About the AIV

Task

The Advisory Council on International Affairs (AIV) of the Netherlands is an independent body which advises government and parliament on foreign policy, particularly on issues relating to human rights, peace and security, development cooperation and European integration.

The AIV produces advisory reports on its own initiative or at the request of government or parliament. All reports are presented to the relevant members of the government as well as to the House of Representatives and Senate. In most cases, the government members in question are the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Defence and the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation. They are expected to send a government response to parliament within three months. The requests for advice, the reports and the government responses are all made public.

Structure

The AIV is an umbrella organisation comprising four permanent committees: on human rights (CMR), peace and security (CVV), development cooperation (COS) and European integration (CEI).

The Council’s reports contribute to the political and public debate on foreign policy. Discussion is furthermore encouraged by round table meetings, press releases and interviews, along with the publication of articles or opiniated editorials in newspapers or journals.

The AIV brings together the expertise of members of the various permanent committees, linking the fields of human rights, peace and security, development cooperation and European integration and responding to major international trends with implications for the Netherlands.

Methods

The advisory reports are prepared by one of the permanent committees or by an ad hoc working group consisting of experts from the various committees. Every report is approved by the AIV before it is presented to government and parliament, and ultimately published (in Dutch and in English translation). Depending on the topic, the reports are occasionally translated into other languages. All reports are available free of charge.

10 Years of history

The AIV started (in preliminary form) on 1 January 1997 and obtained a legal basis by act of parliament as of 1 January 1998 (on 18 March 1998).    AIV ACT(2).pdf

This Act is based on the 1996 Advisory Bodies Framework Act.  Advisory Bodies Framework Act(1).pdf

The AIV is the result of a merger of three earlier advisory councils, the oldest of which was the National Advisory Council for Development Cooperation (NAR), founded in 1964. Its first chair was Nobel prize winner Jan Tinbergen. The AIV’s other two predecessors were the Advisory Committee on Human Rights and Foreign Policy (ACM), dating from 1983, and the Advisory Council on Peace and Security (AVV), dating from 1985. 

On the formation of the AIV, the European Integration Committee was added as an acknowledgment of the major influence of European cooperation on Dutch foreign policy.