The MOD, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Department for International Development (DFID) work together on conflict prevention, stabilisation and peacekeeping.
There are two joint funding instruments, which are managed tri-departmentally: the Peacekeeping Budget pays for the Government's legally binding commitments (assessed costs) to UN, OSCE and EU peacekeeping missions; and the Conflict Pool funds discretionary activities that support conflict prevention and stabilisation and contribute to peacekeeping overseas.
Both the Conflict Pool and the Peacekeeping Budget are funded from a joint Treasury settlement, which is separate and complementary to MOD, FCO and DFID departmental budgets. The Spending Review, published in October 2010, set out the funding settlement for the period from 2011-2015 as follows:
Conflict Resources Settlement for 2011-2015 (£m)
Peacekeeping:
- 2011/12 = 374
- 2012/13 = 374
- 2013/14 = 374
- 2014/15 = 374
Conflict Pool:
- 2011/12 = 256
- 2012/13 = 270
- 2013/14 = 290
- 2014/15 = 309
Total Settlement:
- 2011/12 = 256
- 2012/13 = 270
- 2013/14 = 290
- 2014/15 = 309
As set out in the SDSR, the Conflict Pool will increase from £229 million in 2010/11 to over £300 million in 2014/15. This will enable us to deliver more cross-government support to long-term conflict prevention and stabilisation programmes. The Conflict Pool is the first port of call to top up the Peacekeeping Budget, if assessed peacekeeping costs exceed the Peacekeeping Budget’s £374m settlement.
In 2011/12, £76 million has been earmarked from the Conflict Pool for assessed peacekeeping, making a total provision of £450 million for the Peacekeeping Budget, from which the UK will meet its international obligations on peacekeeping.
Further details of the settlement can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement on Conflict Resources for 2011 to 2012 (see link on the right hand side of this page, under External links), which was issued by the Secretaries of State for International Development, Foreign Affairs and Defence on 05 April 2011.