Conflict sensitive approaches to development, humanitarian assistance and peace building

1.3 Time and resource implications

Integrating conflict sensitivity into development means thinking differently about programming, and adopting a new institutional mind-set. At the outset this may require more resources (both human and financial). Over time, as conflict sensitive practice becomes embedded within the framework, structures and processes of organisations, these resource requirements will decrease. They are in any case not large compared with the potential costs of failing to be sensitive to conflict issues:

wasting resources on trouble-shooting and fire-fighting
unsustainable programming
forced project closure or withdrawal to a safe area
inability to implement activities or entire projects
endangering staff and beneficiaries.

Further, an intervention which is not conflict sensitive – even if it meets its objectives in other respects (eg constructing X kilometres of road) – can lead to renewed or exacerbated conflict, which costs human lives and suffering and causes material, institutional and economic damage (see Box 2 and next section).

Box 2: Humanitarian aid gone wrong
The classic example of development, humanitarian and peacebuilding work gone wrong is the case of the Rwanda genocide in 1994. “By and large, relief agencies had only a very limited understanding of the structures of Rwandese society and very little account had been taken of the views of the beneficiaries in the design and implementation of programmes. … [During] the first weeks of the refugee crisis … traditional structures of authority had been used to organize food distribution and very high levels of diversion had occurred and vulnerable groups often received very little. … Attempts to rectify these failings were met with sometimes violent resistance.”⁵ Even if the food distribution had been more effective, the high levels of insecurity and violence within the refugee camps and the negative impact the camps had on the surrounding populations would have precluded this intervention from being considered a success.

Next: 2 Development and conflict