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The creation of a network offering legal assistance to migrants in Latin America, the dismantling of a network trafficking women and migrants in Niger, more than 2,000 trained Turkish judges and public prosecutors... these are just some of FIIAPP’s achievements in 2021.
Before we dive headfirst into 2022, we would like to look back at what 2021 has been like for FIIAPP. We have worked throughout this year to promote sustainable development, improve public systems and strengthen the bonds that exist between societies. As all this may seem a bit abstract, we want to highlight some concrete, tangible achievements that reflect the great daily work undertaken by the public talent in our institutions, mobilised by FIIAPP in more than 120 countries.
Latin America, a priority region
Social cohesion, gender, justice, security… these are just some of the many areas in which we have worked in Latin America this year. We have supported the start-up of a regional network in the region offering legal assistance to migrants. We also promoted the signing of the Lisbon Declaration, which strengthens dialogue and relations between Latin American and European judicial institutions.
In Central America, forensic scientists are now working together online to share knowledge on investigative techniques, while in Peru we have succeeded in implementing a new intelligence system to fight against organised crime. Uruguay, Honduras and El Salvador are developing their own long-term climate strategies. We have also accompanied National Action Strategies for Climate Empowerment in Chile, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Argentina and Panama.
Security and development
At FIIAPP we believe that security and development go hand-in-hand. Stability is an essential requirement for development to take place. We are therefore present in regions like the Sahel, with projects like ECI-Niger. Thanks to this project, it has been possible to dismantle a network trafficking women and migrants in Niger. In Nigeria, we have also created a network of more than fifteen West African countries through the ATIPSOM project in association with over 180 NGOs to strengthen organised civil society that works directly with potential victims of trafficking, both in the prevention of the crime and in obtaining information.
However, you don’t have to go so far to see international cooperation in action. In Turkey, a country neighbouring the European Union, more than 2,000 judges and prosecutors have received intensive training in key issues such as judicial independence, new technologies in the justice sector and the rights of victims. We have also supported Ukraine in its entry into the common EU airspace, helping the country to integrate its aviation security regulations.
These are just a few of this year’s achievements. From each project – and we manage more than 90 – we could highlight an action or result that has improved people’s lives. FIIAPP’s commitment to sustainable development, multilateralism and the #TeamEurope spirit will see us continuing to work to take Spanish and European cooperation further and further. Let’s hope for a 2022 with better public systems for people and the planet.
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We spoke with Pedro Parra from the State Public Employment Service who has participated in FIIAPP cooperation projects in Honduras and Ecuador aimed at improving their employment policies. This is part of FIIAPP’s #PublicTalent programme, which is active in more than 100 countries.
What has been the greatest achievement of your experience as a expert in cooperation projects?
To be able to take part in information, orientation, analysis, job placement and training programmes. These are processes that complement each other, although it is difficult to integrate them within the same administrative body or programme. Having taken part in projects with such positive results, I feel they have been the greatest achievement in my experience of cooperation between administrative bodies.
What are you most proud of?
Having worked to create teams of public employees that remain in place once the action is completed. Creating working groups from different administrative bodies and countries is a satisfying experience, but seeing that these teams and work dynamics have lasted over time is what makes me feel most proud.
How has your assignment helped to improve the lives of people and the planet?
The Ministries of Work and the Public Employment Services are organisations that develop and implement policies that directly affect people’s quality of life and work conditions. The analysis of employment information, territorial diagnoses and support for the creation of decent jobs all contribute to improving these policies as well as to inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
What is the main value of the public sector for you?
The public sector is a collective effort shared by everyone that represents the services and aspirations of the community, as well as meeting people’s needs and guaranteeing fundamental rights. It means common values, equality, non-discrimination and having a meeting place. The public sector means the public services, in which public employees take part, with values of rigour, professionalism, neutrality, transparency and respect for diversity. I believe that the quality of the public sector in a country is related to its level of development.
What have you learned from this experience?
Through my experience of working with the public administration in other countries, I have learned about the importance of exchanging and sharing work approaches and dynamics. Working in the public sphere is something that brings together the different administrations. Nevertheless, at the same time each has different needs and contexts, different routes and different resources and means. Through this experience I have learned that it is important to value both the shared aspects in the public sphere and, also, the diversity and particularities of each space and group.
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We interviewed Laura Diego, an expert on disability from the Ministry of Social Rights and 2030 Agenda who has promoted inclusive social protection disability policies in Cambodia.
What has been the greatest achievement of your experience as an expatriate expert?
Being able to offer more than ten years of national and international experience in public policies directed towards people with disabilities that could be of use to the National Council on Social Protection, the Cambodian institution that sought the support of SOCIEUX.
What are you most proud of?
The General Directorate for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, for which I work, has taken part in a number of international projects, especially in European Neighbourhood Policy countries (Tunisia and Ukraine) and in Latin America. My work on this mission has opened up the chance for other international actors to get to know the work we do in countries where Spain has less presence or fewer historical, social, commercial etc. ties.
How has your assignment helped to improve the lives of people and the planet?
The aim of the mission was to map and assess Cambodia’s existing social protection policies, including those that focus on disability. As a result of this work, my colleague (a Greek expert on disability from the WHO) and I have offered conclusions and recommendations to the Cambodian institution on the way forward for social protection policies aimed at people with disabilities in Cambodia which may improve the living conditions of people with disabilities and their families, and in general, of Cambodian society as a whole.
What is the main value of the public sector for you?
The main value of the public sector is that it means we work for everybody, seeking the general interest of society as a whole, which I believe is very important today in a globalised world in which there are groups with conflicting interests.
What have you learned from this experience?
This experience has made it easier for me to get to know a part of the Cambodian reality, a country whose recent history has been very difficult, in which a large number of international actors operate such as the main United Nations organisations, the World Bank, various cooperation agencies international (Australia, Japan, the US, the EU etc.), NGOs from a number of different places with a wide range characteristics etc. This multiplicity of actors has its pros and cons, although the important thing is that the Cambodian government is committed to improving the living conditions of people with disabilities and their families.
