The EU's Response to Conflict Affected Countries: Operational Guidance for the Implementation of the Cotonou Agreement

This Discussion Paper summarises the main findings of a two year research programme, led in the first phase at headquarters of the major Development and Humanitarian Agencies present in conflict affected countries. As a second phase 6 countries case-studies were carried out: Burundi, Congo DRC, Guinea Bissau, Rwanda, Somalia and Sudan. This paper is a summary of these six experiences, but each one has been the subject of a single discussion paper.

Over the past decade, political instability, crisis and protracted conflicts have been on the rise among the ACP countries and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The human cost of these conflicts has been extremely high. Several countries seem trapped in a vicious circle of war, chronic instability, insecurity, human rights violations, economic and social collapse, and rising poverty. Most of the conflicts have had major regional dimensions, thus amplifying the effects of the crisis situations to a substantial part of the continent.