PEACEBUILDING - Partnerships

The UN and the World Bank working together in crisis-affected situations

Kensuke Matsueda — Fri, 28 Sep 2018 00:41:00 +0000

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By: Franck Bousquet and Oscar Fernandez-Taranco

Creating sustainable peace and development solutions for countries affected by conflict, crisis and violence is a global responsibility for the international community.

At the United Nations General Assembly this week, the UN and the World Bank, together with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) launched the Famine Action Mechanism (FAM), the first global partnership dedicated to preventing famine. With support from the world’s leading tech companies, the FAM aims to use data and state-of-the-art technology to pair decision-makers with better, earlier famine warnings and pre-arranged financing. Our work on the FAM is the latest example of how our organizations are joining forces to reduce the risk of global crises.

Since 2010, the world has experienced more and increasingly more complex crises – violent conflicts, financial crises, pandemics, famine and much more. Crises at the national level are increasingly intersecting with global and regional trends – such as climate change, demographic shifts, and new technologies – with effective responses requiring increased cooperation among humanitarian, development and security partners, each group bringing its own set of skills, tools and resources to the challenge.

A year ago, taking note of the increased calls for collaboration between the United Nations and the World Bank in response to these changes, and following the World Humanitarian Summit and the General Assembly and the Security Council resolutions on sustaining peace, UN Secretary-General António Guterres and World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim signed the UN-WB Partnership Framework Agreement for Crisis-Affected Situations. The agreement committed our organizations to work closely together to build the resilience of the most vulnerable, mitigate risks and sustain peace in situations of violent conflicts and protracted humanitarian crises. We are proud of the commitments made under this agreement, and together with colleagues working across our organizations, fully believe that cooperation will help improve the impacts of our work, and the work of our partners, in countries and communities where it counts.

We are pleased to report that this collaboration, involving humanitarian, development and peacebuilding activities, is bearing fruit. In Yemen, the Bank, through its International Development Association (IDA), is working with several UN agencies (UNDP, UNICEF, UNOPS, and WHO) to provide cash transfers, employment opportunities, health care, clean water, and improved sanitation to Yemeni citizens suffering from the effects of a violent conflict, a cholera outbreak and severe food shortages. In Chad, a World Bank project, is being implemented together with FAO, WFP and UNICEF, to support refugees, as well as returnee and host communities in the south. In Central African Republic, and Mali, the Bank is working with UN Peacekeeping Operations and agencies to offer critical development support to address the drivers of insecurity. At the same time, we continue to scale up our efforts to align planning and assessment processes behind national peacebuilding and recovery efforts in crisis-affected situations, with joint plans developed in Cameroon, Liberia, and Nigeria.

We are excited about this partnership and we welcome collaboration and action by governments, global and local partners and the private sector, which we know have a key role to play.

Our approach to crisis prevention is laid out in our joint report, Pathways for Peace which provides empirical evidence and a conceptual framework for addressing the grievances that can lead to violent conflict. We are now working together to implement the study’s main findings and recommendations with the goal of building the resilience of the most vulnerable people, helping lift them out of poverty and ensuring they have the opportunity for a brighter future.

Franck Bousquet is the World Bank’s Senior Director for Fragility, Conflict & Violence

Oscar Fernandez-Taranco is the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support at the United Nations

Joint communique on ECOWAS Commission-Peacebuilding Support Office Memorandum of Understanding on peacebuilding

Kensuke Matsueda — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 13:09:00 +0000

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On 23 April 2018, the President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, Mr. Jean-Claude Brou, and the United Nations (UN) Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, Mr. Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the ECOWAS Commission and the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office on a partnership in peacebuilding. A signing ceremony took place at United Nations Headquarters in New York, on the margins of the High-Level Meeting on peacebuilding and sustaining peace convened by the President of the General Assembly.

The purpose of the MoU is to provide a framework and strengthen cooperation between the ECOWAS Commission and the UN Peacebuilding Support Office in support of peacebuilding and sustaining peace in West Africa. The MoU will further strengthen coordination of efforts between the two entities and contribute to a more predictable and strategic partnership in the areas of conflict prevention, political dialogue, national reconciliation, democratic governance and human rights.

DOWNLOAD: JOINT COMMUNIQUE ON ECOWAS COMMISSION-PEACEBUILDING SUPPORT OFFICE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON PEACEBUILDING (PDF)

Press release: As conflicts surge around the world, new approaches to prevention can save lives and be cost-effective

Kensuke Matsueda — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 14:00:00 +0000

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WASHINGTON, March 6, 2018 — A surge in violent conflicts in recent years has left a trail of human suffering, displacement and protracted humanitarian need. Since 2010, the number of major violent conflicts has tripled, and fighting in a growing number of lower-intensity conflicts has escalated. Today, an unprecedented 65.6 million people around the world have been forced from their homes. Among them are nearly 22.5 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18.

A new study, Pathways for Peace: Inclusive Approaches to Preventing Violent Conflict, the first study on conflict prevention prepared jointly by the World Bank and the United Nations, argues that the world must refocus its attention on prevention as a means to achieving peace and advancing sustainable development. Highlighting the enormous human and economic cost of conflicts around the world – up to $70 billion per year – the study recommends more concerted and collaborative efforts by the international community, with the Sustainable Development Goals at the core of an inclusive approach that identifies risks early and puts people at the center.

“Efforts to build and sustain peace are necessary not only once conflict has broken out, but long beforehand through preventing conflict and addressing its root causes,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Reiterating that prevention is an essential means of reducing human suffering and enabling people to reach their full potential, “we must work better together across the peace continuum, focusing on all the dimensions of conflict” he continued.

The study recognizes that violent conflict is a major cause of poverty today, and notes that by 2030, more than half the world’s poor will live in countries affected by high levels of violence.

“It’s increasingly clear that violent conflict is one of the biggest obstacles to ending poverty,” World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said. “Conflict impacts a growing number of people within countries, but it does not confine itself to national borders, and its spillover effects can imperil entire regions and pose risks worldwide. Preventing violent conflict is one of the most critical development challenges of our time, one that requires more resources, innovative approaches, and intensified collaboration among international partners.”

Violent conflict today affects countries at all income levels. The study highlights that the best way to prevent societies from descending into crisis -- including but not limited to armed conflict -- is to build resilience through investment in inclusive and sustainable development. For all countries, the study suggests that addressing inequalities and exclusion, making institutions more inclusive and ensuring that development strategies are risk-informed, are central to preventing the fraying of the social fabric that could lead to fragility and violence.

The study demonstrates that prevention works and is cost-effective. Analysis undertaken for the report finds that preventing the outbreak of violence would always be economically beneficial. It is estimated that violent conflict could cost up to US$13.6 trillion per year globally, a figure equivalent to 13.3 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP). The study says that prevention is cost effective; it highlights three cost-saving scenarios ranging from US$5 billion to almost US$70 billion annually.

The study points to many examples of countries that have successfully managed to address high levels of risk and avoided a descent into violence. It recommends that the international community create the necessary incentives that will enable all partners -- including development, diplomatic and security actors, and those at the international, regional and local levels -- to act early and act together to build and sustain peace and development.

To read the full study, please visit www.pathwaysforpeace.org

Contacts:

In Washington: Kristina Nwazota, (202) 473-9219, knwazota@worldbank.org

In New York: Kensuke Matsueda, (917) 367-5418, matsueda@un.org

For Broadcast Requests: Huma Imtiaz, (202) 473-2409, himtiaz@worldbankgroup.org

Joint Communique on United Nations-African Union Memorandum of Understanding on Peacebuilding

Kensuke Matsueda — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 16:00:00 +0000

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On 18 September 2017, the African Union (AU) Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ambassador Smail Chergui, and the United Nations (UN) Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, Mr. Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on UN-AU partnership in Peacebuilding at the AU Permanent Observer Mission in New York, on the margins of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly.

The purpose of the MoU is to provide a framework and strengthen cooperation in support of peacebuilding and sustaining peace efforts in Africa.

The MoU is a concrete step towards the implementation of the “Joint UN–AU Framework for Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security” signed on 19 April 2017 by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat. The MoU will further strengthen coordination of UN-AU efforts and contribute to a more predictable and strategic partnership in the areas of conflict prevention, political dialogue, national reconciliation, democratic governance and human rights.

DOWNLOAD: Joint Communique on United Nations-African Union Memorandum of Understanding on Peacebuilding (PDF)

Photo: African Union