Official Development Assistance needs to be looked at through peacebuilding lenses

"Official Development Assistance (ODA) needs to be looked at again through peacebuilding lenses so as to reflect current developmental challenges," said the EPP Group's Spokesman in the Development Committee, Davor Ivo Stier, at the annual workshop between Members of the Committee on Development and CONCORD, the European Confederation of Relief and Development NGOs.

Currently, 1.5 billion people live in fragile and conflict-affected regions worldwide. Fragile states and ungoverned spaces are spreading, leaving many in poverty, lawlessness, thriving corruption and violence.

Sustainable development is not possible without peace and security - and peace is not possible without development Davor Ivo Stier

The EPP Group believes that there is a need to establish a clear link between development and security. "Sustainable development is not possible without peace and security - and peace is not possible without development. The development-security nexus has been reflected in the new 2030 Agenda through the introduction of Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG) on peace and justice. SDG 16 addresses the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, with access to justice for all. But in order to be able to implement SDG 16, we need to make substantial changes, both at the EU and the OECD level, in order to finance related activities," claims Stier, who is also the Parliament’s Rapporteur for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Peacebuilding is chronically underfinanced although it is clear that peace is the basic precondition to sustainable development

Stier believes that the EU needs to lead the discussions under the OECD on redesigning ODA. "There are clear indications that allocations to peacebuilding and to institution-building — which are closely related — in conflict-affected countries are seriously inadequate. In a group of 31 conflict-affected countries, critical institution-building in the political, security and justice areas received less than 10 percent of Official Development Assistance (ODA) during the 2002-2013 period.

Peacebuilding is chronically underfinanced, although it is clear that peace is the basic precondition to sustainable development.