CAPMATCH - Post-Conflict Transitions to Peace



Press Conference
Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York

PRESS CONFERENCE ON LAUNCH OF CAPMATCH, UNITED NATIONS ONLINE PLATFORM FOR EXCHANGING EXPERIENCES IN POST-CONFLICT TRANSITIONS

United Nations officials today launched an online platform for the exchange of information on expertise to support countries emerging from conflict in building institutions for inclusive governance, security, justice, jobs, economic growth and service delivery among other areas.  (See Press Release PKO/319 of 20 September.)

“It’s a simple way to get expertise that meets your needs,” said Sarah Cliffe, Special Adviser and Assistant Secretary-General for Civilian Capacities of the platform, known as CAPMATCH.  It provided a site for Government agencies and civil society organizations around the world to set out the kinds of experts they had available with “real, practical problem-solving experience”, to match global needs, she added.

Accompanied at the launch by Christopher Coleman, Director of the Civilian Capacities Project, and Shahrooz Badkoubei of the Civilian Capacities Office, Ms. Cliffe noted that in a wide range of country situations — from Liberia to Haiti to Côte d’Ivoire to Timor-Leste — there existed a broad range of needs for institution-building, a critical element in keeping countries from falling back into instability.

“The international community has not always been so good at providing that assistance,” she said.  The self-service, global nature of the site allowed countries to provide a wider range of expertise, from groups based both in countries that had partnered with others emerging from conflict, and those in countries that had themselves undertaken institution-building.  That was important because there was no single model for institutional transformation.  In addition, the participation of both Governments and civil society would provide the broadest experience available.

Projecting a page of CAPMATCH, Mr. Coleman and Mr. Badkoubei provided the example of a search for experts in “economic revitalization”.  On the site, Mr. Coleman said, one would come up with a variety of experts from Indonesia, as described by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with experience in coordinating capacity-building programmes in microfinance and support to small and medium-sized enterprises in places as diverse as Fiji and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.  In the same search, one would also pull up, among other things, expertise offered through the Government of Spain with experience in working with Governments to develop technical plans, for example, vocational centres targeting youth employment, and experts in development and capacity-building listed by the Norwegian Refugee Council.  Those facing gaps had a broad menu to pick from, he added.

In response to questions, Ms. Cliffe said that, although the site was generated by the United Nations, countries and civil society organizations would exchange information directly.  The Organization’s missions and country teams could use it as a source for partners, but would not process offers and needs, she added.  “We don’t expect the UN to be the bottleneck in those exchanges.”

Individual listings of available experts would not be featured on the site since such information changed quickly, she said, adding that it would be more viable to feature organizations and Governments that had available experts.

Mr. Coleman added that his office was still in touch with members of the Senior Advisory Group on Civilian Capacity, which had produced a study of the best ways to mobilize civilian capacity for post-conflict situations (document A/65/747-S/2011/85).  CAPMATCH could be seen as one of the outcomes of that endeavour, he said.

September 24, 2012

CAPMATCH: United Nations Invites Input from Governments and NGOs on Post-Conflict Transitions to Peace

The United Nations has launched an online platform that will allow countries to share their post-conflict transition experiences, and learn from policies and peacebuilding strategies put in place by nations who have undergone similar changes.  “Peacebuilding requires great flexibility, and approaches tailored to a given situation. Civilian capacities are crucially important, and we are taking steps to be able to deploy the right experts to the right place at the right time,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a news release on the platform, CAPMATCH.

Open to both government and non-government organizations, and part of the UN Civilian Capacities Initiative launched last year, CAPMATCH aims to capture diverse experiences, in particular from the global South, according to the Office of the UN Civilian Capacities Project.  The first participants include Indonesia, South Africa, Morocco, Brazil, Egypt, Benin, Kenya, Thailand and Nigeria – as well as organizations from Norway, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland, which maintain networks of skilled individuals from both North and South. 

The principle underlying the platform is one of equal partnership between countries, recognising that there is no single model for institution-building, and that countries may want to look at several different types of experience and adapt these to their own national contexts. Initial examples of how the platform is being used include Liberia requesting support in implementing its national capacity development strategy, Cote d’Ivoire offering to share its experience of its first post-conflict election process while also asking for further external exchanges to continue to build the functions of its independent electoral commission, and Timor- Leste offering its experience in public finances and oil revenue management, while also requesting expertise in vocational training and job creation.

“I believe CAPMATCH will make a real difference,” said the Special Adviser and Assistant Secretary-General for Civilian Capacities, Sarah Cliffe, in a news release. “I am delighted that such a broad range of Member States and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), two thirds of them from the global South, have already signed up. I encourage more government agencies and civil society organizations to take part – the broader the participation, the more useful CAPMATCH will be.” The UN is seeking to involve a wide range of partners, including government agencies with specialized sectoral experience, NGOs, and diaspora associations.
(UN Press Release)