Einsidel - What Works in UN Resident Coordinator-led Conflict Prevention

Sebastian von Einsiedel, “What Works in UN Resident Coordinator-Led Conflict Prevention: Lessons from the Field.”
Report attempts to study the success rates of conflict prevention with Resident Coordinators (RC’s)
- RC’s lack an explicit mandate to engage in political activities, and usually come from humanitarian backgrounds
  - leading to them to be highly deferential to host governments
there exists a “capacity gap” in RC offices in crisis and post-crisis situations
human rights culture has yet to take root among UN officiers, considered “too hard”
Sustaining peace report highlighted the responsbilities of RCs to help build inclusive societies, but member countries did not endorse this role
One area where HQ actually leads the field, field needs to catch up

Case Studies

problems with RC’s aside, RC preventative action does work, although RC action is not the determining factor
finds that RC’s must have potential to seize on political opportunities when they arise
- tools to seize opportunities
  - build relationships of trust
  - maintain impartiality
  - respect the parameters of nationally-led prevention (keep a low profile)
  - have something to offer
  - make the most out of looming elections
  - if political space is constrained at the national level, go local
  - protect UN norms
  - analyze and avoid box-ticking
  - drive conflict sensitivty and get everyone to agree on the prevention flag
  - leverage other UN entities (both in HQ and the field)

2000s, UNDP helped the government avert political crisis and continue the consitutional dialogue
RC helped with data analysis and gathering

RC lead action helped ensure civil society and victim’s particpation in the peace process
RC used his previous relationship with High Comissioner for Peace
RC also undertok local-level peacebuilding when the national-level space did not exist

RCs worked with UN Regional Office for West Africa (UNOWA) after coup in 2009, helped with risky push of security sector reform (ssr)
RC provided support in the women’s situation room

helped develop social dialogues in 2003, helped ensure peace during contested elections of 2015
RC used UNICEF’s existing networks

supported local prevention capacities after 2007-08 elections
2013 - RC personally engaged the newly-elected president directly around cooperation on prevention initatives
RC fundraised in support of peace infrastructure
focused on meaningful prevention as the gov narrowed the political space after 2015
helped build the Uwiano Platform for Peace

RC positioned himself as a backstopping mechanism for mediation and dialogue effort after 2011 crisis, using the effort led by DPA

discrete but important role in the early years of democratic transitions
RC provided technical expertise
engagements of the RC during the zine el abidine ben ali regime provided useful building blocks
RC provided human rights focused assistence during the constitutional drafting process