Note No. 59 March 2001 Building Cooperation in Post-Conflict Areas: Rwanda Community Reintegration and Development Project Social Development Best Practice Elements · Multi-dimensional approach to poverty reduction aimed at enhancing opportunities, capabilities, empowerment, and security of the poor · Institutionalized mechanisms for participation and decentralized implementation · Ongoing monitoring and evaluation of social development outcomes by the government and community Since the 1980s, 15 of the world's 20 poorest countries Rwanda Community and Reintegration and have been riddled by violent conflicts, most of them Development Project is a best practice example of internal. The 1992-96 civil war in Rwanda was rooted promoting the social and economic integration of the in decades of social and economic exclusion. Such poor amid ethnic tensions in a post-conflict situation. conflicts seriously weaken fragile economies, erasing the gains of social and economic development and Participation in Peace-Building increasing debt burdens. The destruction of physical assets, disruption of trade links, decimation of In late 1996, large numbers of refugees returned to institutional capacity, and loss of human capital can Rwanda after four years of civil war. Following a Joint take years to rebuild. Assessment Mission by the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the The burden of recovery is particularly heavy for the new government of Rwanda proposed a strategy of poor. Typically, the poor are recruited to fight such decentralization, in which communes would plan and wars. Re-establishing their livelihoods is a crucial part implement development projects as a means to of demobilization. The transition to peace and stability facilitate community reintegration. invariably involves delicate negotiations and requires a high degree of transparency for trust in government to During the pilot project, use of Participatory Rural be rebuilt. Appraisals (PRAs) enabled community members to voice their concerns. The Bank provided technical In Rwanda, postwar poverty is widespread, especially assistance and mobilized local nongovernmental in the rural regions. The World Bank-supported organizations (NGOs) and consultants for the PRAs to _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ This project was recognized as Best Practice in Social Development by the Social Development Family and received an award for Excellence in Quality at Entry from the Quality Assurance Group (QAG). The task team leader was Markus Kostner. This best practice note was prepared by Kathleen Kuehnast. The views expressed in this note are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the World Bank. identify local needs and priorities. In the words of one organizational capacity. Many qualifying communes community elder, "This is the first time we are asked turn out to be from extremely poor rural regions. what we need. If this is the approach this Government is taking, we will finally be able to develop our Empowering the Socially Excluded country." Participatory methods identify vulnerable groups, The Rwandan Ministry of Interior established including the homeless, widows, orphans, the disabled, Community Development Committees (CDCs) at the and refugees, the majority of whom are impoverished. commune level to act as the project's decisionmaking Although specific mechanisms of inclusion are up to bodies, and the Project Coordination Management Unit individual CDCs, the project specifies that at least one (PCMU) to coordinate projects nationwide. The of the two elected members from each cellule (a PCMU contracts with a team of local consultants to commune subdivision) must be female, and that build PRA capacity and to inform communities about women must be incorporated in training activities. project opportunities. The team assists CDCs to Women's NGOs also are expected to be involved in develop and finalize Community Development Plans the CDC effort. (CDPs). Each commune is responsible for hiring an accountant and a Community Development agent, who Because of its focus on rebuilding social capital and oversees local implementation. diminishing cleavages among groups, the project does not directly raise the sensitive issue of ethnicity. Plan Qualifications Nevertheless, the project is critically aware that the government and donor-supported projects should not To qualify for support under the project, CDPs must be seen as benefiting one group, such as the Tutsis, adhere to the following principles: more than the Hutu. · Enhance the opportunities for self-reliance of Project Development in Uncharted Territory vulnerable populations and communities. · Strengthen local capacity to implement At the forefront of community development, the reintegration and development activities. project uses a novel and promising approach that · Promote sensitivity to gender equity and to builds partnerships between local populations and local protection of the specially disadvantaged (female- administrations to enhance ownership of development. headed households, widows, orphans, and the The project attempts to achieve decentralization disabled) in decisionmaking. through institution building. In Rwanda, very few skills · Maximize grassroots participation and input in the exist for conflict-resolution, financial management, or project cycle. consensus building. Therefore, the project pays great · Encourage trust building through community- attention to creating capacity in central and local based reintegration and development activities and administrations, local committees, and community- increase conflict resolution capacity at the based groups. To this end, it defers decisionmaking, communal level. financial management, and subproject supervision to the communities, leaving only coordination and Under the project, each commune is allocated monitoring to be carried out at the central level. approximately US$240,000 to finance subprojects that address the community's infrastructure, income- The Rwanda Community Reintegration and generation, and capacity-building needs. The three-to- Development project is being implemented in an five year Community Development Plan determines environment of high insecurity, both political and how the funds will be spent. Project proposals social. As in other post-conflict areas in which fragile incorporate the use of PRAs, which rely on the government and social processes can rapidly beneficiaries for ideas and solutions to local problems. deteriorate, establishing transparency in-country Communes are selected based on socioeconomic monitoring and supervision is critical to ensure long- criteria that denote the degree of war-related term project success. destruction, number of returnees, and local "Social Development Notes" are published informally by the Social Development Family in the Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Network of the World Bank. 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