Never too Early to plan

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Never too Early to plan

April 12, 2017

“The UNDP Sub-regional Response Facility (Syria Crisis) with the governments of Finland and Canada, have recently published the “Never Too Early to Plan Report” which presents a series of lessons and good practices related to post-conflict reconstruction and transitions, as relevant for the on-going efforts for the reconstruction of Syria. While Syria presents some unique obstacles, the report collected relevant good and not-so-good practices of post-conflict reconstruction around the globe, to enable a head-start for Syria’s reconstruction planning based on lessons from the past. 

The report was launched at the Supporting Syrians & the Region Conference in Helsinki, 24 January 2017, by the UNDP Administrator, the Minister of Foreign Trade and Development of Finland, and the Ambassador of Canada to Lebanon.  The UNDP Administrator, warned that the restructuring of Syria may take place alongside continued vital humanitarian efforts, and will stretch the capacity of Syrian and international partners. Effective coordination among partners will be essential.   H.E. Michelle Cameron, Ambassador of Canada to the Lebanese Republic, reiterated from the report that while each conflict is unique, there are some recurring dynamics we can learn from, to help us not repeat the same mistakes. She urged the plenary to study the lessons laid out in the report and ask:

“How can my organization incorporate these lessons?”

The Ambassador noted that diplomatic actors will need to modify the sanctions regime – which will need time: “If we do not start now, it will be too late at day of reconstruction to start communicate to banks inside Syria and outside to ensure financing can go in.” 

Mr. Douglas Frantz, OECD Deputy Secretary-General, analyzed how the challenges in the Syria reconstruction can be boiled down to coordination and cooperation: “The international community failed in ending the war, it must not fail in rebuilding Syria.”  He recommended to focus more on creating an economic climate attractive to business investment and job creation, learning from the lessons of the Marshall Plan. Also, as in the Marshall Plan, it is imperative to bring in all peaceful partners to support, including GCC and Iran.

Mr. Ali Al-Zatari, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, explained that the UN cannot ignore working with the Government of Syria, its line ministries, thousands of staff, and resources – “no reconstruction of Syria will be possible without the government of Syria”. He criticized that there are too many plans and approaches being implemented inside Syria: “Our goal must be to simplify, coordinate toward one plan, or one approach.

Mr. Peter Graaff, Deputy Executive Director at the World Health Organization, warned that once stability is reached in Syria, there will be an influx of money from development actors– which will call for quick results. This could prove risky and a coordination structure needs to be in place for joint work. “With such a dynamic, a crisis is also always an opportunity.

For  any inquiries on the report, please contact the UNDP SRF Policy & Crisis Coordination Specialist, Michael Moroz, (michael.moroz@undp.org)

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