Broadening Horizons: An Interview with Eveline Herfkens

Herfkens is currently the United Nations Executive Coordinator of the Millennium Development Goals Campaign.  She was appointed to this position by the Secretary-General in 2002 after her political party fell from power in the Netherlands, where she served as the Netherlands Minister for Development Cooperation.  She was also a Member of the World Bank and IMF Development Committee and a co-founder of the Utstein-Group while she held her position in the Netherlands. 

Herfkens has always maintained an active political career. Before beginning her career, she graduated from Leiden University in 1975 where she studied Law and Economics.  In one of her greatest political positions, Herfkens was a Member of Parliament in the Netherlands from 1981 to 1990. Furthermore, she served as Member and Counselor-Treasurer of Parliamentarians for Global Action between 1985 and 1990.

Herfkens was also the co-organizer of the North-South Campaign when she was a Member of the Economic Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. As a Parliamentarian for Global Action, Herfekens participated in a range of action-oriented initiatives that have helped to promote democracy, peace, justice and development throughout the world, this includes speaking at conferences and seminars much like the forum held at La Roche. 

As the keynote speaker at the forum, Herfkens spoke with passion and conviction about her current position.  She thoroughly explained how the rich countries involved in the Millennium Goals need to help undeveloped countries advance, particularly parts of Africa, themselves with aide, but aide that can “back homegrown ideas.”  Essentially, rather then having stipulations on how monetary aide is used, allowing honest political officials back demand driven problems is most beneficial to countries lacking resources for drinking water, medical supplies, education, and a variety of other possible domestic problems. 

At the same time, she also showed a great amount of compassion as she described the child mortality, political corruption, and the lack of resources that many of the underdeveloped countries are suffering from.  Without hesitation, she was able to provide a range of quotable statistics, including the amount of aide provided by the United States in helping undeveloped countries.  Smiling, Herfkens stated, “I can’t campaign in the United States, but I can help to inform people” of the current situation of poverty-stricken countries and the eight Millennium Development Goals, which were approved by the United Nations in 2002. 

Herfkens served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative of the Netherlands at the United Nations and other international organizations from 1996 to 1998. This includes chairing the World Trade Organization Subcommittee on Least-developed Countries which helped prepare her to construct and motivate the participating countries to reach the goals first mentioned at the United Nations conference in 2000 in New York.

The goals are not only achievable, says Herfkens, but many of the 610 countries, including the United States, are surpassing the minimum requirements set by these goals.  Herfkens explained that the goals were only to be minimum guidelines of what hopefully will be accomplished by 2015. One example already surpassing the minimum relates to Goal Two, to “achieve universal primary education.”  Since many countries, particularly South Asia and Latin America, have already gained primary education in their country since 2002 South Asia and Latin American aren’t countries—many countries make up both, they are now trying to provide secondary education to their countrymen.  When asked how the Developmental Goals would be achieved, Herfkens answered, “political will.” To develop this political will, Herfkens spends much of her time traveling around the world and presenting at conferences like the forum held at La Roche College.

Her primary goal in obtaining political support is to mobilize citizens in all of the participating countries.  Herfkens explained, “I’ve been a politician, I know how it works.”  She stressed that “local level actions” by mobilized citizens is what will help make a political difference.  And, furthermore, visibility is the key to getting politicians and other people in the country involved.  According to Herfkens, “[national] polls show that Americans care and want to help [under developed countries], it’s part of the DNA of this country. A foreigner coming and speaking won’t change anything,” Herfkens asserted; “it’s the people that have the ability to change the way the world is and how their taxes are spent.”  After all, she explained as she ended her speech, “we are the first generation that can put an end to poverty.” 

- Nicole Berner


Eveline Herfkens speaking at the forum.
(Photo by Nicole Berner)