Integrating sustainable development into post-conflict reconstruction
INTRODUCTION:
After a conflict a country’s natural resources are most often partially destroyed and neglected, its economy is harmed and the quality of living conditions has severely been affected. The first and foremost priority of a post-conflict country is to start its reconstruction to rebuild the quality of living conditions and many other aspects back up to how they were before. It is of utmost importance that sustainability is one of the key terms in the post-conflict reconstruction process.
Involvement of international organizations in the matter :
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) :
The ECOSOC has played a significant role in post-conflict reconstruction. In 2002, the council created the ECOSOC Ad Hoc Advisory Groups, which help to find long-term solutions and create long-term programmes for countries emerging from conflict. The commission has been a key player in advising and working together with the Peace Building Commission.
Peacebuilding Commission:
The PBC is a UN body that has a specific goal to build and maintain peace in post-conflict countries. They have worked together with the ECOSOC on post-conflict recovery policies and on offering actual aid. Integrating sustainable development in post-conflict reconstruction is a high priority for the PBC since it is a very effective way to maintain peace and rebuild a country.
The International Development Association(IDA)
which provides interest-free loans to the world's 81 poorest nations
The International Finance Corporation (IFC)
which promotes economic development by supporting the private sector
The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
which encourages foreign investment in poor countries by providing guarantees against non-commercial losses (e.g. as a result of war)
The International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
which encourages foreign investment by providing arbitration and mediation services in case of disputes.
Major events towards sustainable reconstruction :
1999: Creation of the ECOSOC Ad Hoc Advisory Group of Haiti
2002: Creation of the Ad Hoc Advisory Groups on African Countries emerging from conflict
IMPORTANT FACTORS:
Region-Specific Multilateral Development Banks(MDBs)
Region-Specific Multilateral Development Banks(MDBs) are institutions that provide financial assistance and professional advice to countries for economic and social development regionally.
The term MDB is used to refer to the World Bank Group and four regional banks:
the African Development Bank(AfDB) focuses on development in Africa
the Asian Development Bank(ADB) focuses on poverty reduction in Asia and the Pacific
the European Bank for Reconstruction andDevelopment (EBRD) invests in Eastern Europe, the Balkans and a number of states of the former Soviet Union
the Inter-American Development Bank Group(IADB) finances development efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean
The Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD)
This organization also play an influential role in conflict prevention and peacebuilding. It is comprised of 30 member states committed to democratic government and the market economy. The organization works with over 70 countries, NGOs and civil society.
In 1997 DAC issued its Guidelines on Conflict, Peace and Development Co-operation on the Threshold of the 21st Century, which set a new standard in international aid to conflict-affected states. In 2004, Guidelines on Helping to Prevent Conflict was published as a supplement to the 1997 work. Among the key principles noted to the development community are that they should:
• actively engage women, men and youth in peacebuilding and policy-making processes. All actors need to take better account of the pervasive linkages between gender differences and violent conflicts and their prevention and resolution;
• reinforce local capacities to influence public policy and tackle social and political exclusion. The OECD/DAC position on gender in development is that “progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment is vital for improving economic, social and political conditions in developing countries. The knowledge, insight and experience of both women and men are required if development is to be effective, sustainable and truly people-centred.
Involvement of countries and their funding:
Bilateral Donors—including the United States(US), Canada, Sweden, members of the European Union (EU), Japan and many other states—provide funds through the UN and World Bank, and directly to national governments, international and national NGOs and private companies and subcontractors for reconstruction work.
1. The US Agency for International Development (USAID)
It primarily supports long-term development efforts in poor countries and is a major factor in the provision of emergency humanitarian assistance to war-torn countries and regions improving the situation of women (providing education, improving health and securing their land and labour rights) translate into higher levels of productivity and lower levels of infant and female mortality, food insecurity and poverty.
2. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA):
“Aiming for women’s empowerment and gender equality in all aspects of development assistance is now seen as an imperative…. Realizing women’s empowerment and gender equality does not mean only increasing the number of women-targeted projects, but also integrating the gender perspective in all the assistance which JICA implements.
3. Canadian International Department Agency(CIDA):
“Attention to gender equality is essential to sound development practice and at the heart of economic and social progress. Development results cannot be maximized and sustained without explicit attention to the different needs and interests of women and men. If the realities and voices of half of the population are not fully recognised, CIDA’s objectives to ‘reduce poverty and to contribute to a more secure, equitable, and prosperous world’ will not be met.
4. Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency:
“The focus on equality between women and men within Swedish development cooperation is based on two important premises: Firstly, the long-standing conviction that equality is a matter of human rights; and secondly the increasing recognition that equality—equal rights, opportunities and obligations for women and men—is a precondition for effective and sustainable people-centred development.
Possible solutions:
Adopting more pragmatic macroeconomic policy measures which pay careful attention to the demands of long-term recovery and political stability is favourable in times after the conflict. Steps are taken for economic growth in a sensible and straightforward way. Pragmatic policies are most often in post-conflict times the easiest way to the solution of a problem.
Building per capita income is a way to integrate sustainable development into post-conflict reconstruction. In comparison to other countries, the GDP in affected countries is far lower than in other countries. The international community can support government efforts to get the most out of domestic resources in several ways, for example, by providing technical assistance.
Strengthening social capital is another possible solution. During transitions from conflict management to development planning, an essential aim of public policies more generally, should be to rebuild trust and the norms and networks that all take part in improving cooperation.
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www.government.nl/topics/international-peace-and-security/post-conflict-reconstruction.
“Post-Conflict Economic Reconstruction | Encyclopedia Princetoniensis.” Princeton University, The Trustees of Princeton University,
https://pesd.princeton.edu/?q=node/260
“UN economic and social council; resolutions; decisions.” United Nations, United Nations,
http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/about/peacebuilding.shtml
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https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?menu=1206
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http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/about/peacebuilding.shtml
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https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/policybrief7.pdf
By: Zeba Ahmed