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A child being vaccinated in DRC. No low-income conflict-affected country will have achieved a single MDG by 2015. We need to move beyond technical quick fixes. Without peace there is no development. © UN Photo/Marie Frechon

The New Deal for aid in conflict-affected contexts: Discovering real ownership

Thirty-eight countries have signed up to a ‘New Deal’ for engagement in fragile states, which includes a commitment to prioritise five peacebuilding and statebuilding goals. Sophie Haspeslagh, our Policy Analyst, has been closely involved in the process leading up to, and at, the Busan High-Level Forum where these commitments were made. Here, she reflects on some of the things she has learned from the International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding and offers some thoughts as to where it might go next.

LRA conflict: Who is responsible for the consequences of military action?

There are significant challenges to peace prospects In East and Central Africa. With the African Union and United Nations’ recent joint declaration to launch a regional military strategy against the Lord’s Resistance Army, added to public attention focusing on calls for an escalation of force, we share our local partners' concerns that the response must centre on the protection of civilians. Lessons must be learnt from the past.

Pictured at the survey's launch are (left to right): Zafar Choudhary from IRF, Jammu & Kashmir Finance Minister Rahim Rather, and Dr Mubeen Ahmed Shah, President of the Joint Chamber of Commerce

Trading across the Line of Control in Kashmir: New opinion poll explores prospects for business and peace

It's seven years since India and Pakistan, after decades of conflict and separation, opened up a limited travel route between the divided sides of Jammu and Kashmir. Coinciding with the recent visit to India of Pakistan's President, our peacebuilding partners in the region launched the results of a new opinion poll. Looking at issues such as the future of cross-Line of Control trade and the situation faced by divided families, this first survey of its kind suggests that traders are optimistic despite the challenges they face.

It's good to talk: How listening to local people adds value to conflict analysis

We've been working with peacebuilding partner Saferworld on an 18-month project to bring the opinions of local people in conflict-affected communities to the attention of national and international policymakers. Now, together in Brussels, we're presenting the lessons learnt from all 18 national and regional conflict analyses. Find out more about the project and watch a short film that explains why the voices of people most affected by conflict must be heard when policy and programming decisions are being considered.