many African contries offer companies tax exemptions; both in an attempt to attract bsiness. The flipside is capital flight from the soth and governments that have less money for edcation, health care, infrastrctre and other pblic services as a reslt of lost income. This loss is estimated to be US$400 billion worldwide and every year 28 developing contries miss ot on 554 million de to tax evasion. A nmber of civil society organisations are committed to achieving tax jstice, or fair tax payments, becase it is an essential part of corporate social responsibility. Also, companies themselves make se of the pblic services that are sffering from lost income as a reslt of tax evasion. Achieving tax jstice, and ths researching tax evasion, reveals the need for in-depth knowledge bilding. Knowledge bilding that can take years: it is a complex area fll of entangled interests and relationships, international and bilateral agreements, and technical details. Data and information come from varios sorces, or are extremely difficlt to attain. The effects of agreements and treaties need to be explained, as do the interests of nations Fragmented and entangled and the natre of their relations. All this knowledge is crcial to Policy is not a qestion of instinct, it is based nderstand nderlying cases and strctres. In this case, indepth research reslted in reports abot Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, on knowledge. If civil society organisations want to nderstand the forces behind Rwanda and Brndi, for example, which was offered to decision decision making and inflence policy makers, fellow NGOs and the media. Sothern partners also have effectively, then they will have to condct indepth research in the policy area becase bild capacity. In the Netherlands, NGOs have sed their expertise a Tax Jstice Toolkit at their disposal now, which they can se to the material is often complex, the nderlying and facts to help bring sbstantial media attention to tax-evading power relations nclear and the interests mailbox companies. Moreover, the Dtch government has offered entangled, and the sorces and data are to incorporate anti-abse provisions in the tax treaties with 23 fragmented. This is work that reqires developing contries. time and capacity, as if yo are starting yor research from scratch each time. The The strength of bilding knowledge is that it exposes expertise that civil society organisations have strctres and cases which enables s to develop a better, more accmlated makes them legitimate partners accrate nderstanding of where change is needed. Knowledge also for decision makers and policymakers. acts as a bridge between academics, technical experts, activists, Moreover, they can translate complex policymakers and policy inflencers. Moreover, knowledgeintensive civil society organisations are a reliable sorce for the information for the general pblic so they can nderstand the isses and form their own media: by pblishing and bilding p knowledge for years, they are opinions. always ready when news breaks. The recommendation is to take into accont whether civil society organisations have a proven track record in specific policy areas when it comes to fnding. The organisation shold possess technical and legal knowledge of the isse, nderstand how policy works in practice, and have an international network and a solid force-field analysis. In addition, knowledge development mst be an element of the partnership between northern and sothern partners. The FGG alliance in collaboration with Tax Jstice Netherlands, among others

10 10 6. Slow cooking Lengthy processes Bangladesh, 24 April 2013: more than 1,100 employees, mostly women, die when Rana Plaza, a factory that prodces clothing for major western brands, collapses. Massive media attention forces the realisation on governments, bsinesses, shareholders and an international adience that action needs to be taken. This accelerates the Accord on Fire and Bilding Safety in Bangladesh an accord that was actally already waiting to be ratified. This legally binding agreement between international clothing enterprises, trade nions and civil society organisations makes provisions for independent safety inspections. It also obliges signatories to be transparent abot the spply chain and labor conditions and provide a safe work environment. Tragic events sch as this can be prevented by better policies. Bt achieving this takes endrance. To begin with, it takes a long time for messages in this case, safe work environments in low-wage contries to get across to involved parties and the pblic at large. It then takes a long time to get these parties on the same wavelength. And finally, it takes a long time to get all parties to develop and implement sefl Bringing abot change agreements in this case, a binding accord and eqally binding Develop a network and long-lasting agreements. relationships with stakeholders. Provide all parties, governments and others involved with International and Bengali trade nions were already searching for accrate information. Exercise and maintain the minimm reqirement of for signatories in 2010 in order to pressre. Coordinate with the varios parties. get the accord ratified. The basic otlines were already in place in In short, bringing abot change in a policy response to factory fires and collapsing bildings in Bangladesh area reqires lengthy, knowledge-intensive, and inadeqate volntary efforts on the part of international often behind-the-scenes invisible preparation brands and retailers to prevent frther disasters from taking place. and sstained commitment. This is especially Many years of preparation and lengthy partnerships between tre when private parties are involved that bsinesses, trade nions and civil society organisations reslted need to be persaded to protect people s in sond agreements that flly represented the point of view of safety, hman rights or the environment. employees. Within a month after Rana, there were 31 signatories, Moreover, policy processes are erratic and in 2014 this increased to 151, as a reslt of which 1,700 and last a long time. And even if sstained Bengali factories (more than half!) are covered by the accord. commitment does not lead to immediate policy reform, it often at least prevents even The strength of endrance is that all parties develop a growing more harmfl policy. awareness of a given problem. Together they develop a vision and if possible a soltion. This increases the spport for policy reform. Moreover, policy and indstry are globalised, which reqires time-intensive knowledge and research, as well as developing an nderstanding of the cases and context of the problems. The recommendation is a lengthy commitment with civil society organisations that work on inflencing policy - with concrete programmes that invest in civil society networks, so that they can bild pblic pressre and forge agreements. Sstained involvement, good monitoring and edcational systems, and training and spport for vlnerable grops or victims are rgently needed after the media hype has sbsided. The FGG alliance in collaboration with NGWF (the National Garment Workers Federation), BCWS (the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity), BGWIF (the Bangladesh Garment Workers International Federation) and AMRF (the Asia Movement for Resorces and Freedom)

11 11 7. Knowledge and strength on both sides Mtal capacity development What do a melting glacier in Per and a drying river in Ghana have in common? The Green Climate Fnd. An extensive United Nations fnd that aims, among other things, to combat the effects of climate change in sothern contries. The qestion occpying the Fnd s board and NGOs is: what is the best way to spend the money? This From north to soth and vice versa is a qestion that clearly shows the need for northern and Whether it concerns poverty, health, dry rivers sothern civil society organisations to join forces to effectively or sstainable energy, local commnities inflence policy. The glacier and the river reqire tailor-made know what the most practical and sstainable interventions, sitable to the specific or local climate problem. A answers are to their problems. Mtal Pervian farmer will often know exactly what can be improved, capacity bilding from the soth to the and that will differ strongly from what is needed in Ghana. north and vice versa has made both sides Indeed, the Green Climate Fnd cannot be effective withot stronger. Northern organisations learn to sothern expertise: local knowledge has to be conveyed to adapt their way of working based on local decision makers, and decision makers have to ensre that money knowledge and experience transmitted earmarked for climate change interventions finds its way to local by sothern organisations. Sothern grops. This reqires the express participation of sothern NGOs. organisations can bild on northern experiences in inflencing policy, which Unlike the boards at the World Bank or the International gives them a stronger voice, internationally Monetary Fnd, for example, the board of the Green Climate and in their own contries. Often, local Fnd is eqally represented by members from the soth and the organisations in particlar still have too little north. This still revoltionary development within international knowledge of national and international organisations now needs to be replicated in the work of civil political processes and insfficient financial society organisations. Two-way interaction is crcial in policy resorces to effectively exert inflence. In inflencing: northern and sothern partners contribte eqally, short, the mtal sharing of knowledge is learn from each other and make each other stronger. Indeed, important so that the entire network, from the active observers from civil society at board meetings of the north to soth, has access to policymakers Climate Fnd literally represent two voices: a Malaysian and an and information at different levels. American, both of whom contribte eqally. They receive inpts from more than 30 civil society organisations, local networks and grassroots organisations. As a reslt, all participants in the negotiations, from the north and the soth, have established relationships with their national policymakers, who play a crcial role in the implementation of the Fnd. Moreover, sothern civil society is actively participating in talks related to the Climate Fnd as a reslt of this strong cooperation. The strength of two-way interaction is that it prodces tailor-made soltions that are sed in the places where they are needed. This approach ensres that those involved feel responsible for their decisions. And that makes policy more sccessfl and sstainable after all, yo are more committed when yo have conceived and implemented something yorself. The recommendation is to create more leeway for local knowledge in decision making, both nationally and internationally. There are two ways of achieving this in partnerships. One: the Netherlands often has a voice in international policymaking involving sothern contries, and can lobby to get this leeway. Two: Dtch spport to sothern partners is crcial so they can inflence policy at this level and at their own national level. The FGG alliance in collaboration with, among others, AKSI! (Indonesia), the Development Institte (Ghana), M biga (Argentina) and Keystone (India)

12 12 8. Enabling environment A recognised partner The Indonesian island Bangka is increasingly looking like a moon landscape. Tin is being mined on the island on a large, indstrial scale. The tin is sed in almost every smartphone, tablet and laptop, as well as other electronic prodcts. Farmers bsinesses are disappearing, fishermen are disappearing, incomes are disappearing, becase once mined, the land becomes completely nsitable for farming. The felling of Indonesian tropical rainforest for major palm oil plantations raw material for biofels is another example with a similar impact: a lack of agricltral land, food scarcity and the violation of indigenos people s rights. Sch problems only change when each link in the chain is pt nder pressre: investors, byers, and those who by from byers, local governments that permit this to happen, and consmers who by the prodct. Civil society organisations need to exercise this pressre in consltation with sothern partners. Campaigns, media attention, raising awareness among bsinesses and consmers abot their choices and power all this attention pts sothern partners in the limelight so that they are taken seriosly. One of the most important achievements in this case is that Miliedefensie, WALHI and other local organisations, and the international mbrella organisation for electronics enterprises, have started working on a system to make tin extraction in Indonesia more sstainable. Being acknowledged as a legitimate conterpart internationally, nationally and locally is what enables civil society organisations to do their work. After all, they provide information, condct the research, campaign to involve bsinesses in the dialoge, and are right at the centre of the problem and the soltion. This recognition also provides the government with legitimacy that enables it to make demands in terms of a sstainable spply chain, for example. Enabling environment Recognising the people yo deal with is the key to inflencing policy. In order to give civil society organisations, and their partners in the soth, sfficient leeway to be effectively inflential, yo mst legitimise them as partners. This reqires an enabling environment. The attention of governments from other contries, global NGOs and the international press increases the prestige and inflence of local organisations in their own contries. After all, it is difficlt for these NGOs to achieve anything when they are obstrcted, vilified, otlawed, persected or ignored. The Dtch government can engage in diplomacy by conslting local and Dtch NGOs. Not only wold this give civil society organisations, here and there, access to the process of policy inflencing, it wold also serve as a good example and send local governments a signal that the problem is being taken seriosly. The strength of having a recognised partner is that it gives governments leverage vis-à-vis bsinesses. For example, becase consltations with NGOs generate information and insight into the damage cased by mining or deforestation. Conseqently this allows government to make clear demands to bsinesses to make their spply chain more sstainable. And as a reslt, bsinesses become a serios partner as well. After all, they are increasingly wary of developing a reptation of being a pollter. The recommendation is that the Dtch government shold make an effort to legitimise civil society organisations worldwide as partners in policymaking. In addition, it shold promote democratic principles sch as participation and transparency in the EU and in its diplomatic relations. And as an accompanying policy, it shold reinforce civil society s legal stats in contries with repressive regimes so that they can inflence policy processes as well. The FGG alliance in collaboration with WALHI (Friends of the Earth Indonesia)

13 13 9. Serving as a global model Identify, develop and promote alternatives There is more to lobbying and advocacy than critically monitoring existing policy. It also entails developing and implementing realistic alternatives. Policy inflencing is strengthened by demonstrating the effectiveness of innovative practices and of alternative approaches to policymaking: designing more bottom-p, participatory processes. These alternatives can then serve as models to other civil society organisations, and national and local governments becase there is no point in reinventing the wheel. The global negotiation model of the Freedom of Association Protocol Indonesia is an example of an effective alternative. It was conceived dring the Play Fair campaign at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, and established in Jne 2011 as an agreement between the Indonesian textile, clothing and footwear nions, the major sppliers, and Adidas, Nike and Pma. This historical agreement states that all of these parties have the right to organise themselves in Indonesian factories: employees can join a trade nion, and salespeople can enter the workplace to talk and negotiate with management. This indstry employs 700,000 people. In many contries, trade nion Alternatives that work rights a hman right are still badly reglated. Even if labor Policy in trade and development stands to law is at a reasonable level, and the right to join a nion respected, benefit from alternative methods precisely many companies still actively prse anti-nion policies or forbid becase soltions for hman rights isses employees to join. Employees that do join often face demotions, and development cooperation reqire intimidation or dismissal. different processes, different agreements or grond rles, or becase new insights The alternative approach in this process is evident at have emerged. It is essential to have a mltistakeholder environment and to ensre that trade nions and local grops. This is different from the top-down several levels. To begin with, there is the leading role of the those concerned are no longer objects bt process often sed by companies sch as Nike, Nokia and Apple sbjects. Civil society organisations can to respond to poor working conditions in sothern prodction come p with these alternatives and stdy, contries when all kinds of experts appear with their checklists evalate, adapt and docment them. And in the workplace. The new approach assigns that role to trade once they are deemed effective, they can nions: they can monitor the sitation on a daily basis and respond serve as a model for soltions elsewhere in qickly. Second, this alternative approach is the reslt of global the world similar to a sewing pattern that negotiations, in which employers, manfactrers and sports brands is constantly applied to a different fabric and directly participated. This led to concrete, measrable action and tailor-made. agreements at a national level, developed by NGOs, civil society organisations, local governments and international companies. The strength of alternatives is that all stakeholders win. Following the global negotiation alternative enabled international enterprises to take their social responsibility: they had a weapon at their disposal to force sppliers to respect hman rights. And factory workers are no longer objects bt are able to engage with decision makers on their own accont. Moreover, local grops with little inflence can become more powerfl and negotiate with direct and indirect employers. The recommendation is to fnd civil society organisations that develop alternatives based on principles of participation and eqity. They need leeway to test, promote and scale p methods themselves. The FGG alliance in collaboration with Garteks-Serikat Brh Sejahtera Indonesia (GARTEKS-SBSI, the Federation of Garment, Crafting, Textile, Leather and Shoes), Serikat Pekerja Nasional (SPN, the National Labor Union), Kongres Aliansi Serikat Brh Indonesia (KASBI, the Indonesian Workers Alliance Congress) and Gabngan Serikat Brh Indonesia (GSBI, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions)

14 Keeping policymakers on their toes Vigilance A bank that changes its investment policy after a wake-p call; a government that makes its procrement policy more sstainable after a great deal of lobbying: these examples of policy reform inspire hope. They are also a reason for civil society organisations to keep monitoring whether this policy becomes practice, and whether this practice is here to stay. In short, perseverance is highly valed in the world of lobbying and advocacy. Take the Dtch government s procrement policy, for example. Its array of constrction projects make the government a major consmer of wood and partly in response to campaigns ndertaken by civil society organisations, the government decided in 2010 to only by sstainable wood. That means wood that will not harm the environment or violate hman rights; wood that has not been illegally harvested; and wood that has FSC or similar certification. This commitment meant that the state assmed immediate responsibility for the oversight of 100% sstainable wood; mnicipalities, provinces and the district water boards will comply by One year after Ptting ideas into practice the fact, Miliedefensie checked to see whether things were going A commitment or policy reform is an initial according to plan, and how sstainable certification was being achievement for the work of civil society verified. This investigation was a considerable task, and it revealed organisations. Bt effective lobbying and that agencies at all levels were rnning behind the policy targets and advocacy reqires going frther than that a great deal of illegal wood was still in circlation. Concrete a hit-and-rn campaign here is the recommendations regarding monitoring procrement and for evidence, do something abot it. It means the constrction help bring the sstainable goals closer. consistently keeping the bsiness sector and governments on their toes to ensre In a second example, banks and pension fnds received a wakep call abot the harmfl effects of their investment policies. promises: are they ptting their ideas into that they are really working to flfil their Civil society organisations presented evidence of the impact practice? Are they implementing their new of palm oil plantations in Uganda and Liberia, and mining in policy, and will it last? This perseverance is Indonesia: illegal logging, land grabbing, the violation of hman necessary to bring s closer to or goals, rights, environmental damage and nsafe working conditions. sch as the sstainable extraction of raw One immediate reslt was that a nmber of financial instittions materials, fair incomes, trade nion rights, jointly pt pressre on the largest trader of palm oil. Policy was safety, health, hman rights, and so on. tightened or rewritten as a conseqence an example being the Eqator Principles, a set of social and environmental standards for evalating projects, drafted by the banking sector and signed by more than 60 banks. Waking people p is one thing, bt civil society organisations do not want policy reform to remain a paper tiger. And that reqires them to be persistent and vigilant: is the sitation in mines improving? Have banks stopped investing in harmfl projects? Will policy become a deep-rooted reality? The strength of vigilance is that civil society organisations do not treat lobbying and advocacy like a flash in the pan, bt give it the time and attention it needs. And felled by knowledge and insight from sothern partners, they steer it in the right direction so that banks, bsinesses and governments that change their policies stay on the right path. This approach has worked in the Netherlands and in the soth. The recommendation is to ensre that civil society follows p on isses after policies have changed on paper. After all, if policy inflencing is to have a long-term impact, then civil society organisations have to free p time to investigate the implementation of the policy in the field and keep banks, bsinesses and governments on their toes with their findings and recommendations. The FGG alliance in collaboration with Friends of the Earth International, Friends of the Earth Erope, NAPE (Friends of the Earth Uganda), SDI (Friends of the Earth Liberia), WALHI (Friends of the Earth Indonesia), Greenpeace, WNF, NCIV, ICCO, CED (Friends of the Earth Cameroon) and local chapters of Miliedefensie

15 15 In closing Civil society organisations are indispensable in the world of development and trade. Their role as inflencers of local, national and international policy processes is essential for sstainable, effective and inclsive development, and for the lives of disadvantaged citizens, workers and farmers. The Fair, Green & Global alliance has shown ten examples of how lobbying and advocacy can be effective and sccessfl. THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN BRIEF A wide range of interventions Civil society organisations shold bild expertise in different dossiers and on a range of strategies. Programmes and planning need to be well balanced so they can seize opportnities at the right time. Complementarity Northern and sothern civil society organisations benefit when they complement each other with their expertise and arsenal of tools, and work effectively together. This reqires acknowledging the vale of different forms of cooperation in platforms, alliances and networks. Flexibility For these organisations to have maximm impact, they need to seize opportnities, switch between plans, programmes and capacities, and strategies and partners. So they shold be able to change their path, withot planning too rigidly. Global cooperation It is not the difference between northern and sothern organisations that matters bt what connects them. Collaboration between global actors with different perspectives allows all voices of change to be heard. Knowledge bilding Becase effective policy inflencing is impossible withot in-depth research and knowledge bilding, civil society organisations need financial and hman resorces to invest in this. Lengthy processes Bringing abot change reqires lengthy, often behind-the-scenes preparation. This reqires long-term commitment with civil society and concrete programmes that invest in civil society networks. Mtal capacity bilding The mtal sharing of knowledge from soth to north and vice versa makes both sides stronger. Local, sothern knowledge mst be given a place in decision making, at the national and international levels. A recognised partner The Dtch government can make an effort to legitimise civil society organisations worldwide as partners in policymaking. In addition, it shold promote democratic principles sch as participation and transparency in the EU and in its diplomatic relations. Develop and promote alternatives Civil society organisations are necessary becase they conceive, stdy, evalate and scale p alternative methods. Sometimes this reqires investing in processes, the otcome of which is not always clear in advance. Vigilance If policy inflencing is to have a long-term impact, then civil society organisations have to invest in monitoring the implementation of the policy in the long term.

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