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IGAD Calls for More Donor Role in Tackling Regional Conflicts

The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa)
NEWS
December 14, 2006
Posted to the web December 14, 2006

By Biruk Girma
Addis Ababa
The Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), on Tueday urged donor
agencies and stakeholders to put more of their parts in its efforts of
eradicating pastoral conflicts in the region.
During a half day donor meeting the regional body's Conflict Early Warning and
Response mechanism (CEWARN) organized with the intention of soliciting funds,
the regional conflict early warning body announced a 10 million USD requirement
to implement its five year strategic plan.
The fund will be used to provide adquate resources to the mechanism to
strengthen its response capacity to mitigate or de-escalate violent conflicts,
IGAD officials said on Tuesday.
"The fund will provide CEWARN with the flexibility and rapid response capacity
that it requires to be an effective mechanism to address cross - border
pastoral conflicts." According to officials, the priorities of the strategic
plan were endorsed by the Committee of Permanent Secretaries (CPS) of IGAD in a
meeting held in Djibouti on the 1st of December 2006.
Expanding the monitoring and reporting of pastoral and related conflicts,
strengthening the early response side of the mechanism, widening sources of
information, enhance the information system and strengthening the data analysis
capacity of CEWARN are some of the committee.
In addition to soliciting funds for the strategic objectives, CEWARN introduced
to the donors a CEWARN Rapid Response Fund (CRRF).
Officials said local or regional peace communities and other institutions will
be able to use the fund up on submitting their community; national or cross-
border initiatives geared preventing, de-escalating or resolving pastoral
conflicts.
IGAD member states had agreed to increase their contributions to the
administrative costs of CEWARN from the current 10% to 30%, it was learnt.
Under the five years (2007-2011) strategic plan, CEWRAN aspires to building its
capacity to a level that it will be able to monitor other types of conflicts in
the region.
CEWARN presented to the donors a flexible funding process to widen the donor
base and provide flexibility through item funding.
Key development partners of the mechanism have hitherto been USAID and GTZ, it
was learnt.
Development partners of CEWARN who took part in the meeting include
representatives from embassies and funding agencies and all of the IGAD member
states.


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