(JNi.media) Addressing the Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy Committees of the Danish Parliament in Copenhagen, which include representatives of three major Danish parties, NGO Monitor’s Shaun Sacks this week explained how Danish taxpayers’ money aimed at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is being transferred through third parties to projects contradicting the very objectives of the Danish government.
Over the years, according to NGO Monitor, Denmark’s Parliament has passed motions calling for a negotiated solution based on the pre-1967 lines, the normalization of ties between Israeli and Arab countries, and an acceptance of Israel’s right to peace and security. However, Sacks told the MPs, Danish funds have sponsored organizations acting against normalization and supporting a one-Arab-state framework.
Sacks shared examples of “problem organizations” such as Badil, a group promoting “a de-Zionized Palestine of a single state” and supporting BDS against Israel—both directly contradicting Danish policy—which are directly funded by Denmark. Badil has also published antisemitic cartoons on its website, awarding monetary prizes—supposedly paid for with Danish kroner—to the cartoonists.
Sacks presented the MPs with research showing Badil receives core budget funding of $260,000 from the Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Secretariat, one of Denmark’s key channels for transferring development aid to NGOs.
Sacks referred to a recent official report evaluating Danish engagement in the region. Most of this activity is conducted through local NGOs, he explained. The report concluded there was “no evidence of overall progress towards improved accountability [or] transparency” and “no progress towards the two-state solution.” Denmark’s intentions are obviously good, Sacks told the Committee, but if it wanted to see a positive outcome it must demand the NGOs it supports act according to its official policies.
Denmark spends 0.85 percent of its Gross National Income, worth $2.9 billion, on foreign aid. There are only three countries in the world that spend a higher percentage of their income on foreign aid.