Security and Counter-Proliferation

We have played a vital role in efforts of the international community to support co-operative threat reduction in the areas of nuclear non-proliferation and counter-terrorism. Our management of UK Government programmes in the former Soviet Union and Libya has created alternative opportunities in the civil sector for specialists with weapon-related expertise.

Security is fundamental to human well-being and therefore to meeting international development targets. Tackling insecurity takes many forms, from instilling the principles of good governance and social justice to creating pathways into legitimate employment and the conversion of defence facilities.

In the developing world, key aspects of insecurity are bad governance; conflict; high crime rates and violence, particularly in urban areas; and international organised crime. These problems are particularly intense in post-conflict and politically unstable societies.

At the international level, security is threatened by the increased proliferation of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. The collapse of the Soviet Union both politically and economically has increased the threat of nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological material and expertise falling into the hands of rogue states and terrorists. The international community has responded through provision of funding to scientists and by promoting the broader economic development of communities dependent on these facilities for their livelihoods.

HTSPE has been involved in building security in two ways:

working with fragile and post-conflict states to build peaceful and prosperous societies; and
through minimising the risk of nuclear proliferation in post-Soviet states and elsewhere.

We have developed a holistic approach to building peaceful and secure societies in developing and post-Soviet countries which addresses the fundamental problems of:

powerlessness, discrimination and disrespect for basic rights;
high unemployment and limited economic opportunity; and
ineffective or bad governance

The scope of our work has included:

institution and capacity building in fragile and post-conflict states for both governments and civil society;
supporting economic development and diversification – taking windows of opportunity as they arise;
re-monetising markets through micro-credit schemes;
finding alternative employment for highly skilled but impoverished and demotivated staff through mobilising financial and human resources for industrial restructuring and funding and business support for SMEs; and
strengthening the capacity of local government to manage local economic development.

The geographical range of our work on security and counter-proliferation includes Afghanistan, Nigeria, Russian Federation, Libya, Nicaragua, Liberia, Palestine, Sudan, Kenya, Iraq, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Pakistan and Nepal.

Russian Federation: UK-Russia Closed Nuclear Cities Partnership

The CNCP programme is a £40 million partnership between the UK and Russian governments to create alternative employment in six of the ten Closed Nuclear Cities of the Russian Federation, where approximately 150,000 workers are employed. Of these workers an estimated 70,000 will be surplus to defence requirements by 2010. HTSPE is managing the programme of business support and funding with the aim of creating over 2000 new jobs, and is strengthening the capacity of the municipalities to manage local economic development. CNCP is part of the UK’s Global Threat Reduction programme. Parallel activity is also underway in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Project Management Services provided by HTSPE include:

Assisting DTI/DECC in all aspects of the project cycle with regard to the UK Global Threat Reduction Programme on addressing the nuclear legacy in FSU countries.
Designing projects to ensure effective use of UK Government’s financial contribution and value for money.
Market research and business planning to assess the viability of business expansion projects.
Sub-contracting activities associated with projects, monitoring progress and performance and ensuring certification, quality assurance and risk management.
Implementation of local economic development and support tasks (e.g. workshops and study visits).
Communicating the aims and results.
Implementation of the UK-Russia Closed Nuclear Cities Partnership (CNCP).
Providing experts for developing technologies from the closed nuclear cities to commercialisation.
Mentoring support to SMEs and institutes in the preparation and implementation of job creation projects.
Supporting the sustainable development of the towns through local economic development.
Grant disbursal for business expansion.
Publicising the partnership through its website (www.cncp.ru) and a regular newsletter.

See more details in the links below.

Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Chad, Aceh/Indonesia, Colombia and South Africa: Security and Development Study

This study provided detailed country case studies to enable the implementation of a broader EU document on Security and Development.

The specific objectives of this assignment were to identify to what extent:

development cooperation activities are playing an active role in promoting security, conflict prevention and peace-building in countries in transition as well as in more crisis-affected situations;
development, humanitarian and crisis management activities are taking a conflict-sensitive approach in relation to insecurity and conflict-affected situations;
security and crisis management activities are integrating a development perspective and are taking into account the distinct mandate and role of humanitarian aid organisations; and
there are emerging practices as well as weaknesses in sequencing and coordination of EU activities in the areas where security and development policies interplay.

Afghanistan: Helmand Alternative Livelihoods Programme.

The objective of this assignment was to support the implementation of the Helmand Provincial Government’s Counter-Narcotics (CN) Alternative Livelihoods plan 2009/2010 by:

identifying opportunities for economic growth and the development of alternative livelihoods in Helmand;
supplying technical assistance to farmers; and
building capacity of the Provincial Government.

The HTSPE team conducted an initial assessment of the context of the Helmand wheat and wider agricultural market, the existing capacity and potential areas of corruption. The delivery phase of the project included providing technical assistance, implementing value-adding activities and making recommendations on future developments. The programme had an emphasis on monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and capacity building. A programme of capacity building was also designed, and Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock extension workers trained.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Assessment of Local Authorities Capacity to Implement Return Programmes

The objective was to support the return of displaced persons and refugees by helping the local authorities, at both state and entity level, responsible for the implementation of return programmes. The study made a realistic assessment of the problems and opportunities and identified priorities and constraints. Alternative solutions were also identified and individually appraised in terms of relevance and feasibility and ensured that the preferred solution met the sustainability criteria.

The objectives of the project were to:

provide background information on the sector and the current sector-related local authorities structures;
define policy and operational constraints, which need to be resolved before assistance can be initiated;
assess capacity of local authorities;
assess the feasibility of the intervention with regard to technical, economic, financial, institutional and managerial aspects;
assess the potential sustainability of the project results after completion; and
recommend the next steps.

To view more detail or additional projects please click on the links below:

Project Management of Closed Nuclear Cities Partnership (CNCP)
Canadian Contribution to the UK Closed Nuclear Cities Partnership/Centres Programme
Fragile & Conflict Affected States Framework Agreement (FCAS)