Africa

Situation analysis

The Great Lakes Region (above, DRC) is a good example of a
sub-region with intertwined conflicts and vulnerabilities.

Africa has seen progress in solving conflicts and consolidating peace in countries like Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Burundi. Yet Africa will continue to provide a significant test for UNDP efforts in both crisis prevention and post-crisis recovery. State collapses have left many African countries with dysfunctional institutions and weak capacities, often in sub-regions were one fragile or failing state is neighboring another. The Great Lakes Region is a good example of a sub-region with intertwined conflicts and vulnerabilities. In addition to countries in protracted crisis, the region continues to see political crisis and coups which require special attention from the UN and UNDP (Mauritania, Guinea, Madagascar). Numerous challenges remain in highly complex situations such as the Niger Delta, Guinea, Chad and Zimbabwe.

The United Nations Peacebuilding Commission and Peacebuilding Fund were established to consolidate peace and avoid relapses into conflict. The focus of the new peacebuilding architecture of the UN has in its first years been on Africa. Burundi, Sierra Leone, the Central Africa Republic and Guinea Bissau are on the agenda of the Peacebuilding Commission. Guinea, Liberia, Comoros and Kenya have, in addition to the aforementioned countries on the PBC agenda, received financing from the Peacebuilding Fund.

UNDP's work and mission on the ground

UNDP is working closely with its partners in the UN and beyond in complex, challenging situations. UNDP is a key partner of the Peace-building Support Office and the recipient agency on the ground for a large share of projects funded by the Peacebuilding Fund. UNDP is collaborating with the United Nations’ Department of Political Affairs (DPA) on conflict prevention. UNDP and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs are working closely together on transition and early recovery.

The mandates set by the Security Council for peace missions are increasingly multidimensional in nature. In addition to implementation of peace agreements, they include building the capacities of parliaments and support for electoral processes, constitutional reform, decentralization, economic recovery and social cohesion. This makes UNDP with its governance and early recovery mandate a key partner for DPA and missions led by the UN’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations on the ground. For example, UNDP is working with the peacekeeping mission in DRC on elections; with the integrated peacebuilding mission in Burundi on capacity-building for institutions, human rights and justice, mine action and small arms; and with the peacekeeping mission in Liberia on strengthening the rule of law.

In terms of resources and delivery, the biggest UNDP Country Offices in Africa are crisis and post-crisis countries: DRC, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burundi and Cote d’Ivoire.

Building capacities and supporting national ownership are overarching priorities for UNDP, including during the early stages of post-crisis recovery. UNDP is working in Burundi, DRC, Liberia, and Northern Uganda to strengthen national capacities and institutions at the national and local levels to provide safety and security to communities, prevent and reduce armed violence, and control the illicit use and proliferation of small arms. UNDP is working with the United Nations’ Department of Peacekeeping Operations and DPA to support Security Sector Reform and Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration in DRC, Cote d’Ivoire, Uganda, Burundi, Chad, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

UNDP is also supporting the implementation of the 8-Point Agenda by facilitating the participation of women in peace and reconciliation processes and supporting gender-sensitive analyses that can inform programming and planning.

Disaster preparedness is another issue that has been given additional consideration by African governments. UNDP’s technical and financial support to the Government of Rwanda facilitated the development of the national disaster management policy. In the aftermath of a devastating cyclone in 2008, Madagascar’s disaster management system benefitted from a huge upgrade, including the design of risk management plans for nine regions and the establishment of an early warning system for the country as a whole.