Conflict prevention and peacebuilding

In the Europe and Central Asia region, we have seen an increase in compound risks, from diminishing civic space and continued challenges to the rule of law and human rights, to the erosion of social cohesion due to growing ethnic, religious, socio-economic, gender and generational divides as well as trends of stigmatization and hate speech, , elite capture, governance challenges and corruption,  and cross-border skirmishes and armed conflict.

Across the region, recent experience has demonstrated how dormant tensions can quickly devolve into open conflict. One exacerbating factor is the unlimited borders across the region, despite commitment of states to peacefully resolve these issues. In the Central Asia region, together with the unresolved status of enclaves, these have led to sporadic violence in the past decade and add to the risk of escalation. Violent extremist groups have been active across the region in the recent past. The return of foreign fighters to parts of Europe and Central Asia, combined with the concerns of instability and insecurity on Central Asia’s border with Afghanistan adds to the multiple risk factors in the region.

There are numerous factors of resilience in the region as well. For instance, both states and the divided communities who live in close proximity have mostly managed to maintain political, social, economic and cultural interaction despite the legacy of conflict that generates persistent fragility and risk. There are multiple regional cooperation mechanisms across the region and sub-regions, that aim to enhance neighborly relations, build confidence and foster economic connectivity.  Young people have serves as positive agents of change in addressing peacebuilding challenges and growing societal gaps. Across the region, civil society organizations, traditional mechanisms, local community institutions and women’s groups have also played an active role over the past decades in support of positive transformation.

The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated political, social and economic exclusion and heightened socio-economic vulnerabilities and multi-dimensional risks. It has also exposed long-standing, un-addressed structural challenges, and amplified numerous political, socio-economic and rights-based shortcomings as well as brought layers of fragility to the surface. It has also created a moment of opportunity to address some of the deep-rooted challenges in the region and move towards inclusive solutions that leave no one behind.

UNDP works to prevent conflict and build peace by:

• promoting an integrated approach, linking conflict prevention, social cohesion and peacebuilding, informed by in-depth analyses of local root causes, factors of risk and resilience and drivers of conflict and peace;
• supporting long-term development solutions for preventing violent extremism; and
• fostering confidence and healing tensions in communities living in protracted conflict situations.

Conflict analysis and risk assessment

UNDP has been working in conflict, post-conflict and politically complex settings in the Europe and Central Asia region for more than 25 years. Understanding the causes and drivers of conflict, mapping key stakeholders and locating entry-points for peace are critical to preventing conflict and promoting social cohesion. UNDP relies on its expertise in conflict-sensitive approaches to development, using development assistance to build confidence and heal differences.

• Internal research in these areas means we have a continuous analysis of conflict dynamics and risks that informs our work in conflict prevention.
• The Regional Risk and Resilience Assessment (RRRA) which is a joint effort between the UN, World Bank and FCDO focuses specifically on the border areas of the Fergana Valley, as well as Tajikistan and Uzbekistan’s borders with Afghanistan. The RRRA aims to foster opportunities for conflict-sensitive programming that addresses multi-dimensional challenges in the region, building on its identification and analysis of drivers of risk but also resilience and the comparative advantages of the three institutions and interested partners.
• Peace and Development Teams (PAA) are deployed through the UNDP-DPPA Joint Programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan,  Ukraine, and the South Caucasus, as well as a Regional Peace and Development Specialist for Europe and Central Asia, to provide strategic guidance for conflict prevention initiatives, support UN operations through political and conflict analysis, help design and run conflict-sensitive programming and enhance partnerships.

Preventing violent extremism

In Europe and Central Asia, the rise of violent extremism and its spread across national borders continues to be a source of concern across the region, threatening to reverse the development gains made over the past thirty years. Violent extremist ideology and approaches continuously evolve, exemplified by the current rise of ethno-nationalism in Europe and the expanding use of both online and offline spaces to spread violent extremist narratives and recruit. Furthermore, as foreign fighters return to parts of Europe and Central Asia, reintegration and rehabilitation pose unseen challenges for policy and practice.

UNDP supports development solutions that rely on a “do no harm” approach, which target the root causes and structural drivers of violent extremism, prevent the stigmatization of groups and communities, and address the horizontal inequalities that fuel radicalisation, which can lead to violent extremism. Through mobilising and capacitating long-term development partners at regional, national and local levels, UNDP activates decades of development experience in the efforts to prevent violent extremism.

Sustaining peace, recovery and confidence-building

In the Europe and Central Asia region, communities interact daily despite their legacy of conflict and division.  Frozen conflicts and territorial disputes often hinder socio-economic development, stability and security for people on all sides.

Creating an environment that allows for development progress requires facilitating reconciliation and preventing outbreaks of violence. UNDP addresses ongoing tensions between communities, especially in border areas that are not always in alignment with modern borders.

Local development initiatives are also a key focus. Social infrastructure, such as the rehabilitation of shared healthcare institutions, community markets, roads and educational institutions in strategic locations, often creates opportunities for individuals from different communities to interact and engage through common interests.

We employ a range of measures to open space for dialogue, build confidence, encourage interaction, and establish shared understanding. Cooperative problem solving helps to normalize relationships, build trust and reduce the potential for violent conflict.

Some of our work includes:

• providing community leaders in the border areas of Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic, particularly in and around the Fergana Valley, with information on the challenges and risks facing their communities, allowing them to advocate for joint projects and activities with other communities to address those problems;
• addressing the legacy of the conflicts in the breakup of the former Yugoslavia – in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Dialogue for the Future remains one of the flagship projects for reconciliation in the Europe and Central Asia region, helping to address past grievances, bring together communities from different ethnic groups, and build understanding;
• increasing positive interactions and diminishing the negative impact of high-level political disputes on the local populations in Transnistria, in Moldova, where the absence of a political resolution to the territorial dispute and the separation of societies and political structures has complicated future negotiations; and
• using confidence building measures in Georgia to help bring communities at the grassroots closer together through the Confidence Building Early Response Mechanism (COBERM) programme.

Youth and peacebuilding

The youth population (aged 15–29) in the Europe and Central Asia region (ECA) constitutes 56 million people, making up around a 25% of the total population. More than half of the youth live in urban areas. As such, young women and men in the ECA constitute a tremendous and essential asset worth investing in. Connected like never before, young people want to and already contribute to the resilience of their communities, proposing innovative solutions, driving social progress, and inspiring political change in urban as well as rural contexts.

The promotion of youth priorities for sustaining peace is critical to strengthening the reconciliation efforts, preventing crises, advancing peace, and overall stabilization. As part of work on youth-led peace-building, UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub, in collaboration with UNFPA and the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) conducted and published The study Shared Futures: Youth Perceptions on Peace in the Western Balkans. The report outlines the key messages and priorities of young women and men, between 15 and 29 years of age in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. Shared Futures was developed through a participatory research process that involved a youth advisory group, representing youth across the Western Balkans region in the design of the study framework and the analysis of its findings. 

UNDP supports youth empowerment in the region by:

• Supporting young men and women as positive agents for sustaining peace
• Supporting youth leadership development and networking
• Supporting youth inclusion in policy and political processes