• NGO says overseas aid alleviates root causes of refugees, economic migration
• Fight against poverty, inequality at home should be government’s top priority
Intermón Oxfam, the Spanish office of global development NGO Oxfam, has followed up Spain’s Dec. 20th general election with a call on whichever party that manages forms Spain’s next government to launch a roadmap to meet sustainable development goals, enabling Spain to work to reduce poverty and inequality both within the country and abroad.
Intermón Oxfam director general José María Vera told journalists that the Spanish government needs to lay out a specific and “an immediate commitment to protect and care for the thousands of victims of conflicts that are being forced to leave their homes.”
Viera said Spain’s foreign policy in the areas of overseas development aid and protection of civilians in conflict zones have been lagging, with the exception of some minimal commitments to refugee protection in concert with other European nations.
He said to get at the root causes of migration stemming from both armed conflicts and economic deprivation, Spain’s next government should strive to meet an overseas development assistance goal of 0.4 percent of the national budget. At home, Intermón Oxfam called on the next government to make the fight against poverty and inequality a core component of its policies.
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