English

Why is development progress difficult in fragile and conflict-affected countries?  International Alert conducted a series of studies in Burundi, Liberia and Nepal to explore this question in terms of how international institutions channel aid to support peace and development progress. The studies focused on two multilaterals: the World Bank and the United Nations.

Report

International Alert’s new Impact Report uses the metaphor of a marathon to explain our work in 2010. Focusing on four regions that we work in, we show in this report how investing time and effort in understanding the local context, dealing with complex challenges as they arise, remaining flexible to adapt to changing circumstances, and staying focused, ensuring that what we achieve is lasting and meaningful, are four principles that guide the work we do.

Impact report 2010

For large parts of the population in West Africa, political participation and contribution to public circles is impaired by a number of challenges. Women and young people, in particular, might face cultural, economic or political obstacles when attempting to make their voices heard.

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The need for greater ‘engagement’ with Abkhazia has been widely acknowledged by the international community and is now even enshrined in official European and Georgian policies. Nevertheless, as ‘meaningful’ engagement is slow to materialise, the trend on the ground is of increasing alienation rather than rapprochement.

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In this study, Georgian and Abkhaz researchers examine one of the fundamental polarising issues of the conflict – the political status of Abkhazia. While Russia formally recognised Abkhazia as an independent state in August 2008, the ‘non-recognition’ of Abkhazia remains the cornerstone of Georgian and international policy. Georgian researchers explore how sustainable the policy of non-recognition is, under what conditions the policy might fail and what Georgia would do in those circumstances.

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The current phase of oil exploration in Uganda offers a unique opportunity to alleviate poverty and create broad-based development and improved standards of living across the country.

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This publication is aimed at PSD practitioners and provides practical guidance on how to develop and evaluate PSD programming in conflict-affected environments (CAEs). It provides four main areas of guidance:

Resource kit

This practice note explains the importance of using a conflict-sensitive approach to land policy and land governance in conflict-prone or conflict- affected contexts. It offers guidelines and principles on how economic development planners and practitioners can promote conflict-sensitive land policy reform and implementation. Conflict-sensitivity in this context denotes the consideration by policy-makers and practitioners of the range of issues that may have, or may in future, cause and trigger violence.

Practice note

One of the more controversial outcomes of the UN Small Arms conference was the failure of states to explicitly commit to more effective regulation of civilian possession and use of small arms and light weapons (SALW). Despite clear evidence of the opportunities for diversion of SALW from civilian possession to illicit trade and the serious impact of this on human security, opposition from some

Briefing

International Alert's impact in 2009

Impact report 2009

This paper is a collection of reflections from a field visit to three districts in the middle hills and Terai belt of eastern Nepal (Sunsari, Dhankuta and Morang) which set out to explore the various dimensions of the resilience of climate-affected communities. By sharing the perceptions and insights of community members from these districts, this paper aims to shed light on the complexities of these particular local contexts and flag some of the specific challenges of responding to climate change in fragile and conflict-affected contexts such as Nepal.

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These ‘snapshot’ briefings are part of a longer-term initiative by International Alert to help address the current gaps in knowledge and understanding between those actors at the district level and those in Kathmandu. Each briefing aims to outline current security and justice needs and challenges in a particular district, and advance constructive recommendations for ways in which national and international actors could address these challenges. The briefings are based on research undertaken as part of Alert’s work for the Initiative for Peacebuilding project.

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This briefing paper aims to outline priorities for international community support for the effective and accountable provision of security and justice in Nepal. It aims to highlight the need for utilising a participatory approaches in the promotion of people-centred reform of the security and justice system.

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This briefing note seeks to contribute to the knowledge on Resolution 1325, building on International Alert’s work in the MRU region during the last few years. The first section briefly discusses the need to adjust the approach to implementing Resolution 1325 in challenging contexts such as post-conflict Sierra Leone and Liberia and conflict-prone Guinea. Based on a brief discussion of salient issues and thematic priorities across the three countries, the subsequent section sketches the contours of a comprehensive agenda for implementing Resolution 1325 in the MRU region.

Briefing note

Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) has been one of the major legacies of the 14-year (1989-2003) regional conflict in the Mano River Union (MRU). In response, in 2008 International Alert and its partners designed an initiative targeting war-affected communities in nine border areas of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

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