What is the best way to rebuild governance institutions and the rule of law following a conflict? How can nations rebuild trust and promote dialogue? This paper, prepared by the Chr Michelsen Institute for the UNDP, draws on recent experiences of post conflict governance in countries such as Timor Leste and Afghanistan.
Rebuilding governance institutions, promoting respect for human rights and the rule of law, and fostering participatory dialogue are critical in driving forward peace-building and nation-building processes. There is usually pressure for quick improvements that are beyond the capacity of governments to deliver, particularly in the areas of human rights, justice and the delivery of public services.
- Post conflict situations include: self enforcing; following a decisive victory; mediated peace building and conflicted peace building; where the defeated party is not incorporated into the peace settlement.
- Governance issues and programming entry points can be divided into seven key areas: access to information; democratic dialogue; electoral systems and processes; parliamentary development; decentralised governance; public administration reform; justice, security and human rights.
- Societies and governments can transform conflicts without resorting to violence through the use of democratic dialogues; this instrument should complement, not replace, existing democratic institutions.
- In post conflict situations, parliament is the authoritative institution for the expression and resolution of policy conflict. It has a key role to play in building consensus, but must be representative and accountable.
- Post conflict, a decentralised network of local institutions, often linked to humanitarian operations, can be an opportunity to re-establish government services, and demonstrate the responsiveness of public institutions.
Each post conflict situation is different, and in each area a baseline study or analysis should be carried out before defining a capacity-building intervention strategy. Two cross cutting issues that apply in all cases are the importance of co-ordinating external actor interventions, including funding, and achieving a secure and safe environment for post conflict governance interventions. Other policy implications include:
- For governments to be seen to be delivering quickly, it is important to reform public administration. This is a highly politically sensitive area that needs to be dealt with carefully.
- The entry points for interventions will differ according to the context and the specific theme or area in which the intervention is planned.
- Better co-ordination of resource mobilisation would go a long way to ensure that post conflict governance-related interventions are effective. Anticipatory post conflict trust funds should be created.
- In post conflict situations temporary and imperfect solutions are often unavoidable, but should be combined with a long-term plan. The pressure for immediate results should not detract from long-term reform and capacity building.
- There is no single answer as to when post conflict elections should be held, this will differ from case to case. In some situations elections held too soon can degenerate into violence.
