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1. Sustaining Peace in Burkina Faso: Responding to an Emerging Crisis

Author:
Christian Lara and Gabriel Delsol
Publication Date:
05-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
In 2017, the UN launched a system-wide effort to support the implementation of the sustaining peace agenda in Burkina Faso. Since then, a rapidly deteriorating security situation and an imminent humanitarian crisis have forced the UN, the Burkinabe government, and their partners to recalibrate their efforts. This ongoing recalibration, together with the changes resulting from the UN development system reforms, makes this an opportune moment to assess the state of efforts to sustain peace in Burkina Faso. This paper examines the implementation of the UN’s peacebuilding and sustaining peace framework in Burkina Faso, looking at what has been done and what is still needed. It focuses on the four issue areas highlighted in the secretary-general’s 2018 report on peacebuilding and sustaining peace: operational and policy coherence; leadership at the UN country level; partnerships with local and regional actors; and international support. Burkina Faso provides lessons for how the UN’s sustaining peace efforts can respond to growing needs without a change in mandate. Continued support for the UN resident coordinator in Burkina Faso is necessary to ensure that these efforts are part of a holistic approach to the crisis, together with local, national, and regional partners. Such support could underpin Burkina Faso’s status as a buffer against spreading insecurity in the Sahel and make the country a model for the implementation of the sustaining peace agenda in conflict-prone settings without UN missions.
Topic:
Development, United Nations, Peacekeeping, Peace, Sustainability, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Africa and Burkina Faso

2. Unpacking the UN’s Development System Reform

Author:
Lesley Connolly and Jimena Leiva Roesch
Publication Date:
07-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
On January 1, 2019, a far-reaching reform of the UN development system went into effect. This was referred to by the deputy secretary-general as “the most ambitious reform of the United Nations development system in decades.” While this reform has only briefly been in place, questions have already arisen about its implementation and implications. This issue brief aims to contribute to the understanding of this ongoing reform and its significance. It provides a detailed overview of the UN development system reform at the headquarters, regional, and country levels, highlighting why it was undertaken and identifying some of the political and bureaucratic complexities it entails. The report concludes that more than a year into the reform of the UN development system, significant progress has been made, but it is too early to assess the reform’s long-term impact. What is clear, however, is that bringing about change of this scope will require the UN to adapt not only its structure but also its way of working.
Topic:
Development, United Nations, and Sustainability
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3. Sustaining Peace in Liberia: New Reforms, New Opportunities?

Author:
Lesley Connolly and Laurie Mincieli
Publication Date:
05-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
The reforms to the UN development system, effective on January 1, 2019, marked the start of a new period for the UN presence in Liberia, making it one of the earliest test cases of a “next generation” UN country team. This comes less than a year after two other transitions: the withdrawal of the UN Mission in Liberia and the inauguration of a new Liberian president. On top of longstanding socioeconomic challenges, these transitions are testing the country’s ability to sustain peace. This paper, a publication of IPI and the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), examines the implementation of the UN’s peacebuilding and sustaining peace framework in Liberia, looking at what has been done and what is still needed. It focuses on the four issue areas highlighted in the secretary-general’s 2018 report on peacebuilding and sustaining peace: operational and policy coherence; leadership at the UN country level; partnerships with local and regional actors; and international support. It looks specifically at how the UN country team is adapting its strategy and operations in the wake of the recent transitions in Liberia. The changes taking place in Liberia illustrate that efforts to implement the secretary-general’s recommendations are already underway. The UN has implemented a new, innovative model centered on an empowered resident coordinator’s office, which has been able to effectively coordinate its approach with the Liberian government. Nonetheless, this office needs support to ensure that programming is oriented toward conflict prevention and connected to discussions at UN headquarters.
Topic:
Development, United Nations, Reform, Peace, and Transition
Political Geography:
Africa and Liberia

4. Guatemala’s Achilles’ Heel: The 2030 Agenda and the Fight against Corruption

Author:
Jimena Leiva Roesch
Publication Date:
05-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
In late 2015, momentum toward implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was steadily building in Guatemala. This momentum was driven by the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) and protesters in the streets demanding action against corruption. Since 2017, however, a political standoff in Guatemala has started reversing these gains. A sustained reversal would undermine efforts to address the country’s longstanding socioeconomic needs. This study analyzes recent gains and setbacks in Guatemala’s efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda and provides recommendations for ways the country can fight corruption and securitization to sustain peace and promote sustainable development. It suggests better communicating the 2030 Agenda through multi-stakeholder outreach, improving monitoring or progress, aligning international aid with local objectives, and continuing to engage with the private sector. This issue brief is part of the International Peace Institute’s (IPI) SDGs4Peace project, which seeks to understand how the 2030 Agenda is being rooted at the national and local levels and to support the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The project focuses on five case studies: Guatemala, the Gambia, Greece, Lebanon, and Myanmar. Implementation of the 2030 Agenda provides each of these countries an opportunity not only to buttress existing aspirations but also to build new partnerships that transcend traditional approaches.
Topic:
Corruption, Development, Sustainable Development Goals, and Peace
Political Geography:
Greece, South America, Lebanon, Guatemala, Myanmar, and Gambia

5. Pivoting from Crisis to Development: Preparing for the Next Wave of UN Peace Operations Transitions

Author:
Daniel Forti and Lesley Connolly
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
UN peace operations are going through an accelerated period of reconfiguration and drawdown. Between June 2017 and March 2018, long-standing peacekeeping missions in Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia closed, while the mission in Haiti was reconfigured into a transitional peacekeeping mission. Looking ahead, the Security Council has mandated the closure of the peacekeeping mission in Darfur and the initial drawdown of the peacebuilding mission in Guinea-Bissau, and its attention is starting to shift to other missions. With these upcoming transitions in mind, this issue brief explores experiences and lessons from recent UN transitions in Côte d’Ivoire, Haiti, and Liberia. Each of these transitions has been the subject of a detailed IPI policy report published as part of IPI’s project on “Planning for United Nations Peacekeeping Operations Transitions.” Drawing on this research, this issue brief recommends how to manage politics and recalibrate policies to better shape future transitions. Its recommendations include to: Adopt shared and long-term political strategies, particularly in Security Council mandates and benchmarks, as well as through regular sharing of assessments from the field. Ensure integration in field-level planning strategies well before the Security Council sets transition timelines, with senior leadership from the mission shaping the vision, driving planning, and providing concrete recommendations for the future UN presence in the country. Strategically engage the host society to align peacebuilding priorities and to communicate the core message that the mission is leaving but the UN is remaining in the country. Engage early to secure adequate financing, capitalizing on debates surrounding the transition while it is still on the Security Council’s agenda. Institutionalize dedicated transition support capacity within the UN system, including policy and programmatic guidance, operational support, planning expertise, and surge capacities. Sustain long-term peacebuilding through partnerships, ensuring that residual peacebuilding challenges are mainstreamed into national development plans and international and regional development frameworks.
Topic:
Development, United Nations, Peacekeeping, Crisis Management, and Transition
Political Geography:
Africa, Haiti, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire

6. Advancing Sustainable Development between Conflict and Peace in Myanmar

Author:
Mona Christophersen and Svein Erik Stave
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
Over the last five years Myanmar has gone through fundamental changes as it transitions toward peace and democracy. This transformation provides Myanmar with a unique opportunity to build a peaceful and inclusive society and advance on the path to sustainable development and sustaining peace. Yet at the same time, Myanmar remains submerged in conflict and lacks national consensus on the future of the state. Achieving the 2030 Agenda in Myanmar will therefore require an inclusive and conflict-sensitive approach that takes into account the views not only of the central government but also of ethnic-minority groups. Based on an eighteen-day field study in Myanmar in 2017, this paper examines the country’s progress toward sustainable development and sustaining peace from these divergent perspectives. This paper, co-funded by the Fafo Research Foundation, is part of the International Peace Institute’s (IPI) SDGs4Peace project, which seeks to understand how the 2030 Agenda is being rooted at the national and local levels and to support the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The project focuses on five case studies: the Gambia, Greece, Guatemala, Lebanon, and Myanmar. Implementation of the 2030 Agenda provides each of these countries an opportunity not only to buttress existing aspirations but also to build new partnerships that transcend traditional approaches.
Topic:
Development, Sustainable Development Goals, Conflict, and Peace
Political Geography:
Southeast Asia and Myanmar

7. A Poisoned Well: Lessons in Mediation from South Sudan’s Troubled Peace Process

Author:
Zach Vertin
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
In 2013, the world’s newest nation—the Republic of South Sudan—descended into civil war. External actors moved quickly to convene peace talks under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), leading to a comprehensive peace deal in August 2015. But the agreement unraveled just a year later, before it could be implemented, and the war metastasized. This paper examines the IGAD-led peace process for South Sudan from 2013 to 2015. Viewed through a prism of mediation best practice, it is a critical assessment of the attempt to negotiate a settlement of the conflict and a distillation of lessons learned. While singular conclusions are hard to draw, the paper concludes that the process may have helped to slow South Sudan’s civil war and provided a platform to confront the fundamental changes required to transform state and society. But inherent flaws meant the peace deal lacked the political will, broad national ownership, and implementing authorities necessary to make it stick. As IGAD member states and international partners now attempt to “revitalize” the peace process, they would be wise to evaluate, and build upon, its lessons.
Topic:
Development, Treaties and Agreements, Peace, and Mediation
Political Geography:
Africa and South Sudan

8. Insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea: Assessing the Threat, Preparing the Response

Author:
Fiona Blyth and Mireille Affa'a Mindzie
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
The International Peace Institute convened a roundtable discussion on "Insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea: Assessing the Threats, Preparing the Response" on June 6, 2013, in New York. The meeting aimed to help develop a better understanding of the peace and security challenges facing the Gulf of Guinea by examining the multifaceted threats to the stability of the region; considering national, regional, and international responses to these threats; and providing practical policy recommendations with a view to strengthening regional and international responses.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Poverty, Fragile/Failed State, Governance, and Piracy
Political Geography:
Africa and United Nations

9. Engineering Peace: The Critical Role of Engineers in UN Peacekeeping

Author:
Arthur Boutellis and Adam Smith
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
The UN Security Council mandates peacekeeping operations in some of the poorest, most conflict-prone areas of the world. These locations are often also extremely remote and nearly inaccessible. In this context, engineering is one of the most critical elements to the functioning of a UN peace operation; yet, it may be the least critically analyzed aspect of peacekeeping. During the start-up phase of a mission, engineers design, prepare, and build the camps that allow the mission to exist. Very little can be achieved in peacekeeping without sanitary and secure camps with electricity and passable roads or functional air strips. When there are engineering gaps coupled with major logistical challenges (as in the UN Mission in South Sudan), key elements of the mandate, such as the protection of civilians or support to the extension of state authority, become much more difficult, and sometimes impossible, to fulfill. During the mission consolidation phase, engineers can play a central role in the peacebuilding support tasks of a mission, working with the host country, UN agencies, and others to build capacity and deliver peace dividends.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Security, Development, Peace Studies, Science and Technology, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
United Nations

10. New Report Examines East Africa and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development

Author:
Solomon Dersso
Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), composed of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda with its secretariat headquartered in Djibouti, covers northeast Africa, a region continuing to experience major changes, arguably more than any other part of the continent. This is the only region of Africa where colonially drawn borders have been redrawn. In contrast to other regions of Africa, this is also where the prospect of further redrawing of borders—with Somaliland seeking international recognition as a separate state—remains a real possibility.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Security, Development, Economics, Environment, Regional Cooperation, and Governance
Political Geography:
Uganda, Kenya, Africa, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, and South Sudan