Stabilizing post-crisis countries The act of stabilizing post-crisis countries aims to re-establish the minimum conditions of viability for States and to meet populations’ essential needs. In order to strengthen the effectiveness of the French crisis-response mechanism, in December 2014 the Crisis and Support Centre created a specific unit to support post-crisis processes: The Stabilization Department (SD). Humanitarian action Published on : March 11th 2026 Updated on : March 25th 2026 Dans cette rubrique Administration The Crisis and Support Centre Stabilizing post-crisis countries Centre for Analysis, Forecasting and Strategy Future Leaders Invitation Programme Contents Re-establishing security and the State’s core functions Relaunching the local economy and strengthening civil society Laying the foundations for a long-term reconstruction and development process Partners and operators accustomed to crisis areas The SD finances projects and mobilizes expertise within very short timeframes, helping to support political transition, strengthen civil society and/or lay the foundations for a post-crisis recovery. Through flexible and expedited procedures tailored to the volatile nature of the operation, it supports quick-impact actions to help countries recover from crises, thus fulfilling two objectives: allowing populations to benefit from “peace dividends” and supporting States in redeploying their core functions, including sovereign functions. The SD mainly operates in countries which have suffered crises, whether electoral, security, institutional or political, which prevent the State from operating normally. Re-establishing security and the State’s core functions Supporting mine clearance, strengthening and training of security forces and the reintegration of veterans Supporting electoral processes in post-crisis countries Re-establishing access to basic social services (energy, water, education, health, etc.) Supporting transitional justice processes and citizens’ access to justice Focusing on mine clearance: enabling populations displaced due to decontamination to return home and training in mine clearance The SD, through its emergency action, works in the areas of humanitarian mine clearance, capacity building and awareness-raising for the States and populations most vulnerable to the danger of mines, improvised explosive devices and explosive remnants of war. Much of the efforts in recent years have focused on Syria, in Raqqa Governorate as well as in Iraq, where the SD supports the deployment of specialized teams in Nineveh Governorate and the Sinjar district. One of the teams comprises solely Yazidi women, whose job is to locate, identify and destroy explosive devices in the villages, infrastructures and surrounding countryside. At the same time, the SD has conducted several projects on decontamination and on raising awareness among populations of the dangers of mines in order to help the most vulnerable populations in Colombia, Yemen and Libya. The ability of the relevant States to ensure the safety of their people is essential to their stability. To this end, the SD has conducted several training projects in order to boost institutional capabilities to detect mines and improvised explosive devices in Iraq and several West African countries. For example, the SD supports a project to raise awareness on improvised explosive devices and chemical precursors, which helped train 1,200 members of the Internal Security Forces (ISFs) from Cameroon, Chad, Niger and the Central African Republic. Relaunching the local economy and strengthening civil society Supporting reconciliation processes (community and pastoral farming conflicts) Supporting the media and human rights defenders Contributing to relaunching the local economy (revenue-generating activities, vocational training, etc.) Supporting renewed dialogue between States and civil society Laying the foundations for a long-term reconstruction and development process Support State-reform processes (decentralization, civil service, support for local governance, etc.) Strengthen legal institutions by training judges and strengthening the criminal justice system Strengthen public finances and the mobilization of domestic resources Partners and operators accustomed to crisis areas The SD works closely with all actors involved in crisis management. Within this framework, it combines its work with emergency humanitarian responses on the one hand and structural development programmes on the other. It has various partners: State departments and operators, local and regional authorities, NGOs and civil society organizations, and the private sector. Where appropriate, the SD also collaborates with the Ministry for the Armed Forces, such as in Operation Barkhane in Mali. Stabilization activities also seek to consolidate security gains achieved by military operations through quick-impact, visible projects serving populations and local authorities.