Working Effectively in Conflict-affected and Fragile Situations: Summary Note

This 20-page paper from the United Kingdom (UK) Department for International Development (DFID) provides an overview of a series of 9 briefing papers (see the Related Summaries section, below), to give the reader a sense of the main issues that should be borne in mind when engaging in situations of conflict and fragility.

The background: In recognition of the challenges the international community faces in working in conflict-affected and fragile situations, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)-Development Assistance Committee (DAC) developed a series of Principles for Good International Engagement in Fragile States and Situations in April 2007 to complement the commitments set out in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. They are:

1. Take context as the starting point.
2. Do no harm.
3. Focus on state-building as the central objective.
4. Prioritise prevention.
5. Recognise the links between political, security, and development objectives.
6. Promote non-discrimination as the basis for stable and inclusive societies.
7. Align with local priorities in different ways in different contexts.
8. Agree on practical coordination mechanisms between international actors.
9. Act fast...but stay engaged long enough to give success a chance.
10. Avoid pockets of exclusion.

DFID's series of briefing papers is in line with the DAC principles, and is an effort to help country offices develop more effective responses to the challenges they face. These papers, together with the practice paper "Building Peaceful States and Societies" (which develops principles 3 and 4) bring together DFID's current understanding of how to work more effectively in fragile contexts. DFID has included in the series 2 additional papers that do not directly refer to the DAC principles - on risk management and on monitoring and evaluation (M&E).

The 9 briefing papers - each of which is summarised in this document - are not intended to be prescriptive. Rather, given the complexity of the challenges in different contexts, the papers flesh out the issues, and present some lessons and case studies to illustrate what can and is being done at the moment. DFID will update them regularly as new lessons emerge.