This rapid literature review examines security-related developments that determine Libya’s relationships with its neighbours – Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Niger, Sudan and Tunisia. The report also looks at the incentives for neighbouring countries to maintain or develop regional relationships or cross-border mechanisms with Libya and the main challenges in implementing them. It also ...» more
Security & justice
Post-2015 governance and peace indicators
The post-2015 High Level Panel (HLP) produced a report in May 2013 which outlined their recommendations for moving the development agenda beyond the Millennium Development Goals. The report contained 11 illustrative goals which the UN might consider for adoption. This report considers potential indicators for the new Goals 10 and 11, which are: 10. Ensure Good Governance and ...» more
Evidence on ‘rule of law’ aid initiatives
This report reviews the contribution of rule of law to development and poverty reduction, with evidence from aid initiatives. The first section provides a brief overview of the evidence base on the links between rule of law and development and poverty reduction. The second looks at evidence from successful aid initiatives, focusing on how interventions have contributed to rule ...» more
Community policing in fragile and conflict-affected states
Community policing is the idea of policing in partnership with community, and the strategy for implementing this partnership. Beyond this rudimentary definition, there is no common agreement on what community policing entails. Experience of various forms of community policing in different fragile and conflict-affected states (FCAS) have had mixed results – there have been some ...» more
Responding to the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon – lessons learned
Three groups of lessons emerge from the literature: Political lessons include: understanding Lebanon’s historic refugee experience; understanding how sectarian divisions affect policy and decision-making; the limitations of excluding key stakeholders; and understanding historic relations between refugees and host communities. Strategic lessons include developing a medium-term ...» more
Recent literature on instability and intrastate conflict in Zimbabwe
There is consensus in the recent (2011-13) literature on Zimbabwe that although the country has stabilised considerably since the last elections in 2008, the risk of internal conflict during the period surrounding the 2013 elections is high. The principal factors underpinning the potential for conflict are: The bitter divisions among the main political parties, the apparent ...» more
Promoting social development and human rights in private sector engagement
The private sector is regarded as the driving force for job creation, economic growth and poverty reduction. For donor agencies, engaging and working with private sector actors offers a number of potential benefits, including improving the delivery. As the business community is directly involved in many of the core activities of international donors (such as anti-corruption, ...» more
Gender dimensions of conflict drivers and stabilisation in eastern DRC
There are large knowledge gaps. Gendered evidence is very limited and problematic. The evidence available points to the following findings: On conflict drivers: - Gender is mostly discussed in relation to rape as a weapon of war (masculinity and instrumental use of gendered terror by armed groups). - Sexual and gender-based violence has led to traditional authority and ...» more
Stability and stabilisation approaches in multinational interventions
This rapid report is based on quantitative discourse analysis of stability and stabilisation approaches in all current UN, EU and NATO missions. The analysis included a total of 49 missions (covering peacekeeping, civilian and political missions) and 107 mandates/resolutions linked to these missions. Key findings:Out of a total of 49 missions examined for this report, 30 ...» more
Border insecurity in North Africa
The literature on border security in North Africa has several key themes: security and terrorism; migration; and goods trafficking. These issues are all intertwined. Migration and trafficking tend to follow the same geographical routes, which or may not also include weapons smuggling for extremist groups. In addition, radicalists’ movements across borders frequently interact ...» more
Livelihoods in fragile contexts
There is strong literature on both livelihoods in general and livelihoods in fragile contexts, presenting conclusions and lessons from programmes and synthesising evidence from other contexts. This review draws mainly on lessons learned in the field, rather than rigorous evidence of impact. There are few impact studies conducted on programmes in fragile environments, as ...» more
The impact of integrated missions on humanitarian operations
Key findings Evidence remains scarce, problematic and contested. There is at least limited agreement on the following: Integration has had both negative and positive effects. Effects vary by individual actor, type of actor (UN agencies are more affected) and contexts (mission, country, point in time). Protection of civilians: Possible positive impacts: shared objectives ...» more
Safe spaces for girls: six-country mapping
This review presents a broad overview of the most prominent and well-evidenced programmes providing safe spaces for girls in six selected countries. Key findings The criteria for defining a ‘safe space’ followed the Population Council’s guidance, and the following programmes all contain these elements: A physical space where adolescent girls (10-19 years old) meet regularly An ...» more
Policy responses to criminal violence in Latin America and the Caribbean
Combatting the threat posed by transnational and domestic criminal organisations has become a critical concern of governments throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Ideas of how to reduce crime and organised violence in this region vary between those who advocate for state-security led approaches and those who argue for approaches that tackle the causes of crime and the ...» more
Organised violence and its impacts in Central America’s northern triangle
A range of criminal organisations operate in Central America’s northern triangle. Violence conducted by criminal organisations is one manifestation of a broader culture of violence that is endemic to many Central American societies (UNODC, 2007). At the personal and societal level: The extensive loss of life through homicide is the most obvious humanitarian outcome of violence ...» more
Aid to national human rights institutions
National human rights institutions (NHRIs) are institutions with a constitutional and/or legislative mandate to protect and promote human rights – they often take the form of human rights commissions, ombudsmen or specialised institutions that protect the rights of a particular group (UNDP-OHCHR 2010). Key findings Most NHRIs have been established over the past 20 years - and ...» more
Remote management of projects in fragile states
This report examines examples of the use of remote management of projects in fragile and conflict affected states (FCAS). Remotely-managed projects are the primary mode of practice for many development actors in countries where security risks are high. The use of remote management in development cooperation has increased significantly in recent years, with projects in many ...» more
Violence against women and girls in Haiti
No official government statistics are available on the prevalence of violence against women and girls in Haiti. Experts acknowledge that reports by non-governmental organisations and small-scale, isolated surveys reveal only a partial picture. Moreover, much of the available analysis is focused on urban areas, and in particular Port-au-Prince; fewer studies document the ...» more
Violence against women and girls in Afghanistan
Violence against women and girls in Afghanistan is endemic, widespread and an undeniable reality. Though there have been some quantifiable improvements for women and girls since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, significant challenges remain in securing women’s rights in the country. Literature on gender-based violence (GBV) in Afghanistan is comprehensive and rich with ...» more
Poor people’s rights and successful legal actions
Key finding: Landmark rulings by South Africa’s Constitutional Court in favour of poor people’s social and economic rights since the 1990s have drawn widespread attention to the law as a tool for realising poor people’s rights and tackling the underlying systemic problems in a way that empowers individuals and communities. But while there has been broad support for using the ...» more
