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Role of International Donors
“The world is too small and tightly networked to be contained within a country at war…self-interest dictates that the international community must work together to reduce the number and length of these tragic and deeply destructive conflicts”
Nicholas Stern, Former Vice President and Chief Economist, The World Bank
The UN Peace Building Commission held its first Session on the 23 June 2006. The Commission will marshal resources at the disposal of the international community to advise and propose integrated strategies for post-conflict recovery, focusing attention on reconstruction, institution-building and sustainable development, in countries emerging from conflict.
Statement by Mr. Annan at the opening session:
“There are few issues on which there is greater consensus, or higher expectations, than on the responsibility of the United Nations to help states and societies recover from the devastation of war,” …..“The international community now has at its disposal a unique intergovernmental body: the first devoted specifically to peace-building. This new Commission will aim to provide more sustained, more coordinated and more focused support to countries emerging from conflict.”
- a durable exit from poverty and insecurity for the world’s most fragile states will need to be driven by their own leadership and people;
- although international engagement will not by itself put an end to state fragility, the
adoption of the shared principles can help maximize the positive impact of engagement and minimise unintentional harm;
- real improvements in donor behavior will help to promote better results and outcomes in the partner country;
United Nations
European Commission
Donor Flows to Fragile States
Irish Aid
Each year Irish Aid responds to both natural and manmade emergencies around the world. These include; floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, conflict and war, and food shortages and famine. Government spending on emergency and recovery assistance varies from year to year depending on need. On average spending amounts to between 6- 8% of the total aid budget. Irish Aid has a budget of over €40 million a year to respond to different types of emergencies around the world. The types of emergencies include: floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, conflict and war, and food shortages and famine.
International flows to fragile States
According to the OECD there is evidence to indicate that aid to fragile states, other than those emerging from recent conflict, is disproportionately low in aggregate terms, even taking into account the poor performance of the countries concerned. Aid volatility is twice as high in fragile states than in other low income countries and is not solely explained by resumed conflict or other crisis but appears to come from abrupt changes in donor priorities. The negative consequences of this volatility are particularly acute in these countries, where public finances also tend to be fragile.
The Reality of Aid 2006: Focus on conflict, security and development cooperation (Source: Reality of Aid Project June 2006). The report takes on the issues of security, conflict and the war on terror and present life-and-death challenges vis-à-vis development cooperation. With reports from 20 OECD countries, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific, and graphs illustrating major trends in global aid, the Reality of Aid 2006 Global Report provides a unique commentary on the state of development cooperation. The paper includes analyses on recipient countries including Colombia, the Middle East, Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as donor countries.
Aid Allocation and Fragile States (by Mark McGillivray, 2005). This paper summarises research on aid allocation and effectiveness, highlighting the current findings of the studies below. It looks at how aid should and is being allocated across all developing countries, with particular reference to fragile states.
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