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Security actors are important actors in the international community’s efforts to support peace in fragile contexts. Their activities affect not only the immediate security conditions in fragile contexts, but also the conditions for humanitarian assistance, development co-operation and peacebuilding. This paper explores the relationship between security actors and the broader international community in fragile contexts. It argues that security actors are needed to build peace in many fragile contexts, but that they can only contribute to peace where their activities are coherent with and complemented by appropriate civilian engagement. In doing so, it assists Development Assistance Committee members in their efforts to operationalise the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus and to step up efforts to prevent conflict and build peace in fragile contexts. The paper is one of ten working papers supporting States of Fragility 2020 and together with Diplomacy and peace in fragile contexts, Conflict prevention in fragile contexts, and Peacebuilding in fragile contexts provides comprehensive background to Chapter 2 on peace in States of Fragility 2020.

This working paper examines the reasons why fragile contexts have struggled to generate momentum towards the Sustainable Development Goals and why that matters for policy and practice in a post-COVID-19 world. Drawing on multidimensional analysis and consideration of trends and trajectories of the past decade, it identifies the main challenges (including consideration of the quality of data and knowledge) associated with fragile and conflict-affected contexts and considers what steps might be taken in this Decade of Action. A range of issues associated with sustainable development will be evaluated, predominantly through reference to the 57 fragile contexts identified in the OECD States of Fragility 2020 framework. These issues include projected population growth, global poverty trends and the impact of violence in fragile contexts. This paper also considers issues of governance, inequality, climate, and performance in the human capital areas of education and health.

In 2022, the OECD will add a human capital dimension to its fragility framework in acknowledgement of the ambition set forth in States of Fragility 2018 to 'never lose sight of the end goal of delivering hope and better lives for all people in fragile contexts'. The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated fiscal, political and social shocks has brought the urgency of investment in human capital into sharper focus. With less than ten years left to go on Agenda 2030, success will mean placing further focus on the building blocks of sustainable development: health (including proper nutrition), education and financial support to those who need it through investments in social protection. This working paper builds the case for why human capital matters for fragility, and why investment in human capital can help develop more inclusive, peaceful and resilient societies.

This analysis of the 2020 OECD multidimensional fragility framework is a background paper for States of Fragility 2020. It provides a snapshot of the state of fragility in the world today, paying particular attention to the 57 fragile contexts on the framework. The paper starts by unpacking the heterogeneity among fragile contexts. It then reviews the layers, trajectories and clusters of fragility. Thinking in systems, and the states of fragility within systems, provides a conceptual foundation to interpret this analysis and guide targeted and differentiated approaches to engagement in fragile contexts. Focusing international policy attention on these fragile contexts is important to ensure sustainable development progress that leaves no one behind.

Diplomats and other diplomatic actors serve as the primary political actors in fragile contexts, both for OECD Development Assistance Committee members and the broader international community. They directly contribute to immediate and long-term peace, and their broad political network and knowledge positions them as a nodal point for effective and inclusive humanitarian, development and peace action in fragile contexts. This paper examines three different functions diplomatic actors assume that contribute to peace in fragile contexts: diplomacy as global governance, diplomats as peacebuilders and diplomats as facilitators. This paper is one of ten working papers supporting States of Fragility 2020. It works together with Security actors in fragile contexts, Conflict prevention in fragile contexts, and Peacebuilding in fragile contexts to provide comprehensive background to Chapter 2 on peace in States of Fragility 2020.

Prevention is better than cure. The prevention of violent conflict in fragile contexts is cost-effective, it works and it should matter – to Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members and the broader international community – for sustaining peace. The challenge is in translating recent policy commitments to prevention into practice in fragile contexts. Using the OECD multidimensional fragility framework and insights from the International Network on Conflict and Fragility (INCAF), this paper presents lessons on preventing violent conflict that are rooted in a risk and resilience approach and that prioritise country-led and owned responses. It offers DAC members insights on how they can best support conflict prevention in fragile contexts, and it is one of ten working papers contributing to States of Fragility 2020.

Engaging in fragile settings is challenging, but there is much to learn from the work Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members are doing to support fragile contexts on the ground. Drawing on case study research and a secondary literature review assembled as part of the Fit for Fragility project, this chapter offers guidance for navigating these substantively, strategically and institutionally complex environments. Though organisational fitness challenges are most visible at country level, they often reflect the quality of engagement by all parts of the organisation, from the local to the global level. Beyond individual organisations, the challenge also resides in strengthening coherence by ensuring effective co-ordination and – where relevant – collaborating across the Humanitarian Development Peace Nexus. Being fit for fragility, in this sense, is strongly contingent on being fit for collaboration.

States of Fragility 2020 sets a policy agenda for fragility at a critical turning point: the final countdown on Agenda 2030 is at hand, and the pandemic has reversed hard-fought gains. This report examines fragility as a story in two parts: the global state of fragility that existed before COVID-19, and the dramatic impact the pandemic is having on that landscape. It acknowledges the severe reality of fragility in its multidimensionality and complexity. It explores thinking and practice on fragility to propose new ideas on human capital analysis and conflict prevention in order to adapt policy for more resilient outcomes. With a thematic emphasis on peace in fragile contexts, it highlights the important role of peacebuilders, diplomats, and security actors for peace, and builds the case for enhanced complementarity and coherence across the Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus. It concludes by reconciling theory with practice to explore what it means to work effectively in fragile contexts. Focusing on fragility will be imperative to build peaceful, just and inclusive societies that leave no one behind.

This paper analyses official development assistance (ODA) to the 57 fragile contexts in the 2020 OECD fragility framework. ODA is a crucial, reliable resource for these fragile contexts and an indispensable part of their journey to sustainable development and peace. DAC members spent 63% of their net, country-allocable ODA in these contexts in 2018. Striving to protect this ODA, especially in light of the economic consequences of coronavirus (COVID-19), will be important to maintain sustainable development progress in fragile contexts as the ‘Decade of Action’ begins for Agenda 2030.

Adopting more sustainable ways of managing the ocean is a global priority: protecting its health will bring benefits to all. Developing countries face specific challenges, as many depend heavily on ocean-based industries and are overly exposed to the consequences of ocean degradation. Enhancing their access to science, policy advice and financing would allow them to tap better into the opportunities of a more sustainable ocean economy, including more decent jobs, cleaner energy, improved food security and enhanced resilience, while contributing to the protection of the world’s ocean. This report provides policy makers in developing countries, as well as their development co-operation partners with a wealth of fresh evidence on (i) the latest trends in selected ocean-based industries; (ii) policy instruments, including economic incentives, to promote ocean sustainability in various contexts; (iii) the first review of development finance and development co-operation practices in support of more sustainable ocean economies, including a discussion of how development co-operation can help re-orient private finance towards sustainability.