Humanitarian & development actors as peacebuilders?

Abstract

The article argues that despite ample justification for donor fatigue, the international community has, in fact, stayed engaged in Angola during the last decade. Investment in humanitarian and development/rehabilitation programming can be understood as a donor strategy for influencing regional stability and building peace. The war raises risks for the major powers who have progressively increased their stake in the lucrative Angolan petroleum economy. The Community Rehabilitation Programme (CRP) launched in Brussels in 1995 had a clear agenda to help consolidate the peace process launched in Lusaka in 1994 and the donor financial support necessary to make the plan viable. The author argues that the CRP programme incorporated some of the essential elements for effective peace building. These fundamentals included: institutional reform, rural‐urban economic equilibration, social and infrastructural rehabilitation and community buy‐in. The opportunity to have a real impact on the peace process was missed due to the failure of key implementing actors to put an effective operational programme in place in a timely manner. Donor's and more importantly communities, lost patience and the CRP was effectively sidelined. When a belated extension of state administration was attempted in 1998, the CRP mechanism was already moribund. A strategic opportunity to involve communities in the process of civic reconstruction paid for by international donors was wasted. Lessons from these failures can be drawn and the analysis applied to develop improved strategies for engaging communities, local government and other actors such as donors. A renewed programme for alleviating the Angolan humanitarian crisis and at the same time contributing to the peace process is proposed through strengthening communities’ capacities and investing in civic institutions.