Our Annual Report for 2019 gives a comprehensive overview of our activities, engagements, and initiatives undertaken throughout the year.
In 2019, ACT EU’s policy work underwent two distinct phases: pre- and post-European Parliament elections. Pre-election efforts focused on completing debates and achieving advocacy successes. Post-election, the emphasis shifted to relationship building and reconnecting with EU institutions. The new political landscape prompted the formation of issue-based coalitions and ongoing cross-party negotiations. Internally, we prioritised integration with the global ACT Alliance.
Important milestones included launching a joint report on civic space and sustainable development goals, participation in UNFCCC meetings, advocacy on EU border guards’ mandate, and triggering an investigation into land rights violations in Cambodia. ACT Alliance EU also facilitated exposure to issues in Israel and Palestine, and hosted influential events like the European Development Days. Advocacy efforts influenced legislative language and established a presence in humanitarian discourse. The alignment with ACT Alliance and focus on advocacy promise continued benefits for marginalised communities.
Key achievements
Our Annual Report 2019 highlights achievements in several areas:
Development Policy and Practice
- Advocacy Success in European Parliament: Successfully pushed for the adoption of the European Parliament’s Report on the Neighbourhood, Development, and International Cooperation Instrument, which aligned with the majority of recommendations made by ACT Alliance EU.
- Strengthening Civil Society Participation: Raised awareness about the importance of meaningful civil society participation in the future EU-ACP Partnership. Encouraged greater visibility and participation for local civil society organisations in the partnership agreement.
- Highlighting Civil Society Space: Disseminated the joint ACT Alliance report “Development Needs Civil Society” among key decision-makers. This report emphasised the significance of maintaining a conducive environment for civil society engagement.
Humanitarian Policy and Practice
- Launch of Humanitarian Advocacy Programme: Established a new humanitarian advocacy programme in August 2019, with a dedicated staff member leading the initiative.
- Development of Multi-Year Strategy: Our first humanitarian multi-year strategy focussed on localisation and the role of faith actors in humanitarian aid, addressing often-neglected areas.
- Enhanced Profile through Participation: Increased ACT Alliance EU’s visibility through co-organising and participating in events such as the Grand Bargain conference in Brussels.
Climate Justice
- Increased Engagement: Published a COP25 expectations paper, leading to increased engagement and a nomination to speak at the UNFCCC Climate Action Studio.
- Advocacy Success in European Parliament: Contributed to securing strong language on finance to address loss and damage and human rights in the European Parliament resolution for COP25.
- Participation in UNFCCC Meetings: Nominated to attend the Executive Committee of the UNFCCC Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage meeting. Here we shared our policy recommendations for the EU.
Migration and Displacement
- Advocacy Impact: Improved the migration language of the Neighbourhood, Development, and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) of the future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).
- Positive Changes to Regulation: Effective advocacy work led to improvements around the EBCGA (Frontex) Regulation.
- Building Strong Relationships: Established solid links with key development NGOs and became a leading actor in the EU-ACP migration discussion.
Food Security
- Advocacy Impact in Cambodia: Led to the EU launching a formal investigation into land rights violations and restitution under its trade regime ‘Everything But Arms’ in Cambodia. This is the result of consistently highlighting human and land rights violations in the country, and of building a network of civil society organisations over the previous decade.
- Endorsement of Agroecology: Joint efforts with the global food justice movement resulted in the endorsement of a new work stream on Agroecology by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation. This focused on empowering women farmers and rural communities.
- Positive Reception of Advocacy Article: The article on CAP externalities published in SDG Watch 2019, titled ‘Who is paying the bill?’, received positive feedback in New York and Brussels. This publication highlighted the impact of EU agricultural and trade policies on food security and local markets in developing countries.
Middle East
- Facilitating Policy Dialogue: Increased policymakers’ exposure to the situation on the ground in Israel and Palestine, and established strong relations with the new European Parliament.
- Advocacy Success: Helped revive policy discussions on issues such as the destruction of humanitarian aid in the West Bank and the impact of US policy changes.
- Support for Human Rights Activist: Secured support for Issa Amro, a prominent Palestinian human rights defender, with a letter signed by 30 parliamentarians.
2019 Finances
The 2019 Annual Report gives a summary of our accounts for the year (page 40).
Membership contributions remained the main source of income for ACT Alliance EU. We are grateful to all our members for their generous and sustained financial support.
The 2019 accounts were audited by DGST and partners.