Integrated Conflict Perspective in Contribution Management – A Technical Note

Sammanfattning

Conflicting views exist in all societies. If managed constructively and non-violently, conflicts can lead to positive development. At times, however, conflicts give rise to tensions that may be expressed violently. A large part of Sida’s contributions are implemented in situations of violent conflict, be it on local, national or regional level. In addition, there are many post-conflict situations where root causes of the violent conflict have not been addressed and continue to create tensions. Sida is also engaged in many contexts where incompatibilities or disagreements arising from, for example, diverging opinions, objectives, and needs are unaddressed. With this in mind, all contexts in which Sida and its partners operate demonstrate factors relevant to conflict sensitivity. In line with the above, the Swedish government’s Instruction to Sida states that all its development cooperation should be based on an integrated conflict perspective. To Sida, the term ‘conflict perspective’ and conflict sensitivity are synonymous. Conflict sensitivity builds on the recognition that humanitarian assistance and development cooperation (including peacebuilding) become part of that context and will have effects on it, for better or for worse. This means that programmes will inevitably impact on political and conflict dynamics regardless of whether they actively seek to influence these factors. With this comes a responsibility for all actors to take measures to minimise unintended negative impacts and maximise positive impacts on conflict dynamics within the contribution’s sphere of influence. This applies to all engagements, whether they are focused on directly addressing conflict or not. It applies to all sectors and thematic areas at local, national, regional, global levels and to different partners, such as civil society organisations, multilateral agencies, institutions and private sector actors.

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