Stability and fragility

There were an estimated 43 fragile states worldwide in 2010. They are characterised by weak state structures, weak internal cohesion and great inequality together with massive challenges from extreme poverty, armed conflict and instability. They are almost all affected by conflict or emerging from conflict and the majority are in Africa.

Conflicts in fragile states spread instability to other countries and regions and in the world, and in the worse case can lead to these countries and regions becoming breeding grounds for global threats, as witnessed in Somalia and Afghanistan. Fragile states thus constitute one of the most significant  challenges to peace and stability in the world. Approximately 600 million people live in fragile states, and as every third of these inhabitants is estimated to live in extreme poverty (less than 1 USD a day), these states also constitute a considerable global challenge to poverty reduction and economic development.

A strong, targeted effort will be necessary in fragile states to relieve poverty and counteract armed conflict and its consequences. For many years Denmark has been among world leaders in the area of development assistance. To this may be added our participation in complex stabilisation interventions in a number of the world’s hotspots. By virtue of these efforts, Denmark is building up knowledge, experience and international credibility that enable us to play a special role in fragile, conflict–afflicted countries.

In the coming years Denmark will upgrade its efforts in these countries. This will take its point of departure in the policy paper "Peace and stabilisation – Denmark’s policy towards fragile states" which establishes priority areas and principles for our own efforts and for our contribution to enhancing the overall engagement of the international community in this important area.

There must be a thread in Danish engagement in fragile states and this thread is  ”combination and coordination”. This requires that we strengthen  the integration of interventions in fragile states. There should be clear cohesion between Danish foreign policy, development policy and security policy in relation to fragile states. We know from experience that situations that are extremely acute and complex necessitate efforts that draw on a wide range of military, political, humanitarian, stabilisation and development instruments with respect for fundamental humanitarian principles.

A key focus for Denmark in fragile states will be to contribute to building up states where the support of the population constitutes the primary authority. This presupposes that the voices of the citizens are heard. It also requires that the authorities are capable of undertaking the security of the country itself, of protecting human rights, supplying basic services and managing the country’s development processes. We must assist these countries in reaching the “turning point” at which a more standard development effort is sufficient. This will require bringing many diverse types of assistance  into play, and that at country level — and within an international framework — we set up clear goals and risk assessments. Denmark will concentrate its efforts on six areas where the needs are particularly great in the fragile states:

• Security stabilisation
• Promoting living conditions and economic opportunities
• Democratic development, good governance and human rights 
• Conflict prevention
• Regional conflict management
• Strengthened multilateral interventions in the UN, the EU and NATO

Humanitarian assistance

Danish humanitarian aid is targeted at acute situations where war, natural disaster or famine threaten a population. 300 million people are affected by humanitarian disasters every day of the year. Denmark emphasises providing swift, targeted aid when disaster occurs, but we also support efforts in connection with lengthy crises that are not solved quickly, as, for example, in Sudan, Afghanistan and Somalia.