• Overview
• Introduction
• Achievements
  in Conflict
  Prevention
  and Recovery
• Achievements
  in Early
  Recovery
• Achievements
  in Disaster
  Risk Reduction
  and Recovery
• Achievements
  in Gender
  Equality in
  Crisis Prevention
  and Recovery

• Institutional Partnerships
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• 2009 Initial
  Results
• Financial
  Summary
• Conclusion
• Annex

 

CONFLICT PREVENTION AND PEACEBUILDING

RULE OF LAW, JUSTICE AND SECURITY

ARMED VIOLENCE, MINE ACTION AND SMALL ARMS CONTROL

Achievements in Conflict Prevention and Recovery

Conflicts not only claim lives and destroy homes, communities and livelihoods, they also sow the seeds of tension for the future. Like hearty perennials, these seeds will blossom again into full-blown violence if left unattended. In more than 40 countries around the world, conflict has ripped through farmland, villages and cities, causing unacceptable devastation. And yet the 35 million refugees and internally displaced people who are survivors will be dealing with the social, psychological and political consequences of violence long after their homes are rebuilt and their fields are replanted.

One of the key lessons of the past decade is that the costs of preventing conflict are far lower than the costs of rebuilding a society decimated by war. That is why BCPR seeks to identify and respond to existing tensions within a society before it can erupt into violence – claiming lives, subjecting women and girls to sexual violence and erasing hard-won development gains by plunging countless civilians into poverty. Indeed, another lesson of the past decade is that development will not follow if a country is not secure. As long as women are targeted by sexual and gender-based violence, as long as citizens have no access to justice, as long as certain vulnerable groups remain marginalized and discriminated against, any development gains made will be fleeting.

Enabling conflict-ridden countries to prevent, counter and recover from violence and insecurity is an important part of our work. Our role is to catalyze national ownership by allowing national partners to pursue change on their own terms. These ongoing efforts transcend timelines to plant the seeds of peace. They encompass strengthening the rule of law, addressing the security needs of the population, buttressing weak justice systems, and being on the ground quickly to lay the foundation for lasting peace and development.

CONFLICT PREVENTION AND PEACEBUILDING

Country support

There are three pillars of UNDP’s work in conflict prevention and peacebuilding: (1) preventing electoral violence and supporting political transitions; (2) engaging in dialogue and peacebuilding; and (3) promoting conflict analysis and conflict-sensitive programming. In 2008, UNDP supported 26 countries in their work to prevent, manage and reduce violent conflicts.

UNDP has a vast array of conflict prevention and recovery tools at its disposal. Yet to maximize the effectiveness and usefulness of these tools, UNDP must ensure that the full range of services – among them the rapid deployment of expertise – is readily available to countries in need.

As part of this effort, in 2008, UNDP, together with the Department of Political Affairs, scaled up the number of Peace and Development Advisers in the field. These advisers are the first and only such UN group of experts actively engaged in conflict prevention initiatives. There are currently 26 experts deployed in 21 countries.

Preventing electoral violence and supporting political transitions

Preventing violence during elections is one aspect of prevention that requires long-term planning. Indeed, without laying the foundations for a non-violent electoral process – such as creating institutions and systems capable of finding peaceful solutions to political conflict – any last minute attempts to minimize violence prior to elections may come to nothing. Yet by engaging with country partners years in advance, UNDP is able to build trust with national and local actors on conflict prevention and peacebuilding, all of which can positively influence a peaceful election process.

In recent years, UNDP has helped many countries, such as Ghana, Guyana, Kenya, the Maldives and Sierra Leone, prevent and limit electoral violence. Results in 2008 continued to demonstrate the value of this work. For example, after thirty years of one-party rule, the Maldives successfully held elections and witnessed a stable political transition. UNDP and mediation assistance by the UN Secretary-General contributed to this outcome. UNDP is now supporting a multi-year programme to strengthen institutions to manage change peacefully.

Dialogue and peacebuilding

Sustainable peace requires that societies have the skills and institutions they need to manage competing interests in a fair manner. UNDP works to help people and communities to successfully use dialogue to defuse crises.

In Fiji and Tonga, for example, senior political and civic leaders formed new dialogue groups to further the peaceful resolution of potentially violent tensions that had been brewing for many years. These avenues for dialogue – opened after a UNDP-supported exercise to engage rivals in a peaceful manner – continue in 2009.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina UNDP supported the nation’s first-ever dialogue between government and civil society on transitional justice. As a result, the government asked UNDP to assist in the drafting of legislation to establish a National Transitional Justice Strategy as a comprehensive effort to address the legacy of war.

Conflict analysis and conflict-sensitive programming

UNDP also supported a number of projects to analyze the root causes of specific conflicts and backed efforts to create effective conflict-sensitive programming, with particular emphasis on the roles and needs of women and girls. For example, UNDP conducted systematic assessments of the situation of women and girls affected by gender-based violence and of women’s leadership roles in conflict prevention and peacebuilding during the development of UN strategic frameworks in eastern DRC, Kenya and Zimbabwe. UNDP also provided technical support on gender and conflict analyses in North Kivu in eastern DRC, Kyrgyzstan, and the occupied Palestinian territories.

Global initiatives

Conflict prevention efforts work best when they are coordinated and begin well before tensions reach a breaking point. To this end, UNDP has been an active member of the Interagency Framework Team for Coordination on Preventive Action (the Framework Team) and hosts its secretariat.

The Framework Team provides the UN system with a unified inter-agency coordination mechanism to handle conflict prevention early on in countries that are at risk but have not yet received significant attention from the international community. A forum of 22 agencies and departments connected informally at headquarters, the Framework Team helps UN Resident Coordinators and Country Teams develop integrated prevention strategies, and identify the political and technical resources needed to implement them. The Joint UNDP-Department for Political Affairs Programme on Building National Capacities for Conflict Prevention supports the deployment of personnel with relevant expertise, provides operational resources, and helps establish partnerships to implement these strategies. Both initiatives focus on early intervention to address potentially violent situations before violence actually emerges. Once initial partnerships and priority areas of focus have been developed, UNDP provides programmatic support to produce sustainable results.

In 2008, UNDP also led Framework Team members in developing a first-time partnership with the European Commission to strengthen the understanding and expertise of national counterparts and UN agencies on land and natural resource-related conflicts.

Lessons learned

Sustainable success requires sustained investment. To prevent conflicts over the long term, governments must develop and maintain effective conflict management skills and programmes. Indeed, those countries where electoral violence was successfully avoided (e.g., Sierra Leone and Lesotho in 2007, Ghana in 2008) all benefited from national and local capabilities developed over years of carefully coordinated work by UNDP and relevant national partners. This could not have been achieved without UNDP’s highly qualified advisers and technical resources.

But the demand for these resources is growing and such qualified personnel are in short supply. UNDP’s mechanism for meeting these needs will require additional financial support from donors. In conflict prevention, an area in which relationships are critical, having such advisers on the ground is absolutely essential. Without them it is impossible to develop the partnerships and generate the opportunities for intervention that are fundamental to preventing conflict.

Understanding the specific challenges of statebuilding in post-conflict situations is critical to success. Responsive, resilient states with the capacity to provide essential services and mediate disputes are the foundation of successful recovery and lasting peace. States emerging from conflict face particular challenges in that respect. Often fragile and ill-equipped to provide the basic services that people normally count on the state to provide, officials and their community counterparts need carefully tailored support to help them develop the skills and resources necessary to meet their responsibilities. While there is broad agreement on the objective of statebuilding, what such a state looks like and how to provide assistance to make it happen are areas that need greater attention. In 2008 UNDP launched the Statebuilding for Peace project to provide practitioners with the practical advice and tools they need to address this complex issue and achieve success.

RULE OF LAW, JUSTICE AND SECURITY

Recovery and democratic governance cannot be achieved amidst violence and lawlessness. Effective development assistance rests on basic premises of justice and security. These are the foundations upon which all other efforts are built. Strengthening the rule of law is a long-term investment that can begin during conflict and its immediate aftermath. UNDP’s goal is to strengthen the capacity of justice and security institutions as well as lawyers, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders to promote access to justice and prevent and bring an end to human rights violations, insecurity and impunity.

In 2008, UNDP scaled up its focus on this critical area, drawing on its comparative advantage as a development organization with long-standing institutional expertise and in-country presence before, during and after conflict. The Global Programme on Strengthening the Rule of Law in Conflict and Post-Conflict Situations (“Global Programme”), launched in 2008, is the cornerstone of UNDP’s rule of law efforts in crisis countries.³

Country support

At the core of the Global Programme is a commitment to supporting 20 priority countries between 2008 and 2011, with a particular focus on:

• Strengthening the rule of law within an early recovery framework and during transition
• Addressing women’s security and access to justice
• Supporting capacity development of justice and security institutions
• Facilitating transitional justice
• Promoting confidence building and reconciliation

Thirteen countries received support from BCPR in 2008 and new rule of law programmes were developed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Kosovo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste, in addition to one regional project in the Pacific. Each programme includes a strong component to address gender-based violence and promote women’s empowerment. BCPR allocated close to USD 25 million as catalytic funding for these programmes in 2008.

UNDP continued its multi-year programme on transitional justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It provided technical assistance to support ongoing activities with partners, and helped plan and launch the next phase, which focuses on access to justice. Specific activities include strengthening the cantonal and district level prosecutors’ offices and courts, and developing a country-wide witness support network.

As part of a broader conflict prevention strategy for Guinea- Bissau, UNDP identified rule of law needs and helped the government design and initiate a programme to address them. The programme targets four areas: (1) strengthening justice institutions to deliver services to the people, particularly in rural areas; (2) improving access to justice (especially for women), supporting legal aid, a legal clinic, traditional justice systems and the bar association; (3) supporting law enforcement institutions to deliver security services; and (4) strengthening the legal framework for security institutions and parliamentary oversight.

UNDP made significant strides in Liberia, working with the government on two initiatives: Strengthening the Ministry of Justice in Improving Prosecution Services, and Strengthening the Rule of Law and Administration of Justice in Liberia. National partnerships were established with the Ministry of Justice, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Liberian National Police, and civil society organizations.

In Sri Lanka, UNDP worked with the government to expand its existing access to justice programme to conflict-affected areas and vulnerable groups. This initiative is implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Constitutional Affairs and Integration, the Ministry of Justice, the Legal Aid Commission, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, and civil society organizations.

To address the changing needs in Timor-Leste, UNDP developed and launched a revised justice system support programme, with activities expanding to district-level (with the full equipping and staffing of district courts); access to justice for communities, with a special focus on women; and traditional conflict resolution. UNDP also worked with the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) to implement an ongoing security sector project, supporting a comprehensive review of the security sector by the government and helping to enhance civilian oversight of security institutions.

As part of its commitment to producing quality, practical tools to support in-country programming, UNDP finalized a concept note on early recovery and rule of law and made significant contributions to policy notes on community security and social cohesion. We also began work on additional products to be completed in 2009: a lessons learned study on the UNDP-supported rule of law programme in Sudan and concept notes on women’s security and access to justice, transitional justice, and security sector governance.

Global initiatives

UNDP has endeavored to further advance effective policy-making, coordination and information sharing on rule of law, justice and security issues on a global level while engaging UN partners and other entities.

Working through the Security Sector Task Force chaired by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), UNDP made significant contributions to key inter-agency efforts. For example, UNDP was instrumental in ensuring that the

UN Secretary-General’s report on “Securing Peace and Development: the Role of the United Nations in Supporting Security Sector Reform” recognizes that this work must reflect and support the broader context of rule of law and governance.

As part of its commitment to strengthening both the global and national focus on rule of law, the UN established a Rule of Law Coordination and Resource Group. As an active contributor, UNDP developed the group’s joint strategic plan for 2009-2011. The Inter-Agency Standing Committee Global Protection Cluster is charged with setting standards and policy relating to protection, developing strengthened protection capacity, and providing operational assistance at the country level. UNDP has served as focal point on rule of law together with colleagues from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. In 2008, UNDP actively supported the global Protection Cluster, contributing to all of its major activities, including the finalization of the IDP Protection Handbook.

As part of its commitment to promoting gender equality and addressing the many challenges faced by women, particularly in countries affected by violent conflict, UNDP and partners at Brandeis University, the International Legal Assistance Consortium, the International Associations of Women Judges and UNIFEM, coorganized the Partners for Gender Justice Conference that took place in Accra, Ghana in November 2008. Hosted by the Honourable Lady Chief Justice Georgina Wood and the Judiciary of Ghana, the conference brought together senior representatives from the judiciaries of 24 African countries to discuss the role of the judiciary in promoting gender justice across the region.

Lessons learned

UNDP’s experiences in 2008 reinforced the importance of several key lessons that are integral to the success of rule of law efforts in conflict and post-conflict situations:

Ensuring respect for the rule of law requires comprehensive programmes. Standalone interventions in specific sectors have little impact and may create imbalances. Instead, work at the country level must center on a comprehensive programme that determines the interventions to be undertaken and ensures that those interventions reinforce each other. Operating in this way, the combined efforts provide lasting improvements across all sectors. More specifically, institution-building in ministries of justice supports capacity development for the judiciary, assistance for lawyers, training for police and rehabilitation of prisons in the same programme.

Work with security institutions must operate within the broader framework of justice and rule of law. Security institutions are instrumental for upholding the rule of law, but must themselves be bound by principles of human rights and good governance. UNDP’s work on security sector reform serves to strengthen civilian oversight of these security institutions within a rule of law framework.

Realities on the ground should guide global initiatives. UNDP’s effective work at the country level makes it a valuable contributor at the global level. Achieving results in the field and strengthening local capabilities to uphold the rule of law has proven to be the best way to positively influence policy at the global level.

ARMED VIOLENCE, MINE ACTION AND SMALL ARMS CONTROL

An estimated 740,000 people die each year as a result of violence associated with armed conflicts and criminality. Worldwide, armed violence is the fourth leading cause of death for persons between the ages of 15 and 44. High levels of inter-personal armed violence in countries otherwise considered relatively stable (such as Brazil or South Africa) or far advanced in post-conflict transition processes (such as El Salvador) merit greater attention due to the negative impact that such violence has on development, public health and human security – not to mention its potential for causing serious destabilization, crisis and conflict. Although many of these countries receive substantial development assistance, these “conventional” forms of support are ill-adapted to address armed violence. Over the last few years UNDP has expanded its work in this important area to address the issue of armed violence in countries in crisis or at significant risk of crisis.

Country support

During 2008, UNDP provided technical and financial support to more than 20 countries on small arms control and armed violence prevention. For example, UNDP helped the governments of Jamaica and Kenya develop comprehensive armed violence prevention programmes. In Guatemala, UNDP focused on improving national expertise to collect and analyze data on crime and violence. In Papua New Guinea, UNDP worked with the government to enhance local and national resources to bolster community security, reduce small arms availability and tackle gender-based violence. In these countries, UNDP worked in close collaboration with various UN partners, including the World Health Organization, UN-Habitat (the UN agency for human settlements), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

UNDP continued its engagement at the sub-regional level, providing technical assistance and funding to initiatives such as the Central American Small Arms Control Project, the Southeastern and Eastern European Small Arms Clearinghouse, the Regional Centre on Small Arms in Eastern Africa, and the Economic Community of West Africa Small Arms Project. These sub-regional initiatives focus on strengthening national and local institutions to tackle small arms proliferation.

To reduce the demand for weapons, UNDP also helped communities identify and address issues that threaten their security – among them the ease of securing weapons, violence against women and girls, and barriers to accessing justice. For example, in Ituri in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, UNDP supported community security assessments which are now being used to develop community safety and security plans.

In some 85 nations around the world landmines and other explosive remnants of war threaten lives and hinder development. They restrict access to fertile land, education and health facilities, and impede access to areas in need by humanitarian and development personnel. To address this ongoing problem, UNDP provides technical support to mine action programmes in more than 40 nations.

In 2008 UNDP provided technical assistance to national mine action centers in Cambodia, Jordan and Lao PDR. Support focused on developing national mine action information databases and improving the coordination of mine action activities. In Angola, UNDP facilitated the completion, launch and dissemination of a nationwide Landmine Impact Survey. In Albania, Egypt, Somalia and Yemen local communities benefitted from mine risk education. In Libya and Thailand UNDP helped establish new comprehensive programmes that strengthen national planning and management of effective mine action efforts. In addition to these activities, UNDP provided extensive support to Member States to meet their obligations under the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty. For example, it helped Malawi successfully meet its obligations to clear all anti-personnel mines on land under its jurisdiction and control within ten years of the treaty’s entry into force. It also assisted Burundi and Sudan in meeting their obligations to destroy stockpiles of anti-personnel mines within their respective four-year deadlines. UNDP also continued to work with partner UN entities and civil society organizations to include gender considerations in national mine action support programmes.

To assist country and regional level programming on small arms and light weapons control, UNDP published two how-to guides during 2008. The first provides guidance on how to establish an effective national small arms and light weapons commission. The second provides guidance to help national lawmakers review and strengthen legislation concerning small arms and light weapons.

Global initiatives

In December 2008, 94 states took an historic step by signing the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions. Parties to the convention are required to destroy all stockpiled cluster munitions within eight years of the treaty’s entry into force, and clear all contaminated areas within 10 years. It also contains groundbreaking provisions for assistance to survivors, their families and communities. The convention is a striking example of how tangible results can be achieved by an inclusive, constructive and creative partnership to address threats to human security and development. This process has also been a learning experience, demonstrating how UNDP can contribute to the advancement of international humanitarian law. Over the last two years, UNDP has worked tirelessly to encourage and facilitate participation among developing countries. With financial support from donor governments including Austria, Ireland, New Zealand and Norway, UNDP helped organize 13 global and regional meetings for the Oslo process that produced the convention, supporting more than 750 delegates from 100 countries to participate in these events.

The Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development, adopted by 42 countries in 2006, has played a significant role in increasing awareness of the link between armed violence and development. UNDP has played an active role in advancing the declaration and putting it into action. Support for the Geneva Declaration has grown rapidly, with 104 signatories as of the end of 2008. The declaration also paved the way for a November 2008 UN General Assembly resolution (“Promoting Development through the Reduction and Prevention of Armed Violence”), which requested the UN Secretary-General to report on the topic by the end of 2009.

Global efforts such as the Geneva Declaration will only be successful if the key actors on the ground buy into the process and have the skills and resources they need to do so. To this end, UNDP continued to support efforts to create mechanisms strengthening the participation of national actors in the global process. For example, UNDP co-hosted the Geneva Ministerial Summit (September 2008), as well as two regional meetings on the Geneva Declaration in Thailand (May 2008) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (November 2008) that resulted in regional declarations on armed violence and development. These regional declarations complement similar ones concluded by leaders in Africa and the Latin American and Caribbean region in 2007 and further strengthen international commitment to the Geneva Declaration process.

UNDP also co-chaired the Task Team on Security and Development of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The Task Team produced a policy paper on armed violence reduction with guidance on country level programming.

Lesson learned

National ownership. When given the support they require, national officials and civil society–especially women–have not only been the most ardent champions of initiatives to remove weapons of war, but also their most effective implementers. Sustained efforts should therefore continue to build relevant national capacities, with a greater focus on women.

Disarmament for development. Efforts to eliminate cluster munitions and landmines have made the greatest headway when articulated in terms of their economic and social impact on a country’s development; they must therefore be integrated into these broader national development frameworks and associated budgets.

Partnerships for change. UNDP’s work on the Convention on Cluster Munitions and the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development has highlighted the importance of developing partnerships among a broad-based coalition of nations, international organizations and civil society actors to advance specific global policy goals.

The importance of working as one. Armed violence affects every aspect of a society, from government institutions that are weakened to civilians whose very lives are threatened. To be effective, any effort to address armed violence must therefore be comprehensive in scope, bringing together government and civil society groups as well as affected communities.

Lasting peace requires security and cohesion at the local level. UNDP is already working in this area and has made restoring community security a priority in its conflict prevention and recovery programming for 2008-2011. As part of this effort, work on the global and country levels will be scaled up in 2009, with a particular focus on gender.

DISARMAMENT, DEMOBILIZATION AND REINTEGRATION OF EX-COMBATANTS

Country support

Throughout 2008, UNDP provided technical assistance to disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) initiatives in 18 countries, namely Burundi, the Central African Republic, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia (Aceh), Iraq, Kosovo, Liberia, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of Congo, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda.

In the Republic of Congo, UNDP supported a micro-credit project to help reintegrate women combatants and women associated with armed forces and groups. By the end of 2008, micro-projects in food crops, animal husbandry and small businesses were supporting these women and over 1,000 indirect beneficiaries.

UNDP helped the Niger country office collect lessons learned from a reintegration programme for ex-combatants, and then used those findings to strengthen ongoing activities. In Kosovo UNDP worked with NATO and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to develop the resettlement programme for the Kosovo Protection Corps, the largest armed group in Kosovo. In Sudan, UNDP helped the South Sudan DDR commission prepare for the DDR programme scheduled to start in 2009.

Global initiatives

UNDP and the International Labour Organization co-led an inter-agency task force that produced a UN system-wide policy paper on post-conflict employment creation, income generation and reintegration. This policy was approved by 19 UN agencies, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the African Development Bank and the International Organization for Migration. During this process UNDP worked to ensure that the policy fostered a common approach to supporting excombatants and returnees in the design of reintegration programmes.

To strengthen the UN’s Integrated Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Standards, UNDP collaborated with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) to develop a new module on DDR and security sector reform and the rule of law.

UNDP initiated the development of major new guides on monitoring and evaluation in DDR programmes and on integrating gender within them. The how-to guides will provide DDR practitioners with practical step-by-step tools on how to set up and run successful efforts in these two important areas.

UNDP provided funding to establish a coordinator position in the secretariat of the Interagency Working Group on DDR, which brings together 17 UN entities. UNDP co-chairs the working group and hosts its secretariat. This has greatly improved coordination within the group and enhanced support to country offices. UNDP also deepened its partnership with the Peacebuilding Support Office and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development/Development Assistance Committee through joint work on DDR and security sector reform in the Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau.

Lessons learned

DDR should be carried out within a wider recovery framework. The disarmament of ex-combatants can only be sustainable if these ex-combatants are given the means to reintegrate back into their communities and the society at large. DDR should therefore be conducted within a broader recovery framework; this includes areas such as local governance, community security and livelihood creation.

Address gender issues from the start. Addressing gender from the outset of DDR efforts leads to more effective and sustainable results. This requires the early involvement of gender expertise. For example, in Sudan, the early involvement of a gender expert led to DDR programming and policies that better address the needs of women.

Long-term success requires greater resources. More predictable and dedicated resources are needed to ensure successful long-term reintegration of ex-combatants, a key factor for lasting peace.

FOCUS ON ECONOMIC RECOVERY POLICIES IN CRISIS AND POST-CRISIS COUNTRIES

In October 2008, UNDP launched a global flagship report, “Post-Conflict Economic Recovery: Enabling Local Ingenuity.” This publication identifies three critical factors for successful post-conflict economic recovery: the importance of local ingenuity to guide recovery; the state’s role in promoting this ingenuity; and the policies needed to rebuild battered economies and reduce the risk of conflict recurrence. The study cites examples of countries that have succeeded in rekindling post-conflict economies and those that continue to flounder, discussing the foundations that are so vital to foster post-conflict economic recovery.

Providing a fresh look at the challenges facing countries emerging from conflict, the report emphasizes that recovery programming must be based on a sound understanding of local dynamics. Without such a foundation, policies meant to help may inadvertently exacerbate tensions. Conflict does not destroy local economies – it transforms them. It introduces new – and frequently positive – economic opportunities for women. It can also fuel inequities among different groups and minorities. The first lesson for the international community in post-conflict recovery is therefore to do no harm by promoting actions that lower the risk of conflict recurrence and fuel positive economic activity.

A second crucial lesson is that local actors must lead recovery. Even after years of conflict, war-torn communities possess human and other resources that can support recovery, and it is often through local efforts that economies are rebuilt. The report not only recognizes that local actors can drive recovery, it also encourages the international community to focus its efforts on working with and building on the activities of local communities and institutions.

The study also examines the role external partners should play when it comes to post-conflict recovery. It calls upon international partners to support debt relief – which provides much-needed breathing space in the early post-war years – to generate employment, which is the best way to ensure that economic growth benefits the majority of the population; and to support national efforts to rebuild the capacity of the state and secure its legitimacy.

BCPR and the Bureau for Development Policy are working together to disseminate these findings through UNDP country offices and to further develop specific themes of the report in the context of the global financial crisis.

UNDP has also been contributing to economic recovery policymaking in countries in situations of crisis. In Zimbabwe for instance, as a result of that country’s deteriorating economic situation, UNDP coordinated a team of highly respected national economists who produced the report “Comprehensive Economic Recovery in Zimbabwe: A discussion document,” which examines the economic performance of Zimbabwe since independence, analyzes challenges for the country’s economic development, and offers a set of policy recommendations related to trade, the financial sector, agriculture, manufacturing, mining, tourism, the informal sector, small and medium businesses, and the labor market. The report, published in October 2008, draws on inputs from a range of stakeholders and was very well received by both the government and international development actors.

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¹ This country example is based on an article by Ozonnia Ojielo, Senior Peace and Development Adviser, UN Kenya, and Clever Nyathi, Senior Peace and Governance Adviser, UNDP Ghana, and published in the UNDP CPR Newsletter of March 2009.

² This country example is based on an article by Karin Andersson, Coordinator of the Peace and Development Analysis Process, and John E. Lewis, Peace and Development Adviser, UNDP Kyrgyzstan, and published in the UNDP CPR Newsletter
of March 2009.

³ Australia, Norway and the Netherlands contributed a total of USD 9.6 million to this initiative in 2008.

⁴ The crime observatory is hosted by the Violence Prevention Alliance in collaboration with the Institute of Criminal Justice and Security.