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7 ILSA J. Int'l & Comp. L. 285 (2000-2001)
The International Financial Institutions and the United Nations: The Theory and Practice of International Financial Assistance to Emerging and Transition Economies and States in Crisis

handle is hein.journals/ilsaic7 and id is 293 raw text is: THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
AND THE UNITED NATIONS: THE THEORY AND
PRACTICE OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL
ASSISTANCE TO EMERGING AND TRANSITION
ECONOMIES AND STATES IN CRISIS
Karen Hudes*
Reconstruction of countries emerging from conflict is at the heart of
development. Since 1980, almost half of all low-income countries have
experienced conflict, and nearly every country in Africa has either experienced
major conflict, or borders on a country which has.' Conflict has brought
Yugoslavia into poverty, and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, postwar incomes were
about one-fourth of 1990 incomes. Real per capita income in Lebanon in 1990
was estimated at one-third its 1975 level in dollar terms. Fifteen of the world's
poorest countries have experienced significant periods of conflict since the
1980s.
What is post-conflict reconstruction? This is a process which supports the
transition from conflict to peace in an affected country through rebuilding the
socioeconomic framework of the society. Reconstruction does not refer only
to reconstruction of physical infrastructure. What is needed is a reconstruction
of the enabling conditions for a functioning peacetime society in the framework
of governance and rule of law. The role of external agencies, including the
World Bank (Bank) is not to implement this process but, rather, to support it.
Often, conflicts are linked to competition for scarce resources, and in this
context development strategies can play a role in enhancing or reducing
tensions. In the past five years the World Bank has made more than $400
million in grants from its surplus earnings to post-conflict governments and to
the United Nations system. The World Bank is part of a Conflict Prevention
and Post-Conflict Reconstruction Network, which consists of the United
Nations, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as well as bilateral donor
agencies, humanitarian aid agencies, and foundations.2 This network met in
*   Senior Counsel, the World Bank. This article represents the views of Karen Hudes and are not
those of the World Bank or its members.
I.  During the 1990s, there have been 39 major conflicts, and since 1989 the United Nations has
mounted more than twenty-five peacekeeping forces.
2.  Canadian International Development Agency, Department for International Development,
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische
Zusammenarbeit, European Community Humanitarian Office, Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and

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