The World Development Reports (WDRs) published annually by the World Bank have long since established themselves as a must-read for anyone interested in keeping up to date on the world’s developmental progress and challenges. While always providing up-to-date general development information and statistics, each report is also focussed on a theme of particular topical interest and importance. The focus of the 2011 edition will be the devastating impacts of widespread organised violence and how to assist post-conflict societies in avoiding repeated cycles of violence.
At the consultative event in Addis Ababa, where several ambassadors and senior staff of the UN and other international organisations were present, WDR 2011 Director Sarah Cliffe presented some of the initial findings. While it has been recognised that long-running wars, internal or international, can reverse decades of developmental progress, recent findings indicated that even short conflicts can seriously hamper development. One had also found that the traditional differentiation between conflict and widespread crime was not supported by a difference in negative impact on development. Organised crime and war can also feed into each other and increase the risk of each phenomenon. A point that was highlighted by several participants was that regional organisations and the competencies found in the “neighbourhood” should be utilised. Cliffe also noted that the report would be critical of the role of the international community, whose interventions in conflicts have not always been success stories.
A dedicated advisory council of prominent personalities will assist the WDR team in preparing the 2011 report. The council members include Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Mo Ibrahim, international business personality and Founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Ramtane Lamamra, Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union, Kenzo Oshima, Senior Vice President of Japan International Cooperation Agency, and Carlos Albertos dos Santos Cruz, Former Force Commander of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Haiti who were all present in Addis Ababa.
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