Conflict Prevention and UNDG

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Conflict Prevention and UNDG

• TOT 2006
• Conflict sensitive development

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Development and Conflict

• Violent conflict erodes development gains
• Development may help prevent the emergence or
  recurrence of violent conflict
• Development may inadvertently contribute
• to reinforce or exacerbate conflict dynamics

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Development and conflict (ctd)

• Conflict and its management are an inextricable
  part of the development process
• Not about preventing conflict per se, but the
  emergence/recurrence of violent conflict
• Applicable to all stages of conflict including
  in terms of the prevention of the recurrence of
  violent conflict in post-conflict situations
• E.g. 50 of countries will relapse into violence
  within 10 years of emerging from conflict.

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Conflict Prevention UN

• Need for a comprehensive approach encompassing
  short-term and long-term political, diplomatic,
  humanitarian, human rights, developmental,
  institutional and other measures to address
  prevention
• Conflict prevention must have national
  ownership. The primary responsibility for
  conflict prevention rests with national
  Governments, with civil society playing an
  important role.
• Development work should be viewed through a
  conflict prevention lens (untapped potential).
  Long-term prevention addressing the structural
  causes of conflict is a key focus of this work.
• Clear need for introducing a conflict prevention
  element into the United Nations systems
  multifaceted development programmes and
  activities so that they contribute to the
  prevention of conflict by design and not by
  default.
• Brahimi Report (00) UN Security Council
  Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security
  (00) SG Report on the prevention of armed
  conflict (01) UNDP Executive Board Paper on CPC
  (01) GA Resolution on the prevention of armed
  conflict (03) RR Global Meeting Conclusions
  (03) High level Panel on Threats, Challenges and
  Change (04), SG Report on Larger Freedom (05)
  Summit Outcome Document (05)

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Conflict Prevention UNDG

• Increasing priority within UNDG
• Inter-Agency Framework to integrate Conflict
  Prevention into CCA/UNDAF (Nov. 2004)
• Turin Lessons Learned Workshop in May 2005 with
  13 countries represented
• HLPR and UN Reform in Peacebuilding
• PCNAs
• 2006 Work Programme

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UNDG Added Value

• Long-term presence on the ground (before, during
  and after crisis)
• An historical perspective in-depth
  understanding of contexts
• A long-term relationship with national actors
• Highly compatible with agency mandates
• RC function, Coordination of the UN system,
  integration with peace-keeping.
• International partners

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Conflict Prevention
Strengthening mechanisms processes, as well as
the capacity of actors and institutions, for
constructive conflict management.
Addressing the causes of violent conflict (in
particular, structural factors) through
development strategy and programming.
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Conflict sensitive programming

• A way to think differently about the work we do
  based on an awareness of the linkages between
  conflict and development
• High levels of ownership and participation
• A framework to inform decisions at the strategic
  and program levels and to provide integrated
  safeguards against unintentional harm
• An approach to systematically support the design,
  and implementation of development frameworks and
  programs, in order to ensure that the potential
  for violent conflict is not exacerbated, and that
  increasingly development actively contributes to
  conflict prevention and peace-building
• Conflict analysis, or a good understanding of the
  context in which specific development
  interventions are situated, is the foundation of
  conflict sensitive approaches.

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• Conflict analysis a key element to
  integrate a conflict prevention lens into
  development planning frameworks and programming
• Common Inter-Agency Framework for Conflict
  Analysis in Transition

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Key Characteristics

• To shift the attention away from agency mandate
  and programmatic area and to focus on the context
  as the entry point for the design and
  implementation of responses
• To help deconstruct complex and dynamic
  realities
• To develop a common diagnostic (e.g. UNCT,
  government, local actors, donors, etc) and
  platform for an integrated and coherent approach.

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Background to the tool

• CDA Pilot phase (October 2001- end of 2002)
  assessing how appropriate conflict analysis may
  be in supporting more effective development
  strategies and programming for UNDP Country
  Offices
• Initial strategic conflict assessments
  (Guatemala, Nepal, Nigeria, Tajikistan and
  Guinea-Bissau)
• Testing phase (2003) CPR practice workshops in
  Sarajevo/Manila workshops in New York and
  Geneva, with UNDP staff and Framework Team
  members
• Further applications of the CDA for 2004/05 at
  the request of UNDP country offices Indonesia,
  Solomon Islands, Bougainville/PNG, West Africa,
  North Caucasus, Fiji, Syria, Colombia, Burundi,
  etc.

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Framework

• Analysis of Conflict
• Survey of Causes
• Actor Analysis
• Capacities for Peace Analysis
• Dynamics/
• Scenarios

• Analysis of
• Ongoing Responses
• Mapping of current responses
• Development and conflict working in/on/around
  conflict
• Development and formal peace processes

• Identification of
• Ways Forward
• Strategic conclusions
• Implications for policy, programming, and
  advocacy strategies

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Causes of Conflict
ICEBERG

• Proximate Causes
• Factors likely to contribute to a climate
  conducive to violent conflict or its further
  escalation, sometimes the manifestations of
  deeper issues or issues emerging as a consequence
  or legacy of crisis.
• Structural Causes
• Pervasive and long standing factors that become
  built into the policies, structures and culture
  of a society and may create the preconditions for
  violent conflict.

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Actors and Capacities for Peace

• Actors
• Individuals, groups and institutions engaged in,
  as well as being affected by conflict.
• Capacities for Peace
• Structures, mechanisms, processes and
  institutions that exist in society in order to
  peacefully and constructively manage conflict

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Matrix of Conflict Causes
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Actor Capacity for Peace Analysis
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Entry Points

• Consensus building on conflict prevention within
  UNCT Yemen, Burundi
• NHDR Colombia, Burundi (ongoing) HDRO Draft
  Guidance note on the integration of conflict
  prevention into NHDR
• Joint Strategy Development Nigeria Solomon
  Islands Fiji (ongoing)
• Post-conflict Needs assessment Sudan/Somalia
  (forthcoming) WB/UN Guidelines on post conflict
  needs assessment

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Entry Points

• CCA/UNDAF Philippines UNDG Guidance note on the
  integration of conflict prevention into CCA/UNDAF
• PRSP conflict sensitized CCA as the UN
  contribution to the process World Bank project
  PRSP in conflict situations.
• Country Program Formulation Burundi
• Program Formulation and/or Review Nepal,
  Bougainville, Indonesia.
• PKO draw-down/peace consolidation in Sierra Leone

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Practical Challenges

• Process vs. Product
• Adapting and adjusting the conflict analysis
  framework to the contexts in which it is applied
  
• Sensitivity of conflict prevention in some
  contexts and how to achieve buy-in for conflict
  analysis process in post-conflict environment
  where conflict is regarded as a phenomenon of the
  past
• Ensuring strong linkages between analysis and
  planning /programming tools at the design
  stage! Timeliness? Entry Points?
• Sustained process of conflict analysis not a
  one-off exercise!

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Practical Challenges

• Data collection and gathering how to deal with
  perception and bias?
• Linked to wider sensitisation and capacity
  development efforts on conflict sensitive
  programming (national stakeholders)
• Getting UNCT commitment and buy-in

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National ownership

• Making strategic use of partnerships with key
  actors and institutions on the ground (look for
  champions)
• Assessing whether immediate entry points for
  conflict prevention can be found at the local
  level, as compared to the national level
• Building on existing programs and initiatives (UN
  or others) and working with partners who have
  credibility and trust on the ground
• Using opportunities to expose national
  counterparts to other nationally-led conflict
  prevention programs and strategies
• Using alternative concepts and language to those
  of conflict prevention, to develop more
  appropriate approaches

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Next Steps and Resources

• Disseminate UNDG CP Framework more widely
• Develop Rosters for UNCT support
• Develop standard Training Module (end 2005)
• Expand list-serve
• UNDG website under Coordination for Transition
• Ask UNDG/CPC Cluster