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Key Text Evaluation of the Implementation of the Paris Declaration: Thematic Study - The Applicability of the Paris Declaration in Fragile and Conflict-affected Situations

Author: Oxford Policy Management and The IDL Group
Date: 2008
Size: 123 pages (831 KB)

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Summary

What are the challenges of applying the Paris Declaration in fragile and conflict-affected situations? This report from Oxford Policy Management examines aid effectiveness and state building in fragile states and includes case studies of Afghanistan, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nepal. A harmonised approach by development partners is particularly relevant in fragile situations, and shared approaches to context, conflict and risk analysis are required.

The Paris Declaration sets out commitments between international donors and partner countries around five themes: ownership, alignment, harmonisation, managing for results and mutual accountability. In many fragile situations, however, the Paris Declaration is of limited relevance. The OECD’s Development Assistance Committee has approved a set of principles for international engagement in fragile and conflict-affected situations to complement the Declaration’s core themes. These focus on context, state-building, non-discrimination, the need to ‘do no harm’ and the need to recognise links between political, security and development objectives.

The role and relevance of the Paris Declaration in fragile situations depends on country context and the nature of the partnership between donor and recipient. Findings include the following:

Deteriorating governance and prolonged impasse between national governments and the international community are problematic to the model of development partnership envisaged by the Paris Declaration.
Post-conflict transition and situations of improving but weak governance provide an opportunity for building partnerships envisaged by the Paris Declaration. But where the capacity of the state (and civil society) is weak, the political settlement may be vulnerable, and the risk of falling back into conflict high.
The fragile states principles go beyond the Paris Declaration principles in two ways. First, they identify specific issues for improving aid effectiveness in fragile states. Second, they emphasise the wider agenda of state building, including non-aid instruments of engagement, whole government approaches and policy coherence across security and development.
Evidence shows that needs assessments, joint planning and prioritisation tools and joint donor offices have supported greater harmonisation, alignment and ownership in fragile situations.

Lessons for effective engagement in situations with deteriorating development partnerships and increasing risk of conflict relate to predicting and planning for potential crises and conflict. Development partners need to:

Develop shared approaches to context, conflict and risk analysis to anticipate and, where possible, prevent state failure and conflict: These include joint monitoring and early warning systems. Shared political economy and conflict and risk analysis is a prerequisite for effective engagement and a ‘do no harm’ approach.
Shift their engagement and programmes away from ‘business as usual’ to address the underlying causes of fragility: Each situation will be different and standard approaches used in other countries are unlikely to work.
Design programmes and instruments that facilitate flexible engagement: This includes alternative programmes and monitoring and accountability mechanisms at different levels (within and outside government) to guard against risks and meet basic human needs.

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Source: OPM/IDL, 2008, 'Evaluation of the Implementation of the Paris Declaration: Thematic Study - The Applicability of the Paris Declaration in Fragile and Conflict-affected Situations', Oxford Policy Management and The IDL Group, Oxford
Author: Oxford Policy Management (OPM), http://www.opml.co.uk