Strategic Framework

Peacebuilding – a DevelopmentPerspective

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Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Af fairs

Strategic Framework

Peacebuilding – a DevelopmentPerspective

Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Af fairs

Front page: War and Peace. Artist: Akkara Naktamna, 15 years old, Thailand. The drawing is on loan from The International Museum of Children's Art, Oslo,www.childrensart.com

Gøril Throndsen Booth page 23, 24, 29, 38Wenche Hauge (PRIO) page 17, 18Bibiane D. Piene page 16Scanpix/Corbis page 13, 19, 31, 33, 41CF Wesenberg page 3

2

3Foreword by the Norwegian Minister ofInternational Development

“Let us make this endeavour a testament tofuture generations that our generation had thepolitical vision and will to transform our per-ception of a just international order from avision of the absence of war to a vision of sus-tainable peace and development for all.”

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Prevention of Armed

Conflict (2001)

Preventing conflict and making, keeping andbuilding peace is a priority in Norwegian for-eign policy. This also applies to developmentpolicy.

Norway has for a long time played an activerole in peacemaking processes and peace-keeping operations. However, experience hasshown that after the cease-fire or the peaceagreement, conflict often flares up again.Greater emphasis therefore needs to be givento peacebuilding: to preventing armed conflictfrom breaking out, facilitating and supportingpeacemaking processes in countries in con-flict, and helping to (re)build post-conflictsocieties to prevent the violence from recur-ring. This means that peace negotiations mustbe supplemented by a broad range of meas-ures to advance security and political, socialand economic development. The aim of peace-building is lasting and sustainable peace with-in and between states.

The responsibility for peacebuilding lies natu-rally with the parties involved, but the inter-national community can assist in theseefforts. Peacebuilding - a DevelopmentPerspective outlines a strategic framework forNorway’s role in international peacebuilding

efforts in countries andregions threatened by,undergoing or emergingfrom violent conflict.

Peacebuilding is animportant task, but a dif-ficult one. This strategicframework is designedto help us intensify andtarget our efforts tomake them as effective as possible. But eventhough we now have a common platform onwhich to base Norway’s support for and par-ticipation in peacebuilding efforts, we mustnot forget that every conflict situation isunique, and that peacebuilding must be tai-lored accordingly. Norway will use this strate-gic framework to implement its policy incountries, regions and organisations, and willpromote good donor practices in this area aswell.

There is an enormous need for peacebuilding,and it calls for considerable human and eco-nomic resources. We must enhance our com-petence and capacity so that we are betterequipped to achieve the desired results.

International efforts to prevent violent con-flicts and build lasting and sustainable peacecan help to prevent human suffering and lossof life, reduce poverty and mitigate the nega-tive consequences of conflicts far beyond theareas where they are being fought. Norwaycan and should contribute to intensifying andtargeting these efforts. The strategic frame-work for peacebuilding will assist us in thisendeavour.

Minister of InternationalDevelopment Hilde F.Johnson

HILDE F. JOHNSON

MINISTER OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

16. august 2004

4 Table of contents

Foreword by the Norwegian Minister of International Development .............................................. 3

Summary..................................................................................................................................................... 5

1. Peace and development – violent conflict and poverty.......................................................... 10

2. Why do we need a strategic framework? .................................................................................. 12

3. What is peacebuilding? ................................................................................................................ 133.1 Key documents .................................................................................................................. 133.2 Peacebuilding in relation to other concepts ................................................................... 14

4. Strategic framework for Norway’s role in peacebuilding ....................................................... 164.1 Security ............................................................................................................................... 16

4.1.1 Disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration................................................ 164.1.2 Humanitarian mine action..................................................................................... 174.1.3 Control of small arms and light weapons............................................................ 194.1.4 Security system reform ......................................................................................... 20

4.2 Political development ........................................................................................................ 214.2.1 Support for political and administrative authorities and structures ................ 214.2.2 Reconciliation ......................................................................................................... 224.2.3 Good governance, democracy and human rights .............................................. 244.2.4 Civil society, including the media ........................................................................ 264.2.5 Judicial processes and truth commissions.......................................................... 27

4.3 Social and economic development................................................................................... 284.3.1 Repatriation and reintegration of refugees and internally

displaced persons................................................................................................... 284.3.2 Reconstruction of infrastructure and important public functions.................... 304.3.3 Social development: education and health.......................................................... 304.3.4 Economic development: private sector development, employment,

trade and investment ............................................................................................. 32

5. Countries and regions .................................................................................................................. 35

6. Good donor practices in peacebuilding .................................................................................... 376.1 National ownership, and co-ordination and harmonisation of donor efforts.............. 376.2 Women and children ......................................................................................................... 386.3 Multilateral organisations ................................................................................................. 396.4 Non-governmental organisations..................................................................................... 416.5 Timing................................................................................................................................. 416.6 Resources ........................................................................................................................... 42

Annex: Statement by the President of the Security Council, 20 February, 2001 .................... 44

Preventing conflict and making, keeping andbuilding peace is a priority in Norwegian for-eign policy, including development policy.

The term “peacebuilding” has been part ofthe vocabulary of international politics since1992, but there is still a certain amount to bedone as regards clearing up conceptual confu-sion, developing strategic frameworks andestablishing good donor practices. TheNorwegian government will work at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels forcomprehensive, coherent and well co-ordinat-ed efforts by the international community toprevent conflict and build peace.

Norway will strengthen the available peace-building instruments, gather information andseek to learn from experience. It will continueto build competence in the foreign serviceconcerning the use of development co-opera-tion for peacebuilding purposes.

Peacebuilding is an important supplement topeacemaking processes and peacekeepingoperations. Peacebuilding covers a broadrange of measures implemented in the contextof emerging, current or post-conflict situationsfor the deliberate and explicit purpose of pro-moting lasting and sustainable peace. Many ofthe elements of peacebuilding are the same asthose of development co-operation with coun-tries that are not affected by conflict, but thecontext and purpose are different and requirean extra-sensitive approach to what should bedone and how it should be done.

Peacebuilding can • help prevent violent conflict from breaking

out• pave the way for and support peacemaking

processes in countries in conflict,• help build societies in a post-conflict situa-

tion with a view to avoiding a recurrence of violence.

Peacebuilding has three, mutually reinforcingdimensions:1. security2. political development3. social and economic development

Peacebuilding should encompass all threedimensions at the same time. A sequentialapproach is not usually to be recommended.

Security

Disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration

• Norway is seeking to ensure that theInternational Financial Institutions, the UNsystem and the relevant humanitarianorganisations intensify and co-ordinate theirefforts and clarify the division of labour asregards the disarmament, demobilisationand reintegration (DD&R) of ex-combat-ants. Norway also contributes financially tothese efforts.

• It is especially important to emphasise thecivilian aspect and intensify efforts to rein-tegrate child and women soldiers.

• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and theNorwegian Defence International Centre(FOKIV) have, in co-operation with sisterorganisations in Sweden, Canada andGermany, developed a cross-disciplinaryprogramme on DD&R for civil and militarypersonnel working with peace operationsand peacebuilding. A manual on DD&R hasalso been published. Other forms of compe-tence building are being considered inresponse to the UN’s need for a resourcebase of DD&R personnel (instructors andfield operators).

Humanitarian mine action

• Norway will continue to co-ordinate andstrengthen the implementation of the Anti-

5Summary

personnel Mine Ban Convention of 1997.This includes supporting mine clearance,stockpile destruction, information cam-paigns and assistance to mine victims.

• Norway will continue its close co-operationwith NGOs and give substantial support tohumanitarian mine action under the aus-pices of the UN, primarily through supportfor UNDP and UNICEF.

Control of small arms and light weapons

• Norway will continue its role as a primemover in the efforts to gain control over theinternational trade in small arms and lightweapons.

• Norway supports the efforts to developnorms and rules in addition to those set outin the UN’s Action Plan to Reduce SmallArms (2001) and the Additional Protocol onFirearms to the UN Convention againstTransnational Organised Crime (2001), pri-marily with respect to the falsifying or alter-ing of the markings on firearms, the regula-tion of arms brokering, and the developmentof export criteria for small arms transfers.

• In 1999 Norway took the initiative to estab-lish the UNDP Small Arms Trust Fund,which has received substantial supportfrom other countries.

• Norway will continue to support regionaland sub-regional co-operation on stoppingillicit trafficking in small arms.

Security system reform

• Norway has co-operated with other coun-tries in the OECD/DAC and in the Utsteinnetwork1 on developing a common policyon security system reform. Norway willbase its efforts on the OECD/DAC docu-ment Security System Reform andGovernance: Policy and Good Practice(2004), and will draw up operational guide-lines for following up this initiative. It is par-ticularly important to enhance the civilauthorities’ capacity for control of the secu-rity sector and to support transparency andaccountability in connection with militarybudgets.

• Norway will make use of the CrisisResponse Pool it has established to providetechnical assistance in the justice sector,including the police and prison services.

Political development

Support for political and administrative authorities and structures

• Norway attaches great importance to help-ing to build up national authorities andstructures that have popular legitimacy andthe capacity to deliver, especially in post-conflict countries. Peace efforts must befirmly based on the recipient country’s ownpriorities. Recipient responsibility presup-poses a political legitimacy and administra-tive capacity that in many cases have to berestored or rebuilt. Rapid financial and tech-nical support for political and administrativestructures is often one of the first steps in apeacebuilding process.

Reconciliation

• Norway supports reconciliation measuresin connection with, and also independentlyof, its role in peacemaking processes.

• Reconciliation among political, military, reli-gious, business and other leaders, and alsoat middle management and grass rootslevel, is vital for preventing conflict and pro-moting and building peace.

• Reconciliation should be mainstreamed intothe efforts by all actors in countries threat-ened by, undergoing or emerging from vio-lent conflict, and may also be promotedthrough specific measures.

• Civil society plays a particularly significantrole in reconciliation processes.

Good governance, democracy and human rights

• Norway will continue its efforts at the bilat-eral, regional and multilateral levels to pro-mote good governance in its developmentco-operation. Special emphasis will be givento combating corruption, including war-related corruption.

6

1 The Utstein group consists of Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK.

7• Norway supports democracy building anddemocratisation processes. NORDEM andthe Norwegian Centre for DemocracySupport, whose purpose is to support fledg-ling democracies in the South, play animportant role in the efforts to consolidatedemocracy in Norway’s partner countries.

• Norway will focus more strongly on reformof the justice sector in post-conflict coun-tries and is prepared to support countriesthat are seeking to build a society based onthe rule of law and respect for humanrights.

• Norway’s efforts to mainstream humanrights considerations into its peacebuildingactivities are based on its Plan of Action forHuman Rights (1999).

• A special focus will be trained on women’sand children’s rights and participation, inkeeping with international developmentgoals.

Civil society, including the media

• Norway supports civil society building inthe South, both directly and throughNorwegian NGOs, in order to enhance civilsociety's competence and capacity to con-tribute to lasting and sustainable peace.

• Norway will develop guidelines for support-ing the development of free and independ-ent media in the South.

Judicial processes and truth commissions

• Norway is seeking to mobilise the broadestpossible support for the InternationalCriminal Court.

• Norway will continue to support the inter-national criminal tribunals for the FormerYugoslavia and Rwanda and the SpecialCourt for Sierra Leone.

• Norway will continue to support truth com-missions and information programmes inconflict areas concerning important interna-tional judicial decisions.

Social and economic development

Repatriation and reintegration of refugeesand internally displaced persons

• Norway will continue its efforts to promotedurable solutions for refugees and internal-ly displaced persons in the form of legaland physical protection and material sup-port, and will seek to improve the co-ordi-nation of multilateral efforts in this field.

• Norway supports the initiative for a com-prehensive approach by and improved co-operation between UNHCR, UNDP and theWorld Bank on assisting refugees and inter-nally displaced persons (the 4Rs pro-gramme).

• Norway will continue to channel substantialfunds through UNICEF, the United NationsOffice for the Co-ordination ofHumanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), theInternational Red Cross and NGOs.

Reconstruction of infrastructure and important public functions

• Norway supports mechanisms for thereconstruction of infrastructure and impor-tant public functions in countries emergingfrom violent conflict. This involves thereconstruction of roads, buildings and elec-tricity and telecommunications networks, sothat the population experiences as soon aspossible that peace brings dividends.

Social development: education and health

• Norway’s efforts to ensure education for allby 2015 are based on its strategy“Education – Job Number 1” (2003).Education and health are key peacebuildingactivities, and improving education andhealth care in conflict and post-conflict situ-ations is a vital task.

• Norway will advocate and support policiesthat promote more equitable distributionand counteract social marginalisation,include previously excluded groups, and donot discriminate as regards sex or ethnic,religious, social and geographical affiliation.

• Norway will continue its efforts to improveeducation and health services throughNorwegian and international NGOs, the

UN system, the International FinancialInstitutions and bilateral government-to-government co-operation.

Economic development: private sector deve-lopment, employment, trade and investment

• Norway has for several years been support-ing research projects to raise internationalawareness and promote internationalunderstanding of the economic causes anddriving forces of violent conflict, and willseek to transform the findings into practicalpolicy.

• Norway works at the bilateral, regional andmultilateral levels for greater transparencyand accountability in the extractive indus-tries (through the Extractive IndustriesTransparency Initiative). This includes pro-moting corporate social responsibility, forexample through KOMpakt (theConsultative Body for Human Rights andNorwegian Economic EngagementAbroad). It is important in this context tostrike the right balance between voluntaryaction and legally binding rules.

• Norway’s support to private sector develop-ment is mainly based on its Strategy forPrivate Sector Development in the South.Two of the priority countries under thisstrategy, Sri Lanka and Uganda, are facingconsiderable challenges in connection withpeacebuilding.

• Norway considers it important to facilitateaccess to capital and credit and to work forthe formalisation of property rights.

Countries and regions

• Norway will intensify its peacebuildingefforts in its main partner countries andpartner countries, and will ensure thatpeacebuilding is mainstreamed into theguidelines for its development co-operationwith conflict-affected countries and regions.

• Norway will also give priority to countrieswhere it is or has been involved in peace-making processes.

• Norway will seek at national and interna-tional level to ensure that peacemakingprocesses are appropriately linked withpeacebuilding efforts.

• Norway will seek to ensure that the interna-

tional community’s peacebuilding effortsare predictable and have a long-term per-spective and that conflict areas that are nolonger in the public eye receive support forpeacebuilding.

• Norway considers that peacebuildingshould, where possible and appropriate,have a regional perspective.

• Norway will support the work being donein the African Union and other regional co-operation organisations such as ECOWASand the SADC on developing security struc-tures and peacebuilding capacity.

• Norway will continue and intensify compe-tence-building efforts in the field of peace-building, including research and evaluation,that are carried out in Norway and abroad.

Good donor practices

• Norway promotes good donor practices inconnection with peacebuilding at the bilat-eral, regional and multilateral levels. In thistask Norway gives particular emphasis tonational ownership, co-ordination of theinternational community’s efforts and har-monisation of procedures.

• Norway seeks to ensure that the strategicframeworks for the international communi-ty’s peacebuilding efforts in conflict-affect-ed countries and regions are based on jointconflict analyses and needs assessments.Norway will seek to ensure a division ofresponsibility and labour based on the com-parative advantages of the various actors.

• Norway is reviewing the various methodsof conflict analysis and peace and conflictimpact assessments with a view to identify-ing the most suitable tools and providingtraining in their use.

• Norway gives priority to providing politicaland economic support to capacity- and com-petence-building activities in the UN andother multilateral organisations in order toenhance these organisations’ ability to pro-mote lasting and sustainable peace.

• Norway’s peacebuilding efforts in othercountries and regions will be aimed atenhancing and developing a comprehensiveinternational approach headed by the UNsystem and with the active participation ofthe International Financial Institutions.

• Norway will advocate an increase in finan-cial contributions to peacebuilding and will

8

9support the establishment of an effectiveorganisational structure and financingmodel for international co-operation in thisarea that are tailored to the situation inquestion. Norway will as a rule supportjoint financing mechanisms in transitionalsituations in order to avoid a multiplicity ofdifferent bilateral projects and programmesand promote national ownership and con-trol.

• Norway will continue its co-operation anddialogue with Norwegian NGOs on theirconflict prevention and peacebuilding activi-ties, among other things with a view toensuring that all Norwegian activities inconflict-affected countries contribute topeace.

• Several of Norway’s main priorities alsoneed to be mainstreamed into peacebuild-ing activities. This is particularly true of thefight for human rights. Women are animportant resource and have special inter-ests and needs, and Norway is seeking tomainstream a gender perspective into allprocesses and at every level in conflict pre-vention and peace-promoting efforts.Norway is developing a plan for followingup Security Council resolution 1325 (2000)on Women, Peace and Security.

• Norway is developing a strategy for improv-ing conditions for children and young peo-ple in the South, which will also take up thesituation of children and young people inthe context of conflict and peace activities.

Peace is essential for development, and viceversa: development is essential for lasting andsustainable peace. Without peace we will notwin the fight against poverty. Without peacethe Millennium Development Goals will beoptimistic but unrealistic promises.

Violent conflict leads to and exacerbatespoverty, and poverty is often a cause of vio-lent conflict. Conflicts are a serious threat todevelopment and their adverse consequencesextend far beyond the geographical areaswhere they are being fought.

The World Bank report Breaking the ConflictTrap (2003), which was financed by Norway,puts it like this, “War retards development,but conversely, development retards war …Where development succeeds, countriesbecome progressively safer from violent con-flict, making subsequent development easier.Where development fails, countries are athigh risk of becoming caught in a conflict trapin which war wrecks the economy andincreases the risk of further war.”

Violent conflict is very costly and it wastesresources. Millions of lives are lost and evenmore people are wounded, physically andmentally, perhaps for the rest of their lives.The psychosocial consequences are extreme-ly serious. Livelihoods are destroyed, theeconomy is undermined, institutions anddemocratic processes collapse. Resourcesinvested in development are lost. People’sabilities are channelled into destructive,rather than constructive, activities. Military

budgets are often disproportionately largecompared with the funds available for socialand economic development, which in turn hasconsequences for employment, education,health care, and so on.

Violent conflict results in streams of refugees,human smuggling and trafficking, increasedproduction of and trafficking in narcotics, andillegal exploitation of and illicit trade in valu-able natural resources. It also facilitates cor-ruption and organised crime. These conse-quences are not only a threat to developmentin the South, they are also a threat to securityand stability in the North.

In many cases a regional approach to conflictprevention and peacebuilding is required.Violent conflict in one country often hasmajor consequences for neighbouring coun-tries, where it then retards development.Sometimes conflict is prolonged because aneighbouring country allows the insurgentsto operate from bases there and/or providespolitical or material support. Some countriesare exposed to aggression, terror, interven-tion or occupation by neighbouring countriesor even countries farther afield.

The causes of violent conflict are many andcomplex, and for peace efforts to be success-ful it is necessary to understand the underly-ing causes and take steps to deal with them.

Violent conflicts are often the result of delib-erate political decisions. Internal conflicts,which are more common than military con-

10 1. Peace and development – violent conflictand poverty

About six million people were killed as a result of violent conflicts in the 1990s alone. It is the civilian popula-tion and the poor who suffer most in these situations. Currently, about 300 000 children are soldiers. About 40million people are refugees or internally displaced as a result of civil war. Eighty per cent of them are womenand children. About 40 countries are affected by violent conflict. Some countries are balancing on the vergeof conflict and some are in the process of reconstruction after being devastated by years of violence. This situation is a major challenge for the international community.

11flicts between countries, are often aboutpower. They are often generated by perceivedviolations of human rights and gross discrimi-nation, but they may also be closely related toa power struggle among the political elite.Breaking the Conflict Trap points out thatpoverty, economic decline and a heavydependence on the export of valuable naturalresources, such as oil or diamonds, areamong the main causes of civil war.

In addition to seeking to terminate conflicts, itis important to prevent them from breakingout by altering the conditions that breed vio-lence and terror. The authorities in everycountry are responsible for preventing dissat-isfaction, alienation and marginalisation fromgaining a foothold and erupting into violence.Sovereignty implies that national govern-ments are not only responsible for ensuringthe country’s territorial integrity but also forensuring the population’s physical securityand respect for their civil, political, social, eco-nomic and cultural rights.

Lasting and sustainable peace can only bebased on trust between the parties and recon-ciliation among the people. It also requiressufficient security, a reasonable distribution ofgoods and burdens and the opportunity forpeople to take part in political processes. Theresponsibility for preventing conflict andbuilding peace lies with the parties involved,but the international community can help tobuild up competence, capacity and institutionsand by facilitating processes that providepeace incentives and promote awareness ofthe complete unacceptability of the costs of aconflict. Key development actors, such as theWorld Bank and UNDP, play important con-flict prevention and peacebuilding roles inthese processes.

International efforts to prevent violent conflictand build lasting and sustainable peace canprevent untold suffering and loss, reducepoverty and mitigate the adverse conse-quences of conflict. These efforts must beimproved and intensified. Norway must pro-mote national ownership and seek to ensure

that the international community’s efforts toprevent conflict and build peace are comprehen-sive, coherent and well co-ordinated.

In the course of the 1990s the internationalcommunity pledged over USD 100 billion inassistance to conflict resolution and peace-building in 30 to 40 countries. This has hadsome positive results, but there is still a largegap between the UN Charter’s vision of peaceand what many countries are in fact experi-encing. The international community seemsmore willing to cover some of the enormouscosts of violent conflict than to do what is nec-essary to prevent them and lay the foundationfor lasting and sustainable peace. The sumsthat have been allocated are far smaller thanthose that were pledged, planning and co-ordination of efforts have seldom been ade-quate and efforts have frequently not beensustained. Peace has deteriorated into conflictin far too many cases.

Norway has for a long time been taking anactive part in the international efforts to pre-vent violent conflict, relieve suffering andmake, keep and build peace. It is an impor-tant contributor to peacekeeping operationsand international humanitarian efforts. TheMiddle East, Guatemala, Sri Lanka and Sudanare just a few examples of areas whereNorway has contributed to peace processes,and it has also supported liberation move-ments and new democratic regimes throughdevelopment co-operation.

The purpose of participating in internationalconflict management is not merely to preventor put an end to hostilities and to help vic-tims. The overriding goal is to contribute to theachievement of lasting and sustainable peacewithin and between states. When peace effortssucceed, this is usually the result of a combi-nation of political initiatives, humanitarianassistance and long-term economic develop-ment co-operation. This means that a coher-ent foreign policy must be pursued towardsconflict-affected countries and regions, withdevelopment policy as an important and inte-gral element.

It is now 12 years since the UN report AnAgenda for Peace introduced the term “peace-building”. But although the need for and theimportance of peacebuilding are widelyacknowledged, the measures that are beingimplemented to promote lasting and sustain-able peace are not to any great extent basedon analyses or strategic planning. This is aserious shortcoming and it must be rectified.

Because of the increasing importance ofpeacebuilding, and in order to ensure thatthere is a better chance that peace efforts willachieve the desired results, the Ministry ofForeign Affairs has developed the presentstrategic framework for Norway’s role ininternational peacebuilding efforts. TheMinistry has also reviewed and updated thetools for implementing the strategy. Prior toand during Norway’s membership of theSecurity Council in 2001-2002, the countryintensified its efforts to co-ordinate humani-tarian assistance with peacebuilding, and toclarify its approach to the enhancement ofconflict prevention, training for peace opera-tions, and disarmament, demobilisation andreintegration. A new financial scheme knownas transitional assistance was established,mainly in order to be able to provide rapidassistance for peacebuilding measures.

Up to now there has been no overview ofwhat peacebuilding really is, of Norway’sgoals and tools in this regard, or of whatNorway intends to do in order to be a con-structive player in the international efforts topromote lasting and sustainable peace. The

present document is intended to provide suchan overview.

The document is also a response to the chal-lenge posed by the Utstein report GettingTheir Act Together (2003) to the donor coun-tries. The report challenged them to formu-late a general peacebuilding strategy thatcould be used as a basis for more specificstrategies for participating in peacebuildingactivities in specific countries and regions.2

The strategy’s main target group is employeesin the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, other min-istries, the Norwegian Agency forDevelopment Co-operation (NORAD) andNorwegian embassies dealing with issues inthe overlap between violent conflict and devel-opment policy in countries, regions andorganisations. Civil society actors, especiallyNGOs and media involved in peacebuilding,are also expected to find the framework use-ful. It is hoped that others whose work isrelated to this field will also find it a source ofinspiration.

This strategic framework provides a commonfoundation for Norway’s support for and par-ticipation in peacebuilding efforts in many dif-ferent situations in countries and regionsthreatened by, undergoing or emerging fromviolent conflict. Every situation is unique andrequires its own specific strategy. Strategiesmay also be needed for Norway’s efforts toexert influence in international arenas, with afocus on the role of the multilateral organisa-tions in peacebuilding.

12 2. Why do we need a strategic framework?

2 Smith, Dan, 2003. Getting their Act Together. Towards a Strategic Framework for Peacebuilding. Overviewreport of the joint Utstein study of peacebuilding, International Peace Research Institute, Oslo(PRIO)/Evaluation Report 1/2004, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway.

3.1 Key documents

In January 1992 a meeting of heads of stateand government was held in the SecurityCouncil for the first time to discuss how theUN could make better use of the possibilitiesoffered by the UN Charter to strengthen thework for international peace and security. Thesummit requested the Secretary General,Boutros Boutros Ghali, to examine and pres-ent recommendations on how the UN could,in line with the UN Charter, enhance itscapacity for preventive diplomacy, peacemak-ing and peacekeeping.

The resulting report, An Agenda for Peace.Preventive Diplomacy, Peacemaking andPeace-keeping (1992), introduced the term“post-conflict peacebuilding” for the first time,as a vitally important supplement to the threeterms the UN had been using up to then: pre-ventive diplomacy, peacemaking and peace-keeping. The report was one of the docu-ments on which the use of these terms ininternational conflict management came to bebased.

These concepts were further developed andclarified in a number of subsequent docu-ments, particularly in An Agenda forDevelopment (1994), Supplement to AnAgenda for Peace (1995), the Brahimi Reporton UN peace operations (2000), theMillennium Declaration (2000), Prevention ofArmed Conflict (2001) and Security Councilpresidential statements on peacebuilding, par-ticularly the statement of 20 February 2001.The role of women has been dealt with inde-pendently in Security Council resolution 1325on women, peace and security (2000).

In addition to clarifying these concepts, thedocuments called attention to the linksbetween the different areas related to peace-building and development. For examplepeacebuilding has come to include measures

applicable not only in post-conflict situationsbut also in situations prior to the outbreak ofviolent conflict in order to prevent such conflict.

The latest policy statement on peacebuildingfrom the Security Council is the PresidentialStatement of 20 February 2001, in otherwords at the beginning of Norway’s period inthe Council (2001-2002). The statementunderlines that the quest for peace requires acomprehensive, concerted and determinedapproach that addresses the root causes ofconflicts, including their economic and socialdimensions. It recognises that peacemaking,peacekeeping and peacebuilding are closelyinterrelated and that peacebuilding is aimedat preventing the outbreak, recurrence orcontinuation of armed conflict and therefore

133. What is peacebuilding?

Nepalese children pray for peace.

encompasses a wide range of political, devel-opmental, humanitarian and human rightsprogrammes and mechanisms. The statementreaffirms the Security Council’s primaryresponsibility for the maintenance of interna-tional peace and security, which in practice isan appeal to the Secretary General to adopt acoherent approach in connection with propos-als to the Security Council on peacebuildingmeasures. The statement also points out thatstrategies must take account of the needs ofthe country concerned and of the unique cir-cumstances of each particular situation. Thepresent strategic framework is closely in linewith the content of the statement, which isreproduced in the annex to this document.

The OECD/DAC has drawn up The DACGuidelines: Conflict, Peace and DevelopmentCo-operation on the Threshold of the 21st

Century (1997) and The DAC Guidelines:Helping Prevent Violent Conflict (2001). Theyprovide a detailed introduction to the thinkingon conflict prevention, peacebuilding anddevelopment co-operation and on its practicalapplication. The World Bank has also becomeengaged more strongly than before, particu-larly in post-conflict reconstruction.

Peace and conflict issues have been treated ina large number of academic and politicalreports. Several Norwegian research institu-tions have established programmes for thestudy of these issues and a number of NGOshave put peacebuilding on their agenda.Peacebuilding is discussed in fora concernedwith development issues and appears inreports, strategies, guidelines and evalua-tions, and in the sharing of lessons learned.The government’s white paper FightingPoverty Together (2004) has an entire chapterdevoted to peacebuilding.

3.2 Peacebuilding in relation to otherconcepts

An Agenda for Peace gives the following definitions.

Preventive diplomacy is action to preventdisputes from arising between parties, to prevent existing disputes from escalating intoconflicts and to limit the spread of the latterwhen they occur.

The concept of preventive diplomacy hassince been expanded to include preventiveaction encompassing for example the deploy-ment of a preventive presence in the field,preventive disarmament, preventive humani-tarian efforts and preventive peacebuilding.

Peacemaking is (diplomatic) action to bringhostile parties to agreement, essentiallythrough such peaceful means as those fore-seen in Chapter VI of the Charter of theUnited Nations.

This concept includes the use of theSecretary General’s special envoys and otherattempts to arrive at a political solution toarmed conflicts. Successful peacemakingprocesses usually result in a cease-fire andpeace agreement. The International Court ofJustice in The Hague and the various arbitra-tion mechanisms are too rarely used in thisconnection.

Peacekeeping is the deployment of a UnitedNations presence in the field, hitherto withthe consent of all the parties concerned, nor-mally involving United Nations militaryand/or police personnel and frequently othercivilians as well. Peacekeeping is a techniquethat expands the possibilities for both the pre-vention of conflict and the making of peace.

(Post-conflict) peacebuilding is action toidentify and support structures which willtend to strengthen and solidify peace in orderto avoid a relapse into conflict.

Peacebuilding was first defined as action toprevent the recurrence of violence after apeaceful solution had been achieved. Sincethen peacebuilding has also come to refer toaction carried out to prevent conflict. Somepeacebuilding measures may also be imple-mented during the conflict.

Thus peacebuilding does not encompasspeacemaking processes, but it can facilitateand support such processes. Peacebuildingdoes not encompass peacekeeping operations,but is often part of their mandate.

14

15The goal of peacebuilding is lasting andsustainable peace within and betweenstates

Peacebuilding can be used to:• help prevent violent conflict from breaking

out• pave the way for and support peacemaking

processes in countries in conflict,• help build societies in a post-conflict situa-

tion with a view to avoiding a recurrence of violence.

Peacebuilding is not merely a set of measuresthat are not covered by development co-oper-ation in the usual sense. Some peacebuildingmeasures overlap with development co-opera-tion activities, while others, especially thoseconcerned with security, refugees, internallydisplaced persons, judicial processes andtruth commissions, are seldom used in devel-opment co-operation in countries that are notand have not been affected by violent conflict.

Peacebuilding covers a broad range of meas-ures that are implemented in situations affect-ed by violent conflict for the explicit purposeof promoting lasting and sustainable peace.Thus peacebuilding is defined in terms of itscontext and its purpose. Many of the elementsof peacebuilding are the same as measuresused in development co-operation in peacefulareas, but since the context and purpose aredifferent they require an extra-sensitiveapproach to what should be done and how itshould be done.

Not all activities carried out in conflict-affect-ed countries qualify automatically as peace-building. Over the years many developmentactors have worked in conflict-affected coun-tries without regard to the level or the causesof the conflict. Many actors work around con-flicts as if they did not exist, instead of work-ing in or with conflicts and doing somethingabout them. At its worst, development co-operation can help cement or exacerbate aconflict if the geographical or ethnic distribu-tion of the assistance is perceived as unjust, ifsupport is given to controversial aspects ofpublic policies or if the assistance is perceivedas divisive in other ways. Development co-operation should at least be organised so thatit does not aggravate the situation, but reallywe should be more ambitious than that. Thefirst step is to prevent our assistance fromhaving adverse results; the next, even morechallenging, is to achieve the best possibleresults. It is becoming increasingly recog-nised that development co-operation in con-flict-affected countries should be aimed atreducing the potential for conflict andaddressing the causes. The challenge is tomake sure that development co-operation helpsto prevent conflict and promote peace, thuspaving the way for poverty reduction and devel-opment. Co-operation must be sensitive toconflict-related issues, and this requires goodtools.3

3 See for example Conflict-sensitive approaches to development, humanitarian assistance and peace-building(2004) A resource pack from International Alert, Saferworld, Forum for Early Warning and Early Response,Africa Peace Forum, Center for Conflict Resolution and Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies.

This strategic framework is intended to be anaid to structuring the planning and implemen-tation of operations.

In order to have a reasonable chance of suc-cess, peacebuilding must be comprehensiveand coherent. It has three, mutually reinforc-ing dimensions:1. Security2. Political development3. Social and economic development

Peacebuilding should encompass all threedimensions at the same time. A sequentialapproach is not usually to be recommended.

4.1 Security

The security dimension of peacebuildingencompasses both the security of a countryand individual security for its citizens. Itincludes:

• Disarmament, demobilisation and reintegra-tion of ex-combatants, including women andchildren

• Humanitarian mine action• Control of small arms and light weapons• Security system reform

Norway is actively involved in all these areas.

Security is a precondition for political, socialand economic development. The truth of thiscan be seen in many countries, for exampleAfghanistan, Angola, Nepal and Sudan.

4.1.1 Disarmament, demobilisation andreintegration

Disarmament, demobilisation and reintegra-tion (DD&R) of ex-combatants is a necessarystep if lasting and sustainable peace is to bebuilt after a conflict, and DD&R plays a centralrole in many peace operations today. The aimis to enable former soldiers to become produc-tive members of their local communities.

This is why the DD&R process includes, inaddition to disarmament and demobilisation,the important work of reintegrating the sol-dier and his or her family into the local com-munity after the conflict has ended. Manyconflicts have been going on for years, andmany people, both adults and children, havenever known any other life. Thus reintegra-tion includes psychosocial, medical, coun-selling, training and/or job creation pro-grammes, and often special programmes forreintegrating women and child soldiers.These programmes require long-termengagement and local ownership. Civil societyis an important co-operation partner here.

Reconciliation, trust and economic develop-ment are all needed if the DD&R process is to

16 4. Strategic framework for Norway’s role inpeacebuilding

We must not only do the thing right, we must also do the right thing.

A new future awaits these children from Yirol in South Sudan.Hopefully there will soon be peace, and development can begin.

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• Norway is seeking to ensure that theInternational Financial Institutions, the UN system and the relevant humanitarianorganisations intensify and co-ordinate their efforts and clarify the divi-sion of labour as regards the disarmament,demobilisation and reintegration (DD&R) of ex-combatants. Norway also contributesfinancially to these efforts.

• It is especially important to emphasise thecivilian aspect and intensify efforts to reinte-grate child and women soldiers.

• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and theNorwegian Defence International Centre(FOKIV) have, in co-operation with sisterorganisations in Sweden, Canada andGermany, developed a cross-disciplinary pro-gramme on DD&R for civil and military per-sonnel working with peace operations andpeacebuilding. A manual on DD&R has alsobeen published. Other forms of competencebuilding are being considered in response tothe UN’s need for a resource base of DD&Rpersonnel (instructors and field operators).

4.1.2 Humanitarian mine action

It is the rule rather than the exception for thewarring parties to leave behind them largenumbers of anti-personnel mines in the wake of

an armed conflict. These mines are a serioushazard for the civilian population and an obsta-cle to economic and social development. Theyresult in loss of life and limb, limit freedom ofmovement and prevent large areas of land frombeing used for cultivation and production.

Mine clearance is often regarded as a symbol-ic and practical way of cleaning up after a warand removing the last remaining weapons.Involving the formerly warring parties in

be successful. The parties will not be willingto hand in their weapons if they feel they areexposed to revenge or attack. Ex-combatantsalso need to be able to rely on access toappropriate training programmes and onbeing able to get a job. If these are not avail-able there is a great risk that they will turn tocrime, illicit trade in goods and weapons, traf-ficking in human beings, and private armies,all of which will destabilise the peace process.Support for labour-intensive reconstructionactivities in soldiers’ home areas is thereforea strategic means of avoiding destabilisation.

The World Bank provides technical assistancein connection with the planning of demobilisa-tion and the development of reintegration pro-grammes, and is assisting with the reintegra-tion of ex-combatants into local communities.UNDP plays a unique role in co-ordinatingUN efforts at country level, especially inbridging the gap between short-term humani-tarian assistance and long-term developmentmeasures. Humanitarian actors may also playan important role in reintegration pro-grammes.

Women who had been taken prisoner by RENAMO, the rebel movement in Mozambique, were often rejectedby their families when they finally returned home, perhaps with one or more children fathered by RENAMOsoldiers. There was often not enough food to feed so many mouths. Demobilised soldiers received a packagecontaining food, seeds and other necessities for re-establishing themselves in their home villages. Workingthrough UN agencies, Norway offered women a special package containing farm tools and the basic necessi-ties for several months. These women were immediately accepted by their communities and in several caseswere regarded as attractive marriage partners.

Mine clearance – a practical and symbolic way of repairing thedamage caused by war.

• Norway will continue to co-ordinate andstrengthen the implementation of the Anti-personnel Mine Ban Convention of 1997.This includes supporting mine clearance,stockpile destruction, information campaignsand assistance to mine victims.

• Norway will continue its close co-operationwith NGOs and give substantial support tohumanitarian mine action under the auspices of the UN, primarily through support for UNDP and UNICEF.

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mine clearance has been successful in severalcountries; for example in Guatemala the armyand demobilised guerrilla soldiers clearedminefields together. Such measures may alsopromote reconciliation.

According to the Landmine Monitor Report(2003), there were 82 mine-affected countriesin 2002, and mine clearance programmeswere being carried out in 67 of these. About50 million landmines have been destroyed inthe last few years, but 200-215 million are esti-mated to be stockpiled. Injuries from minesand unexploded ordnance were reported in65 countries in 2002. Fifteen to twenty thou-sand new mine victims are registered everyyear, only 15 per cent of whom are militarypersonnel. There is an enormous need forphysical and social rehabilitation programmes

for mine victims.The Anti-personnel Mine Ban Convention,which was negotiated at a diplomatic confer-ence in Oslo and signed in Ottawa in 1997,prohibits the use, stockpiling, production andtransfer of anti-personnel mines, and imposesan obligation to clear minefields and destroystockpiled mines. It also imposes an obliga-tion to assist mine victims, and opens the wayfor greater international co-operation and sup-port to humanitarian mine action.

As of August 2004, 143 countries had becomeparties to the Mine Ban Convention. A fur-ther nine countries have signed it. Most mine-affected countries have acceded to it. Theconvention has established internationalnorms that are also respected by most non-States Parties.

Norwegian People’s Aid is heading extensive national mine clearance programmes in several of the mostseriously mine-affected countries, such as Mozambique, Angola, Cambodia and Afghanistan, and in theBalkans. The organisation has also pioneered the development of simple socio-economic analyses for use inassigning priorities for the clearance of mined areas and for making good use of the cleared areas for sociallybeneficial purposes.The Norwegian Red Cross is heavily involved in the physical rehabilitation of mine victims in a large num-ber of countries, and the Norwegian organisation Trauma Care Foundation, formed by doctors with broadexperience of war areas, trains local personnel in administering first aid to victims.

194.1.3 Control of small arms and light weapons

Measures to control the international trade insmall arms and light weapons include pro-grammes for putting in place national legisla-tion and strengthening international co-opera-tion on the enforcement of such legislation onthe basis of international agreements. Thiscombination of national legislation and inter-national co-operation is essential for curbingillicit trade in, and production and transfer ofsmall arms. It is also essential to address theunderlying causes of the demand for theseweapons for the purpose of armed conflict,terrorism and organised crime. When theflow of small arms is under control, the nextstep will be to destroy existing stockpiles andset up a system for voluntary handovers ofillegal weapons in private hands and theirdestruction.

Internal and smaller regional conflicts areoften triggered and prolonged by readyaccess to small arms and light weapons.These weapons also fuel crime and violence,displace civilians and undermine humanitari-an assistance. The UN’s Action Plan toReduce Small Arms (2001) recognises that inmany regions of the world small arms andlight weapons constitute a serious threat topeace, reconciliation, safety, security and sus-tainable development. Thus control of theillicit global trade in these weapons is essen-tial for preventing and halting conflicts andmaintaining peace in post-conflict situations.

The UN is the most important forum for theglobal efforts to limit the illicit proliferationand circulation of small arms on the basis ofthe Action Plan, which is politically binding,and the Firearms Protocol to the UNConvention against Transnational OrganisedCrime (2001), which is the only global instru-ment in this field that is binding under inter-national law. The practical work of combatingsmall arms and light weapons proliferation ismainly being done under the auspices ofregional organisations such as theOrganisation for Security and Co-operation inEurope (OSCE), the Southern AfricanDevelopment Community (SADC), theEconomic Community of West African States(ECOWAS) and the Organization of AmericanStates (OAS).

The Human Security Network, which is agroup of like-minded countries where Norwayis an active participant, is another forum forthe efforts to combat small arms. The EU isalso engaged in this field through theEuropean Union Code of Conduct on ArmsExports.

Small arms measures should be part of abroader local, regional and global strategy,and should also be integrated into develop-ment policy measures at country level. Suchstrategies are most effective when they dealwith supply aspects (production, export andsale), brokering and the demand and recipi-ent/user aspects. This work requires closeco-operation between governments and civilsociety.

There is a great need for support to concreteprojects as affected countries develop nationalplans for putting into practice the UN ActionPlan and regional small arms agreements andcommitments.

Small arms control is often a precondition fora successful DD&R process and for securitysector reform. People can be offered practicalincentives to hand in their weapons. Under

Small arms are often a threat to peace, reconciliation, safety,security and development.

the “weapons for development” programmelaunched by UNDP’s Bureau for CrisisPrevention & Recovery, illegal weapons areexchanged for support for development meas-ures. However, this and other similar projectshave had mixed results, and more work mustbe done on developing effective models forfuture efforts.

• Norway will continue its role as a primemover in the efforts to gain control over theinternational trade in small arms and lightweapons.

• Norway supports the efforts to develop normsand rules in addition to those set out in theUN Action Plan to Reduce Small Arms andthe Additional Protocol on Firearms to theUN Convention against TransnationalOrganised Crime, primarily with respect tothe falsifying or altering of the markings onfirearms, the regulation of arms brokering,and the development of export criteria forsmall arms transfers.

• In 1999 Norway took the initiative to estab-lish the UNDP Small Arms Trust Fund,which has received substantial support fromother countries.

• Norway will continue to support regionaland sub-regional co-operation on stoppingillicit trafficking in small arms.

4.1.4 Security system reform

The efforts to deal with the main sources ofconflict and to improve the security of thecivilian population in post-conflict situationshave resulted in a stronger focus on the secu-rity system. This system encompasses thearmed forces, paramilitary groups, civilpolice, the judicial and prison system, intelli-gence services and private security firms. Italso covers the civil authorities that areresponsible for controlling these groups. Thesecurity system is responsible for protecting

the state and society, individuals, propertyand infrastructure.

An important task in peacebuilding is toensure that civil and military security actorsare accountable to the civil authorities inaccordance with democratic norms and theprinciples of good governance. One of themain challenges is to achieve transparencyand accountability about how much of thegovernment budget is allocated to militaryspending. This is an important part of theefforts to adapt civil and military securityforces to peace conditions instead of a conflictsituation. Norway has on several occasionsindicated, for example to Ethiopia, Eritrea andUganda, that the size of military budgets rais-es problems for development co-operation.

Security system reform can take many forms.One important measure is to integrate theadministration of the security system into thecountry’s general poverty reduction strategyand development policy. For example, theWorld Bank can play an important role in pro-moting the integration of security sector costsinto general public financial management inaccordance with the principles of good gover-nance. In some countries security systemreform may involve reform of national mili-tary forces so that former government troops,guerrillas, regional forces, etc. are placedunder joint command. Technical assistancewith new legislation for the sector, exchangesof visits, and institutional co-operation areuseful measures. Co-operation may be carriedout on training of civil and military personnelin their roles in a democratic society, includ-ing respect for human rights and internationalhumanitarian law.4 Independent media, NGOsand research institutions can play a pro-activerole in these activities.

Adequate security is essential for develop-

20 Norway is actively involved in small arms control efforts under the UN Action Plan, and within the OSCE,ECOWAS and the SADC. Norway is also a major contributor to the UNDP Small Arms Trust Fund. As regardsoperational measures, Norway has so far given priority to the Balkans and a number of African countries andregions, such as South Africa, Malawi, the Horn of Africa and West Africa. These efforts have been mainlyfocused on collection and destruction.

4 Support for the training of military personnel may not be reported to theOECD/DAC as part of ODA.

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ment co-operation. Thus it is not always agood idea to focus exclusively on scalingdown the security sector. Diverting resourcesfrom the armed forces to the civil police isoften a good way of achieving the necessarysecurity for political, social and economicdevelopment.

• Norway has co-operated with other countriesin the OECD/DAC and in the Utstein net-work (Canada, Germany, the Netherlands,Norway, Sweden and the UK) on developinga common policy on security system reform.Norway will base its efforts on theOECD/DAC document Security SystemReform and Governance: Policy and GoodPractice (2004) and will draw up opera-tional guidelines for following up this initia-tive. It is particularly important to enhancethe civil authorities’ capacity for control ofthe security sector and to support transparen-cy and accountability in connection with mil-itary budgets.

• Norway will make use of the Crisis ResponsePool it has established to provide technicalassistance in the justice sector, including thepolice and prison service.

4.2 Political development

The political dimension of peacebuilding isimportant for promoting and maintainingsecurity and social and economic develop-ment. A repressive peace does not result indevelopment. Among the underlying causesand triggers of violent conflict are illegitimateor weak public institutions, corruption, lack ofrespect for human rights, a democratic deficitand the perception that the administrative andpolitical channels are inadequate and/or inac-cessible.

Combating the underlying causes of conflictrequires measures in the following politicalareas:• support for political and administrative

authorities and structures• reconciliation• good governance, democracy and respect for

human rights• civil society, including the media• judicial processes and truth commissions

Norway is actively engaged in all these areas.

4.2.1 Support for political and administra-tive authorities and structures

Some societies emerge from a conflict withtheir basic physical and institutional infra-structure more or less intact. In others, espe-cially when the conflict has been prolonged,key public functions may have more or lessbroken down. Thus it may be necessary toprovide support to political and administrativeauthorities and structures during a transitionperiod in order to consolidate the position ofpeace- and development-oriented govern-ments and maintain public order. This mayalso mean supporting a liberation, guerrilla orseparatist movement during its transforma-tion into a political party. Support may takethe form of, for example, competence andcapacity building, which are essential fornational ownership and peacebuilding.Lasting and sustainable peace depends on theexistence of legitimate national authorities. Itis important not to support parallel structuresthat undermine legitimate authorities.

The examples of Somalia and West Africashow how difficult it is to reconstruct a post-

In 2004 Norway established a Crisis ResponsePool to provide technical assistance in the justice,police and prison sector as a means of increasingNorway’s participation in international civil crisismanagement. The pool consists of 30 people, 10judges, five public/military prosecutors, six policelawyers and nine prison service employees. Theobject is to provide advice and training and assistwith institution building in countries emergingfrom war or internal violent conflict, in countries intransition from a totalitarian regime and in weakdemocracies. The pool is administered by theMinistry of Justice.

Experience from, for example, the Balkans hasrevealed the need for a coherent approach tosecurity system reform, especially in the fightagainst organised crime and the investigation of war crimes. One of the lessons learned is thattraining of police officers must be accompaniedby a corresponding emphasis on the courts andprison system. It is not enough to have an effective police force if the courts and the prisonservice are not able to handle the resulting number of cases.

22 conflict society without a functioning state.

But what is to be done when the treasury isempty when a new government assumespower, as happened in East Timor andAfghanistan? In such cases the country willneed comprehensive technical and economicassistance from outside to ensure the stabilityof the new government. It is especially impor-tant to build or rebuild basic infrastructure sothat the public administration can function. InAfghanistan in 2002, for example, centralbank functions had to be reconstituted so thatthe country could have a currency again. Andmany new ministries – finance, education,health – had to be established, in spite of thefact that the government did not have enoughincome to pay the salaries. Processes like thiscan be very difficult and time-consuming, inboth political and administrative terms.

In this situation, where the government need-ed to be able to pay the salaries of thoseemployees who were to re-establish publicservices, Norway began providing budgetsupport at an early stage in order to strength-en the government’s legitimacy. The nextphase will require support for capacity andinstitution building in the various sectors.Private sector development and commercialactivities that will provide income for thestate, and so lessen Afghanistan’s dependenceon outside help, will also be necessary (see4.3.4).

In some situations a new regime takes overnot only an empty treasury but also a heavydebt burden from previous regimes. In thesesituations international debt relief schemes,especially the Highly Indebted PoorCountries (HIPC) Initiative, can make a sub-stantial contribution to stability. More specifi-cally, the IMF and the World Bank haveestablished arrangements to enable newregimes to obtain debt relief in post-conflictsituations. Norway has set up a Debt ReliefFund for contributing to debt relief throughthe HIPC Initiative, clearing of arrears andsubsidising the IMF’s post-conflict assistanceto low-income countries.5 Such measuresimprove the economic conditions for peace-

building. Debt relief was absolutely essentialin Afghanistan, and it will be necessary to findinternational solutions to the debts contractedby Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein.Other examples of countries with seriousdebt problems are Liberia and also Sudan,where debt relief will be a key element oncepeace has been restored throughout the coun-try, including Darfur.

An emphasis on national ownership and sup-port for national authorities sometimes posesdilemmas, especially in situations where theauthorities are weak or have little legitimacyor when the international community has lit-tle confidence in them. However, all experi-ence shows that without national ownershipand co-ordination, programmes and measuresare neither effective nor sustainable in thelong run. There are, however, some excep-tions to this, where strong international con-trol is necessary during a period of transition.

• Norway attaches great importance to helpingto build up national authorities and struc-tures that have popular legitimacy and thecapacity to deliver, especially in post-conflictcountries. Peace efforts must be firmly basedon the recipient country’s own priorities.Recipient responsibility presupposes a politi-cal legitimacy and administrative capacitythat in many cases have to be restored orrebuilt. Rapid financial and technical sup-port for political and administrative struc-tures is often one of the first steps in a peace-building process.

4.2.2 Reconciliation

Reconciliation involves building or rebuildingtrust and friendly relations between individu-als and between peoples and institutions.

5 See the Norwegian Plan of Action for Debt Relief and Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, May 2004.

After the war in Afghanistan Norwegian supportwas first concentrated on humanitarian assistanceand the repatriation and reintegration of refugeesand internally displaced persons. Gradually theemphasis changed to rebuilding the central government administration in accordance withAfghan priorities.

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Achieving lasting and sustainable peacedepends not only on decisions at politicallevel but also on popular acceptance of thepeace settlement. Peacebuilding includes rec-onciliation and the promotion of non-violentconflict resolution at every level of society:among political, military, religious and busi-ness leaders, and at middle management andgrassroots levels. Reconciliation can be pro-moted through dialogue and targeted proj-ects, but it must also be mainstreamed intopeacebuilding as a whole. Healing the physi-cal, psychological and psychosocial woundsinflicted by violent conflict is an importantaspect of peacebuilding.

Judicial processes and truth commissions areoften central to a reconciliation process (see4.2.5).

Reconciliation measures should be imple-mented across ethnic, linguistic, religious,geographical and other dividing lines and it isimportant that they include the most conflict-oriented groups. Women are an important,

though often ignored, resource in this con-nection among other things because they canshare their experience of survival strategiesduring conflict and can offer alternativeapproaches to solving problems.

Conflict is part of the process of change inmost societies. Conflict may be a positivesign, for example as an expression of protestagainst an authoritarian regime, and mayresult in necessary and peaceful changes. Butin some cases conflict leads to polarisation,which in turn results in violence. Civilians areusually the first to suffer in an internal con-flict, and in some cases are the target of vio-lence.

The conflicts in the Former Yugoslavia andthe genocide in Rwanda in the 1990s are trag-ic examples of what can happen if polarisationgoes too far. In such situations even theforces of moderation and the proponents ofpeaceful co-existence and reconciliation maybe silenced.

This does not mean that reconciliation has nosupporters in such situations. There is usual-ly a widespread desire among the civilian pop-ulation for an end to violence and war, andthere are people who will work for this. Suchpeople will also be found in the refugee andexile communities. Both internal and externalforces for peace will seek support in civil soci-ety and in countries outside the conflict area,for example in the Nordic countries.

Most conflicts go through a phase where theparties begin to recognise that a military vic-tory is not possible and that peace will servetheir interests better than continuing the con-flict. Reconciliation measures taken duringthe conflict can help to create a climate thatlegitimises peacemaking processes and leadsto acceptance of a peace settlement. Thisincreases the chances that the settlement willbe followed up.

Civil society, especially development, humanrights, peace-promoting and religious organi-sations, often plays a key role in reconcilia-tion processes and supplements the efforts ofthe authorities. Norwegian religious organisa-tions, for example, have over many years ofco-operation formed contacts, gained knowl-

Peacebuilding also includes reconciliation and non-violentconflict resolution.

24 edge, built capacity and gained the trust ofpeople in all sectors of society. Other impor-tant peacebuilding resources are political par-ties, trade unions, academic institutions and apeace-oriented press. Capacity and compe-tence building among key actors and youngpeople, the leaders of the future, often makesa strategically important contribution to rec-onciliation, especially when carried out duringthe conflict.

• Norway supports reconciliation measures inconnection with, and also independently of,its role in peacemaking processes.

• Reconciliation among political, military, reli-gious, business and other leaders, and also atmiddle management and grassroots levels, isvital for preventing conflict and promotingand building peace.

• Reconciliation should be mainstreamed intothe efforts by all actors in countries threat-ened by, undergoing or emerging from violentconflict, and may also be promoted throughspecific measures.

• Civil society plays a particularly significantrole in reconciliation efforts.

4.2.3 Good governance, democracy andhuman rights

Political oppression and poor political leader-ship may be a strong contributing factor inviolent conflict. In societies marked by goodgovernance, democracy and respect forhuman rights, there is little occasion for vio-lence as a solution to conflict. Sometimes acrisis provides an opportunity for change, andin such situations broad popular participationin decision-making should be facilitated.

Good governance, which involves democracy,respect for human rights and sound economicmanagement, must come from within. Only inexceptional cases, after major conflicts likethat in Afghanistan after the fall of the Talibanin 2001, can the international community con-tribute to processes leading up to the electionof new national leaders.

Generally speaking it is difficult for the inter-national community to contribute to the over-throw of undesirable leaders. There arestrong safeguards under international law forthe principle of national sovereignty, and out-side influence is not always particularly effec-tive. For example, targeted measures havebeen tried vis-à-vis countries like Burma andZimbabwe but so far they have not had thedesired results.

However, there are means available, both inthe political and diplomatic spheres and with-in the framework of development co-opera-tion. For example, support can be given toelectoral reform, the preparation and holdingof free elections, observation and monitoringof elections, the establishment of constitution-al commissions, judicial reform and monitor-ing of the human rights situation.

Programmes can be developed for combatingdiscrimination, strengthening the rule of lawand promoting accountability and transparen-cy in governing bodies. Anti-corruption meas-ures in the spheres of financial managementand control are also being supported. Otherappropriate measures include support for thedrafting of new legislation and for reforms inthe justice and defence sectors. All thesemeasures increase the credibility and legiti-macy of the authorities, thus laying a soundfoundation for the social and political develop-

In Angola Norway and Canada are supportingnetworking efforts among a broad and represen-tative group of religious communities thatformed a coalition for peace after the mostrecent outbreak of hostilities. It formed a strongpressure group for peace and played an impor-tant role in the process leading up to the peacesettlement in 2002. Norway will continue its support for the efforts of church-based organisa-tions to promote reconciliation among a popula-tion split by decades of war.

Sudanese get together for a political meeting.

25ment necessary for a lasting and sustainablepeace.

The establishment of objective, just and effec-tive judicial institutions with the requisitepower and mechanisms for imposing sanc-tions is a precondition for peace and develop-ment, and international support is often nec-essary for the building or strengthening ofsuch institutions. The Norwegian maxim “thecountry shall be built on the law” expresses acentral idea in peacebuilding. The various eth-nic groups must be able to rely on judicialmechanisms being accessible and objective. Arights-based development approach requiresa minimum of confidence in the objectiveenforcement of the rules governing propertymatters and corruption, violence and othercrimes. Without this basic confidence it wouldbe difficult to envisage the existence of effec-tive credit arrangements, economic growthand peaceful dispute settlement mechanisms.

Greater attention is now being paid in devel-opment policy to enhancing the capacity toimplement reforms in the justice sector incountries in transition (see 4.1.4). UNDP isenhancing its own capacity for assisting with

reforms in the justice sector in post-conflictsituations, and in April 2003 UNDP/the OsloGovernance Centre hosted an internationalconference in Norway for the exchange ofexperience as regards reforms in the justiceand security sectors. There are also a numberof international NGOs that work with capacitybuilding in this important area.

There is a sizeable group of poor countriesthat do not receive much bilateral assistance;they are marked by poor governance, weakinstitutions and policies that make it difficultto use government-to-government assistanceas an instrument for peacebuilding. Norwaywill draw on the work done by theOECD/DAC and the World Bank in order toreview possible forms of co-operation withthis group of countries (fragile states, difficultpartners, low-income countries under stress).In these cases the best form of assistance isoften to use multilateral channels or to usecivil society as a medium for alleviating hard-ship and helping vulnerable groups. Theinternational community must improve itsability to deal with these countries and pre-vent more poor countries from being caughtin a vicious circle of violent conflict.

• Norway will continue its efforts at the bilater-al, regional and multilateral levels to pro-mote good governance in its development co-operation. Special emphasis will be given tocombating corruption, including war-relatedcorruption.

• Norway supports democracy building anddemocratisation processes. NORDEM andthe Norwegian Centre for Democracy

Support, whose purpose is to support fledg-ling democracies in the South, play animportant role in the efforts to consolidatedemocracy in Norway’s partner countries.

• Norway will focus more strongly on reform ofthe justice sector in post-conflict countriesand is prepared to support countries that areseeking to build a society based on the rule oflaw and respect for human rights.

Norway has established the Norwegian Resource Bank for Democracy and Human Rights, or NORDEM, whichrecruits and trains qualified Norwegian personnel for secondment to international organisations that workfor democratisation and respect for human rights. NORDEM provides technical assistance in a flexible form,which has proved to be very useful in connection with political processes in post-conflict countries.

The Norwegian Centre for Democracy Support is a politically neutral, non-profit organisation establishedfor the purpose of supporting fledgling democracies in the South. The Centre co-operates with political par-ties to promote the emergence and growth of multi-party democracies and free elections. The Centre givesthe political parties represented in the Storting and their affiliated organisations an opportunity to assist indeveloping well-functioning, pluralistic political systems in developing countries. The assistance is primarilyused to facilitate co-operation on long-term, democratic organisation building and communication throughknowledge transfers, advisory services and international exchanges. The Centre, which is a three-year projectestablished in autumn 2002, is administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and shares the premises ofFredskorpset.

26 • Norway’s efforts to mainstream human rightsconsiderations into its peacebuilding effortsare based on its Plan of Action for HumanRights (1999).

• A special focus will be trained on women’s andchildren’s rights and participation, in keepingwith international development goals.

4.2.4 Civil society, including the media

Support for national authorities should besupplemented by support to peace-orientedorganisations and institutions in civil society,including the media. Peacebuilding shouldinclude support for civil society actors, mech-anisms and processes that promote peace andreconciliation and prevent support from beinggiven to warring parties.

NGOs in the North can promote andstrengthen viable civil society in the Souththrough, for example, competence and capaci-ty building, thus enabling it to:• supply services (e.g. health, education,

humanitarian mine action, reintegration ofrefugees, internally displaced persons andex-combatants).

• practise advocacy and act as a watchdog(e.g. in promoting good governance,democracy, respect for human rights).

• promote reconciliation by, for example,bridge-building among the population (e.g.through dialogue, political, cultural andsporting meeting-places and events, privatesector co-operation across ethnic and otherdividing lines).

• support efforts to enable weak or margin-alised groups to make use of democratic,non-violent conflict management measures.

Norwegian NGOs are also influential in theNorth in promoting poverty- and peace-orient-ed development policies.

It is important to identify effective agents forchange in civil society, enter into a dialoguewith them and support competence andcapacity building in regard to them. Agentsfor change are usually to be found in humanrights organisations, peace groups, women’snetworks, academic institutions and independ-ent media. Religious groups and private sec-tor organisations working for peace can alsomake important contributions. Establishing

co-operation between institutions and organi-sations in conflict-affected countries and cor-responding bodies in Norway or other coun-tries can be an effective way of building com-petence and capacity for peace efforts.

Norway channels a very substantial part of itshumanitarian assistance and developmentfunds through Norwegian NGOs. Accordingto the guidelines for support to civil societyand democracy building (2002), supportshould be given among other things with aview to strengthening civil society as a drivingforce and agent for change in the efforts toachieve national and international develop-ment goals. Norwegian embassies also givesome support directly to organisations in theSouth.

The media play a key role in a democraticsociety by providing information to its citi-zens, serving as a forum for different pointsof view and acting as watchdogs against abus-es on the part of the authorities. Free andindependent media help to ensure that vari-ous groups, including marginalised ones,have access to information necessary formaking informed choices.

Norwegian support to the media includes pro-viding legal and technical assistance forstrengthening the position of the media, forexample through the establishment of a legal

Fredskorpset is an administrative body for promoting contact and co-operation betweenorganisations, institutions and companies inNorway and developing countries, based on val-ues such as solidarity, equality and reciprocity.Fredskorpset enables companies, enterprises andorganisations to enter into partnerships for thepurpose of exchanging personnel and sharingexpertise. The target group is young people agedbetween 22 and 35, who commit themselves toworking in the partner undertaking for one tothree years. The exchanges are mainly North-South, but South-South exchanges are also beingsupported.

Fredskorpset -Youth has also been establishedfor the 18 to 24 age group, with an emphasis oninformation, awareness raising and reciprocallearning. Fredskorpset - Senior aims to draw onthe experience of people aged between 55 and70 years for development co-operation purposes.

27framework, promoting respect for the inde-pendence of the media and legal safeguardsfor journalists, and assistance with profession-al development and press ethics. Other aimsare to promote greater diversity, relevance,accessibility, transparency and accountability.

• Norway supports civil society building in theSouth, both directly and through NorwegianNGOs, in order to enhance civil society’scompetence and capacity to contribute to last-ing and sustainable peace.

• Norway will develop guidelines for support-ing the development of free and independentmedia in the South.

4.2.5 Judicial processes and truth commissions

Judicial processes and truth commissions area particularly sensitive area, and a number ofdifferent approaches should be considered inevery post-conflict situation. A balance has tobe found between truth, justice, reconcilia-tion, punishment and impunity that will helpconsolidate the peace. How likely is it that theparties will arrive at a peaceful settlement ifthey risk being punished for human rightsatrocities? On the other hand, how legitimateand sustainable will the peace settlement be ifthe actors are granted impunity? To whatextent should there be a reckoning with thepast and to what extent is it sufficient to makesure that a sound legal system is developedfor the future?

Long-term violent conflicts or oppressionleave behind many wounds and traumas, andthere is often a great need to know what real-ly happened and what atrocities were commit-ted. There is often a corresponding need tohold the perpetrators accountable for theirwar crimes, and to safeguard the dignity ofthe victims.

A peace settlement that protects the perpetra-tors of atrocities is usually not sustainable.Amnesties or impunity may breed dissatisfac-tion, unrest and mistrust of the new authori-ties, and violent elements will continue to be a

risk. A state of lawlessness and a widespreadperception that impunity has been grantedfor, for example, mass atrocities and plunder-ing, can be major obstacles to reconciliation.

There is a distinction between retributive jus-tice for the abusers and restorative justice forthe victims. Punishment for atrocities can beimposed through prosecution and trial in acourt of law or by an administrative decisionto dismiss the person from office or as part ofa public “purification” process. Experiencehas shown that an internal judicial processshould be carried out as far as possible in linewith the country’s legislation and tradition if itis to be perceived as legitimate.

How is responsibility for combating impunitydivided between the individual state and theinternational community? What thresholdsshould be established for intervention by theinternational community? States must retainthe main responsibility for instituting criminalproceedings against the perpetrators of atroci-ties. On the other hand, there is growing sup-port for the idea that the international com-munity should ensure that a judicial processis carried out in cases where a state has failedto do so. Norway considers that combatingimpunity for the most serious war crimes hasan international dimension. These crimes areknown as international war crimes.6

Punishment for atrocities committed during aconflict may be imposed through the mediumof prosecution and trial in a court of law with-in the country. However, in especially seriouscases, such as occurred in the FormerYugoslavia and in Rwanda, the UN SecurityCouncil has established international criminaltribunals for the investigation and prosecutionof individuals responsible for the atrocities.The Security Council has also backed theestablishment of national tribunals with inter-national participation, such as the SpecialCourt for Sierra Leone.

In Norway’s view the decision to establish theInternational Criminal Court in order toensure that the gravest international crimes

6 This has been discussed in detail in the white paper on consent to the ratification of theStatute of the International Criminal Court of 17 July 1998 (the Rome Statute) (ReportNo. 24 to the Storting (1999-2000)).

would not go unpunished was a milestone ininternational law. The most important justifi-cation for the Court is that, by seeking toestablish the truth and by having a deterrenteffect, judicial processes are an importantinstrument for promoting respect for humanrights, peace, reconciliation and democracy.

There is not necessarily a contradictionbetween a judicial process and other reconcili-ation measures. For example, South Africaappointed a Truth and ReconciliationCommission to examine abuses carried outunder apartheid. The open acknowledgementof what had happened was an important partof the reconciliation process. However, theprocess was accompanied by the crediblethreat of legal sanctions for those whodeclined to co-operate with the commission.

As regards the relationship between interna-tional prosecution and truth commissions,Norway’s view is that there is not necessarilyany contradiction between these two instru-ments in the search for truth, the promotionof reconciliation and the restoration of peace.Truth commissions can supplement the judi-cial process and vice versa. The revelation ofinformation about atrocities does not neces-sarily have to be followed by prosecution andpunishment. Forgiveness and amnesty mayalso be appropriate.

• Norway is seeking to mobilise the broadestpossible support for the InternationalCriminal Court.

• Norway will continue to support the interna-tional criminal tribunals for the FormerYugoslavia and Rwanda, and the SpecialCourt for Sierra Leone.

• Norway will continue to support truth com-missions and information programmes inconflict areas concerning important interna-tional judicial decisions.

4.3 Social and economic development

Social and economic development is an essen-tial condition for lasting and sustainablepeace. Conflicts are often caused or triggeredby large and growing socio-economic dispari-ties, economic decline, inequitable distribu-tion of goods and burdens, and marginalisa-tion of vulnerable groups and geographical

regions. Relative poverty is probably a moreimportant cause of conflict than absolutepoverty.

Another cause of conflict is competition forlimited natural resources, such as water oragricultural land, that are important for sur-vival, and competition over readily marketablenatural resources such as oil, diamonds, met-als and tropical timber, which can be used tofinance long-term conflicts and to enrich par-ticular individuals or groups.

Conflicts can be caused by greedy leadersand by popular grievances, which may or maynot be justified. In its work for peace the inter-national community must also address under-lying causes or triggering factors like these.

Efforts to promote peace must deal with thefollowing challenges:• repatriation and reintegration of refugees

and internally displaced persons• reconstruction of infrastructure and impor-

tant public functions• social development: education and health• economic development: private sector devel-

opment, employment, trade and investment

Norway is actively engaged in all these areas.

4.3.1 Repatriation and reintegration ofrefugees and internally displacedpersons

The repatriation and reintegration of refugeesand internally displaced persons is a majorchallenge in post-conflict situations, and it isessential to find durable solutions. These peo-ple need legal assistance, physical protectionand material support so that they can becomeproductive members of the community.

The difference between a refugee and aninternally displaced person is that the formerhas crossed an international border. In con-trast to internally displaced persons, refugeesfall within the mandate of the UN HighCommissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), whichis responsible for providing protection andemergency relief for this group. For example,UNHCR can establish refugee camps, whichit usually runs in co-operation with local part-ners and NGOs.

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UNHCR’s mandate is also to seek durablesolutions, which include:• voluntary repatriation to their homeland,

either on their own initiative or under theauspices of an organisation such as UNHCR

• local integration in countries or regions towhich they have fled or to which they havebeen displaced

• resettlement, i.e. work and residence per-mits, in third countries

The reintegration of refugees and internallydisplaced persons has usually been addressedonly after the conflict has ended. However,the many conflicts of the 1990s taught us thatplanning for peacebuilding should be startedbefore this. For example, it is important toensure that basic education is available inrefugee camps so that returning refugees canbe a resource for their home country.However, the persistent lack of funding forinternational refugee efforts, including thework of UNHCR, illustrates how inadequatelythe international community is dealing withthis task.

In post-conflict repatriation and reintegrationprocesses considerable effort often has to be

expended on supplying basic necessities suchas housing, food, health care and security.However, humanitarian assistance should besupplemented by longer-term programmes.Education and employment are vital if formerrefugees and internally displaced persons areto become productive members of the com-munity.

In many cases, such as Afghanistan, the rein-tegration of refugees is a priority for a newgovernment. Returning refugees and internal-ly displaced persons can be a valuableresource for the home country, but in theabsence of adequate reintegration measuresthey can have a seriously destabilising effect.

Reintegration measures should be designedso as to ensure that no group (ethnic, reli-gious, geographical, social, etc.) feels exclud-ed or discriminated against. Return to thehome country must be voluntary if the perse-cution is still going on, and security concernsmust be taken into account. Rights, includingproperty and land rights, must be clarified.Basic infrastructure, such as water, roads andelectricity, must be in place, and materialinputs and tools for food production should beavailable.

If possible, repatriation and reintegration pro-grammes should also include special meas-ures for children, such as schooling, tracingand reuniting families, and psychosocial coun-selling.

The Norwegian Refugee Council has, togetherwith UNESCO, developed a school package(“school-in-a-box”) for internally displaced chil-dren and those in refugee camps. This enablesthem to take part in ordinary schooling whenthey are resettled or return home. The packageserves as a bridge over to normal life and providesbetter prospects for the child and the family.

Reintegration programmes should be co-ordi-nated with corresponding programmes for ex-combatants, and must be designed so as toavoid discrimination against the local popula-tion in the relevant areas.

Good repatriation, reintegration and recon-struction programmes require close co-opera-tion between the national authorities,

Refugees from Darfur, Sudan

30 UNHCR, UNDP, the World Bank and otherexternal actors. But the final responsibilitylies with the national authorities, and reinte-gration programmes should therefore be inte-grated into poverty reduction strategy papersor other development plans.

UNHCR’s repatriation, reintegration, rehabili-tation and reconstruction (4Rs) programmeaims to co-ordinate international efforts toachieve these goals in post-conflict situations,and is gaining ground in an increasing num-ber of UN agencies. Through its comprehen-sive approach it bridges the gap betweenhumanitarian assistance and long-term devel-opment co-operation. In areas where develop-ment actors are not in place when humanitari-an assistance is discontinued, there is a greatrisk that returning refugees will again resortto flight, which will undermine the peaceprocess. The programme is being tried out inSierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Eritrea andAfghanistan. Norway is contributing fundingto the pilot projects and has great faith in thepotential of the 4Rs.

NORSTAFF is an emergency preparedness rosterthat aims to recruit qualified Norwegian person-nel to international organisations working withrefugees. It is administered by the NorwegianRefugee Council and co-operates with UNHCR.

• Norway will continue its efforts to promotedurable solutions for refugees and internallydisplaced persons in the form of legal andphysical protection and material support,and will seek to improve the co-ordination ofmultilateral efforts in this field.

• Norway supports the initiative for a compre-hensive approach by and improved co-opera-tion between UNHCR, UNDP and the WorldBank to assisting refugees and internally dis-placed persons (the 4Rs programme).

• Norway will continue to channel substantialfunds through UNICEF, the United NationsOffice for the Co-ordination of HumanitarianAffairs (UNOCHA), the International RedCross and NGOs.

4.3.2 Reconstruction of infrastructure andimportant public functions

Establishing or reconstructing infrastructureand important public functions is usually an

essential step in post-conflict situations and tosome extent while the conflict is going on. Itis often necessary to provide a minimum ofpublic functions if people are to support theefforts to re-establish a well-ordered society.People feel that peace brings benefits whenroads and buildings are repaired, electricityand telecommunications are restored, housesare built, schools and health services resumetheir activities and the local administrationbegins to function again.

In addition to helping the local population inconflict-affected areas, these peacebuildingactivities are important for the reintegrationof ex-combatants, refugees and internally dis-placed persons. Labour-intensive activitiesshould be preferred to capital-intensive activi-ties, since they provide much-needed jobs andincomes, help to mobilise local resources andare easy to administer locally without large-scale intervention from external actors.

For example, Norway has supported therebuilding of roads in Afghanistan, and pro-vided Norwegian expertise on water suppliesand support for multilateral measures in con-nection with electricity supplies and the man-agement of petroleum resources in Iraq.

In Ethiopia Norway has supported the rehabilita-tion of local clinics that were destroyed during theEthiopia-Eritrea war in 1998-2000. Norway hasbeen the largest contributor to UN quick-impactprojects in border areas in both countries thatfocus particularly on the reconstruction ofschools, clinics and water pumps.

• Norway supports mechanisms for the recon-struction of infrastructure and importantpublic functions in countries emerging fromviolent conflict. This involves the reconstruc-tion of roads, buildings and electricity andtelecommunications networks, so that thepopulation experiences as soon as possiblethat peace brings dividends.

4.3.3 Social development: education andhealth

The work for lasting and sustainable peacemust not be limited to quick-impact projects.It must also include long-term education andhealth programmes with an emphasis on qual-

31ity, accessibility and non-discrimination. It isespecially important to reach out to childrenand young people; they are the most vulnera-ble and they are the leaders of the future. Theconditions under which children grow up, andtheir physical and psychological health anddevelopment, are decisive for sustainablepeace and development.

Young people with limited education and lim-ited job possibilities are often potentialrecruits to groups involved in violent conflict.Education, jobs, trauma therapy and psy-chosocial support for children and young peo-ple affected by conflict are essential measuresfor preparing the ground for peace. Schoolscan contribute by teaching the children about,for example, respect for human rights, dia-logue and non-violent conflict resolution.

Unfortunately, not all educational or healthmeasures necessarily contribute to peace-building. They can also promote or fuel con-flicts by for example favouring certain groups,fostering discriminatory attitudes or reinforc-ing linguistic intolerance. In conflict-affectedsocieties all measures must be evaluated in

relation to the causes of the conflict, the vari-ous actors, and the probable influence ofexternal assistance on the dynamics of theconflict. We must adopt a conflict-sensitiveapproach if we are to prevent further conflict,prepare the ground for peace, support peace-ful solutions and rebuild society after the con-flict is over.

The international community can promoteand support policies that combat social mar-ginalisation, include formerly excludedgroups, do not discriminate with regard togender or ethnic, religious, social or geo-graphical affiliation and pay special attentionto securing women’s and children’s rights andparticipation.

• Norway’s efforts to ensure education for allby 2015 are based on its strategy “Education– Job Number 1”. Education and health arekey peacebuilding activities, and improvingeducation and health care in conflict andpost-conflict situations is a vital task.

• Norway will advocate and support policiesthat promote more equitable distribution andcounteract social marginalisation, include

Afghan schoolgirls hold tightly onto their books. UNICEF is mobilising greater support for schooling for girls in developing countries.

previously excluded groups and do not dis-criminate with regard to gender or ethnic,religious, social or geographical affiliation.

• Norway will continue its efforts to improveeducation and health services throughNorwegian and international NGOs, the UN system, the International FinancialInstitutions and bilateral government-to-government co-operation.

4.3.4 Economic development: private sector development, employment,trade and investment

Last but not least, lasting and sustainablepeace requires economic development andgrowth. Peacebuilding should thus includemeasures to stimulate private sector develop-ment, employment, trade and investment.However, economic growth is not enough onits own. It must be combined with good gov-ernance, policies that promote equitable dis-tribution, and environmental responsibility.Measures to promote economic developmentinclude judicial and economic reforms, institu-tional co-operation and technical assistance,for example in connection with naturalresource management. These measures areclosely linked with efforts to unravel the eco-nomic agendas of a conflict, to increase trans-parency and accountability in the extractiveindustries and to promote corporate socialand environmental responsibility.

As a rule post-conflict countries need to gothrough a phase of stabilisation before theycan attract investment. But if the informaleconomy that is always present in these situa-tions is included in national programmes itcan become a source of employment and taxrevenues that can help the new regimebecome gradually less dependent on interna-tional support.

Many conflicts are fuelled by the illicit tradein natural resources and other illegal econom-ic activities. The sale of valuable naturalresources provides funds that can prolong aconflict considerably. The prospect of controlover natural resources may also be an incen-tive for certain actors in the conflict. There isincreasing international co-operation on track-ing financial flows connected with illicit tradein natural resources, narcotics and weapons

and on stopping money laundering from thesetypes of activities. Norway has supported anumber of research projects that study thesedriving forces, for example projects under theauspices of the World Bank, the InternationalPeace Academy in New York, the Norwegianresearch institutes Fafo and ECON, and theInternational Peace Research Institute inOslo. Now the challenge is to translate theresults of these projects into practical policy.

Strategies and measures for promoting privatesector development and trade in (post)conflictcountries must be sensitive to the causes anddynamics of the conflict and to the actorsinvolved. This applies not least to the increas-ing involvement of the International FinancialInstitutions in economic reconstruction in post-conflict countries.

The transition from an informal, often weakand corrupt economy to private sector devel-opment within the framework of a more for-mal economy is often a difficult one. However,support for the productive sector aimed atincreasing employment can prevent conflictand promote and build peace. Jobs are alsoparticularly important in the reintegration ofex-combatants, refugees and internally dis-placed persons.

Although there are always some people whoprofit from violent conflict, in general conflictmeans greater risks and costs for the privatesector. The local business community andbusiness organisations can put pressure onpolitical actors to seek a peaceful solution toviolent conflict as they did, for example, in SriLanka. The diaspora can also be called on totake a constructive part in development intheir former home country.

The international community can supportmeasures to ensure the necessary governmentcontrol over the business sector, especiallyover products that can be used to fuel a wareconomy (diamonds, oil, timber). The interna-tional community can also combat transnation-al crime, especially trade in narcotics, illicittrafficking in small arms and money launder-ing, through international co-operation and bysupporting national institutions.The World Bank and the InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF) can contribute to peace-

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building by promoting greater transparency infinancial management. The extension of theirmandate in connection with the fight againstmoney laundering and terrorist financingallows them to combat corruption and warprofiteering more actively than before. Theireconomic forecasts can also be a useful inputfor decisions on resource allocations.

Among the measures available to the interna-tional community is technical assistance withdrafting legislation relating to investment,resource management and commercial activi-ty, with trade reforms, with infrastructuredevelopment and with competence building.Others are concerned with facilitating accessto capital and credit and formalising the right

to land. Re-education and training centres forex-combatants, refugees, internally displacedpersons and others can reduce unemploy-ment and thus the risk of crime and violence.

Support can also be given for the drafting andenforcement of legislation that regulatesworking life and ensures that both foreignand domestic enterprises exercise corporatesocial responsibility. Foreign enterprises mayneed guidance and awareness raising on thepossible consequences of their engagement incountries in conflict. Companies must alsopromote human security, comply with UN res-olutions on sanctions and refrain from con-tributing to economic activity that promotesor prolongs conflict.

An Angolan oilrig. Angola’s petroleum resources are attractive to foreign investors.

KOMpakt (the Consultative Body for Human Rights and Norwegian Economic Engagement Abroad) wasestablished in 1998, with representatives of employers’ and employees’ organisations, the business communi-ty, NGOs, research institutions and ministries. The work is co-ordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Theaim is to raise awareness of human rights issues in the business community.

Global Compact, which was established in 1999 on the initiative of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, seeksto advance corporate social responsibility through policy dialogues and learning. It is based on theNorwegian model, and Norway attaches great importance to international co-operation in this area. A num-ber of Norwegian companies are adopting the 10 principles of the Global Compact, which cover the areas ofhuman rights, labour standards, the environment and corruption.

• Norway has for several years been supportingresearch projects to raise internationalawareness and promote international under-standing of the economic causes and drivingforces of violent conflict, and will seek totransform the findings into practical policy.

• Norway works at the bilateral, regional andmultilateral levels for greater transparencyand accountability in the extractive industries(through the Extractive IndustriesTransparency Initiative). This includes pro-moting corporate social responsibility, forexample through KOMpakt (the ConsultativeBody for Human Rights and Norwegian

Economic Engagement Abroad). It is impor-tant in this context to strike the right balancebetween voluntary action and legally bindingrules.

• Norway’s support to private sector develop-ment is mainly based on its Strategy forPrivate Sector Development in the South.Two of the priority countries under this strat-egy, Sri Lanka and Uganda, are facing con-siderable challenges in connection withpeacebuilding.

• Norway considers it important to facilitateaccess to capital and credit and to work forthe formalisation of property rights.

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• Norway will intensify its peacebuilding effortsin its main partner countries and partnercountries, and will ensure that peacebuildingis mainstreamed into the guidelines for itsdevelopment co-operation with conflict-affect-ed countries and regions.

• Norway will also give priority to countrieswhere it is or has been involved in peacemak-ing processes.

• Norway will seek at the national and inter-national levels to ensure that peacemakingprocesses are appropriately linked with peace-building efforts.

This strategic framework is an aid to structur-ing the planning and implementation ofNorwegian peacebuilding efforts in countriesor regions threatened by, undergoing oremerging from violent conflict.

A large number of developing countries,including several of Norway’s partner coun-tries, are undergoing or emerging from vio-lent conflicts. In the World Bank’s overview ofSeptember 2003, as many as 37 developingcountries are reported to be in this category,and all require peacebuilding measures.Norway cannot involve itself in all these coun-tries. It intends to make sizeable contribu-tions that are concentrated on a few selectedtarget areas in close co-operation with otheractors. The first priority will be main partnercountries, partner countries and countrieswhere Norway has been or is involved insome way in peacemaking processes.However, in some cases it may be appropriateto become involved in other countries as well.

Norway continues to be heavily involved inpeace efforts in the Middle East. In Sri Lankaand Sudan it is important to supplement thepeacemaking efforts with peacebuilding. Thesituation in Afghanistan and East Timor calls

for long-term peacebuilding programmes.The fragile peace in Angola must be pre-served and consolidated. Other areas wherepeacebuilding is needed are Ethiopia, Eritrea,Guatemala, Colombia, Iraq, Indonesia, WestAfrica and the area around the Great Lakes inAfrica. In its main partner countries Norwayis conducting the fight against poverty in acomplex political landscape where peacebuild-ing efforts are required in varying degrees:Nepal, Bangladesh, Malawi, Mozambique,Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Conflict pre-vention is particularly important in Kenya andZimbabwe, and Norway is involved in peace-building in the Balkans. The list is not anexhaustive one.

Peacebuilding is not an easy task. Working inhighly politicised situations is demanding,and the effects of a measure can be veryuncertain. Should support be given to areascontrolled by insurgents? How shouldNorway and other actors deal with govern-ments that lack legitimacy, unreliable part-ners and failed states? Norway is taking anactive part in the attempts to find answers tothese questions in the OECD/DAC, theWorld Bank and other fora.

5. Countries and regions

The Maoist uprising in Nepal was caused by massive poverty, lack of basic services in outlying districts, socialexclusion of low-caste and ethnic groups and corruption. Norwegian efforts include support for service deliv-ery in conflict areas, contributions to a peace fund and support for the monitoring of human rights violations.Norway’s development assistance is targeted as far as possible at the causes and consequences of the conflict,and is being used to make Nepalese society more humane and democratic.

36 • Norway will seek to ensure that the interna-tional community’s peacebuilding efforts arepredictable and have a long-term perspectiveand that conflict areas that are no longer in the public eye receive support for peace-building.

• Norway considers that peacebuilding should,wherever possible and appropriate, have aregional perspective.

• Norway will support the work being done inthe African Union and other regional co-oper-ation organisations such as ECOWAS andthe SADC on developing security structuresand peacebuilding capacity.

• Norway will continue and intensify compe-tence-building efforts in the field of peace-building, including research and evaluation,that are carried out in Norway and abroad.

376. Good donor practices in peacebuilding

Every conflict situation is unique, and it is obvi-ously not possible to develop a strategic frame-work that covers every situation. The elementsto be included, the order in which the meas-ures are to be implemented, the timing and theamount of effort will always vary according tothe situation. But all three dimensions – securi-ty and political and socio-economic develop-ment – and all the elements of the strategicframework must be carefully reviewed beforethe final decision is made, so that peacebuild-ing can be tailored as far as possible to the sit-uation at hand. If this is not done, it is likelythat conflict will flare up, that peace will not beachieved or that violence will recur.

6.1 National ownership, and co-ordina-tion and harmonisation of donorefforts

The OECD plays an important role in thedevelopment of policy and guidelines for gooddonor practice. These are just as relevant forNorway’s efforts in countries threatened by,undergoing or emerging from conflict as theyare for our efforts in other countries, if notmore so, although implementing them is evenmore difficult in conflict-affected countriesthan in more peaceful ones.

National ownership, co-ordination of interna-tional efforts and harmonisation of proce-dures are essential for good donor practicesin peacebuilding.

Peacebuilding must be based on national own-ership; it must strengthen national sovereign-ty. Recipient responsibility should be empha-sised and promoted, even in cases where theinternational community is heading theadministration during an interim period.The main responsibility for peacebuilding lies

with the parties involved, but the internation-al community can assist by building compe-tence, capacity and institutions and by devel-oping processes that make it possible to dealwith conflicts by non-violent means and pro-mote development.

The international community’s peacebuildingefforts in a conflict-affected country should asfar as possible be based on a common plat-form comprising an analysis of the conflict, aneeds assessment and a strategic framework.The alternative is a multiplicity of analyses,strategies, action plans and ad-hoc activitieswith minimal effect, which put an unneces-sary burden on our partners’ administrativecapacity.

A good basis for a strategic framework is acountry’s poverty reduction strategy paper(PRSP) or other planning documents. If thecountry has no such documents, it should beencouraged to develop them. Donors,whether multilateral, bilateral, in civil societyor from the private sector, should co-ordinatetheir activities, harmonise procedures andrefrain from building parallel structures thatundermine national structures and stand inthe way of genuine national ownership. A cer-tain division of labour based on comparativeadvantages may be effective.

The national strategic framework should bebased on a joint conflict analysis and a needsassessment. We must grasp the problembefore we can do something about it. Thus inorder to be able to contribute to peace wemust first understand the various actors inthe conflict, and the structures, goals, dynam-ics, causes and consequences of the conflict.An overview of the needs and capacities ofthe recipient is also necessary.

We must not only do the right thing, we must also do the thing right.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has begunworking on a general, conflict-sensitiveapproach for Norway’s development co-opera-tion with countries threatened by, undergoingor emerging from conflict. Various methodsof conflict analysis and peace and conflictimpact assessments have been reviewed, andthis is to be followed up by courses on theuse of the most suitable methods given at theembassies and at the Ministry in Oslo, and bytesting of the methods at selected embassies.The aim is to make Norwegian efforts moresensitive to conflict, so that they promote andsupport peaceful solutions or at least do notserve to aggravate conflict.

6.2 Women and children

Human rights considerations must be main-streamed into all peacebuilding activities.Care must be taken not to discriminate on thebasis of gender or ethnic, religious, geograph-ical or social affiliation, and ensuring therights and participation of previously margin-alised groups must be emphasised. In linewith international development goals, a spe-cial focus is to be trained on women’s andchildren’s rights and participation.

In resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peaceand security, the UN Security Council hasstressed the importance of a gender perspec-tive in conflict prevention and in peacemak-ing, peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts.

Making sure that the right actors are involvedin the peace process is an important elementof good donor practice, and we must find bet-ter ways of involving women in this process.They are often the most enthusiastic advo-cates of a peaceful settlement to a conflict,perhaps because women and children suffermost from violent conflict. In spite of this,women are seriously under-represented innegotiations, in constitutional commissionsand in political fora. Peacebuilding has lesschance of succeeding if half the population,i.e. the women, are not given the opportunityfor genuine participation.

A gender perspective must be mainstreamedinto all processes and at all levels: in conflictanalysis, in needs assessments, in strategicframeworks, in planning, implementation andevaluation of measures, in conflict prevention,in peace negotiations, in peacekeeping opera-tions and in peacebuilding. Much more needsto be done about this issue by donor coun-tries, partner countries, civil society, the pri-vate sector, and regional and multilateralorganisations. Norway is drawing up a planfor following up resolution 1325.7

It is also important that peace efforts main-stream children’s rights and needs. Norway isdeveloping a strategy for improving condi-tions for children and young people in theSouth, which will also cover children andyoung people in conflict-affected countriesand in the context of peace efforts.

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7 The following are good examples of the literature on this subject:– Rehn, Elisabeth and Sirleaf, Ellen Johnson (2002), Women, War and Peace, an inde-

pendent experts' assessment on the impact of armed conflict on women andwomen's role in peace-building, UNIFEM.

– Women, Peace and Security (2002), a study submitted by the UN Secretary-Generalpursuant to Security Council resolution 1325 (2000).

– Gender Equality Tip Sheets, OECD/DAC, Working Party on Gender Equality.

Any peace agreement in Sudan should secure Sudanesewomen a more prominent place in society.

396.3 Multilateral organisations

The UN plays a very central role in interna-tional conflict prevention and peacebuilding,both through the development of norms andpolicies (see 3.1) and by co-ordinating effortsin these fields at country level.

No other organisation is in such a good posi-tion as the UN to promote conflict preventionand peacebuilding in co-operation with region-al organisations and civil society. The UN hasthe mandate, the infrastructure, the presenceand the legitimacy for this task. However, themany different parts of the UN need to co-ordinate their activities more closely; there isstill much to be done as regards competence,organisation, operational capacity andresources.

The Millennium Declaration sets out a visionof a more effective UN in the task of maintain-ing peace and security. But the organisationneeds the resources and tools necessary toprevent conflict and make, keep and buildpeace, and the member states have so far onlysupplied limited resources to meet theseneeds.

Norway has actively supported the UN’s rolein the work for peace, security and develop-ment right from the beginning, both in itsown right and together with the other Nordiccountries. We have therefore been one of thedriving forces behind the reform process,which aims to make the organisation evenmore effective and perform better in the fieldof development co-operation.

Together with a number of like-minded coun-tries, Norway has developed a paper on UNreform in the field of development. The paperwas submitted to Secretary General KofiAnnan in New York in June 2004.8

We also advocate better co-ordinationbetween the Department of Political Affairs,which is the political arm of the UNSecretariat, and UNDP on short- and long-

term conflict prevention and peacebuilding.The work being done in the interfacebetween the UN’s political activities and itsdevelopment agenda should be intensified atheadquarters level. We want to achieve seam-less assistance (in terms of institutional andother resources) in the period of transitionfrom conflict to lasting peace.

Norway also supports initiatives to reinforcethe ties at country level between the politicaland operational arms of the UN in connectionwith conflict prevention and peacebuilding.

Norway considers that the UN should use itsinstitutional and human resources in a morefocused and better co-ordinated manner.Today the organisation is already co-operatingwith regional and sub-regional organisations,and this co-operation should be furtherenhanced. The UN should also enhance itsco-operation with civil society and the privatesector in line with the recommendations ofthe report to the UN General Assembly bythe Cardoso Panel9 and the report of theWorld Commission on the SocialDimension10 of Globalization (24 February2004).

In his address to the General Assembly inautumn 2003 Kofi Annan called for moreengagement on the part of the member statesin strengthening the UN. He pointed out thatwe are now facing old threats in new and dan-gerous combinations: new forms of terrorismand the proliferation of weapons of massdestruction. He also pointed out that peaceand security can be menaced by “soft threats”in the social and economic fields. His mainmessage was that the UN has no choice; itmust confront both new and old, both “hard”and “soft” threats and challenges, since theyare all linked in today’s globalised world. TheUN can only address these concerns byenhancing its capacity for collective action.

The Secretary General also announced hisdecision to establish a High-Level Panel of

8 The United Nations Development System – Issues for Strengthening and Change, a paper developed by Denmark,Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

9 We the Peoples; Civil Society, the United Nations and Global Governance, 21 June 2004.10 World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, 24 February 2004.

eminent personalities, which signals the startof an effort that could have major conse-quences for the international order and forthe UN’s place in it. The Panel will examinethe current challenges to peace and securityand consider how they can be addressed bycollective action, and recommend ways ofstrengthening the United Nations throughreform of its institutions and processes.Examples of these challenges are the povertygap, the spread of communicable diseaseslike HIV/AIDS, climate change and environ-mental degradation. The Panel is to presentits recommendations in 2004, and Norwayhas provided support for its work.

Kofi Annan has thus called attention to themember states’ own responsibility to ensurethat the UN has the legitimacy and resourcesto carry out its mandate, and the establish-ment of the High-Level Panel has given newmomentum to UN reform.

Norway’s involvement in peacebuilding takesplace mostly through multilateral organisa-tions and NGOs. About half of Norwegiandevelopment assistance is channelled throughmultilateral organisations, and Norway seeksto make sure that these organisations intensi-fy their conflict prevention and peacebuildingefforts. We believe that co-ordinating the useof resources and personnel, joint planningand the establishment of joint trust funds willmake a substantial contribution to the per-formance and focus of these organisations.

The report of the UNDG/ECHA WorkingGroup on transition issues11 indicates thatthe various agencies of the UN that areresponsible for political issues, humanitarianassistance and development co-operation areworking more closely together, which is apromising sign.

Norway supports the recommendation thatthe UN should continue its dialogue withdonor countries on what constitutes good

donor practice and what practical forms UNassistance in transitional situations shouldtake.

UNDP is interested in consulting donors onhow its role in post-conflict situations shouldbe developed. Norway is ready to participatein a donor reference group in this connection.

In recent years there has been an importantand necessary increase in peacebuildingmeasures under the auspices of the WorldBank. The Bank is seeking to mainstream aconflict perspective into its operationsthrough the medium of the ConflictPrevention and Reconstruction Unit and theLow-Income Countries under Stress Unit,showing that political and institutional factorsare now being given much more attention.The aim is to ensure that the Bank’s develop-ment efforts make effective contributions toconflict prevention and peacebuilding.

The regional development banks and theInternational Monetary Fund are also increas-ing their contributions to peacebuilding. Inorder to have an optimal effect, long-termassistance from these organisations must bedelivered at an early stage after the conflicthas ended. Norway is continually consideringways of strengthening this trend, for examplethrough financial contributions and throughits influence in the governing bodies of theseinstitutions.

There is still much room for improvement asregards the co-ordination of efforts within theUN system and between it and theInternational Financial Institutions (IFIs). TheUN and the IFIs have different but mutuallyreinforcing roles and spheres of competencein peacebuilding. Positive and negative experi-ences of co-operation in the field will provideuseful lessons, and Norway is consideringhow best to contribute to the most efficientand effective division of labour between themultilateral organisations.

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11 Report of the UNDG/ECHA Working Group on Transition Issues, final draftDecember 2003. UNDG: United Nations Development Group. ECHA: ExecutiveCommittee on Humanitarian Assistance. The report is also referred to as theBellamy Report, after Carol Bellamy, executive director of UNICEF and chair ofthe working group.

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6.4 Non-governmental organisations

Norwegian NGOs have valuable experienceafter many years of work in developing coun-tries. They have good contact networks andunique expertise. The knowledge and trustthey have built up over the years are vital toNorway’s efforts to promote poverty eradica-tion and peace. Many of their local partnershave well established structures and broadsupport that enable them to mobilise civilsociety, which is a key to achieving goodresults. In addition to their horizontal net-works, these organisations often have verticalnetworks reaching up to national and interna-tional levels. These can and should be used toinitiate dialogue and influence policy andpractice in the efforts to fight poverty andpromote peace.

Norway also channels funds through NGOsfor support to peacebuilding efforts in coun-tries outside the group of partner countries.Contact can be maintained through NGOswith peace-oriented groups in countrieswhere close contact with the authorities is notappropriate, such as Afghanistan under theTaliban.

However, it can be a challenge for NGOs toadapt their projects and programmes to the

international community’s joint analyses,needs assessments and strategic frameworks,and to national and international co-ordinationmechanisms. These organisations must beincluded in the dialogue on the optimal com-bination of peacebuilding elements, actors,channels and division of responsibility in agiven context.

While there may be a great need in the earlyphases of peacebuilding for NGOs as chan-nels and service providers, this need willgradually diminish as national authorities andstructures are built up. However, NGOs willneed to provide long-term support for civilsociety in its various roles as advocate, watch-dog, agent of reconciliation, etc. (see 4.2.4).

6.5 Timing

Bad donor practices are very costly. In suchcases the international community seldomattains the desired results in spite of exten-sive efforts. Peaceful solutions are difficult toachieve and even when they are achievedthere is a great risk that the violence will flareup again during the subsequent five years.

According to Breaking the Conflict Trap, theinternational community often provides too

Red Cross deliveries of food rations on the border between Chad and Sudan.

much support too early in post-conflict situa-tions. This is then followed by a rapiddecrease in support, leaving a vacuum that isall too often filled by violence. Thus in manycases very little external support is providedduring the most vulnerable period, whichaccording to the report is three to five yearsafter the conflict has ended. During these crit-ical years the need for support is just as greatand the capacity of the recipient country tomake use of support is often greater than itwas in the immediate post-conflict period.Insufficient and perhaps wrongly directedsupport increases the risk that violence willrecur.

Norway is taking this problem seriously. Wemust maintain our focus and make sure thatwe are competent, consistent and crediblepartners. We must be impatient for resultswhile having the stamina for long-term effortsto promote lasting and sustainable peace. Thecritical period is not the first year after a con-flict has been resolved, but the first 10 years.We must be capable of rapid, flexible actionbut we must also have a long-term perspec-tive. And we must have a strategy on whichwe, together with the rest of the internationalcommunity, can base our actions.

6.6 Resources

Peacebuilding requires substantial financialand human resources. Norway was the firstcountry in the world to introduce, in 2002, aseparate budget chapter entitled “TransitionalAssistance”, to be used for peacebuilding.This has aroused considerable interest inother countries, and Norway attaches greatimportance to participating in the internation-al debate on similar bilateral and multilateralarrangements.

Transitional assistance makes it possible tobridge the gap between short-term humani-tarian assistance and long-term developmentco-operation in countries emerging from pro-longed, deep-seated violent conflict. Thesefunds are primarily used to support viablepolitical and administrative structures, democ-racy and respect for human rights. They arealso used to strengthen the international com-munity’s capacity and competence in connec-tion with peacebuilding. Transitional assis-

tance can also be used in low-income coun-tries that have been hit by especially exten-sive and serious natural disasters.

Transitional assistance and other global allo-cations to democracy, human rights, peaceand reconciliation efforts make it possible forNorway to contribute to rapid, targeted actionfor these ends. Norway also uses country andregional allocations for peacebuilding purpos-es. Broad-based, comprehensive peacebuild-ing efforts require close political and adminis-trative co-ordination of the use of funds fromthe different budget chapters.

• Norway promotes good donor practices inconnection with peacebuilding at the bilater-al, regional and multilateral levels. In thistask Norway gives particular emphasis tonational ownership, co-ordination of theinternational community’s efforts and har-monisation of procedures.

• Norway seeks to ensure that the strategicframeworks for the international communi-ty’s peacebuilding efforts in conflict-affectedcountries and regions are based on joint con-flict analyses and needs assessments. Norwaywill seek to ensure a division of responsibilityand labour based on the comparative advan-tages of the various actors.

• Norway is reviewing the various methods ofconflict analysis and peace and conflictimpact assessments with a view to identifyingthe most suitable tools and providing trainingin their use.

• Norway gives priority to providing politicaland financial support to capacity- and com-petence-building activities in the UN andother multilateral organisations in order toenhance these organisations’ ability to pro-mote lasting and sustainable peace.

• Norway’s peacebuilding efforts in other countries and regions will be aimed atenhancing and developing a comprehensiveinternational approach headed by the UN system and with the active participation ofthe International Financial Institutions.

• Norway will advocate an increase in finan-cial contributions to peacebuilding and willsupport the establishment of an effectiveorganisational structure and financing modelfor international co-operation in this areathat are tailored to the situation in question.Norway will as a rule support the establish-

42

43ment of joint financing mechanisms in tran-sitional situations in order to avoid a multi-plicity of different bilateral projects and pro-grammes and promote national ownershipand control.

• Norway will continue its co-operation anddialogue with Norwegian NGOs on their con-flict prevention and peacebuilding activities,among other things with a view to ensuringthat all Norwegian activities in conflict-affected countries contribute to peace.

• Several of Norway’s main priorities also needto be mainstreamed into peacebuilding activi-ties. This is particularly true of the fight for

human rights. Women are an importantresource and have special interests andneeds, and Norway is seeking to mainstreama gender perspective into all processes and atevery level in conflict prevention and peace-promoting efforts. Norway is developing aplan for following up Security Council resolu-tion 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.

• Norway is developing a strategy for improv-ing conditions for children and young peoplein the South, which will also take up the situ-ation of children and young people in thecontext of conflict and peace activities.

At the 4278th meeting of the Security Council,held on 20 February 2001, in connection withthe Council’s consideration of the item enti-tled “Peace-building: towards a comprehen-sive approach”, the President of the SecurityCouncil made the following statement onbehalf of the Council:

“The Security Council recalls the open debateheld at its 4274th meeting on 5 February 2001on ‘Peace-building: towards a comprehensiveapproach’. The Council recalls also the state-ments of its President in relation to activitiesof the United Nations in preventive diploma-cy, peacemaking, peacekeeping and post-con-flict peace-building. The Security Council wel-comes the convening by the Secretary-General of the Fourth High-level UnitedNations-Regional Organizations Meeting andnotes with interest its results, in particular the‘Framework for cooperation in peace-building’as conveyed by the Secretary-General to thePresident of the Security Council in his letterof 12 February 2001 (S/2001/138).

“The Security Council reaffirms its primaryresponsibility under the Charter of the UnitedNations for the maintenance of internationalpeace and security. The Council emphasizesthe need for full respect for the purposes andprinciples of the Charter of the UnitedNations and the relevant provisions of inter-national law, in particular those related to pre-vention of armed conflicts and settlement ofdisputes by peaceful means.

“The Security Council reaffirms that thequest for peace requires a comprehensive,concerted and determined approach thataddresses the root causes of conflicts, includ-ing their economic and social dimensions.

“The Security Council recognizes that peace-making, peacekeeping and peace-building areoften closely interrelated. The Council stress-

es that this interrelationship requires a com-prehensive approach in order to preserve theresults achieved and prevent the recurrenceof conflicts. To this effect, the Council reiter-ates the value of including, as appropriate,peace-building elements in the mandates ofpeacekeeping operations.

“The Security Council recognizes that peace-building is aimed at preventing the outbreak,the recurrence or continuation of armed con-flict and therefore encompasses a wide rangeof political, developmental, humanitarian andhuman rights programmes and mechanisms.This requires short and long-term actions tai-lored to address the particular needs of soci-eties sliding into conflict or emerging from it.These actions should focus on fostering sus-tainable institutions and processes in areassuch as sustainable development, the eradica-tion of poverty and inequalities, transparentand accountable governance, the promotionof democracy, respect for human rights andthe rule of law and the promotion of a cultureof peace and non-violence.

“The Security Council further reaffirms that acomprehensive and integrated strategy inpeace-building must involve all the relevantactors in this field, taking into account theunique circumstances of each conflict situa-tion. The Council emphasizes that a well-planned and coordinated peace-building strat-egy can play a significant role in conflict pre-vention. In this connection, the Councilunderlines that international efforts in peace-building must complement and not supplantthe essential role of the country concerned.

“The Security Council notes that the experi-ences of the United Nations and regionalorganizations and other actors in peace-build-ing point to the need for enhancing peace-building activities by formulating a strategybased on the interdependence between sus-

44 Annex: Statement by the President of theSecurity Council, 20 February 2001

tainable peace, security and development inall its dimensions.

“The Security Council stresses that, to be suc-cessful, such a peace-building strategy shouldmeet, inter alia, the following basic criteria:relevance, coherence and consistency of pro-grammes and actions; the consent and coop-eration of the authorities of the State con-cerned where they exist; continuity in andconclusion of the process; cooperation andcoordination among organizations and otheractors involved; and cost-effectiveness of theoverall peace-building operation.

“The Security Council strongly encouragesthe United Nations system and regional andsubregional organizations, donor countriesand the international financial institutions toconsider undertaking initiatives such as: uti-lization of the mechanism of consolidatedappeals, the joint holding of pledging confer-ences to mobilize expeditiously internationalpolitical support and the essential resourcerequirements; ensuring prompt financing ofquick start-up peace-building projects; andstrengthening mechanisms that promotedevelopment and self-reliance by improvingcapacity-building activities.

“The Security Council also underlines thatsuccessful peace-building is predicated on aneffective and an unambiguous division oflabour, based on the comparative advantageof different implementing bodies, between allthe international partners, including theUnited Nations system, the internationalfinancial institutions, regional and subregionalorganizations, non-governmental organiza-tions and the wider international community.In this regard, the Council strongly encour-ages all those actors to enhance their cooper-ation in areas such as the early identificationof situations where peace-building is required;the definition of objectives and priority areasof peace-building; the development of an inte-grated operational response through mutualconsultation; joint monitoring of peace-build-ing activities; and establishing repertories ofbest practices and lessons learned in the areaof peace-building.

“The Security Council stresses the impor-tance of mainstreaming a gender perspectiveinto peace agreements and peace-buildingstrategies and of involving women in allpeace-building measures.

“The Security Council further encourages theUnited Nations and regional and subregionalorganizations to establish consultativeprocesses to ensure that peace settlementsand agreements mediated by these organiza-tions include commitments by the parties tothe conflict to concerted action in differentareas of peace-building, and stresses the needto identify such areas at early stages of thenegotiation of peace agreements.

“The Security Council recognizes that therepatriation and resettlement of refugees andinternally displaced persons as well as the dis-armament, demobilization and reintegrationof ex-combatants should not be seen in isola-tion but must be carried out in the context ofa broader search for peace, stability anddevelopment, with special emphasis on therevival of economic activities and reparationof the social fabric.

“The Security Council considers it essential toprovide speedy operational solutions to theexceptional and urgent needs of countriesemerging from or on the verge of conflict,through innovative and flexible means, includ-ing quick impact programmes which translateinto concrete and visible improvements in thedaily lives of their local populations.

“To enhance further the effectiveness of theUnited Nations in addressing conflicts at allstages, from prevention to settlement to post-conflict peace-building, the Security Councilreiterates its willingness to consider ways toimprove its cooperation with other UnitedNations bodies and organs directly concernedby peace-building, in particular the GeneralAssembly and the Economic and SocialCouncil which have a primary role in thisfield.

“The Security Council recalls the essentialrole of the Secretary-General in peace-build-ing, in particular in the establishment of

45

strategies in this field and their implementa-tion and recognizes the need to strengthenthe coordination and analysis capacity of theSecretariat in order to allow the Secretary-General to fulfil his responsibilities in thisarea.

“The Security Council recognizes the need forthe early involvement on the ground of peace-building actors and an orderly assumption oftheir responsibilities. To this effect and inorder to avoid any gap between peacekeepingand peace-building, the Council expresses itsdetermination, where appropriate, to consultat various stages of any peacekeeping opera-tion that includes peace-building elementsand in particular when the operation is beingestablished, with the State concerned andwith relevant actors who are primarily respon-sible for coordinating and implementingaspects of peace-building activities, such asthe General Assembly, the Economic andSocial Council, the United Nations funds andprogrammes, the international financial insti-tutions, regional organizations and majordonor countries.

“The Security Council recognizes that troop-contributing countries may be involved inpeace-building activities and that, within theexisting system of consultations with thesecountries, relevant peace-building activitiesshould be discussed.

“The Security Council encourages close coop-eration between the authorities of the Stateconcerned and the international communityin elaborating programmes of peace-buildingactivities where the commitment by the par-ties could be formalized in written communi-cations.

“The Security Council underlines the impor-tance of the presence of special representa-

tives of the Secretary-General or other suit-able United Nations coordination arrange-ments, such as the resident coordinator sys-tem, in coordinating the elaboration andimplementation of peace-building pro-grammes by international organizations anddonor countries in close cooperation withlocal authorities, taking into account ongoingactivities. The Council stresses that anyUnited Nations peace-building presenceshould have the necessary personnel andfinancial resources to discharge its mandate.

“The Security Council stresses the impor-tance of its being kept regularly informed ofthe progress achieved as well as of difficultiesencountered in peace-building in countrieswhere a peacekeeping operation had beenmandated by the Security Council.

“The Security Council reiterates that effortsto ensure lasting solutions to conflicts and tomaintain the momentum for peace in anygiven country or region require an increasedsolidarity, sustained political will and timelyand adequate resources on the part of theinternational community.

“The Security Council recalls the decision bythe Secretary-General to instruct theExecutive Committee on Peace and Securityto formulate a plan on the strengthening ofthe United Nations capacity to develop peace-building strategies and to implement pro-grammes in support of them, and looks for-ward to the submission by him of recommen-dations to the Security Council and theGeneral Assembly on the basis of this plan.

“The Security Council will remain seized ofthe matter.”

46

Strategic Framework

Peacebuilding – a DevelopmentPerspective

Published by:The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs7. juni plassen/Victoria Terrasse,P. O. Box 8114 Dep, 0032 Oslo, NorwayE-mail: infosek@mfa.no

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