This report was prepared to inform discussions at the first meeting of the International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding (“the Dialogue”) on 9-10 April 2010 in Dili, Timor-Leste. The report synthesises the findings of seven multi-stakeholder consultations which were carried out between November 2009 and March 2010. Consultations were held in Burundi, the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Liberia, Sierra Leone, Southern Sudan and Timor-Leste. The main objectives of the consultations were to help generate a consensus around fundamental peacebuilding and statebuilding priorities, and to identify key bottlenecks and good practices in national and international support to these areas.
The analysis draws on the findings of the Fragile States Principles Monitoring Survey (“Monitoring Survey”); on a review of strategic planning frameworks in selected fragile and conflict-affected countries; and on recent policy-oriented research on peacebuilding and statebuilding.
The report is based on an understanding of peacebuilding and statebuilding as two mutually reinforcing processes aimed at supporting the building of effective, legitimate, accountable and responsive states characterised by a healthy state-society relationship and by peaceful relations among communities and with external neighbours.
The findings from the seven consultations confirmed the relevance of these concepts and helped to articulate the various dimensions and dynamics of the two processes, recognising that different contexts will present different peacebuilding and statebuilding scenarios. They also suggested that there is an emerging consensus around a set of common peacebuilding and statebuilding priorities that national and international partners should consider in their work in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.
Key Findings:
- The first and foremost priority should be the promotion of successful political settlement and political processes and the halt of violent conflict through an increased focus on basic safety and security.
- Additional priorities identified by the majority of the country consultations relate to the rule of law, the promotion of mechanisms for the peaceful resolution of conflicts, and the strengthening of the state’s capacity to raise revenues and to provide services according to people’s expectations. Effective management of natural resources, inclusive growth and economic development are also seen as critical components of peacebuilding and statebuilding strategies, particularly in more stable post-conflict situations.
- Current national and international peacebuilding and statebuilding efforts are lacking strategies to 1) build a positive relationship between the state and citizens, and 2) support capacities and opportunities for participation and social reconciliation within and across the communities.
- The country consultations identified a set of challenges in peacebuilding and statebuilding processes and in the engagement of national and international partners with such processes. These include the difficulty of operating in sensitive and fast-changing environments without a clear vision for change; weak planning and low implementation of agreed priorities; the difficulty of balancing short- and long-term objectives; financing modalities and other specific donor practices that are not fully aligned with peacebuilding and statebuilding priorities; capital-centric approaches to statebuilding; a narrow view of capacity development, often confined to human resource development and management rather than including deeper behavioural and institutional issues such as motivation and styles of management; and lack of mutual accountability between national and international partners.
- Some good practices are emerging both in regard to how peacebuilding and statebuilding priorities are being addressed in-country, and in regard to the response of national and international partners to the challenges outlined above. Good practices were reported, for example, on ways national and international partners support political processes and critical sectors like security sector reform (SSR). Some good practices were also identified in relation to planning and accountability frameworks, more specifically in regard to donor efforts to increase alignment with and provide more effective support to national peacebuilding and statebuilding priorities.
