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Strategy Note

UNODC engagement in post-conflict and

fragile states

16 March 2009

I. Why UNODC should engage in post-conflict and fragile states

With the proliferation of intra-state wars and the privatization of conflict in “failing states”, national and inter-state security issues are losing their primacy and giving way to transnational, sub-national and individual security concerns. In conflict-ridden and post-conflict societies, non-military threats and human security issues dominate the security landscape.

Post conflict states, because of their fragility and limited capacity, are particularly vulnerable to the development of illicit trafficking and organized crime. Such trafficking may well have begun during (and indeed may have assisted in sustaining) the conflict, but it may act also as a significant destabilizing factor in the post-conflict and peace-building period, undercutting and corrupting state institutions, particularly in the rule of law sector. A failure to come to grips with this challenge, or the temptation to ignore it and only to provide quick fixes, will in the long term prove to be counterproductive as criminal networks, and criminal money, subverts government institutions and economic and social structures, thus undermining any processes of peacebuilding and democratic consolidation. Given the volume of money involved, the weakness of state structures and the resulting propensity for corruption in such states, they face a significant challenge to their stability and the general ability of their institutions (including the criminal justice system) to respond effectively to the challenge. Additional vulnerabilities also include increases in drug dependence in post-conflict and fragile states which are used as transit countries for illicit trafficking. In particular, if not properly addressed, corruption may dramatically worsen and corrupt practices can become endemic and institutionalized into reconstruction efforts which may, in turn, undermine state building processes later.

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Such challenges are unlikely to decrease in severity in the near future. The rapidity with which the threat has grown, particularly in the context of West Africa, suggests that the international community has generally identified the issue too late and the response has been inadequate given the scale of the challenge. Experience to date suggests also that specialized interventions are required to respond effectively at the same time as general state institutions (including the criminal justice system as a whole) are strengthened. In relation to the latter, the UN system still has much to learn as to implementing appropriate specialized responses within the framework of the rule of law , connected to the overall process of security sector reform, as well as the requirement to understand the nature of the challenge emanating from criminal networks much earlier during any peacebuilding intervention.

Over the past year, UNODC’s exposure in post-conflict and fragile states has increased substantially. The Office has, of course, worked for many years in similar situations, most notably in Afghanistan, but the scope of the recent growth in such work is significant, including now Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Somalia, Burundi, Iraq, Timor Léste, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This trend towards great involvement of the Office, which is likely to continue in the years ahead, is driven by two key factors: a) the impact of drug trafficking and organized crime in a number of post-conflict countries as well as a recognition of the comparative advantage of UNODC in assisting to counter these threats, particularly in work focused on strengthening the rule of law; b) an overall UN system response, demonstrated by the establishment of the Peacebuilding Support Office, which is focused on greater coordination amongst all UN actors in post-conflict and fragile environments, and greater UNODC coordination with two of the key players involved, the Department for Peacekeeping Operations and the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery of the United Nations Development Programme.

II. The principles of UNODC engagement

Given the above developments, the purpose of this Strategy Note is to outline the reasons for UNODC’s involvement, the comparative value that the Office can bring to post-conflict and fragile states, as well as to present a clear operational strategy for future involvement. The note contains an annex listing programme’s underway in post-conflict and fragile states to date (to be attached). The Note proposes that UNODC’s work in post-conflict environments be guided by four strategic principles:

1. Build knowledge:

While now much clearer than before, the links between key UNODC mandate areas (organized crime and corruption for example) and their impact in post-conflict states has not always been seen as key to peacebuilding, rather as issues that require attention once basic state institutions have been established. As stated, evidence suggests however that interventions are required much earlier to ensure that organized crime and corruption do not undercut newly established institutions altogether. What is required is to conduct more effective research/analysis on key factors undermining peace-building and post-conflict recovery. This includes UNODC actively participating in joint needs assessments which include illicit trafficking, organized crime and corruption as key priorities depending on the country and the degree of the threat involved. It also requires the Office to provide for the training of relevant peacekeeping and peacebuilding personnel to better understand the characteristics of organized crime, assess the impact of organized crime and related risk factors, and develop effective policy and programmatic responses.

2. Forge strategic partnerships:

Given its size and the difficulties of operating in post-conflict and fragile states, UNODC must rely on key partners to ensure an effective response. This includes the development of joint programmes and/or the appointment of ‘double-hatted’ personnel for post-conflict states and the integration of UNODC expertise and programmes into DPA (as it is the case in Sierra Leone where a joint appointment with UNODC will provide for advisors on countering-corruption and organized crime), DPKO (as in Sudan where an UNODC programme office is part of the mission team), or UNDP (as in Somalia where UNDP is facilitating and funding work conducted by UNODC and where, under an MOU between the two organizations, a series of post-conflict states have been identified for joint work). These cooperative efforts are specifically designed to ensure a coherent and comprehensive UN approach to the conflict-crime nexus. Integrating UNODC mandates and expertise into the larger UN system-wide effort would prove the most coherent, viable and sustainable modality for UNODC intervention in these countries.

3. Build regional responses to isolate the impact of post-conflict and state fragility:

Post-conflict and fragile states constitute a core source of vulnerability within the wider regions where they are located, given the cross-border effects of organized crime and illicit trafficking. Central to UNODC’s response must be to take a lead in building regional and cross-border alliances to ensure that the impact in neighbouring countries is reduced and that communication between states is improved to respond effectively to cross-border threats. This has been the principle of UNODC’s approach to the Paris Pact, by bringing together countries affected by drug trafficking from Afghanistan. Indeed, given the fragile nature of the states on the West African coast affected by conflict and their vulnerability to drug trafficking and organized crime, a regional response is an absolute requirement here and UNODC, DPKO, DPA and INTERPOL are working towards the establishment of a joint programme. The above approach would be in line with the new generation of UNODC Regional programmes being developed in various areas of the world, and with the recommendations contained in the draft “Report of the Secretary General on peace building in the immediate aftermath of conflict ( March 2009)”.

4. Focus on the transition to long-term capacity building:

UN peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts occur by their nature time bound. UNODC’s comparative advantage lies in its providing policy and technical assistance for long-term capacity building. While early interventions to respond to the immediate requirements to fight organized crime or drug trafficking, or to understand their extent and impact, are a necessity, the overall focus of the Office should be on ensuring the effective transition from post-conflict to peacebuilding to normalization and partnership. Implicit in this transition must be the recognition that in all the states where UNODC is currently involved, and barring threats to the security of overall UN operations, the Office is committed to building long-term and sustainable programmes of support. However, the Office must engage as early as possible to ensure a seamless transition to longer-terms forms of capacity building.

III. Defining post-conflict and fragile states

There is no straightforward, clear-cut definition of a fragile state, which is typically plagued by a complex multiplicity of persistent problems. A state is generally termed fragile when the government either cannot or will no deliver core functions to the majority of its people[1]. This is very often the case in countries that have been victim to conflict – one of the four “traps” identified by Paul Collier in his analysis of failing countries, “The Bottom Billion”[2]. Post-conflict countries are typically characterized by poverty, instability, weak institutions, a lack of security and respect for the rule of law, and widespread corruption[3].

States in which public institutions, political processes and social mechanisms are ineffective, not inclusive or illegitimate are vulnerable in many respects. External shocks, epidemics, climate change, natural disasters and environmental degradation can have seriously destabilizing effects. Unstable states are particularly vulnerable to criminal and terrorist networks, thus aggravating their situation. The worst case scenario is a complete collapse of the state, or a withdrawal from parts of its territory, leading to permanent insecurity, chronic violence and an escalation of humanitarian crises.[4]

The instability of fragile states often affects both regional and global security. Events in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Haiti, Afghanistan, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to name a few examples, have shown that the effects of instability can extend far beyond national borders, in the form of the expansion of criminal networks, illicit trafficking, refugee flows, arms smuggling, piracy, the breakdown of trade, and the spread of HIV/AIDS.[5]

Promoting and guaranteeing the rule of law in a fragile country dramatically improves its overall development. This is widely recognized by the international community today, and recent policies and practices reflect an understanding of the connection between legal and non-legal features of the development process[6]. The World Bank has highlighted the fundamental importance of institutional and social change for the development process[7]. Several UN documents, including the Secretary-General’s seminal report to the UN Security Council on Rule of law and transitional justice in conflict and post-conflict societies issued on 23 August 2004[8], the report of the High Level Panel In larger freedom: towards development, human rights and security for all[9] and the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document[10] emphasize the central role that the rule of law plays in this process.

Needless to say, strengthening the rule of law and re-establishing justice is all the more essential for post-conflict societies. Not only does it advance recovery but, by addressing the grave injustices of war and the root causes of conflict, it can help prevent a future return of hostilities. The above-mentioned 2004 Secretary-General’s report sets the direction of UN policy on the rule of law in post-conflict states: “Justice, peace and democracy are not mutually exclusive objectives, but rather mutually reinforcing imperatives. Advancing all three in fragile post-conflict settings requires strategic planning, careful integration and sensible sequencing of activities. Approaches focusing only on one or another institution, or ignoring civil society or victims, will not be effective”.

UNODC supports this holistic and coherent approach to strengthening the rule of law – both in the broad sense of promoting accountable governance and the more specific sense of building strong security and judicial sectors. As stressed by scholars and practitioners, effective long-term justice reform must focus not only on formal institutions and informal/traditional justice systems but also on ordinary people and their urgent needs.

UNODC efforts to strengthen the rule of law seek the involvement and participation of relevant national stakeholders and the legal empowerment of all segments of society, particularly women, children, minorities and other marginalized groups, and civil society.

Establishing security is clearly a top priority in conflict-ridden and post-conflict countries. A broad definition of the security sector as provided in the Guidelines of the Development Assistance Committee of OECD (2005) includes all state institutions and other entities that play a role in ensuring the security of a state and its people. These include:

• core security actors: armed forces, police services, intelligence and security services (both military and civilian), coast guards, border guards, and customs authorities;

• management and oversight bodies: the executive, national security advisory bodies, legislative committees, government ministries of defence, internal affairs and foreign affairs; customary and traditional authorities; financial management bodies, and civil society organizations;

• justice and rule of law: the judiciary and justice ministries, prisons, criminal investigation and prosecution services, human right commissions and ombudsmen, and customary and traditional justice systems;

• non-statutory security forces: liberation armies, guerrilla armies, private security companies, and political party militias.

A piecemeal approach to Security Sector Reform (SSR) ignores how the activities of these various actors affect each other. A recent study showed that the UN integrated missions tend to prioritize certain aspects of SSR to the detriment of others, focusing, for instance, on building the capacity of police services while paying little attention to judicial or prison reform. The governance aspect of SSR, particularly support for parliaments and civil society, is often neglected in favour of re-establishing the capacity of basic security actors, such as the police or armed forces.

As stated by the Secretary-General in his 2008 report “Securing peace and development: the role of United Nations in supporting security sector reform”, SSR requires an holistic approach. At the same time, its wide scope calls for modesty, because no single actor can be involved in all reform areas. Each must set priorities and identify core tasks. Individual SSR programmes do not need to encompass all aspects of what is broadly understood as the security sector. They do, however, need to be designed and implemented in full awareness of SSR’s complex interdependencies.

In his study [11], H. Hanggi identifies the special challenge posed by these interdependencies: “The SSR concept bridges those previously separate international discourses of security policy, peace-building, democracy promotion and development cooperation. These cross-sectoral characteristics make the SSR approach innovative and promising while simultaneously rendering it more demanding in terms of conceptualization and particularly implementation.” As Hanggi points out, successful SSR requires finding “a mode of close collaboration between very different epistemic communities, in particular between the development and conflict transformation community on the one hand and the traditional – often military focused – security community on the other.”

UNODC is well placed, given both its technical assistance and capacity building role as well as its connections to bilateral specialized agencies dealing with drug trafficking and organized crime, to bridge this gap between the development and security communities. From UNODC’s perspective, SSR in the area of police reform and restructuring cannot focus only on aspects such as community policing (important as this is), but it should also stress the critical issue of building specialized capacity to counter serious and organized crime and related illicit trafficking. In addition, the Office’s focus also includes capacity building of civilian personnel in relevant Ministries concerned with the management of strategic change.

SSR is not simply a technical exercise and it cannot be separated from political issues, economic development, sound public management and the broad rule of law. UNODC fully recognizes that SSR is a highly political process that must be placed in its specific and national and regional context.

IV. Promoting a UN system-wide approach

No single country or organization has the requisite capacity or authority to conduct the full range of activities necessary to effectively combat organized crime. It should also be recognized that support from the international community for the rule of law and security and justice sectors in post-conflict settings is still weak. This is reflected in the lack of multi-year funding and also in the lack of available skilled personnel for bilateral and multilateral operations.

It is, therefore, crucial that international actors working in “post-conflict/fragile states”, including bilateral and multilateral donors, aid agencies, non-governmental organizations, private foundations and the United Nations, ensure maximum coordination of their activities. This goal, however, remains difficult to achieve. It requires all partners to agree on a common programme of transitional justice, justice reform and rule of law development.

UNODC considers inter-organizational work and partnership building to be a key aspect of its work. It is a member of the UN Rule of Law Coordination and Resource Group that was established after the World Summit in 2005 to ensure the quality, policy coherence and coordination of system-wide efforts to promote the rule of law.

The launching of the One UN process in several countries provides an appropriate starting point for efforts to achieve greater coherence among donors. Multilateral institutions can use the opportunity to draw various donors, other institutions and the state into joint strategy and decision making processes. At present, however, no multilateral institution alone has the capability of providing the necessary civilian support to states in pre-crisis or post-conflict situations.

In respect of coordination within the UN system, the establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) and the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) is creating a framework for more strategic management of post-conflict peacebuilding involving key players, such as DPKO, UNDP, UNODC and the World Bank. The PBC's functions are, inter alia, to coordinate peace building assistance, mobilize donor support for peace building, and deepen strategic and policy discussions on peace consolidation. At the Security Council meeting on the PBC's annual report (October 21, 2008) various Member states underscored the need to intensify cooperation between the Commission and different organs of the UN such as the Security Council, General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council. Moreover, at last year's Security Council meeting on the work of the PBC, Member States emphasized the need to establish effective monitoring mechanisms for peacebuilding assistance. The PBC would seem uniquely positioned to engage in this kind of system-wide monitoring.

Leading donors are trying to meet the challenge of internal coordination by following a “whole-of-government” (3-D) approach, integrating security (defence), political (diplomacy) and socio-economic (development) perspectives. International and regional organizations, such as the UN and the EU, are similarly tackling the challenge of developing overarching approaches to SSR. Coordination among international actors involved in post-conflict SSR remains, however, extremely difficult. Nevertheless, the development of OECD DAC guidelines on SSR and of an overarching EU policy framework on SSR, as well as the evolving UN system-wide approach to SSR, are providing useful references for improved coordination among donor countries and international organizations involved in supporting SSR.

V. UNODC’s contribution to capacity-building in post-conflict and fragile states

A particular challenge of post-conflict SSR is to build the capacity of security forces and justice institutions and establish appropriate democratic management and oversight mechanisms. To address the nexus of conflict and criminality, UNODC has been contributing to the development of rule of law assistance programmes to build national and regional capacity in the security and justice sectors in a number of fragile post-conflict settings, in close coordination with both domestic and international stakeholders, including UNDP, DPKO, DPA, PBC and multilateral and bilateral partners.

A brief overview of UNODC experience and interventions in Afghanistan, Guinea Bissau, Sudan, Burundi, Sierra Leone, DRC, Somalia, Haiti, Timor Leste, Iraq and Palestine is provided in Annex 1.

The Office has been assisting the above countries with building up their criminal justice institutions and reforming their juvenile justice systems, improving prison conditions and combating trafficking in drugs and human beings. In particular, UNODC has concentrated on the following areas:

1. Analysis and support tools

The establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission, an expanding number of peace-keeping missions that include a rule of law component, an increased emphasis on conflict prevention, and greater attention to the political economy of conflict indicate the importance of exploring the links between crime and conflict in greater detail in order to make appropriate recommendations for effective policy responses.

Studies and assessments being conducted by UNODC and other institutions, in various regions of the world, are confirming that where smuggling and illicit trafficking (e.g. human beings, drugs, arms, natural resources) have become implicated in the political economy of conflict, economic criminality tends to be systemic and well-integrated into regional and global criminal networks. Once entrenched, criminality can seriously undermine peace-building and post-conflict recovery.

In 1994, UNODC developed the Handbook “United Nations Criminal Justice Standards for Peace-keeping Police” to provide a compact overview of relevant international standards and norms, readily accessible to those with monitoring functions in the field of criminal justice. The Handbook, which was published in the six official languages of the United Nations, has been successfully used in several training courses for civilian component of United Nations missions, such as the ones in Mozambique and in Former Yugoslavia. UNODC, in cooperation with the Police Division of DPKO, is currently revising and updating the Handbook so as to include new areas, not covered in the 1994 edition, such as the issues of integrity, sexual misconduct and assistance to child victims and witnesses. The update is also motivated by the fact that in the past twelve years new criminal justice standards have developed and they would need to be taken into consideration. The revised version of the Handbook, which is expected to be published in February/March 2009, will be accompany by a set of commentaries which could be the basis for developing a training module for police officers who are going to be deployed in peacekeeping missions.

In cooperation with the United States Institute of Peace and key agencies working in post-conflict situations, UNODC is developing a handbook entitled Strengthening and Reform of Criminal Justice within Post-conflict and Transitional States, which focuses on lessons learnt in law reform/legislative drafting, policing, courts, correctional services, access to justice, transitional and customary justice.

In 2007, UNODC produced a Criminal Justice Assessment Toolkit, a standardized and cross-referenced set of 16 tools designed to enable UN organizations, government officials engaged in criminal justice reform and other organizations to conduct comprehensive assessment of criminal justice systems and to identify areas requiring technical assistance. It is organized around four areas: policing, access to justice, custodial and non-custodial measures, and cross-cutting issues. UNODC has been invited to train members of all ongoing peacekeeping missions in the use and application of the Assessment Toolkit. Funding is being sought to carry out this exercise.

Over the course of several years, UNODC has developed a comprehensive package of computer based training tools for police. These provide a readily accessible source of capacity building for the police, covering a wide variety of specialised areas. UNODC’s current work to develop such a programme tailored to the needs of police capacity building in Timor Leste is an example of an approach that could be used more widely in other peacekeeping and peacebuilding programmes.

Given the arguments made above as to the importance of adequate analysis and understanding of crime threats, UNODC is currently engaged in developing a methodology and training package to support both Member States and peacekeeping missions in the conducting of organized crime threat assessments.

2. Legislative assistance

One of the core activities of UNODC is assisting Member States in ratifying and implementing international legal instruments that the international community has adopted to enhance global criminal justice responses to drugs, organized crime and corruption: the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, as amended by the 1972 Protocol, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the 1988 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts and Components and Ammunition and the United Nations Convention against Corruption, as well as of the UN standards and norms on crime prevention and criminal justice which provide an overarching framework for assistance in this area. In addition to these conventions and protocols, UNODC is the custodian of a considerable body of United Nations standards and norms related to crime prevention and criminal justice covering a wide variety of issues such as juvenile justice, the treatment of offenders, international cooperation, good governance, victim protection and violence against women. The array of existing standards and norms provide a yardstick for measuring the fairness, effectiveness and efficiency of a country’s criminal justice system. UNODC provides guidance and legislative assistance to countries in reforming their criminal justice systems, or specific sectors of it, in line with these instruments.

3. Preventing terrorism

UNODC is also mandated to provide Member States, upon request, technical assistance on the legal and related capacity building aspects of countering terrorism. The overall objective of UNODC’s counter-terrorism technical assistance activities is to support Member States in achieving a functional universal legal regime against terrorism in accordance with the principles of the rule of law. UNODC’s counter-terrorism assistance helps the countries also to comply with the requirements of Security Council’s resolutions relating to terrorism, especially resolutions 1267 and 1373, and to implement the relevant aspects of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. Specific objectives in this regard are to:

• Provide sustained assistance to requesting countries to achieve full and expeditious ratification of the universal legal instruments against terrorism;

• Provide sustained assistance to requesting countries to develop and apply the domestic legislation required for implementing the provisions of the universal legal instruments against terrorism;

• Provide sustained capacity-building assistance to requesting countries, especially through training of criminal justice officials, for strengthening the capacity of criminal justice systems for implementing the provisions of the universal legal instruments against terrorism; and,

• Facilitate international cooperation in criminal matters pertaining to terrorism.

A multi-pronged approach is pursued for the delivery of the counter-terrorism technical assistance: (i) tailor-made national-level assistance; (ii) sub-regional and regional-level activities, to support and complement national activities; (iii) development and dissemination of technical assistance tools and specialized substantive publications; and (iv) operational partnerships with other relevant actors.

4. Countering organized crime and illicit trafficking

UNODC programme in the law enforcement sector focus upon capacity building, both in developing the operational effectiveness of front-line control authorities together with addressing longer term needs to support self sustainable training systems to impart the fundamentals of good practice and procedure. The technical support elements of the UNODC programme include the provision of professional need assessments in partnership with government authorities, upon which project intervention assistance are funded and later implemented. Police forces, Customs services, border control agencies, immigration offices are typical recipients of such UNODC technical assistance. Overall UNODC offers a comprehensive service of law enforcement support, together with an ability to bring together both national authorities and foreign counterparts in cooperative initiatives to strengthen law enforcement effectiveness (border control, investigative procedures and information and intelligence gathering and development) in fighting organized crime and illicit trafficking.

5. Preventing and responding to corruption

As in the case of organized crime, post-conflict and fragile states are vulnerable to the spread of corruption. Indeed, the growth of organized crime is often facilitated by the presence of corruption and the profits of organized crime are used to corrupt government officials. The OECD Anti-corruption task team has noted that, in fragile environments, competing donor priorities have tended to subjugate anti-corruption efforts to a second or third tier priority. The urgent need to secure basic security, humanitarian assistance, vital social services or democratic elections have in several cases moved attention away from rent seeking and corruption. However, if not properly addressed, corruption may dramatically worsen and corrupt practices can become endemic and institutionalized into reconstruction efforts which may in turn undermine state building processes later (a clear example is Afghanistan). In this connection, it has also been observed that there seem to be limitations to designing anti-corruption interventions as stand-alone activities; they should be integrated into a broader state building strategy.

Given the volume of donor funding that is often targeted at post-conflict countries, this is an additional reason to assist national authorities in the proper disbursement of funds. UNODC’s proposed work in Southern Sudan is an example of such an approach.

UNODC’s intervention in post-conflict countries in the area of anti-corruption could include:

• Assistance with drafting relevant legal frameworks;

• Establishment and strengthening of specialised anti-corruption bodies;

• Strengthening the integrity of specialised investigative units, the judiciary and the prison system.

6. Strengthening the institutions of justice

Police reform, crime prevention, judicial reform – including the building of prosecutorial capacity, prison reform, victim protection and support and civil society support – are all essential for building an effective criminal justice system. The Office addresses in particular the following aspects:

• Improving prison conditions and introducing effective alternatives to imprisonment: UNODC has developed a Handbook on Alternatives to Imprisonment and is the custodian of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. The Office is also the lead UN agency in the area of responding to HIV/AIDS in prison. A key intervention in many post-conflict states is the provision of a package of measures to reduce prison overcrowding in the medium to long term.

• Effective criminal justice responses to violence against women and children: Violence against women and children is prevalent in post–conflict states, and criminal justice systems, particularly law enforcement agencies, lack the facilities and training to respond adequately. UNODC has developed the UN Handbook for Law Enforcement Responses to Violence against Women.

• Reform of juvenile justice systems: Very few post-conflict countries have established juvenile justice systems in conformity with international standards. While legal reforms and training have sometimes been provided, many countries are still in need of comprehensive approaches and reforms to crime committed, or perceived to have been committed, by persons under 18 years of age.

• Access to justice: alternative dispute resolution and legal aid: UNODC uses its Restorative Justice Handbook as a basis for project activities in this area. It also works in partnership with non-governmental organizations in the paralegal area to expand the use of successful alternatives to traditional legal aid schemes. Together with Penal Reform International, it has developed a training programme and manual for paralegals in post-conflict countries, based on its African experience.

• Police oversight and integrity: Law-enforcement institutions are often perceived as being corrupt and violating human rights. While resources have often been devoted to training law enforcement officers in these areas, less attention has been given to civilian oversight of police integrity. UNODC’s recently developed Handbook on Police Oversight, Accountability and Integrity assists states in designing oversight institutions.

7. Ensuring sustainable livelihoods

It is well documented that deprivation, marginalisation and poverty add an additional dimension to post-conflict settings, making the population vulnerable to non-legitimate income earning options such as engaging in illicit trafficking of drugs, human beings and arms, participation in organized or petty crime, illicit crop cultivation and piracy, to name a few.

Conflict reduces the income generating potential of generations, rendering individuals of different educational backgrounds, ages and origin, without the necessary support services to make a decent living or hold an expectation for a better life. It also fuels despair and uncertainty leading often to drug abuse and other risky behaviour.

UNODC’s sustainable livelihoods programme can contribute to a system-wide UN approach in post-conflict countries. Activities within this framework consist of:

• Analyse the situation of poverty, marginalisation and deprivation in the country, focusing on the shortcomings existing and the livelihood assets that could be developed;

• Examine the situation of non-legitimate income earning and the relation to the post-conflict setting in particular in relation to security;

• Provide support to government institutions to design livelihood programmes and to increase the coordination among line agencies that play a role in such programmes;

• Target NGOs and educational institutions, raising awareness of the needs to incorporate livelihoods’ elements into current programmes implemented and promoted;

• Design projects and deliver services providing support to identified individuals vulnerable to involvement in illegal activities, incorporating the activities into a broader development and poverty reduction framework by implementing specifically tailored interventions, including income-generating activities in the agricultural sector or other vocational skills training, community support and continuous counselling and other support mechanisms; and,

• Design and incorporate sustainable livelihoods support services into wider drug demand and treatment programmes to address both drug abuse and the HIV AIDS epidemics.

8. Addressing drug dependence

The population of post-conflict countries is particularly at risk of drug dependence due to a variety of reasons, including self-medication to past trauma and loss, or to a current situation that is unbearably hard and hopeless, or to compensate for the lack of a properly functioning health sector. Returning soldiers and refugees have often brought their drug dependence back. The development of institutions in post-conflict countries provide an opportunity to mainstream evidence-based drug prevention and treatment to respond immediately to these problems that, left untackled, would slow down the re-building efforts.

Key action should include:

• Assess the prevalence of drug use in the country and possible existing institution that are responding to the situation: who is using? what are they using? what are their characteristics? why are they using? how many would be in need of treatment and which kind of treatment? who is already supporting children and their families for their healthy and safe development (including drug prevention activities)? who are they reaching and how? who is already providing health and especially mental health services (including drug dependence treatment)? who are they reaching and how?;

• Include health promotion sessions, based on life-skills, including tobacco, alcohol and drugs as part of the curriculum of schools. Cooperation with agencies that work on the health and the development of children (e.g. UNICEF, WHO) and/or that work on the development of the education sector (e.g. UNESCO, the World Bank) is essential;

• Develop family skills training programmes through community-based organizations (religious groups, youth groups, etc.), including strong family support measures (sustainable livelihoods, community meals, incentives);

• Develop low-cost drug treatment and care services linked to the normal provision of health care, especially mental health care. Such services do not necessarily need specialized staff. Cooperation with agencies that work on health and especially mental health (WHO) and/or that work on the development of the health sector (e.g. WHO, the World Bank) is essential;

• Support the development of a national legal framework aiming at preventing and treating drug dependence as any other health disorder.

VI. Towards a UNODC strategy for post-conflict and fragile states

As reflected in the 2008 OECD Report Concepts and Dilemmas of State Building in fragile situations, there is a growing consensus in the literature that post-conflict engagement policy should focus on each of the following dimensions:

• political processes that legitimate and strengthen the state;

• development of the framework of the rule of law, including for economic governance; and

• the re-establishment of a framework of security.

UNODC’s many-faceted engagement in post-conflict countries is aiming at addressing each of these dimensions. Based on UNODC comparative advantages, the contribution of UNODC to a system-wide UN approach in post-conflict settings can be outlined as follows:

• to conduct research on illicit trafficking and organized crime as key factors undermining peace-building and post-conflict recovery;

• to participate in joint UN needs assessment missions in post-conflict countries, and in the joint design/development of programmes of intervention;

• to provide technical assistance in selected areas, such as legal reform, law enforcement, criminal justice and corruption, within a common UN strategic framework;

• to integrate UNODC experts into the rule of law offices of UN peace-keeping operations or, where appropriate, into the UNRC system, thus ensuring a coherent and comprehensive UN approach to the conflict-crime nexus;

• to, where possible, establish a tripartite collaboration between DPKO, INTERPOL and UNODC in conflict zones and in regions to ensure more effective responses to illicit trafficking and organized crime;

• to contribute to the training of relevant peacekeeping and peacebuilding personnel to better understand the characteristics of organized crime, assess the impact of organized crime and related risk factors, and develop effective policy and programmatic responses (see, in particular, the box on page 12 for recent developments in this regard);

• to foster a policy dialogue and provide policy advice to post-conflict countries on how to design and implement national policies and strategies for reforming criminal justice and promoting a culture of lawfulness;

• to assist in national capacity building and in the strengthening of local expertise in the field of rule of law;

• to ensure greater involvement and partnership with continental/regional political entities, such as AUC, ECOWAS, SADC, OAS and CARICOM;

• to promote a regional approach to preventing/limiting the spread of criminal networks, in the context of the new UNODC regional programmes;

• to advocate for increased investment by the donor community in rule of law support to fragile states, at the multilateral and bilateral levels; and,

• to support an international concerted effort on the conflict-crime nexus, including by anti-crime entities such as the G-8 Expert Group on Transnational Organized Crime and the FATF.

Unfortunately, although much progress has been made, sufficient support from the international community for strengthening the rule of law and, in particular, the security and justice sectors in post-conflict settings is still required. This is reflected in the lack of multi-year funding and also in the lack of available skilled personnel for bilateral and multilateral operations. A truly concerted effort by the international community is crucial to the success of SSR in fragile and post-conflict countries. The launch of the One UN process in several countries is an important starting point and UNODC is well positioned, within its mandated areas, to add significant value in post-conflict settings.

To effectively address the nexus of conflict and criminality in post-conflict settings, it is essential that peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding activities, which increasingly serve as the vehicles for designing and implementing governance interventions, be integrated with efforts to develop the rule of law and contain illicit trafficking and related organized criminal activities.

In addition, UNODC considers that greater efforts are needed to strengthening the defences of states surrounding conflict zones in order to contain the impact of criminal networks and illicit trafficking, including through relevant regional initiatives. UNODC promotion of a regional approach would be essential to preventing the instability and organized crime in fragile states from spreading outside the societies concerned, as demonstrated by the cases of Afghanistan, Guinea Bissau, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Haiti.

The above approach would be in line with the new generation of UNODC Regional programmes being developed in various areas of the world, and with the recommendations contained in the draft “Report of the Secretary General on peace building in the immediate aftermath of conflict ( March 2009)”: “In addition to looking to individual Member States, regional and sub-regional entities are vital to support a successful recovery from conflict ad have several important roles to play. Such entities can provide a political forum for the discussion and resolution of conflict.….Regional entities can also help promote lessons learned, peer review and support opportunities. The international community should enhance support for regional and sub-regional approaches for conflict resolution, particularly by developing human and institutional capacity in a regional and sub-regional entities.”

Selected sources

Draft Report of the Secretary General on peace building in the immediate aftermath of conflict.

(March 2009).

Guidance Note on UN assistance in rule of law, elaborated by the UN Rule of Law Coordination and Resources Group and endorsed by the Secretary General, April 2008.

Securing peace and development: the role of United Nations in supporting security sector reform, Report of the Secretary/General, 23 January 2008.

Report of the Secretary-General on the rule of law in post-conflict submitted to the Security Council in the summer of 2004 (S/2004/616).

Secretary-General’s reports submitted to the annual sessions of the Crime Commission on issues of technical cooperation, rule of law, and criminal justice reform for the years 2003/2004/2005/2006/2007/ 2008;.

European Commission policy note on fragile states, 2008.

OECD Report Concepts and Dilemmas of State Building in fragile situations- From Fragility to resilience (2008).

OECD, Security system reform and Governance- DAC Guidelines (2005).

William, P. and J.T. Picarelli “Combating Organized Crime in armed conflict” in K. Ballentine and H. Nitzschke (eds), Profiting from peace: Managing the resource dimensions of civil war (Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner, 2005).

Amartya Sen, What is the role of legal and judicial reform in the development process?, speech held at the World Bank Legal Conference on the Role of Legal and Judicial Reform in Development, Washington D.C., 5 June 2000.

Hanggi, H., Establishing security in conflict ridden societies: How to Reform the security sector, Paper presented to the Aspen European Strategy Forum on International state-building and reconstruction efforts: experience gained and lessons learned, September 18-21, 2008.

World Bank Independent Evaluation Group, Engaging with Fragile States, An IEG Review of World Bank Support to Low-Income Countries Under Stress (2006).

ANNEX 1

Brief overview of UNODC work in post-conflict settings

State building in situations of conflict or fragility is a critically important and highly challenging endeavour. Successes will contribute to human security, development and international stability.

UNODC has contributed to the development of rule of law assistance programmes in a number of fragile post-conflict settings, in close coordination with both domestic and international stakeholders, including UNDP, DPKO, DPA, PBC and other multilateral and bilateral partners).

Below is a brief description of UNODC activities in Afghanistan, Guinea Bissau, Sudan, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Haiti, Iraq, Palestine, DRC and Timor Leste

To be attached

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[1] Department for International Development, Why we need to work more effectively in fragile states, (Crown, 2005). ISBN 1 86192 667 7

[2] Paul Collier, The Bottom Billion: why the poorest countries are failing and what can be done about it. The book describes four traps in which the poorest countries are caught: the conflict trap, the natural resources trap, the trap of being landlocked with bad neighbours and the trap of bad governance in a small country.

[3] Council of the European Union, An EU response to situations of fragility: Note of the General Secretariat Doc. No.: 15118/07 (20 November 2007).

[4] Communication from the Commission, Towards an EU response to situations of fragility – engaging in difficult environments for sustainable development, stability and peace, 25.10.07 COM 643

[5] Department for International Development, ibid.

[6] Amartya Sen, What is the role of legal and judicial reform in the development process?, speech held at the World Bank Legal Conference on the Role of Legal and Judicial Reform in Development, Washington D.C., 5 June 2000.

[7] World Bank, World Development Report: Attacking Poverty, ibid.

[8] Document S/2004/616 of 23 August 2004

[9] Document A/59/2005 of 21 March 2005.

[10] Document A/Res/60/1.

[11] Hanggi, H., Establishing security in conflict ridden societies: How to Reform the security sector, Paper presented to the Aspen European Strategy Forum on International state-building and reconstruction efforts: experience gained and lessons learned, September 18-21, 2008.

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Increases in Levels of Illicit Trafficking and Growth of Criminal Networks

Vulnerability to Corruption and Low Level of Institutional Integrity/Capacity

Weak Criminal Justice Systems and Abuse of Human Rights (detention with no trial and severe prison overcrowding)

Vulnerability to Drug Dependence / HIV

Human Security Challenges Key to Post-Conflict Countries

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