The Office for Conflict, Stabilisation and Mediation (OCSM), formerly the Stabilisation Unit, is a cross-government unit of the

UK government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

, governed through the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

. It is part of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). It works cross-government to reduce the creation and intensity of conflicts abroad.

The Stabilisation Unit's history

The Stabilisation Unit aims to support fragile states and countries emerging from conflict, where close cooperation between international agencies, the military, and civilian personnel is essential. The Stabilisation Unit, formed in 2007 from the Post-Conflict Reconstruction Unit, serves a similar function to and works closely with institutions such as the Stabilization and Reconstruction Task Force (Canada) and the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (United States). Since 2015 the unit has been funded through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund and governed through the

. Prior to 2015 it was it is jointly controlled by the FCO, the

DFID The Department for International Development (DFID) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom, from 1997 to 2020. It was responsible for administering foreign aid ...

, and the MOD. As of February 2022, the Stabilisation Unit was merged with former

Department for International Development The Department for International Development (DFID) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom, from 1997 to 2020. It was responsible for administering foreign aid ...

and Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff to form the OCSM.

Former SU Activities

The Stabilisation Unit's objectives were: *To prevent or contain violent conflict; *To protect people, key assets and institutions *To promote political processes which lead to greater stability. *Prepare for longer-term development and address the causes of conflict.

SU Locations

The Stabilisation Unit provided advice, or assistance, for various places in crisis, including: *

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

: The SU has helped with a variety of problems in

Helmand province Helmand (Pashto language, Pashto/Dari language, Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering ...

. *

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

: A stabilisation advisor has been with MONUC since 2008. *

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

: Assisting

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

s in Haiti after the

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

: The SU assisted the Provincial Reconstruction Team in

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

, and helped rebuild police capabilities. *

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

: Helping with civil society engagement. Four consultants are in

Darfur Darfur ( ; ) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju () while ruled by the Daju, who migrated from Meroë , and it was renamed Dartunjur () when the Tunjur ruled the area. ...

. *

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

, and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

: The SU helped build strategies for assisting these countries.

SU People

The SU recruits

civil servants The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

into the Civil Service Stabilisation Cadre (CSSC). The SU also recruits civilians; the UK Civilian Stabilisation Group (CSG) was launched in February 2010. The SU maintains a flexible and diverse pool of civilian experts who can be deployed to assist other countries to help build peace & security.

References

{{reflist

External links

Working for the Office for Conflict, Stabilisation and Mediation's Civilian Stabilisation Group (CSG)

Stabilisation Unit – United Kingdom
Foreign relations of the United Kingdom Department for International Development International development agencies Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) 2007 establishments in the United Kingdom