Madagascar - IOM, UN agencies and the Malagasy Ministry for Economy and Planning today (26/08) signed a USD 3 million UN Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) grant agreement for a 28-month joint initiative on Security Sector Reform (SSR) in Madagascar.

Evaluations conducted by the African Union (AU), the UN and the European Union (EU) have shown that national law enforcement agencies are not adequately trained and equipped to respond to the population’s needs in terms of security, which has led to instability in the country.

This initiative brings together IOM, UNDP, IOM, UNICEF, UNFPA and OHCHR to provide a concerted intervention that will focus on the implementation of a participatory and multi-stakeholder SSR national strategy; the development of capacities for law enforcement agencies to implement their mandate effectively; the accountability of security forces; and on fostering trust between security forces and the local populations they serve.

In particular, IOM has been given the responsibility to ensure that issues of border management are comprehensively integrated into the SSR for Madagascar.

Activities to be implemented by IOM will include among others: the realization of a comprehensive border management assessment; sensitization training on integrated border management concepts; a study tour to showcase proven practices and benefits of integrated border management; upgrades in infrastructure, equipment and systems for two pilot integrated border platforms; and support to training curricula development and capacity building trainings.

Madagascar is still recovering from a five-year political crisis (2009–2014) that significantly degraded the capacity of the State to police its territory and provide services to its citizens. With more than 5,000 km of coastline and owing to its strategic location across the Mozambique Channel in the Western Indian Ocean, the porosity of its borders has left it open to a range of transnational and national criminal and illegal activities.

“This initiative is innovative in the sense that border management has never before been considered as an integral component of the security sector. We very much look forward to making available IOM’s expertise to ensure sustainable peace dividends through well-managed borders,” said Daniel Silva y Poveda, IOM Madagascar Head of Office.

The UN PBF was established in 2006 to support activities, programs and organizations that seek to build a lasting peace in countries emerging from conflict and crisis situations. Since 2006, the Fund has contributed over USD 700 million to stabilization and peace. Nonetheless, in recent years, demands have grown and PBF has initiated a call to donors to meet the USD 100 million needed for its normal operations.

IOM will be the second largest recipient under this grant for Madagascar. Worldwide, IOM has implemented grants from the PBF in Libya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nepal and South Sudan in the fields of psychosocial support, conflict prevention; and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR), among others.

For further information, please contact Daniel Silva y Poveda at IOM Madagascar,  Tel: +261325654954, Email: dsilva@iom.int