Common Effort Community
We are proud to announce our Common Effort Community membership
Since last month we are an official member of the Common Effort Community. The Common Effort Community is a platform for exchange and cooperation between participating organisations to improve stability, safety and security. The members agreed in their Joint Statement to contribute to a safe and secure world in which men and women live with dignity enjoying their universal human rights.
History
In 2010, First (German/Netherlands) Corps (1GNC) initiated an exercise for civil-military cooperation to strengthen stability, safety and security in a comprehensive way. Every year development workers, diplomats, think tank experts and military meet to practice comprehensive cooperation on the basis of an existing country or region facing challenges with stability, safety and security.
In 2015, participants established the Common Effort Community. The participating organisations were coming from the government, civil society, police, military and private sector in Germany and the Netherlands. The founding civil and military organisations and observers of this Community specialize on fragile states and its issues, like Protection of Civilians (PoC), Human Security and Stability, Development, Capacity Building and Humanitarian Aid. To date more than 50 organisations are member of the Common Effort Community.
The objectives of the Community
Build and expand relevant networks to combine and coordinate our efforts, expertise or experience.
Train, learn and share knowledge and experiences to improve our understanding of fragility and conflict, including also local security dynamics and perceptions of civilians in conflict areas, which will also enhance our strategies in the field of Protection of Civilians.
Develop and evaluate our concepts and approaches in form of annual action plans that translate our Joint Statement into concrete joint actions, wherever needed and whenever possible within the capacities and mandates of each and every signatory.
Promote public and political support in Germany, the Netherlands as well as in other countries and with international forums like NATO, EU and the UN to enhance the comprehensive approach.
Next couple of years focus on Sahel region
Recently the agenda is reshaped by introducing a multi-year regional focus in line with the policy priorities on foreign relations, security and development of Germany and the Netherlands. This will unlock the full potential of the Community. Since 2019 Common Effort focusses on the Sahel region, a region that has become a foreign policy, security and development priority for many European countries, including Germany and the Netherlands.
We are proud to join the Common Effort Community and look forward to contribute to the development of this initiative!
