Strengthening the Rule of Law in Crisis-affected and Fragile Situations: Global Programme Annual Report 2011

The rule of law is a state in which individuals, communities and governments submit to, obey and are regulated consistently by law, and not arbitrary action by an individual or a group of individuals. The notion of “consistency” is important. It means that regardless of colour, creed, origin, religion or sexuality, the law is applied consistently or in plainer terms “fairly”. Rule of law is critical to enable development in conflict-affected and fragile countries. Organised violence, whether caused by criminal activity or conflict, leads to insecurity, abuse and perceptions of injustice.
In the worst situations life becomes cheap. This impacts development because people who fear for their lives and see no end to injustice, often do not plan for the future – sometimes to the extent of failing to plant crops. Measures of development consistently demonstrate that contexts classified as fragile and or conflict-affected perform badly against many indicators, most notably the millennium development goals (MDGs). There is also evidence to suggest that the necessary preoccupation with the present in conflicts can lead to dramatic deterioration of indicators, which can mean that conflict will lead to further crisis, like famine.