Reflections on Peace building
10 Reflections on Peace building
By Paul van Tongeren *
The following section of this book tells 35 inspiring stories
describing peace-building initiatives from around the world. Here
we focus on some of the lessons that can be learned from these
and other examples. Naturally, these lessons draw on the work
of the many experts who have reflected on this subject on earlier
occasions.
Uundoubtedly one of the most important documents relating to these
issues is the outline of guidelines and principles based on the
accumulated experience and wisdom of the Institute for MultiTrack
Diplomacy. Also included are elements of the ‘Agenda for Peace
and Justice for the 21st century’ currently being drafted by the
Hague Appeal for Peace, as well as the Strategic Plan developed
by the Coexistence Initiative of State of the World Forum (see
annexes).
1. Involve as many people and sectors as possible in peace-building
It is an obvious point but one which is, nevertheless, frequently
overlooked: it is essential that as many sectors of society as
possible be included in any peace-building process. Many of the
following stories illustrate how individuals and groups take responsibility
for the society they live in, and how they can make a real difference.
2. Strengthen local capacities for peace
If efforts to prevent, resolve and transform violent conflict
are to be effective in the long-term, they must be based on the
active participation of local civil groups committed to building
peace. Strengthening such ‘local capacities for peace’ may take
many forms, including education and training, nurturing the volunteer
spirit in society and highlighting the work of local peacemakers
in the media. Granting basic human rights such as freedom of speech
and press and freedom to organise oneself are prerequisites for
including the different civil organisations in the peace process.
3. Conceive peace building and reconciliation as a process
Peace is not an abstract goal but a process; it must be built-up
over a long period of time. Building peace must be an organic
process, growing at all levels of society. Peace cannot be built
just through exclusive conclaves of the leaders of the conflicting
parties. The idea of ‘historic agreements as a stepping stone
to peace’ has proven to be wrong on too many occasions. Longterm
strategic relationships should be built which reach across the
dividing lines of conflict in society.
4. Change and transform the conflict pattern: create hope
A common feature of many of the following examples is that they
succeeded in breaking the logic of war. Successful initiatives
create hope and stimulate people to disengage themselves from
war, as is shown by the peace zones in Columbia and the struggle
to preserve the multicultural character of the city of Tuzla in
Bosnia. Although people could not prevent an escalation of the
surrounding violence, they succeeded in creating local alternatives.
By inspiring others these initiatives have an extremely important
spin-off effect.
5. Create dialogue
Stimulate a feeling of interdependence, emphasise common identities
and help people to understand the other side’s position. Private
peacemaking should focus on ‘humanising the enemy’. The most effective
dialogue often occurs when each side forcefully advocates its
position and then listens to its opponent. It should be recognised
that people can communicate with each other, but may not be ready
for a dialogue. Much creativity is needed to bring the parties
together for a first round of talks. In many situations -like
in Somalia, Mali, Northern Ireland, Guatemala, and Sri Lanka-
the importance of such an approach has been proven.
6. Promote education and enhance professionalisation
Educational programmes should stimulate the universal awareness
of coexistence, tolerance and reconciliation. Those involved in
the peace-building process must be thoroughly prepared and trained.
Professionalisation of peace building can enhance its effectiveness.
7. Exchange experiences
Promote international exchanges between peacemakers from conflict
regions. Learning from each other’s experiences inspires innovative
approaches as the examples of Sri Lanka, South Africa and Northern
Ireland clearly show.
8. Include local authorities
The decentralised approach of grassroots and community-based organisations
has resulted in many successes. Examples of these successes include
the EU Peace Fund in Northern Ireland, the city approach of the
World Council of Churches, as well as the creation of the over
200 local peace commissions in Kenya.
 |
Private peacemaking should focus on ‘humanising the enemy’.
Photo Henny van der Graaf. |
| |
9. Strengthen coalition building between civil organisations
The effectiveness of civil activity is often hampered by a lack
of coordination between groups operating in similar fields. As
a result, scarce resources are wasted through duplication of tasks
and failure to achieve synergy. There is a great need to create
civil networks and/or platforms that promote coalition and constituency
building. Global networks are needed to further strengthen individuals’
and communities’ capacity for peace building. Many of the following
case-studies are an illustration of this need. Through networking
they succeeded in multiplying their strength.
10. Institution-building
To sustain peace-building and reconciliation, institution-building
should be stimulated at all levels of society and at the international
level. In an increasingly globalized international system, the
need to work at global institutions, actors and processes to create
the climate for conflict resolution, prevention, peace-building
and reconciliation, should be emphasised.
11. Make ‘Conflict Impact Assessment’ a requirement
In order to maximise the benefits of development aid, dispensing
bodies -governmental, intergovernmental and private- should be
required to assess and report on the likely impact of their development-aid
policies in terms of whether they will heighten or reduce the
risks of violent conflicts.
12. Role of the corporate sector
The potential role of the corporate sector in peace-building is
still not widely recognised. However, just as business can exacerbate
tensions and fuel conflict, so it can contribute to building peace
and security, as the examples of South Africa and Northern Ireland,
described later in this publication, have shown.
13. Role of donors
As the Abraham Fund and the EU Peace Fund for Northern Ireland
illustrate, the role of donors can extend beyond the simple provision
of financial support for projects. Donors can provide an extra
impulse in the peace-building process by stimulating conferences,
agenda setting, and developing directories such as The Abraham
Fund’s ‘Handbook of Interethnic Coexistence’.
14. Prioritise Early Warning and Early Response
That prevention is better than cure is a truth which needs to
be better observed in practice. Civil society organisations, governments
and intergovernmental bodies should dedicate much more attention
and resources to prevention, as opposed to reacting to violent
conflict. In particular, mere political should be generated for
early responses to potential conflict situations, both present
and future.
15. Promote an integrative approach to peace building and reconciliation
by using a combination of approaches
In her contribution on Northern Ireland to this volume, Mari Fitzduff
stresses the need for a variety of approaches to peace building.
The experience of Mali provides a clear example of the importance
of her message. The construction of a stable peace in the northern
part of the country was not the result of any single action. It
followed from a complex of efforts to rebuild trust, to address
legitimate grievances, to reward combatants who chose to give
up the fight, and to build incentives into the peace process that
would assure the continued commitment of people on both sides
of the conflict.
An integrated framework towards peace building should include
• a coherent and comprehensive approach by all actors;
• partnerships between, and the coordination of, the various members
of the international community and the national government;
• a broad consensus on a strategy and related set of interventions;
• careful balancing of macro-economic and political objectives,
and
• the necessary financial resources.
| Twelve Principles of Multi-Track Diplomacy
1. Relationship - building strong interpersonal and inter-group relations throughout
the fabric of society.
2. Longterm commitment - making an ongoing commitment to people and to processes that
may take years to come to fruition.
3. Cultural synergy - respecting the cultural wisdom of all parties and welcoming
the creative interaction of different cultural views.
4. Partnership - modelling a collaborative process by forming partnerships with
local parties and with other institutions and coalitions.
5. Multiple technologies - utilising a variety of technologies, as appropriate, and creating
new methods, as needed, to meet the unique requirements of each
situation.
6. Facilitation - assisting parties to take responsibility for their own dreams
and destiny.
7. Empowerment - helping people to become empowered agents of change and transformation
within their societies.
8. Action research - learning from all that we do and sharing that learning with
others.
9. Invitation - entering the system where invited or offered an open door.
10. Trust - building relationships of mutual trust and caring within the
system.
11. Engagement - acknowledge that once we enter a system, we become a unique
part of it, an engaged, caring, and accountable partner.
12. Transformation - catalysing changes at the deepest level of beliefs, assumptions,
and values, as well as behaviours and structures.
© Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy |
16. Mainstream Multi-Track diplomacy
Peace processes should combine Track One and Track Two approaches.
Track Two diplomacy is usually most effective when it is linked
to official processes and channels. For this, contacts as well
as the exchange of information and experiences between both approaches
should be frequent and structural. The history of the peace process
in Cyprus provides one among many examples of the importance of
linking both tracks. In making these links, the strengths, resources,
and limitations of each approach should be taken into account.
* Paul van Tongeren played a key role in the establishment of the European Platform
for Conflict Prevention and Transformation. This NGO-Network evolved
after the European Conference on Conflict Prevention in 1997,
which was organised amongst others, by him and brought together
over 1,200 persons from around the world. He has been involved
in numerous Dutch NGOs in the field of development aid, peace
and the environment. For more than twenty years, Van Tongeren
worked as programme manager for the Dutch National Committee for
International Cooperation and Sustainable Development (NCDO).
Presently he is the executive director of the European Centre
for Conflict Prevention, based in the Netherlands. This centre
functions as the secretariat of the European Platform and aims
to stimulate collaboration and synergy among participating organisations
through information exchange, education and lobbying activities.
Paul van Tongeren is the initiator and co-ordinator of this publication.
** I would like to thank Hizkias Assefa, Ambassador John McDonald,
Lewis Rasmussen, Lisa Schirch, David Smock, Johan Galtung, Mohammed
AbuNimer, Juliette Verhoeven and Hans van de Veen for their valuable
input.
REFERENCES
Peaceworks - Private Peacemaking, David Smock (ed.). USIP-Assisted
Peacemaking Projects of Nonprofit Organizations, United States
Institute of Peace, 1998.
Preventing Deadly Conflict Final Report of the Carnegie Commission
on Preventing Deadly Conflict, Carnegie Corporation of New York,
New York, 1997
Do no Harm - Supporting Local Capacities for Peace, Mary Andersson.
Collaborative for Development Action, 1996
From Civil War to Civil Society, Report of The World Bank and
the Carter Center, 1995.
next
Feedback please to
j.verhoeven@euconflict.org
