Belgium aims to raise the quality of international institutions

In 2024, Belgium is chairing MOPAN, a network of 22 OECD countries aiming to strengthen the performance of international institutions. This is more and more relevant in times of increasing polarisation and plummeting confidence in the multilateral system.

Belgium is an ardent advocate for 'multilateralism'. In other words, Belgium is convinced that international problems should be solved, insofar as possible, by working together in international organisations. These include the United Nations and international financial institutions such as the World Bank.

This makes it no surprise that Belgium is also a committed member of MOPAN (Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network), a network of 22 countries aiming to ratchet up the performance of multilateral institutions. In 2024, Belgium will be chairing MOPAN.
 

Evaluations and studies

MOPAN was founded in 2002 from a concern about raising the quality of international institutions. The 22 donor countries who are members today together represent, for example, the majority of the multilateral funding for the 'Official Development Aid' (ODA).

Through regular evaluations, MOPAN's contribution aims to ensure that every dollar invested delivers as much of a result as possible. The evaluations are handed over to all the members of the multilateral organisation concerned – not just to the 22 MOPAN members – in order to encourage internal debate on the necessary reforms.

In the meantime, numerous institutions have been evaluated, including the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank. MOPAN also carries out general studies, such as on how the multilateral system is addressing climate disruption.

Belgium has played a particular role (institutional lead) in the recent assessment of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Along with Luxembourg and Canada, Belgium is also taking the lead in the evaluation of the World Health Organization (WHO), which will be presented to the public around April.
 

Increasingly relevant

MOPAN is becoming increasingly relevant. Not only does the world need to deal with an increasing number of conflicts and global problems such as the climate and pandemics, the multilateral institutions are coming under more pressure too. This is due in part to laborious bureaucracy, increasing polarisation and a loss of confidence in their effectiveness.

During its presidency, Belgium aims to resolutely pursue the path of better-performing multilateral institutions. Because only together can we figure out global solutions to global challenges. And make good on the international community's commitments, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the climate agenda.

The secretariat for MOPAN is housed at the Directorate for Development Co-operation of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The Member States include Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the US. New Zealand and Türkiye are participating as observers.