|
Venue: Lancaster House
Stable Yard, London SW1
United Kingdom
Go directly to
Background - The Aims of the Forum - Participants - Important Documentation
Background Papers
Background
There is broad agreement that aid for poverty reduction is more effective in countries with sound institutions and policies. At the same time, a number of donors agree on the need to work with fragile states (i.e. countries that are not able or willing to provide basic social services to the poor in their populations) by promoting the goals of peace, security, respect for the rule of law, human rights, and social and economic development. The impact of weak and fragile states on global security, and the imperative to ensure the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), make it clear that development agencies must also find effective ways to remain engaged, even in the large number of countries where institutions and policies are the weakest, and where poverty reduction partnerships are most difficult to establish. Donors must work inside their own governments and with others donors finding ways to help support change and improve the lives of poor people living in fragile states.
With this task in mind, the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), the European Commission, the UNDP and the World Bank held a Joint Workshop on Working for Development in Difficult Partnerships in October 2002. It was agreed at that time to establish the Learning and Advisory Process on Difficult Partnerships (LAP) to share analysis and best practice based on concrete country experiences. It was also agreed that a similar follow-up meeting would be held to take stock of emerging findings and strategies.
It is in this context that the OECD DAC, the EC, the UNDP and the World Bank convened a Senior Level Forum on Development Effectiveness in Fragile States, hosted by DFID.
The Aims of the Forum
The objective of this two-day Forum was to help shape a consensus on how donors should be engaging in fragile states. This drew on the emerging elements of best practice from both field experience of working on development in fragile states as well as commissioned research and studies. In particular, the focus of the Forum was on strategic frameworks and donor policy coherence; aid allocation to fragile states; coordination, harmonisation and alignment as well as service delivery and aid instruments. Wherever possible, topics presented were grounded on evidence from country cases. The Chair's Summary is available here.
Participants
Over two hundred and forty people participated in the Forum including senior representatives from OECD countries, the UNDG, World Bank, regional development banks, members of civil society, academics as well as representatives from partner governments including ministers from Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, the Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste.
Progress made on identifying what sort of aid works – and what does not – in the context of fragile states, as well as conclusions from the debate on aid allocations, service delivery and harmonization and alignment, will be reported to the High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness on Harmonization and Alignment to be held in Paris in March 2005.
Important Documentation
For more information about this SLF, please contact DAC.Contact@oecd.org
|
