Africa Region Findings & Good Practice Infobriefs

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Child Soldiers - Lessons Learned on Prevention, Demobilization, and Reintegration

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2002-05) Verhey, Beth

As highlighted in the seminal UN study on the "Impact of armed conflict on children," an increased involvement of recent decades, stands as one of the most egregious child rights violations. Yet, a new study "Child soldiers: preventing, demobilizing, and reintegrating," demonstrates that children, and youth involved in armed conflict can re-engage positive social relations, and productive civilian lives. Such reintegration of child soldiers, in tandem with community recovery for children affected by armed conflict, is a key area of post-conflict reconstruction, and sustainable development goals. The study draws on experiences, and lessons learned, primarily from in-depth case studies in Angola and El Salvador, and integrates other country program experiences. Prevention lessons outline the vital role of civil society, and the need for external support; demobilization lessons stress that child soldiers must be specifically included in peace agreements and demobilization processes; and, reintegration lessons highlight three components essential to effective reintegration: family reunification; psychosocial support; and, education and economic opportunity.
Promoting Good Governance with Social Funds and Decentralization

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2001-04) Parker, Andrew

Bad governance undermines development. Two important types of World Bank support for local governance are social funds and broadly based support for governments committed to decentralizing responsibility and power to local governments and other local institutions. But there are concerns that these two approaches, which address different elements of governance, sometimes work at cross-purposes. A study was therefore commissioned to examine the interaction between social funds and decentralization in Bolivia and Honduras (advanced decentralization), Peru and Zimbabwe (some decentralization), and Cambodia, Malawi, and Zambia (little or no decentralization). This Note is based on the findings of the study.
Impact of the Uruguay Round on Sub-Saharan Africa

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 1996-07) Harrold, Peter

There are six principal reasons why the Uruguay Round (UR) is of interest to Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries: it will be a boost to the world economy and to demand; It covers agriculture for the first time, especially temperate crops; Non-tariff barriers (NTBs) are critical for Africa, and these are to be abolished; tariff escalation comes down in the round, encouraging industrialization; there are potential losses of preferences for African exporters; and there are new obligations associated with World Trade Organization (WTO) membership. This study, the impact of the Uruguay round on Africa, therefore attempts to measure these different factors to assess their quantitative importance for Africa.
Developing Financial Mechanisms for Long-Term Funding of Biodiversity Conservation

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 1993-10) Larsen, Jeri

On March 12, 1992, the Regional Environment Divisions and the Global Environment Facility Administration in the Environment Department sponsored a one-day workshop. Conservation professionals, financial and legal specialists, and Bank operational staff involved with biodiversity, particularly Global Environment Facility (GEF) projects, gathered to discuss trust funds, endowments, and foundations as a means of providing long-term, continuous funding for biodiversity conservation. Following this, another workshop focusing on trust fund design for GEF biodiversity projects was held on July 31, 1992. The paper previewed in this article outlines the main issues and operational lessons from both workshops. It is dividied into three subheadings. The first section deals with issues in setting up a long-term financial mechanism; the second section addresses special considerations for the GEF; and the third summarizes conclusions from both workshops.