‘Imagine we are 5 years ahead, and minister Ploumen will visit the twelve countries where the ARC projects will be implemented; what will she see, and will she be satisfied with what we have achieved?’ This question was posed during a talk show with the MFA’s special envoy on migration, Bram van Ojik, the MFA’s Director General of International Cooperation, and representatives of NGO’s from South-Sudan, Burundi and Pakistan.

With the talk show, the kick-off meeting of the Addressing Root Causes Fund on Monday the 20^th of June came to an end.

The ARC kick-off, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and facilitated by the Platform, marks the start of a unique, five-year collaboration in which the MFA, together with 15 NGO’s and their partners, will work together to address root causes of violent conflict, instability and irregular migration.

Some 180 participants engaged in numerous breakout sessions with the view of getting to know each other, to explore key common challenges for program development under the ARC fund, and to exchange tools and approaches for effective partnerships and adaptive programming.

Progress on themes like rule of law and employment creation in conflict affected areas is often small and incredibly hard to measure. Special attention was therefore paid to the creation of a joint results framework, on which the organizations within ARC, as well as the Ministry, can report to the parliament and the Dutch public.

Jelte van Wieren, the MFA’s Director of Stability and Humanitarian Aid, emphasized in his opening speech: ‘For too long, development aid in Fragile and Conflict Affected States has been approached as if we, development actors, are the drivers on a train going from point of departure to point of destination. But I think we can all agree it has been more like a sailing trip on a boat - or an ark – planning to cross an unpredictable, stormy and dangerous ocean with an uncertain destination’.

To answer Bram’s question, Salome Zuriel, conflict thematic manager at ACORD, emphasized that in fragile contexts, it is hard to predict the extent to which our programs will contribute to stability after 5 years of engagement. The results framework we are about to develop however, might actually provide for the opportunity to attain concrete results in creating employment, enforcing rule of law or increasing physical human security. Today’s kick-off meeting was a first step in that direction.

MINUSMA faces enduring challenges in the implementation of its mandate seeking to advance the Malian peace process, support reconciliation, provide humanitarian assistance, ensure the protection of civilians and promote human rights, especially of women and children. Which credible institutional framework can adequately support reconciliation and human security, in particular upon MINUSMA’s eventual departure from Mali?

Mr. Chukwuemeka Eze (Executive Director – West Africa Network for Peacebuilding, WANEP) and Mr. Kissima Gakou (University of Law and Political Science of Bamako) took part in a discussion with members of the Knowledge Platform Security & Rule of Law who are active in Mali. Participants assessed priorities, outstanding SSR challenges, and the role ECOWAS and the EU missions should play at a 14 April informal meeting, hosted by the Knowledge Platform and the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict.

Which role for ECOWAS? Key takeaways

-         To reassure the Malian people that the country will remain stable upon the departure of the international community, it is important for ECOWAS to take ownership and proactively ensure the sustainability of on-going efforts.

-         The ECOWAS peace support operation will constitute an opportunity to prove that its standby force is operational, and requires the following:

• Resource mobilisation to prevent a post-MINUSMA void.
• Sufficient space for dialogue, which is currently lacking.
• Protection of civilians in the North, to undercut a legitimising factor of the rebel groups.
• Well-articulated DDR, which lays the onus on reintegration.
• Inclusion of the diaspora and refugees in peace efforts.

-         A fact-finding mission to assess existing stakes and human security challenges must additionally be deployed to further inform policy decisions. It will enable findings gathered by civil society to date be validated.

Lessons learned from MINUSMA for ECOWAS

-          To advance the peace process, a different focus on leadership is needed. A mediator who is from the region and who inspires confidence on the side of the government and the rebels, other than a sitting Head of State, must be looked for by ECOWAS.

-          Extremist tendencies across the region need to be monitored to be able to assess and respond to any changes upon MINUSMA’s departure. A more proactive approach and comprehensive economic framework overall are needed to prevent vulnerable and demobilised youth from resorting to violent extremism.

-          The development of entrepreneurial skills is important, but should be accompanied with opportunities to enhance leadership and strengthen youth participation in governance, as they have the potential to alter conflict dynamics.

-          While many resources have been spent on border control and management, efforts have failed to yield results. As external actors can only do so much, the non-involvement of local communities in initiatives has been an important gap and must be looked at, while carefully balancing endeavours with the free movement of goods and people, and ECOWAS’ integration.

-          The Malian government is perceived to have done little to advance local level reconciliation and ECOWAS does not possess the mandate, nor the skills to do so. Close cooperation with civil society to support community reconciliation and develop a comprehensive approach to human security are therefore essential.

Coordination and regional politics

As the coordination of efforts by the EU, UN etc. remains unclear, ECOWAS needs to assume responsibility, develop a clear strategy, and show openness to engage with other initiatives, including by the AU, through the development of a joint ECOWAS-AU workplan.

The Group of Five for the Sahel (G5, composed of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger), which operates on the basis of commitments at the Head of State level, benefits from a stronger political impulse as well as significant back up by international partners so as to respond to terrorist threats. Yet, ECOWAS is heavily dependent on the same partners, but receives less investment. As the G5 escapes from Algeria’s grip, and its lack of credibility as a peace broker, it is in a position to advance more rapidly. Meanwhile, ECOWAS’s inability to overcome security deficits in the region has led to its discredit in public opinion, where it is perceived as a political envelope devoid of content. Harmony in actions between ECOWAS and the G5 thus continues to be lacking.

Significant regional politics are furthermore at play. France’s weight in Mali places ECOWAS in a second position. However, the ECOWAS Commission’s new President from Benin has the potential to lead to new responses that are more detached from politics. Together with the full support provided to ECOWAS’ strategy in Mali by the President of Nigeria, these changing regional dynamics are hoped to yield a positive impact.

The role of the European Union and outstanding SSR challenges

While there has been more attention to MINUSMA than to the EU, its contributions should be adequately assessed to improve coherence and impact of interventions. Indeed, the EU Training Mission for the Malian military, focused on mass combat, is perceived to lack alignment with the local operational context of terrorism, both in the North and in Bamako. The perception of northern Malians is that individuals originating from the South are sent to the North, which has a potential of aggravating local conflict dynamics. This offensive EU involvement clashes with its role in the peace process and precipitates a lack of credibility as regards the EU’s long-term development endeavours.

Meanwhile, EUCAP, the EU’s civil security mission, is felt to have provided training on ways of working which were not understood by the Malians in their context, and hence, have not been implemented.

Most recently, the EU’s SSR mission has been deployed but has been inactive as both the Malian army and the police are already in the process of being reformed, and the government has convinced its international partners that the reintegration of former combatants, through the newly established National Commissions on DDR and Integration, must take place before SSR can proceed. This assessment points to the fact that the 3 EU missions have not been thought through jointly, or in line with local realities, as evidenced by the WOSCAP project, currently reviewing the EU’s conflict prevention and peacebuilding interventions. The EU shall therefore think creatively about its interventions and where and how exactly SSR will occur.

Overall, Dutch interventions in Mali are positively perceived as they work closely with the population, which can be capitalised upon. As neither France nor MINUSMA are however seen as credible international actors by some Malians, the EU in particular would possibly be well placed to respond to on-going SSR challenges, on the condition that it moves beyond the respective interests of its member States and internal dissent, and finds solutions that are in line with local needs. Its significant neutrality, power, and relatively new role account for its potential. However, if it continues to fail, this option will also evaporate, to the detriment of Mali’s on-going peace process.

Hard Contexts, Hard Choices | #srolconf #hardchoices

How to tackle the Hard Choices that Security and Rule of Law policy, programming and knowledge exchange require in the Hard Contexts presented by fragile and conflict-affected settings? Guest experts from countries covering Libya, Burundi, Lebanon, Tunisia, the United Kingdom, Colombia, Germany, Kenya, Guatemala, The United States, Belgium, South Africa and France shared insights, and jointly identified avenues to adjust tools for interventions and chart the way forward with an eclectic mix of policymakers, practitioners and researchers. About 200 participants were asked to choose between the 24 featured parallel sessions, shaped and facilitated with the active involvement of a record-high of 32 Platform member organizations.

After the welcome remarks and an energizing negotiation exercise, Simone Filippini (Cordaid), Kathryn Nwajiaku-Dahou (International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding - OECD), Katy Thompson (UNDP), and Jelte van Wieren (The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs) reflected in a moderated keynote conversation on the main tools, strategies and approaches that provide assistance in attempting to navigate the most difficult choices and challenges they face in working in these hard contexts. The experts stressed that we have no choice but to make hard choices; that we cannot compromise statebuilding engagement in violent situations; that we need to think politically about Rule of Law engagement; and that we need a better understanding of the intractability of violent conflicts.

 The majority of the day featured parallel sessions divided amongst the three conference themes, spiced up with several skills workshops.

Under theme 1 ‘Which balance to adopt in addressing current and emerging transnational security challenges ?’, some of the key takeaways included the recognition that State terrorism, corruption, exclusion, poverty and marginalization should not be forgotten in efforts to address violent extremism, which must be deployed within a rule of law framework. While criminalization by governments sends a strong message to the public, it is not the answer.

Meanwhile, the assumption that tackling unemployment in countries of origin will reduce the outflow of young migrants often proves to be wrong. Indeed, it fails to address the different labor expectations, the importance of social networks, or the opacity in existing employment systems.

The implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals through the current indicators risks creating perverse incentives. For Goal 16 in particular to matter, global, normative understandings of peace and justice need to be reconciled with more local needs and interpretations of justice. These were some of the key takeaways under theme 2‘Towards more politically transformative rule of law support’ of the conference's program.

Under theme 3 ‘Innovation in security and rule of law programming’, it was said that much remains to be learned to effectively adapt policy and programming to fragile contexts. Currently, organizational learning focuses heavily on the creation of knowledge alone, while much more attention to its transfer and retention within and amongst organizations is needed. This requires a clear vision be developed, which goes beyond individual learning so as to yield higher organisational returns and incorporates adequate incentive structures.

In order to adequately take into account the complexity of the situations we face, political economy analyses are another useful tool but need to become more flexible and adaptive. This requires looking at structural factors, levels of agency, and uncertainty.

Through the skills workshops, participants had the opportunity to enhance their research uptake skills, fine-tune their understanding of impact pathways, learn about behavioural change approaches, acquire a taste of crisis communication and get tips as to how to navigate power relations and structures in designing a range of campaigns and events so as to optimize impact.

A 'Bazaar of Publications' provided the opportunity to learn about the first research results and the work of the research consortia and other participants, both in hard copy and via a user-friendly conference app.

This year’s Conference aimed to contribute to delineating the Platform’s programmatic and research priorities, at the forefront of international developments and emerging challenges. It sought to foster innovative approaches to security and rule of law and showcased results by 16 represented NWO-WOTRO’s research projects, affiliated with the Platform. In an open and interactive atmosphere at the Bazaar of Ideas, enhanced in collaboration with an artist, participants had the opportunity to link up with a vibrant network of national and international security and rule of law professionals.

Key insights, ideas and proposed avenues will be gathered, charting the future directions and activities of the Platform. We are looking forward to continue to engage the Platform’s network in realizing our new programmatic and research agenda.

The summary report of the conference is now available here. Please keep an eye on the blog series inspired by the conference. All our publications are grouped under #srolconf and #hardchoices.

Kindly find here the timetable of the conference, and more information on the different breakout sessions.