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Senior representatives of the international community agreed to improve the effectiveness of their aid to fragile states following a two-day forum in London (13-14 January, 2005), aimed at preventing fragile states from becoming marginalized from the benefits of global development and poverty reduction.
One concrete outcome was the agreement to draft for discussion the Principles of Good International Engagement in Fragile States. This draft is slated for discussion at the upcoming Paris High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness on 28 February-2 March and the OECD/Development Assistance Committee (DAC) High Level Meeting on 3 March 2005.
Please see: Chair's Summary for the Senior Level Forum on Development Effectiveness in Fragile States
"International assistance must not shy away from the most challenging environments if it is to prevent humanitarian catastrophes like Darfur from occurring. No foreign policy can afford the implications to global security," said Suma Chakrabarti, Permanent Secretary to the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) and official host of the Senior Level Forum on Development Effectiveness in Fragile States.
The two-day forum supported a growing consensus that in order to support more balanced and inclusive development, international organizations and development and security "communities" in their member states must remain effectively engaged in the struggle against poverty in fragile states.
Fragile states are countries affected by weak governance and institutions where delivering aid is difficult but critical to support peace and stability, and to improve the lives of the millions of their citizens who are mired in a vicious circle of conflict, poor governance and poverty.
"It is estimated that a third of people living in absolute poverty around the world, live in fragile states," said Richard Manning, Chair of the OECD/DAC. "These countries present an enormous challenge to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and have a major impact on regional and global security. Together, donors must remain engaged and improve the effectiveness of their aid in these difficult environments."
Research conducted by Professor Paul Collier and Lisa Chauvet, in advance of the SLF, reinforced participants' sentiments expressed around the table that not engaging in fragile states is no longer an option if commitments on poverty eradication, lasting peace and stability are to be realized. According to the Collier/Chauvet report, Development Effectiveness in Fragile States: Spillovers and Turnarounds, two-thirds of the economic damage done by a fragile state are costs imposed on its neighbours. Having a fragile state as a neighbour reduces Gross Domestic Product by 1.6 percent per annum, and the cost of the average fragile state in economic losses alone is US $100 billion - twice the global aid budget. Further, over 75 percent of fragile states are conflict affected. They are a major source of refugee movements, drugs transit and in some cases have been used as bases for terrorist activities.
"We must move from reaction towards prevention, and develop integrated policy approaches on prevention of state fragility, said Stefano Manservisi, Director General, DG Development, European Commission. We need to go beyond conflict and be better prepared to respond comprehensively to different kinds of crisis. This should include effective support to governance reform including institutional capacity building. Main challenges as I see them include increasing the capacity of regional organizations -- particularly in Africa -- and of partner countries to engage in prevention."
"Fragile states share a common vulnerability but face very different combinations of problems," added World Bank Managing Director, Shengman Zhang. "Through our Low Income Countries Under Stress (LICUS) Initiative, the Bank is trying to better calibrate its support to individual country circumstances, recognizing there exist different constraints of capacity and different needs across fragile states," Zhang said.
Representatives from bilateral and multilateral agencies shared examples of results-based interventions that have proven to be successful in these environments. Topping the agenda were: closer donor co-ordination and adoption of joint approaches; remaining engaged even in difficult times; and acting in ways that support and encourage "do-no-harm," country-led development.
Speaking at the closing of the forum, Zéphirin Diabré, UN Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), emphasized that no one instrument emerges as the "golden solution" to meeting the urgent demands of stability, transition and recovery in fragile states. He said deliberate strategies around sequencing, timing and phasing are critical in the framework of a coherent and effective response.
"Our focus should remain on development effectiveness rather than just aid," Diabré said. "For post-conflict countries, substantial progress has been made toward policy coherence and integrated action through the introduction of the UN/WB post-conflict needs assessment methodology and conflict cause analysis, coupled with the Transitional Results Matrix."
This forum was hosted by DFID and convened by the OECD/DAC, the European Commission, UNDP and the World Bank.
The Senior Level Forum on Development Effectiveness in Fragile States was one of the first vital strides in 2005's important development agenda, which encompasses the launch of the UN Secretary General's Millennium Report, the UN General Assembly Special Summit on the Millennium Development Goals, the UK Chairmanship of the G8 and its key focal point, Prime Minister Tony Blair's Commission for Africa, as well as the Second High Level Forum on Harmonization and Alignment for Aid Effectiveness, to be held this March.
Contacts:
OECD/DAC: Helen Fisher +33 1 4524 8097 helen.fisher@oecd.org
European Commission: Norbert Sagstetter +32 2 299 2848 Norbert.SAGSTETTER@cec.eu.int
UNDP: Nick Gouede +212-906-6801 nicholas.gouede@undp.org
World Bank: Niamh Collier /Rachel Winter Jones +44 789 989 8335 ncollier@worldbank.org
DFID: Derek Warren +44 20 7023 0950 d-warren@dfid.gov.uk
For more information, please visit the following websites:
Official Website, Senior Level Forum: http://www.oecd.org/dac/lap/slffragilestates
UK DFID: http://www.dfid.gov.uk
UNDP: http://www.undp.org
European Commission: http://europa.eu.int/comm/development/body/events/events_details_2_en.htm
The World Bank LICUS Initiative: http://www.worldbank.org/licus
OECD-DAC: http://www.oecd.org/dac
Aid Harmonisation and Alignment: http://www.aidharmonization.org/
United Nations Global Security: http://www.un-globalsecurity.org
U.K. Commission for Africa: http://www.commissionforafrica.org/commission/Commission.htm
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