param-ecosoc reconstruction sor final draft · instability, large-scale poverty and unemployment,...

The Dhirubhai Ambani International School Model United Nations 2017

Research Report | of 22

Forum: The Economic and Social Council

Issue: Economic reconstruction of African post-conflict states

Student Officer: Param Nagda

Position: Deputy President of the Economic and Social Council

Introduction

Right from the time of the end of the Cold War, over a hundred violent conflicts have come to an

end across the globe. Although most of the credit goes to the indigenous efforts of conflicted countries

themselves, the solving of conflict is fairly driven by support from the global community as well. Still, for

far too many countries, the war-to-peace transition continues to be fragile and reversible. The natural

poverty, low standard of living, the absence of strong and reliable economic and political setups and pre-

dominant chaos makes the countries of Africa a natural victim of war and terror. These countries have

constantly been in and out of a state of conflict but fail to achieve permanent peace due to recurrence of

conflict in the state due to reasons that resulted from the pre-existing state of conflict like political

instability, large-scale poverty and unemployment, brain-drain, damaged infrastructure and diminished

and weakened capital. This led to the economic collapse of most of these states. The common reason

for prolonged conflict is the continued failure of political and economic models in these states. Failure of

political setups is also directly linked to the financial instability and contradicting plans for the state’s

economy between opposing political parties. Hence, economic reconstruction of African post-conflict

states is essential to prevent the state from relapsing into conflict and to establish permanent peace in

war torn countries.

The reconstruction of the economy of post-conflict countries requires regular implementation of

varying economic reforms. The challenges faced by post-conflict countries are more serious in several

aspects than those faced by poor yet peaceful and politically well settled, developing countries. The most

tragic consequence of conflict is, of course, the immense loss of lives. In addition, violent conflict

inevitably generates large-scale destruction and degradation of physical and economic capital and

infrastructure, reduced levels of human capital due to deaths, disease and displacement, capital flight

and the fall of economic growth, loss of jobs, employment prospects and livelihoods, weakened

establishments, and a decline of social capital (particularly the ‘bridging’ type of networks that stretch

across communal or ethnic divides)1. State capacity is generally weakened with the result being that the

1United Nations Development Program: Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (2008). Post-conflict economic recovery: enabling local ingenuity. < http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/crisis%20prevention/undp-cpr-post-conflict-economic-recovery-enable-local-ingenuity-report-2008.pdf >



state can no longer finance even basic services or infrastructure. Some also have to cope with criminal

networks that plunder their resources, and former warlords who resist letting-go of their power. These

conditions place war-torn countries at continuing risk of relapsing into violent conflict. The economic

collapse of African post-conflict states adds to this risk of relapsing into conflict. The time period that a

post-conflict state has for peace-keeping missions, i.e. to establish permanent peace after peace-

building, i.e. a temporary truce or peace negotiation in the state is extremely small in most cases before

the state re-dives into active conflict due to inefficient and poorly executed peace-building missions . This

period is the one that needs to be taken advantage of to implement reforms in an attempt at establishing

permanent peace. However, in most cases, this opportunity is not fully exploited and as a result, the

state relapses into conflict.

Figure 1 - GDP based on PPP per capita (INT$) in 2015 by African country (Source: International Monetary Fund World Economic Outlook - October, 2015)

A plan for African post-conflict states, similar to the Marshall Plan of 1948 for west European

post-war countries is a must. The Marshall plan of 1948 was extremely successful in catalyzing the

economic rebuilding of post war West European countries. The economic aid given by the United States

government was divided among European countries and was appropriately used to reconstruct their

fallen economies. A similar plan, if made for African post-conflict states, and if successfully and

appropriately implemented, can potentially end all major economic problems of the receiving states and

make their economies secure, stable and reliable.

Reconstructing the economies of post conflict states is important to reverse some of its

destruction, to generate incomes and improve social and economic services and living standards for the

long-term affected and suffering population. For the short term, some hardships can be solved and



alleviated by foreign aid, but ultimately all countries need to generate their own resources to meet the

bulk of their population’s needs. This has to be met by economic recovery and growth. Also, post conflict

economic recovery can help reduce the risk of conflict recurrence. Major risk factors that cause conflict

are low per capita incomes, weak economic growth, existence of ethnic and communal divides or

opposing parties with clashing interests, poor employment opportunities leading to a dissatisfied youth

population and presence of tapped and untapped natural resources of a state unincorporated into the

state’s economy. Hence, economic reconstruction of post-conflict states is of paramount importance in

attempt to ending conflict while there’s a window of opportunity for improvement, and is extremely

necessary.

Definition of Key Terms

Economic reconstruction2:

Economic Reconstruction refers to a process for creating a proactive vision of economic change.

The most basic idea is that problems in the economy such as deindustrialization, environmental

decay, outsourcing, industrial incompetence, poverty and addiction to a permanent war economy

are based on the design and organization of economic institutions. Economic reconstruction

builds on the ideas of various institutional economists and thinkers whose work both critiques

existing economic institutions and suggests modes of organizing society differently. Economic

reconstruction, however, places much more emphasis on the idea of alternative plans and

alternative organization.

Post-conflict state3:

Post-conflict is a conflict situation in which open warfare has come to an end. Such situations

remain tense for years or decades and can easily relapse into large-scale violence. In post-

conflict states, there is an absence of armed war, but real peace may not exist essentially. The

main criteria for a state to be categorized as “post-conflict” is an opportunity for development and

a chance to establish permanent peace and settle internal and external issues of the state. The

region may be in a state of tension but there is a complete/partial halt on physical and armed

conflict.

African states4:

African states are all those states that are geographically a part of the continent of Africa and

politically belonging to the African Union. Specifically, these are: Algeria, Angola, Benin,

2 Wikipedia < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_reconstruction > 3G Junne & W Verokren. Post-conflict development: meeting new challenges(2005)4 All Africa < http://allafrica.com/misc/sitemap/countries.html >



Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad,

Comoros, Congo-Brazzaville, Congo-Kinshasa, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea,

Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia,

Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger,

Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia,

South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda,

Western Sahara, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Economic collapse5:

An economic collapse is the complete breakdown of a national, regional or territorial economy.

An economic collapse is essentially a severe version of an economic depression, where an

economy is in complete distress for months, years or possibly even decades. A total economic

collapse is characterized by economic depression, civil turmoil, mass unemployment and

dramatically high poverty levels. Hyperinflation, stagflation and financial market crashes can also

be causes. Government intervention is usually necessary to bring an economy back from

collapse, but can often be slow to remedy the problem.

Capital flight/Capital loss6:

Capital flight/Capital loss refers to a large-scale exodus of financial assets and capital from a

nation due to events such as political or economic instability, currency devaluation or the

imposition of capital controls. Most post-conflict countries suffer capital flight because of

destroyed infrastructure and inventory by opposing forces, large military expenditures and

repetitively failing government structures and policies.

Brain Drain7:

Brain drain refers to the departure of educated or professional people from one country,

economic sector, or field for another usually for better pay or living conditions. Countries that

have undergone civil war or have lost huge chunks of population generally have to face large

scale brain drain. Trained and skilled professionals are forced to leave a particular country or

state due to worsening living conditions. This tends to weaken the level of national intellect and

intelligentsia of the state and further proves to be a setback to the rehabilitation process of the

country from a state of war and crisis.

5Investopedia < http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/economic-collapse.asp >6 Investopedia < http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/capitalflight.asp > 7 Merriam-Webster < https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brain%20drain >



Peace-building8:

Peace-building is a process that facilitates the establishment of durable peace and tries to

prevent the recurrence of violence by addressing root causes and effects of conflict through

reconciliation, institution building, and political as well as economic transformation. This consists

of a set of physical, social, and structural initiatives that are often an integral part of post-conflict

reconstruction and rehabilitation.

Marshall Plan9:

The Marshall Plan of 1948, also known as the European Recovery Program (ERP) was an

American initiative to aid economic reconstruction of West European countries after the Second

World War where the United States of America gave over $13 billion as economic support to

west European countries to use appropriately to rebuild their fallen economies. The aid was

divided among participant states roughly on an income per capita basis where more industrially

reliable nations were given more aid. The program was a huge success and greatly helped west

European post-war countries rebuild their economies and get back on their feet after the large

scale set-backs they experienced during the Second World War.

8 Alliance for peace-building < http://www.allianceforpeacebuilding.org/2013/08/selected-definitions-of-peacebuilding/ > 9 History.com < http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/marshall-plan >



Background Information

Conflict Areas

Today if we run an online search for any African country and add the word “conflict” after it,

there’s a greater chance of receiving relevant results than not. African countries are pre-dominantly

vulnerable to large scale subsiding and re-rising conflict due to several reasons like constant political and

economic instability and regular political and economic crises. Yet, all of these countries have brief time

intervals where most violent conflict comes to a stop and there is a window of opportunity to put the

conflict to a complete end and to rebuild safe and secure economies and political structures.

Figure 2 - Global Peace Index 2016

Central African Republic

The Central African Republic has been in a state of instability right from the time of its

independence from France in 1960. It dived into conflict in 2012 when Islamic rebels from the

Seleka umbrella group seized power in the country which had a major Christian population and

rose in an armed rebellion against the government. The Central African Republic is anyways one

of the most under-developed countries in the world but the constant ongoing conflicts prevent its

any hopes for improvement from rising. Even though the Central African Republic has great

agricultural potential as well as plentiful mineral resources including diamonds, gold, uranium and

oil, it has been unsuccessful in tapping into its resources and fully exploit them and thus has

become one of the world’s poorest economies10. And hence, it needs implementations of newer

10 British Broadcasting Company < http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13150040 >



economic reforms and policies to make optimum use of its industries for profitable economic

growth.

Côte d'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire, also known as Ivory Coast has been involved in two major civil wars. The first civil

war was fought between opposing forces for control over governance and political power over the

territory of Côte d'Ivoire; and led to the United Nations and Kimberly process implementing a ban

on the export of diamonds from Côte d'Ivoire. The second Ivorian war broke out in 2011 when a

disputed constitutional election gave rise to a constitutional crisis and got solved rather quickly.

The economy of Côte d'Ivoire is doing fairly well and is currently growing and stabilizing. For a

post-conflict state, Ivory Coast has excellent infrastructure and even though its economy depends

largely on agriculture, its outstanding industrial infrastructure plays a huge role in its stabilizing

economy. Thus the economy of Ivory Coast sets a good example of what positive impact

appropriate economic reforms have on a post-conflict recovering state.

Guinea-Bissau

Guinea Bissau is one of the world’s poorest countries with a weak economy.11 The Guinea-

Bissau Civil War was fought from 7 June 1998 to 10 May 1999 and was triggered by an

attempted coup d'état against the government of President João Bernardo Vieira led by

Brigadier-General Ansumane Mané. Government forces, backed by neighbouring states, clashed

with the coup leaders who had quickly gained almost total control over the country's armed

forces. This quick, yet destructive civil war caused the death and displacement of thousands of its

citizens and destruction of most of its little civilian and industrial infrastructure. Guinea Bissau

doesn’t have any major natural resources or minerals. Its economy depends mainly on

agriculture and fishing. As one of the poorest countries in the world, Guinea Bissau is in

desperate need of economic reconstruction and re-modelling.

Liberia

Liberia has witnessed two disturbing civil wars in the previous two decades. In the early 1990s,

the first Liberian civil war killed 250,000 Liberians. A peace agreement was reached in 1995 and

as a result, rebel leader Charles Taylor was elected president in 1997.12 The second civil war

began in 1999 when insurgent groups rose to rebel against the Charles Taylor’s government.

Towards the end of the war, rebel groups practically controlled two-thirds of Liberian land and the

government’s power remained dominant only over one-third. Both civil wars left a cumulative

impact consisting of massive brain-drain, destruction of infrastructure and loss of capital due to

military expenditure by the parties in power. The Liberian economy is one of the most under-

11 Business Insider < http://www.businessinsider.com/guinea-bissau-economy-one-of-the-poorest-economies-2011-6?IR=T > 12 Heritage < http://www.heritage.org/index/country/liberia >



developed economies in the world and due to its diminished capital and inability to self-sustain

development, is in dire need of foreign aid to rebuild its economy.

Libya

Libya has been constantly engaged in civil wars over the years. The current civil war is being

fought between the House of the Representatives and the General National Congress for political

power over the governance of the territory of Libya. The country has been subject to on-going

proliferation of weapons, Islamic insurgencies, sectarian violence, and lawlessness, with spill-

overs affecting neighbouring countries including Mali.13 Libya’s economy is mainly dependant on

petroleum. However, its on-going conflict is preventing it from fully exploiting its primary natural

resource. The World Bank has announced that Libya is on the brink of total economic collapse

and thus economic reforms in Libya for it to stabilize its economy are an immediate necessity.

Mali

Mali has had a history where it has consecutively engaged civil wars and rebellions. The Northern

Mali Conflict started in January 2012 between the northern and southern parts of the country

when several insurgent groups rose in an armed rebellion against the Mali government for

greater ruling and governing autonomy. This internal conflict has had a negative impact on

agricultural productivity and investment. It has given rise to multiple, deep-rooted ethnic grudges

and differences between the population of Mali, led to large-scale destruction of civilian

infrastructure and made the overall re-development of Mali a very difficult task. The conflict has

disrupted the supply and distribution of input resources and output products, created price shocks

and caused immense labour displacement14. Mali has an extremely weak economy which

depends mainly on rural subsistence agriculture and the conflict is making it harder and harder

for the activity to keep sustaining the economy and hence, it is in dire need of economic

remodelling and a safer and more reliable economic structure.

Nigeria

The Islamic extremist group, the Boko Haram have caused tremendous damage and destruction

in Nigeria since 2009 when they started an open and armed rebellion against the Nigerian

government. The extremist group has repeatedly conducted acts of terrorism in parts of Nigeria

creating massive destruction to civilian and industrial infrastructure. The Boko Haram, in the

course of their rebellion, have taken control over numerous towns and villages, kidnapped,

tortured and killed thousands of civilians, conducted regular and suicide bombings in public

places, executed mass abductions of minors and women and caused massive political and

13 Wikipedia < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aftermath_of_the_2011_Libyan_Civil_War > 14Brookings < https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-impact-of-conflict-and-political-instability-on-agricultural-investments-in-mali-and-nigeria/ >



economic instability in Nigeria15. But since then, it has undergone a massive change. Now,

Nigeria is a middle-income, mixed economy and emerging market, with expanding

manufacturing, financial, service, communications, technology and entertainment sectors. It is

ranked as the 21st-largest economy in the world in terms of nominal GDP, and the 20th-largest in

terms of purchasing power parity. It is the largest economy in Africa; its re-emergent

manufacturing sector became the largest on the continent in 2013, and it produces a large

proportion of goods and services for the West African subcontinent. In addition, the debt-to-GDP

ratio is 11%, which is 8% below the 2012 ratio16. Thus, it stands as a strong example of the

positive impacts that post-conflict economic reconstruction can have on a state.

Rwanda

The Rwandan genocide of 1994 is one of the most horrible ethnic massacres witnessed in

history. From April to July 1994, members of the Hutu ethnic majority in the east-central African

nation of Rwanda murdered as many as 800,000 people, mostly of the Tutsi minority. Begun by

extreme Hutu nationalists in the capital of Kigali, the genocide spread throughout the country with

staggering speed and brutality, as ordinary citizens were incited by local officials and the Hutu

Power government to take up arms against their neighbours. By the time the Tutsi-led Rwandese

Patriotic Front gained control of the country through a military offensive in early July, hundreds of

thousands of Rwandans were dead and many more were displaced from their homes.17 The

Rwandan genocide destroyed Rwanda’s fragile economic structure, seriously impoverished the

population and affected the country’s ability to get internal and external investment. However,

over the years, Rwanda has made enormous efforts to rehabilitate and stabilize its economy and

has reached unexpected success. Even directly after the genocide, the Tutsi-led government

took steps to combat the country’s economy’s over-dependence on subsistence agriculture and

took steps to building up factories and service industries and tried to eliminate specific barriers to

trade and development18. Hence, Rwanda too stands as an example for other post-conflict states

for post-conflict economic managements.

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone had been involved in a long and devastating civil war for 11 years that began on 23

March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), with support from the special forces of

Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), intervened in Sierra Leone in an

attempt to overthrow the Joseph Momoh government and ended in 2002 resulting in the death of

over 50,000 civilians. Since the end of the civil war, the country’s economy has been making very

little progress. The country still suffers from high youth unemployment, corruption, and weak

15 The New York Times < https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/11/world/africa/boko-haram-in-nigeria.html?_r=0 > 16 "Manufacturing Sector Report, 2015: Manufacturing in Africa". KPMG. 2015. 17 History.com < http://www.history.com/topics/rwandan-genocide > 18 Wikipedia < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Rwanda >



national cohesion. It continues to face the daunting challenge of transparency in managing its

natural resources and its fiscal policy. Problems of poor infrastructure and widespread rural and

urban impoverishment persist in spite of progress and reforms19. Sierra Leone is also a victim of

blood diamond trade and has deep underground criminal networks that prey on its diamond

industry. The economy of Sierra Leone is that of a least developed country with a GDP of

approximately 1.9 billion USD in 2009 and since the end of the civil war in 2002, growth rates

have remained as low as between 4% to 7%. Hence, seeing the poor state of Sierra Leone’s

economy despite having huge deposits of one of the world’s most profitable resources, it

becomes evident that Sierra Leone’s economy is in dire need of advisory assistance and

methods to better exploit its resources to benefit its economy.

South Sudan

South Sudan, the world’s youngest country has been involved in a massive civil war since 2013

when their President Kiir accused their former deputy President, Riek Machar and ten other

officials of attempting a coup d'état. Over a thousand civilians have been killed in the war and

over 3 million have been victims of internal displacement due to varying ethnicities or

apprehended political alliances. Large regions of key towns like Malakal and the capitals of the

states of Unity and Jonglei have been destroyed and important civilian infrastructure like schools,

clinics, hospitals and work places and even industrial infrastructure like factories, agricultural

farmlands and processing units have been looted, sabotaged and closed down. The employment

rates and economy of South Sudan are ones of the lowest and most underdeveloped in the

world. Being a newly-independent state and also having a constant on-going political crisis,

South Sudan hasn’t been able to concentrate on building its own independent and secure

economy and as a result, is now on the brink of economic collapse. Thus, there is an urgent need

for economic reforms and upliftment in the state.

Special challenges faced by post-conflict states

As established earlier, the challenges faced in the economic reconstruction of post-conflict states

are a lot harder and different from the challenges faced in the economic redevelopment of poor, yet

peaceful states. Many reasons make the economic reconstruction of post-conflict states a hard and risk-

taking process. Post-conflict states have to face additional problems like political instability, massive

brain-drain and immense loss of lives, pre-dominant chaos, the existence of underground criminal

networks and former warlords who resist relinquishing their power, diminished and weakened capital and

damaged infrastructure which further slow-down the process of the war-to-peace transition and make it

more challenging. It is essential that peace-building activities are carried out efficiently in order to ensure

its long-lasting effect and a stable platform for peace-keeping and establishment of permanent peace.

19 The World Bank < http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/sierraleone/overview >



But these challenges make the peace-building process exceedingly difficult and it is of great importance

for them to be specially catered to.

Political instability

The reason for conflict in most states is a political crisis where two or more rival parties/groups

claim power of governance over a certain region. When this gives rise to a full-scale armed

conflict, in most cases, neither of the parties exercise complete control over governance of the

region. As a result, the implementation of political reforms becomes extremely difficult and hence,

it becomes even harder to end the political crisis. In such a case, even concrete economic

reforms cannot be successfully implemented and hence, the political crisis and economic

breakdown continue to fuel each other and neither tends to get solved without extra-ordinary

measures and outside intervention. Thus, as long as the political crisis is not adequately solved,

almost all reforms and policies are futile since their successful implementation is not guaranteed.

Hence, political instability acts as a major obstacle on the road to economic recovery for most

conflict and post-conflict states.

Brain drain and immense loss of lives

In most cases of civil war involving ethnic or racial discrimination and violence against one or

more ethnicities or races, the members of the victim ethnicity or race tend to flee from the range

of danger into safer and more reliable locations or are tortured, massacred or killed (ex. Rwanda

genocide of 1994). This, results in the loss of culture and intellect brought to that region by the

victim ethnicity. Even in extended periods of war where the conflict is taken to cities and

inhabited places destroying civilian residences and infrastructure for tactical advantages, the

immense loss of lives, youth, intellect and skilled and trained professionals results in large scale

brain-drain. Thus, when the conflict ends and the rehabilitation period begins, the absence of the

required intellect and skill which was lost during conflict further makes the rehabilitation process

more challenging and difficult. The loss of trained professionals and intellectuals slows down the

wanted rebuilding process of the state and makes it tougher to restore normal state and

functioning of the state. Thus, the brain-drain created by violent conflict is a major setback to

post-conflict regular and economic recovery.

Pre-dominant chaos

Throughout the period of violent conflict in a state there is widespread chaos everywhere in the

state. As wars or chaos end, countries enter into a multipronged transition to peace. Institutions

for public security must be established or modernized so as to bring crime and violence under

control, repressive governments must give way to the rule of law and participatory governance,

both at the national and local level, ethnic, religious, or class confrontation must give in to

national reconciliation so that former enemies can return to the same villages and coexist in



peace, and war-ravaged, mismanaged, and largely illegal economies must reconstruct and

become viable economies that enable former combatants, other groups affected by the conflict,

and ordinary people to earn a decent and licit living in a sustainable way. This chaos continues

into the post-conflict period and as a result, civilians are not open to co-operate to work towards

resetting their state to normal condition.20 Hence, special steps need to be taken towards

resetting normal condition conducive for overall socio-economic co-operative development.

Existence of underground criminal networks and former war-lords

In certain cases (mostly where conflict is based over authority over natural resources of the

state), there is a development of an underground criminal or “pirate-type” network that plunder

the resources of the state illegally and further add to capital flight from the state by directly looting

its natural wealth. Sometimes, groups that are parts of these networks, take active and open part

in the conflict. Further, when the conflict comes to an end, these underground networks remain

active. They continue looting the state’s wealth and sometimes come to the surface and conduct

acts of terrorism. It is important to combat and eradicate these networks to ensure that there are

no leaks or drains on capital wealth. These networks are also dangerous and threaten civilian

security and peace which is essential in peace-keeping operations. Hence, efforts should b=be

made by the state to eradicate these underground criminal networks.

Diminished capital

When a country enters a state of conflict, there are several ways in which there is a drain on its

capital wealth. Primarily and largely this occurs due to huge military expenditures that include

heavy troop salaries, spending money on movement and maintenance of troops, war-time aid

and buying high-grade tactical weapons and armor. In certain cases, a complex web of corrupt

officials or underlying criminal networks and warlords that form, act as a constant drain on the

national capital and government money. Even constructive and capital-building activities mostly

seize during the time of conflict and hence, there is nothing to counter the diminishing capital and

hence, it continues to weaken. When the conflict ends, and the post-conflict rehabilitation process

is ready to begin, the state (in most cases) cannot finance its own nation-building and economy-

strengthening activities. Hence, it necessarily has to rely on some sort of foreign aid to kick-start

the recovery cycle till it substantially rebuilds its capital and reaches a point where it can finance

its own nation-building activities. Hence, their dependency on foreign aid and investments due to

their own weakened capital is an additional challenge to be faced in the economic reconstruction

of post-conflict states that are victims of capital flight and capital loss.

Damaged infrastructure

20 Castillo, Graciana Del. "Economic Reconstruction and Reforms in Post-Conflict Countries." Building Sustainable Peace (2016) : 51-71. Web. < https://soc.kuleuven.be/crpd/files/working-papers/working-paper-del-castillo.pdf >



A major setback post-conflict states that have been involved as a victim of local violent armed

conflict is the damage to the infrastructure of the state. Sometimes when conflict has been taken

to cities, towns and villages and destroyed civilian infrastructure like schools, hospitals, office

complexes and residences, the process of rehabilitation becomes a much lengthier process since

the damaged infrastructure needs to be re-erected and compensated for before citizens can

resume their normal lifestyle. In most cases, industrial infrastructure in industrial regions are

targeted and destroyed. Without the necessary infrastructure, no economy-building activities can

take place and it should be one of the first steps towards economic reconstruction of a post-

conflict state. Hence, it is of paramount importance to re-erect this infrastructure to restart

economy-building activities, provide employment and eventually reconstruct the economy.

Agenda 20632122

The African Agenda is the strategic framework for the socio-economic transformation of the

continent over the next 50 years declared by the African Union (AU) in 2013. It builds on, and seeks to

accelerate the implementation of past and existing continental initiatives for growth and sustainable

development. The guiding vision for Agenda 2063 is the AU Vision of “An integrated, peaceful and

prosperous Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the international

arena”. There are 7 main aspirations laid down by the AU, also known as the 7 African Aspirations. The

7 African Aspirations are directly quoted below along with the inferences drawn from them:

Aspiration 1

“A Prosperous Africa, based on inclusive growth and sustainable development”

Implies : ending poverty, inequalities of income and opportunity, job creation, addressing the

challenges of rapid urbanization, improvement of habitats and access to basic necessities of life,

providing social security and protection, developing Africa’s human and social capital (through an

education and skills revolution emphasizing science and technology and expanding access to

quality health care services, particularly for women and girls), transforming Africa’s economies

through beneficiation from Africa’s natural resources, manufacturing, industrialization and value

addition, as well as raising productivity and competitiveness, radically transforming African

agriculture to enable the continent to feed itself and be a major player as a net food exporter,

exploiting the vast potential of Africa’s blue/ocean economy, and finally putting in place measures

to sustainably manage the continent’s rich biodiversity, forests, land and waters and using mainly

adaptive measures to address Climate change risks.

Aspiration 2

21 African Union < https://www.au.int/web/agenda2063/about > 22 The African Union Commission. "Agenda 2063 Framework Document." (September, 2015): n. pag. Print. < http://www.un.org/en/africa/osaa/pdf/au/agenda2063-framework.pdf >



“An integrated continent, politically united, based on the ideals of Pan Africanism and the vision

of Africa’s Renaissance”

Implies: accelerating progress towards continental unity and integration for sustained growth,

trade, exchanges of goods, services, free movement of people and capital through establishing a

United Africa, fast tracking of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA), improving connectivity

through newer and bolder initiatives to link the continent by rail, road, sea and air, and developing

regional and continental power pools, as well as Information Communication Technology (ICT).

Aspiration 3

“An Africa of good governance, democracy, respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law”

Implies: consolidating democratic gains and improving the quality of governance, respect for

human rights and the rule of law, building strong institutions for a development state, and

facilitating the emergence of development-oriented and visionary leadership in all spheres and at

all levels.

Aspiration 4

“A Peaceful and Secure Africa”

Implies: strengthening governance, accountability and transparency as a foundation for a

peaceful Africa, strengthening mechanisms for securing peace and reconciliation at all levels, as

well as addressing emerging threats to Africa’s peace and security, and putting in place

strategies for the continent to finance her security needs.

Aspiration 5

“Africa with a strong cultural identity, common heritage, values and ethics”

Implies: inculcating the spirit of Pan Africanism, tapping Africa’s rich heritage and culture to

ensure that the creative arts are major contributors to Africa’s growth and transformation, and

restoring and preserving Africa’s cultural heritage.

Aspiration 6

“An Africa whose development is people driven, relying on the potential offered by people,

especially its women and youth and caring for children”

Implies: strengthening the role of Africa’s women through ensuring gender equality and parity in

all spheres of life (political, economic and social), eliminating all forms of discrimination and

violence against women and girls, creating opportunities for Africa’s youth for self-realization,



access to health, education and jobs, and ensuring safety and security for Africa’s children, and

providing for early childhood development.

Aspiration 7

“An Africa as a strong, united, resilient and influential global player and partner”

Implies: improving Africa’s place in the global governance system (UNSC, financial institutions,

global commons such as outer space), improving Africa’s partnerships and refocusing them more

strategically to respond to African priorities for growth and transformation, and ensuring that the

continent has the right strategies to finance its own development and reducing aid dependency.

Figure 3 – a schematic representation of Agenda 2063

Major Countries and Organizations Involved

African Union (AU)

The African Union (AU) is a continental union comprising of all 55 countries in the continent of

Africa. Its goal is to strengthen a people centered Union through active communication of the programs

of the African Union, the branding of the Union and participation of Member States and other

stakeholders in defining and implementing the African Agenda23. The AU is instrumental in all

international policy formations and implementations of African countries. They have several running sub-

agencies and programs for the betterment of the people of Africa and African countries. Their programs

include economic and political analytics and studies and several conferences on various fields of

23 African Union < https://www.au.int/ >



importance like Rural Economy and Agriculture, Trade and Industry, Infrastructure and Energy, Political

Affairs, Economic Affairs and Peace and Security of African states. Hence, its involvement is inevitably

called for in all probable policy solutions and its importance to the agenda cannot be ignored.

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) was established in the United Nations’

Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in the year 1958. Its objective is to promote the economic and

social development of its member states, foster inter-regional integration and promote international co-

operation for the development of African countries. The strength of the ECA and the reason for speciality

is that it’s the only commission that has the authority to operate at regional and sub-regional levels to

harness resources and bring them to bear on Africa’s priorities24. It has the power to raise the necessary

funds for nation-building activities that its member states may want to carry out with the aid of other

regional authorities. Hence, it is an important party when discussing the economic reconstruction of

African post-conflict states.

African Institute on Development and Planning (IDEP)

The African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP) is a pan-African institution

was established by the United Nations General Assembly in the year 1962. Its prime objective was to

accompany and support African states that had just gained independence from colonization by varying

foreign powers, in their aim to build human resource capacities for sustaining independence and

promoting socio-economic development. The primary mission of the IDEP now is to assist policymakers

and other stakeholders in enhancing their skills in the areas of policymaking, long-term perspective

planning and institutional and regulatory reforms as well as facilitate the emergence of policy ideas and

consensus positions in Africa. Through its research program, the IDEP seeks to create a new body of

knowledge and to act as an interface between research and policymaking communities.

African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC)

The African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC) was established by the AU to address the

weak integration of the African mining industry into the economy of African states that are rich in mineral

resources. Its mission is to work in accordance to member states and their national and regional

organizations and companies to better exploit their mineral resources and to develop mineral industries

to help support their economies and work towards developing the continent through increased formation

of economic and social linkages. It aids and provides assistance to African countries willing to undertake

mining operations by providing developmental studies and sharing high knowledge and skill to yield

greater economic and social benefits from high produce.

24 Economic Commission for Africa < http://www.uneca.org/pages/overview >



African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC)

The African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) was established in the June of 2003 initially with the

financial support of the Canadian government through the Canada Fund for Africa. It also has the direct

support of many international governments and agencies like the United Nations Development Program

(UNDP). The main objective of this centre is to strengthen trade relations between African states and

other regional, sub-regional or international bodies. It facilitates the formation and implementation of

sound and fair trade policies at the regional, bilateral and multilateral levels. It also aims at achieving

sustainable growth through structural transformation, strengthening Africa’s role and importance in the

global trade arena and promoting regional integration with the idea of collective development.

African Development Bank (AfDB)

The African Development Bank (AfDB) is the parent organization of the African Development

Bank Group. Its main goal is to contribute to the economic and social development of its regional

member states. The organization’s resources comprise ordinary and special resources. The ordinary

resources comprise the subscribed shares of the authorized capital, a portion of which is subject to call

in order to guarantee ADB borrowing obligations, funds received in repayment of ADB loans, funds

raised through ADB borrowings on international capital markets, income derived from ADB loans and

other incomes received by the Bank25. Its special resources comprise the Arab Oil Fund, the Special

Emergency Assistance Fund for Drought and Famine in Africa and the Special Relief Fund. These funds

can be borrowed by member states that require the same for various programs and activities. The AfDB

mobilizes and allocates resources for investments and offers advisory assistance in policy decisions of

its member states and provides technical assistance for its technical programs.

Relevant African Union (AU) Treaties and Events

• Constitution of the Association of African Trade Promotion Organizations , 18 January 1974

• Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community, 03 June 1991

• Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community Relating to the Pan-African

Parliament, 02 March 2001

• African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, 01 July 2003

• Protocol on the African Investment Bank, 30 June 2009

• African Charter on the Values and Principles of Decentralisation, Local Governance and Local

Development, 27 June 2014

• Protocol on the Establishment of the African Monetary Fund, 27 June 2014

• Statute of the African Minerals Development Centre, 30 January 2016

25 African Development Bank < https://www.afdb.org/en/about-us/corporate-information/african-development-bank-afdb/ >



Previous Attempts to solve the Issue

Even though there have been no special direct attempts to cater to the economic reconstruction

of post-conflict states, there have been numerous independent attempts to pull African states out of

economic crises and there have been various initiatives to study the challenges faced by post-conflict

states and special case studies about independent African conflicted states. But there have been no

attempts to look after the economic reconstruction of African post-conflict states as a whole. Yet,

numerous agencies and conferences have been established to come up with a permanent solution to the

economic crises that African countries face; but none of them pay special attention to the needs of post-

conflict states, and the conferences that do, pay attention only to one specific state. Hence, a well-

rounded, comprehensive and workable solution is yet being searched for in the real world.

However, an example of such post-conflict economic reconstruction project is given below.

Economic Reconstruction of Rwanda by International Development Association (IDA)26:

IDA has extended US$1,054 million in credits and grants to Rwanda since 1994. About half of

this financial support has been provided within economic recovery and policy support operations,

financed by five Poverty Reduction Support Credits/Grants (PRSC/G). Since 2004, these PRSC/Gs have

directly supported the government’s strong reform efforts, particularly in the area of private sector

development, provision of social and infrastructure services, and public sector management and

accountability. IDA has also financed about 19 investment operations, and provided more than 27

analytical reports and reviews. IDA support evolved with the changing conditions in Rwanda. Following

the genocide, IDA helped finance reconstruction, including rebuilding of the economic and institutional

base, and responding to basic needs in education, health, water, energy, transport, and

communications. IDA also supported the government in its efforts to repair the social fabric and promote

reconciliation. IDA assistance then evolved from emergency assistance to financing for long-term

development needs. IDA now focuses on supporting Rwanda as a model for development with

innovative lending aimed at accelerating growth and poverty reduction. Project support was combined

with policy advice and dialogue and analysis. Because of the government’s commitment to reform, IDA

was able to work with country counterparts by offering them financial and technical assistance, and

analytical services that contributed directly to tangible development results. By 1998, GDP had

recovered its pre-1994 level, with post-conflict reconstruction fuelling an initial boom. During this boom

phase, GDP growth rates averaged 10.5 per year between 1996 and 2002. As the economy moved into

the development phase, annual growth averaged 6.1% in 2003–2008. Inflation has remained relatively

low at 6-7% per year over the last decade.

26 IDA. IDA at Work - Rwanda: From Post-Conflict Reconstruction to Development. Rep. N.p.: n.p., Februaury, 2009. Print. < http://siteresources.worldbank.org/IDA/Resources/ida-Rwanda-10-02-09.pdf >



Possible Solutions

There is a wide variety of economic reforms that can be introduced and implemented while

building the economy of a state. Since the agenda is open-ended, there is no definite limit to creative

solutions for the economic reconstruction of African post-conflict states. However, a few possible

solutions are listed below.

Development of agriculture and related agro-based industries

Most of Africa’s countries’ economies are based on agricultural activities. Most African countries

have extremely fertile and apt soil types for most cash and food crops. Africa is the leading producer of

crops like coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, etc. but due to large scale poverty, traditional, backward methods of

farming and lack of awareness, yield is very low and the produce does not make it beyond local markets.

During violent conflict, farmers and rural animal-rearers are sometimes targeted to cripple rural

employment and hence, ruin rural self-sustainability. Farmlands are burnt and cattle are taken away and

killed. Reviving rural agriculture and boosting agricultural produce is perhaps the most important step

towards rebuilding the back-bone of the economies of most African post-conflict states. Inviting

international organizations like the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and International Fund for

Agricultural Development (IFAD) to help and aid agricultural activities in Africa to boost productivity

should be considered. Wherever possible, scientific and newer and more efficient systems of farming

should be introduced to ensure optimum use of land and highest possible productivity. Once the

agricultural produce reaches substantially stable levels and a certain level of required quality, exporting

portions of the produce should be encouraged. Dairy produce and livestock production should also be

resumed from farmers maintaining cattle and other domestic animals to support their own income and

make them more independent. Trade links that were disturbed during war-time should be revived and

taken help of for the benefit of the state.

Development of natural resource and minerals industries

Africa land is rich in natural resources and minerals. African land holds an enormous portion of

natural resources of the world out of which very little is being currently exploited. This is owed to the lack

of capital wealth and infrastructure in poor African states. Conflict in poor African states further

decreases opportunities to be able to exploit these resources. Taking loans from the World Bank and

seeking aid from the ECA and AMDC and using it appropriately to exploit these natural resources and

minerals is important to consider. The wealth obtained by the state from the sale and exchange of these

resources in a refined or unrefined form should further be used in other economy-building activities.

Industries based on the natural resources and minerals should be established, grown and secured. Once

the original industries have been secured and stabilized, newer mining projects should be undertaken to

increase yield and up-scale the industries.



Revival and development of trade links

Reviving trade links of post-conflict nations is one of the most important tasks is post-conflict

economic recovery. During active conflict, trading activities between states comes to a partial or

complete halt. In the post-conflict period, it is of paramount importance to revive these trade links and

boost foreign exchange to strengthen the economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other

agencies like the ECA and ATPC, along with the concerned states themselves, should make active

efforts to revive these links and have an open trade industry up and running after thorough research and

analysis from expert bodies like United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). It is

of paramount importance to restore trade relations and have a strong and stable trade link running

between African states and other countries in other continents since most African countries do not have

all the necessary means for sustainable development.

Promotion and development of indigenous and cottage industries

Promoting the formation and nurturing of indigenous industries is crucial in a post-conflict

economy to ensure the sustainability of the rural population and to provide them with some form of

employment and income so they become independent. Taking care of the rural population and economy

takes away the load of the otherwise over-dependant rural population from the central government and

allows them to focus on more important nation-building activities. Rural development is exceedingly

important for any African post-conflict state and special steps must be taken towards it. Indigenous

industries must be encouraged by providing low interest rate loans and incentives by the state itself.

Aid from the international community and the setting up of special bodies

Since most African post-conflict states can’t meet their own financial needs and post-conflict

development needs heavy and stable financing, aid from outer international bodies is necessary. African

states must be able raise adequate finance from other bodies to meet their set development goals.

International bodies and other related and concerned authorities should work in accordance with post-

conflict states to form special bodies that track the development of the concerned state and make

recommendations to continue on the road to economic recovery. This body should have enough ties and

authority to make policies, raise necessary funds for policy execution, initiate studies and publish reports

and so on and so forth and should be partially under the direct authority of the African Union.

Security Sector Reform27

Governance of the security sector is a precondition for stability – to provide safety and security

for the populace, assure the return of IDPs/refugees and resettlement, and ensure good management of

disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) processes. A well-governed security sector is a

27 UN DESA - GPAB/REGOPA Cluster. Governance Strategies for Post Conflict Reconstruction, Sustainable Peace and Development. Working paper. N.p.: n.p., November, 2007. Print. < http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/un/unpan028332.pdf >



key public service and a prerequisite for stability, recovery and development. Thus, security sector

reforms need to be initiated and implemented within a wider and long-term peace-building perspective.

Downsizing or reforming the security sector on the basis of international standards is not a sufficient

starting point. The primary emphasis should be on determining, on the basis of dialogue among relevant

stakeholders, the genuine internal and external overall security needs of a post-conflict society, and then

ensuring the allocation of resources to meet these needs. For demobilized security personnel, these

resources should include the provision of secure economic alternatives. Reconstituted thus, the security

sector should be subject to democratic, civilian oversight as well be neutral vis-à-vis any political party or

former belligerent faction.

Bibliography

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2. Tzifakis, Nikolaos. "Post-Conflict Economic Reconstruction | Encyclopedia Princetoniensis." Princeton University. The Trustees of Princeton University, n.d. Web. 05 June 2017. <http://pesd.princeton.edu/?q=node/260>

3. Junne, Gerd, and Willemijn Verkoren. Postconflict Development: Meeting New Challenges.

Boulder (Colo.): Lynne Rienner Publ., 2005. Print.

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6. The African Union Commission. "Agenda 2063 Framework Document." (September, 2015): n. pag. Print. <http://www.un.org/en/africa/osaa/pdf/au/agenda2063-framework.pdf>

7. Issala, Bureau. Agriculture in Africa | Transformation and Outlook. Publication. N.p.: New Partnership for African Development, 2013. Print. <http://www.un.org/en/africa/osaa/pdf/pubs/2013africanagricultures.pdf>

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12. "I D E P." I D E P. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 June 2017. <http://www.unidep.org/>

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16. "African Development Bank (AfDB)." African Development Bank. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 June 2017. <https://www.afdb.org/en/about-us/corporate-information/african-development-bank-afdb/>

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Appendices

I. Castillo, Graciana Del. "Economic Reconstruction and Reforms in Post-Conflict Countries."

Building Sustainable Peace (2016): 51-71. Web. <https://soc.kuleuven.be/crpd/files/working-

papers/working-paper-del-castillo.pdf>.

II. "Economic Development in Africa Report 2016." Debt Dynamics And Development Finance In

Africa (2016): n. pag. Web. <http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/aldcafrica2016_en.pdf>

III. UN DESA - GPAB/REGOPA Cluster. Governance Strategies for Post Conflict Reconstruction,

Sustainable Peace and Development. Working paper. N.p.: n.p., November, 2007. Web.

<http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/un/unpan028332.pdf>

IV. The African Union Commission. "Agenda 2063 Framework Document." (September, 2015): n.

pag. Web. <http://www.un.org/en/africa/osaa/pdf/au/agenda2063-framework.pdf>

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