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EUROPEAN EXTERNAL ACTION SERVICE
CSDPCR.PRISM - Conflict Prevention, RoL/SSR, Integrated Approach, Stabilisation and Mediation
Working document of the European External Action Service
of 02/06/2017
EEAS Reference
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GSC
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The EU Integrated Approach to external conflicts and crises
Title / Subject
- EEAS-Commission services Issues Paper for PSC
[Ref. prev. doc.]
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The EU Integrated Approach to external conflicts and crises
EEAS-Commission services Issues Paper for PSC
Introduction
Introducing the Integrated Approach
1. The Global Strategy mentions the Integrated Approach to external conflicts and crises as one of
its priorities, with the aim of further strengthening the EU's and Member States' action in this
area. It advocates an approach that fosters human security, is conflict sensitive and ensures that
women's key role in peacebuilding and State-building is fully acknowledged and supported.
Also, the Integrated Approach sees adherence to human and fundamental rights as crucial in
assessing, preventing and resolving conflict. The Integrated Approach bases itself on, and
expands the scope and ambition of the Comprehensive Approach. The Integrated Approach
requires the EU to further strengthen the way it brings together institutions, expertise, and
instruments, and works with Member States in prevention (in the case of countries with high
levels of structural risks or fragility)1, peacebuilding, crisis response and stabilisation in order to
contribute to sustainable peace.
2. The Integrated Approach is also reflected in the new European Consensus on Development,
which emphasizes that the EU and its Member States will use development cooperation as part
of the full range of policies and instruments to prevent, manage and help resolve conflicts and
crises, avert humanitarian needs and build lasting peace and good governance. The new
Consensus highlights peacebuilding and statebuilding as essential for sustainable development
and should take place at all levels, from global to local, and at all stages of the conflict cycle. It
also points to the need to ensure that economic, social and environmental objectives are fully
integrated with security and development objectives.
3. The Integrated Approach aims to address all policy dimensions of a conflict. It does this by
bringing together multiple means of engagement, such as diplomatic engagement, Common
Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions and operations, development cooperation and
humanitarian assistance2 (multi-dimensional). The Integrated Approach describes the separate
phases of conflict (multi-phased), aiming to identify the instruments and tools that are
appropriate to each of the phases. The need for cooperation with external partners (multi-lateral)
is clearly spelled out in order to ensure the synergies of all instruments. The Integrated
Approach will further improve the EU's effectiveness on the ground by acting at an
international, regional, national and local level in an integrated manner (multi-level).
4. There are strong relationships between actions to take forward the Integrated Approach to
external conflicts and crises and other follow-up to the Global Strategy. In particular, the Joint
Communication on Resilience will highlight the relevance of investing in upstream conflict
1 This papers uses 'prevention' or 'conflict prevention' as shorthand for prevention of violent conflict. Prevention also
includes prevention of relapse into conflict and prevention of the spill over of violence.
2 EU humanitarian aid is provided solely on the basis of the needs of affected populations, in line with the European
Consensus on Humanitarian Aid, and beyond any strategic, military, economic or other EU objective.
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prevention, crisis response and conflict resolution. There are also important areas of read-across
with the Security and Defence Implementation Plan, including maximising the potential of the
Common Security and Defence Policy as part of a wider EU Integrated Approach to conflicts
and crises.
Building on the achievements of the Comprehensive Approach
5. As indicated, the Integrated Approach bases itself on the concept and priorities of the 2015 Joint
Communication on the Comprehensive Approach to external conflicts and crises, jointly
developed and implemented by the EEAS and Commission Services (including DEVCO,
ECHO, FPI and NEAR), and the success of its subsequent implementation. The Comprehensive
Approach has allowed for important work in elaborating concepts and increasing coherence in
EU and Member States external action. The way of working together and the need for increased
coherence and greater synergies between development, humanitarian and peace-building
activities, as promoted by the Comprehensive Approach, is retained as part of the Integrated
Approach. The Integrated Approach streamlines, operationalises and deepens the
Comprehensive Approach.
6. The Integrated Approach
streamlines the Comprehensive Approach by addressing the phases of
the conflict and describing the EU's approach to each of these phases. The Integrated Approach
operationalises further the coordination and complementarity of tools and policies. Doing this
will create more clarity on the process and enable a more strategic use of the available tools and
policies. In this way, the EU together with Member States, can be more effective in preventing
and responding to external conflicts and crises.
7. The Integrated Approach
operationalises the Comprehensive Approach by increasing the EU's
impact on the ground. The Integrated Approach will ensure a coherent EU response by aligning
the EU’s diplomatic, development and security efforts. The EU will also increase its
engagement with Member States on external conflicts and crises in order to achieve an even
more closely coordinated position. It advocates, where useful and possible, information sharing,
joint analysis, joint programming and joint implementation with and between Member States
and other partners.
8. The Integrated Approach
deepens the Comprehensive Approach by applying, to the extent
possible, its principles to the full breadth of the EU's work on external conflicts and crises. In
pursuing this aim, the Integrated Approach respects and reaffirms the various mandates, roles,
aims and legal frameworks of the stakeholders involved.
9. The EEAS and the Commission services will act as catalysts to promote implementation of the
Integrated Approach by providing services and advice. In order to support implementation of
the Global Strategy, the HRVP established PRISM (Prevention of conflict, Rule of law/SSR,
Integrated Approach, Stabilisation and Mediation), which will be the focal point for the EEAS
and – together with relevant EEAS and Commission services, and in complementarity with
CSDP, geographic and horizontal services – for EU responses to the conflict cycle, including
shared analysis, conflict prevention, early warning, mediation, security sector reform and the
rule of law as well as crisis response and stabilisation.
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The way forward
10. The Comprehensive Approach established a process based on action plans and progress reports.
This process has been valuable in establishing lessons learned on how the EU could most
usefully work in a coherent way. At the same time, this process made the system somewhat
rigid by the nature of the process and by focusing in advance on a limited number of priorities.
11. Under the Integrated Approach, the EU will prioritise engaging internally and with Member
States on substance rather than on process. The EU will engage with Member States to
exchange information on and look for complementarities with regard to the identification,
prevention of and response to external conflicts and crises, on the basis of country cases and
thematic issues. The EU would like to reflect with Member States on how they can be more
strongly involved in the result areas and activities included in this paper. This paper gives an
overview of the results the EU envisions to achieve by implementing the Integrated Approach.
12. Following completion of the 2016-2017 Comprehensive Approach Action Plan, it is now
foreseen that the Integrated Approach should succeed the Comprehensive Approach as the
framework to promote a more coherent approach by the EU to external conflicts and crises. The
EU will present a final report on the implementation of the 2016-2017 Comprehensive
Approach Action Plan in spring 2018.
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The section below outlines how the EU will strengthen its (preventive) response to external
conflicts and crises on cross cutting themes. It looks at the different phases of the conflict cycle
ranging from prevention, to crisis response and stabilisation, and identifies results to be achieved.
Common aspects to the full conflict cycle
A. Shared analysis and conflict sensitivity
The reinvigorated EU approach to Resilience implies a progressive shift in emphasis from crisis
containment to upstream measures founded in long-term, but flexible, country and regional
strategies that are better risk-informed and less instrument driven. In order to achieve this, the EU
will further enhance its capacity to conduct analysis. The purpose of such analysis is to assess the
underlying vulnerabilities and causes of (emerging) conflicts, potential factors of resilience and,
consequently, options on what type(s) of engagement are most effective given the context. This
analysis provides a basis for drafting conflict sensitive strategic and operational plans and, where
feasible, for joint implementation.
The EU should further strengthen the degree to which its engagement is informed by conflict
analysis. Also, it should further strengthen the resilience and gender sensitivity of its conflict
analyses. The EU will ensure that there is up-to-date conflict analysis at the basis of its most
intensive engagements. The EU is currently engaged in a mapping of the use of analyses that will
inform where future analyses need to be conducted. Also, the EU will pilot the use of local level
analysis, acknowledging the multi-level nature of conflicts. Recognizing the transaction costs of
drawing-up high quality conflict analyses, the EU will facilitate burden sharing by coordinating
with Member States, civil society, other international organizations, like the United Nations,
academia and other partners.
The EU will reinforce its analysis sharing with Member States at headquarters level and in the field.
In order to do this the EU will keep Member States informed of analyses it is conducting and, where
possible, the EU will invite Member States to participate in conflict analyses workshops and it will
debrief Member States of the outcomes. Recent analyses on Egypt, Jordan and Burundi were
conducted with the full involvement of Member States present locally. Member States are welcome
to reciprocate and share relevant analysis with the EU.
The EU will further strengthen
conflict sensitivity of its external action by ensuring that its
programming and design of interventions is informed by conflict analysis in order to maximize their
impact and ensure that they do not cause harm. The EU will promote joint planning, programming
and/or implementation with Member States, in fragile and conflict-affected countries. The EU will
assess its on-going relevant EU training curricula in order to strengthen the focus on conflict
sensitivity where needed. For example, in April of this year the EU provided a new three day
training course for the EU and Member States on conflict analysis. The EU will, where relevant,
include sessions on conflict sensitivity in regional seminars of EU Delegations and by promoting
the use of the recently developed EU online course in conflict sensitivity.
B. Mediation support
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A political settlement of a dispute is one of the best guarantees for its sustainable resolution, and
mediation support is a crucial part of any effort to arrive at such a settlement. In order to ensure
efficiency, it needs to be adequately embedded in relevant structures and processes.
To improve the work of the EU in the field of Mediation Support it is important to further raise the
political profile of this work. Therefore, the EEAS will integrate its mediation support capacity
better into peace process-related work of the EU, including in the Political and Security Committee
or when drafting relevant Foreign Affairs Council conclusions. Secondly, the EU will strengthen
cooperation with mediation support capacities in international and regional organisations, in
particular the UN, AU, OSCE and African regional economic commissions.
Considering the effectiveness of mediation, the EU will engage early in peace process support; and
seek to utilise mediation more as a 'tool of first response to ongoing and emerging crises' as
stipulated by the 2009 Concept on Mediation. The EU will enhance the capacity of CSDP missions
to engage in mediation, including through a tailored training offer and enhanced outreach to them
by the Mediation Support Team. The EU will also increase the capacity of EU Delegations to
support local infrastructures for peace, including mediation and peacebuilding civil society as well
as individual actors, including in particular women's organisations, and relevant institutions. The
Mediation Support Team will identify additional ways to further strengthen the EU's profile and
institutional readiness for effective mediation work through enhanced preparedness and deployment
of staff. This work will be linked with the UNSG's new initiative for mediation.
C. Security Sector Reform
The SSR Strategic Framework3 provides the EU with a coherent policy that applies to short-term,
mid-term and long-term support activities, including CSDP actions, IcSP programmes and
development cooperation in the security sector of partner countries. The approach aims to ensure
complementarity and coherence of these actions, based on human security and good governance
principles.
Central to increase the effectiveness of the EU support to SSR will be the development of
methodological tools. These include guidance for analysis of the security sector and joint
monitoring and evaluation guidelines and a dedicated risk management methodology applicable to
relevant external action instruments and CSDP. Furthermore and in line with the SSR Strategic
Framework, the EU has in the Spring of 2017 conducted integrated SSR-missions to the Central
African Republic, Somalia and Mali to assist the EU Delegations in preparing SSR coordination
matrices. These matrices, based on the existing national plans, strategies, coordination mechanisms
and available security sector analyses aim at providing a common vision of the EU support to SSR
in a given context, in line with the national ownership principle. The coordination matrices also take
into account actions supported by international partners leading to increased synergies and
consensus.
To meet increasing demands and to strengthen the effectiveness of EU supported SSR
actions on the ground additional technical expertise to partner countries will be supplied by the SSR
facility financed under the Instrument Contributing to Stability and Peace.
33 JOIN (2016) 31, 05/07/2016
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Conflict prevention
D. EU Conflict Early Warning System
In order to prevent the emergence, re-emergence or escalation of violent conflict early warning is
indispensable. A simpler and more transparent conflict Early Warning System with buy-in of the
Member States, EEAS and Commission services contributes to more accurate early identification of
risks/dynamics of violent conflict, contributing to taking early action to mitigate these risks.
The EU Early Warning System (EWS) is a robust, evidence-based risk management tool that
identifies, assesses and helps prioritise situations at risk of violent conflict for non-EU countries,
focusing on structural factors and with a time horizon of four years. The EU has adapted its EWS to
make it more inclusive and transparent, and briefed the PSC in December of last year. The EU
shared results from the Early Warning System more widely through PSC and Council Working
Groups and has engaged in dedicated discussions on priority countries on conflict prevention. Also,
under the new system, the EU's conflict prevention tools, like mediation support and security sector
reform, are more closely linked. The EU is now giving additional focus on implementation and
monitoring of early action and seeks involvement of EU Member States. To drive early action, EU
Delegations are involved more strongly in the process and Heads of Missions are expected to report
– together with Member States - on the implementation of early action. The EU has involved
Member States locally in the risk assessment workshops it has organised as part of the Early
Warning System.
The EU is looking into possibilities of making the Early Warning System more sensitive to climate
change, human rights, atrocities, and gender. If possible, indicators of resilience will be taken into
account. The EU is working on an atrocity prevention toolkit and is consulting civil society on how
it can benefit from their experiences in the field of promoting resilience. The EU is also following
up on the proposal by some Member States to create an informal Early Warning/Early Action
Group to discuss methodological issues and early warning findings.
E. Institutionalise a Prevention Approach and Early Action
"The costs of not preventing war and violent conflict are enormous. The human costs of war and
violent conflict include not only the visible and immediate – death, injury, destruction, displacement
– but also the distant and indirect repercussions for families, communities, local and national
institutions and economies, and neighbouring countries."4.
Where appropriate, country cases that are being discussed in the Foreign Affairs Council provide an
opportunity to include considerations for Conflict Prevention and mediation support. The
Commissioners Group on External Action also has a role in guiding early action by the EU, for
instance when stronger political support is needed and where early warning on new fragility-related
challenges is identified.
The EU is strengthening its partnership with the UN on conflict prevention. For example, the EU
and the UN recently agreed to hold quarterly video conferences to discuss concrete measures related
to conflict prevention and sustaining peace. The EU will attempt to strengthen cooperation with UN
Security Council, including through non-permanent EU members. Conflict prevention will be one
4 Kofi A. Annan. Prevention of Armed Conflict. Report of the Secretary General. February 2002.
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of the priorities for the EU during the upcoming UN General Assembly. Consideration could be
given to have more regular high level UN briefings (Special Representative of the Secretary-
General or other high-level UN officials) at the Foreign Affairs Council and the Political and
Security Committee.
Moreover, the EU is also strengthening its participation in other conflict prevention fora, such as
International Dialogue for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding, a tripartite partnership between the
Group of G7+, development partners and civil society, where it co-chairs the Implementation
Working Group for two years from 2017 onwards.
EU response to crises
F. Crisis Response
Upon the occurrence of a sudden, serious deterioration of the political, security and/or economic
situation or an event or development in a given country or region that might have an impact on the
security interests of the EU or the security of EU personnel or citizens5, the EU response should
envisage the use of all available resources in a coordinated and synergic way.
The EU should aim to enhance synergies between the EEAS Crisis Response Mechanism and
emergency response systems in different EU institutions, including IPCR Arrangements in the
Council and ARGUS in the Commission, while dedicating particular attention to further
strengthening synergies with DG ECHO's European Response Coordination Centre. The EU will
support the roll out of the Joint EU Consular Crisis Preparedness Framework together with EU
Member States, including the update of already existing crisis plan and follow-up of joint consular
crises exercises in third countries. The EU will explore possibilities for cooperation with the crisis
response mechanisms of Member States and key partners active in the crisis zone, such as the UN
and others. The EU will also enhance coordination of consular response to arising situations,
including by use of the consular components of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
G. CSDP
The effect of CSDP in response to conflict prevention, crisis and post-crisis situations is enhanced
when its missions and operations form part of the Integrated Approach in which all actions are
synchronised with each other. Maintaining the shared and close collaborative endeavours in work
on CSDP is crucial in delivering effect on the ground.
Under the Integrated Approach, CSDP structures will continue their coordination with other EEAS
and Commission services on CSDP related matters. They will enhance their involvement in the
broader work on external conflicts and crises, also in areas where CSDP is not (or not yet) engaged.
Moreover, in line with the Concept Note on the operational planning and conduct capabilities
5 This would include hybrid threats - of external nature or having an external dimension, potentially or actually
impacting EU's or any Member States' interests.
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agreed by Ministers in March 2017, an EEAS taskforce will be created to contribute to strategic
foresight on possible future conflicts and crises, and identify early actions, including CSDP
engagement where relevant. Member States will be duly informed and the crisis management
procedures will continue to guide the planning and decision-making process in line with Article 38
TEU. This taskforce will also facilitate increased coordination of CSDP with other EU policies
(such as support to SDG 16, migration policy, SSR policy and human rights policy). Also, the EU’s
Early Warning System and joint conflict analysis will be more actively used to support CSDP
planning and decision-making. Consideration could also be given to the possible mobilisation of
CSDP instruments and structures in support of EU consular crisis responses.
In consultation with the Commission, CSDP missions and operations will increase their work on the
implementation of the guidelines and practices of UN Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination, in
relation to areas related to both Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid.
H. Civil Protection and Humanitarian Issues
Effective humanitarian action must be based on a solid understanding of the multiple vulnerability
and risk factors that communities face, including conflict risks. Failure to do so can undermine or
reverse success, and ultimately could lead to an increase in humanitarian needs.
EU humanitarian aid is guided by the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and
independence. Although a key part of EU's overall response to crises, it is not a crisis management
instrument as such. It is provided solely on the basis of the needs of affected populations, in line
with the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid, and beyond any strategic, military, economic
or other EU objective ("In-but-Out").
Other EU instruments (notably development and foreign policy instruments) aim to contribute to
decreasing the humanitarian needs by addressing the root causes of instability and migration, and
related human suffering. The EU will advocate more strongly the importance of International
Humanitarian Law (IHL), through the monitoring of, enforcing or reporting on International
Humanitarian Law compliance, including in the context of CSDP, by providing intensified EU
Training Missions modules on IHL training, to ensure the protection of civilians, humanitarian and
medical staff and infrastructure. The EU will actively and consistently promote its objectives for
people affected by humanitarian crises, where applicable together with EU Member States, notably
through demarches for humanitarian access and the promotion of respect for IHL, as well as early
warning, de-confliction and protection.
Stabilisation and Transitional Justice
I. Stabilisation
On average, peace after a violent conflict lasts only seven years, 60% of all violent conflicts recur
and since 2000 the rate of recurrence has further risen. Therefore, post-conflict stabilisation is
essentially also conflict prevention. In order to break the cycle of violence it is imperative to work
in an integrated way, building both on lessons of previous engagements and on solid and shared
analysis of the situation at hand.
To strengthen the EU's stabilisation response the EU will draft a stabilisation concept and
guidelines based on prior and existing EU engagement and lessons learned as well as on the
principles laid out in the new European Consensus on Development. To improve the exchange of
information and strengthen coordination, the EU will support (informal) discussions on concrete
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and specific stabilisation efforts with Member States and key actors. In March 2017, EUISS
organised a seminar on an integrated approach to stabilisation and conflict prevention for which
Member States, academia, civil society and other actors were invited.
To ensure a coherent and swift EU stabilisation response, in the framework of the Common Foreign
and Security Policy, the EU will look at possibilities to implement stabilisation actions including
through the use of Article 28 TEU.
The EU is currently mapping existing surge mechanisms and mechanisms to access external
expertise (also from EU Member States), assess opportunities to gain in flexibility, speed and range
and prepare a proposal for an EEAS surge mechanism (roster). Finally, the EU has also started to
temporarily deploy EU staff from HQ into the field to support EU Delegations, on the basis of
needs identified by the EU Head of Delegation, to facilitate coordination of analysis and
instruments with Member States and other key actors. The EU antenna in Agadez is an example of
such a temporary deployment.
The EU will increase its capacity for monitoring and evaluation on engagement with external
conflicts and crises. EEAS and Commission services will draft a plan for mapping past experiences
in stabilisation, including through the EU's participation in Recovery and Peacebuilding
Assessments (RPBAs) carried out together with the United Nations and the World Bank.
J. Transitional Justice
Transitional Justice is the full range of processes and mechanisms associated with a society’s
attempts to come to terms with a legacy of large-scale past abuses, in order to ensure
accountability, serve justice and achieve reconciliation. Without transitional justice measures, the
chance of conflict or human rights violations and abuses re-occurring increases significantly. The
EU's Policy Framework on Support to Transitional Justice6 makes clear that any transitional
justice support must be context specific, centred on the victims and driven by the reality of the
situation on the ground.
Under the Integrated Approach, the EU will step up its efforts on transitional justice. The EU aims
at ensuring that the EU's support to transitional justice measures is embedded in the wider crisis
response, conflict prevention, security and development efforts of the EU. It will improve
coordination of transitional justice donors in country and at headquarter level to ensure efficient use
of resources. Also, the EU will look to provide additional technical expertise to partner countries,
reinforcing, where appropriate, EU Delegation efforts. The EU will, where relevant, make sure that
planning processes for CSDP missions assess how the mission and operation could support
transitional justice process. Finally, the EU will strengthen training opportunities for EU and
Member States staff on transitional justice.
6http://eeas.europa.eu/archives/docs/top_stories/pdf/the_eus_policy_framework_on_support_to_transitional_justic
e.pdf
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