A Better World Volume 2

[

] 15

ust

, P

e aceful

and

nclusi v e

ocieties

Development assistance for peaceful and

just societies – the need for orientation

Nils Rosemann, Senior Policy Advisor for Conflict and Human Rights, Swiss Agency for

Development and Cooperation (SDC)

witzerland’s development mandate is threefold and based

on its constitutional objective which states that: “The

Confederation […] shall in particular assist in the alle-

viation of need and poverty in the world and promote respect

for human rights and democracy, the peaceful co-existence

of peoples as well as the conservation of natural resources.”

For the period 2017 – 2020 the CHF11 bn Swiss development

budget is committed to combating poverty, discrimination,

exclusion and vulnerability in its partner countries. The

ultimate objective of these efforts is to create better pros-

pects for the future and to reduce inequality. In this regard,

Switzerland contributes to the search for political solutions

to conflicts and promotes respect for human rights.

In order to achieve these long term goals, the Swiss parlia-

ment assigned four out of seven of its strategic development

assistance goals to UN Sustainable Development Goal 16,

namely: “[to] prevent and manage the consequences of crisis

and disaster, and of fragility [and to] promote conflict trans-

formation; [to] support sustainable access to resources and

services for all; development [contributes to] an international

framework for responding to global challenges, [to] strengthen

the rule of law and democratic participation; support institu-

tions serving society and [… to] ensure respect for human

rights and fundamental liberties, and support efforts to

advance their cause.”

In order to avoid the pitfalls of offering purely technical

solutions to political problems, a development agency such

as SDC, working either multilaterally or bilaterally, needed

to embark on a mission to become more political, addressing

the root causes of fragility, structural poverty and exclusion.

SDC’s view on peace and development: The fragility lens

SDC’s core mandate rests with the reduction of poverty and

humanitarian needs. Gender equality, good governance and

respect for human rights are essential values, but our experi-

ence shows that: “in achieving the sustainable development

goals, progress in reducing fragility will play a critical role

in the fight against poverty.”

SDC’s resolution regarding peace, resilience to withstand

violence and the enjoyment of human rights is that politi-

cal and structural obstacles cannot be removed by technical

proposals but by political means. In 2012 an evaluation of

the performance of SDC instruments in fragile and conflict-

affected contexts in 2012 highlighted that: “There was little

clear evidence of the impact that SDC and other aspects of

Swiss assistance are having on fragility and conflict as a

whole. SDC programmes in fragile contexts tend to be focused

on the symptoms of fragility rather than the root causes.”

This misplacced policy focus was diagnosed as being rooted

in a lack of appreciation of change at programme level and

lack of policy guidance at strategic and international levels.

SDC’s support for local governance is contributing to a decentralisation

reform agenda in Kyrgyzstan

Sustainable cotton project in Kyrgyzstan where small holder and family

farmers are prone to child labour and exploitation