Government reports
These are reports authored by government agencies or international governmental agencies such as the United Nations or World bank. They include either analysis or assessment of programs or interventions in conflicted-affected countries.
Resource Library
Navigate through our resource library, search for the terms you are interested in and the table will populate automatically with matching results.| Title | Authors | Subject Keywords | Abstract | Link | Country Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Empowering Ethiopian Women | USAID | Women, gender equality, community, education, health, equity. | This fact sheet emphasizes the importance of women's access to resources, community participation, and contributions. It brings insights into the relevance to Ethiopia and the United States. The essential focus on empowering Ethiopian Women resides on the programming of increasing female educational and economic opportunities while promoting health and safety, as well as increasing women's roles in conflict prevention and peacemaking. | https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1860/Fact_Sheet_Empowering_Ethiopian_Women_Jul_2017.pdf | Ethiopia |
| Rebuilding The Rule Of Law In Post-conflict Environments | Dr. Corbin Lyday, Jan Stromsem | Post-conflict, rule of law, development, peacemaking. | This guide provides practical guidance on rule of law programming in post-conflict environments. It reflects over twenty years of experience working in post-conflict environments, and presents the key challenges, lessons learned, and programming options for advancing rule of law development objectives in these environments. It is hoped that this guide will facilitate effective analysis, planning and programming that contribute to the strengthening of the rule of law in post-conflict societies. | https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1866/USAID-Post_Conflict_ROL_508.pdf | Worldwide |
| DDR and Peacebuilding: Thematic review of DDR contributions to peacebuilding and the role of the Peacebuilding Fund | United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office | Demobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Monitoring/Verification: United Nations, Training | This report reviews the contributions of Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) to peacebuilding. The review draws on the experiences of three case studies: Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Nepal and focuses specifically on the projects supported by the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF). The recommendations of the review aim to help the DDR and peacebuilding communities, and the PBF in particular, strategically and programmatically position their support to DDR (-related) initiatives for more lasting and promising peacebuilding results. The review works on identifying lessons that contribute to a greater understanding of the effectiveness and strategic relevance of DDR programmes to peacebuilding, added-value and comparative advantage of PBF’s funding arrangements, and promising practices that can be used to shape future programming. The review approaches the interlinkages of peacebuilding and DDR through the latter’s role in promoting the peace process, provision of basic security, peace dividends (including economic revitalization, restoring social fabrics and civic responsibility) as well as addressing the root causes and drivers of conflict. Firstly, explores the policy relationship and interlink- ages of DDR programmes and peacebuilding and the practical implications of this interrelationship on the ground. Secondly, it provides an introduction to the funding structure of the PBF and provides a summary of each of the three case studies. Thirdly, it explores the results of the three case studies horizontally, highlighting overall trends, contextual differences, lessons, and challenges across the cases. It finally highlights the main findings and expresses recommendations that contain specific action points aimed toward PBF efforts and contributions to achieving sustainable peacebuilding results. | https://www.un.org/peacebuilding/sites/www.un.org.peacebuilding/files/documents/ddr_pbf_thematic_review.pdf | Nepal |
| DDR and Peacebuilding: Thematic review of DDR contributions to peacebuilding and the role of the Peacebuilding Fund | United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office | Demobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Monitoring/Verification: United Nations, Training | This report reviews the contributions of Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) to peacebuilding. The review draws on the experiences of three case studies: Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Nepal and focuses specifically on the projects supported by the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF). The recommendations of the review aim to help the DDR and peacebuilding communities, and the PBF in particular, strategically and programmatically position their support to DDR (-related) initiatives for more lasting and promising peacebuilding results. The review works on identifying lessons that contribute to a greater understanding of the effectiveness and strategic relevance of DDR programmes to peacebuilding, added-value and comparative advantage of PBF’s funding arrangements, and promising practices that can be used to shape future programming. The review approaches the interlinkages of peacebuilding and DDR through the latter’s role in promoting the peace process, provision of basic security, peace dividends (including economic revitalization, restoring social fabrics and civic responsibility) as well as addressing the root causes and drivers of conflict. Firstly, explores the policy relationship and interlink- ages of DDR programmes and peacebuilding and the practical implications of this interrelationship on the ground. Secondly, it provides an introduction to the funding structure of the PBF and provides a summary of each of the three case studies. Thirdly, it explores the results of the three case studies horizontally, highlighting overall trends, contextual differences, lessons, and challenges across the cases. It finally highlights the main findings and expresses recommendations that contain specific action points aimed toward PBF efforts and contributions to achieving sustainable peacebuilding results. | https://www.un.org/peacebuilding/sites/www.un.org.peacebuilding/files/documents/ddr_pbf_thematic_review.pdf | Central African Republic |
| What Transformation Takes: Evidence of Responsible INGO Transitions to Locally Led Development Around the World | Peace Direct, CDA Collaborative Learning and Search for Common Ground, USAID. | financial sustainability, local, effectiveness | What Transformation Takes: Evidence of Responsible INGO Transitions to Locally Led Development Around the World takes readers on a journey to examine responsible transitions from international non-governmental organizations to locally led entities. The book is a compilation of the 19 case studies from the three-year program, Stopping As Success: Transitioning to locally led development (SAS), led by Peace Direct, CDA Collaborative Learning and Search for Common Ground, with funding from USAID. The case studies are organized by various themes including partnerships and financial sustainability, with additional insight from the SAS program, including practical lessons for how shifts in international development paradigms can lead to more sustainable, effective and culture- and conflict-sensitive partnerships, contributing to increased local leadership. | https://www.peacedirect.org/us/publications/what-transformation-takes/ | Worldwide |
| Second Generation Disarmament, Demobilization And Reintegration (Ddr) Practices In Peace Operations- A Contribution To The New Horizon Discussion On Challenges And Opportunities For Un Peacekeeping | United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations _x000D_ | Demobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Peacemaking, Training | This report is an initiated study by member States in a policy dialogue on the challenges and opportunities of peacekeeping, the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) Section of the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI) of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) to document the innovative programmes to provide policymakers and practitioners with sophisticated skills and tools to negotiate the local dynamics on the ground. Many ideas and practices highlighted have been implemented through a scholar-practitioner and security orientation, moving away from top-down implementations of a Security Council mandate. With the increasing deployment of UN operations diverse preconditions, the guidance provided in the Integrated DDR Standards needs to be complemented with practical measures that address these new contexts — by using Second Generation measures. The study underscores that DDR practice has evolved over the last several decades demanding institutional change, as well as reflecting the broader change in UN peacekeeping. The report is primarily based on four field studies: Afghanistan, Côte d’Ivoire, Haiti, and Liberia. It also compares traditional DDR and Second Generation programmes, as one implements relevant provisions for peacebuilding, while the other uses an evidence-based approach. Taking into account key internal challenges and its forefront role in UN integration efforts, the study explores several key aspects of planning and implementation of Second Generation DDR programmes and then goes on to describe key policy options. Moreover, it inquires through the categorization of Second Generation measures in three broad parts: Post-conflict stabilization measures; targeting specific groups with different approaches and incentives; alternative approaches to addressing disarmament and unregulated weapons. | https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/2gddr_eng_with_cover.pdf | Worldwide |
| DDR and Peacebuilding: Thematic review of DDR contributions to peacebuilding and the role of the Peacebuilding Fund | United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office | Demobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Monitoring/Verification: United Nations, Training | This report reviews the contributions of Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) to peacebuilding. The review draws on the experiences of three case studies: Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Nepal and focuses specifically on the projects supported by the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF). The recommendations of the review aim to help the DDR and peacebuilding communities, and the PBF in particular, strategically and programmatically position their support to DDR (-related) initiatives for more lasting and promising peacebuilding results. The review works on identifying lessons that contribute to a greater understanding of the effectiveness and strategic relevance of DDR programmes to peacebuilding, added-value and comparative advantage of PBF’s funding arrangements, and promising practices that can be used to shape future programming. The review approaches the interlinkages of peacebuilding and DDR through the latter’s role in promoting the peace process, provision of basic security, peace dividends (including economic revitalization, restoring social fabrics and civic responsibility) as well as addressing the root causes and drivers of conflict. Firstly, explores the policy relationship and interlink- ages of DDR programmes and peacebuilding and the practical implications of this interrelationship on the ground. Secondly, it provides an introduction to the funding structure of the PBF and provides a summary of each of the three case studies. Thirdly, it explores the results of the three case studies horizontally, highlighting overall trends, contextual differences, lessons, and challenges across the cases. It finally highlights the main findings and expresses recommendations that contain specific action points aimed toward PBF efforts and contributions to achieving sustainable peacebuilding results. | https://www.un.org/peacebuilding/sites/www.un.org.peacebuilding/files/documents/ddr_pbf_thematic_review.pdf | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Alternative Dispute Resolution Practitioners Guide | Scott Brown, Christine Cervenak, and David Fairman | Alternative Dispute Resolution, conflict management, negotiation, conflict resolution. | With the spread of ADR programs in the developed and developing world, creative uses for and designs of ADR systems are proliferating. Successful programs are improving the lives of individuals and meeting broad societal goals. There is a critical mass of ADR experience, revealing important lessons as to whether, when, and how to implement ADR projects. Drawing on this experience, this Guide is intended to provide an introduction to the broad range of systems that operate under the rubric of ADR. It is designed to explore and clarify the potential uses and benefits of ADR and the conditions under which ADR programs can succeed. It is written to help project designers decide whether and when to implement ADR programs in the context of rule of law assistance or other development initiatives. The Guide is also explicit about the limitations of ADR programs, especially where they may be ineffective or even counterproductive in serving some development goals. | https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/200sbe.pdf | Worldwide |
| DDR Support to Mediation | United Nations Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) Section | Mediation, Demobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Monitoring/Verification: United Nations | This document provides an overview of the use of Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) in support of the United Nations efforts to reducing violence. The report places an emphasis on the use cases of DDR and community violence reduction (CVR) in the pursuit of peace processes. The document prepared by the UN Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration section includes use cases of DDR mechanisms in Mali, Darfur, Colombia, Yemen, Central African Republic, The Republic of Congo. The report touches on how DDR (and CVR) supports mediation efforts and what are potential risks from those approaches. The report identifies how DDR can support direct mediation, capacity building efforts, in addition to conflict analysis and mapping of the relevant stakeholders. Finally, the report explains the mechanisms by which DDR officers are deployed to support mediation efforts lead by the various United Nations missions and their partners. | https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/ddr_support_to_mediation_process_2018.pdf | Worldwide |
| Key Considerations When Supporting Peace Processes | DCHA/CMM | Conflict, development, negotiations, mediation, peace. | Development professionals can play an important role in any peace process, providing the technical knowledge and practical, on-the-ground insights necessary to create a peace agreement that is durable. There are a number of lessons learned that are important for development practitioners to keep in mind when supporting peace processes. Much of the guidance offered in this brief has been distilled from multiple sources in academic literature, from background materials used in developing CMM’s toolkit on supporting peace processes and from materials produced by numerous other research institutions | https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12754 | Worldwide |
| Community Participation In Transitional Justice: A Role For Participatory Research | USAID | Commmunity participation, trasnsitional justice, reparation, peacemaking. | This manual aims to assist civil society organizations (CSOs) to use participatory research to promote community participation in transitional justice. Community participation benefits transnational justice strategies by assisting them in responding to unique needs and challenges within each community; encouraging the necessary participation to create and enhance change by legitimizing initiatives amongst the public; and addressing root causes of human rights violations like marginalization and disempowerment. Through participatory research, the communities greatest needs and priorities can lead action plan to address them, offering an incentive for community participation in transitional justice. This manual unveils this connection to build sustainable institutions and societies that deliver justice, ensure opportunities and foster the respect for human rights. | https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1866/CPTJUSAID.pdf | Guinea |
| Supporting Social Accountability in the Middle East and North Africa : Lessons from Transitions | Bousquet, Franck; Thindwa, Jeff; Felicio, Mariana: Grandvoinnet, Helene | Governance: Reforms, Governance: Transition | Social accountability is increasingly recognized as a way to make governance reforms and development efforts more effective in responding to the needs of citizens. Supporting initiatives that strengthen social accountability at the regional and national levels is consistent with the priority the Bank places on social and economic inclusion, citizen participation, and the quality of governance. The longer paper provides a brief overview of some experiences in the Middle East and North Africa (MNA) Region and international experiences from Indonesia, Turkey and the Philippines supporting social accountability during political and economic transitions. The full paper was prepared for a conference around the 2011 Annual Meetings in Washington, DC and included high-level policy makers from Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey, Indonesia and the Philippines. A panel of civil society organizations from the MNA Region exchanged perspectives about social accountability in the region, emerging opportunities and remaining challenges in making government more effective through an informed and engaged citizenry. | https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12781 | Middle East |
| Conflict and Development : Lessons from South Asia | Ejaz Ghani, Lakshmi Iyer | Economics and Conflict, Climate and Conflict, Governance | South Asia is the second most violent place on earth after Iraq. Conflicts in Afghanistan and Pakistan have attracted global attention. Parts of India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal have experienced long-running conflict. Conflicts result in death, misery, social trauma, destruction of infrastructure, and have huge spillover effects. What is conflict? Where is it concentrated? Is conflict a problem for development, or a failure of development? And what should policy makers do? | https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/10157 | Asia |
| Societal Dynamics & Fragility : Engaging Societies in Responding to Fragile Situations | World Bank | Fragility | Extreme fragile situations are now home to at least a quarter of the worlds people. In the worst cases, where fragility has given way to open violence - people are more than twice as likely to be malnourished, more than three times as likely to be unable to send their children to school, twice as likely to see their children die before age five, and more than twice as likely to lack clean water. It is unsurprising that not a single low-income country in these circumstances has been able to achieve even one Millennium Development Goal (World Bank 2011). In addition, many fragile situations generate spillover effects such as trafficking in illegal goods and persons, and corruption, which threaten the stability of neighboring countries (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD 2005, 2010). This study views fragility as not only a problem of state capacity, but also of relationships in society. That is, while some elements of fragility emanate from the state, others are deeply rooted in societal dynamics, the way individuals and groups interact and the relationships that form out of these interactions. | https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12768 | Worldwide |
| Youth as Agents of Peace : Somalia | World Bank; United Nation | Economics and Conflict, Youth | This paper is the first joint country study conducted by the United Nations and the World Bank aimed at translating into practice the principles of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2250, through direct and local engagement with young people and their communities in one of the most fragile and conflict-ridden areas on the African continent. Focusing on young people is particularly meaningful as Somalia’s population is the youngest of the African continent overall. Against a backdrop of continued conflict, insecurity, and violent extremism facing Somalia, the study offers a positive vision for defining peace as articulated by young women and men. It concludes by offering an operational framework for supporting youth in peacebuilding. The report’s recommendations postulate a comprehensive understanding of youth, peace, and conflict going beyond solutions based solely on increased employment. | https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12770 | Somalia |
| ENSURING CONFLICT SENSITIVITY IN PROMOTING THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES | Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization | Conflict prevention, indigenous rights, integration. | The real or perceived inequitable distribution of aid can increase tensions among neighboring communities, governments, or private industries. The PRO-IP Policy highlights examples of conflict and violence sparked by development actors’ inappropriate engagements with Indigenous Peoples. These conflicts feature insecure land tenure rights and natural resource management, displacement, exploitative or unsupportive actions of private industry and local government, legal marginalization, political violence, and well-intentioned, but potentially harmful, donor-funded initiatives. | https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Conflict-Sensitivity-in-PRO-IP-Technical-Guidance.pdf | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Non-state Justice System Programming | Barry Walsh, Eric Bartz | Justice, guidance, institutions, community-level, democracy, nonstate. | This guide is intended to assist USAID Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG) Officers and other practitioners in designing, implementing, and monitoring rule of law programs that include support for community-level non-state justice systems (NSJSs). It aims to provide a digest of techniques used by donors in supporting such NSJSs and offers guidance on best practices and lessons learned, including a sample scope of work (SOW) that may be used as a starting point for future support programs. The observations and conclusions herein may also be useful for programmatic support to other types of NSJSs. | https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1866/Guide-to-NSJS-Jun-19.pdf | Worldwide |
| People-to-people Peacebuilding: A Program Guide | USAID Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation | Peacebuilding, community-building, development, conflict sensitive. | This guide, developed in consultation with scholars and practitioners, provides specific guidelines on the implementation of people-to-people peacebuilding programs for use by USAID and its development partners. These programs, conducted in some of the most difficult and challenging environments, require special care to ensure impact, capture learning and advance a Do No Harm approach. The guidelines aim to assist program designers and evaluators in how best to do that by describing the state-of-the-art in people-to-people peacebuilding. Its purpose is to assist USAID staff at Missions, as well as others working in development and peacebuilding, to implement high-quality people-to-people programs. The guide is structured around fourteen guidelines grouped into three stages of the program cycle: design, implementation, theories of Change and monitoring and evaluation. The bibliography serves as an extensive reference for further research and learning. While the guidelines described in this guide would likely be applicable to most conflict mitigation programs, the focus of this document is specific to people-to-people programming and conflict-sensitive international development. The guidelines were identified based on extensive review of existing people-to-people programs and interviews in March-April 2010 with scholars of conflict resolution noted for their expertise in people-to-people approaches. | https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12752 | Worldwide |
| Rapid Assessment of Conflict Prevention | Christopher Cramer, Jonathan Goodhand, Robert Morris, Helena Pérez-Niño, Benjamin Petrini and Joshua Rogers | Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E), Peace Processes, Conflict Prevention | This Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) has found that there is only a weak body of evidence published between 2010 and 2015 on conflict prevention and violence mitigation: there is no medium- to large-scale body of evidence on specific interventions with clear findings on ‘what works’ grounded in moderate or high quality research (as assessed in terms of the principles and indicators of good evidence adopted in the REA). While there is only a limited extent to which the search uncovered ‘what works’, there were some clear signals about ‘what doesn’t work’. 27 studies had clear findings that interventions had been ‘ineffective’ and six of these were high quality studies. The best of these studies highlighted the dangers of ignoring political drivers of conflict, the need to consider the distortionary effects of different aid modalities, and the specific design features that may render some forms of intervention (e.g. CDD) more vulnerable to attack than others. The REA suggests that there remains a large gap between the demand for evidence by policymakers/practitioners and the supply of research by researchers and evaluators in the field of conflict prevention and mitigation. The stubbornness of this gap raises questions about how policymakers can help researchers to overcome barriers to supply and provide incentives for improving the body of evidence about what works. | https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/58245e85ed915d7ad500001a/effectiveness-conflict-prevention-interventions1.pdf | Worldwide |