DFID Programmes in Armenia

In response to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh (1988-1994), DFID is supporting The Consortium Initiative (CI), which draws together four different Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), in a three-year £2.2m project underpinning the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution process.

In 2006 DFID started the regional project “Civil Society Participation in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) - A Regional Approach to Conflict Resolution”, implemented by Crisis Management Initiative (CMI). This initiative works with the civil society dimension in conflict resolution through the Europeanisation perspective by creating a regional partnership network of four leading NGOs/think tanks from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova. The goal is to promote a civil society dialogue with respective governments, which will be done through the setting up of national expert councils, which will work with their respective government on issues regarding the European Neighbourhood Policy and peace-building approaches.

Another regional project that DFID started in 2006 is “Promoting Civil Sector Participation in the Dialogue on European Integration” implemented by the Eurasia Foundation. The project has three goals:

• promote regional cooperation on three key issues within the framework of the ENP Action Plans;
• foster dialogue and collaboration between government and public policy organizations in each country on implementation of ENP Action Plans;
• raise awareness of the concrete benefits of European integration and the ENP process among journalists’ and the general public.

DFID will continue to focus effort between now and the end of 2008, to make its activities sustainable, to disseminate messages on lessons learned to a wider audience, and to identify any opportunities for continued engagement with multilateral organisations operating in Armenia, such as the World Bank, UNDP, OECD and in particular the EU and its new European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) designed to support Armenia’s Action Plan.

Following Armenia’s classification by OECD/DAC as middle income country, DFID has taken the decision to conclude its bilateral assistance programme by the end of 2008 to consolidate its efforts and build on achievement, and to shift the focus to a broader developmental engagement based on the UK’s membership of multilateral organisations.

DFID will also focus on improving governance and conflict resolution through the Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP). In particular by improving the capacity of regional governments to reduce poverty via pro-poor economic growth, and by building on local human capacity and linkages between local stakeholders.

Last updated 23 May 2007