Civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict – a case study of OPEN

Civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict The IGAD Initiative in South Sudan: a case study in the context of the OPEN framework This policy brief calls attention to the IGAD Initiative in South Sudan as a capacity development project that offers important lessons learned for the international state and peace-building community. The initiative embodies many of the recommendations found in recent UN and OECD recommendations regarding the provision of civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict. In the United Nations context, the issue of civilian capacity re-emerged as a priority when the UN Secretary-General’s 2009 report on ‘Peacebuilding in the Immediate Aftermath of Conflict’ concluded that “a review needs to be undertaken analysing how the UN and the international community can help to broaden and deepen the pool of civilian experts to support the immediate capacity development needs of countries emerging from conflict”. Earlier this year, Security Council Resolution 2086 (2013) on multidimensional peacekeeping encouraged “(…) national governments, the United Nations, regional and sub-regional organizations to continue to use existing civilian expertise and also to broaden and deepen the pool of civilian capacities for peacebuilding in the immediate aftermath of conflict, including from countries with relevant experience in post-conflict peacebuilding or democratic transition, giving particular attention to mobilizing capacities from developing countries and from women (…)” The brief is published as part of the outcome from the International Capacity Research Initiative (ICRI). ICRI is a co-funded research cooperation on capacity development in fragile states between the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS); the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office Office (UNPBSO); Noref; and the Training for Peace programme (TfP) at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs (NUPI).