Conflict in the Europe and Eurasia Region  | |  Europe and Eurasia region (E&E)
E&E countries with USAID missions
Counries and areas experiencing violent,
armed conflict* within the last 5 years
* At least 60 conflict-related deaths | Overview
Although conflict has declined since the 1990's, parts of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe still suffer from the effects of war. Others are at risk for new rounds of armed violence. The region's wars have inflicted tremendous costs, including hundreds of thousands of lives lost, housing and infrastructure destroyed, intensification of organized crime, trafficking in persons, and weakened institutions of governance.
In the Balkans, the conditions that unleashed the worst violence in Europe since World War II persist. Corruption, organized crime, and a strong undercurrent of nationalist politics keep the region volatile. Deep inter-ethnic tensions are aggravated by high unemployment, large numbers of displaced persons, and unresolved questions about Kosovo. Kosovo status continues to loom despite the conclusion of final status talks and the delivery of Ahtisaari’s report to the UN, given both Russian and Serbian apprehension to accept supervised independence of Kosovo. With both Kosovo Serb and Kosovo Albanian frustration mounting over the progress of the international community’s ability to reach settlement, the region remains tense.
The Central Asian countries of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan still contend with numerous disputes tied to the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The growing potential for civil unrest in these countries is driven by political and religious repression, extremist movements, corruption, economic stagnation, and the absence of democratic reform. Events in Uzbekistan exemplify this state weakness in light of growth in both civil society entities and Islamic movements.
Georgia's "Rose Revolution" brought new hope to the Caucasus, but conflict remains an issue in the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Armenia and Azerbaijan's bitter dispute over Nagorno Karabakh remains frozen, with more than one million displaced persons and refugees remaining uprooted by war. In Russia, the conflict with Chechnya remains at a slow burn, and tensions elsewhere in the North Caucasus have risen.
The Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation (DCHA/CMM) supports missions in Europe & Eurasia through analysis, training, and program design. The office has conducted conflict assessments in Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro, and Kyrgyzstan.
The Europe and Eurasia Region receives program funds through the Support for Eastern European Democracy and Freedom Support Acts. Because of this, DCHA/CMM primarily provides technical assistance to the Bureau and Missions on conflict assessments and the design and evaluation of conflict programs.
Our Work: Country and Regional Highlights
The Europe and Eurasia Region receives program funds through the Support for Eastern European Democracy and Freedom Support Acts. Because of this, DCHA/CMM primarily provides technical assistance to the Bureau and Missions on conflict assessments and the design and evaluation of conflict programs.
Central Asia
The USAID Central Asia mission and the Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation (DCHA/CMM) conducted an assessment of conflict programs including the Community Action Investment Program (CAIP) in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, which ended in FY 2005. As a result of the assessment in Kyrgyzstan, DCHA/CMM developed a program description for a task order focused on democratic policing.
DCHA/CMM also delivered a two-day conflict training and one-day Partners Conference to USAID in Kazakhstan to USAID staff and partners working throughout the Central Asian Republics. The training program was the Office’s first field-based pilot run of five conflict training modules, which focused on youth livelihoods, religion, local governance, land and water management, and democratic policing.
Serbia/Kosovo
In March 2005, DCHA/CMM led USAID teams that worked both jointly and separately to conduct conflict assessments in Kosovo and Serbia. The purpose of both assessments was to review sources of current conflict and identify areas of potential instability. With Serbia entering into highly-charged “final status” negotiations with Kosovo, the two teams were able to conduct key parts of the assessment together and make several joint programming recommendations to the two missions, in addition to carrying out comprehensive, independent appraisals reflecting the unique conflict dynamics in each country. Separately, recommendations to Kosovo resulted in DCHA/CMM working with the Mission to develop a project to assess and broaden public support for the talks with Serbia, thereby contributing to a more stable and peaceful Kosovo, and Balkan region.
Specifically, the Support to Peace and Stability in Kosovo program increases the understanding of public opinion concerning the status talks as well as inter-ethnic media cooperation and coverage of final status negotiations while also developing broadcast media content that enables the people of Kosovo to understand the community needs behind divisive political positions addressed in the status talks. Activities include inter-ethnic journalist documentaries, a TV magazine and a reality show.
The Caucasus Region and Russia
At the request of USAID/Russia, DCHA/CMM analyzed the growing risks of a wider conflict in the North Caucasus region, as well as ways to address the ongoing conflict in Chechnya.
DCHA/CMM provided $1 million to USAID/Russia to support the development of pilot programs to demonstrate how assistance can inhibit the spread of conflict in the region and mitigate some of the costs of violence in Chechnya. This money was supplemented by a $5 million earmark in Freedom Support Funds which DCHA/CMM assisted USAID/Russia in programming. DCHA/CMM funds support five programs, run by international humanitarian organizations and local non-government organizations, that:
• promote youth tolerance through activities that bring young people from different regions together around their common interests;
• support economic recovery through community development programs and small infrastructure rehabilitation;
• provide psychosocial counseling for victims and families of the Beslan school tragedy;
• promote economic recovery through the development and effective provision of microcredit lending; and
• support psycho-social programs for internally displaced persons in Ingushetiya.
DCHA/CMM also provided support to the Georgian Government to encourage their peace building efforts with Abkhazia. Through their contractor, DCHA/CMM advised the Georgian government on comparative state practice, international legal norms, and standards used during similar peace negotiations. Working within the Georgian government, the DCHA/CMM implementer was able to facilitate the ability of the government to see the peace process from a new perspective. Specifically, the government recognized the tactical advantage of taking the lead in the peace process and recently asked for assist in drafting a peace agreement, a key step to moving the peace process forward.
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